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This is Volume Five of a complete set of

THE CLASSICS— GREEK AND LATIN

consisting of fifteen volumes issued strictly as
a Limited Edition. In Volume One will be
found a certificate as to the Limitation of the
Edition and the Registered Number of this Set.

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KY. ORATORY, SCJENC!
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r BY DISTINCT
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KRINCETO

iUTOaO^HH

YAa atvio atJTbaoflaH or aaauM 3hT'
;a3Mia qua ,Ma^T ho aviin aMAD ,
,YA^ OT T20H JiiaHT .visuxaa HI awA

".axiHaa xooa a hdab rraJ

anuJnsifiT \o zsb'inooJ. —

HERODOTUS

From an ancient bust

"The Muses to Herodotus one day
Came nine of them, and dined;
And in return, their host to pay,
Left each a book behind,"

— Leonidas of Tarentum.

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AND PHILOSOPHY, TRANS-
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MARION MILLS MILLER, Litt.D.
(PRINCETON) EDITOR IN CHIEF

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NEW-YORKCS-

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I

THE CLASSICS

GREEK AND LATIN

CONTRIBUTING CLASSIC COUNCIL

J. P. MAHAFFY, D.C.L., Trinity College, Dublin
SIR ALEXANDER GRANT, LL.D., Edinburgh
EDWARD POSTE, M.A., Oxford University
J. H. FREESE, M.A., Cambridge University
BASIL L. GILDERSLEEVE, LL.D.,

Professor of Greek, Johns Hopkins University

JOHN HENRY WRIGHT, LL.D.,

Professor of Greek, Harvard University

HENRY P. WRIGHT, PH.D.,

Professor of Latin, Yale University
HARRY THURSTON PECK, L.H.D.,

Professor of Latin, Columbia University
SAMUEL ROSS WINANS, PH.D.,

Professor of Greek, Princeton University
CHARLES E. BENNETT, LITT.D.,

Professor of Latin, Cornell University
WILLIAM A. LAMBERTON, LITT.D.,

Professor of Greek, University of Pennsylvania
JOHN DAMEN MAGUIRE, PH.D.,

Professor of Latin, Catholic University of America
PAUL SHOREY, PH.D.,

Professor of Greek, University of Chicago
MARTIN LUTHER D'OOGE, PH.D.,

Professor of Greek, University of Michigan
ANDREW J. BELL, M.A.,

Professor of Latin, University of Toronto
WILLIAM AUGUSTUS MERRILL. L.H.D.,

Professor of Latin, University of California
MARY LEAL HARKNESS, M.A.,

Professor of Latin, Tulane University

MARION MILLS MILLER, LITT.
Editor-in-Chief

D. (Princeton)

VINCENT PARKE AND
COMPANY, NEW YORK

m

Copyright, 1909, by

Vincent Parke and Company,

New York

/O ♦fr\

CONTENTS

Introductions:

TlIUCYDIDES, THE FiRST CRITICAL HISTORIAN.

By William A. Lamberton, Litt.D., University of
Pennsylvania
The Greek Historians

Introductions :........

Life of Herodotus and Plan and Object of the History
By Peter Edmund Laurent

The Persian Conquest of Ionia. Babylonia and
Egypt, by Herodotus .....
Translated by Peter Edmund Laurent

Introductions:

Life of Thucydides and Thucydides as an Historian
By William Smith D.D.

History of the Peloponnesian War [431-427 b.c],
by Thucydides .......

PAGI
13

37

47
199

217

Introduction: 325

A Short Account of Xenophon
By Edward Spelman, Esq.

The Anabasis of Xenophon 328

Translated by Edward Spelman,. Esq.

The Macedonian Phalanx, by Poly'bius . . . 444
Translated by Edward Spelman, Esq.

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

Herodotus ........ Frontispiece

From an ancient bust

Babylonian Marriage Market 104

From a painting by Edwin Long

Building the Pyramids ....... i63

From a painting by Gustave Richter

ijyN 2 7 J957

INTRODUCTIONS

THUCYDIDES, THE FIRST CRITICAL
HISTORIAN

BY WILLIAM A. LAMBERTON, LITT. D.

PROFESSOR OF GREEK IN THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HUCYDIDES was the first truly critical his-
torian. The little we know of his life, we
gather from his own words ; and it is char-
acteristic that he has told us nothing but what
has a direct bearing upon his work.

He was an Athenian. He was in the full
maturity of his powers in 431 B.C., when the Peloponnesian
War began, and retained his mental vigor unabated in 404 B.C.,
when the war ended : it has hence been inferred that he was
born in 471 B.C. Through his great-grandfather, a Thracian
princelet, he was closely connected with the family of Miltia-
des, being cousin of Cimon. His ownership of valuable gold
mines in Thrace led to frequent residence there, during which
he acquired large influence among the natives. In 424 B.C.,
being a member of the board of generals, he was stationed with
a small squadron in Thracian waters, a most responsible com-
mand, as a Spartan force under Brasidas was threatening the
Athenian possessions in that quarter. The loss of Amphiopolis
in this campaign, for which he was held responsible, led to an
exile of twenty years, which he spent partly on his Thracian es-
tate, and partly in visiting the non-Athenian regions of the
Greek world. In 404 he returned to Athens, but not for long ;
he soon retired again to Thrace, where he died by violence at
some uncertain date, possibly, but not certainly, before 396 B.C.
He left his work unfinished.

The teaching of the Sophists, who were insisting that a
satisfactory solution of the manifold puzzles of life could only
be hoped for by the unfettered exercise of reason, profoundly
influenced him; but too independent to accept the dictum of

13

14 INTRODUCTION

any master, he did his own thinking and went his own way.
His interest centered, not in ethics or philosophy, but in prac-
tical politics as he saw it illustrated in the character and con-
duct of the Athenian empire. The tireless energy of the
Athenians in establishing it and the ruthless determination
with which they swept away all obstacles appealed to his
patriotism and civic pride. His own lifetime had witnessed
the struggle for the extension and consolidation of this em-
pire under the leadership of his cousin Cimon, and the sub-
sequent application of its resources under Pericles to the em-
bellishment of Athens and the ennobling of Athenian life.
The policy might be criticized as selfish and the methods em-
ployed stigmatized as harsh and cruel, but to Athenian feel-
ing the methods were justified and the ends glorious. But
Thucydides, while he shared this feeling to the full, could see
better than most the reverse of the medal. His residence in
Thrace had taught him that what flattered the pride of his
fellow-Athenians, spelled oppression and consequent discon-
tent for their subjects. He could discern a feverish restless-
ness amongst them and a growing impatience for the day
when they might cast off the yoke. Nor was he blind to the
jealousy which the spectacle of Athenian success had roused
in Sparta and the other states outside the empire. His
peculiar situation enabled him to view with a certain detach-
ment and disinterested comprehension the various elements,
helpful or dangerous, that were involved in the imperial pol-
icy of Pericles. He saw that the odious term tyranny was
coming to be applied to it by its foes, and worse sign yet, to be
accepted with complacency, nay, even with pride, by its own
people. And there was this that was new about it : the tyrant
was not the familiar individual despot, but a people that was
organized at home in the freest form of democracy.

When the occasion arose that was to let loose this hostility
from without and this discontent from within, he felt that
the crisis was on that would test the solidity of the empire,
and he instantly resolved to watch events closely and to take
careful notes with a view to composing a work that should
record and explain accurately the nature of the struggle and
its outcome.

THUCYDIDES, FIRST CRITICAL HISTORIAN 15

His subject is thus restrictedly military and political, but
political solely in the imperial sense; the internal constitu-
tional development of Athens did not concern him. Attic
culture, literature and art, social and economic questions lay
outside his sphere. This must be carefully borne in mind;
for the two points on which he laid stress were relevance and
accuracy. A modern would be inclined to regard^m as^over-
stfTct in applying this test of relevancy; but perhaps this may
be attributed in part at least to the austerity that was due to
the strain of northern blood that was in him. He felt no call
to justify this trait; but as to accuracy it is otherwise: of this
he has spoken in terms that will bear repeating: "I have not
felt at liberty to record facts on hearsay testimony given by
the first chance informant. I have rested on personal knowl-
edge of my own, or on the closest scrutiny of every state-
ment obtained from others." Laborious inquiry from all
available sources (these, owing to the conditions, were mainly
oral) and critical sifting of the information obtained are the
keynotes of his method. Then followed the accurate, imper-
sonal exposition of the facts elicited. He gives us only the
results, never the materials. He was not writing a "source-
book." Nor would he tickle the ears with mere fine writing:
utility, not popular applause, was what he sought.

Thucydides felt the importance of an accurate chronology.
He found grave defects in this respect in the work of his
predecessors. There was no universally accepted system
that met the needs of the case. Each state had its own
calendar in which years were noted, as a rule, by the names of
the incumbents of certain annual offices, by archons at Athens,
by ephors at Sparta. To follow intelligently such a method
of dating, a reader would need to have at hand an official
list for comparison. Thucydides cut loose from all such
methods and devised a most excellent one for himself. He
first decided upon a fixed epoch, which he determined by the
accepted calendars of Athens, Sparta and Argos; from this
epoch he simply numbered the years, noting the close of each
by means of a stereotyped formula. The epoch was the date of
the Theban attempt to seize Plataea in 431 B.C. This involved
also the abandonment of the civil year; for this he substitutes

16 INTRODUCTION

a natural year, divided according to the necessities of military
movements into summer and winter, a summer and a winter
making up a full year. Differences of latitude would affect the
time and length of these divisions, but within the limits of
Greece only slightly ; the sum of the two would be unaffected.
He was aware of the defects of his method, but reckoned
that in the course of the twenty-seven years of the war, his
computation would only be out by at most a few days.

A striking feature is found in the speeches. These were
always uttered in the open, not behind closed doors, so that
no intrinsic improbability attaches to them. Everything turns
upon how he got them, and how he has reported them. He is
quite frank. Some he had heard, for others he had to depend on
testimony of others ; but in either case verbatim reports were
impossible, for memory is treacherous. So he used his best
judgment in assigning to the speakers words appropriate to
them and to the occasion, preserving with care the sense
of their utterances, so far as it might be ascertainable. An
examination bears this out : the language is thoroughly Thu-
cydidean. They are a dramatic means of taking the reader
behind the scenes and revealing the character, motives and pur-
poses of politicians and states. A modern historian attains
this end by quotations from original documents and corres-
pondence supplemented by commentary: Thucydides fuses
documents with commentary. Gibbon and Grote refer to and
quote largely from original documents, which at times they
discuss in their footnotes: every page of matter is garnished
with references to contemporary correspondences enlivened by
quotations of significant sentences, also found in footnotes.
The device of footnotes is modern. As these writers regularly
gather detached passages from a variety of sources in support
of their conclusions, so Thucydides selects his speeches or even
combines in one utterances that were scattered over many.
This enables him to mass relevant material at significant points.
The actual words are but a text from which the historian will
extract the controlling and characteristic ideas of the speaker's
political creed and life. The thoughts are the speaker's, but
they have been caught up into the mind of the historian, gen-
eralized, idealized, and sent forth again with his stamp upon

THE GREEK HISTORIANS 17

them — tne stamp of a larger meaning and a wider application.
Thucydides recognizes only the human element in history.
Chance indeed plays its part ; but this only means that there is
always much that no man can foresee. The wise allow for this
and even are able to take advantage of it. Weakness and lack
of judgment spell failure; energy and sound judgment insure
success. The virtues or vices of private life do not count;
public acts and political life are his sole concerns. It is as a
statesman he praises Pericles; it is as a general he condemns
Nicias. Expediency, the raison d'etat, is the basic principle in
the light of which events and men are analyzed and judged.

THE GREEK HISTORIANS

The Greek word historia meant "investigation," and this
quite correctly points to a common origin of both history and
philosophy in the inquiring mind of the Greek. The first
seat of historical research was in Asia Minor, where philoso-
phy also arose about the same time, too, that the philos-
ophers broke away from the bondage of verse, historians
began to write in prose, and so received the name of
logographi, "discourse writers." These logographers were
chroniclers, or story-tellers, of family and local traditions.
They flourished from about b.c. 550 down to the time of He-
rodotus, who indeed partook of some of their characteristics.

According to Pliny, Cadmus of Miletus (who lived in the
latter half of the sixth century, b.c.) was the first logographer.
Isocrates calls him, also, the first sophist, or wise man. We
should denominate him rather the first archaeologist, since he
wrote upon the antiquities of his native city.

Pherecydes, of the island of Leros, a contemporary of
Hellanicus and Herodotus, shares with Cadmus the credit of
first writing in prose. His chief work was a mythological his-
tory in ten books treating of the genealogy of the gods, the
Heroic Age and the origins of the great families of his own
time. Only fragments of his works remain.

Hecat^us, also of Miletus, was a contemporary of Cad-
mus. In his youth he travelled widely in Europe and Asia,
and even journeyed as far as Egypt. At the time of the Ionian

i

18 INTRODUCTION

revolt he was in his native city, and gave his countrymen the
wisest counsels but in vain. After the suppressing of the ris-
ing, he succeeded by his tact and management in obtaining some
alleviation of the hard measures adopted by the Persians. He
died about 476 B.C. The ancient critics assigned him a high place
among the Greek historians who preceded Herodotus, though
pronouncing him inferior to the latter. He wrote three works,
of which only fragments remain. The first was called A De-
scription of the Earth; it was in two parts, one relating to
Europe and the other to Asia, Egypt and Libya. Herodotus
frequently consulted it. The second was a treatise on Greek
fables, Genealogies, and the third was a treatise on poetical
traditions of the Greeks, in four books called Histories.

Charon of Lampsacus continued the researches of
Hecatseus, writing separate works on Persia, Libya, yEthiopia,
etc. He preceded Herodotus in narrating the events of the
Persian War; the fragments of this history reveal him to be
a mere jotter down of events.

Hellanicus, of Mitylene in Lesbos, (490-406 B.C.) was
the first logographer who could be properly denominated an
historian in the modern sense of the word, since he was the
first writer who reduced the mass of current tradition to some-
thing like chronological order. He wrote many works on
genealogy, local geography, and chronolog}^ His theories of
ancient Attic chronology were accepted down to the time of
Eratosthenes (born b.c. 276), the briUiant astronomer who,
through his suggestion of the Julian calendar, became the
authority upon chronology for all ages as well as his own.

Other logographers were Dionysius of Miletus, a writer
of Persian history ; Xanthus, of Sardis, a writer of Lydian
history; Hippys, of Rhegium, a writer on Sicily and Lower
Italy, and Acusilaus, of Argos in Bceotia, a genealogical
writer.

Twenty years after Hellanicus arose Herodotus, of Hali-
carnassus in Caria, born 484 b.c, rightly called the Father of
History, since he adopted a thesis for his work rather than a
mere subject, and finished it completely in every detail in a dis-
tinctively literary style. His thesis was the inevitable conflict
between the Persians and the Greeks, representing respectively

THE GREEK HISTORIANS 19

the dominating principles of the East and of the West. In the
following pages are given a life of Herodotus, and an essay
upon the plan and object of his work, both by Peter Edmund
Laurent, and a translation by the same of the principal portions
of his first book, relating the conquest of Cyrus of the Ionian
Greeks in Asia, and of the second book, describing Egypt and
the customs of its people, who were conquered by Cambyses,
the son of Cyrus,

Thucydides^ born thirteen years after Herodotus, was the
first Attic historian. His work. The History of the Pelopon-
nesian War, is the masterpiece and model of all the great his-
tories written during and since his day, both for its noble style
and the impartial and thorough nature of its presentation of
contemporaneous events. A life of Thucydides, and an essay
upon his qualifications as an historian are presented in the fol-
lowing pages, together with a translation of the chief portions
of the first three books of his history, relating the origin of the
war between Sparta and Athens for Grecian supremacy, and
the events of the first five years of the protracted conflict. The
articles and the translation are by the Rev. William Smith, a
noted English scholar of the Eighteenth Century, who was also
the translator of the treatise. On the Sublime, by Longinus (see
volume four). Dr. Smith, by his studies, acquired a mastery
of English oratorical rhetoric which has rendered his transla-
tions of the orations of Pericles and others as set forth by
Thucydides in his history matchless in its fideHty to the spirit
of the original.

Thucydides did not complete his history, although he lived
till 391 B.C., thirteen years after the war was ended by Sparta's
subjugation of Athens in 404 B.C. He brought down the his-
tory of the war to b.c. 41 i. For the remaining events we must
look to Xenophon and Diodorus Siculus.

Xenophon of Athens (b.c. 444-355), in his Hellenica,
covered the history* of Greece from the place where Thucydides
left it, to the battle of Mantinea (b.c. 362). It is a dry nar-
rative of events, in striking contrast to his other works. Of
these the chief is the Anabasis (March Up), a graphic narra-
tive of the Expedition of the Younger Cyrus, with Greek
mercenaries, to seize the Persian throne from his brother Ar-

20 INTRODUCTION

taxerxes, and, upon the death of Cyrus at the resulting battle
of Cunaxa (401 b.c), of the Retreat of the Ten Thousand
Greeks (by which the Anabasis is sometimes titled), back to
their country under the guidance of Xenophon. A transla-
tion of the first four books of this work, ending with the at-
tainment by the Greeks of the shores of the Euxine, whence the
return to Greece by sea was assured, is presented in the fol-
lowing pages. It is by Edward Spelman, an English scholar of
the Eighteenth Century, whose rendition, though at times
quaint, is very faithful to the original. To this translation
is prefixed an introduction by Spelman, giving a short life of
Xenophon, and a summary of the events preceding the his-
tory; and there is affixed to it as a note a dissertation by
PoLYBius upon the Macedonian phalanx.

Other works of Xenophon are : The Cyropajdia ( Educa-
tion of Cyrus), a kind of political romance based on the his-
tory of the elder Cyrus, the founder of the Persian monarchy.
It has no historical value, the purpose of the book being to set
forth the education of a model citizen, of which Cyrus is
taken as the example, and the ideal organization of a state ;
The Memorabilia of Socrates, a defense of this philosopher,
who was Xenophon's teacher, against the charges of irreligion
and corruption of youth ; the Apology of Socrates, a speech
in which the philosopher is made to give his reasons for pre-
ferring life to death; the Symposium or Banquet of Philoso-
phers, a dialogue discussing the nature of friendship and love ;
the Hiero, a dialogue on the advantages of private over pub-
lic life; the CEconomicus, a dialogue on the administration
of property; and various treatises on the management of
cavalry, on hunting, and on statecraft, as well as a panegyric
on Agesilaiis, king of Sparta, who was the author's friend.

Ctesias, of Cnidus, a contemporary of Xenophon, wrote a
history of the Persian empire in the Ionian dialect. In B.C.
416 he went to the Persian court and became private physician
to King Artaxerxes Mnemon. In this capacity he accompanied
the king on his expedition against his brother Cyrus and cured
him of the wound which he received in the battle of Cunaxa,
B.C. 401. In 300, he returned to his native city, and worked up
the valuable material which he had collected during his resi-

THE GREEK HISTORIANS 21

dence in Persia, in twenty-three books. The first six books
treated the history of Assyria, the remaining ones that of
Persia from the earhest times to events within his own experi-
ence. Ctesias's work was much used by the ancient historians,
though he was censured as untrustworthy and indifferent to
truth — a charge which may be due to the fact that he followed
Persian authorities, and thus often differed, to the disadvan-
tage of the Greeks, from the version of facts current among his
countrymen. Only fragments and extracts of the book sur-
vive, and part of an abridgment in the Bibliotheca of Photius,
a Byzantine scholar of the ninth century a.d. The same is
true of the notices of the researches which Ctesias had made in
Persia on the geography and productions of India.

About the same time, Philistus, a Greek historian of
Syracuse (born B.C. 435), an imitator of Thucydides, compiled
the history of Sicily from the earliest times down to his own.
He encouraged the elder Dionysius, by advice and assistance,
in securing and maintaining the position of despot in his native
state, but was himself banished by Dionysius in 386 B.C., and
lived a long while at Adria in Epirus, busied with historical
studies. Recalled by Dionysius the younger, he counteracted
the salutary influence of Dion and Plato at that tyrant's court,
and brought about the banishment of both. As commander of
the fleet against Dion and the revolted Syracusans, he lost a
naval battle, and in consequence either committed suicide or
was cruelly murdered by the angry populace in 356 B.C. He
left an historical work, begun in his exile, called Sicelica, a his-
tory of Sicily in thirteen books. The first seven books dealt
with the events of the earliest times to the capture of Agrigen-
tum by the Carthaginians in 406 B.C. ; the eighth to the eleventh
books dealt with the rule of the elder Dionysius, and the twelfth
and thirteenth dealt with that of the younger. The last por-
tion, which remained incomplete owing to his death, was fin-
ished by his countryman Athanas. Only unimportant frag-
ments of this have survived. According to the judgment of the
ancients, he departed far from the impartiality of his model,
Thucydides, betraying in his work the one-sided attitude nat-
ural to his political views.

In the second half of the Fourth Century B.C. appeared

22 INTRODUCTION

two celebrated historians, Theopompus, of Chios, and Ephorus,
of Cyme, both disciples of the rhetorician and orator Isocrates.
Theopompus (born b.c. 378), left his home in Chios
about 361 B.C., when his father was banished by the democratic
party on account of his predilection for the Spartans. Having
been trained in oratory by Isocrates, the young man spoke with
great success in all the larger towns of Greece; he obtained
a brilliant victory over all competitors in the rhetorical
contest instituted in 351 B.C. by Queen Artemisia, wife of
Mausolus, in honor of her deceased husband. He afterwards
traveled with the object of acquiring material for his historical
works. The favor shown him by Alexander the Great induced
him to return to Chios at the age of forty-five; but on the
death of his patron he found himself again obliged to flee
from his opponents, whose hatred he had incurred by his
vehement adoption of the sentiments of the aristocracy. He
took refuge with Ptolemy I, at Alexandria, about 305 B.C.
Here he did not, however, meet with a favourable reception,
and was compelled to withdraw, as his Hfe was in danger. Of
his subsequent career nothing is known. He composed two
large histories founded on the most careful and minute re-
search. Hellenica, the first work, was a continuation of Thucy-
dides in twelve books, covering the period from 41 1 to 394 B.C.
Philippica, the second, in fifty-eight books, treated of the life
and times of Philip of Macedon. Of these works only frag-
ments remain. The charge of malignity which was brought
against him by the ancients seems to have originated in the
reckless manner in which, on the testimony of Dionysius of
Halicarnassus, he exposed the pettiness and baseness of the
politics of the times, especially those of the Macedonian party.
There seems to be better foundation for the charge brought
against him of being too fond of digressions, for, when in later
times, the digressions in the Philippica were omitted, the work
was thereby reduced to sixteen books. Theopompus was the
first Greek writer to make any definite mention of Rome,
speaking of its capture by the Gauls.

Ephorus, who flourished about b.c. 340, wrote a universal
history in thirty books, the first that was attempted in Greece.
It covers a period of 750 years, from the return of the Hera-

THE GREEK HISTORIANS 23

clidse to B.C. 341. Of this history Diodorus Siculus made an
extensive use. The work, however, has perished with the ex-
ception of a few fragments.

To the period of Theopompus and Ephorus belong the
numerous chronicles of Attic history called Atthides. In these
special attention was paid to political and religious occurrences.
Among these chroniclers Androtion and Philochorus de-
serve mention. The former, a pupil of Isocrates, was ac-
cused of making an illegal proposal. Demosthenes made a
speech in behalf of the prosecution which is extant. As a result
of the trial Androtion was banished. Going to Megara he
wrote there a history of Athens in twelve books, of which only
fragments survive. Philochorus lived at Athens between 306
and 260 B.C. As an upholder of national liberty he stoutly op-
posed Demetrius Poliorcetes, the conqueror of Athens, and his
son, Antigonus Gonatas, who put him to death. He wrote an
Atthis, or history of Athens, from the earliest times to B.C.
262, in seventeen books, of which a considerable number of
fragments remain. It was highly esteemed and often quoted
for its wealth of facts and thoroughness of investigation, es-
pecially in regard to chronology.

The great events of the age of Alexander the Great gave
rise to many historians. Of these one of the most important
was Callisthenes.

He was a relation of Aristotle, from whom he received
instruction at the same time as Alexander the Great. He ac-
companied Alexander on his Asiatic campaign, and offended
him by refusing to pay him servile homage after the Persian
fashion, and by other daring exhibitions of independence. The
consequence was that the king threw his friend into prison on
the pretext that he was concerned in a conspiracy against his
life. Callisthenes died in captivity in b.c. 328, in consequence,
probably, of maltreatment. Of his historical writings, par-
ticularly those dealing with the exploits of Alexander, only
fragments remain ; but he was always ranked among the most
famous historians. Indeed, his reputation as the companion of
Alexander and the historian of his achievements, maintained
itself so well that he was made responsible in literature for the
romantic narrative of Alexander's life which grew up in the

24 INTRODUCTION

following centuries. This was translated into Latin toward
the end of the third century a. d. by Julius Valerius, and be-
came the main authority for the mediaeval adaptations of the
myth of Alexander.

Aristobulus also in his youth accompanied Alexander the
Great on his campaigns. In his eighty-fifth year, when living
at Cassandrea in Thrace, he wrote a work upon Alexander, in
which he recorded careful observations on geography, ethnog-
raphy and natural science. The book is highly praised for its
trustworthiness, but only fragments of it have reached us. He
and Ptolemy were the chief authorities for Arrian's Anabasis.

An older man, Onesicritus, of the island of Astypalaea or
of ^gina, a pupil of the Cynic Diogenes, also accompanied
Alexander the Great upon his expedition. By order of Alex-
ander he investigated, with Nearchus, the route by sea from
India to the mouths of the Euphrates and the Tigris, He after-
ward lived at the court of Lysimachus, king of Thrace. Dur-
ing Alexander's life he began a comprehensive history of that
personage, which fell into disrepute, owing to the exaggera-
tions and its false accounts of distant lands. Only scanty
fragments of it are preserved.

HiERONYMUS, of Cardia, was another historian who ac-
companied Alexander the Great to Asia. After the death of
that monarch in 323 B.C., he served under his countryman
Eumenes. He afterward fought under Antigonus, his son
Demetrius, and his grandson Antigonus Gonatas. He sur-
vived Pyrrhus, and died at the advanced age of 104. Hie-
ronymus wrote a history of the events from the death of Alex-
ander to that of Pyrrhus, if not later.

Chares, the chamberlain of Alexander the Great, also
wrote a life of this monarch. It was very comprehensive,
being in ten volumes and telling in detail the personal domestic
affairs of the king. It had the reputation of being trustworthy
and interesting. Only a few fragments of it remain.

Clitarchus, son of the historian Dinon, wrote about
B.C. 300 a great work, in at least twelve books, upon Alex-
ander. He was notoriously untrustworthy, and inclined to
believe in the marvellous; his style was turgid and highly
rhetorical, but his narrative was so interesting that he was

THE GREEK HISTORIANS 25

the most popular of all the biographers of the great monarch.
The Romans were very fond of his book, which was indeed the
main authority for the narratives of Diodorus, Trogus Pom-
peius, and Q. Curtius. A number of fragments of it still
survive.

Berosus^ a Greek born in Bithynia, who went to Babylon,
where he became a priest of Bel, was a historian of this pe-
riod. He wrote a Babylonian history, in three books, which
he dedicated to King Antiochus Soter. It was founded on
ancient priestly records, and was frequently cited as indis-
putable authority by other historians. Only these quotations
remain of the work.

This was also the age of the great historian Tim^us, who
established a lasting claim on the gratitude of modern his-
torians of Greece, by adopting a uniform system of chronology
in recording events by Olympiads, that is by periods of four
years from one celebration of the Olympic games to the next,
beginning with the first celebration in 776 b.c. He was the
son of Andromachus, tyrant of Tauromenium in Sicily, and
was born about b.c. 352. He was banished from Sicily by
Agathocles, and passed his exile at Athens, where he had lived
fifty years when he wrote the thirty-fourth book of his his-
tory. He probably died about 256 b.c. The great work of
Timaeus was a history of Sicily from the earliest times to
B.C. 264, in some forty books. Of this we have fragments.

It was Eratosthenes, of Cyrene in Africa (born B.C.
276), however, to whom scientific historical investigation is
chiefly indebted. He placed chronology upon the firm foun-
dation of mathematical astronomy, and, therefore, while not
an historian, deserves mention here in this connection. He is
one of the most versatile characters in ancient history, being
famous for his athletic prowess no less than for his intel-
lectual attainments, which were many and various, covering
the fields of mathematics, astronomy, geography and poetry.
His eminence in these studies becoming recognized, the third
Ptolemy (Euergetes) intrusted to him the superintendence of
the great Alexandrian library, containing all the learned works
of the world. The only book of his that remains is an insig-
nificant catalogue of the constellations, but science has pre-

26 INTRODUCTION

served a number of his most important mathematical and as-
tronomical calculations. Thus, with the imperfect instruments
of this time, he determined very accurately the distance between
the tropics, and measured the circumference of the earth. In
geometry he solved the problem of two mean proportionals.
He may truly be called the Father of Geography, for he wrote
upon every branch of this subject, physical and mathematical,
as well as political or historical geography, and he also com-
piled a history of the science. His chief legacy to mankind,
however, was his suggestion to reform the calendar by giving
to the first three of every four years 365 days each, and to
the fourth 366. This suggestion was taken up by the mathe-
maticians appointed by Julius Caesar to reform the calendar,
and made the basis of the system of chronology which is now
employed by every civilized country.

The labors of Eratosthenes were continued by Apollo-
DORUS, an Athenian grammarian, geographer, and historian,
who flourished about 144 b.c. His Chronica is the most im-
portant work on chronology produced in antiquity. It is a
condensed enumeration of the most important data in history
and literature from the Fall of Troy (which he places in B.C.
1 1 83) down to his own time. He also wrote a Bibliotheca, a
treasury of mythology from the oldest theogonies downward,
which is the chief source of our information on the subject.
Only fragments remain of his great work in twenty- four books
entitled On the Gods.

Returning to the historians who wrote in literary style,
Phylarchus should be mentioned. He was born probably
at Naucratis, in Egypt, about b.c. 210, and lived long at Sicy-
on, afterward in Athens. He wrote in popular, somewhat sen-
sational style a great historical work in twenty-eight books
dealing with the fifty years from the invasion of the Pelopon-
nesus by Pyrrhus to the death of Cleomenes, king of Sparta,
272 to 221 B.C. His enthusiastic admiration of that monarch
appears to be the cause of the severe judgment passed on Phy-
larchus by Polybius, who represents the Achaean view. His
work was much used by Trogus Pompeius and by Plutarch
in his Lives of Cleomenes and Aratus. Only a few fragments
remain.

THE GREEK HISTORIANS 27

In contrast to the style and in opposition to the political
views of Phylarchus is the history of Polybius, one of the
most important of Greek historians. He was born about b.c.
204 at Megalopolis, the son of Lycortas, general of the Achaean
League in 185-184 B.C., and after 183 b.c. Through his
father, and his father's friend Philopoemen, he early acquired
a deep insight into military and political affairs, and was after-
ward intrusted with high federal offices, such as the command-
ership of the cavalry, the highest position next to the federal
generalship. In this capacity he directed his efforts toward
maintaining the independence of the Achsean League. As the
chief representative of the policy of neutrality during the war
of the Romans against Perseus of Macedonia, he attracted the
suspicion of the Romans and was one of the thousand noble
Achaeans who in 166 b.c. were transported to Rome as hostages
and detained there for seventeen years. In Rome, by virtue
of his high culture, he was admitted to the most distinguished
houses, particularly to that of ^milius Paulus, the conqueror
in the Macedonian War, who intrusted him with the education
of his sons, Fabius and the younger Scipio. He was on terms
of most cordial friendship with the latter, whose counsellor he
became. Through Scipio's intercession in 150 b.c. Polybius
obtained leave to return to his home with those of the Achaeans
who still survived ; but in the very next year he went with his
friend to Africa, and was present at the capture of Carthage,
B.C. 146. After the destruction of Corinth in the same year,
he returned to his native land, and made use of his credit with
the Romans to lighten, as far as he could, the lot of his un-
fortunate countrymen. When Greece was converted into a
Roman province, he was intrusted with the difficult task of
organizing the new form of government in the Greek towns,
and in this office gained for himself the highest recognition,
both from the conquerors and from the conquered, the latter
rewarding his services by setting up statues to him and by
other marks of honor. The succeeding years he seems to have
spent in Rome, engaged in the completion of his historical
work, and occasionally undertaking long journeys through
the Mediterranean countries in the interest of his history, more
particularly with a view to obtaining actual ocular knowledge

28 INTRODUCTION

of historical sites. After the death of his patron he returned
to Greece and died in 122 B.C. at the age of eighty-two, in con-
sequence of a fall from his horse.

During his long sojourn in Rome, his study of the history
and constitution of Rome, as well as his personal experiences,
inspired him with the conviction that the Roman people owed
the magnificent development of their power, not to fortune,
but to their own fitness and to the excellence of their political
nnd military institutions, as compared with those of other
states, and that therefore their rapid rise to world-wide do-
minion had been in some measure an historical necessity. In
order to enlighten his countrymen on this point, and thereby
to supply them with a certain consolation for their fate, he
composed his history, Pragmateia (Investigation), of the
period between B.C. 220 and 146, in forty books. Of these the
first two are in the form of an Introduction, and give a com-
pendium of events in Italy, Africa and Greece, from the de-
struction of Rome by the 'Gauls to the first Punic War, thus
recording the rise of the Roman supremacy. The first main
division contained in synchronistic arrangement the occur-
rences from 220 to 168 B.C. — that is, of the time in which
Rome was founding its world-wide dominion through the Han-
nibalian, Macedonian, Syrian, and Spanish wars. The second
division described the maintenance and consolidation of this
dominion against the attempts to overthrow it in the years
168-146 B.C. Of this work only books one and five have been
preserved in a complete form; of the rest we possess merely
fragments and epitomes. This is especially to be regretted in
those parts in which Polybius narrates events which came with-
in his own experience. He is the first representative of that
particular type of historical composition, which does not mere-
ly recount the several facts and phenomena in chronological
order, but goes back to the causes of events, and sets forth
their results. His work rests upon the knowledge of the art
of war and of politics, such as few ancient historians possessed :
upon a careful examination of tradition conducted with keen
criticism; partly also upon what he had himself seen and upon
the communications of eye-witnesses and actors in the events.
It sets forth the course of occurrences with clearness and pene-

THE GREEK HISTORIANS 29

tration, sound judgment and love of truth, and, among the
circumstances affecting the result, lays especial stress on the
geographical conditions. It belongs, therefore, to the greatest
productions of ancient historical writing, though in respect to
language and style, it does not attain the standard of Attic
prose. The language is often wanting in purity, and the style
is stiff and inharmonious.

Another most valuable source of information concerning
ancient history is found in the works of Diodorus Siculus
(so named because born in Sicily), a contemporary of Julius
Caesar and Augustus. In early life he traveled into Asia,
Africa and Europe, and on his return established himself in
Rome, where he published a general history, in forty books
under the title of The Historical Library. To this labor he
devoted thirty years of his life. The history comprehended
a period of 1138 years, besides the time preceding the Trojan
War, and was carried down to the end of Caesar's Gallic War.
The first six books were devoted to the fabulous history an-
terior to the War of Troy, and of these the three former to
the antiquities of barbarian states, the three latter to the
archaeology of the Greeks. But the historian, though treating
of the fabulous history of the barbarians in the first three
books, enters into an account of their manners and usages, and
carries down the history of these nations to a point of time
posterior to the Trojan War. In the eleven following books
he details the different events Avhich happened between the
Trojan War and the death of Alexander the Great ; while the
remaining twenty-three books contain the history of the world
down to the Gallic War and the conquest of Britain.

We have only a small part remaining of this vast compila-
tion— namely, the first five books; then from the eleventh to
the twentieth, both inclusive; and, finally, fragments of the
other books from the sixth to the tenth inclusive, and also of
the last twenty.

A great advantage possessed by Diodorus over most of the
ancient historians is his indicating the order of time. Writing
at Rome, and at a period when the dominion of that city ex-
tended over the greater part of the civilized world, he arranges
his narrative in accordance with the Roman calendar and

30 INTRODUCTION

consular fasti; but he frequently adds the names of the Athe-
nian archons who were contemporaneous.

With regard to the historical value of the work itself and
the merits of the author, the most varying opinions have been
entertained by modern writers. The principal fault of Dio-
dorus seems to have been the too great extent of his work. It
was not possible for any man living in the time of Augustus
to write an unexceptional universal history. It is not, then, a
matter of surprise that Diodorus, who does not appear to have
been a man of superior abilities, should have fallen into a
number of particular errors and should have placed too much
reliance on authorities sometimes far from trustworthy.
Wherever he speaks from his own observation he may, per-
haps, generally be relied upon ; but when he is compiling from
the writings of others he has shown little judgment in the
selection. The literary style of Diodorus, though not very
pure or elegant, is sufficiently clear and presents but few dif-
ficulties, except where the manuscripts are defective, as is
frequently the case.

NicoLAUS, a Greek historian of Damascus, also wrote a
voluminous history of the world down to his own times in
144 books; it is partly preserved in fragments exhibiting an
agreeable style. At the suggestion of the Jewish king, Herod
the Great, whose intimate friend he was, and who had rec-
ommended him to Augustus (b.c. 6), he also wrote an auto-
biography of which fragments remain. A portion of a pane-
gyrical biography of Augustus by his hand has come down
to us.

With a clear perception that "history is philosophy, teach-
ing by example" (his own phrase), Dionysius of Halicar-
NASSUS, an historian of the first century b.c, composed a
work in the true scholarly spirit. He came to Italy at the ter-
mination of the civil war between Augustus and Antony (b.c.
29), and spent the remaining twenty-two years of his life at
Rome in learning the Latin language, in collecting materials,
and in writing his history of Roman Antiquities. This com-
menced with the early history of the people of Italy and ter-
minated with the beginning of the First Punic War, B.C. 265.
It originally consisted of twenty books, of which the first ten

THE GREEK HISTORIANS 31

remain entire. The eleventh breaks off in the year B.C. 312,
but several fragments of the latter half of the hitory are
preserved in the collection of Constantine Porphyrogenitus,
and to these a valuable addition was made in 181 6 by Mai,
from an old manuscript. Besides, the first three books of
Appian were founded entirely upon Dionysius, and Plutarch's
biography of Camillus must also be considered as a compilation
mostly taken from the Roman Antiquities, so that perhaps,
upon the whole, we have not lost much of his work. The in-
tention of the author in writing his history was to give the
Greeks a more accurate and favorable idea than they had
hitherto entertained of the Roman peopl eand its civilization,
for it always fretted the Easterns to have been conquered by
a race of mere "barbarians." The work is founded on a very
careful and thorough study of authorities, and is one of our
chief sources of information upon ancient Roman history in
its internal and external development. Dionysius also wrote
several treatises, essays and criticisms.

A great historian whose works may be said to belong to
Greek literature, although they were first written in Hebrew
and then turned into Greek, was Flavius Josephus. He was
born at Jerusalem in a.d. 37, inheriting on his father's side the
priestly office and being descended through his mother from
the Asmonaean princes. After receiving an excellent educa-
tion, he was sent to Rome at the age of twenty-six to plead
before Nero the cause of several Jewish priests whom the
procurator Felix had sent there as prisoners. After securing
their release, he returned to Jerusalem, which he found on the
eve of a revolt against the Romans. He endeavored to dis-
suade his countrymen from the attempt, but failing in this, he
entered into their plans and took the field as one of their
generals. On the approach of Vespasian with a Roman army,
Josephus retired with his forces into Jotapata, where for for-
ty-seven days he sustained a siege, surrendering, however, in
the end. His life was spared by Vespasian through the inter-
cession of Titus. Josephus thereupon assumed the character
of prophet, and predicted to Vespasian that the empire should
one day be his and his son's. Vespasian treated him with
respect, but did not release him from captivity until he was

k

32 INTRODUCTION

proclaimed emperor nearly three years afterward (a.d. 70).
Josephus was present with Titus at the siege of Jerusalem,
and afterward accompanied him to Rome. He received the
freedom of the city from Vespasian, who assigned him, as a
residence, a house formerly occupied by himself, and treated
him with great regard to the end of his reign. The same
favor was extended to him by Titus and Domitian as well. He
assumed the name of Flavius, as a dependent of the Flavian
family. His time at Rome appears to have been employed
mainly in the writing of his works. He died about a.d. 100.

The works of Josephus are written in Greek of such
pleasing style as to win for him the title of "The Greek Livy."
The most important is a History of the Jewish War in seven
books, published about a.d. 75. It commences with the cap-
ture of Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes in B.C. 170, runs
rapidly over the events of Josephus's own time, and gives a
detailed account of the fatal war with Rome. A second work,
On Jewish Antiquities, in twenty books, was completed about
A.D. 93 and addressed to Epaphroditus. It gives an account of
Jewish history from the creation of the world to a.d. 66, in
which the Jews were goaded to rebellion by Gessius Florus. In
this work Josephus seeks to reconcile the Jewish religion with
heathen tastes and prejudices. Thus he speaks of Moses and
his law in a tone which might be adopted by any disbeliever in
his divine mission. He says that Abraham went into Egypt
intending to adopt the Egyptian views of religion, should he
find them better than his own. He speaks doubtfully of the
preservation of Jonah by the fish. He intimates a doubt of
there having been any miracle in the passage of the Red Sea,
and compares it with the passage of Alexander the Great
along the shore of the sea of Pamphylia. He interprets Ex-
odus, xxii, 28, as if it conveyed a command to respect the idols
of the heathen. Many similar instances might be quoted from
his work. Later, he wrote another treatise on the Antiquity
of the Jews, in two books, addressed to Epaphroditus, in
which he replied to an attack upon the Jews by Apion, the
president of the philological school at Alexandria.' The treatise
exhibits extensive acquaintance with Greek literature and
philosophy. A declamatory story of the Maccabees, the He-

THE GREEK HISTORIANS 33

brew patriots, is doubtfully ascribed to him. Josephus also
wrote his own life in one book.

The chief of the Greek writers who composed history in
the form of biographies is Plutarch (a.d. 50-120). An ac-
count of his life and work as an author will be found in the
succeeding volume of this work, in connection with transla-
tions of his lives of Demosthenes and Cicero.

Arrian, the philosophical writer, who flourished in the
first half of the second century a.d., was also an historian.
An account of his life and works will be found in volume four
of the present series, in connection with a translation of the
Encheiridion, a Greek work, which he compiled from his re-
membrances of the teachings of Epictetus, the Stoic philosopher
who was his master.

At the beginning of the third century a.d.. Dig Cas-
sius, surnamed Cocceianus, wrote a great work on Roman
history which has come down to us in mutilated form. He
was born (a.d. 155) at Nicsea, in Bithynia, the son of a Roman
senator and a Greek mother, and, though his works were
Roman in subject, he composed them in Greek. He spent
his life largely in the public service, becoming a senator under
Commodus, governor of Smyrna after the death of Septimius
Severus, and pro-consul in Africa and Pannonia. Alexander
Severus held him in high esteem, making him consul for the
second time with himself, though the Praetorian Guards had
demanded his life because of his rigid enforcement of the
consular duties. Growing old (about seventy-five years), he
retired to his native country where he composed a Roman his-
tory in eighty books, based upon the observations and re-
searches of his lifetime. The history began with the arrival
of ^neas in Italy, and came down to the year of the publi-
cation of the work (229 a.d,). That portion which extends
from the war of Lucullus against Mithridates to the death
of Agrippa; that from the defeat of Varus to the death of
Claudius; and the last book, treating of the reign of Alex-
ander Severus, have been preserved.

Dio Cassius modeled his work upon Thucydides', but lacks
his pattern's clear insight in regard to central viewpoint and
sound judgment upon the meaning and bearing of events. His

34 INTRODUCTION

accuracy of statement of facts, and his care and diligence in
research, however, are evident and his style, barring its many
Latinisms, which are pardonable in a work by a half-Roman
upon a purely Roman theme, is clear and direct. His record of
contemporaneous events which came under his personal notice
is naturally the most valuable portion of his work.

The last pagan Greek historian of any importance was
Herodianus^ who wrote a history of the Roman Empire, in
eight books, from the death of Marcus Aurelius to the be-
ginning of the reign of Gordianus III (a.d. 180-238). Like
Dio Cassius, he took Thucydides for his model, and, like him,
fell short of the pattern, although his work is marked by
accuracy and impartiality. Also, like Dio Cassius, he wrote
in a clear style, though impaired by Latinisms.

HERODOTUS

THE PERSIAN CONQUEST OF

IONIA, BABYLONIA AND EGYPT

WITH A

DESCRIPTION OF THESE COUNTRIES AND THEIR

CUSTOMS

TRANSLATED BY

PETER EDMUND LAURENT

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THE SAME

ON THE

LIFE OF HERODOTUS

j AND THE

PLAN AND OBJECT OF HIS HISTORY

35

INTRODUCTIONS
LIFE OF HERODOTUS

Herodotus was born at Halicarnassus, a considerable town
of Asia Minor, four hundred and eighty- four years before
the Christian era: he was, therefore, about four years of age
at the time that Xerxes quitted Sardis, on his expedition
against Greece. He was of an illustrious family, originally
Dorian, and both his parents were of high rank in the state.
Among his relations was Panyasis, an uncle either by the
father's or mother's side: the works of this person have, un-
fortunately, not reached our day ; although he was so celebra-
ted, that some of the ancients do not scruple to assign to him
the second rank after Homer, in poetical excellence. Soon
after Herodotus had reached the age of early manhood, he
entered, it appears, on a course of travelling; it cannot now
be determined, whether he adopted this plan of practical edu-
cation in the design of giving to the world the result of his
researches, after the examples of some writers who had pre-
ceded him, all of whom came from the same quarter of the
world as himself, and whose success in the field of History may
be reasonably supposed to have stimulated the ambition of a
youth, whose natural endowments were evidently great, and
much improved, no doubt, by the education which an illustri-
ous birth placed within his reach : or, whether he merely quit-
ted his country in order to gratify that curiosity which, in
minds created for the contemplation of human nature, is an
irresistible passion. Be that as it may, to his travels he was
indebted for many of the fascinating beauties scattered over his
works; from which we gather, that he visited all the most
remarkable parts of the world then known — Egypt, Syria,
Palestine, Colchis, probably Babylon and Ecbatana, the north-
ern parts of Africa, the shores of the Hellespont, the Euxine
Sea, and Scythia. He pursued, in all those countries, his
researches with unwearied industry: convinced that circum-
stances, which at the first view appear trifling, are frequently
the cause of that variety which human nature assumes in

37

38 INTRODUCTION

different climates, he dedicated the same patient attention to
the rehgion, the history, the morals, and the customs, of all
the nations he visited.

On his return to Halicarnassus, he found that his uncle
Panyasis had been put to death by the tyrant Lygdamis, grand-
son of the celebrated Artemisia, who accompanied Xerxes
in his disastrous campaign. Thinking, perhaps, his life not
secure in his native country, Herodotus withdrew to the neigh-
bouring island of Samos. This voluntary exile gave him
leisure, of which it is fair to presume he profited, to arrange
the researches he had made in his travels, and to form the
plan of his History. But the love of liberty, innate in the
Greek, combined with a justifiable desire of vengeance for
the death of his kinsman, inspired him with the idea of over-
throwing the tyrant, and restoring freedom to his country.
Halicarnassus was not wanting in citizens discontented with
the tyranny of Lygdamis; the talents and experience of
Herodotus gave decision and unanimity to the counsels of the
malcontents; and when his plans were ripe for execution, he
appeared once more in his native land, and at the head of a
formidable party. The tyrant was dethroned, and Halicar-
nassus might have been free; but the motives which urged
the Historian to make this attempt were shared by few among
those who had joined in the execution. The men of rank and
the wealthy had been eager to overthrow the tyrant, in order
that they might get the government in their own hands, and
establish an aristocracy. The people presently discovered, that
the assumed enthusiasm for liberty was but a pretext to sub-
ject them to a yoke still more galling. The virtuous repub-
lican, too honest to join the aristocratic party, was looked
upon by them with a jealous eye: on the other hand, he was
insulted by the people, as the author of a change which they
found ruinous to themselves.

The natural simplicity and honesty of his own heart had
probably hitherto blinded the Historian to the fact, that pa-
triotism and freedom are the cloaks under which men are wont
to hide the deformities of a selfish nature: convinced now by
experience, and disgusted, he bade farewell for ever to his
ungrateful country.

LIFE OF HERODOTUS 39

He proceeded to Olympia: the games were then celebra-
ting, and he read to an illustrious meeting in the Opisthodomus^
some portions of his History. Although the circumstance is
not immediately connected with his life, it must not be omit-
ted to observe, that among his hearers was Thucydides, then
about fifteen years of age : the youth, swelling with noble am-
bition, burst into tears : "Olorus," said Herodotus to the boy's
father, "thy son burns with the desire of knowledge." The
compositions of the Historian were much applauded. En-
couraged by the wages most gratifying to a high and well-
formed mind, he dedicated the next twelve years of his life to
the improvement of a work destined by Providence to survive
long after his own death, and to remain, for future genera-
tions, an inexhaustible mine of useful knowledge and practical
wisdom. He recommenced his researches and his travels with
renovated ardour ; and, as he had before directed his attention
more particularly to the nations and countries which acknowl-
edged the supremacy of the Persian empire, he now travelled
with the same patience of investigation over the various prov-
inces of Greece, collecting the records of the most illustrious
families of the different towns of any note.

Having thus brought his work to a degree of perfection
more satisfactory to his own mind, he presented himself be-
fore the Athenians at the Panathenaea, a festival celebrated in
the summer. He again read some extracts from his History;
and that enlightened people not only applauded the work, but
presented the writer with ten talents from the public treasury.
Soon after this second triumph, he joined a band of advan-
turers, who quitted Athens to found a colony at Thurium, near
the ancient site of Sybaris, in the south of Italy.

On his arrival at Thurium, Herodotus was forty years of
age; and here, it is probable, he passed the remainder of his
days, making various improvements in his History: indeed,
several passages are pointed out by the commentators, which
were evidently added to the body of the work subsequently
to his coming to reside in Italy; more particularly the revolt

1 The Opisthodomus was a large hall in the back part of the temple
of Olympian Jove at Elis.

40 INTRODUCTION

of the Medes against Darius Nothus, which must have been
inserted, according to good chronologists, after he had com-
pleted his seventy-sixth year/ The period, the manner, and
the place of his death are alike unknown; although it seems
unquestionable that his tomb, or at least his cenotaph, was
shewn on the Ccele, just without one of the gates of Athens,
among the monuments of Cimon's family, and near that of
Thucydides,

The admirers of Herodotus are disappointed to find that
so few details of the life of this great and virtuous man can be
gathered from the works of the ancients that have reached our
time. It would, indeed, be gratifying to the curious, and
instructive to the world at large, particularly in the present
age, to be informed by what process of education, and what
series of accidents in life, this Historian was brought to unite
the highest feeling of devotion and religion with the faculty
of penetrating the human causes of events, and to join that
patience of research, which spurned not even the most trifling
details of human nature, to such depth of thought and quick-
ness of perception. But it is useless to repine at the absence
of what was never possessed : it will be more prudent to direct
our attention to his writings; in which he may be said, more
perhaps than any other of the ancient authors, to be still
living; for he dispenses instruction with such a delightful alloy
of amusement, and, at the same time, discovers the principal
features of his character with such amiable artlessness, that it
is impossible to study his pages without feeling a iSort of
friendly attachment to the man, or picturing to the imagination
almost a personal idea of the writer.

^ I. The Lacedaemonian invasion of Attica, in the first year of the
Peloponnesian War, book ix. 72. 2. The calamitous lot of the Lace-
daemonian ambassadors sent into Asia in the second year of the Pel-
oponnesian War, vii. 137. 3. The desertion of Zopyrus the son of
Megabyzus, to the Athenians, iii. 160.

PLAN AND OBJECT OF THE HISTORY

In order, however, to form a just estimate of the art and
character of this Historian, it is necessary, first of all, to
understand well the method which he has followed; for so
extensive and numerous are the subjects which he has handled,
that while some can compare him only to Homer, in the art
with which he has blended so many heterogeneous parts into
one beautiful whole, others deny that he had any fixed plan
at all, and emphatically observe, that his History is no sooner
read than it is forgotten. To point out all the instances of the
nicety of art by which Herodotus has contrived to insert in a
narrow compass a panorama, as it were, of the whole world,
would be a subject sufficiently extensive for an interesting
work. It will not, however, be irrelevant, to give in this place
the broad lines of Herodotus's plan of history; leaving the
attentive and sagacious reader to supply the deficiencies by his
own exertions in the study of the original author.

The ultimate object, therefore, in the History of Herodo-
tus, is, to commemorate the glorious struggle between the
Greeks and the Persians ; in which the former successfully de-
fended their liberties against the incredible multitudes brought
into the field, from all parts of the world, by the latter, whose
dominion extended over the whole of Asia and Africa then
known, and some parts of Europe. The account of the im-
mediate causes of the war, and the events which ensued after
its breaking out, commences at the Fifth Book and is thence
continued to the end of the work; occasionally interrupted by
digressions, or rather episodes, which serve to relieve the
reader's attention, by diverting it for a while from the direct
course of the History, and thus, by instructing to amuse.

The most remarkable events tending directly towards the-
ultimate scope of the History — and they are all contained in
the five last Books, may be summed up in a few words. The
lonians, having ensured the assistance of the Athenians revolt
from the Persian empire ; the Athenians send a few ships to the
succour of their descendants ; they obtain possession of Sardis,

41

42 INTRODUCTION

and fire its buildings. Darius, king of Persia, informed of
the share the Athenians have had in the capture and destruc-
tion of Sardis, swears that he will wreak vengeance on them:
he commences by reducing once more the lonians, and then
despatches a formidable army against Athens. The Persians
are beaten at Marathon. Enraged at the tidings of this defeat,
Darius makes still greater preparations; but his vengeance is
suspended for a time by the rebellion of Egypt, one of his
provinces, and finally checked for ever by death. Xerxes, his
son and successor, prompted, as is natural in a young man, by
ambition, and the counsels of the imprudent, instead of con-
fining his designs to the punishment of Athens, resolves to
subdue the whole of Greece: determining to march in per-
son against the enemy, he levies the most numerous and for-
midable army ever heard of; he mans a considerable fleet;
and establishes, for this immense multitude, magazines of corn
and provisions on the frontier of Greece; and finally, after
two years of incessant preparations, commences his march in
the spring of the third. He first receives a check at Ther-
mopylae; and, his fleet being afterwards defeated at Salamis,
he returns into Asia, covered with disgrace. Mardonius, his
chief general, is however left in Europe, with the ablest part
of the forces : in the following year, Mardonius is conquered
at Plata?a; and, by a singular coincidence, on the very day of
the battle of Platsea, another battle is fought by the forces
on board the Grecian fleet, against a Persian army stationed at
Mycale, in Caria of Asia Minor; and here likewise the Greeks
win a signal victory.

It has already been observed, that these events are the
most remarkable of those tending towards the object of the
History, and that they are all contained in the five last Books :
this is so true, that those whose inclination and curiosity do
not extend beyond the desire of obtaining some knowledge of
the manner in which the valour of the West, aided by an in-
scrutable Providence, succeeded in repelHng the countless tribes
of the East, generally confine their study of Herodotus to
the Books which contain the description of the course of the
war; and few historians would probably have carried their
researches any furtlier. But Herodotus, whose genius for

PLAN OF HERODOTUS'S HISTORY 43

expatiating eminently qualified him for the investigation of
causes, while his natural simplicity of character inclined him
to devote his talents to the service of his fellow-creatures, saw
that, if he confined his History within such narrow limits, the
Greeks would form but an indistinct idea of the difficulties
with which their ancestors had to contend. It was necessary
to shew them, that the heroes of Marathon, of Thermopylae,
of Salamis, of Platsea, of Mycale, had conquered the conquer-
ors of the world: it was therefore indispensable to present
to their view the history of the Persians. Hence the history
of that extraordinary and highly-civilized people forms the
connecting chain throughout the whole of the Nine Books;
to the various links of which, Herodotus, with most surprising
art, attaches the histories of the other barbarians, the manners
and customs of foreign nations, the wonders of distant lands,
and even the antiquities and early traditions of the Greeks
themselves.

Deeply convinced that the noblest attribute of History is to
instruct mankind by attracting their attention to the muta-
bility of human affairs, Herodotus informs us, that he shall
commemorate alike the feeble and the powerful states : " for
those," says he, "which of old were great, most of them have
now become small ; while those which in my time were great
had previously been small : convinced, therefore," he continues,
in a strain of deep moral feeling, "that human greatness is
ever variable, I shall commemorate both alike." Ere therefore
we are presented with the records of the victory won by the
Greeks over the Persians, we shall have to contemplate a long
course of human events, by which we shall be enabled to
understand better the real bearings of the question with re-
gard to the importance of the Grecian stand for freedom and,
at the same time, be improved in heart and mind by the numer-
ous examples of the instability of worldly greatness.

Crcesus, then, was the first who commenced hostilities on
the Greeks; he it was who subjected the colonies of that na-
tion residing in Asia Minor. He is represented as uneasy
at the growing power of Cyrus king of the Persians, who had
already subdued the kingdom of the Medes, and was marching
from conquest to conquest: he draws upon himself the arms

44 INTRODUCTION

of the Persian hero: he is taken prisoner, and his country
subdued.

"The history now proceeds to inquire who this Cyrus was,
that overturned the kingdom of Croesus ; and in what manner
the Persians came to obtain the supremacy of Asia." The
conquest of Lydia had proved them to be a people of some
importance : they had, however, but lately shaken off the yoke
of the Medes: the Historian therefore goes back to the early
history of the Medes, of which he gives a sketch down to the
destruction of that empire, by the victory which Cyrus won
over Astyages. But the Medes themselves had been formerly
dependent on the Assyrians, who possessed the supremacy of
Upper Asia during five hundred and twenty years ; it was there-
fore natural that Herodotus should give some account of that
remarkable people ; but had this been done at the place where
they first appear in this historic scene, the reader's attention
would have been too much diverted from the history of the
Persians, which must now be regarded as the main stream,
flowing through the whole work, into which all the others
are made to fall : add to which, that an excellent opportunity
occurs for completing the vast picture in the account of
Cyrus's subsequent enterprises.

Cyrus, having conquered Media, and overthrown Croesus,
king of Lydia, left to his generals the task of subduing the
Asiatic Greeks; and marching in person against the Baby-
lonians and their dependent nations, compelled them to sub-
mit to his power. Herodotus tarries awhile only on the most
important and interesting subjects : hence he does not mention
the Bactrii and Sacre, whom Cyrus did, we know, reduce : and
if the Historian expatiates somewhat on the Massagetae, it is
only because the war against that nation was unsuccessful, and
led to the death of the founder of the Persian monarchy.

Cyrus was succeeded by his son Cambyses. Proud of his
power, this latter marched into Egypt. That country was in
those days the most interesting in the world ; and it was here
that the learned among the Greeks suspected that their arts,
sciences, and religion, had their rise: it is, therefore, fair to
assume that the Greeks must have looked upon Egypt with
nearly the same feelings as we do on Greece and Rome: the

PLAN OF HERODOTUS'S HISTORY 45

Greeks, moreover, were now beginning to visit Egypt, from
motives of commerce, instruction, and curiosity. It was con-
sequently of the utmost importance to give the Grecians a
correct idea of that portion of the world : Herodotus, therefore,
consecrates the whole of his Second Book to the history of the
kings of Egypt, and an account of the productions and curiosi-
ties of that extraordinary region, together with the manners
and religion of the inhabitants. This history is traced, in a
succinct manner, from the most early period, down to that of
the invasion by Cambyses; when it merges into the history
of the Persians.

After the conquest of Egypt, Cambyses marched against
the impostor Smerdis, who had usurped the throne of Per-
sia: his death was caused by an accident. Soon after the
decease of Cambyses, the cheat of Smerdis the Magus was
discovered : he was put to death, and Darius was elected King.
This prince subdued once more the Babylonians, who had
revolted. These events of the Persian history form the
groundwork of Thalia, the Third Book.

Prompted by ambition, or more probably by the necessity
of employing the restless spirits of his vast dominions, Darius
formed the design of enslaving the Scythians. Those tribes
were but little known, excepting to their neighbours, and the
Grecians settled in the towns on the frontier of Scythia : it is
natural, however, to suppose that the Greeks must have been
desirous of having some information respecting that curious
people, particularly as there were already some Grecian colonies
settled in Thrace, and on the European and Asiatic shores
of the Euxine Sea. Moreover, the Scythians were in that
state of barbarous society, to the accounts of which men of all
ages, who enjoy the blessings of civilization, listen with a
natural eagerness of curiosity. The Historian's description is
framed so as to give a rough but clear idea of the government
of the Scythians, their manners, and the nature of their coun-
try. The Scythians adopted a system of warfare which com-
pelled Darius to retreat into his own states.

But at the time that Darius was carrying on an unsuccess-
ful war against the Scythians, another mighty expedition was
undertaken, by the Persians stationed in Egypt, against the

46 INTRODUCTION

town of Barce, on the northern coast of Africa. This affords
the Historian an opportunity of touching on a subject which
must have been no less interesting than instructive to his
countrymen: it is, the foundation of the Greek colonies in
Libya, which began then to assume an important station. This
history he likewise traces from its beginning, and continues
down to the time of the inroad of the Persians on the Libyan
territory. Herodotus knew, also, too well the instruction which
civilized nations may derive from contrasting their situation
with that of men cramped beneath the oppressive weight of
barbarism, to neglect the opportunity now before him of giving
some account of the vagrant hordes resident on the north coast
of Africa.

All the events here mentioned are necessarily and intimately
connected with the history of the Persians ; and perhaps equal-
ly so with that of the Grecians, inasmuch as they enable us
better to appreciate the importance of the noble victories which
they won over the Persians; and not only the valour of the
other Greek confederates, but more paricularly that of the
Athenians, who, to use the Historian's emphatic language,
"engaged the Persian at Marathon single-handed, fought and
conquered six and forty nations."

HERODOTUS
CLIO [BOOK I]

Herodotus of Halicarnassus here makes known the result
of his researches and inquiries : in order that the deeds of men
may not be obliterated by time, nor the great and wonderful
works, achieved by both Hellenes and barbarians, be reft of
renown: among other subjects, he will explain the cause that
gave rise to the spirit of war between them.

Croesus was by birth a Lydian, son of Alyattes, and had
usurped the supremacy over the nations within the Halys, a
river that runs between the Syrians and Paphlagonians, from
south to north, and falls into the Euxine sea. This Croesus
was the first of the aliens, we know of, that subjected any of
the Hellenes to the payment of tribute, and united others to
himself by alliance. He not only reduced the Ionian, ^olian,
and Dorian settlers in Asia, but also framed a treaty of friend-
ship with the Lacedaemonians. Previous to Croesus's empire,
all the Hellenes had been free; for the expedition of the
Cimmerians, which was anterior to Croesus, although directed
against Ionia, was not so much a subjugation of states, as an
irruption, having rapine for its object. The empire, which had
previously been in the possession of the Heraclidae, passed over
to the line of Croesus, called the Mermnadse, in the following
manner.

Candaules, named Myrsilus by the Hellenes, was tyrant
of Sardis, and a descendant of Alcaeus the son of Her-
cules: for Agron son of Ninus, grandson of Belus, great-
grandson of Alcaeus, was the first king of Sardis on the Hera-
clid line, and Candaules son of Myrsus the last. The previous
rulers of this country, predecessors of Agron, were the prog-
eny of Lydus son of Atys; from whom the whole nation,
originally called Maeonians, took the name of Lydians. The
Heraclidae, sprung from a female-slave of Jardanus and from

47

48 HERODOTUS

Hercules, having been entrusted with the affairs by the above
family, seized the power, according to an oracular behest : they
ruled for twenty-two generations of men, five hundred and
five years ; the son inheriting the throne from the father, down
to Candaules the son of Myrsus. This Candaules, therefore,
was enamoured of his wife: impelled by his love, he fancied
to himself that she was by far the most beautiful of all women.
I must first observe, that one of his body-guards, Gyges the
son of Dascylus, was his particular favourite ; to whom he was
wont to confide his more important affairs, and exaggerating
especially his consort's beauty to this person, Candaules, after
a brief lapse of time, (for he was doomed to be miserable,)
addressed Gyges in these words : "Gyges, I think you give me
no credit, when I attempt to describe to you the beauties of my
wife: the ears of men, we know, are more incredulous than
their eyes : I will have you see her naked." Gyges, uttering a
loud exclamation, replied : "My lord ! what unseemly language
do you hold, enjoining me to cast my eyes on my naked queen!
At the same time woman strips off her garments, she casts off
her modesty also. Our fathers of old devised the maxims of
virtue, and it is our duty to follow them : among these is this
saying, 'Let every man look to his own concerns.' I firmly
believe this lady to be the most beautiful in the world, but
entreat you not to exact any thing wicked." By this reply,
Gyges sought to combat the proposal, dreading that some harm
might accrue to himself. But the king resumed in these words :
"Take courage, my Gyges: be not fearful that I have any
design to tempt you by this discourse: be not alarmed at any
disagreeable consequences to yourself, on the part of my wife.
First and foremost, I will take care she shall not even know
that she has been seen by you. I will place you in the room
we sleep in, behind the open door ; and when I enter, and my
wife follows me to bed, there stands hard by the entrance an
arm-chair, on which she will lay each of her garments, as she
casts them off: there, at your leisure, you may take the op-
portunity of looking at her ; and when she steps from the chair
towards the bed, you will be at her back: then, have a care,
and mind she do not get a glimpse of you, as you go out by
the door."

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 49

Gyges was unable to evade: he held himself therefore
ready. Candaules, on the other hand, when he thought it
was time to go to bed, took Gyges into the sleeping-chamber;
and immediately after, the lady made her appearance, and
Gyges saw her as she came in and laid her clothes on the
chair : the lady, turning then her back to him, stepped forward
to the bed; and he crept softly out; but she spied him as he
went away. She saw what her husband had been doing; but
modesty restrained her from crying out, nor did she shew any
emotion, being determined to have revenge on Candaules : for
among the Lydians, and even almost all other foreign nations,
it is held a great disgrace, for a man even, to be seen naked.
She accordingly held her peace for the time, and made noth-
ing known; but as soon as day dawned, she ordered such of
her household as she saw were the most attached to her per-
son to be ready, and summoned Gyges to her presence. He,
fancying she knew nothing of what had taken place, came as
soon as he was called : indeed, he was wont, even before, to
attend whenever the queen sent for him. As soon as Gyges
arrived, the lady addressed him thus: "Here, Gyges, I give
you your choice of two ways, that are open to you : take which
you like : for, either you shall put to death Candaules, and take
possession of myself and the Lydian throne, or you shall your-
self perish by the hands of these : thus, obeying Candaules in
all things, you may hereafter behold no more what is not law-
ful to you. Therefore, either he that gave such counsel shall
be cut off; or you, who have seen me naked, and have done
what is not decent." Gyges stood some time amazed at this
speech : then he besought the queen not to chain him down to
the necessity of such a choice: he was, however, unable to
persuade, but saw before his eyes the necessity in which he was
placed, either to destroy his master, or to be destroyed himself
by others : he elected, therefore, to survive ; and so put the
following question: "Since you compel me, however against
my will, to murder my lord and master, come, let me hear
also in what manner we shall lay our hands on him." The
queen resumed, and said: "The onset shall be from the very
spot where he exhibited me naked : the blow shall be struck
when he lies asleep." The plot thus laid, at nightfall (for she

50 HERODOTUS

would not let Gyges go, and he had no mode of escape, being
forced either to kill Candaules or be himself killed) he fol-
lowed the lady to the bedroom : she put a dagger in his hand,
and concealed him behind the same door: some time after,
when Candaules was asleep, Gyges crept up to him, and, in-
flicting a mortal thrust, won both the woman and the king-
dom. [Of this event, Archilochus, who flourished about this
period, has made mention, in an iambic trimeter poem.]

[Solon, one of the Wise Men of Greece, visits Croesus.
The rich king, expecting adulation, asks him who is the hap-
piest being he has seen.]

But Solon, not at all adulatory, and referring to experi-
ence, said: "It was, sire, Tellus of Athens." Croesus was
astonished at the answer. "For what reason," asked he, pet-
tishly, "do you judge Tellus to have been the happiest?"
"Tellus," resumed he, "in the first place, belonged to a flour-
ishing town; his sons were handsome and good; and he saw
children born to them all, and all living. In the second place,
being in comfortable circumstances, according to our ideas, he
met with the most brilliant termination of life that could be-
fal man : for he had gone to the support of the Athenians, in a
battle with their neighbours of Eleusis; there he turned the
foe into complete rout, and died gallantly. The Athenians en-
tombed him at the public cost, on the spot where he fell, and
honoured him magnificently."

Solon having thus admonished Croesus by descanting thus
much on the felicity of Tellus, the king again asked, who was
the next to Tellus, he had seen; expecting surely to obtain
the second rank, at least. "Cleobis and Biton," replied the
Athenian: "they were natives of Argos, supplied with a suf-
ficiency for life; and, moreover, both were endowed with such
strength, that each alike conquered in the lists. It is related
of them, that one day, the festival of Argeian Juno, their
mother was, by law, to be conveyed in a chariot to the temple :^
the oxen came not from the field in time : the youths, pressed

* She was the priestess of Juno Argiva, and, as such, could not law-
fully absent herself from the sacred ceremonies.

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 51

by their delay, placed themselves beneath the yoke, and dragged
the car in which their mother rode : proceeding thus for five-
and-forty stades,^ they reached the temple. After they had
achieved this feat, in the sight of the assembled spectators, the
best of ends was vouchsafed them; the deity, by their ex-
ample, showing that death is a greater boon to man than life.
For the Argeian by-standers extolled the strength of the youths,
while the women of Argos blessed her as the mother of such
sons. The mother, transported with joy by the deed as well
as by the glory, stood before the sacred image, and poured
forth her prayers, that the goddess would vouchsafe what-
ever was best to befal man unto Cleobis and Biton, her own
sons, who honoured her so nobly. After this prayer, when the
sacrifice and holy banquet were over, they fell asleep within the
sacred precinct itself: they never awoke more, but so found
their final repose. The citizens of Argos had their statues
carved, and dedicated them at Delphi."

Solon, accordingly, allotted to these young men the second
rank in felicity. Crcesus, vexed at this, exclaimed: "What!
my Athenian friend, is our happiness thus scorned, and held
as nothing by you ; so much even, that you have ranked us less
worthy than mere subjects?" The Athenian replied: "Crce-
sus ! is it concerning worldly riches you ask the opinion of a
man who is convinced the divinity looks on such things with
indignation and proneness to change? Let me first observe,
that, in the long lapse of time, many things must be witnessed,
many suffered, such as one might not wish. For I set the
bourn of human life at seventy years. Those seventy times
twelve months comprise five-and-twenty thousand two hun-
dred days, without reckoning the intercalatory months. Now,
if every other year shall be made longer by one month, in
order that the seasons may properly agree in coming round,
then the intercalatory months in the seventy years are thirty-
five; the days of these months are one thousand and fifty.
The sum total of all these days, making up the seventy years,
is twenty-six thousand two hundred and fifty days, of which
not one produces one single thing exactly the same as another.

* About four miles and a half.

52 HERODOTUS

Thus, then, man, O Croesus! is but the sport of circumstance.
I am, no doubt, convinced that you are immensely rich; that
you are king over many nations ; but, in respect of what you
inquire now of me, I cannot satisfy myself, until I shall have
ascertained that you have ended your life comfortably. For
the mighty rich man is not so much happier than he who earns
his daily bread, unless, indeed, good fortune accompany him
through "life, to its end, in the possession of every enjoyment.
Many most opulent men are miserable; while many in mod-
erate circumstances are blessed with good-fortune. He, there-
fore, who possesses vast riches, and yet is miserable, sur-
passes only in two respects him who is blessed with good-
fortune ; while the latter exceeds, in many respects, the wealthy
and miserable. The former is better empowered to gratify
desire, and to bear up against heavy calamity : the latter soars
above him in these particulars ; he is not equally empowered to
contend with desire and accident, but good-fortune averts
these from him; he is whole of limb, unafflicted with disease,
inexperienced of sorrow, blessed with good children of comely
features: if, in addition to these advantages, follows a happy
death, he is the man you seek for, worthy to be called happy :
until he be dead, however, it behoves us to refrain from calling
him happy, but fortunate. Still, it is not possible that one human
being unite all these advantages ; as no country suffices to pro-
duce for itself everything, but furnishes some while reft of
others, and that which gives the most is best; so no human
being is complete in his accomplishments; one he has, another
he has not: he who continues to the end in possession of
the most, and then terminates his life in peace, that man, sire,
deserves to bear the name of happy. In all, it behoves never
to lose sight of the end ; for to many has the divinity vouch-
safed a glimpse of happiness, and then scathed them to the
root." Solon, addressing Croesus in this language, was in no
way complimented, but dismissed: he was considered a very
untutored man, who passed over present good, and advised
to keep in view the termination of every thing.

After the departure of Solon, the dire indignation of the
gods visited Croesus, in consequence, it may be presumed, of
his presumption that he was the most happy of men. Forth-

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 53

with, a vision stood over him in his sleep, which portended the
truth respecting the calamities that were about to bef al his son :
for Croesus had two sons ; one of whom was grievously afflicted,
being dumb; the other, however, was by far the first in all
things, among all his contemporaries; his name was Atys.
This Atys, accordingly, it was, whom the dream pointed out to
Croesus, that he should lose him, pierced by a sharp point of
iron. When the king awoke, and turned over in his mind the
occurrence, he dreaded the accomplishment of the dream, and
took a wife to the youth; and although hitherto wont to place
him at the head of the Lydian forces, he no longer sent him on
such business : spears, javelins, and all such instruments as men
use in war, he removed from the men's apartments, and laid up
in the back chambers, lest any suspended weapon might fall
down upon his son. At the time he was busied with his son's
wedding, a man arrived at Sardis, oppressed with calamity ; his
hands were sullied ; and he was by birth a Phrygian, one of the
royal family. This person entered the palace of Croesus, and
supplicated to receive purification,^ according to the common
laws. Croesus purified him; — the ceremonies of expiation are
nearly the same with the Lydians as with the Hellenes ; — when
therefore he had performed the accustomed rites, he inquired
of the suppliant whence he came, who he was, addressing him
thus: "Good man! who are you? and from what part of Phry-
gia have you come to my hearth? what man or what woman
have you slain?" "I am, sire," answered the fugitive, "the son
of Gordius, and grandson of Midas; I am named Adrastus;
unwittingly I have slain my own brother : driven away by my
father, and reft of all, I stand here." Croesus answered in
these words: "You are the child of my friends, and you are
come to your friends : abide in my palace, where you shall know
no want: and bear with this calamity as meekly as you can;
you will be the greatest gainer." Adrastus, accordingly, took
up his residence in the palace of Croesus.

At this same time, a huge monster of a boar made his

* It was customary amongst the- ancients, for whoever had committed
an involuntary murder, to leave his country, and fly to the house of
some powerful individual. There, covering himself, he sat down,
and entreated to be purified; which done, he became a sacred guest.

54 HERODOTUS

appearance in the Mysian Olympus: rushing down from that
mountain, he ravaged the cultivated lands of the Mysians. The
inhabitants had repeatedly gone out against this animal: they
could do him no harm, but were compelled to suffer his devas-
tations: at last, a deputation from the Mysians came before
Crcesus, and spoke thus: "Sire, a vast monster of a boar has
appeared in our land, and devastates our cultivated fields : we
have endeavoured to catch him, but cannot. We therefore now
entreat you, send with us your son and some chosen youths,
together with dogs, so that we may drive him out of the land."
Such was their petition: to which Croesus, remembering the
warning of his dream, replied thus : "Make no more mention of
my son. I shall not send him with you ; for he is but just mar-
ried, and for the present has to attend to that. However, I
will send with you some chosen Lydians, together with my
whole pack ; and give those that go, my commands to assist you
in extirpating the savage monster from your country." Such
was his answer, with which the Mysians were content; when
the son of Crcesus happened to come in : having heard what the
Mysians petitioned for, and that Crcesus had refused to send
his son with them, the youth thus addressed his father : "Father,
formerly it was deemed most befitting and worthy of my blood
to frequent the wars and the chace, there to gain renown : now
you exclude me from both these exercises, without having
observed any cowardice on my part, or any want of spirit.
With what eyes must I now appear to you, stalking to and from
the market? What idea shall I give of myself to my fellow-
citizens? To what a man will my bride say she is united?
Either, therefore, permit me to join this hunting-party, or con-
vince me by some reason that you are justified in doing as you
do." " I have not seen in you, my son," replied Crcesus, "either
cowardice, or any thing to displease me ; it is not on that ac-
count I act thus: a vision has appeared before me in a dream,
when I was buried in sleep, and warned me that you will have
but short time to live, for you will be destroyed by a point of
iron. In consequence of this vision, I have hastened this mar-
riage; and have refused to send you on the present enterprise,
having care to preserve you, if by any means I can, during my
life ; for you are my only son : the other, afflicted in his hear-

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 55

ing, I reckon not as mine." The young man replied: "To
have beheld such a vision, dear father, is indeed an excuse for
keeping such a watch over me: but you misunderstand the
dream ; you do not see its real meaning : and it is right I should
explain to you. You say that the dream boded I was to die
by a point of iron; but where are the hands of a boar? where
the point of iron that alarms you? Were I indeed to die by a
tusk, or something of that kind, it would have been prudent in
you to do as you do. Again, as to my dying by a spear ; this
is no battle with men ; therefore do give me leave to go." "My
son," replied the king, "it is true : you beat me here in the inter-
pretation of my dream: you have conquered; I give up, and
allow you to go."

As soon as Croesus had done speaking, he sent for the
Phrygian, Adrastus, whom he addressed thus : "At the time,
Adrastus, that you were smitten with a dreadful calamity — not
that I reproach you with that — I then expiated you, received
you into my family, and ministered to all your wants. Now
therefore — for it is your duty to make me a return for the ser-
vice I have rendered you — I request you to be the guardian to
my son, who is going to the chase, lest on the road some skulk-
ing thieves make their appearance to your detriment. It be-
comes you, moreover, to go where you may make yourself con-
spicuous by your deeds ; for that you inherit from your fathers,
to which you add bodily strength." "Sire," said Adrastus, "I
would not have taken any part in this enterprise ; for it is not
meet that one visited with my misfortune should join with his
more happy compeers, nor have I the wish; frequently even
I have refrained myself; but now, as you yourself urge me, and
it becomes me to oblige you — for I am bound in gratitude to
make a return — I am ready to do as you desire. I pledge
myself to bring back your son, whom you command me to
watch over, safe and sound, as far as depends on his guardian."

After Adrastus had returned this answer to Croesus, they
departed, provided with chosen youths and dogs: arriving at
Mount Olympus, they tracked the game, and found the boar;
then standing round him, they hurled their spears; at that
moment, this very man who had been purified of blood, he
called Adrastus, levelled his spear at the boar, missed his mark,

56 HERODOTUS

and hit the son of Croesus : the youth accordingly, wounded by
the spear, fulfilled the warning of the dream. Some one ran
off to announce the tidings to Croesus, and, reaching Sardis,
communicated an account of the hunt and the fate of his son.
Croesus, horror-stricken at the death of his son, was still more
exasperated that the deed should have been done by the very
hand that he had purified of blood : sorely deploring his calam-
ity, he invoked Jove the Expiator, attesting what he had suf-
fered at the hands of his guest : he called also on Jove as the
god of Hearths and of Mutual Friendship; — as the god of
Hearths, because, by admitting a stranger among his household,
he had unwittingly harboured and fed the assassin of his son ; —
as the god of Mutual Friendship, because, having sent him as a
guard, he had found him his most cruel enemy. Soon after
appeared the Lydians, bearing the dead body : behind followed
the homicide ; he advanced in front of the corse, and, stretching
forth his hands, gave himself up to Croesus, bidding the king
sacrifice him on the dead body: then he alluded to his first
misfortune, owned that he after that misfortune had been the
instrument of death to him that had purified him, and that he
deserved no longer to live. Croesus heard the words of Adras-
tus, although absorbed in domestic sorrow : he took pity on him,
and spoke to him thus : "My friend, you have made full repara-
tion to me, by thus devoting yourself to death : you are not the
cause of this misfortune, saving so far as you were the unwill-
ing instrument, but some god, who long since foreshowed me
what was to come to pass." Croesus therefore performed the
funeral of his son with the beseeming honours. Adrastus, on
the other hand, the slayer of his own brother, the slayer also of
his expiator, convinced that he was the most calamitous of
men, went to the sepulchre, when mankind had retired to rest,
and slew himself on the tomb. Croesus, during two years, sat
down in deep mourning, bewailing his son.

[Croesus, intending to make war on the Persians, by the
advice of the oracle of Delphi, makes friends with Athens and
Sparta, the most powerful Greek states. He then prepares for
a campaign against Cappadocia, "expecting he should over-
throw Cyrus, together with the Persian power."]

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 57

When he had provided every thing for war with the Persians,
one of his Lydian subjects, previously noted for his wisdom,
but who, in consequence of the advice he now gave, obtained
a very great name among the Lydians, counselled the king in
these words — the name of this person was Sandanes: — "Sire!
you are about to engage in war with a people who wear nothing
but hose and other garments of leather; who feed not on what
they like, but on what they have ; and they have a rugged soil :
add to this, they use no wine, but drink water: they have no
figs to eat, nor any thing that is good : should you, therefore,
conquer them, what can you take from those that have nothing ?
But, on the other hand, if you should be conquered, know what
blessings you throw away. As soon as they will have tasted
of our good things, they will cleave to them ; nor will they be
easy to shake off. I give, therefore, thanks to the gods, that
they have not inspired the Persians with the thought of bring-
ing war upon the Lydians." Sandanes however failed to per-
suade Croesus by this discourse.

[Croesus assembles his army and crosses the Halys into
Cappadocia, where he fights a drawn battle with Cyrus near
Pteria. He then retreats to Sardis.]

Cyrus, however, immediately after the departure of Croesus,
subsequent to the engagement at Pteria, learnt that Croesus had
retreated, for the purpose of disbanding his troops: he con-
sidered the matter ; and found that the best thing he could do,
would be, to march as quickly as he could upon Sardis, and antic-
ipate the levying a second time of the Lydian forces : no sooner
thought than done ; for he directly marched into Lydia, and came
his own messenger to Croesus. Croesus, now thrown into great
embarrassment, events turning out so contrary to his expecta-
tion, nevertheless led out the Lydians to battle; and in those
days, there was no nation in all Asia more valiant and warlike
than the Lydian : their mode of fighting was from the backs of
horses : they carried long javelins, and were good riders. The
two armies met in the plain that stretches before the citadel of
Sardis, which is extensive, and not encumbered with trees —
several rivers flowing through it, among which is the Hyllus,
pour their waters into the largest stream, called the Hermus,

58 HERODOTUS

which rises in the sacred mountain of mother Ceres, and fall.-
into the sea by the city of Phocsea — where Cyrus, who was
alarmed at the sight of the Lydian horse drawn up in battle
array, acted, after the suggestion of Harpagus, a Mede, in the
following manner: He collected all the camels that followed
in the train of the army, carrying provisions and munitions; he
took off their burdens, and mounted upon them soldiers ac-
coutred as cavalry: having made these preparations, he drew
them up in the van of the whole army, opposite to Croesus's
cavalry, and commanded the infantry to follow on and support
the camels : in the rear of the infantry he arrayed the whole of
his own cavalry. Having thus formed all his forces in line,
he recommended them not to spare any of the Lydians, but to
cut down every man that stood up against them : not, however,
to slay Croesus, not even if, when overpowered, he should still
resist. The reason that induced him to place the camels oppo-
site to the enemy's horse, was, because the horse has a dread of
the camel, and cannot bear to look at the figure or snuff the
smell of that animal. For this purpose, therefore, Cyrus had
recourse to the above expedient, that he might make Croesus's
cavalry of no use, by which the Lydian prince expected to per-
form many brilliant achievements. As soon as the armies
joined battle, the horses, instantly smelling the camels, and
seeing them before them, reared back, and the hopes of Croesus
were blasted. Nevertheless, the Lydians behaved not as cow-
ards, but, as soon as they saw what had occurred, leaped off
their horses, and engaged the Persians foot to foot. After
some time, many having fallen on both sides, the Lydians were
turned to the right-about, and, shut up within their walls, were
blockaded by the Persians.

Siege was accordingly laid to the Lydians. But Croesus,
who thought that the blockade would last some time, sent,
from within the ramparts, other messengers to the allies: as
those formerly despatched had given them notice to assemble
in the course of the fifth month, Croesus sent the present per-
sons to request assistance as speedily as possible, he himself
being already besieged. He sent more particularly, of all his
allies, to the Lacedaemonians; but just at that very time the
Spartans themselves happened to be engaged in a quarrel with

1

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 59

the Argians, on the subject of a place called Thyrea, wiiich,
although a portion of the domain of Argos, the Lacedaemonians
had appropriated. To the Argians also belonged the whole
country westward down to Maleum, both on the land, and
Cythera, together with the rest of the islands. The Argians
proceeded to the defence of their own property, thus ab-
stracted : then both parties met and came to an agreement, that
three hundred men on each side should engage battle, and that
the disputed ground should be that of which ever party sur-
vived: it was also settled, that the mass of the army on both
sides should retire homeward, for this purpose, that neither
army being present, they might not, seeing their own party give
way, rush to their assistance. After they had agreed to these
terms, they respectively withdrew : the chosen champions on
both sides, left to themselves, joined battle : they fought
with such equal valour, that, out of the six hundred, three
alone remained; Alcenor and Chromius on the part of the
Argians ; Othryades on that of the Lacedaemonians : these were
the combatants remaining, when night came : the two Argians
accordingly, as having conquered, ran off to Argos; while
Othryades the Lacedaemonian stripped the dead bodies of the
Argians, and, having carried their arms to his camp, stood at
his post. On the second day, both parties came to ascertain the
result : for some time, accordingly, each party persisted that
they had conquered : on one side, it was said that the greater
number of their men had survived : the others contended, that
the two that disappeared were runaways, and that their one
survivor stripped the dead bodies of the others : at last, from
words they came to blows : many fell on both sides : the Lace-
daemonians gained the day. From that time, therefore, the
Argians have shaved their heads, although previously obliged
by necessity to wear long hair ; and enacted a law accompanied
with curses, on such as violate it, that no Argian man should
let his hair grow, and that the women should wear no jewels
of gold until such time as they should recover Thyrea. The
Lacedaemonians, on the other hand, enacted a law quite the
contrary: for though, until then, they had never worn long
hair, from that time it was suffered to grow. As to Othryades,
the one Spartan that remained out of the three hundred, he.

60 HERODOTUS

being ashamed to return to Sparta, all his fellow-champions
having fallen, made away with himself atThyrea. At the time
afifairs were in this confusion at Sparta, the Sardian herald
arrived, and requested them to come to the assistance of the
besieged Croesus : the people nevertheless, when informed by
the herald, prepared to start to his assistance ; when, as they had
all got ready, and their ships were equipped, another message
came, that the Lydian citadel had been taken, and Croesus made
prisoner : consequently, sympathizing deeply with the Lydians,
they ceased their exertions.

Sardis was taken in the following manner: on the four-
teenth day that Croesus had been besieged, Cyrus sent round
some horsemen, to proclaim to the whole army, that he would
give a reward to the first man that would scale the wall: in
consequence, the whole army having made the attempt with-
out success, all gave up, but a Mardian soldier, who determined
to try if he could climb up : the man's name was Hyroeades : on
that quarter of the citadel no guard was stationed, because
there was no fear of the fort being ever carried in that place ;
for in this part the citadel was abruptly perpendicular, and
inaccessible : this was the only part around which Meles, one of
the former kings of Sardis, had not carried the lion which his
concubine brought forth ; the Telmessians having decided, that
if this lion were conveyed around the fortifications, Sardis
would be impregnable : and Meles, after carrying the lion about
the rest of the wall, where it might be possible to storm the
citadel, refrained from doing the same by this place, regarded
as impregnable and precipitous : this quarter of the town lies
towards Tmolus. This Hyroeades therefore, the Mardian, had
the day before seen one of the Lydians descend by this way,
pick up a helmet that had rolled down, and carry it up: he
observed what was done, and turned it over in his mind : ac-
cordingly, he ascended then himself, and was followed by some
other Persians: great numbers having gone up, Sardis was
thus taken, and the whole town abandoned to pillage.

I will now relate what happened to Croesus himself. He
had a son, whom I have before mentioned, in other respects
well endowed by nature, but dumb: in the foregone days of
prosperity, Croesus had done every thing for him possible : he

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 61

had recourse to many expedients; more particularly, he sent
a deputation to Delphi, in order to consult the oracle: the
answer returned by the Pythia was this :

Thou Lydian-born, king of many, mighty simple man that thou
art, Croesus ! long not to hear the much-besought voice of thy son,
within thy halls : that were far better for thee indeed ! for in a hap-
less day thou wilt first hear him.

The fortifications had been carried : — one of the Persians, not
knowing Croesus, was about to kill him : Croesus saw the man
rushing on: absorbed in his present calamity, it made no dif-
ference to him whether he died under the stroke ; but his son,
the dumb boy, saw the Persian rushing to the attack : pressed
by terror and misery, he burst a passage to his voice: "Soldier,
kill not Croesus !" he exclaimed. This was, therefore, the first
word he ever uttered ; but from that time, ever after, through-
out life, he had the use of his speech.

The Persians had possession of Sardis; and took Croesus
alive, having reigned fourteen years, and been besieged the
same number of days : he had thus, according to the oracle,
put an end to his own mighty empire.

The Persians, who had made him prisoner, carried him
before Cyrus; who collected a huge pile, on which he
placed Croesus, bound in fetters, and, by his side, twice seven
of the sons of Lydians: whether having it in contemplation
accordingly to offer up these firstlings to one of the gods, or
wishing to fulfil some vow; or perhaps, having heard that
Croesus was a devout worshipper of the divine powers, he
placed him on the pile only to ascertain whether any of the
divinities would rescue him from being burnt alive. They
relate, that as Croesus was standing on the pile, and, notwith-
standing the deep misery he was in, recalled to his mind the
saying of Solon, pronounced as it were by divine inspiration,
that "No one, yet in life, is happy." When this occurred to
him, he broke his deep silence: breathing from the bottom of
his heart, and sighing, he called out three times, "Solon."
Cyrus heard him, and commanded the interpreters to ask Croe-
sus whom he called thus : they approached, and put the ques-
tion. Croesus, however, although repeatedly asked, held for

62 HERODOTUS

some time his peace: at last, from compulsion, he said: "Onev
whom to see converse with all kings, I should prefer before
great wealth."

As what Croesus uttered was unintelligible to the inter-
preters, they again inquired what he said : as they persevered in
urging him to speak, he said, ' That once upon a time, Solon,
a native of Athens, came to his court, and, having seen all his
blessings, despised them : ' — he accordingly stated * that Solon
had told him every thing exactly as had occurred to him, and
would say no more in respect of him than of the rest of mankind,
md such especially as conceived themselves to be happy.' — Thus
Croesus spoke : the pile was already lighted, the flames caught
the outside, and Cyrus heard from the interpreters what Croesus
had said : he now relented : and recollecting, that he, being him-
self a man, was giving up alive to the flames a man who had
been not less fortunate than himself ; dreading, moreover, retri-
bution, and considering that nothing pertaining to man is stable,
gave order that the burning fire should be quenched as speedily
as possible, and that Croesus, as well as those with him, should
be lifted down from the pile. They endeavoured to obey the
orders, but were yet unable to master the flames: then, it is
related by the Lydians, that Croesus, perceiving the change in
Cyrus's resolution, and seeing all the people endeavour to
quench the flames but not able to repress their violence, invoked
aloud Apollo, if ever any grateful gift had been presented to
the god by him, that he would come to his assistance, and rescue
him from impending death. Weeping, it is said, he thus called
on the god ; instantly, from its being a clear and tranquil sky,
clouds gathered, the storm burst, and rain poured down in
torrents, to extinguish the fire. This was sufficient proof to
Cyrus that Croesus was a pious and good man : he caused him
to be taken down from the pile : "Croesus," said he to the king,
"who in the world ever induced you to invade a country that
belongs to me, and to be my foe, instead of being my friend."
" Sire," he replied, " what I have done is to your good fortune,
to my misfortune : the promoter of these things was the god
of the Hellenes: he it was that spurred me to war: — for no
man is so reft of common sense, as to prefer war before peace ;
since in peace sons bury fathers, while in war fathers have to

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 63

bury sons. But it pleased the gods that things should thus
come to pass."

When he had thus spoken, Cyrus took off his fetters, and
seated him near himself, and behaved to him with great respect :
he, as well as his attendants, were astonished at the sight of
the Lydian monarch : Croesus himself, absorbed in thought,
stood silent, after a time, he turned round and saw the Per-
sians sacking the Lydian capital. "Sire," said he to Cyrus, "am
I allowed to communicate any thoughts to you, or must I be
silent now in my present state ?" Cyrus bade him be of good
cheer, and say what he chose. "Tell me then," said Croesus,
"what is all this crowd occupied at so earnestly?" He was
answered : "They are sacking your city, and plundering your
riches." "Not my city," retorted Croesus, "not my riches, are
they sacking : none of these things belong to me any longer ; it
is your property they plunder and bear away." Croesus's
words had a striking effect on Cyrus: he dismissed all his
attendants, and then asked Croesus what he thought should be
done in the present conjuncture. "Since the gods have given
me a slave to you," said Croesus, "it becomes my duty, when I
observe any thing that escapes you, to point it out. The Per-
sians, by nature presumptuous, are poor : if, therefore, you per-
mit them to plunder and retain this great wealth, you may
expect the issue to be this : he who gets the greatest booty, be
assured, will revolt. Now therefore, if my proposal be agree-
able to you, adopt this plan : place at each gate some of your
body-guards as sentinels ; let them stop those that are carrying
off the valuable booty, and say to them, that they must absolutely
pay the tithe to Jupiter: thus you will not incur the hatred of
taking away the property; and the soldiers, confessing the
equity of your proceedings, will willingly accede." Cyrus was
exceedingly gratified to hear these words : he thought the sug-
gestion very expedient, praised it highly, and gave orders to
his guards to do what Croesus intimated.

Lydia does not present many wonders for description, like
some other countries, if we expect the gold-dust brought down
from the Tmolus. This country, however, exhibits an immense
work, ranking next to those of the Egyptians and Babylonians :

64 HERODOTUS

you see there a monument to Alyattes, father of Croesus, the
basis of which consists of large stones, the rest is made of
accumulated earth : this mound was wrought by the tradesmen,
the mechanics, and the prostitutes ; five bourns, still remaining
in my time, are placed on the top of this monument ; on which
inscriptions are carved, stating how much of the work was
done by each of the above classes: from the measures, it is
evident that the largest portion was the work of the prostitutes :
for the daughters of the Lydian lower orders all make a traffic
of their persons; and thus collect money for their portions,
until, by so doing, they have got enough to marry : these girls
have the right of choosing their own husbands. The monu-
ment is six stades and two plethra in circumference;^ the
breadth across is thirteen plethra. Adjoining this monument
is a wide lake, which the Lydians represent as always full : it
is called the Gygaean lake.

The people of Lydia have pretty nearly the same customs
as the Hellenes ; excepting, of course, that the latter do not
prostitute their females. They are the first nation, we know
of, that introduced and circulated gold and silver coin; and
were the first venders by retail. According to the statement
of the Lydians themselves, all the games likewise, now in
vogue among themselves and the Hellenes, were inventions of
their own : the epoch of this discovery is said to have been
coincident with that of their colonization of Tyrrhenia: they
give the following account of these matters: Under the reign
of Atys son of Manes, a great famine pervaded the whole of
Lydia: for a long time the Lydians bore patiently with this
scourge ; but no cessation taking place, they sought for reme-
dies to the evil. Various persons devised various expedients :
at that time, accordingly, the different kinds of games were
discovered; dice, round-bones, ball, and all except drafts, the
invention of which the Lydians do not claim to themselves.
The following was also invented as an expedient against the
dearth — to play the whole of one day in order not to feel the
hankering after food; on the next, to eat, and refrain fronj
play. In this manner they passed eighteen years ; at the end of

^ About a mile.

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 65

which, the evil, far from relaxing, had acquired greater viru-
lence : accordingly, their king divided the whole Lydian nation
into two portions, and then drew lots which should remain, and
which forsake their country: on the party allotted to remain,
he appointed himself king: at the head of the emigrants he put
his own son, whose name was Tyrrhenus: those, whom for-
tune had doomed to abandon their country, went down to
Smyrna, built ships, and, stowing on board all their useful
articles of furniture, sailed away in search of land and food:
at last, after coasting many states, they reached the Om-
brici, where they erected for themselves towns, and dwell to
this day. They have, however, altered their name from
Lydians, to that of the king's son who headed the expedition;
according to which they have given themselves the name
of Tyrrhenians. — Thus the Lydians were enthralled by the
Persians.

Our history from this place proceeds, accordingly, to in-
quire who the Cyrus was that overthrew the power of Croesus ;
and in what manner the Persians obtained the supremacy of
Asia. This I shall describe, therefore, on the authority of
some Persian writers; who shew an anxiety, not so much to
embellish the adventures of Cyrus, as to speak the truth. I
am acquainted, nevertheless, with three other different ways
of presenting the life of Cyrus. — The Assyrians had been
lords over Upper Asia during five hundred and twenty years,
when the Medes first seceded from their allegiance: in the
struggle with the Assyrians for freedom, they became, it
appears, a valiant and warlike race, and, shaking off the yoke
of servitude, recovered their liberty: subsequently, the other
dependent nations followed the example of the Medes. All
the nations of the continent were then their own masters;
but they again fell under usurped dominion: in what manner
this came to pass, I shall now describe.

Among the Medes was an intelligent man, whose name
was Deioces, son of Phraortes; this individual, enamoured of
royalty, endeavoured to attain his object, by the following
means. The Medes were scattered about in villages: in his
own, Deioces had already made himself conspicuous, by
his earnest application to the distribution of justice; he

66 HERODOTUS

acted thus, principally, on account of the general lawless-
ness that pervaded Media, and from the conviction, that,
by all honest people, the violators of justice are regarded
as enemies: the Medes of that village observed the disposition
of Deioces, and elected him their judge. He, still bearing
in view the sovereign power, conducted himself uprightly
and honestly, by which means he obtained no slight praise
at the hands of his fellow-citizens : in consequence of this,
the inhabitants of the other villages, having ascertained that
Deioces was the only man that pronounced fair decisions and
sentences, having themselves before met with unjust judg-
ments, hastened joyfully, when they heard this, to submite their
disputes to Deioces' adjudication: at last, no litigant would
apply to any other judge.

The crowd of applicants constantly increasing, as people
became aware that justice was distributed according to
truth, Deioces, who knew that every thing depended upon
himself, would no longer occupy the seat from which he
had heretofore pronounced judgment : he refused to fill any
longer the office of judge, as it did not suit his interest to
neglect his own affairs, and attend the whole day to the
adjudication of those of others : in consequence, rapine and
wickedness pervaded the villages still more even than be-
fore: the Medes therefore assembled, and debated on their
present circumstances. The friends of Deioces spoke, I pre-
sume, in some such language as this: "As it is wholly im-
possible for us to live in this country, if we are treated in this
manner, let us, without delay, establish a king over us : by such
means the country will be well managed and governed, and
we ourselves shall be able to attend to our business, without
being disturbed by the violation of the laws." By such dis-
courses, they persuaded the assembly to adopt a kingly
government.

Immediately after that decision, the subject for debate
proposed was, whom should they appoint king: Deioces was
by every one present greatly preferred and extolled; so
that, at last, all approved his appointment as king. Deioces
insisted, they should build for him a palace worthy of the
royal power, and insure his safety by appointing a body-guard

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 67

for him. This the Medes acceded to, and built him an ex-
tensive and strong palace in that part of the country that he
himself pointed out : they also deferred to him the privilege of
choosing his body-guards from among the whole Medic popu-
lation.

Now therefore, being in possession of the power, he com-
pelled the Medes to build one single city, attend to the
fortifications and embellishment of that, and take less ac-
count of the others. The Medes again obeyed : they built vast
and substantial walls at the place now called Ecbatana, rising
up one circle within another. This fortification was so con-
trived, that each circle was higher than the preceding by the
battlements only; to which the hilly situation contributed in
some degree, although its effect was mainly due to art. The
circles are seven in number : within the last and highest is the
royal palace and treasuries. The most extensive of these walls
is very nearly equal to the circumference of Athens in length.
The battlements of the first circle is white; of the second,
black; of the third, purple; of the fourth, blue; of the fifth,
scarlet : these battlements are all painted of those colours : the
two last are coated respectively with silver and gold.

Such, therefore, were the fortifications, that Deioces
erected around himself and his palace : to the rest of the people
he assigned the space about the walls for their residence : when
all these buildings were completed, he established, for the
first time, the following state etiquette — that nobody should
dare to come into the immediate presence, but that all busi-
ness shoudl be transacted through messengers: in addition
to this, that it should be held at least disgraceful, in all per-
sons whatever, to laugh or spit in his presence. He cast
about himself this mantle of veneration, for the purpose that
his compeers, who had been brought up with him, and were
not of baser blood than himself, or behind him in valour>
should not, from seeing him frequently, envy his elevation,
and conspire against him; but that, unseen, he should seem
to them a being of another nature. After he had established
all these forms and ceremonies, and seated himself firmly in
the throne, he continued to keep a vigilant watch on the dis-
tribution of justice: the complainants wrote down their dep-

68 HERODOTUS

ositions, and sent them in to the king, who, after dehberating
on the contents, and coming to a judgment, sent them back;
such was his arrangement in respect of justice: all the other
details of government were settled by himself: if he ascer-
tained that any of his subjects had presumed to contravene
the law, he sent for him, and awarded the proper sentence for
every offence: for this purpose, he kept spies and eavesdrop-
pers, in every part of his dominions.

Deioces therefore contented himself with collecting to-
gether the Medes only ; and over them he ruled. The following
are the Medic tribes: the Busse, Paretaceni, Struchates, Ari-
zanti, Budii, Magi. — Deioces had one son, Phraortes, who at
the decease of his father, after a reign of fifty years, inherited
the throne. Invested with royal power, this prince was not
content to rule over the Medes only; but attacked the Per-
sians, and, reducing them, gave the first subjects to the Medes.
After this achievement, being master of those two nations,
both of them very powerful, he subdued Asia, passing from
one nation to the other; until, having made an attack on the
Assyrians, that is to say, the Assyrians that occupied Nine-
veh, and had previously been supreme over all, but were now
reft of their allies, who had abandoned them, and, although
standing by themselves, were even now a flourishing nation —
Phraortes, I say, having marched against this people, there
perished, after two and twenty years' reign, together with the
greater part of his army.

At the death of Phraortes, Cyaxares, the son of Deioces,
succeeded : this prince is represented as having been far more
valiant than his progenitors; and the first that divided the
Asiatics into military departments, and first separated the
javelin-men. bowmen, and horsemen, who in former days
were all, without distinction, confused and mixed together.

This was the same king that was fighting with the Lydians
at the time day was converted into night over the combatants,
and that subjected the whole of Asia above the Halys river.
He collected forces from all parts of his dominions; and
invaded Nineveh, with the intention not only to avenge his
father, but also to get possession of that city : he had defeated
the Assyrians in an open engagement; and was encamped

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 69

before Nineveh, when a large army of Scythians, headed by
their king Madyes, the son of Protothyes, passed over into
Asia, having driven the Cimmerians out of Europe : in their
pursuit of the fugitives, they came into Media. There is in-
deed a road of thirty days, for an expeditious walker, from
the Palus Maeotis to the Phasis river and Colchis; from Col-
chis to Media is no great distance ; only one nation, that of the
Saspires, intervening; passing through which, you find your-
self in Media. But the Scythians did not make their entrance
by this route : they turned, far northward, into a much longer
road, keeping the Caucasian mountains to their right : there the
Medes engaged with the Scythians : they were defeated in the
battle, and reft of the empire, while the Scythians ruled over
all Asia.

From Media they proceeded on to Egypt; and when they
had reached Palestine in Syria, Psammitichus, king of
Egypt, met them with gifts and prayers, and diverted them
from advancing any farther : in their march back, they passed
through Ascalon of Syria: most of the Scythians proceeded
on their way, without stopping to pillage : some few however
lagged behind, and stripped the holy precinct of Celestial
Venus. This holy precinct, I find, by inquiry, is the most
ancient of all palaces consecrated to this goddess ; for that in
Cyprus was a branch from this, as the Cyprians themselves
confess; and that in Cythera was built by Phoenicians, who
came from this same Syria. The goddess, however, smote
with a female disease those Scythians and their posterity who
had rifled her temple at Ascalon: the Scythians assert, that
for the same reason they are still afflicted, and travellers visit-
ing their country may witness how these people are afflicted :
the Scythians call them Enarees.

For eight and twenty years, therefore, did the Sythians
hold the sway, and every thing was turned upside
down by their presumptuous and haughty conduct; for
not only did they extort from every body what
tribute they chose to impose, but, independent of all that, they
galloped about, ransacking whatever the people might have.
Accordingly, Cyaxares and the Medes invited most of them to
a banquet, where, after overpowering them with wine, they

70 HERODOTUS

massacred them all : in that manner, then, the Medes recovered
the power, and, as before, extended their dominion over the
rest of Asia; they took also Nineveh — the siege of which I
shall describe in a different history ; and enthralled all the As-
syrians, with the exception of the Babylonian territory. After
these exploits, Cyaxares, who, including the time that the
Scythians predominated, had reigned forty years, departed life.

Astyages the son of Cyaxares succeeded to the throne:
he had a daughter called Mandane, who, he dreamed, dis-
charged such a quantity of urine, that it not only filled his
capital, but even inundated the whole of Asia. He communi-
cated his dream to the magians, that profess to interpret such
visions: he was greatly alarmed, when informed by them of
every particular. Some time after, dreading the accomplish-
ment of the dream, he avoided giving this daughter, then
already marriageable, to any of his Medic grandees ; but united
her to a Persian, whose name was Cambyses, and whom he
knew to be of a respectable family and a quiet disposition:
he considered such a man as vastly inferior to a Mede, even
of the middle order.

In the first year of Mandane's union with Cambyses,
Astyages had another vision : it seemed to him as if a vine
grew up from his daughter's womb, and spread all over
Asia. Having beheld this vision, and communicated with the
interpreters of dreams, he sent for his daughter, who was
pregnant and near her time, out of Persia : from the time
of her arrival, he kept a watch on her, being determined
to destroy her offspring; for the magian interpreters had
pointed out to him, from his dream, that the progeny of his
daughter would reign in his stead. Astyages, therefore,
watched in this manner, until Cyrus came into the world :
he then called Harpagus, one of his relations, the most
loyal of the Medes, and the confidant of all his affairs. "Har-
pagus," said he to him, "by no means neglect the business that
I am about to charge you with. Let me be exposed to no
danger, by any deception: consult not the interest of others,
lest you work your own destruction hereafter. Take the son
that Mandane has just brought forth; carry him to your house,
and put him to death ; and then bury him, in what manner you

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 71

yourself may think proper." Harpagus made the following
answer: "Sire, hitherto, never have you witnessed in the
man that stands before you any ingratitude : be assured, that,
for the time to come, I shall still have a care not to offend you.
If, therefore, it is your pleasure that it should be done, as far,
at all events, as I am concerned, it is my bounden duty to
perform diligently what you command."

Harpagus having given the above answer, the babe was de-
livered over to him, sumptuously clad in its shrowd, for death.
He proceeded home, weeping: at his entrance, he related to
his wife all the conversation he had had with Astyages. "And
what, then, do you now intend to do ?" said the lady. " Not
indeed, what Astyages prescribes," answered he, "not even
were he more raving and distraught than he now is, would
I, at all events, accede to his desire, or lend myself to such
a murder. I have many reasons not to be his butcher: not
only is the child my own relation, but Astyages himself is now
an old man, and has no male issue; at his decease, should the
crown descend to this daughter, whose son he wishes to mas-
sacre by my hand, what then can I expect, but the most dread-
ful danger? Yet my own safety requires that the child shall
die: let, then, one of Astyages' own people be the assassin;
none of mine."

So he spoke ; and forthwith despatched a courier to one of
Astyages' herdsmen, who he knew grazed his cattle on pastures
exceedingly well adapted for his purpose, being in mountains
greatly infested with wild beasts: the man's name was Mit-
radates : he was married to a fellow-servant : the name of the
woman who was his partner was Cyno, in Hellenic ; or Spaco,
in Medic, for the Medes use the word spaca for 'dog.' The
mountains, at the foot of which this herdsman accordingly
grazed his cattle, lay northward of Ecbatana, facing the Euxine
sea: that quarter of Media, on the confines of the Saspireo, is
very mountainous, lofty, and covered with forests : the rest of
Media, however, is all level ground. On the arrival, accord-
ingly, with all speed, of the herdsman; as soon as he was
summoned, Harpagus addressed him in these words: "Asty-
ages commands you to take this new-born child, and expose
him on the bleakest part of your mountains, so that he may

72 HERODOTUS

quickly perish. He has hkewise given his commands, that
you should be informed, that if you do not procure the im-
mediate death of this infant, but in any manner contribute to
his preservation, you shall be visited with the most horrid of
deaths. I myself have it in command to see the body exposed."

The grazier heard these orders: he took the new-born
child, returned by the same way he had come, and arrived at his
farm; where his own wife, who was expecting every day to go
to bed, had happened just then to be delivered, while he him-
self was gone to town. Both man and wife had been uneasy
on each other's account : he was alarmed about her approach-
ing delivery : the woman, on the other hand, was not less
alarmed for her husband, as it had never been the custom with
Harpagus to send for him. At his return, the woman, seeing
him thus unexpectedly, first inquired what Harpagus had sent
to him for in such haste. "O wife!" said the man; "when
I got to the town, I there beheld and heard what I fain never
would have wished to see, nor to have befallen our mas-
ters : the whole house of Harpagus was filled with mourning :
terrified that I was, I entered: no sooner had I stepped in,
than I behold a new-born babe lying on the ground, palpi-
tating and crying, clad in cloth of gold. Immediately that
Harpagus saw me, he ordered me to take directly the babe,
carry him away with me, and expose him on the mountain that
abounds the most in wild animals: he observed, at the same
time, that Astyages was the person that charged me with this
commission, and threatened me with dreadful punishment if I
failed to execute it. I then took away the infant; and was
bringing him here, supposing that it was the child of one of the
servants of the house; for I could not guess whence he came:
yet I was surprised to see him clad in cloth-of-gold garments,
and still more at the mourning evident through the house of
Harpagus. Soon after, however, on my road home, I was
informed of the whole business, by the servant who was to
escort me out of the town, and give the child into my hands —
that he was the son of Astyages' daughter, by Cambyses the
son of Cyrus; and that Astyages commanded he should be
destroyed : — and now, here he is."

So saying, the herdsman uncovered the child, and showed

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 73

him to his wife : she, seeing the infant of good size and hand-
some features, shed tears; and embracing the knees of her
husband, she besought him, by all means, not to expose the
infant: but he denied the possibiHty of doing otherwise; for
inspectors were to come, on the part of Harpagus, who would
destroy him by the most cruel of deaths, if he did not obey
his orders. Not succeeding in persuading her husband, the
wife once rhore addressed him thus: "Since I cannot then
obtain from you not to expose this infant, I beseech you to
act as follows: if it is absolutely necessary a child should be
seen stretched on the mountain, I also have been delivered and
have brought forth a still-born infant. Carry the dead body
out, and expose that ; and let us bring up the son of Astyages'
daughter as though he were one of our own : in that manner
you cannot be convicted of disobedience to your masters, and
we shall take no bad counsel to ourselves; for the lifeless child
will receive a kingly funeral, and the surviving babe will not
be reft of hfe."

The herdsman thought his wife spoke quite to the purpose,
and instantly proceeded to do as she said: the child that he
had brought, for the purpose of putting it to death, he con-
signed to his wife : his own lifeless child he deposited in the
cradle that he brought the other in, and, adorning it with all
the finery of the living child, carried it to the bleakest moun-
tain, and there exposed it. On the third day of the body
lying there, the herdsman set off for the city, leaving one of
his hinds on the watch. He arrived at Harpagus's residence,
and declared that he was ready to exhibit the dead body
of the infant : Harpagus, accordingly, sent some of the most
faithful of his guards, through them saw the infant, and in-
terred the herdsman's son. Thus the still-born child was
buried; and the grazier's wife took the boy subsequently called
Cyrus and suckled him, giving him some other name, different
from Cyrus.

When, accordingly, the boy had reached his tenth year, the
following accident disclosed his birth to the world: he was
playing in the same village where the cattle-stalls were, along
with the boys of his own age, in the road : his comrades, ac-
cordingly, in sport, elected for their king this herdsman's son.

74 HERODOTUS

as he was called. He appointed some of his playmates to be
superintendants of the buildings; others, to be his body-
guards; one of them, to be the king's eye; to another he
assigned the office of bringing in all messages; determining
according to his own judgment the duties of each respectively.
One of these boys, therefore, who was joining in the game —
he was the son of Artembares, a Medic nobleman — refusing
to obey the orders of Cyrus, the mock-king gave his orders that
the boy should be taken into custody by the others: he was
obeyed, and Cyrus handled the youth pretty sharply with the
whip.

The boy, immediately he was released, being highly af-
fronted to have undergone such unworthy treatment, hastened
to the city, and complained bitterly to his father of the
treatment he had received from Cyrus — not that he made use
of that name, for he was not known by it then — but, from
the hands of the son of Astyages' herdsman, Artembares, in
anger, went, on the spot, to Astyages, taking his son with him,
and complained of the intolerable treatment he had met with :
then shewing the boy's shoulders, he said: "Thus, my king,'
are we presumptuously insulted by your slave, the son of a
herdsman."

When Astyages had seen and heard the case, wishing to
have some reparation made to the honour of Artem-
bares, he sent for the herdsman and the boy. When they
were both come into his presence, Astyages fixed his eyes on
Cyrus: "How, then, have you the audacity," said he, "you,
the son of so humble a man as this, to treat with such indig-
nity the son of that gentleman, the first nobleman in my court?"
"My lord," replied the boy, "what I did was in justice: for
the other lads in the village, to which I belong, had elected
me as king, in play, over them; as I appeared to be the best
adapted for that office. The rest of the boys obeyed my or-
ders; but this youth, without assigning any reason, refused
to obey, and consequently was punished: if, on that account, I
am deserving of blame, here I stand before you."

As the boy spoke these words, a thought struck Astyages
that he recognized him: he fancied to himself that his counte-
nance was something similar to his own: the time of the ex-

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 75

posing seemed also to agree with the lad's age. Startled at
these thoughts, he stood some time silent : at length, when he
recovered, he said, with a desire of getting rid of Artembares,
and in order to be able to examine the herdsman all alone:
"Artembares, I will take care to arrange matters, so that
neither you nor your son shall have to complain."

Thus he dismissed Artembares : at the order also of
Astyages, Cyrus was taken, by some attendants, into the inner
part of the palace. Then the herdsman alone remained; and
Astyages questioned him, unaccompanied by witnesses, from
whence he got the boy, and who had given him to him?
The man affirmed that the lad was his own begotten son,
and the mother that had borne him was still living with
him. Astyages observed to him, that he had not taken prudent
counsel, and wished to bring himself into great trouble;
as he pronounced these words, he beckoned to his guards
to lay hold on him: when brought to the rack, the man dis-
covered the truth; and beginning from the beginning, went
through all the true particulars; and concluded by prayer,
beseeching the king to shew mercy to him. Astyages, how-
ever, now that the herdsman had discovered the truth, was
indifferent as to what became of the man: but attaching
great blame to Harpagus, he ordered the guards to summon
him.

As soon as Harpagus made his appearance, Astyages put
this question to him: "Harpagus, to what kind of death did
you put the son born of my daughter, whom I delivered into
your hands?" Harpagus, who caught sight of the herdsman in
the inner part of the palace, would not recur to falsehood, lest
he should be detected and convicted ; but explained as follows :
"Sire, when I had received the new-born child, I revolved in
my mind how I might act according to your pleasure, and yet
remain blameless in your eyes as well as in your daughter's,
without dipping my own hand into his blood for you : I then
did as I will now tell you : I sent for this herdsman, to whom
I delivered the new-born infant, telling him that, by your
command, it was to be put to death : in so saying, at all events,
I told no falsehood, for such were your injunctions: I then

76 HERODOTUS

delivered the child to him, with orders to place him on some
bleak mountain, and remain by him, on the watch, until he died.
I threatened the man with all sorts of torture, if he did not
do this effectually. When he had properly executed these or-
ders, and the infant was dead, I sent the most faithful of my
eunuchs, and, through them, saw, and buried the corse. Thus,
sire, things passed in this business, and such was the fate of
the child."

Harpagus, therefore, told the honest truth: but Astyages,
smothering the anger that possessed him at what had been
done, repeated to Harpagus the account as he had heard it
from the herdsman; and, when he had finished the rehearsal,
concluded by saying: "The lad is still living, and the result
is as it ought to be: for," continued he, "I suffered greatly
on the boy's account, and I took much to heart the reproaches
of my daughter : however, as things have turned out so lucky,
you must send us your own son, to keep company with the
young stranger: besides, as I intend to offer sacrifice, as a
thanksgiving for the preservation of the boy to the gods to
whom that honour belongs, you will attend yourself at my
table."

Harpagus, on hearing this invitation, prostrated himself,
and kissed the ground : congratulating himself that his
disobedience was followed by such a favorable result, and
that he was invited to the royal board under such auspicious
circumstances, he went home: as soon as he entered — (he had
an only son, at most thirteen years of age) — he sent him out,
bidding him go to Astyages, and do what he should tell him;
and then, full of gladness, went and told his consort all that
had happened. But, at the arrival of Harpagus's son, Astyages
slaughtered the youth, cut him up into joints and roasted some
of the flesh, the rest he boiled: having properly cooked the
whole, he held it in readiness : at the dinner-hour together with
the other guests, came Harpagus also: before Astyages and
the rest, tables were placed replete with mutton; but they
served up to Harpagus all the parts of his own son, with the
exception of the head and extremities, that is, the feet and
hands; these were deposited apart, in a basket, carefully cov-
ered up.

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 77

When Harpagus seemed to have eaten a sufficiency of
the meat, Astyages asked him if he had enjoyed his feast.
Harpagus, having returned for answer that he had greatly en-
joyed it, some persons, appointed for the purpose, brought
him the head of his son, together with the hands and feet, and,
standing before Harpagus, bade him hft up the covering, and
take what he chose. Harpagus assented : he hfted up the cover,
and beheld the remnants of his son. Not at all shaken off his
guard, he kept his presence of mind. Astyages asked him if he
knew of what game he had eaten : he replied, that he was per-
fectly aware ; and whatever a king may do, it is always pleas-
ing. Having made this answer, he picked up the remaining
bits of flesh, and went home; intending, I suppose, to collect
and bury all he could.

Such was the punishment Astyages inflicted on Harpagus.
Then, taking into his consideration what should be done with
Cyrus, he convened the same magians who had interpreted
his dream in the manner I have already described. When
they were come, Astyages asked them what was the interpre-
tation they had put upon his dream: they answered, saying.
That the child would reign, if he survived, and had not pre-
viously died. "The child is, and still survives," said Astyages
to the magians: "he has been brought up in the country,
where the lads of the village have made him king. He has
performed all things exactly as kings in reality do: for he
has appointed guards, ushers, and messengers, and made all
the other arrangements. Tell me, what you think these things
tend to?"

The answer on the part of the magians was: "If the
child does survive, and has in fact reigned, without any
premeditated object, you may cease to feel alarm on his ac-
count: resume a stout heart, for he will not rule a second
time: indeed, many of our declarations have ended in insig-
nificant results. At all events, dreams, and the like, frequently
bring, in conclusion, very simple accomplishments." To this
Astyages made reply: "I also, magians, am chiefly of the
same opinion, that the child having been nominated king, the
dream is fulfilled, and he may no longer be an object of terror
to me. Nevertheless, it is my wish, fhat you should carefully

78 HERODOTUS

weigh the matter, and advise me what will be the safest way of
proceeding, for the advantage of my family and yourselves."
To which the magians spoke as follows: "Sire, it is of
high important to ourselves, to support your throne : for if the
empire be thus alienated, passing over to this child, a Persian,
even we Medes shall be enthralled, and held in no account by
Persians, as being foreigners. But so long as you are king,
you our fellow-citizen, even we ourselves participate in some
measure of your government, and we receive great honours
at your hands: thus, therefore, the welfare of yourself, and
the security of your throne, must be the constant objects of
our vigilance : and did we see at present aught to fear, be
assured we would not fail to inform you. Now the dream has
been thus innocently accomplished, we ourselves take heart, and
exhort you to do as much. We advise you, sire, to send this
child away, from before your eyes, to his father and mother,
in Persia."

Astyages listened to this answer, which gave him much
pleasure. He called Cyrus into his presence: "My son,"
said he to him, "I confess that I have done unjustly by you,
in consequence of a vain dream ; you have escaped the lot
that was intended for you: now, therefore, go into Persia: I
will send an escort with you. When you get there, you will
find your father and mother, who are nothing like Mitradates
and his wife."

Astyages having thus spoken, sent Cyrus away. On his
arrival at the house of Cambyses, he was received by his par-
ents, who embraced him with transports of joy when informed
who he was, having been hitherto convinced that he had died
immediately at his birth. They inquired in what manner he
had been saved : he related to them, saying that he knew noth-
ing before, but had been under a great mistake: on the road,
however, he had been informed of all his adventures; for,
previous to that time, he thought he was the son of Astyages'
herdsman: on the road from Media, he had been made ac-
quainted with the whole history, by his escorters. He described
how he had been brought up by the herdsman's wife; and
praised her, in preference of all ; Cyno was every thing to him
in his discourse: in consequence, his parents, availing them-

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 79

seives of that name, and in order that the preservation of the
child might appear to the Persians more clearly the work of
the gods, put about the report that Cyrus, when exposed, was
suckled by a bitch: from thence the tale had its origin.

When Cyrus approached to manhood, and became the most
gallant and beloved of the young men of his day, Harpagus
sent him gifts, and courted him to take revenge on Astyages;
for he himself, being but a subject, saw no prospect of ever ob-
taining reparation by his own influence : regarding, therefore,
Cyrus as one grown up and educated to be his avenger, he
sought to make him his confederate, comparing the sufferings
of Cyrus with his own ; but previously he made the following
preparations. The behaviour of Astyages to the Medes being
generally very harsh, Harpagus had communication with the
various chief noblemen among the Medes, and persuaded them
to stand up for Cyrus, and put an end to the rule of Astyages.

Having effected this object, and being now ready, he was
accordingly desirous to make known his ideas to Cyrus, who
was then resident in Persia: but, as the roads were watched,
and he had no other mode of so doing, he devised the fol-
lowing artifice : he took a hare, and ripping up its belly, with-
out discomposing any thing or tearing any of the hair, slipped
in a letter, containing what he had to say: then, sewing up
again the hare, he gave it, together with some nets, to the
most faithful of his servants, dressed as a sportsman; whom
he sent over into Persia, prescribing to him viva voce, to tell
Cyrus, in delivering the hare, to paunch it himself, and let
nobody be present when he did so. This was therefore done:
Cyrus took the hare, and ripped up the skin: he found the
letter there deposited: he took it and read it: the letter ran
thus: "Son of Cambyses — as the gods watch over you: for
otherwise you might never have attained such good-fortune — I
beseech you now to wreak vengeance on Astyages, your mur-
derer: according to his intentions, you would have long since
died : aided by the gods, and me, you survive. You have ere-
while, methinks, been informed how he behaved towards you,
what sufferings I underwent myself at the hands of Astyages,
because I did not slaughter you myself, but gave you to the
herdsman. Now, then, if you will hearken to me, you shall

80 HERODOTUS

rule over the same empire that Astyages now reigns over.
Do you, therefore, persuade the Persians to stand; march
them upon the Medes. And whether I myself, or any other
noble Mede, be appointed commander against you, be assured
every thing will be as you wish ; for all these will be the first
to stand up against him and for you, and to depose Astyages :
as all is here, at least, prepared, do as I say, and do quickly."

Cyrus, having received this information, considered what
would be the most prudent manner to persuade the Persians
to rebel : after turning the matter over, he found that the most
expedient mode would be to act thus : he wrote a letter, com-
prising what he thought proper to indite, and then mustered
the Persians : in the presence of the assembly, he unrolled the
letter, and, reading it out, said that Astyages appointed him
leader of the Persians. "Now," continued he, "Persians, I
command you to assemble, each bringing with him a sickle."
This was Cyrus's proclamation.

The Persian tribes are numerous; some of which Cyrus
collected together, and persuaded to secede from the Medes:
they are those from whom all the rest of the Persians take
their origin ; Pasargadae, Maraphians, Maspians : of these the
Pasargadse are the most noble: among them is the branch
from which the Persiq kings spring, called the Achae-
menidae. The rest of the Persian tribes are as follows:
Panthialaeans, Derusiseans, Germanians, all of whom are hus-
bandmen : the remainder are nomades : Daians, Mardans, Dropi-
cans, Sagartians.

When they were all assembled, provided with the pre-
scribed instruments, Cyrus proposed to them to clear
that day a certain tract of land situate in Persia, and
overrun with bushes, the extent of which, every way, was about
eighteen or twenty stades: as soon as the Persians had com-
pleted the prescribed task, he ordered them to muster again
on the following day, and previously wash themselves. In the
interval, Cyrus collected together the flocks and herds of his
father, slaughtered and cooked them, for the purpose of re-
galing the Persian body. In addition to this, the proper rations
of wine and bread were prepared.

At the arrival of the Persians on the next day, Cyrus bade

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 81

them stretch themselves on the turf, and feasted them. After
the repast was at an end, he asked them which of the two
was preferable, in their opinion; whether the treatment of
the preceding day, or the present : the men replied, that there
was a vast difference between the two; the day before, they
had experienced nothing but hardships of all kinds; on the
present day, they had tasted nothing but sweets.

Cyrus thereupon took advantage of the expression, and
laid before the assembly the whole naked plan: "Men of
Persia," said he, "thus matters stand with you: if you will
hearken to me, these and ten thousand other sweets are yours,
and you have no slavish toil: if you hesitate to hearken to
me, toils beyond number, like those of yesterday, await you.
Now, therefore, follow my orders, and be free. I myself,
methinks, am born, by divine blessing, to place this boon with-
in your hands: you, I hold not behind the Medes in valour,
either in war or other things. Since such is the case, rise up
directly against Astyages."

The Persians, thus provided with a leader, although they
had long since abhorred the Medic rule, now longed for lib-
erty. Astyages, acquainted with the projects of Cyrus, sent a
messenger, to summon him to his presence: Cyrus ordered
the messenger to report, that he would come, and meet him,
sooner than Astyages himself could wish. At this intelligence,
Astyages armed all his Medes; and, as if driven astray by
the divine power, placed Harpagus at their head, unmindful
how he had exasperated the feelings of that person. Accord-
ingly, the Medes engaged with the Persians: some of them,
not implicated in the plot, fought ; the rest either passed over,
of their own accord, to the Persians, or, acting as willing cow-
ards, fled in great numbers. As soon as Astyages heard of
this disgraceful rout of the Medic army, he exclaimed, threat-
ening Cyrus: "No, Cyrus, you shall not, at all events, re-
joice at so cheap a rate." Having so said, the first thing he did
was to impale the magian interpreters of dreams, who had
induced him to send awav Cvrus: next, he armed the Medes
that had been left behind in the capital, young and old : these
he led out, engaged the Persians, and was defeated. Astyages

82 HERODOTUS

himself was taken prisoner, and lost all the Medes under his
command.

Before Astyages, thus a prisoner, Harpagus now presented
himself: he insulted with cutting gibes, and triumphed over
his fallen enemy ; saying to him, many heartrending things,
and, among others, questioned him, in reference to the repast
at which he had feasted him with the flesh of his own son,
" How he relished his present thraldom, instead of his former
sway." But the prisoner looked up, and asked, in return,
whether he attributed to himself the achievement of Cyrus:
and Harpagus observing, that, as he himself had written,
the credit of the thing was his due; Astyages proved to him,
beyond doubt, that "he was both the most foolish and the
most iniquitous of men: certainly, if when the opportunity
offered him to be himself king, and if, as he pretended,
he was the agent in the present conjecture, he must have
been most foolish to have given the power to another;
and most iniquitous, to have, for the sake of that repast, en-
slaved all the Medes : for granting it was absolutely necessary
that the royal power should be transferred to other hands, and
he himself could not hold it, it would have been more fair and
equitable to have given that boon to some native Mede, and
not to a Persian: but now, the Medes, wholly guiltless of
what he complained of, were, from masters, to become ser-
vants; while the Persians, from being formerly servants to
the Medes, were now to be exalted into masters."

Astyages was accordingly, after a reign of five-and-thirty
years, thus deposed : the Medes, who had ruled over Asia
above the Halys during one hundred and thirty years, all but
two, excepting the time that the Scythians held the power,
bowed to the Persians, in consequence of the harsh rule of
Astyages. In later days, however, they repented them to
have so done, and rose up against Darius; but, conquered in
battle, they were a second time subjugated : at this period,
however, the Persians, headed by Cyrus, rose up against the
Medes under Astyages, and from that day have been the rulers
of Upper Asia. Cyrus kept Astyages by him until his decease,
without doing him any further injury. Therefore Cyrus,
thus born and educated, came to the throne; and subsequently

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 83

to these events, as I have already described, subdued Croesus,
the author of the first provocation : after deposing the Lydian
prince, he obtained the sovereignty of all Asia.

The following observations on the manners and customs
of the Persians I know to be correct. It is not the custom with
them to erect statues or temples or altars ; they reproach with
folly such as do so. Their reason for this appears to be, that
they do not, after the example of the Hellenes, regard the
gods as participating in the nature of man. They are in the
practice of ascending the loftiest of their mountains, there to
make sacrifice to Jove, calling by that name the whole am-
bient sky. They offer up sacrifice to the sun and moon, to the
earth, water, fire, and winds ; and those are the only gods they
have worshipped from the earliest times : they have now, how-
ever, learnt to offer sacrifice to Venus Coelestis; borrowing
the custom from the Assyrians and Arabians; the former of
whom call this goddess Mylitta; the latter, Alitta; and the
Persians, Mitra. Sacrifice, with the Persians, to the above dei-
ties, is conducted in the following manner : they raise no altars,
kindle no fires, when about to offer a victim : they make no use
of libation, or flute, or labels,^ or roasted barley:'^ every one
that wishes to offer up sacrifice, takes the victim to a clean spot
of ground, and invokes the deity, his tiara decked generally
with myrtle-branches : no one that presents a victim is per-
mitted to pray for blessings on himself alone; he must sup-
plicate for the welfare of all the Persians and their king, in
which number he himself is necessarily included: he then carves
the sacrificed victim into joints, boils the flesh, and, spreading
abundance of herbage, more particularly trefoil or shamrock,
displays thereon the meat. When this has been properly laid
out, comes a magus, who chaunts over the meat a theogonia,
the name they give to the hymn : without such magus it is not
lawful for them to offer any sacrifice. After tarrying a short
time, the sacrificer carries away the flesh, and does with it
whatever his fancy prompts.

^ Two long strips of wool, hanging down from the ears, on the
shoulders and along the breast.

* Coarse ground barley, roasted, was strewed between the horns of
the victim. *

84 HERODOTUS

Of all days, that which they are wont to honour most is
the birth-day of each; on that day they hold it necessary to
serve up more provisions than on others. At such times,
the opulent Persians put on their board, an ox, a horse, camel,
and an ass, roasted whole in ovens. The poor people make
a display of the smaller kinds of cattle. They eat little din-
ner ; but are fond of sweetmeats of all kinds, served separately,
not all together. And it is on that account, they say, "that
the Hellenes, when they have once eaten, cease to be hungry,
because, after dinner, nothing of any account is brought in;
but if any delicacies were to be produced, they would no longer
cease to eat."

They are exceedingly addicted to wine ; but it is forbidden
them to vomit, or to make water, in the presence of another.
These customs are still now in vogue. They are in the practice,
also, of debating, when intoxicated, the most important affairs :
whatever may have met with their approbation at these de-
bauches is proposed to them fasting, on the day following, by
the landlord at whose house the council is held; and if their
decisions still meet with their approbation when thus fasting,
they adopt them. The resolutions entered into while fasting
are, on the other hand, submitted to them when they are under
the influence of wine.

When Persians meet one another on the highways, any
spectator can ascertain whether the individuals that come in
contact are equal in rank, by this sign : before they accost each
other, they kiss on the lips: if one is a little inferior to the
other, they kiss on the cheeks: if one of the parties is greatly
below the other, he prostrates himsel f and kisses the ground. As
a nation, they honour, immediately after themselves, those
that reside next to them; those further on are the second in
their estimation; and so by degrees, as they advance further
from themselves, apportion their honours, holding in account
the least of all such as reside at the greatest distance from
Persia; thinking themselves, of all nations, the most worthy
in every respect ; and all others inferior in virtue, according to
the proportion above described ; the most distant from them-
selves being the worst of all. Under the empire of the Medes,
one nation even ruled over another; the Medes over all, gen-

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 85

erally speaking, and particularly over those resident next to
themselves : these, over the nations on their boundaries ; they
again, over the more removed. In the same order the Persians
also distribute their honour and respect; for they are them-
selves an ancient and superior race.

The Persians are of all nations the most prone to adopt
foreign manners and customs: for instance, they wear
the Medic costume, fancying it more handsome than
their national dress : in war, they adopt the Egyptian cuirasses ;
and indulge in all voluptuous luxuries they become acquainted
with : a pareicular example of which is, that they have adopted
from the Hellenes an infamous practice; they marry each
several lawful wives, but at the same time keep many concu-
bines. Next to gallant conduct in battle, the most manly
qualification is deemed to be the possession of a numerous
offspring: the king every year sends gifts to him that exhibits
the greatest number of children : number is regarded as force.
their children are brought up, commencing from the fifth
year and continuing to the twentieth, in three things alone;
horse-riding, use of the bow, and speaking the truth : pre-
viously to the fifth year, the children never come in the
presence of the father, but pass their whole time with the
womn: the motive for this custom is, that if the child happen
to die in his infancy, he may not give any uneasiness to his
father.

The above custom I approve of: as I do also of the next
following; which is, that not even the king himself is allowed
to put to death any person for one crime only; neither is it
lawful for any Persian to inflict any very severe punishment
on one of his slaves, before he has carefully considered and
ascertained whether his misdeeds are more numerous than his
good services, in which case he may gratify his anger. They
deny that any human being ever murdered his own father or
mother ; but assert, that whenever such things have taken place,
if matters were properly looked into, it would be necessarily
found that they are committed by supposititious or adulterine
children: for it is unnatural to suppose, they say, that the
lawful and real parent of a child should be killed by that same
child. '

86 HERODOTUS

The things that it is unlawful for them to do, they may
not mention: lying is, they hold, the most disgraceful of vices:
next to which is the contracting of debts, for many reasons:
but especially because, they say, it is absolutely necessary that
a debtor should tell lies. Whosoever of the natives has the
leprosy, or morphew, is forbidden to enter a town, or to have
any communication with the rest of the Persians: they pretend
that all afflicted with those distempers must have sinned against
the sun: many of them even drive out of the country every
stranger that may have caught these diseases : they likewise
drive away all white pigeons, attributing to them the same in-
fections. They never make water in rivers, nor spit nor wash
their hands in them ; but prevent others from so doing, and in
all respects venerate highly their streams. They have another
peculiarity, which the Persians themselves do not take notice
of, but which we fail not to observe: it is, that their names,
allusive to the body and to grandeur, end all in one and the
same letter, that called San by the Dorians, and Sigma by the
lonians. If you examine the names of the Persians ending in
that letter, you will find they all do so, invariably. The above
things being perfectly known to me, I am able to speak posi-
tively of them.

The following particulars, relating to the dead, are men-
tioned not so authentically, being kept secret. The dead
body of a Persian is never interred until it has been lacera-
ted by some bird or dog : that the magians do thus, I am con-
fident, for they do it openly : the Persians then case the body
in wax, and conceal it under ground. The magians, however,
differ exceedingly from other men, and from the Egyptian
priests in particular: for the latter kill nothing that breathes,
with the exception of the victims that they sacrifice; whereas
the magians, with their own hands, kill all animals, except
man and dog: they display even great ardour in the destruc-
tion of ants and serpents, and of all other creeping and flying
things. But be this custom observed, as it has been from the
first, I now return to my former subject.

The lonians and ^olians sent ambassadors to Cyrus at
Sardis, immediately after the subjection of the Lydians : they
were desirous of being subjects to Persia, on the same terms

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 87

as they had been, before, to Croesus. Cyrus having heard the
purport of what they proposed, related to them this fable:
"Once upon a time," said he, "a piper seeing some fishes in
the sea, began to pipe, in the expectation of their coming out
of the water, on land. He was disappointed of his hopes; so
he took a casting-net, threw it on a numerous shoal of the
fishes, and hauled them up. Seeing them bound on the shore,
he said to them, * Cease now your dancing ; since, when I piped,
you chose not to come out to dance.' "

Cyrus related this parable to the lonians and Cohans, for
these reasons; that the lonians, when he before had,
by his deputies, employed them to shake off the yoke
of CrcESus, had refused to take his advice; but now
the work was done, they were ready enough to hearken
to him: in consequence of this, irritated at their behaviour,
he gave them the above fable for answer. At the receipt of
this intelligence, which was communicated to all the cities, each
state fortified themselves, by building walls around their towns ;
and all met together at the Panionium, with exception of the
Milesians, the only state with which Cyrus entered into the
same treaty as the Lydian sovereign had done before. The
rest of the lonians agreed unanimously to send ambassadors
to Sparta and implore assistance.

The lonians, to whom also the Panionium belongs, have
erected their towns under the finest sky and sweetest climate in
the world, that we know of: for no country approaches to
Ionia in these blessings, neither above nor below, nor west
nor east; some of which are oppressed by cold and wet; others,
by heat and drought. These Ionian states have not all one
and the same language : it divides into four different branches.
Miletus, the first of these states, lies south; next to which are
Myus and Priene : these three places are situate in Caria, and
use one common dialect. The states in Lydia are, Ephesus,.
Colophon, Lebedus, Teos, Clazomenas, Phocsea: these settle-
ments do not at all agree, with the others mentioned above, in
language; they speak a dialect common to themselves. There
are three more Ionian states ; two of which, Samos and Chios,
occupy islands: the third stands on the main land, Erythrae.
The Chians, accordingly, and the Erythraeans, speak one and

88 HERODOTUS

the same dialect : the Samians have a form of language peculiar
to themselves. These make up the four characteristic branches.

Among these lonians, therefore, the Milesians were under
shelter from any alarming danger, as they had already framed
a treaty : there was no cause for terror, either, to the islanders ;
for the Phoenicians were not as yet subjected to the Persians,
neither were the Persians themselves any thing of sailors. The
Milesians had seceded from the rest of the lonians for the
following and no other reason, that, feeble as the Hellenic cor-
poration was in those days, the Ionic was, of all the Hellenic
tribes, the weakest and most insignificant, by far; for, Athens
excepted, they possessed not one state of any renown. The
other lonians [outside the Ionic league] accordingly, together
with the Athenians, shunned the name, and would not be called
lonians : I know many of them, even now, that blush at the
name.

These twelve states, however, prided themselves on the
appellation, and established for themselves, separately, a holy
precinct, to which they affixed the name of Panionium. They
decreed, that this temple should not be shared by any other of
the lonians; nor, indeed, did any crave for admittance, unless
the Smyrnaeans.

[The lonians of Asia are colonists from Greece.]
Those among them that came from the prytaneum of Ath-
ens, and imagine themselves the purest of the lonians, brought
no wives with them to their new settlement ; but took to them-
selves Carian women, after they had killed all the men belong-
ing to them. In consequence of this massacre, these women
established a law, which they bound themselves to by oath, and
bequeathed to their daughters — that they would never eat with
their husbands, nor call them by that name ; because they had
slain their fathers, husbands and children, and, after so doing,
had taken them to live with them.

The ambassadors from the lonians and .^olians, on their
arrival at Sparta — for all these matters were transacted with
great celerity — elected for their common orator a citizen of
Phocaea, whose name was Pythermus: he put on a purple

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 89

cloak, with a view that as many as possible of the Spartans
might be informed and assemble : he then stood up, made a long
discourse, beseeching them to assist his countrymen. But the
Lacedaemonians, without listening to what he had to say, de-
cidedly refused to give any assistance to the lonians. The
deputies therefore retraced their steps. The Lacedaemonians,
however, although they had rejected the Ionian ambassadors,
sent, at the same time, some men on board a penteconter, for
the purpose, I have no doubt, of reconnoitring the affairs of
Cyrus and the lonians.

On the arrival of these people at Phocaea, they sent up to
Sardis the most approved man in the party, whose name
was Lacrines: he repeated to Cyrus the warning of
the Lacedaemonians, "that Cyrus should beware of at-
tacking any city standing on Hellenic ground, as they did
not intend to be idle spectators." The herald having pro-
nounced these words, Cyrus is related to have inquired, of the
Hellenes who were present, " Who were these Lacedaemonians,
and what their numbers, that they dared to accost him in such
a manner." Having received the information he wanted, he
addressed the Spartan herald in the following words : "Never
yet was I afraid of such people as have an appointed space in
the middle of their town, where they congregate to cheat one
another by false oaths. If I preserve my health, they shall have
to chatter about their own sufferings, not so much about those
of the lonians." Cyrus threw out this taunt against all the
Hellenes, because they have markets where they practise buying
and selling : for the Persians themselves are not wont to have
any such marts ; a market is a thing unknown with them.
, Some time after, Cyrus appointed Tabalus, a Persian, as
governor of Sardis; and made choice of Pactyas, a Lydian,
who was to superintend the conveyance of the gold taken from
Croesus and the other Lydians : he then directed his march to-
wards Ecbatana, taking with him Croesus; at first, regarding
the lonians as of no importance. The great obstacles, in his
career, were, Babylon, the Bactrian people, the Sacae, and the
Egyptians : he proposed himself to head the forces against
these latter, and send some other general against the lonians.
As Cyrus was on his way from Sardis, Pactyas stirred up the

90 HERODOTUS

Lydians to revolt from Tabalus and Cyrus: being in posses-
sion of all the gold found at Sardis, he went down to the sea-
coast, where he hired mercenaries, and prevailed on the peo-
ple at the out-ports to join him in the expedition: he then
marched his troops against Sardis, and besieged Tabalus, who
was shut up in the citadel.

Cyrus received intelligence of this, while on his road: and
addressed Croesus. " Croesus," said he, "what will be the end
of these proceedings ? The Lydians, it seems, will never cease
to cut out work for themselves and me. I really think the best
thing I can do is, to sell them off at once into slavery. For
now, indeed, every body must see, that, at all events, I have
acted just as if I had cut off the father, and spared the children :
since I am carrying away you, who were something more than
a father to the Lydians, while I trust the city to Lydians
themselves : and then I am astonished that they stand up
against me !"

These words discovered what Cyrus contemplated : Croesus
dreaded lest he should utterly destroy Sardis. " Sire," re-
plied he, "what you say, is agreeable to reason. But, let me
beseech you, yield not to the impulse of your mind wholly!
destroy not an ancient city, guiltless of any former offences,
or even of the present events. I myself was the author of
the former grievance, and my head pays the forfeit : in the
present rebellion, Pactyas is the culprit ; Pactyas, to whom you
confided Sardis : let him, then, pay the penalty. Shew mercy
to the Lydians ; do by them as I will tell you ; to the end, they
shall never more rebel, never more be an object of terror to
you. Send to them, and say, they shall no longer have in their
keeping any weapons of war: bid them put on linen shirts be-
neath their cloaks, and bind buskins on their legs: command
them to sweep the cithern strings, to dance, to teach their
sons to chaffer ; and forthwith, mighty king, you will see them
converted from men into women, so that you will never have
to fear rebellions on their part."

[Cyrus acts upon Croesus's advice; he orders the Lydians
to change their mode of life, and he proceeds against Pactyas,
who flees to Cyma, the people of which send him to Chios;

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 91

the Chians deliver him to Cyrus for a gift of land. The Per-
sian general Mazares dying, Cyrus appoints Harpagus, the
man who assisted him to the throne, to the place. Harpagus
seizes Phocaea.]

These Phocseans were the first of the Hellenes that per-
formed any long voyages by sea: they were the discoverers
of the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian seas, of Iberia and Tar-
tessus. They sailed not in merchants' craft, but in fifty-oared
galleys : on their coming to Tartessus, they became favourites
of the king, called Arganthonius : he was ruler over Tartessus
eighty years, and lived, in all, one hundred and twenty years.
The Phocseans became such great favourites of this old man,
that he exhorted them at first to forsake Ionia, and come and
live in his country, wherever they chose : afterwards, not being
able to prevail on the Phocseans to accede to his advice, and
informed that the Mede was growing in strength in their neigh-
bourhood, he gave them money to erect a wall around their
city; and gave it with no sparing hand, for the walls are not
a few stades in circuit, all built of immense blocks nicely joined
together. The Phocsean walls had been accordingly built in
the above manner, when Harpagus brought on his forces, and
besieged them ; first proffering terms, " that he would be sat-
isfied if the Phocseans would throw down only one of their
battlements, and consecrate one house to the king's service."

The Phocseans, abhorring thraldom, said, " they wished for
one day to hold counsel, when they would return an answer:
they stipulated also, that, during the time they were debating,
he should conduct his army to a distance from the walls." Har-
pagus observed, that " he knew perfectly well what their inten-
tions were, but he would permit them to hold council." At the
appointed time, therefore, Harpagus led his troops away from
the walls; and the Phocseans meanwhile launched their fifty-
oared galleys, placing on board their children, wives, and
moveables, together with the images of the temples and other
votive offerings, except articles of stone, or brass, or painting:
having stored all these things, and embarked themselves, they
took their departure for Chios : and the Persians took pos-
session of Phocaea, thus deserted by its inhabitants. The Chi-
ans refused to part with the CEnyssse 'islands ; which the Pho-

92 HERODOTUS

caeans wished to purchase, being afraid lest that station should
become a staple for trade, and exclude their own island: the
Phocaeans, therefore, determined to make for Cyrnus, where
they had, twenty years previous to this, erected, in obedience
to the behest of the oracle, a city called Alaia: Arganthonius
being at that time no longer alive. Previous to sailing for
Cyrnus, they steered back to Phocsea; where they put to the
sword the Persian garrison appointed by Harpagus to guard
the city : after they had done this, they pronounced horrid im-
precations on such as should desert the fleet: they let down
also, a red-hot peg of iron into the sea ; and swore " they would
never come back to Phocsea, before that peg of iron came to
light again."

The people of Teos acted nearly in the same manner as the
Phocaeans : for when Harpagus had, by means of his excava-
tions, become master of their citadel, they embarked on board
of their ships, and sailed away to Thrace; where they built the
town of Abdera, on the site before chosen by Timesias of Cla-
zomenae; who, however, did not enjoy his acquisition, being
expelled by the Thracians. He now received honours, as a
hero, from the Teian settlers of Abdera.

The above, therefore, were the only lonians, who, rather
than brook thraldom, forsook their countries: the rest of the
lonians, with the exception of the Milesians, gave battle to
Harpagus ; and proved themselves gallant men, as well as those
who had left their country, each fighting for his own: they
were, however, defeated and subdued: each remained in his
respective country, and paid the appointed impost. The Mi-
lesians, as I said before, had entered into a treaty with Cyrus
himself : they enjoyed peace. Thus, therefore, Ionia was, for
the second time, deprived of freedom ; and when Harpagus had
completely subjugated the lonians on the continent, those set-
tled on the islands, dreading the same treatment, gave them-
selves up to Cyrus.

Harpagus having subdued Ionia, invaded Caria, Caunia,
and Lycia, taking both lonians and yEolians in his ranks.
The Carians, one of the above nations, consisted originally
of emigrants from the islands: for of old they were subjects
of Minos, and called Leleges: they held the islands, and

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 93

paid no tribute, as far as I can ascertain, by inquiry respect-
ing so remote a period. They manned the ships of Minos,
whenever he required their services: as Minos accordingly
subjected a great extent of country, and was successful in
war, the Carians became the most noted of all nations by far,
in those days : to them the Hellenes are indebted for three
inventions which they have adopted; the Carians were the
first to set the example of putting crests on helmets and de-
vices on shields; they were likewise the first that made
handles for bucklers : until their time, all who carried a
shield were accustomed to manage it by means of the leather
thongs, with which it was slung round the neck, over the left
shoulder. A very long time after this, the lonians and
Dorians drove the Carians out of the islands; and so they
came to the continent.

The Caunians are aboriginal, in my opinion; yet they
themselves assert that they proceed from Crete : either they
have approximated to the Carians in language, or the Ca-
rians have done so to them — that is a question I cannot de-
cide; but it is certain that they differ greatly in their man-
ners and customs from all men, as well as from the Carians.
With the Caunians, for instance, it is looked upon as very
proper and decent to men, women, and children, that, ac-
cording to age and friendship, they should meet together in
crowds, to drink: they had once erected temples to foreign
gods, but afterwards, changing their minds, determined to
worship none but their paternal deities; when the Carian
youth, clad in armour, and beating the air with their spears,
followed up to the Calyndic mountains the foreign gods,
saying, they were expelling them from the land. The Ly-
cians, however, sprung in early times from Crete, which of
old was entirely occupied by barbarians. . . . Their man-
ners and customs are partly Cretan and partly Carian: one
custom is peculiar to them, in which they differ from every
other nation; they take their mothers' names, not those of
their fathers: if any one ask them about their kindred, who
they are, they reckon from themselves to their mother, and
then rehearse their mothers' mothers. Moreover, if a free
woman marry a slave, the offspring is looked upon as pure

94 HERODOTUS

and free; but if a free-man take for wife a strange woman,
or cohabit with a concubine, the children are deemed in-
famous.

The Carians therefore performed no briUiant achieve-
ments, but were enslaved by Harpagus: this observation ap-
plies not only to the Carians, but likewise to the Hellenes
settled in that quarter: among those resident here are the
Cnidians, Lacedaemonian settlers, whose territory, jutting into
the sea, is called the Triopeum : beginning from the Bybas-
sian peninsula, the whole of Cnidia, with exception of a small
space, is surrounded by the sea; for it is bounded north by
the Ceramic gulf, while to the south stretches the sea of
Syme and Rhodes : that narrow portion, therefore, about
five stades in length, the Cnidians were excavating at the
time that Harpagus was subjugating Ionia, with a view to
converting their territory into an island. Within that, all
belongs to them; for the Cnidian territory extends to the
isthmus they were now cutting through. The Cnidians had
set many hands at the work; and as the workmen, it was
found, were more frequently and unaccountably wounded in
the face and all other parts, particularly about the eyes, by
the chips of the stone, they sent to Delphi some deputies to
ask for a remedy : the Pythia, according to the Cnidians,
spoke thus in trimeter verse :

On the isthmus, erect no tower, nor delve:

Jove would have made it an island, had he willed.

In consequence of this answer from the Pythia, the Cni-
dians stopped their excavation, and, without a blow, delivered
themselves up to Harpagus, as soon as he made his appear-
ance with his army. Above Halicarnassus, inland, were the
Pedases: when any evil is to fall on these people or their
neighbours, the priestess of Minerva acquires a long beard :
three times has this occurred. These were the only people
about Caria that stood any time against Harpagus : they gave
a great deal of trouble, by fortifying a mountain called Lida:
but the Pedases even were, after a time, captured. But when
Harpagus led his army into the Xanthian plain, the Lycians
came forth, and, engaging an enemy far superior to their

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 95

small band, displayed prodigious bravery: defeated and shut
up in their city, they collected in the citadel their wives and
children, their property and servants, then set fire to the whole,
and burnt it to the ground : having so done, they bound each
other by terrible oaths; and, sallying, every Xanthian died
fighting. Most of the Lycians, now said to be Xanthians, are
new-comers, with the exception of eighty families, which hap-
pened at that time to be away from home, and consequently
were not present. Harpagus thus possessed himself of Xan-
thus : he likewise reduced, after the same manner, nearly the
whole of Caunia; for the Caunians, generally speaking, fol-
lowed the example set by the Lydians.

Harpagus therefore reduced the lower parts of Asia: in
the upper parts, Cyrus himself subjugated every nation, with-
out one exception. Most of these conquests we shall pass
over. I will, however, commemorate those which gave him
the greatest trouble, and are likewise the most deserving of
mention.

Cyrus having subjected to his dominion all the other parts
of the continent, now directed his arms against the Assy-
rians. Assyria comprises, besides many other extensive towns,
one of the most renowned and best fortified; and there the
seat of government was established, after the fall of Nineveh :
this city is Babylon, of which the following is a description : —

The city stands on a wide plain, and is of a quadrangular
shape, each side being one hundred and twenty stades in ex-
tent; the four sides of the city, therefore, constitute a circuit
of four hundred and eighty stades in all: such are the di-
mensions of the city of the Babylonians: moreover, it is
built and adorned with a magnificence not found in any other
great city that we know of. In the first place, a moat, deep
and broad, full of water, runs round the whole ; next to which
rises a wall, fifty royal cubits in thickness, and in height two
hundred : the royal cubit is longer by three fingers' breadth
than the average cubit. I must not neglect to explain how
the clay dug up for the moat was consumed, and in what
manner the wall was wrought. At the same time they were
excavating the moat, they moulded the clay, thrown up in
the works, into bricks; when a sufficient quantity of bricks

96 HERODOTUS

was cast, they baked them in kilns : next, making use of hot
bitumen in the place of mortar, and spreading on each of the
thirty bottom courses of brick a layer of wattled reeds, they
first built up the edges of the moat, and then went on with
the wall itself in the same manner: at the edges of the top,
and on opposite sides, they erected, all round, uniform turrets,
leaving between every two a space sufficient to turn a four-
horse chariot. The gates leading through the wall, all around,
are of solid brass, as well as the jambs and lintels. At eight
days' journey from Babylon, there is a town called Is, on a
small river of the same name, which discharges its stream into
the Euphrates: this river Is, accordingly, brings down with
its waters abundance of flakes of bitumen, from whence the
bitumen used on the wall of Babylon was brought. Such, then,
was the mode in which Babylon was walled around.

The city consists of two parts, divided by the Euphrates,
which flows through the middle. This river rises in Armenia,
is large, deep and rapid: it disembogues in the Erythraean
sea. Hence the wall of each of these two parts runs to an elbow
on the river side : from those elbows, following the curves on
each side of the river, runs a wall of baked bricks. The city itself,
full of houses, three and four stories high, is cut into rectilinear
streets; some parallel to the river; others, crossing the above
at right angles, conduct to the bank : in each of the latter
streets, a small door opens, through the masonry, over the
stream: they are in number equal to the streets themselves,
are made of brass, and take down to the water. The outer
wall, above described, is the main rampart to the town; but
this latter, ranging in the interior, is scarcely inferior in
strength to the other, although narrower. In each portion of
the city stood a vast building, occupying the centre: in one,
the palace, surrounded by a long and well-fortified inclosure:
in the other, the brazen-gated precinct of Jove Belus, yet
standing in my day, of a square shape, in each direction two
stades: in the middle of the precinct rises a massive tower,
one stade in length and breadth: on that rises another tower;
and so on, up to eight. The road up to the top of this build-
ing runs spirally round the outside of all the towers : some-
where about the middle of the ascent, there is a place where

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 97

resting-benches stand, on which those going up may sit down
and take breath.

In the last tower stands a magnificent temple ; in which
is placed a bed, sumptuously fitted up; and by its side,
a table of gold. No statue has been erected on this spot;
nor does any person pass the night here, except only a native
woman, elected by the god himself : so say the Chaldees, who
are the priests of Belus. These same individuals assert
— not that I give any credit to what they say — that the god
himself comes to the temple, and reposes in the bed, just
in the same manner as the Egyptians say is the case at
Thebes in Egypt; for, in fact, a woman there also lies in
the temple of Thebaic Jove : both women, we are told, have
no communication whatever with men. Exactly the same
thing takes place at Patres, in Lycia, with the woman that
propounds the oracle, when there is a god there; for there
is not constantly an oracle at that place : in such case as
there is, the woman lies with the god at night, within the
temple.

There is another temple, besides, in the Babylonian pre-
cinct below. Here is seen a colossal statue of Jove, seated;
close to which stands a gold table: the flight of steps up to
the throne, and the throne itself, are of gold; and, according
to the Chaldees, all these articles are computed to be eight
hundred talents of gold. Outside of the temple is a golden
altar; together with another large altar, where all full-grown
sheep are sacrificed, none but sucklings being allowed to be
sacrificed on the golden altar. On the larger of these altars,
annually, the Chaldees burn one thousand talents of frankin-
cense, when they celebrate the feast of this god Belus. There
was at that time, also, in the precinct, a statue of twelve
cubits of solid gold ; — not of course that I ever saw it : what I
say, I repeat on the authority of the Chaldees. Darius the
son of Hystaspes coveted this statue, but durst not seize it:
Xerxes son of Darius, however, took it away, and killed the
priest that warned him not to move the image. — Thus have I
described how the holy precinct was decorated. I must add;
there were abundance of private offerings.

Several sovereigns, at different 'times, have ruled over

98 HERODOTUS

Babylon, whom I shall mention in my Assyrian history: they
were the builders of the walls and sacred edifices. Two of
them, especially, were women : she who reigned the first, was
many generations anterior to the second ; her name was Semira-
mis : this princess accomplished several works on the plain, that
are worthy of contemplation : previously to her reign, the river
was wont to inundate, and make a sea of the whole plain.

The second queen, that flourished after Semiramis, bore
the name of Nitocris : her genius was greater than that
of the queen before her : she left, as a memento, the works
which I shall presently describe : in the next place, seeing the
Medes' empire great and never at rest, and observing, among
other cities, that of Nineveh captured by that power, she
adopted beforehand every possible expedient for preservation.
First, then, by making deep excavations high up the stream,
she so altered the course of the Euphrates which passes
through Babylon, that, from straight that it was, it became
so winding as to touch three times at one and the same vil-
lage in Assyria, as it flows down: the name of this village
is Ardericca ; and even to this time, those that, travelling from
the Mediterranean shore down to Babylon, embark on the
Euphrates, pass three times, within three successive days, at
this spot : this was, therefore, one of the things she ac-
complished.

She threw up, on both sides of the river, a prodigious
mound, astonishing by its magnitude and height : she ef-
fected, a long distance above Babylon, a reservoir for a
lake; which she placed not far from the river, digging for
the depth till she came to water, and making its extent the
circumference of four hundred and twenty stades : the earth
thrown out in this excavation she expended in forming an
embankment on the sides of the river. When the lake was
finished digging out, she brought stones, with which she ran a
case all round. These two works — I mean the windings of
the stream, and the whole excavated marsh — were performed
for the purpose of lengthening the course of the river ; break-
ing its force in many windings, and making the passage to
Babylon intricate ; and that travellers, on quitting their barks,
might still have to make the long circuit of the lake. In this

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 99

manner she threw up these vast works in that part of the
country where the shortest road from Media enters Babylonia,
in order that the Medes might cease to communicate with
the Babylonians, and spy into her affairs.

These fortifications completed, Nitocris added the follow-
ing performance, the effectual success of which was the
consequence of her previous works. The town being
divided into two districts, by the river flowing be-
tween, whoever, under former reigns, wished to pass
over from one to the other, was obliged to cross in
a boat; and that, I conceive, must have been an an-
noyance. Nitocris provided for this. After she had dug
out the basin for the lake, she determined to leave another
monument of the utility of the works thrown up on the Eu-
phrates. She caused large blocks of stone to be hewn : when
they were ready, and the basin had been excavated, she
turned the whole stream of the river into the hollow she
had dug. While that was filHng, the original bed of the
river became dry : seizing the opportunity, the queen built up,
with baked bricks, the banks of the river within the city,
and the steps leading down from the smaller gates to the
river, after the same fashion as the great wall had been
put together.

Besides this, about the middle of the city she constructed a
bridge of cut stone, fastened together with lead and
iron. During the day, square floors of wood were
laid from pier to pier, by which the Babylonians crossed
over: but at night these boards were taken away, for the
purpose of preventing people from going across, in the dark,
and committing robberies. When the hollow had been re-
plenished by the river, and the bridge was finished, Nitocris
brought the stream of the Euphrates back again, into its old
bed, out of the lake. Thus the hollow, becoming a marsh,
proved itself adapted for the purpose intended; and the in-
habitants were accommodated with a bridge.

This same queen, Nitocris, planned the following deception.
Over the gate, which is the greatest thoroughfare of the
city, she erected her own sepulchre, high above the
gate itself ; and engraved on it , an inscription to this

100 HERODOTUS

purport: — "Whoever may, after me, be the ruler of
Babylon, if in want of cash, let him open this sepulchre,
and take what he chooses : not, however unless he be
truly in want, let him open it : for it would be no
good." This sepulchre remained untouched, until the throne
came to Darius. That king conceived, that it was absurd he
should not be able to make use of that gate, nor touch the
money there deposited; money, too, that seemed to invite his
grasp. The reason that induced him not to make use of this
gate, was, that if he went through, there would be a dead
body over his head. He opened the sepulchre : instead of
money he found nothing but the skeleton, and a scroll, pur-
porting: "Had you not been so greedy of money and dis-
graceful pelf, you would not have broken into the sojourn
of the dead."

It was against the son of this queen that Cyrus was
accordingly directing his next attack : this Babylonian king
inherited the name of Labynetus, and the Assyrian empire,
from his father. When the great king goes to war, he travels
provided with provisions well preserved, and cattle, from
home : he takes, especially, with him, water from the Choas-
pes, a river that flows by Susa, of which, and no other, the
king drinks. A vast number of four-wheel waggons, drawn
by mules, follow in his train, wherever he goes: they are
loaded with the Choaspes' water, boiled previously, and stored
in silver vases.

In his march to Babylon, Cyrus came to the Gyndes, a
river that rises in the Matianian mountains, flows athwart
the land of the Dardanians, and falls into another river,
the Tigris, which, rolling its waters through the city of
Opys, disembogues in the Erythraean sea. As Cyrus, there-
fore, was endeavouring to get across this river Gyndes, which
is only passable in barges, one of the sacred white horses, full
of mettle, rushed into the stream, and tried to swim over:
but the torrent seized the animal, and, whirling him under
the surface, dashed him down the stream. The Persian
king was much enraged by this insult on the part of the
river; and pronounced a threat, that he would pull down his
strength, so that for evermore even women should cross him

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 101

readily, without wetting the knee. This threat pronounced, he
suspended the campaign against Babylon, and divided his
troops into two bodies: this being done, he marked out, by
line, one hundred and eighty channels on each side of the
river, diverging from the direction of the Gyndes in all
quarters. He then stationed the men, and commanded them
to dig. With such a multitude of hands, the work was in-
deed brought to a completion : the troops, nevertheless, passed
at that place the whole of the summer in the task. Cyrus
having wreaked his vengeance on the Gyndes river, by dis-
tributing its stream into three hundred and sixty channels,
proceeded, at the first gleam of spring to march on to
Babylon.

The Babylonians, encamped on the field, awaited his onset :
the Persian leader brought his army near the city, where
the Babylonians gave battle; and, being routed, shut
themselves within their walls. But, as they were long before
convinced that Cyrus would never rest, and saw him fall on
every nation indifferently, they collected beforehand provisions
for many years. They cared, therefore, nothing for the
blockade. Cyrus, however, found himself in difficult circum-
stances; a long time having slipped away, without his affairs
making any progress. Whether, therefore, any person sug-
gested the thing to him in the midst of his difficulties, or he
himself conceived a plan of acting, he did as I will now
describe.

He stationed the greater part of his army at the open-
ing by which the river enters the town, placing also a
few companies at the opposite opening by which the river
makes its exit: he then gave his orders to the men, that
when they found the stream fordable, they should push into
the town : having thus dispersed his army, and given the above
directions, he himself marched away with the unarmed train
of his army. He came to the lake, the work of the queen
of the Babylonians, and did the same by the lake and the
river as she had done before; that is to say, opening the
sluice into the lake, then a morass, and turning in the waters
of the river, made the old bed fordable. This being the case,
the Persians stationed on that service close to the Euphrates,

102 HERODOTUS

which now had sunk to at least the mid thigh of a man, made
their ingress into Babylon. If, therefore, the Babylonians had
been apprised beforehand, or had heard of what Cyrus was
about, which they did not, they might have handled their foes
in the most dreadful manner: they would have closed all the
little gates leading down to the river, and, mounting them-
selves on the quays stretching along both sides of the stream,
would have caught them as in a net: but in this instance the
Persians took them by surprise. It is related by the people
who were then residing at Babylon, that, in consequence of
the immense extent of the town, the extreme limits of the
city had been taken before the people dwelling in the centre
of Babylon knew any thing of the capture; but — for it was
with them a festive day — they were dancing at the very time,
and enjoying themselves, until they also were at last brought
acquainted with the truth. Thus was Babylon captured for
the first time.

The most cogent proof I can give, among many others, of
the resources of the Babylonians, is this one thing: the whole
extent of lands over which the rule of the great king stretches,
besides tributes, furnishes the sovereign and his army with
provisions for food : the Babylonian district supplies this dur-
ing four months of the twelve: the eight remaining months
are provided by all Asia together. Thus the Assyrian soil
possesses one third of the resources of the whole of Asia.
Moreover, the superintendence of this province, called satrapy
by the Persians, is, of all the governments, the most lucrative.
When Tritantaechmes, son of Artabazus, held that government
from the king, his daily income was a full artaba of silver —
the Persian measure, called artaba, contains above the Attic
medimnus three Attic choenixes.^ The horses belonging to him-
self personally, besides the army horses, were eight hundred
stallions, and sixteen thousand mares ; one stallion for twenty
mares. So numerous were his packs of Indian dogs that he
kept, that four large villages in the plain, which were re-
lieved from all other taxes, were appointed to supply their
food. Such were the advantages accruing to the governor of
Babylon.
^ Four pecks and ten pints.

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 103

The land of the Assyrians is visited with Httle rain, and
that little water is what feeds the root of the corn : the crop,
however, is made to grow up to give a harvest, by constant
irrigation from the river: this irrigation does not take place,
as in Egypt, by the spontaneous overflow of the river
on the lands, but is done by the hand or swipe; for the
whole of Babylonia is intersected by canals, the same as
Egypt : the largest of these canals is navigable, and stretches
in the direction of the winter sun-rise : it communicates from
the Euphrates, with the Tigris, at the spot where Nineveh
stood: this is, of all the lands we know any thing of, by far
the best for the produce of Ceres' gifts: other plants do not
even make a show of growing in this quarter, neither the
fig, nor the grape, nor the olive; but the wheat it bears is
beautiful in the extreme: it returns, on an average, two-
hundred- fold; but when it produces its best, the return is
three-hundred-fold. The blades of wheat and barley ac-
quire easily a breadth of four fingers. Although I am well
aware to what size of tree the sesame seed does grow, I shall
not mention it; being fully convinced, that, to those who
have never been in Babylonia, what I have already said of
its products will be considered too exaggerated to be given
credit to. They make no use of olive-oil, but make theirs
from sesame. Palm-trees spring up all over the plain: most
of these are fructiferous; and from the fruit they procure
bread, wine, and honey; they cultivate them in the same
manner as fig-trees, particularly as to what concerns the male
palms, as the Hellenes call them; the fruit of which they tie
about the branches of the date-bearing trees, in order that
the fly may come out and enter into the dates, and so pre-
vent the fruit of the palm from falling off; for the male
palms have flies in their fruit, just like our wild figs.

The greatest wonder of all things here, next of course to
the city, is, in my opinion, what I am now going to ex-
plain. Their boats, that ply down the river to Babylon, are
all circular, and consist of leather: after making the frames
in Armenia, which lies above Assyria, from the osiers they
cut in that country, they stretch on the outside a leather cov-
ering, in the room of planking; making no distinction between

104 HERODOTUS

stem or stern, but perfectly round, like a buckler. They line
the inside of this craft with straw, launch it into the river,
and then stow it with merchandise. Their freight consists
principally of casks filled with date-wine : they are managed,
with two poles, by two men standing erect; one of whom
hauls his pole in, while the other shoves his out. Very
large barges are made on this pattern, and so are smaller
craft : the largest of all are of five thousand talents' burthen.
On board of every barge there is seen a live ass : in the larger
barges there are several. When they have floated down to
Babylon, and disposed of their cargo, they put up to auction
the ribs of the bark, and the straw; and the skins are piled
on the pack-saddle of the ass, who is driven back into Ar-
menia. To re-ascend the river, in the same manner, is out
of the question, so rapid is the current; in consequence of
which, also, they are obliged to make their boats of leather,
and not of wood. When they have driven their asses back to
Armenia, they construct other barges in the same manner. —

The costume of the Babylonians consists of a cotton shirt,
reaching down to the feet; over which they throw a woollen
cloak, and a close white cape : their covering for the feet
is after a fashion peculiar to this country, closely approach-
ing to the Boeotian clogs. Their flowing hair they bind up
under a mitre, and anoint the whole body with perfumes.
Every individual has a seal; and a stafif, made by hand, on
every one of which is carved an apple, a rose, a lily, and so
forth: for they are not allowed to carry a stick, unless it
bear some mark.

The following are some of their customs: the wisest in
my idea is this, which I understand holds also among the
Venetians of Illyria. Once every year the following scene
took place in every village: whatever maidens might be of
marriageable years, were all collected, and brought into one
certain place, around which stood a multitude of men. A
crier called up each girl separately, and offered her for sale:
he began with the prettiest of the lot; and when she had
found a rich bidding, he sold her off; and called up another,
the next he ranked in beauty. All these girls were sold off
in marriage: the rich men, that were candidates for a wife,

BABYLONIAN MARRIAGE MARKET

Front a painting by Edwin Long

Once every year all marriageable maidens were collected in
the temple and, beginning with the prettiest, were sold as
wives to the highest bidders until the ugly girls were reached,
for whom none would bid, and these were then disposed of by
offering bonuses with them, taken from the proceeds of the

SALE OF THE PRETTY ONES. — Page IO4.

t-i

1 iioy line
\]\e river,

-.r.. . .... ... 1.

■ !ini^' ereci ; oiu 'lu

iiovrs his out. Very

-■ :i' 1 SO are smaller

alents' burthen.

.1 live as« : in the larger

' " • ^(1 down to

1.^ auction

c j>iled

<\o Ar-

is out

nrrent ; ni consequence of

i.ikc tlicir boats of leather,

< ,li ivcn tVtcir asses back to

Ml tlie same manner. —

!< of a cotton shirt,

' V throw a woollen

>r the feet

:ich-

up

,- ■inu'S.

iiid, on

. and so

k. imless it

,, ., ; : the wisest in

lis also among the

.iv the following scene

,. , . lt maidens might be of

collected, and brought into one

•ch sti)od a nir ^^

T3>IHAM aOAI5I^AtM< VIAI/iOJYaAa ''f had
Ki a3T3ajj03 aaaw iia^aiAU m^^asomh^ah dd/i sasy Ya3va.a3>i0,

8A aJO« 3H3V/ ,T8aiTT3aa 3HT HTIW OVtlVIHIOaS ,aVIA 3J1M3T 3HT
,U3II3AaH 3M3V/ <:JHIO YJOU SHT JIT'/.U riHSaOIH TH3H0IH 3HT OT aSVIW

Ya HO a38fH8ia >i3ht aaaw 383ht qvia ,aia gjuow 3vio/i mohw ho"?

3HT HO aa33'j0ai 3HT MOHH VI3HAT ,M3HT HTIW aSZUVlOR OVliaSHHO
.^I 3gB*l — .83 no YTT3HS aHT ^O aJA2

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 105

bade against one another for the handsomest : the more hum-
ble classes, desirous of getting partners, did not require ab-
solutely beauty, but were willing to take even the ugly girls
for a sum of money. Therefore, when the crier had gone
through the list of the prettiest women, and disposed of them,
he put up the ugliest, or some one that was a cripple, if any
there were, and, offering to dispose of her, called out for
the bidder that would, for the smallest sum, take her to live
with him: so he went on, till he came to her that he con-
sidered the least forbidding. The money for this was got by
the sale of the pretty maidens; so that the handsome and
well shaped gave dowries to the ugly and deformed. It was
not lawful for any one to give his daughter to whom he
chose; nor for a person to take a girl away that he had pur-
chased, without giving bond that he verily proposed to marry
her; when he might take her with him. If the couple could
not agree, the law permitted the money to be returned. It
was also allowed to any man coming from another village to
make a purchase, if he chose. This was the best of their in-
stitutions. Lately, they have hit upon an expedient, that their
daughters might not be maltreated or carried off to some
other town: for since they have been conquered, they are
ill-treated and ruined by their lords ; and all the lower orders,
for the sake of getting a livelihood, prostitute their female
offspring.

The following is another of their institutions. They
bring out into the public square all their sick; for they
have no regular doctors. The persons that meet the sick
man, give him advice; and exhort him to do the same that
they themselves have found to cure such a disease, or have
known some other person to be cured by. They are not
allowed to pass by any sick person, until they have asked
him what ailing he has. — They embalm the dead in honey:
their lamentations are nearly the same as in Egypt. Every
Babylonian that has conversed with his own wife sits down
near the smoke of burning perfumes; the woman, on her
part, does the same; and at dawn of day both wash; for
until they have done so, they will not touch any vase: the
same practice holds with the Arabians. .

106 HERODOTUS

The most disgraceful of the Babylonian customs is this:
every native woman must, once in her life, sit down in the
lioly precinct of Venus, and have communication with some
stranger. Many of these women disdaining to mix with the
others, and inflated by their riches, go to the temple in cov-
ered carriages, followed by a numerous retinue of servants.
But the majority act in the following manner : they seat
themselves in the temple of Venus, wearing on their heads a
wreath of cord : some are coming, others are going : paths
are set off by line in every direction through the crowds of
women, by which the strangers pass and make their choice.
When a woman has once taken her seat there, she cannot
return home until some stranger casts a piece of silver on
her knees, and enjoys her person outside of the temple. When
he throws the money, he is to say this much: "In the name
of the goddess Mylitta," The Assyrians call Venus, Mylitta:
the piece of silver may be ever so small ; it will not be refused,
for that is not lawful; but that coin is deemed sacred. The
woman follows the first man that throws : she refuses no
one. After surrendering her person, the goddess being satis-
fied, she returns home; and from that time, however great a
sum you may give her, you will not obtain her favours. Such
girls as are endowed with beauty and grace soon return home ;
others, that are deformed, tarry a long time, finding them-
selves unable to fulfil the law : some even have remained three
or four years. In many parts of Cyprus the same custom,
nearly, is in vogue. Such, then, are the customs with the
Babylonians. There are three tribes among them that eat noth-
ing but fish; which, after they have caught and dried it, they
prepare thus : they put it into a mortar, bray it with a pestle,
and drive it through a sieve ; and whoever chooses, may make
frumenty, or bake it into bread.

Cyrus having done with this nation also, conceived the
desire of subjecting to his dominion the Massagetse. This
people is described as both great and warlike, dwelling east-
ward, towards the rising sun, beyond the Araxes river, and
opposite to the Issedones : there are even some persons who
assert that this nation is Scythian. The Araxes is represented
as both larger and smaller than the Ister: there are islands,

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 107

thickly studded, on this stream, and nearly as considerable
in size as Lesbos : on these islands are found men that in
summer live upon roots of all sorts, which they grub up;
but store up also, as food, the ripe fruits they get from the
trees, and upon which they live in winter: they have also
discovered a particular kind of tree, bearing fruit of a pe-
culiar quality: at times, they collect together in large parties,
kindle a fire, and, sitting in a ring around, throw some of this
fruit into the flames. By inhaling the fumes of the burning
fruit they have thrown in, they become intoxicated by the
smell, as the Hellenes are by wine : the more fruit they throw
on, the more inebriated they are; till at last they get up to
dance and sing. Such their mode of life is said to be.

The Araxes flows from the Alatianian mountains — the
same that the Gyndes rises in, which Cyrus dispersed into the
three hundred and sixty channels : the waters of the former gush
out of forty springs; all of which, with the exception of one,
discharge themselves into swampy marshes, where men are
said to reside that live on raw fish, and wear seal-skin gar-
ments. That one stream of the Araxes I have mentioned,
flows, without impediment, into the Caspian sea. The Cas-
pian is a sea of itself; that is to say, it does not mix with
any other sea: for all that sea which the Hellenes navigate,
and the Atlantic without the Pillars, together with the Ery-
thraean sea, are all one and the same. But, as I have said,
the Caspian is a different sea of itself; which, in length, is a
fortnight's voyage in a row-boat ; and in breadth, at its widest
part, a week's voyage. On the western shore of this sea
stretches the range of Caucasus, the largest and loftiest of
mountains.

Many and various races inhabit the regions of Caucasus,
the majority of whom live on the wild products of the
forest ; among which are trees that supply leaves, which, when
rubbed and mixed with water, give a dye, with which
their garments may be stained with all sorts of figures. The
figures never fade, but last as long as the stuff itself, just the
same as if it were inwoven at first : it is said that among
these people the sexual intercourse takes place openly, as
with cattle. The Caucasus, therefore, serves as a boundary

108 HERODOTUS

to the Caspian sea in the west : on the east, and towards the
rising sun, a plain succeeds, the extent of which is far be-
yond the stretch of the eye. A considerable portion of this
heath is occupied by the Massagetae, against whom Cyrus
projected war: motives, numerous and powerful, incited and
urged him on: in the first place, his birth, which he consid-
ered as something more than human ; secondly, the good for-
tune that had attended him in his wars : for wherever Cyrus
directed his arms, it was wholly impossible for that nation
to escape.

The preceding king's widow, called Tomyris, was the
queen over these Massagetae. Cyrus despatched to her an
ambassador, under pretence of paying his addresses, and offer-
ing marriage; but Tomyris, aware that it was not herself,
but the kingdom of the Massagetae, that he courted, forbade
his approach. Cyrus, thus thwarted in his attempt to de-
ceive, marched to the Araxes, and made open preparations
for war with the Massagetae, by erecting a bridge over the
river, and building floating castles to convey the troops across.
While the Persian chief was thus employed, Tomyris sent a
herald to him, who was to say: "King of the Medes, cease
your great haste; for you cannot yet know whether this will
end to your advantage. Cease, then, once more: rule over
your own dominions; and contemplate, with a peaceful eye,
my government over what is mine. If you will not hearken
to this advice, but prefer every thing before quietness and
repose — if you are so excessively anxious to make trial of
the Massagetae — come; spare yourself the trouble of throw-
ing a bridge across the river. We will retire three days' march
from the river: meanwhile, do you cross into our territory:
but if you had rather receive us on your own ground, do you
the same. "

When Cyrus heard this proposal, he called a meeting of
the chief Persians: the assembly convened, Cyrus laid the
business before them, asking their opinion as to how he
should act. They unanimously agreed in advising him to
admit Tomyris and her army on his own soil. Croesus was
present: the Lydian prince disapproved the counsel: took
up the opposite side of the question; and said: "Mighty

CUO [BOOK ONE] 109

king, I have already observed to you, that since Jove has
given me into your hands, whatever misfortune I may see
impending over your house, to use all my exertions to turn
it aside. My sufferings, bitter as they are, have been a les-
son to me. If you consider yourself and your army immortal,
there can be no need of my explaining to you what my
opinion is: yet, if you are convinced that you yourself even
are but a man, and those you rule over nothing more, be in
the first place apprised of this — the wheel of human life is
ever revolving, and will not allow the same mortal to be
constantly successful. Now, therefore, the opinion I hold on
the matter in question is wholly contrary to that of this
assembly. If we resolve to receive the foe on our own ground,
I say that there is this danger in so doing; if on one hand
you are defeated, you will lose, besides, your whole empire;
for it is clear the Massagetae, if conquerors, will not re-
trace their steps, but will dash forward, into the heart of your
dominions: if, on the other hand, you conquer, still is your
conquest not so complete as if you had your foot on their
soil, had conquered the Massagetae, and were pursuing the
fugitives: for I shall still object to this assembly, that after
routing your adversaries you will directly press on into the
interior of Tomyris's dominions. And, moreover, is it not
disgraceful and intolerable that Cyrus the son of Cambyses
should retire before a woman, on his own territory? My
opinion therefore is, that you should cross the Araxes, and
go as far as they retire; and having so done, endeavour to
gain the day upon them. The Massagetae, I am told, know
of none of the Persian delicacies, and are inexperienced
of the comforts of life. For such men, therefore, slaughter
abundance of cattle, dress the flesh, and spread it forth in our
camp; add vases filled to the brim with wine unmixed with
water, and all sorts of dishes. Having done this, leave the
worst portion of your army behind ; let the rest return again
to the river; and, if I am not mistaken, the enemy, seeing all
these good things, will fall to and devour them; and it
will remain for us to achieve a mighty work."

Such were the plans proposed on both sides. Cyrus re-
jected the former, and adopted th^t of Croesus: he made

no HERODOTUS

known to Tomyris, that she might retreat, and he would
cross the Araxes to give her the meeting: she retired, ac-
cording to her previous stipulation; and Cyrus, placing
Croesus in the hands of Cambyses, to whom he bequeathed
the kingdom, earnestly prescribed to his son to honour and
shew every attention to the captured prince, in case the cam-
paign against the Massagetse should be a failure. Having
given these injunctions, and sent Croesus and Cambyses off
to Persia, he crossed the river with his forces. Arrived on
the opposite bank of the Araxes, at the fall of day he be-
held, as he slept in the land of the Massagetae, a vision: it
was this : Cyrus fancied in his sleep that he beheld the
eldest son of Hystaspes with wings on his shoulders, one
of which shadowed Asia, the other Europe. The eldest son
of Hystaspes the son of Arsames, one of the Achsemenides,
was Darius, then at best but twenty years of age : this son of
his was left in Persia, not being of age to join the expedition.
When Cyrus awoke, he considered within himself about his
dream ; and, as the token seemed important, he sent for
Hystaspes; and, taking him aside, said: "Hystaspes, I have
detected your son plotting against me and my throne : I am
certain of it, and will tell you how : the gods watch over me,
and forewarn me of all things that are to come. Now, this
very night, in my sleep, I beheld the eldest of your sons with
wings on his shoulders; one of which covered Asia, the other
Europe, with shade. There cannot be the slightest doubt,
from this dream, that the youth is conspiring against me. Go
back, therefore, as speedily as you can to Persia; and man-
age so, that when I return there from the present expedition,
you may produce your son before me, to examine." Cyrus
spoke thus in the conviction that Darius was plotting against
him; but the divinity foreshowed to him, that he would him-
self be killed in the campaign, and that his kingdom would
descend to Darius. Hystaspes' answer was accordingly in
these words: "Sire, lives there a Persian that would con-
spire against you: if so, let him forthwith die: for you have
made the Persians, from being slaves, to be free men; in
place of being lorded by all, to rule over all. If any dream
has announced to you that my son broods any disturbance

CLIO [BOOK ONE] 111

against you, I pledge myself to deliver him into your hands,
to do by him what you choose." Hystaspes having returned
the above answer, repassed the Araxes; and proceeded into
Persia, to take his son into custody, and bring him before
Cyrus.

Cyrus having advanced one day's march from the banks
of the Araxes, proceeded to act according to the suggestion
of Croesus. Having done as he advised, Cyrus, and the
efficient part of the Persian army, marched back to the Araxes,
leaving the inefficient forces behind : the third division of the
Massagetic army coming up, put to death the men that com-
posed the body he had left behind, and that resisted: then,
seeing the provisions spread out, they stretched themeslves
on the turf, and feasted, after routing their enemies. Filled
with food and wine, they dropped to sleep: and the Persians
coming up, put many to the sword, but took a much greater
number prisoners: among the rest, the leader of the Mas-
sagetae, son of queen Tomyris, called Spargapises. Tomyris,
informed of what had happened to her army and to her son,
sent a herald to Cyrus, to say: "Cyrus, you that are never
satiate of blood, boast not of what has taken place; for it
was the juice of the grape — which causes you yourself, when
filled with it, to rave so, and sinks down into your body but
to throw back a tide of insolent abuse — it was by that poison
you deceived my son, and not in fair battle. Now, listen to
some good advice, which I offer in good part : restore to me
my son, and depart unpunished from this land, although you
have so cruelly treated the third of my army. If you refuse
to do this, I swear by the sun, the god of the Massagetae, that,
insatiate as you are, I will glut you with blood !"

Cyrus took no account of this message; and Spargapises,
having recovered from the influence of wine, and seen the
extent of his misfortune, begged Cyrus to liberate him from
his fetters, which was granted : no sooner was he released, how-
ever, and had regained the use of his hands, than he put an
end to his life. Such was the fate of the son; but Tomyris,
not being listened to by Cyrus, called all her forces together,
and gave battle to Cyrus. — I take it this engagement was the
most bloody of battles that ever took place between foreign

112 HERODOTUS

nations; I have heard the following description of the fight.
First, it is related, that, at a distance from one another, the
two armies fought with their bows and arrows: when their
arrows were all shot away, they closed, and engaged with
javelin and cutlass, man to man: for a long time the battle
raged; neither party would give way; but at last the Mas-
sagetse got the upper hand : most part of the Persian army
was cut to pieces on the field ; and there also fell Cyrus, after
a reign of nine-and-twenty years. Tomyris filled a skin
with human blood : she caused the body of Cyrus to be looked
for among the slain of the Persians: it was found: she
plunged his head into the skin, and reviled the dead body,
saying: "Although I live, and have conquered thee in battle,
thou hast ruined me for ever, by ensnaring my son. But I
will gorge thee, as I threatened, with blood." — This account
of the death of Cyrus, of the many that are given out, ap-
pears to me the most authentic.

The Massagetse wear the same costume as the Scythians,
and have the same mode of life: their forces consist of
horse and foot; both join in battle: there are bowmen and
javelin-men, who are wont to carry battle-axes. They make
great use of gold and copper : in what concerns the spear-
head, arrow-head, and battle-axe, they make all of copper:
all that belongs to the helmet, girdle, and coat of mail, is
ornamented with gold : in the same manner, they put copper
mail on the cruppers of their horses; but the bridle, bit, and
head-trappings, are of gold : they use no silver or iron ; for
those metals are not found in their country, which abounds,
however, in copper and gold. Their manners and customs
are as follows: every man marries one woman, but all the
women are in common; for it is the Massagetse, not the
Scythians, as the Hellenes assert, that have this practice.

Whatever female a Massagetan man feels a desire to enjoy
he has only to hang his quiver on her waggon, and do what
he wishes at his ease. No limit is set to human life; but
when a man becomes exceedingly infirm by age, his nearest
kinsmen all meet, and sacrifice him, together with other cat-
tle: they then boil the flesh, and feast on it: this is consid-
ered the happiest mode of ending life. Such as die of disease

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 113

are not eaten; but are placed under ground, their friends la-
menting that they did not reach the age to be sacrificed. They
sow no pulse; but live on their cattle and fish, which abound
in the Araxes: their beverage, also, is milk. They worship
the sun alone, to whom they offer up horses: the reason of
which custom is, that they think it right to consecrate the
swiftest of mortal creatures to the swiftest of the gods.

EUTERPE [BOOK II]

At the decease of Cyrus, Cambyses succeeded to the throne :
he was a son of Cyrus, by the daughter of Pharnaspes, Cassan-
dane; whose previous death Cyrus not only mourned deeply
himself, but commanded all that he ruled over likewise to
mourn. Cambyses, the son of this princess and of Cyrus, con-
sidered the lonians and vEolians as hereditary slaves; and
when about to open a campaign against Egypt, took men, not
only from the other nations under his rule, but also from those
Hellenes that had been conquered.

The Egyptians, prior to the reign of Psammitichus, re-
garded themselves as the most ancient of mankind. But that
prince, having come to the throne, resolved to ascertain what
people were the first in existence : from that time the Egyptians
have allowed that the Phcenicians existed before them, but that
they themselves are anterior to all others. Psammitichus, find-
ing it impossible to ascertain, by inquiry, any means of dis-
covering who were the first of the human race, devised the fol-
lowing experiment. He delivered over to a herdsman two new-
born children of humble parents, to rear them, with his flocks,
after this manner: his orders were, that no one should ever
pronounce a word in the presence of the children, who were to
be kept by themselves in a solitary apartment ; at certain hours
goats were to be brought to them ; the herdsman was to see that
they sucked their fill of milk, and then go about his business.
This was done and ordered by Psammitichus for the purpose
of hearing what word the children would first utter, after they
left off the unmeaning cries of infancy. And such accordingly

114 HERODOTUS

was the result. For the pastor had continued during the space
of two years to act according to these orders, when one day
opening the door, and entering, both the children fell upon
him crying 'becos,' and stretching out their hands. The first
time that the shepherd heard this, he accordingly kept quiet;
but the same word occurred repeatedly, every time he came
to attend to them: he therefore let his master know, and was
ordered to bring the children into his presence. Psammitichus
heard himself the word; and inquired what people it was that
called, in their language, any thing 'becos:' he was informed
that the Phoenicians give that name to 'bread.' In consequence,
the Egyptians, having deliberately weighed the matter, gave
place to the Phoenicians, and granted they were more ancient
than themselves. It was by the priests of Vulcan, at Memphis,
that I was informed things occurred as I have thus described.
The Hellenes, however, add many other nonsensical things;
for instance, that Psammitichus cut out the tongues of some
women, and, by their assistance, succeeded in bringing up the
children: — so far for the account of the education of these
children.^

In my conversations with the priests of Vulcan I heard
many other traditions at Memphis; and even proceeded
to Thebes and Heliopolis, on their account, being desirous to
know whether the traditions there would coincide with those
at Memphis ; for the Heliopolitans are represented as the most
skilful antiquaries among the Egyptians. Of those traditions
that relate to divine things, and which I may have heard, it is
not my intention to mention any thing more than the mere
names; for I think all men equally wise upon these matters.
If I should casually mention such things, it will be only when
necessitated, by the course of the narrative.

So far, then, as concerns human matters, they agree among
themselves in the statements I am going to present. That the
Egyptians were the first people in the world to discover the
year, and distribute over it the twelve parts of the four sea-

* This experiment was renewed in the fifteenth century, by James IV,
king of Scotland, who shut up two children in the isle of Inchkeith,
with a dumb attendant to wait upon them.

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 115

sons; a discovery, they said, deduced from the stars: (so far,
in my opinion, they act more wisely than the Hellenes ; for the
Hellenes intercalate every other year one month, on account
of the seasons :^ the Egyptians, on the other hand, reckon twelve
months of thirty days, and add to every year five days above
that number, so that the circle of the seasons comes around to
the same point.) They assert, likewise, that the Egyptians
were the first to adopt and bring into use the names of the
twelve gods; a practice which the Hellenes borrowed from
them:^ they were likewise the first to erect altars, as well as
images and temples, and to invent the carving of figures on
stone: of the authenticity of these statements, they, in most
cases, brought proofs from facts. The priests stated, also, that
Menes was the first of mortals that ever ruled over Egypt : to
this they added, that in the days of that king, all Egypt, with
the exception of Thebaic nome, was but a morass; and that
none of the lands now seen below Lake Mceris then existed :
from the sea up to this place is a voyage, by the river, of seven
days. I myself am perfectly convinced the account of the
priests in this particular is correct : for the thing is evident to
every one who sees and has common sense, although he may
not have heard the fact, that the Egypt to which the Hellenes
navigate is a land annexed to the Egyptians, and a gift from
the river; and that even in the parts above the lake just men-
tioned, for three days' sail, concerning which the priests relate
nothing, the country is just of the same description.

The nature of the Egyptian soil is, therefore, such as I
will now relate. In the first place, as you make for that coun-
try, and when you are yet one day's sail from land, if you cast

1 If their year had been exactly three hundred and sixty-five days;
far from the seasons always coming at the same time, the winter
months would at the end of some centuries come in the spring, and
so on with the others.

2 The Greeks did not borrow the very names from the Egyptians ;
but took from them the practice of giving each of their many gods
some particular name. The Pelasgians, who had borrowed this
usage from the Egyptians, and transmitted it to the Greeks, wor-
shipped many gods in earliest times, but knew pf no nominal dis-
tinction between them.

116 HERODOTUS

the sounding-lead, you will bring up mud, and find yourself in
eleven fathoms' water: a proof this, that so far the alluvion
extends.

[Herodotus next gives the geographical dimensions of
Egypt, which correspond very closely with modern measure-
ments. ]

Most part of the country, thus described, appeared to me,
in accordance with the statement of the priests, to be an adjunc-
tion to Egypt. For the space between the above-mentioned
mountains, situate beyond the town of Memphis, was evidently
to me, at some time or other, a gulf of the sea ; after the same
manner, in fact, as the country about Troy and Teuthrania, and
Ephesus and the plain of the Mseander ; to compare little things
with great : for not one of the rivers, whose deposits have
formed those countries, can be put into comparison, as to size,
with even one mouth of the Nile, divided into five as the
stream of that river is. But there are other rivers, not equal in
size to the Nile, which have wrought great works : I might
mention their names ; and among others, not the least, those of
the Achelous, which, flowing through Acarnania, falls into the
sea, and has already converted one half of the Echinades islands
into continent. There belongs also to the territory of Arabia,
not far from Egypt, a gulf of the sea that stretches inland
from the Erythraean sea, the length and breadth of which I
will here describe : the length of the voyage, beginning from the
innermost recess, and proceeding to the open sea, takes up forty
days with oars ; and in the broadest part of this gulf presents
a passage of half a day. In this arm of the sea, an ebb and
flow of the waters takes place daily. Now, in my mind, Egypt
was, at one time, another similar bosom of the sea ; this latter
penetrating from the northern^ sea, towards Ethiopia ; and the
former flowing from the southern ocean, towards Syria ; work-
ing, by their respective bays, almost into one another, and leav-
ing but very little land between them. Now, then, were the
Nile to turn his stream into the aforesaid Arabian gulf, and

^ That is to say, the Mediterranean sea : the southern sea is the
Erythraean.

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 117

continue such deposits, what could hinder him from fiUing
it up, within, say even twenty thousand years? I am myself
certain that it would take less than ten thousand. How, then, I
ask, in the time that elapsed before I came into the world,
might not a gulf, at all events much larger than this of Egypt,
have been absorbed by the deposits of so great a river, and one
so capable of working changes? Therefore, I do not discredit
what the priests relate concerning Egypt ; but am completely of
their way of thinking, when I see Egypt project beyond the
neighbouring coasts into the sea, shells appearing on the
mountains, and a salt efflorescence, that even eats into the pyra-
mids; and that mountain also above Memphis, the only one
that is covered with sand in Egypt : add to which, that Egypt,
in its soil, resembles neither Arabia on its frontier, nor Libya,
nor Syria ( for there are Syrians that occupy the sea-shores of
Arabia) : the Egyptian earth is black, chapped, and clammy,
being swept from Ethiopia by the river, and deposited here;
but the ground in Libya is, we know, of a reddish colour and
sandy nature; while that of Arabia and Syria is more clayey
and flinty.

The following fact affords a great proof of the origin of
this country : this was communicated to me also by the priests :
they asserted, that, under king Moeris, whenever the river rose
at least eight cubits, its waters irrigated Egypt below Mem-
phis; and at the time I received this information from the
priests, nine hundred years had not passed from the time of
the death of Mceris. But in the present day, unless the waters
of the river rise at least sixteen or fifteen cubits, they do not
overflow the land. It appears therefore to me, that if this soil
continues to grow according to the same proportion in height,
and the river to furnish the same deposits for the increase, the
Egyptians dwelling in what is called the Delta, and in the rest
of the countries below Lake Moeris, in consequence of the land
not being flooded by the Nile, must forever after suffer the very
same calamity which they boded once to the Hellenes ; informed
that all the soil of the Hellenes is refreshed by rain, and not, as
theirs, by the river floods, they observed: "Some day, the
Hellenes, deceived in their hopes, will be miserably afflicted
with the horrors of famine." The purport of this observation

118 HERODOTUS

was, "that if God did not vouchsafe rain to them, but sent a
drought, the Hellenes would be taken off by famine; as it
seemed they had no resource for water, excepting "Jove only."
And in so saying to the Hellenes, the Egyptians are perfectly
right : but let us, on the other hand, remember what would
happen to the Egyptians themselves : if, as I said before, the
lands below Memphis, which are those that increase, should
in time to come grow in height in the same proportion, what
could save the Egyptians of those parts from the same calamity
of famine? when their soil will not be refreshed, at all events,
by rain, and the river will no longer be able to overflow their
fields. Now, indeed, these people certainly procure the fruits
of the earth with less labour than any other in the world, and
even than the rest of the Egyptians : they have not the toil of
breaking open the furrows with the plough, nor of hoeing,
nor of any other work which the rest of men must perform in
cultivating a crop. On the contrary, when the river, of its
own accord, has flowed over and watered the fields, and then,
returning, forsaken them, each sows his own field, and drives
into it the swine : after the seed has been trodden in by these
animals, the crop remains the season through untouched : at
last, the husbandman threshes the corn by means of the swine,
and carries it to his garner.

If, therefore, we choose to adopt the opinion of the lonians
concerning Egypt, who declare that the Delta alone consti-
tutes Egypt, and say that its shore stretches from the watch-
tower of Perseus to the Pelusiac Tarichaea, a space that is equal
to forty schoeni ; that from the sea, inland, it stretches up to
'he city of Cercasorus, where the Nile divides, flowing in two
streams, one to Pelusium and the other to Canobus; and add,
that the other parts of Egypt belong to Libya and to Arabia; —
if, I say, we adopt the Ionian system, we may prove that the
Egyptians had originally no territory of their own, and this by
the following reasoning ; — their Delta, as the Egyptians them-
selves say, and I share in their opinion, has flowed together,
and come to light in late times, to use such an expression: if
therefore they had no territory at all, what an idle thing it was
to fancy that they were the oldest race in the world! surely
they had no need of recurring to the experiment of the children,

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 119

to determine what language they would speak! But I do not
believes the Egyptians to be co-original with the Delta, as it is
called by the lonians, but that they have existed from the time
that mankind has been : that, as the soil increased, many of them
were left behind, while others proceeded lower down; and
therefore Thebes was, of old, called Egypt, being in circum-
ference six thousand one hundred and twenty stades. If, then,
my opinion about these matters is correct, the lonians have very
erroneous conceptions about Egypt: if, on the contrary, the
opinion of the lonians is correct, I will prove that neither the
Hellenes nor the lonians themselves know how to reckon, when
they say the whole earth consists of three parts, Europe, Asia,
and Libya : for they ought undoubtedly to add a fourth part,
the Delta of Egypt; since, at all events, it belongs neither to
Asia nor to Libya. For it is clear, that, according to this
account, the Nile is not the boundary between Asia and Libya ;
as that river divides at the vertex of this Delta, so as to place it
between Asia and Libya. But let me dismiss the opinion of the
lonians, and say what I have to say about these things ; which
is this : — The whole of the country inhabited by Egyptians
should be Egypt ; like that of the Cilicians, which is Cilicia ; and
that of the Assyrians, which is Assyria. I know of no boun-
dary, correctly speaking, to Asia and Libya, unless it be the
frontier of the Egyptians : but if we follow the custom of the
Hellenes, we shall consider all Egypt, commencing from the
cataracts^ and Elephantine, as divided into two parts, and par-
ticipating in the names of both ; one part belonging to Libya,
and the other to Asia ; for the Nile, reckoning from the cata-
racts, flows on to the sea, dividing Egypt in the middle. As far,
then, as the town of Cercasorus, the Nile has but one stream :
from that city, however, it breaks into three directions : one of
these turns eastward ; it is called the Pelusiac mouth : another
proceeds westward, and is called the Canobic mouth: lastly,
the direct path of the Nile is this ; rolling down from the upper
countries, it comes to the vertex of the Delta ; from thence it
continues its course, dividing the Delta down the middle ; and
discharges into the sea, not by any means the most insignificant

1 i. e. at the second cataract : the large one is in Ethiopia.

120 HERODOTUS

or least-renowned portion of its waters ; this mouth is called the
Sebennytic. Two more mouths diverge from the Sebennytic,
and go down to the sea: their names are, one the Saitic, the
other the Mendesian. The Bolbitine and Bucolic mouths are
excavations, not the work of nature. — An oracle, pronounced at
Ammon, serves likewise to corroborate all that I have here dem-
onstrated on the subject of Egypt: this argument was com-
municated to me after I had formed my own opinion of the
nature of this country. The inhabitants of Marea and Apis,
who are situated on the confines of Libya, fancied they were
Libyans, not Egyptians; and being discontented with the rites
that concern victims, would fain be no longer restricted from
the use of cow's flesh : they sent accordingly to Ammon, and
represented, that "there was nothing common between them and
the Egyptians ; as they dwelt without the Delta, and used not
the same language; and wished to be allowed to eat of all
things." But the god denied the request, saying, that "all the
country which the Nile reached, and overflowed, was Egypt;
and that all who dwelt below Elephantine, and drank of the
waters of the river, were Egyptians." Such was the answer
returned. — The Nile, when full, overflows, not only the Delta,
but also other parts of the country, said to belong to Libya and
Arabia ; in some instances, for two days' journey on either side,
more or less.

Concerning the nature of the river, I was unable to obtain
any information, whether from the priests or from others: I
was very desirous, nevertheless, of ascertaining, through them,
the following particulars; — why the Nile fills and overflows,
during one hundred days, beginning from the summer solstice ;
and why, as it approaches to that number of days, it forsakes
the fields, and retires to its bed; so that the stream remains,
throughout the winter, shallow, until the return of the summer
solstice. These were, accordingly, things concerning which
I could not get any information whatever from the Egyptians,
when I inquired of them what was the reason that the Nile
differed so widely in its nature from all other streams. Not
only was I anxious to know something about the above par-
ticularities, but I also made inquiry wherefore this is the only

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 121

river in the world that sends forth no fresh gales blowing from
its surface.

Some of the Hellenes, however, desirous of making a
display of their wisdom, have proposed three different ways
of explaining the phsenomena of this river: two of these
systems are undeserving of»mention, except for the purpose of
shewing that such ever existed. One of these asserts, that the
etesian gales are the cause of the rise in the river, by impeding
the discharge of the Nile into the sea. But, frequently, the
etesian winds have not blown, and nevertheless the Nile still
presented the same effects : moreover, if the etesian winds were
the cause, that cause would act also on the other rivers that flow
in a direction opposite to the said winds, and consequently they
would undergo the same changes as the Nile itself ; indeed, so
much the more still, as they are smaller, and their currents not
so strong. Now, there are many rivers, both in Syria and
Libya, which are not subject to such alterations as the Nile.
The next system is indeed less entitled to credit than the above ;
but more marvellous, to use that expression. It asserts, that
the Nile, flowing out of the ocean, is the cause, and that the
ocean flows all round the earth. ^ The third explanation is by
far the most plausible, but also the most deceptions. This sys-
tem destroys itself, by affirming that the Nile proceeds from
melted snow ; for that river flows out of Libya, through Ethi-
opia, and thence passes into Egypt. How, then, can it come
about, that it should flow from snow ; coming, as it does, from
the hottest quarters into cooler? Many things occur, to a man
capable of reasoning on such a subject, to shew why it is not
probable this river can come from snow. The first and grand
proof is afforded by the winds that blow hot from those re-
gions : the second is, that the soil is never wetted by rain, nor is

1 This explanation seems to be as follows : the ocean, which the
ancients regarded as composed of fresh water, encompasses the
earth: when the periodical N.E. or etesian gales blow, a great body
of water is driven down towards the S.W. quarter of the ocean,
where it opens into the Nile; the consequence is, that the superabun-
dant waters rush into the channel of the river, and cause it to over-
flow the neighbouring country; — a theory, in truth, savouring highly
of the absurd and marvellous.

122 HERODOTUS

ice known there: if, however, snow were to fall, rain must nec-
essarily succeed within five days : so that if it snowed, it would
likewise rain in these countries. The third proof is, that the
men in that country become black, from the burning heat : kites
and swallows abide there throughout the year; cranes, flying
from the rude climate of the Scythian tract, seek their winter-
quarters in this country: if, therefore, ever so little snow were
known to fall in these regions, through which the Nile flows,
and from which it springs, none of the above things could take
place, as necessity demonstrates. As for the person who talks
about the ocean, he does not think about proving, but refers
his decision to some fable enveloped in the dark: for I never
knew of any river, at all events, called the Ocean ; but suppose
that Homer, or some of the earlier Poets, found the name, and
so introduced it into poetry.

But if, after criticising the above opinions, it becomes me
to explain my own opinion on these obscure subjects, I will
describe what I conceive to be the cause of the Nile's swelling
in summer. The sun, driven from his former path by the
storms at the winter season, proceeds to the upper parts of
Libya. Thus, therefore, to explain as briefly as possible, all is
said ; for the nearer this god is to any tract of land, there the
lack of water will, according to reason, be the greatest, and the
native river-streams will be dried up. But, to develope things
more in detail, the case is this : the sun, passing through the
upper part of Libya, produces the following effect : the atmos-
phere being at all times clear in those countries, and the ground
heated through, in consequence of the absence of cold winds,
the sun, in passing over, does just the same as he does to other
countries in summer-time, when his path is along the middle
of the firmament ; that is to say, he draws to himself the water,
and scatters it in the higher regions of the air, where the winds
take it up, diffuse and dissolve it ; so that, as one might reason-
ably expect, the south and south-west winds, blowing from
these quarters, are by far the most rainy of all. It is not, how-
ever, my belief that the su i throws away all the annual supply
of water from the Nile, but some of it abides round him.^ The

^ It was a general opinion, that the sun's food was water.

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 123

winter becoming milder, the sun comes back into the middle of
the heavens; and from that situation and time, he attracts
water equally from all the rivers in the world : until then, those
rivers have abundant streams from the admixture of rain-
water, the soil being rained upon and torn by torrents; but in
summer, the rains no longer pouring down, these rivers be-
come weak, from that cause, as well as from the attraction on
the part of the sun : the Nile, however, which receives no rain,
and yet is attracted by the sun, is the only river that at these
times is shallower than in summer; for in summer it is at-
tracted in the same proportion as all the rest of rivers, whereas
in winter it is the only one that is made to contribute. Thus
I conclude that the sun is the cause of these things. The same
cause, in my opinion, produces the dry air in this country, the
sun burning all on its passage : summer, in consequence, ever
reigns over the upper parts of Libya. But if the stations of the
seasons were to be interchanged, and the quarter of the heavens,
where the north and winter now reside, were to be occupied by
the south-west and south, and the north took the position of
the south ; if, I say, such a change were made, the sun, driven
away from the middle of the firmament, would pass over to the
upper parts of Europe, as it now does to those of Libya. Passing,
then, through all Europe, he would, I conceive, produce on the
Ister just the same effect as he does now on the Nile. The
absence of all breezes from the Nile is accounted for, in my
mind, by this reason : that from exceedingly hot countries it is
not at all likely any should blow ; for such a breeze is wont to
proceed from some cool region.

Let these matters, therefore, remain as they were at the
beginning. Of all Egyptians, Libyans, and Hellenes, that I
ever conversed with, not one professed to know any thing
about the sources of the Nile, except the steward of the sa-
cred things in Minerva's temple at Sais in Egypt; and he,
to all appearance, was, at best, only joking me, when he said
that he knew perfectly well. His statement was as follows :
"Two mountains, rising each to a peak, are situate between
the city of Syene in Thebais, and Elephantine; the names of
these mountains are, one Crophi, the other Mophi. Be-
tween these rise the sources of the Nile, which are bottomless :

124 HERODOTUS

one-half of the water runs north to Egypt, the other half
south to Ethiopia. Psammitichus, king of Egypt, he said,
proved, by actual experiment, that the springs are bottom-
less : he caused a rope, many thousand fathoms long, to be
twisted and let down, and it never came to the bottom."
Thus, therefore, this steward, if indeed he spoke at all to
the fact, induced me, by his description, to infer there were
at that place strong eddies and a whirlpool ; so that the water
buffeting against the rocks, the sounding-line could not find
its way to the bottom. Nothing more was I able to get from
any person: but with respect to my further research in the
most distant part of this river, I went up myself to the city
of Elephantine: so far I speak as an eye-witness; beyond that,
my account proceeds from what information I collected by
hearsay.

As you ascend from Elephantine, the country is very
rugged : here your boat must be fastened with a rope on
both sides, as you would harness an ox; and thus you pro-
ceed : but if the cords snap, the boat is carried off by the force
of the current: this sort of country lasts during four days'
navigation ; in which the Nile winds as much as the Maeander.
After this, you will come out into a smooth plain, where the
Nile rolls around an island, the name of which is Tachompso :
immediately above Elephantine you begin already to meet with
resident Ethiopians, and they occupy one-half of the island;
the other half is inhabited by Egyptians: close to the island
is an extensive lake, round which some Ethiopian nomades
rove : after you have crossed this lake, you enter again into the
bed of the Nile, which discharges itself therein: you are then
to land, and perform a forty days' journey along the river
side; as sharp rocks there rise in the Nile, and many shoals
occur, which make it impossible to navigate: after you have
completed your forty days' land-journey, you embark again
in a different boat, and continue your navigation for twelve
days, which brings you to a great city, called Meroe. This
city, it is said, is the metropolis of the rest of the Ethiopians :
its inhabitants worship only Jove and Bacchus among the
gods, and these they honour magnificently. They possess an

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 125

oracle of Jove; and wage war when and where the god ap-
points, through his warnings.

Ascending the river above this city, you will reach the Emi-
grants, in another space of time equal to what you come in from
Elephantine to the Ethiopian metropolis. These emigrants
are denominated the Asmach; a word that signifies the men
that stand on the king's left hand. These two hundred and
forty thousand Egyptians, of the war-caste, came over to the
Ethiopians from the following motives: under king Psam-
mitichus they were placed in the city of Elephantine, as a
defence and guard against the Ethiopians ; another party was
placed at Daphnse Pelusiacse, against the Arabians and Syri-
ans ; a third was stationed at Marea, to face Libya ; and still,
in my day, the garrisons of the Persians were distributed in
the same order as they were under Psammitichus ; for Persians
are garrisoned now at Elephantine and Daphnae. These Egyp-
tians, therefore, who had been three years on duty, were not
relieved by any new garrison : they, in consequence, held coun-
cil, and unanimously came to a resolution, to secede all from
Psammitichus, and go over to Ethiopia. The king, aware
of this, pursued the deserters: when he came up with them, he
implored them, saying a great deal, and begged them not to
forsake their paternal gods, their children, and their wives.
One of the deserters is represented to have then displayed his
secret parts, and said : "Where that is, we shall find plenty of
women and children." When these Egyptians arrived in
Ethiopia, they gave themselves up to the king of the Ethio-
pians : he made this return to them. Certain Ethiopians were
opposed to the king: he ordered the Egyptians to drive out
these, and take possession of their land. In consequence of
their settling among the Ethiopians, that nation became more
civilized, learning the Egyptian manners.

For the space of a navigation and journey of four months,
the Nile is therefore known, besides that portion of its course
that comprises Egypt : such is the number of months that
is found in adding up the days spent in going from Elephan-
tine to the country of these emigrants. There the Nile flows
from the west and setting sun. Concerning the still higher
parts, no one can give any correct accojimt ; that country being

126 HERODOTUS

desert, by reason of the broiling heat. I have heard, how-
ever, the following statement from some natives of Cyrene;
who relate, that they went upon a time to the oracle of Am-
mon, and there had an interview with Etearchus, the king
of the Ammonians: and how, after other subjects of conver-
sation, they fell upon a discourse about the Nile — that nobody
knew its sources. And that Etearchus said, some Nasamo-
nians came once to visit him: — this nation is Libyan: they
occupy the Syrtis, to the east of which they extend for a
small distance : — that at the arrival of these visitors, they
were asked if they had any fresh information to communicate
respecting the deserts of Libya; and they replied, that some
daring youths, the sons of powerful men, had grown up
among them: these young men, having reached men's estate,
devised various extraordinary feats; and among others, was,
to choose, by lot, five out of their number, who should go and
reconnoitre the deserts of Libya, and try whether they could
make any further discoveries than those who had visited the
most distant parts. — It must be observed, that in the portion
of Libya which stretches along the Mediterranean sea, begin-
ning from Egypt, and reaching to Cape Solois, which is the
extremity of Libya, the whole country is occupied by Libyans,
divided into various nations; excepting, however, the terri-
tories occupied by the Hellenes and Phoenicians. In the parts
above the sea-shore, and higher up than the inhabitants of the
coast, Libya is infested with wild beasts : above the wild-beast
tract, all is sand, dreadfully scant of water, and wholly unin-
habited.

"Accordingly, the young men deputed by their com-
panions, well provided with water and provisions, had passed
first through the inhabited country; then came to the tract
infested with wild beasts; and, crossing over to the desert,
commenced their journey towards the west. After going
over much sandy ground, in a march of many days, they at
last saw some trees, growing in a plain. They went up to
them, and plucked the fruit that hung from the branches : but,
while they were thus occupied in gathering the fruit, some
diminutive men, less than the common standard, laid hold
of them, and carried them off. The Nasamonians did not

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 127

understand the language of these people, nor did the conduct-
ors understand that of the Nasamonians. They were accord-
ingly taken through some vast morasses; after which, they
came to a town where all the inhabitants were of the same
size as their conductors, and black in colour. A great river
flowed by the town, in which crocodiles were seen." — So far,
then, I have reported the discourse of Etearchus the Ammo-
nian prince; except that, according to the Cyrenseans, "he
said, the Nasamonians returned ; and that the people they thus
came to, were all necromancers." With respect to this river
flowing by the town, Etearchus conjectured it to be the Nile;
indeed, reason shews that it is so: for the Nile flows out of
Libya, and divides that country; and (as I assume, inferring
the unknown by the known) proceeds parallel to the Ister.

The Ister is a river that, rising in the country of the Celts,
and at the town of Pyrene, flows, dividing the whole of Europe.
The Celts are outside the pillars of Hercules; they confine on
the Cynesians, who inhabit the most western parts of all the
Europeans. The Ister ends by flowing through Europe into
the Euxine sea, at the spot where stands the Milesian settle-
ment of Istria. The Ister therefore runs through inhabited
lands, and is known to many ; while no one can say any thing
about the sources of the Nile; because Libya, through which
it flows, is both uninhabited and desert : as far as it was pos-
sible to carry inquiry, it has been described. Near its end, it
enters Egypt: that country lies almost opposite Cilicia Mon-
tana: from this latter to Sinope, on the Euxine sea, is a
straight road, five days' journey for a speed-courier on foot.
Now Sinope lies exactly opposite to the place where the Ister
falls into the sea : so that I consider that the Nile, crossing the
whole of Libya, extends to the same length as the Ister. — So
much then for the Nile.

I am now going to extend my account of Egypt ; because it
possesses more wonders, and exhibits more curiosities, beyond
the powers of description, than any other country in the world ;
and for that reason, more must be said about it. The Egyp-
tians not only have a climate peculiar to themselves, and a
river differing in its nature from all other rivers: they have
also many customs and usages wholly opposite to those of

128 HERODOTUS

other men. Among them, the women go to market, and deal ;
but the men stay at home, and weave: in weaving, other
nations throw the woof up the warf, but the Egyptians throw
it down : the men carry burthens on their heads, the women
on their shoulders : the women stand erect when they dis-
charge their urine, the men crouch down: they eat out of
doors; but satisfy the other wants of nature within their
houses, alleging, that what is unseemly, but necessary, should
be done in secret ; but what is not unseemly, in open view : no
woman can serve the holy office, either for god or goddess;
but men can for both : no necessity compels sons to support
their parents, unless they choose : the daughters are compelled
to do so, even against their will. The priests of the gods else-
where wear long hair; but in Egypt they have it shorn: in
other nations, it is customary, in mourning, for the nearest
connexions to shave their heads; the Egyptians, in case of
death, suffer their hair to grow : with other nations, also, it is
the practice to live separate from their cattle ; with the Egyp-
tians, it is the contrary; they live together with their domes-
tic animals. The food of most others consists of wheat and
barley: among the Egyptians, every one is held very infamous
that does so; and all make their bread of spelt. They knead
the dough with their feet, but pick up dung and filth with
their hands. All nations leave their private parts as they are;
except such as have learnt otherwise from the Egyptians, who
are circumcised. Every man wears two garments ; every wom-
an one. Other people fasten outside the rings and sheets of
sails ; the Egyptians fasten them inside : they write letters,
and sum numbers with pebbles, from right to left ; and, in so
doing, say they go right- ways, and the Hellenes left-ways.
They have two sorts of letters; one sort called the sacred, the
other demotic.

They are the most exceedingly devout of all men, and fol-
low the practices here stated. They drink from brass mugs,
which they scour out every day without exception ; and wear
cotton garments, constantly fresh-washed, attending to this
most carefully. They circumcise themselves from motives
of cleanliness, deeming it better to be clean than handsome.
The priests shave their whole bodies every third day, in order

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 129

that no louse or any other vermin may be found upon them
when attending upon the gods: the priests also wear nothing
but cotton, and shoes of byblus :^ no other garments or shoes
are they allowed to wear. They wash themselves twice every
day in cold water, and twice every night; and observe ten
thousand other ceremonies, to use the expression. But, on
the other hand, they enjoy no slight advantages; they con-
sume none of their private property; are exposed to no ex-
pense; sacred bread is baked for them; a good supply of beef
and geese is furnished to each every day; and wine from the
grape^ is allowed them: fish they must not touch. As for
beans, the Egyptians not only refrain from sowing them on
their land, and also from eating raw those that come up spon-
taneously, but will not taste them, even when boiled : the priests,
especially, abhor the sight of that vegetable, regarding it as
an impure husk. Every one of the gods is attended, not by
one, but by several priests, over whom is a rector; and when-
ever a priest dies, his son succeeds. The pure male kine are
held sacred to Epaphus; and, on that account, they ascertain
which are so, in the following manner: if the examiner descry
even one black hair, the animal is deemed impure. One of
the priests appointed to the office examines the steer, both
when standing, and when lying on the back: he pulls out his
tongue, and sees whether it is pure of the prescribed marks,
which I shall mention elsewhere : he looks at the hairs of the
tail, whether they grow naturally. If the steer is pure in all
these respects, he puts a mark on him, by twisting a piece of
byblus round the horns, and spreading some sealing-earth,
which he stamps with his signet, and then drives him away.
He who sacrifices an unmarked victim is punished with death.
Such is the mode of ascertaining the purity of the victim.
Their manner of sacrificing is this: they lead the animal,
properly marked, to the altar, where they are going to sacrifice,
and kindle fire: this done, they pour wine on the altar,
and invoke the god ; then slaughter the steer, and cut off the
head. They next flay the animal's body; and having pro-

* The interior bark of the papyrus.

^ In contradistinction of barley-wine or bfeer.

130 HERODOTUS

nounced many imprecations on the head, those who have a
market-square, and among whom many Hellenic merchants
reside, carry it to that market, and accordingly dispose of
it: those that have no Hellenes resident among them cast the
head into the river. The imprecations they pronounce on the
heads are in these words : — "Whatever evil is about to fall
on the sacrificer himself, or on the whole of Egypt, may it be
diverted upon this head." In respect to the heads of the
slaughtered animals, and the libations of wine, the Egyptians
universally practise the same ceremonies alike in all sacrifices :
and in consequence of this custom, no Egyptian will ever taste
of the head of any animal. The disembowelling and burning
are variously performed, in various sacrifices. I will describe,
therefore, the practice for the deity whom they consider the
greatest, and in whose honour they celebrate the most mag-
nificent festival. After they have stript off the skin of the
steer, with prayer, they take out all the intestines of the belly,
leaving in the body the heart, liver and lights, together with
the fat : they then cut off the legs and the extremity of the
hind-quarter, with that of the fore-quarter and neck. After
they have done this, they fill the body of the steer with white
bread, honey, raisins, figs, incense and myrrh, together with
other perfumes: having thus stuffed the belly, they burn it,
pouring out abundance of oil. This sacrifice they perform
fasting; and while the holy things are being consumed, they
all beat their breasts : when they have ceased this, they spread,
as food, what remains of the victims.

All Egyptians, therefore, sacrifice pure male kine and
calves : they are not allowed, however, to sacrifice cows, which
are sacred to Isis: for the image of Isis is a woman's figure
with cows' horns, the same as the Hellenes depict lo. All
Egyptians alike have even a much greater veneration for cows
than for any other cattle ; that is the reason that no Egyptian
man or woman will hardly kiss an Hellenic man on the lips,
or make use of an Hellene's knife, or spit, ot saucepan; nor
will they taste of the flesh of a pure ox which has been carved
by an Hellenic knife. The kine that die are buried in the
following manner : the females are thrown into the river : the
males are put underground, by each proprietor, in the suburbs :

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 131

leaving above the surface one or both horns, as a mark. After
the body has rotted away, and when a certain time has elapsed,
a barge, from the island of Prosopitis, comes to each city: —
this island is situated in the Delta ; it is nine schoeni in circum-
ference, within which are several cities, but especially one
from which a great number of the barges come that collect the
skeletons of the oxen : the name of this town is Atarbechis,
where a temple to Venus has been erected : — from this town,
accordingly, many persons go to different places, dig up the
bones, convey them away, and bury them all in one place. In
the same manner as the oxen, they bury all other cattle that
die : such is their custom ; for the Egyptians kill none of these.
Those who belong to the temple built to Theban Jove, or are
of the Theban nome, refrain all from sheep, and sacrifice
goats ; for all Egyptians do not worship the same gods alike,
excepting Isis and Osiris, whom they accordingly call Bac-
chus: these they all worship alike. But those who belong to
the temple of Mendes, or the Mendesian nome, refrain from
goats, and sacrifice sheep. The Thebans therefore, and such
as refrain from sheep after their example, account for that
usage in the following manner: "that Hercules was exceed-
ingly desirous of seeing Jupiter, and Jupiter did not wish to
be seen by him: as Hercules persisted, Jupiter devised this:
he skinned a ram; cut off the head, which he held before him;
then wrapped himself in the fleece; and so exhibited himself
to Hercules." In consequence of this, the Egyptians make
the image of Jupiter in the shape of a ram-face: and from
the Egyptians the same practice has been taken by the Am-
monians, who are descendants from the Egyptians, and speak a
language between that of both those nations: in my opinion,
the Ammonians took also their name from this circumstance,
as the Egyptian word for Jupiter is Amoun. The Thebans
do not, for this reason, sacrifice rams, but hold them sacred;
except on one day only in the year, the festival of Jupiter,
when they slaughter a ram, skin him, and wrap the fleece
around the image of Jupiter; they then bring another image
alongside of it, that of Hercules : having so done, the wor-
shippers, assembled in the temple, beat their bosoms all in

132 HERODOTUS

mourning for the ram, and afterwards bury him in a holy
crypt.

By the account given me of this Hercules, he is one of
the twelve gods : concerning the other Hercules, known among
the Hellenes, I was no where able to hear any thing about
him in Egypt. And, indeed, I have many different proofs, to
demonstrate that, at all events, the Egyptians did not adopt
from the Hellenes the name of their Hercules, but rather that
the Hellenes adopted it from the Egyptians ; those Hellenes, I
mean, who imposed the name on Amphitryon's son: for in-
stance, this is one; that Amphitryon and Alcmene were of
Egyptian origin; and because the Egyptians say that they are
ignorant of the names of Neptune and the Dioscuri, and
never admitted them among their other gods; — now it is
certain, that if they had admitted the name of any deity from
the Hellenes, they must, at all events, have thought of them
the first, not the last; for even in those days the Egyptians
made some voyages, and there existed Hellenic sailors ; and I
myself have every reason to think that the Egyptians would
have been acquainted with the names of the above gods long
before they heard of Hercules. But the Hercules of the Egyp-
tians is one of their ancient gods; and, according to their
statement, it was seven thousand years prior to Amasis's reign,
when from the eight gods came twelve gods, of whom they
regard Hercules as one. Anxious to get authentic information
from whence I could obtain it, I undertook a voyage to Tyre
in Phoenicia, where I had heard there was a temple of Her-
cules much venerated; and I saw that sacred edifice richly
stored with various and numerous offerings ; and in the inside
stood two pillars, one of pure gold, the other of emerald stone/
which shone brilliantly at nights. I entered into conversation
with the priests of the god, and inquired of them how long
it was since the temple was erected; and I found that they
also differed from the Hellenes, as the priests gave for answer,
that the temple of the god was built at the same time Tyre
itself was; and that from the building of Tyre it was two
thousand and three hundred years. I saw also another tem-

1 Perhaps green glass.

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 133

pie, at Tyre, to Hercules, with the cognomen of Thasian: to
Thasos therefore I proceeded, where I found a temple of Her-
cules, built by the Phoenicians, who, navigating in search of
Europa, laid the foundation of Thasos ; an event that occurred
five generations of men before the Hercules son of Amphit-
ryon was born in Hellas. The result, therefore, of these
researches makes it clear, beyond all doubt, that Hercules was
an ancient god; and those Hellenes appear to me to act the
most properly, who have erected two sorts of Heracleum ; one
for the original Hercules, to whom they oflfer sacrifice, as im-
mortal, and under the name of Olympian Hercules ; the other,
for him to whom they give honours as to the hero.

But the Hellenes relate many other things thoughtlessly:
this for instance, is a silly fable they tell of Hercules; that, "on
his arrival in Egypt, the inhabitants crowned him, and took
him in procession to be sacrificed to Jupiter ; that for some time
Hercules kept quiet; but when, at the altar, they began the
sacrific solemnities, he exerted his strength, and slew them
every one."

Now, such people as say this sort of things strike me
to be totally unacquainted with the nature and the customs
of the Egyptians; for with that people it is not lawful to
sacrifice even cattle, excepting sheep, and such steers and
calves as happen to be pure : I must add geese also : how could
they, then, sacrifice human beings? Besides, Hercules was
but one, and, as yet, no more than a man : how could he, then,
as they say, have the power to slay many thousands? Be
mercy shewn, at the hands both of gods and heroes, to us, that
say such things about them!

But, as to the reason why the above Egyptians do not
sacrifice bucks or goats, the Mendesians think that Pan was
one of the eight original gods : these eight gods, they say,
existed prior to the twelve gods; and, accordingly, like the
Hellenic painters and statuaries, they represent the images
of Pan with a goat's face and buck's legs : they do not, how-
ever, fancy that Pan is such, but consider him similar to the
other gods : for what purpose they represent him in this way
it is not easy for me to explain. But the Mendesians vener-
ate all goats, and the males more than the females ; and, with

134 HERODOTUS

them, goat-herds are held in great honour; one especially,
among the bucks; who, when he dies, is deeply mourned,
according to custom, every where, by the Mendesian. The
buck, likewise, is called Mendes in Egyptian; and so is Pan,
the god.

In my time, a prodigy occurred in this nome; a buck
had connexion with a woman in open day, which came
under the observation of all persons. The pig is considered,
by Egyptians, as an unclean animal: in the first place, if any
one passing by a pig should touch the beast with his gar-
ments, he forthwith goes down to the river and plunges in
[with all his clothes on] : secondly, the swine-herds, although
native Egyptians, are the only people of the country that
never enter a temple ; nor will any person give one of them his
daughter in marriage; nor will he take a wife from among
them: but the swine-herds take and give in marriage among
themselves. The Egyptians, therefore, dare not offer swine
to any other gods than Diana (the Moon) and Bacchus: to
whom, at the same time, that is to say, at the same full moon,
they sacrifice pigs, and afterwards eat of the flesh. Why they
abhor pigs at every other festival, and sacrifice them at that
one, is accounted for by Egyptians : although I am aware
what the reason is, it is more becoming I should say nothing
about it.

This sacrifice to the Moon is thus performed: after the
sacrificer has slaughtered the victim, he puts together the
tip of the tail, the milt, and the caul; then covers them with
all the fat found upon the belly of the animal: this is after-
wards consumed by fire. The remainder of the flesh is eaten
during the full moon in which the sacrifice is offered up: on
no other day would it hardly be even tasted. The poor people
among them, from their want of means, make pigs of dough,
which they bake and offer up as sacrifice. On the eve of the
festival of Bacchus, every one slaughters before his door a
young pig; and then returns the victim to the swine-herd who
supplied it, that he may carry it away. The rest of the fes-
tival, with the exception of the pigs, is celebrated by the
Egyptians, in almost all its details, after the same manner
as by the Hellenes: in the place of phalli, is substituted an

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 135

invention of their own; images about a cubit in height, moved
by springs, which are paraded about the towns and villages by
the women; the member scarcely any smaller than the whole
body, nodding continually : a piper heads the procession ; and
the women follow, singing the praises of Bacchus. A relig-
ious reason is assigned for the member being so dispropor-
tionate, and for its being the only part of the body that moves.

I presume, therefore, that even in those early times Melam-
pus the son of Amythaon, far from being ignorant of this
mode of sacrifice, was perfectly acquainted with the usage:
for Melampus was the person who introduced among the Hel-
lenes the name of Bacchus, his ceremonies, and the proces-
sion of the phallus. He did not, however, lay open the whole ;
but the sages that followed him have given more copious ex-
planations. Melampus, therefore, was the institutor of the
procession of the phallus to Bacchus; and from him the Hel-
lenes learned to do as they now do. For my part, I am of
opinion that Melampus, a wise man, endowed with the gift of
prophecy, in consequence of information obtained from Egypt,
introduced various things among the Hellenes, and more par-
ticularly, with some slight alterations, the worship of Bac-
chus; for I can by no means allow that the ceremonies per-
formed in honor of Bacchus, both in Egypt and among the
Hellenes, should so coincide by chance; in which case they
would be consonant to Hellenic customs, and not have been
so lately introduced: neither can I admit that the Egyptians
borrowed either this practice from the Hellenes, or any other
usage. My opinion is, that Melampus obtained most of his
information respecting Bacchus from Cadmus the Tyrian, and
from his followers out of Phoenicia into the country now
called Boeotia.

Nearly all the names of the gods came from Egypt to
Hellas: for I am convinced, by my own inquiries, that they
must have proceeded from some people not of Hellenic race :
accordingly, I think they came, for the most part, from Egypt.
Indeed, with the exception of Neptune and the Dioscuri, as I
before observed, and of Juno, Vesta, Themis, the Graces,
and Nereids, the names of all the other gods have for ever
been in existence among the Egyptians: this I say from the

136 HERODOTUS

authority of the Egyptians themselves. As to those names
which they are not acquainted with, they were, I have no
doubt, inventions of the Pelasgians: Neptune, however, must
be excepted; which god the Hellenes borrowed from the
Libyans; for none but Libyans originally possessed the name
of Neptune, a god whom they have always worshipped.

The Egyptians have no ceremonies instituted in honour of
heroes. The above, therefore, and several other things likewise,
which I shall by and by explain, have been adopted by the Hel-
lenes from the Egyptians. As to the practice of representing
the images of Mercury with the member erect, that was not
learned from the Egyptians, but from the Pelasgians : the first
of all the Hellenes that adopted this custom were the Athenians,
whose example the rest followed; for the Pelasgians were
neighbours of the Athenians, at that time already reckoned
Hellenes : and from thence the Hellenes first took this prac-
tice. Whoever has been initiated in the mysteries of the
Cabiri, which the people of Samothrace have adopted from
the Pelasgians and now celebrate, will know what I mean;
for these Pelasgians who had previously been the neighbours
of the Athenians, dwelt, of old, in Samothrace; and from
them the Samothracians adopted the mysteries. The Athe-
nians were accordingly the first of the Hellenes that, borrowing
the custom from the Pelasgians, made their images of Mer-
cury with the member erect : for which the Pelasgians assigned
a sacred reason, explained in the mysteries at Samothrace.

Originally, the Pelasgi sacrificed all kinds of victims, and
offered prayers to the gods (such was the information I ob-
tained at Dodona) ; but attached no name, or cognomen, to
anyoneof those gods; for as yet they had never heard of any.
They called them gods on this account, that they had arranged
and distributed all things with such order. After a long time
had intervened, they became acquainted with the names of
all the gods imported from Egypt; except that of Bacchus,
which they heard of at a later period. Soon after, they
consulted the oracle at Dodona concerning the names: — ^that
oracle is deemed the most ancient of all in Hellas, and was, at
the time we are speaking of, the only one: — the Pelasgians,
therefore, having consulted the Dodonsean oracle, "whether

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 137

they were to adopt the names coming from abroad;" the
oracle gave the answer, "to adopt them." From that period,
they made use of the names of the gods, in their devotions; a
practice imitated some time later, from the Pelasgians, by the
Hellenes. As to whence each of the gods sprung; whether
they had all existed from eternity; what they were, as to
form; such things were only known of yesterday, or the day
before, to use a trivial expression: for I consider Homer and
Hesiod older than myself by four hundred years, certainly not
more : they were the poets that framed the Hellenic theogony,
gave distinctive names to the gods, distributed among them
honours and professions, and pointed out their respective
forms. The poets said to have flourished before the above
two were, it is my belief, really posterior to them. My au-
thority for the assertions in the first part of these statements
is the Dodonaean priestesses : it is on my own authority I
speak of Hesiod and Homer.

Concerning the two oracles, that of the Hellenes, and the
other in Libya, the following account is given by the Egyp-
tians. The priests of Thebaean Jupiter assert, "That two
consecrated women were carried off by Phoenicians; that, it
was ascertained, one of them was sold, to be taken into Libya;
the other was disposed of to the Hellenes: that these women
were the original foundresses of the oracles, in the said na-
tions." I asked, how they could know so positively that this
was the case: to which their reply was: "that diligent search
was made by them after those women; but they were unable
to find them; and were subsequently made acquainted with
what they had accordingly stated concerning the two women."
Such, therefore, was the account I heard from the priests at
Thebes: the following, however, is stated by the women that
pronounce the oracles at Dodona. "Two black doves flew
away from Thebes in Egypt: one reached Libya; the other
directed her flight to them. That the dove perched in an oak-
tree, and, with human voice, proclaimed, it behoved an oracle
of Jove should be there established. They took this to be a
divine token to them, and did accordingly. — They add, that
the other dove arrived in Libya, and ordered the Libyans to
found the oracle of Ammon," which is also one of Jupiter's.

138 HERODOTUS

The priestesses of Dodona said the same; both the eldest,
named Promenia, and the juniors, called Timarete, and Ni-
candra: and all the Dodonaean people belonging to the holy
precinct agreed with them. My opinion of these things is,
that if it was true that the Phoenicians did carry oflf the con-
secrated women, and that they were sold, one into Libya, and
the other into Hellas, I presume that the latter was disposed
of to some people of Thesprotia, now a part of Hellas, pre-
viously called Pelasgia; and that, reduced to slavery, she
erected a temple to Jupiter under a green oak ; as it was nat-
ural for a servant in the temple of Jupiter at Thebes to think
of the place from which she came : and from this arose the
oracle, when the woman had attained a knowledge of the
Hellenic language; and the report originated with her, that
her sister had been sold in the same manner by the Phoeni-
cians, to go into Libya. I presume, likewise, that the women
were called doves by the people of Dodona; for this reason,
that they were foreigners, and appeared to them to chatter like
birds: after a time, they say, the dove spoke with human
voice ; that was, when the woman began to speak intelligibly :
so long as she spoke a foreign tongue, they imagined she chat-
tered as a bird ; but how could a dove, of all things, speak like
a human being? By saying that the bird was black, they give
us to understand the woman was an Egyptian. The oracle at
Thebes of Egypt, and that at Dodona, resemble each other
very closely. — The practice of divination by the victims in
temples came likewise from Egypt.

Festive congregations, processions, and thanksgivings to
the gods were first introduced by the Egyptians, from whom
the Hellenes learned the same practices : the early adoption
of these rites by the Egyptians, and their comparatively mod-
ern establishment among the Hellenes, afford sufficient proof
of my assertion. The Egyptians have festive meetings more
than once in every year: the greatest and the most rigidly-
observed festival is that of Diana, at Bubastis ; the second, that
of Isis, at Busiris : the largest temple of Isis is in this town,
which stands in the centre of the Egyptian Delta: Isis, when
translated, signifies Ceres. The third festival is celebrated at
Sa'is, in honour of Minerva; the fourth at Heliopolis, to the

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 139

Sun; the fifth at Buto, in honour of Latona; the sixth at
Papremis, to Mars. Those, accordingly, who come by water
to Bubastis act in the following manner. Men and women
embark together; vast numbers of both sexes are seen in every
barge : some of the women have rattles, with which they make
a noise, some of the men also play on the fife, in every boat :
the rest of the women and men sing, and clap their hands.
When, in their progress, they arrive at any town, they push
their bark to land; where some of the women do as I have
described, while others scoff and scream at the women belong-
ing to the place : some also dance ; while others, standing forth,
pull up their clothes and exhibit their persons. The same
thing takes place at every town on the river-side: and when
they have reached Bubastis, they celebrate the feast, and offer
up great sacrifices : more grape-wine is consumed at this feast
than in all the rest of the year besides. The congregated mul-
titude of men and women, without reckoning the children,
amounts, the people of Bubastis say, to seven hundred thou-
sand.

In what manner the feast of Isis is kept at Busiris has
been already described by me: there, accordingly, after the
sacrifice, all the men and women, to the amount of many
myriads, beat themselves on the breast, to the honour of whom
I am not at liberty to divulge. The Carians that are settled
in Egypt carry their zeal still farther, inasmuch as they slash
their faces with their knives ; shewing thus, that they are not
Egyptians, but foreigners. At Sais, after the people have
collected to be present at the sacrifices, all the inhabitants, on
a certain night, kindle a great number of lamps, in the open
air, around their houses : the lamps are small flat saucers filled
with salt and oil, on the surface of which floats a wick that
burns through the whole night ; and hence the feast is called the
lighting up of lamps. The Egyptians who cannot join this
festive congregation observe the night of sacrifice, and every
one lights up lamps ; so that the illumination is not confined to
Sais alone, but extends all over Egypt. A religious reason is
assigned for this night being so honoured, and the illumina-
tion that accompanies it. At Heliopolis and Buto the people
come merely, and attend the sacrifices: but at Papremis, not

140 HERODOTUS

only are the sacrifices offered up, and the holy ceremonies per-
formed, as in the other towns, but, about sunset, a few of the
priests are employed about the image, while the greater part,
armed with bludgeons, stand in the portal of the sacred edifice :
other men, determined to accomplish certain vows they have
made, and more than a thousand strong, each provided also
with a bludgeon, stand in a mass opposite: (the image, placed
in a small wooden chapel, all gilt, is conveyed the day before
to some other holy sojourn:) the few left about the image
drag a four-wheel vehicle, with the chapel containing the
image: the priests stationed in the portal refuse admittance:
the devotees, rushing to the assistance of the god, fall on the
opponents with their bludgeons: then begins a furious strug-
gle with clubs: they break one another's heads, and many
must, I conceive, die of their wounds, although the Egyptians
themselves deny that this ever is the case. The people of
Papremis assert, that the reason for thus celebrating the feast
is this : that the mother of Mars resided in the temple; her son,
educated at some distant spot, having come to manhood,
wished to pay a visit to his mother; but the attendants, who
had never before seen him, refused him admittance, and drove
him away. Mars therefore collecting men from the other
part of the city, handled the servants very severely, and forced
an entrance to his mother. In consequence of that event they
declare that this sort of combat is instituted on his festival.

The Egyptians were also the first to establish the custom,
that all communication with women in the sacred places
should be prohibited, and that men who had been connected
with females should not enter the temples unwashed. For
with nearly all nations, except the Egyptians and Hellenes,
men may either sleep with women within the sacred edifice,
or, rising from a female partner, enter the temple unwashed.
These people put mankind on a level with the brute creation ;
for, say they, other animals and various birds are seen coupling
in the shrines, temples, and sacred precincts; and, conse-
quently, if this was displeasing to the god, the brute creatures
even would not do it. The persons that endeavour to excuse,
by such reasoning, the above behaviour, do not by any means
meet with my approbation. The Egyptians observe, with

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 141

scrupulous care, all religious ordinances, and especially the
above mentioned.

Although Egypt confines on Libya, it is not very abundant
in animals : those found in this country are all held to be sacred,
whether domesticated by men or otherwise. Were I to men-
tion the reasons why they are considered holy, I should be de-
scending in my narrative to religious matters, which I wish,
above all things, to avoid: even the few I have superficially
spoken of, were mentioned from necessity. The practice with
the Egyptians, in respect of animals, is this : curators are ap-
pointed for feeding every kind separately : they are Egyptian
men and women : and the son inherits the dignity of his father.

The inhabitants of cities acquit themselves in the following
manner of the vows they have made to the gods : when they
pray to the god to whom the animal may be consecrated, they
shave either the whole heads of their children, or the half,
or the third only of their heads : they weigh the hair in scales
against silver: whatever that weight may be, they give it to
the curator of the animals ; in return for which, she cuts up
some fish, and gives it as food to them: such, accordingly, is
the appointed mode of feeding them. Whoever kills one
of these animals, if wilfully, the punishment is death: if acci-
dentally, the culprit is bound to pay what fine the priests may
impose : it is understood, however, that he who kills an ibis or a
vulture, whether wittingly or unwittingly, must necessarily be
put to death.

Although the domesticated animals are numerous, their
numbers would be still greater, were it not for what takes
place with the cats. When the females have littered, they
no longer seek the company of the males, who, finding it
impossible to gratify their desires at that time, have recourse,
in consequence, to this artifice: they take away, secretly, the
kittens from the females, and, carrying them off, kill them : in
so doing, however, the males do not devour the young. The
female cats, deprived of their kittens, and desirous of others,
seek again the company of the males ; for the cat is much at-
tached to her offspring. When a fire occurs, a surprising prod-
igy takes place among the cats : for the Egyptians, not heeding
the conflagration, stand at some distance, and give their whole

142 HERODOTUS

attention to the cats : those animals however slip between, and
leap over the ranks of men, to rush into the fire : at this, great
sorrow takes possession of the Egyptian. When a cat dies, in
a house, of a natural death, the inmates all shave their eye-
brows : but those with whom a dog dies, shave the whole body,
together with the head. The deceased cats are carried to Bu-
bastis, where they are embalmed, and buried in holy vaults.

As for the dogs, all that die are buried in sacred cells, by
the respective persons to whom they belonged, and in their own
towns. The ichneumons^ are buried in the same manner as
the dogs : but shrew-mice and vultures are taken to Buto ; the
ibises to Hermopolis ; the bears, which are not very abundant,
and the wolves,^ not much larger than foxes, are buried wher-
ever their carcases may be found.

The following is a description of the crocodile. During
the four winter months he eats nothing: he is four-footed,
and amphibious: this animal is oviparous: the female lays
her eggs in the ground, and there leaves them. The croco-
dile passes the greater part of the day on the dry land; but
the whole night in the water, because at that time the water is
at a higher temperature than the atmosphere or the dew. Of
all living things we are acquainted with, the crocodile is that
which, from the smallest, grows to be the largest; for the
crocodile's egg is not much larger than that of the goose ; and
the newly-hatched animal is proportioned to the egg he comes
from, but gradually increases in size, till he reaches a length
of seventeen cubits, and even still more. He has the eyes of a
pig ; large teeth and tusks in proportion to his body : is the
only animal that has no tongue; the only animal, also, that
does not move the lower jaw, but brings the upper jaw down
to the lower. He is armed with strong claws; his skin cov-

* This animal is found both in Upper and Lower Egypt. It creeps
slowly along, as if ready to seize its prey: it feeds on plants, eggs,
and fowls. In Upper Egypt, it searches for the eggs of the croc-
odile, which lie hid in the sand and eats them, thereby preventing
the increase of tliat animal. It may be easily tamed, and goes about
♦.he houses like a cat. It makes a growling noise, and barks when it
is very angry,
^ Perhaps jackals.

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 143

ered with scales, impenetrable on the back : blind in the water,
exceedingly quick-sighted on land : passing so much of his time
in the water, the inside of his mouth is always beset with
leeches. All other beasts and fowls fly before him; but he is
at peace with one sort of water-bird, called the trochilus, which
assists him greatly ; for when he gets out of the river on land,
and opens his jaws (which he is wont always to do towards
the west), the trochilus enters his mouth, and devours the
leeches. The crocodile is grateful for this service, and does
no harm to the bird. The crocodile, therefore, is sacred with
some Egyptians : by others, far from being sacred, he is pur-
sued as an enemy. The people residing about Thebes and
Lake Mceris consider the crocodiles to be highly sacred : each of
these people feeds one crocodile in particular, brought up so
tame as to allow himself to be handled : they put in his ears,
crystal and gold gems; bracelets on his fore paws; and give
him appointed and sacred provisions, and treat him hand-
somely while he is alive; when dead, they embalm him, and
inter him in a holy cell. The people at Elephantine, and the
environs, eat these reptiles, conceiving them far from sacred.
These animals are not in Egyptian called crocodiles, but
'champsae :' the lonians have given them the former name, from
an idea of their resemblance in shape to the lizards, or newts of
the hedges, which they thus denominate. The modes of
catching them are many and various : that which accordingly
appears to me at least the most deserving of description, I
shall describe. They bait a hook with the chine of a pig, and
let it down the middle of the stream: the fisherman holds,
on the bank of the river, a live hog, which he beats : the croco-
dile, hearing the squeaks, comes to the sound, and, meeting
with the chine, gorges the bait. The men now haul him in;
and, when the animal is drawn up on the land, the first thing
the fisherman does is to plaster his eyes over with mud : this
being done, the rest is easily effected : so long as this remains
undone, the difficulties are great. The hippopotamus, also, is
held sacred in the nome of Papremis, but not so by the rest
of the Egyptians. This animal may be thus described: he is
a quadruped; his foot is armed with claws; his hoof is that
of the ox : he has a pug-nose, and a horse's neck ; jutting teeth ;

144 HERODOTUS

the tail and the neigh of a horse. His size is that of the largest
sort of oxen; and his hide is so tough, that, when dry, javelins
are made from it. Otters, likewise, are met with in the Nile :
they hold them to be sacred, as well as, among fish, the lepi-
dotus and eel : they affirm that the above sacred animals are
the property of the Nile: and so, among birds, the fox-goose.

There is another sacred bird, called the 'phoenix;' which
I myself never saw, except in a picture; for it seldom makes
its appearance among them; only every five hundred years,
according to the people of Heliopolis. They state, that he
comes on the death of his sire: if at all like his picture, this
bird may be thus described, in size and shape. Some of his
feathers are of the colour of gold ; others are red. In out-
line, he is exceedingly similar to the eagle, and in size also.
This bird is said to display an ingenuity, which to me does not
appear credible: he is represented as coming out of Arabia,
and bringing with him his father to the temple of the Sun,
embalmed in myrrh, and there burying him. The manner in
which this is done, is as follows : — In the first place, he sticks
together an egg of myrrh, as much as he can carry, and then
tries if he can bear the burden: this experiment achieved, he
accordingly scoops out the egg, sufficiently to deposit his sire
within ; he next fills with fresh myrrh the opening in the egg
by which the body was enclosed : thus the whole mass, con-
taining the carcase, is still of the same weight. Having thus
completed the embalming, he transports him into Egypt, and
to the temple of the Sun.

In the vicinity of Thebes, a kind of serpents are sacred,
that never do any harm to men. They are diminutive in size ;
and carry two horns, springing from the crown of the head.
All these serpents, that die, they bury in the temple of Jupiter,
to whom it is said these reptiles are consecrated. But close to
the environs of Buto, there is a spot belonging to Arabia;
which I visited, in consequence of information I received con-
cerning some winged serpents. On my arrival there, I beheld
such quantities of prickly bones as it would be impossible to
describe: there were heaps of these spinal bones, some large,
others small, others again still smaller : all in great ';juantities.
The spot where the bones are accumulated, may be thus d*-

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 145

scribed: it is a gorge, between two steep mountains, and
leads to a wide plain, which is connected with the Egyptian
plain. And report says, that, with the spring, the winged
serpents fly out of Arabia, towards Egypt ; but the ibis, a sort
of bird, takes his post at the defile, opposes the passage of the
serpents, and destroys them. For this service, the Egyptians,
according to the Arabians, give great honours to the ibis ; and
the Egyptians themselves confess that such is their motive for
honouring these birds. The following is the description of the
ibis. He is all of a deep black; his legs are like the crane's;
his bill is strongly curved; his size that of the crex: such is
the description of the black ibis, the champion that fights
against the serpents. The other sort ( for there are two kinds
of ibis), more frequently met with, are naked on part of the
head and the whole of the neck : the plumage is white, except-
ing the few feathers on the head and throat, on the tips of the
wings, and the extremity of the tail, all of which are jet black.
The legs and bill are similar to the other species. The winged-
serpent is similar in shape to the water-snake: his wings are
not covered with feathers, but completely similar to those of
the bat. — So much for the description of the sacred animals.

Of the Egyptians with whom I have had an opportunity
to be acquainted, those inhabiting the arable parts of Egypt
are the most distinguished of the world in their exertions to
preserve the memory of events, and, beyond all doubt, the
most skilful historians. As to their mode of diet, they take
purgatives three successive days in every month ; and look for
health by means of emetics and clysters ; being convinced that
all the diseases incident to man have their origin in the food
that he takes.

In fact, next to the Libyans, the Egyptians are the
most healthy in the world; an advantage, I think, to be at-
tributed to the seasons, which are always the same; for
disease most frequently attacks the human frame at the
changes of the seasons. They are eaters of bread in the
form of spelt loaves, which they call 'cyllestis.' They make
use of wine, brewed from barley ; for their soil produces none
from the grape. They live on fish, raw, but sun-dried, or
steeped in brine: they eat also raw quails and ducks, and the

146 HERODOTUS

smaller birds, salted beforehand; and all the rest boiled or
roasted; but refrain from the birds and fishes which are re-
garded as sacred. In the wealthier classes of society, and at
their convivial banquets, a man carries round a wooden image
of a dead body, exactly carved and painted to represent a
corpse, although in its whole height not more than one or two
cubits. The person, that shews it round, says : "Look on this;
drink and be jovial; for when you are dead, such will you
be," This is their mode of managing their feasts.

They have their own national airs, and adopt none others :
among various compositions highly deserving of praise, there
is, more especially, one song, which is sung in Phoenicia and
Cyprus, and in other places; it bears different names in dif-
ferent nations, but coincides with what the Hellenes call
Linus, and which they sing. Among the many wonderful
things that I have observed in the Egyptians, this is one,
Whence did they get the Linus ?^ They have apparently sung
it from time immemorial. The Linus is called, in Egyptian,
Maneros. The Egyptians represent, that Maneros was the
only-begotten son of the first king of Egypt ; and that, on the
occasion of his untimely death, he was honoured with these
mournful strains by the people : and this lay was the first and
only one they had in early times. In the next following par-
ticular, the Egyptians assimilate to none of the Hellenes, ex-
cept the Lacedaemonians. The young people, meeting their
elders, give way, and turn out of their path; and, at their
approach, rise up from their seats. The following custom,
however, is not known to any Hellenic nation whatever: in-
stead of accosting one another in words on the ways, they
salute by sinking the hand to the knee. They wear cotton
under-garments, with fringes about the legs, and call them
'calasiris:' over these they throw mantles of white flannel;
but they take no woollen clothing whatever into their temple,
nor do they use shrouds of wool for the dead: that would be
contrary to law. In this respect they agree with the Orphic

"^ Linus, a hero, the son of Urania, on whose fate the Greeks had a
song, which was frequently chaunted at their feasts, and was called
Linus (see volume one, page 7).

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 147

and Bacchic rites, which are the same as the Egyptian and
Pythagorean: in the above mysteries, none of the initiated is
allowed to be buried in winding-sheets of wool. For which
institutions, a religious reason is assigned.

These again are inventions made by the Egyptians : Every
month, and every day, is consecrated to one of the gods ; and,
according to the birth-day of any person, is determined what
shall befal him, how he shall end his days, and what will be-
come of him. The Hellenic Poets have made use of this
science: they have found out more signs and tokens than all
the rest of mankind put together; for whenever any prodigy
occurs, they observe and note down, in writing, the result ;
and if at any time a nearly similar thing should happen, they
conclude that the same result will ensue. In respect of divina-
tion, the following practice holds : The art is vouchsafed to
no mortal man, but to some of the gods. Accordingly, there
are oracles of Hercules, of Apollo, Minerva, Diana, Mars, and
Jupiter; together with that of the greatest repute, the oracle of
Latona at Buto. The practice of medcine is thus distributed
among them: Every physician confines himself to one disease
only, no more : all places abound in doctors : some are doc-
tors for the eyes ; others respectively for the head ; teeth ; and
for the belly, and the parts about it, for the inward disorders.

Their mode of mourning and performing funeral cere-
monies is this : At the death of any person of distinction be-
longing to the family, all the females of the house accordingly
daub their heads and faces with mud, leave the corpse in the
house, and parade the town; and, after tying a girdle round
their waists, expose their bosoms, and beat their breasts:
they are accompanied also by all their female relations. The
men, on the other hand, beat their breasts, and gird their
waists. When these ceremonies have been performed, they
carry away the dead body, for the purpose of having it em-
balmed. For this business, certain persons are specifically ap-
pointed, and exercise it as a profession : when the corpse is
brought to them, these artists shew to the bearers of the body
some wooden models of dead bodies, painted to imitate nature ;
and first explain to them the most-care fully executed of these
patterns, the name of which in this business I deem it im-

148 HERODOTUS

proper to mention. They next shew the second pattern, con-
siderably inferior to the former, and cheaper; and then the
third, which is the cheapest of all. They then inquire accord-
ing to which model the people wish to have the body pre-
pared: when the relations present have agreed for the price,
they withdraw ; while the artists, who work at home, proceed
to embalm the body in the following manner, which is also the
most sumptuous. In the first place, with an iron hook, they
draw out the brain through the nostrils; not the whole, but a
part only; which they replace with certain drugs. Next,
with a sharp Ethiopian stone, they make an incision down the
flank, by which they draw out the whole of the intestines:
having cleansed the abdomen, and rinsed it with palm-wine,
they then sprinkle the inside with pounded perfumes. After
they have filled the belly with genuine pounded myrrh, casia,
and other perfumes, frankincense excepted, they sew up again
the aperture : having so prepared the body, they put it in
natron, where they steep it for seventy days: more than that
time it is unlawful to keep the body in pickle. When the
seventy days are gone by, they wash the corpse, and wrap the
whole body in bandages of cotton cloth, smeared with the gum,
which the Egyptians generally use instead of paste : the dead
body is then taken back by the relations ; who have a wooden
case, made in the shape of a man, in which they put the corpse;
and then, closing it, deposit the whole in a sepulchral cham-
ber, placing the case upright against the wall. This is the
most costly mode of preparation. For such as wish to go to
a moderate expense, and avoid all extravagance, the em-
balmers prepare the bodies thus: They fill their syringes with
oil made from the cedar, and inflate the abdomen of the corpse,
without making any incision or taking out the intestines, but
merely apply their injections by the anus of the dead body:
they stop the passage by which the injection might flow out,
and so put the body into pickle for the prescribed number of
days; on the last of which they let out from the abdomen the
cedar oil, by injecting which they had begun their operation :
the power of this drug is so great, that it dissolves and brings
out with it the bowels and other intestines. The natron con-
sumes the flesh; and consequently nothing remains of the body

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 149

but skin and bone. When this has been done and completed,
the embalmers return the body, without doing any thing more.

The third mode of embalming, which is used only for the
very poor, is this: they inject the abdomen with radish-juice,
steep the body the seventy days in pickle, and then give it to
the relations when they come to fetch it. As for the wives
of great people, they are not delivered to the embalmers imme-
diately after death ; neither are such women as have been par-
ticularly beautiful, and the subject of great notice: they are
entrusted to the embalmers three or four days after death:
this is done in order that the workmen may not abuse the
persons of the deceased females ; for they say that one of these
persons was caught in the very act, having been informed
against by a brother workman. Every person seized by a
crocodile, no matter whether he be Egyptian or alien, and all
brought to death by the river itself, on whatever territory the
body may float to, must by law be embalmed, adorned in the
most magnificent manner, and entombed in a sacred coffin.
No one dare touch him, whether relation or friend : the priests
of the Nile bury the body with their own hands, as being some-
thing more than that of a man.

The Egyptians have a great aversion to the Hellenic cus-
toms, and, generally speaking, to all the usages of other na-
tions. This aversion pervades all Egypt, with the exception
of Chemmis, a large town in the Thebaic nome, not far from
Neapolis. At this place there is seen a quadrangular tempel
to Perseus the son of Danae, around which palm-trees have
been planted : the propylsea of the edifice is very extensive,
and built of stone; upon the top of which stand two colossal
statues. Within this precinct stands the temple itself, where
the image of Perseus is seen. The people of Chemmis assert
that Perseus has frequently appeared to them on earth; fre-
quently, likewise, within the temple; and that one of the
sandals that he wears, two cubits in length, is sometimes found :
and after this appearance, Egypt is throughout blessed with
abundance.

In imitation of the Hellenic ceremonies, they open, to
the honour of Perseus, a gymnic list for all sorts of sports
and combats ; proposing as prizes, heads of cattle, cloaks, and

150 HERODOTUS

skins. When I inquired how it was that Perseus was wont to
make his appearance to them alone, and why they departed
so widely from the Egyptian customs as to celebrate gymnic
games, the answer given to me was: "that Perseus was
originally of their town; for Danaus and Lynceus, who were
natives of Chemmis, came, by sea, from thence to Hellas:"
then recapitulating the genealogy of these two men, they
brought it down to Perseus: and next proceeded to say in
answer: "Perseus had come to Egypt, for the same purpose
as the Hellenes themselves represent; that is to say, to bring
away from Libya the Gorgon's head : he paid them also a
visit, and acknowledged all his kindred: — that, informed by
his mother, he had heard of the name of Chemmis before
he came to Egypt; and that according to his injunction they
celebrated the gymnic games."

All the above customs hold among the Egyptians that
reside above the morasses: those that occupy the morasses
themselves have the same institutions as the rest of the Egyp-
tians; among others, that, like the Hellenes, of every man
having but one wife. But, as respects the domestic customs
relating to provisions, they have discovered many things con-
ducive to their comfort. For instance, when the river has
swollen to its highest, and has swamped the meadows, an
abundance of lilies springs up in the water, which are called
by the Egyptians * lotus : ' they gather these plants, dry them
in the sun, and then thresh out the pods in the middle of the
lotus, which are similar to those of the poppy, and make
loaves of the seed, and bake them: the root of this lotus is
also edible, and of a delicate sweet taste; it is globular, and
of the size of an apple. There are, moreover, other lilies,
similar to roses, that grow in the river; the fruit of which
shoots up from the root in a calyx, supported on an inde-
pendent stalk, and is very like a wasp's comb: within this
calyx are contained several eatable kernels, about the size
of an olive-stone : these are eaten, both fresh and dried. The
annual plant called the * byblus '^ is pulled up in the marshes :

* This is the Cyperus papyrus, or water-plant ; consisting of a tuft of
stalks without leaves, each terminating in an umbel of flowers very

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 151

the top of the plant is cut off, and put to various uses: the
lower part, about a cubit long, they eat, and make an object
of sale : those who are desirous of having the byblus very
deliciously prepared, put it into a hot oven, and eat it with-
out any seasoning. Some of these people live entirely on fish,
which they catch, gut, and dry in the sun ; and, when properly
cured, use them as food.

The gregarious sorts of fish are seldom found in the
river: they grow to their natural size in the lakes, and, when
nature excites them to procreation, proceed in shoals to the
sea : the males lead the way, shedding their milt ; and the
females, following in the rear, eagerly swallow it up, and
are thus milted. When all have been fecundated in the sea,
they return back, each to his own ground : the males, however,
no longer take the lead ; the females swim at the head of the
shoal, and, as the males did before, eject now their spawn,
which is about as large as millet-seed; the males, following
behind devour greedily these seeds, which are themselves
all fishes. The seeds that escape, and are not devoured, grow
up, and become fishes. Those that are caught in their de-
scent to the sea all bear marks of friction on the left of the
head; those taken on their return have the marks on the
right. This proceeds from the following circumstance : going
down to the sea, they keep close to the land on their left ; and
at their return up the river, keep up to the same bank, and
hug and scrape the land lest they should be thrown out of
their way by the force of the current. As soon as the Nile
begins to swell, and the hollows in the land and the quagmires
near the river first begin to fill with the water oozing through
the banks from the river, immediately those pools fill, vast
quantities of little fishes swarm on all sides. How this comes
to pass, may, I conceive, be thus explained : when, the pre-
ceding year, the Nile forsook the lands, the fish that had
spawned in the marshy grounds withdrew at the same time;
but when, in the course of time, the water again rises, fishes
hatch forthwith, from those very eggs.

elegant and airy. The inner bark of this plant served the ancients
instead of paper.

152 HERODOTUS

The Egyptians residing in the marshes use an oil* ex-
tracted from the seeds of the ricinus, or palma-christi, which
they call *cici.' They cultivate this plant (which in Hellas
grows spontaneously wild) on the banks of the river and
lakes; by which means it bears a greater crop, but sheds a
vile smell. When they have harvested the seed, they tread it
out; and some put it under the press, while others grill or
boil it, and collect the matter that it discharges: the extract
is fat, and not inferior to olive-oil for burning in lamps, only
that it sends forth such an abominable smell. As a defence
against the musquitoes, which are in vast swarms, they re-^
sort to the following expedients: the people residing in the
marshes themselves take advantage of the lofty towers they
are obliged to inhabit, and sleep on the top; which the mus-
quitoes are hindered, by the winds, from attaining, in their
flight. But the people that reside on the sides or in the
neighbourhood of the marshes substitute another expedient for
the towers : every man possesses a net, with which he catches
fish in the day, and makes the following use of in the night :
around and over the bed he sleeps on he casts the net; he
then creeps under, and lays himself down. The musquitoes,
which, even if he were to wrap himself in -a linen cloak
when in bed, would bite through all, do not so much as even
try the net.

The craft they use for the freight of merchandise are con-
structed of a kind of thorn ;^ I mean the thorn that resem-
bles the Cyrensean lotus, and the exudation of which con-
stitutes gum. Out of this tree they cut wooden planks, about
two cubits in length, and arrange them brick- fashion; pro-
ceeding thus in their ship-building. They fasten together
the planks around with many long tree-nails; and, when
they have thus completed the hull, they lay across the top
some beams of the same material : they have no recourse
to ribs : and caulk the seams with byblus in the inside : they
fit on only one rudder, which passes through the keel; rig

* Castor-oil.

2 The Acacia, a thorny tree, from which exudes what we call gum-
arabic.

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 153

a mast from the same sort of thorn; and hoist cotton sails.
These craft are unable to stem the current, unless it blow a
fresh gale, and are towed off land. When they go down
stream, they manage them thus : A square frame is made of
tamarisk beams, wattled with reeds: a stone is likewise pro-
cured, bored through the middle, and in weight about two
talents. The frame is now fastened to a hawser; and let
down from the prow, to be carried out by the stream: the
stone is let down at the stern, and fastened to another hawser.
Accordingly, the frame, falling in with the current, drives
down pretty fast, with the ' baris ' in tow — that is the name
given to this craft : the stone trailing at the stern, and along
the bottom of the river, serves to steady the vessel. There
are vast numbers of this sort of barks, some of which are
of many tons' burden. W^hen the Nile overflows the land,
the cities only are to be seen above its surface, somewhat
similar to the islands in the yEgsean sea; for at those times
all the other parts of Egypt are under water: so that they
navigate, when this is the case, not only along the river-stream,
but even over the middle of the plain: thus, if you are mak-
ing the voyage up from Naucratis to Memphis, your course
will pass close to the pyramids: this is not, however, the
general road, which is to the vertex of the Delta, and the
city of Cercasorus. As you sail from the sea up to Naucratis,
you also cross the Canopic plain, and pass by the town of
Anthylla, and that called the city of Archandros. The former
of these, a respectable town, is set apart expressly for the
shoes of the wife of the reigning king of Egypt; a practice
which has been instituted since Egypt was subjected to the
Persians. The latter town appears to me to take its name
from Danaus's son-in-law, Archandrus son of Phthius, grand-
son of Achseus; for that place is called Archandrus. There
may, indeed, have been another Archandrus ; but, at all events,
the name is Egyptian.

Up to this part of my account of Egypt, the narrative is
drawn from what I have seen myself, and my own ideas of
things: what follows was composed from the information I
gathered in my communications with Egyptians, accompanied
by some particulars from my own observations. The priest?

154 HERODOTUS

stated, that Menes, the first that ever ruled over Egypt, threw
up, in the first place, the dyke that protects Memphis: for,
previously, the whole of the stream flowed along the sand-
covered mountain ridge fronting Libya; but Menes, begin-
ning about one hundred stades above Memphis, filled in the
elbow made by the Nile in the south; and thus, not only ex-
hausted the old bed, but formed also a canal by which the
river was made to flow in the mid-space between the [Libyan
and Arabian] mountains. Even at the present day, this
ancient elbow, repelling the Nile in his course, is attended
to and watched with great care by the Persians, and fortified
every year with additional works; for should the river rise
over and burst this dyke, the whole of Memphis would be
exposed to the danger of being swept away. When the part
reclaimed from the river had become firm land, Menes, this
first king, built in the first place, as I have said before, on
this spot, the town now called Memphis (for Memphis is
situated in the narrow part of Egypt) ; and without the town
excavated a lake, communicating with the river, in the north
and west quarter: for Memphis being washed to the east by
the Nile, it was not possible to effect these works on that side.
In the second place, he erected next, in the same town,
the temple of Vulcan, which is a vast building, and well de-
serving of commemoration. As successors to Menes, the
priests quoted from a manuscript the names of three hundred
and thirty other kings. In so many generations of men, there
occurred eighteen Ethiopian kings, and one native queen: all
the rest were Egyptian kings. The name of the woman, who
thus held the sceptre, was Nitocris, the same as that of the
Babylonian queen. According to the report of the priests, she
avenged her brother, who had preceded her on the throne,
but was put to death by the Egyptians : after committing this
deed, the nation presented the empire to this woman, his
sister. In revenge of her brother, she destroyed many of the
Egyptians by artifice. She built herself extensive subter-
raneous apartments; and under the pretence of inaugurating
the edifice, but really with a very different purpose, invited to a
banquet many of the Egyptians whom she knew to have
participated in the murder; and when they were seated at

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 155

table and enjoying themselves, she let in the river v^^aters, by
means of a large concealed drain. Nothing more is related
concerning this queen by the priests, except that, having
effected her purpose, she threw herself into a room full of
ashes, in order to evade retribution. No display of works or
splendour of action was mentioned of any of the other kings,
with the exception of the last, Moeris : this sovereign erected,
as a memorial, the north portal of Vulcan's temple; and dug
a lake, the dimensions of which I shall hereafter explain: he
erected also the pyramids within the lake, the size of which I
shall likewise describe, when I come to the subject of the lake
itself. Such were the achievements of Mceris : none were left
by any of the others.

I shall therefore pass over all the above monarchs; and
make mention of a king that came after them, and whose
name was Sesostris. The priests represented Sesostris as the
first that, embarking on long ships, proceeded out of the gulf
of Arabia into the Erythraean sea, and subjected the inhabi-
tants of the shore : they added, that, wishing to penetrate still
further, he arrived at last into a sea unnavigable, by reason
of the shoals ; and thence sailed back into Egypt ; where, ac-
cording to the same priests, he levied a mighty army, and
marched over the whole continent, subjecting every nation he
fell in with. In the territories, accordingly, of such as fought
gallantly, and strove hard for freedom, he erected pillars, with
inscriptions describing his own name and country, and in
what manner he had subdued the inhabitants with his forces :
but in the lands of such as yielded up their towns as dastards,
without a struggle, he set up pillars with the same inscriptions
as for the valiant nations ; to which he added a representation
of the secret parts of a woman, intending thereby to signify
that they were soft and effeminate. So doing, he traversed
the continent of Asia ; then, crossing over into Europe, subdued
the Scythians and the Thracians : these were the most distant,
it is my opinion, to whom the Egyptian army reached : in
that quarter the pillars are found, but not any further on :
here, therefore, the troops wheeled back, to return. When
they came to the Phasis river, either the king himself, Sesos-
tris, (for I cannot say to a certainty^) divided a portion of

156 HERODOTUS

his army, which he left to settle in that country; or some of
the men, weary of this long migration, chose to remain on the
banks of the Phasis. Indeed, it is manifest that the Colchians
are Egyptians : this I assert, not only from my own previous
conjecture, but also from what I heard of others ; for, as I felt
an interest in this subject, I made inquiries both of Egyptians
and Colchians : the latter had a clearer remembrance of the
Egyptians, than the Egyptians had of the Colchians.

The Egyptians, however, said, that they considered the
Colchians as having proceeded from Sesostris's army : and I
inferred the same thing, not so much because the Colchians are
black and curly-headed, (which amounts to nothing, since there
are other races of that kind,) but chiefly from the following
proofs; that, of all mankind, the Colchians, Egyptians, and
Ethiopians, are the only nations that, from the first, have
practised circumcision : the Phoenicians, and Syrians of Pales-
tine, even confess they learned the custom from the Egyptians ;
while the Syrii (Cappadocians) about the Thermodon and
Parthenius rivers, as well as their neighbours the Macrones,
acknowledge that they have but lately adopted the practice.
Now, the above are the only races of circumcised men; and,
in this respect, they all evidently act in the same manner as
the Egyptians; but the two nations, Ethiopians and Egyp-
tians, which of these learnt it frdm the other, is a point I
cannot decide upon, for it is clearly a very ancient custom.
The opinion, that it was learnt by communication with Egypt,
is, I think, proved beyond doubt, by this fact : such of the
Phoenicians as have any traffic with the Hellenes, no longer
imitate the Egyptians, but leave their children uncircumcised.

I will now mention, also, an additional instance of simili-
tude between Colchians and Egyptians. The Colchians and the
Egyptians weave cloth in the same manner, but different from
all the world besides : the whole life, the language, are one and
the same, in both nations. The linen woven by the Colchians
is called Sardonic : that made in Egypt is, however, designated
as Egyptian.^ As to the pillars erected in the various countries

* The Egyptians, in weaving cloth, shot the woof or weft down-
wards; whereas other nations drive it upwards.

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 157

by Sesostris king of Egypt, most of them have evidently
perished : I saw, however, one of these in Syria of Palestine,
bearing the inscription as above, with the characteristic of
the female sex. On some rocks in Ionia there are engraved
images of this prince : one is on the road by which you go
from Ephesia to Phocaea, and the other between Sardis and
Smyrna. In both these places the image of a man has been
cut out, four cubits and a half high, bearing in his right hand
a spear, in his left a bow, and so on with the whole attire,
which is half Egyptian and half Ethiopian: from shoulder to
shoulder, athwart the breast, a line of sacred Egyptian char-
acters is carved, the purport of which is: I have won this
LAND BY MY OWN SHOULDERS : — who, or whcncc he is, Sesos-
tris does not hint here, but explains elsewhere. Some persons,
who have seen these relics, have conjectured them to be images
of Memnon : in this, however, they are greatly deceived.

The priests go on to state, that when this Egyptian Sesos-
tris, on his return with many men from among the various
subdued nations, reached Daphnae of Pelusium, being by his
own brother, whom he had set over Egypt, invited to be
present at a banquet, himself and his sons, wood was piled
up on the outside of the edifice, and set on fire. Sesostris,
informed of this, immediately consulted his wife, who had
accompanied him thither : the advice she gave him, as they had
six sons, was, to stretch two across the fire, and thus, making
a dyke against the flames, seek salvation. Sesostris did so;
and in this manner two sons were consumed by the fire, while
the rest, together with their father, made their escape.^

After Sesostris' return to Eg^'pt, and when he had taken
revenge on his brother, he employed the multitude of prisoners
brought from the subdued countries in the following works :
not only were they set to drag the huge masses of stone, which,
under the reign of this king, were brought to Vulcan's temple,
but were likewise obliged to dig all the canals now seen in
Egypt : thus, they were compelled, by force, to work such an

* A direct interpretation of the figure carved on the walls of Vulcan's
temple : whether the priests knew of the allegoric meaning, or wished
to withhold it from Herodotus, is a matter of mere conjecture.

158 HERODOTUS

alteration in the face of the country, that the whole territory,
previously well adapted for horse-riding and the use of chariots,
became useless for those purposes; because from that time, in
Egypt, which is all level land, horses and carriages were no
longer used : the cause being, the numerous canals in all direc-
tions. The motive that induced the king to intersect in this
manner the country, was, that all the Egyptians, whose cities
do not stand on the river-side, but lie at some distance, suffered
from drought when the floods left them, and the inhabitants were
obliged to procure a brackish beverage from their wells.

It was also related, that this king divided the soil among all
the Egyptians, giving to each individual an equal quadrangular
portion ; and from thence drew his revenues, enacting what
contribution should be made every year : and if the river should
sweep away any portion, the proprietor was to come to him,
and report what had happened ; when he would send surveyors
and measurers, to ascertain to what extent the soil was dimin-
ished, so that thereafter the appointed contribution should be
proportionately decreased. Hence, in my opinion, land-survey-
ing took its origin, and subsequently extended to Hellas : for
it was from the Babylonians that the Hellenes learnt the use of
the clock and sun-dial. This king was accordingly the only
Egyptian that ever ruled over Ethiopia. He left, as memorials
of himself, some stone statues in front of Vulcan's temple :
two, thirty cubits each, himself and his wife : their sons, four,
each twenty cubits. A long time after, one of the priests of
Vulcan warned Darius, the Persian king, from setting up his
own statue before these; observing, that "Darius had not
achieved deeds equal to those of Sesostris the Egyptian : for
Sesostris had conquered no fewer nations than Darius had sub-
dued ; and had, moreover, overpowered the Scythians, a thing
which the Persian could not compass: therefore it was not
fair he should place his own statue before those offerings,
unless he had surpassed in exploits." Darius, accordingly, by
their account, excused the boldness of the priest.

At the decease of Sesostris, the power, it is said, was
assumed by his son Pheron. This prince displayed no inclina-
tion for war: he was afflicted with blindness, in consequence
of the following event: the river having swollen eighteen

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 159

cubits, an enormous height for those days, and covering the
arable lands, a gale of wind arose, and the river was agitated
by waves; when the king, impiously grasping a spear, hurled
it in the midst of the eddies of the stream : forthwith he was
taken with ophthalmia, and became blind : and the affliction,
accordingly, lasted during ten years : but in the eleventh year,
an oracle came to him from the city of Buto, declaring, "that
the period of his visitation was at an end; and he would re-
cover sight, by bathing his eyes in the urine of some woman
who had never gone astray from her lawful husband, and was
innocent before all men excepting him." The king, therefore,
made the first trial on his own wife; but seeing no better after
that, he persisted in making the experiment on all women:
having at last been restored to sight, he collected in one town,
called Erythrebolus, all the women whom he had made trial
of, excepting her by whose urine he was cured ; and consumed
them all by fire, together with the town itself. Her, to whom
he was indebted for his sight, he took to himself as wife.
Having thus escaped from the disease in his eyes, Pheron
made magnificent offerings to all the celebrated temples; but
the most particularly deserving of our admiration, no doubt,
are the beautiful works dedicated at the temple of the Sun,
namely, two stone obelisks, each cut out of one single block,
and each of a hundred cubits in length by eight in breadth.

He was succeeded, the priests said, in the kingdom, by a
native of Memphis, whose name, in Hellenic, is Proteus: his
sacred grove, a beautiful and well-adorned spot, is still extant
at Memphis, lying south of the Vulcanian fane: the environs
are inhabited by Tyrian Phoenicians: and the whole of this
quarter is known by the name of the Tyrian camp. Within
the sacred grove of Proteus stands the temple of Foreign
Venus : this is, I presume, the temple of Helen the daughter
of Tyndarus, who, I have been told, lived with Proteus, and
bore the name of Foreign Venus; for, among all the other
temples of Venus, there is none elsewhere having the name
of Foreign.

The priests, when I inquired into the history of Helen,
told me that matter passed in the following manner: —
Paris, having stolen Helen from Sparta, steered for his own

160 HERODOTUS

country ; but, when he was on the ^gean sea, an adverse gale
drove him from his course, into the sea of Egypt; from
whence — for the storm did not slacken in violence — he came
to Egypt; and landed at Taricheae, on the mouth of the Nile,
now called the Canopic. On that shore stood a temple, the
same that is seen there at present; where, if a slave, belong
to whom he may, takes refuge, and gives himself up to the
god, by having certain sacred marks impressed on his body, no
one can lay hands on him. This custom continued still in force
in my time, exactly as it was at the beginning. The attend-
ants of Paris, consequently, when informed of the practice that
held in that temple, forsook their master, and, setting down as
suppliants of the god, accused Paris, with a view of doing him
an injury; and described how he had behaved to Helen, and
his iniquity towards Menelaus. This deposition was made
to the priests, as well as to the governor of that mouth, the
name of whom was Thonis. On the receipt of this intelli-
gence, Thonis sends instantly a message to Proteus at Mem-
phis, conceived in these words: "A stranger of Trojan race
has arrived here, after committing a nefarious deed in Hellas ;
for he carried off the wife of his host; and has come hither,
bringing the woman, with great treasure, being driven by the
winds to your shore. I ask. Whether we shall allow this stran-
ger to take his departure unmolested ; or shall I seize his prop-
erty before he goes away?" Proteus returned for answer:
"Arrest this man, whoever he may be, that has dealt so wick-
edly with his host ; send him to me, that I may see what he has
to say for himself." Thonis, having received these orders,
seized the person of Paris, and put an embargo on his ships;
and then sent off the prisoner to Memphis, together with Helen
and his treasures: the suppliants were also despatched to the
same place.

When all were arrived, Proteus examined Paris, as to
whom he was, and from whence he had sailed: the pris-
oner mentioned his family, and stated what was the name of
his country; and, more particularlv, described his voyage, and
the port he had sailed from. Then Proteus questioned the
prisoner on the manner he got possession of Helen. Paris,
prevaricating in his answers, and not speaking the truth, the

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 161

men, who had become suppHants, confronted him, and went
through the history of his iniquities. At last Proteus, pro-
nounced this sentence on him: — "Did I not hold it of para-
mount importance not to put to death any stranger whatever
that may come to my shores weather-bound, I would revenge
the Hellenes of your behaviour, you most wicked wretch ! who
after having received the blessings of hospitality, have dared
to commit so flagrant a crime. Not only have you suborned
the wife of your own benefactor; that was not enough to con-
tent you; but you must carry her off, steal her person: nay,
even that does not satisfy your cupidity, but you must even
rifle your friend's house, ere you depart. Now, therefore,
though I hold it of great consequence not to take the life of
strangers, I shall not allow you to take away this woman, or
this treasure; but I will keep them for your Hellenic friend,
until he choose himself to come and fetch them away. My
commands are, that you yourself and your shipmates shall
quit my land, and go to some other, within three days : if not,
you shall be treated as enemies."

Thus the priests described the arrival of Helen at Pro-
teus's court. Homer also, I think, must have heard the same
account : but it was not so well adapted to the epopce'ia, as that
which he made use of : for this reason, he rejected it, although
he has given proofs that he was aware of the above history
as well. This is evident; for, as he sings in the Iliad (and
no where else does he retract) the wanderings of Paris, how,
when carrying away Helen, he was driven out of his course,
and strayed to various countries; among others, to Sidon of
Phoenicia. He hints at the same thing in the exploits of Dio-
medes ; and these are his words :

Where the variegated robes, works of the Sidonian dames, were
found, that the god-like Paris himself brought from Sidon, sail-
ing on the wide sea, what way he took the high-born Helen.
Iliad, vi. 289 — 292.

He alludes to the same also in the Odyssey, in these words :
Such drugs of healing excellence had Jove's daughter, gift from
Polydamna, Thonis* spouse of Egypt, where the nurturing field
breeds drugs numerous, some of salutary, others for poisonous
potions. Odyssey iv, 227.

162 HERODOTUS

These words, also, are spoken by Menelaus to Telemachus :

In Egypt the gods retained me, though anxious to return hither,
because I had not offered to them complete hecatombs. Odyssey
iv. 351-

In these verses Homer proves that he knew of Paris's wan-
derings; for Syria confines on Egypt; and the Phoenicians, to
whom Sidon belongs, inhabit Syria. From these verses, and
the last passage especially, it may be evidently concluded, that
Homer was not the author of the Cypriac verses, but some
other poet. For in that poem it is said, "On the third day,
Paris reached Ilium, with Helen, from Sparta, wafted by a
favourable breeze over a calm sea :" whereas it is said in the
Iliad, that he wandered far and wide with his prize, — But now
bid we farewell to Homer and the Cypriac verses.

I inquired of the priests, whether it was a vain fable, or
not, that the Hellenes narrate of the Trojan war. To this
they made the following answer, obtained, they said, by in-
quiry from Menelaus himself : That, after the rape of Helen, a
vast army of Hellenes invaded the land of Teucria, in Mene-
laus's cause : and after the host had landed, and pitched their
camp, they sent a deputation to Ilium, which Menelaus him-
self accompanied: when admitted within the walls, they
claimed back Helen, and the treasure that Paris had stolen
from the Hellenic prince, and demanded satisfaction for that
unjust deed. But the Teucrians, both then and ever after,
persisted in the same declaration, whether put to the oath or
not, that they had not Helen, nor the treasure thus claimed,
but, that all these things were in Egypt ; — that it would not be
right they should make retribution for what Proteus, the
Egyptian king, had in his possession; — that the Hellenes, fan-
cying the Trojans were laughing at them, therefore besieged
the town, and at last captured it. Having stormed the city,
they found no Helen there, but received the same account as
before ; so that the Hellenes, giving at last credit to the report,
sent Menelaus himself to Proteus. Menelaus, on his arrival
in Egypt, sailed up to Memphis; where he described the true
events that had taken place, met with a sumptuous reception,

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 163

and received back Helen unhurt; and, together with her, all
the teasure.

Thus successful, Menelaus, notwithstanding, behaved
very iniquitously towards the Egyptians. Foul winds
hindered him from heaving anchor and taking his departure:
this having continued a long time, he had recourse to the fol-
lowing nefarious expedient: he seized two Egyptian children,
and sacrificed them. From the moment that it was known he
had been guilty of such a murder, he became an object of
hatred and persecution, and fled with his ships to Libya.
Whither he directed his course from thence, the Egyptians
confessed they could not tell : but that of the above particulars,
some they had ascertained by inquiry; others had occurred
before their eyes, and they were able to vouch for their accu-
racy.

Such was the Egyptian account : and I myself accede
to the truth of these events having happened in respect of Helen,
to which I will subjoin the following remarks. If Helen had
been in Ilium, she would have been restored to the Hellenes,
whether at or against the consent of Paris ; for surely Priam,
at all events, could not have been so distraught, nor could all
belonging to his family be so infatuated, as to expose to de-
struction their own persons, their children, their city, in order
that Paris might still be united to Helen. Indeed, though they
might in the earlier times have followed that counsel, yet, when
so many, not only of the Trojan sub^'ects, were cut off, when-
ever they engaged with the Hellenes, but whenever a battle
was fought it was not without the slaughter of one, two,
three, or even more of the sons of Priam, if we are to give
credit to the accounts of the epics — if, I say, such was really
the case, it is my decided opinion, that had Priam himself been
married to Helen, he would have given her back to the Achaei,
with a view, at any rate, of putting an end to such dire con-
sequences.

Neither was Paris even heir to the throne, so as in the
old age of Priam to have assumed the management of
affairs. Hector was the real heir, being the senior of Paris,
and more of a man, and was to succeed to the power at Priam's
decease : it would not have been expedient in him to side with

164 HERODOTUS

his brother, in his iniquities ; and to do this, when such calami-
ties, through Paris's agency, oppressed himself and his family,
together with all the rest of the Trojans. But they had really
no Helen to give up ; and, although they spoke the truth to the
Hellenes, no faith was put in what they said: the cause of
which, in my opinion, was, that Providence arranged that the
destruction of the Trojan nation, by one general massacre,
should convince all men, that for great misdeeds great are the
punishments at the hands of the gods.

Rhampsinitus, said the priests, was the successor of Pro-
teus : he left, as a memorial, the western propylaea of Vulcan's
temple; in front of which he set up two statues, twenty-five
cubits high : that standing to the north, the Egyptians call
summer; the other, to the south, they call winter: before that
called summer they prostrate themselves, and offer sacrifice,
but behave just in the contrary way to the other called winter.
They added, that this king possessed a vast quantity of money,
such as none of the kings that came after him could ever sur-
pass, or even approach to. Wishing to store up his treasure in
safety, he gave orders that a chamber should be built of stone,
with one of the walls standing against the outside wall of the
palace.

The builder, after some consideration, devised the fol-
lowing artifice : he laid one of the stones in such a manner,
that it might be easily taken out by two men, or even one.
When the chamber was completed, the king deposited his treas-
ure in it : but the builder, some time after, being at the point
of death, called into his presence his sons, for he had two;
and described to them, how, in order to provide for their plente-
ous subsistence, he had managed in the construction of the
king's treasury. Having accurately explained to them all the
particulars about the extraction of the stone, he gave them the
measures; and said, that, if they observed his directions, they
would become the stewards of the royal riches. The builder
accordingly died ; and his sons did not long tarry to put in
practice their father's advice ; they came to the palace at night,
ascertained the stone alluded to in th« wall, pulled it out with-
out any difficulty, and came away with great booty. But,
when the king came to open the chamber, he saw, to his aston-

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 165

ishment, that the vases containing the money were deficient in
contents : he could not, however, lay the blame to any one : the
seals were all unbroken, and the chamber well secured.

Having two or three times more opened the treasury, the
money visibly decreased (for the thieves continued their
rapine) : the king therefore adopted this expedient: he ordered
some traps to be made, which he set around the vases in which
the money was stored : the thieves coming, as was their custom,
and one of them having entered the treasury, went straight up
to one of the vases, and was immediately caught in the trap : as
soon as he found himself in this predicament, he called to his
brother, explained to him what had happened, and bade him
enter as quickly as possible, and cut off his head, lest he
should be seen and recognised, and thereby cause the destruc-
tion of the other also. The brother on the outside thought he
spoke to the purpose, and did as he was advised. The surviv-
ing thief returned the stone carefully, and proceeded home
with his brother's head. At day-break, the king entered the
chamber, and was amazed to behold the decapitated thief's body
in the trap; while the room remained unviolated, and pre-
sented no means of entrance or exit. Thus circumstanced, the
king, the priests add, acted as follows : he hung the dead body
of the thief over the wall ; and stationed sentinels underneath,
giving them orders to seize and bring before him whomsoever
they might see weep or mourn at the exhibition. The mother,
it is said, was greatly exasperated at the exposure of the
corpse: she spoke to the surviving son, and enjoined him, in
all possible ways, to contrive to get possession of the body of
his brother, and bring it to her ; but, should he neglect to exe-
cute her order, she threatened to go herself to the king, and
impeach him as in possession of the money. As the mother
treated so harshly her surviving son, and he, notwithstanding
his many arguments, could not persuade her, he had recourse
to the following artifice : he got ready, they say, his asses and
loaded them with skins well filled with wine : he then drove the
animals before him : and when he was come to the sentinels set
over the suspended body, he pulled two or three of the feet
of the skins that hung down; and, when the wine gushed out,
he beat his head, uttering loud cries, as if in doubt which of the

166 HERODOTUS

asses he should turn first to. The sentinels, seeing abundance
of wine flowing away, ran out all together into the road, with
cups in their hands, and collected the spilt liquor, which they
considered as so much gain. The drover, pretending violent
anger, pursued the soldiers with all kinds of abuse: the men,
however, soothed him, and he pretended to mollify, and relax
in wrath: at last, he drove his asses out of the road, and put
their loads all right again : as the soldiers continued to chatter
with him, one of them cracked a joke that excited him to laugh,
so he gave them one of the wine-skins. The soldiers immedi-
ately stretched themselves on the ground, and attended only to
drink, and make a friend of the drover, whom they invited to
stay and join their revel : the man suffered himself, forsooth,
to be persuaded, and remained. As the soldiers behaved so
civilly towards him, he gave them another of the skins of wine.
The men having partaken abundantly of the beverage, became
completely intoxicated; and, overpowered with sleep, laid
down, and slept on the same spot where they had been
drinking.

The drover, then, as the night was far advanced, took
down the body of his brother, shaved the right cheeks of all
the sentinels as a sign of his contempt, then threw the body
on the back of the asses, and drove home, having accomplished
the orders of his mother. The priests represented the king as
sorely irate, when informed that the carcase of the thief had
been thus stolen away : fully determined to find out who was
the author of this piece of trickery, he is said — although I give
no credit to the tale — to have done as follows : he placed his
own daughter in a brothel, with orders to receive all comers
without exception, and not to admit their embraces until she
had compelled each to tell to her what he had done most in-
genious and nefarious in his life : him that might relate the
same things as were known about the thief, she was to arrest,
and keep from going away. The daughter acted according to
her father's orders: but the robber (so the priests said) having
ascertained why the king had recourse to such an expedient,
determined to overreach the king himself in trickery, and pro-
ceeded thus: he cut off, at the shoulder, the arm of a fresh
corpse, and, concealing it under his cloak, went into the king's

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 167

daughter; and being questioned, as all the others had been,
related, as the most nefarious thing he ever did, the cutting off
his brother's head, when he was caught in a gin within the
king's treasury, and, as the most ingenious, the manner in
which he intoxicated the sentinels, and extricated the suspended
body of his brother. As soon as the girl heard this, she laid
hold of him; but the thief presented to her, in the dark, the
dead man's arm, which she took, fancying she grasped her
visitor's hand. In the mean while, the thief let go the dead
limb to the woman, and escaped by the door. When this also
was reported to the king, he was amazed at the skill and audaci-
ty of the thief : finally, he sent round to all the towns, and pro-
claimed pardon to the culprit, and promised a great reward,
if he would come into his presence. The thief trusted to the
pledge, and went to the king; who greatly admired the man,
and united in marriage to him the same daughter, considering
him the wisest husband he could select ; since this Egyptian sur-
passed all other Egyptians, who are so preeminent for wisdom
among nations.

Subsequently to the above, according to the priests, this
king descended into the place which the Hellenes think to be
'Hai'des,' and there played at dice with Ceres; sometimes
beating the goddess, at others the goddess beating him. At his
return, he received a present from her hands — a gold napkin.
The priests say, also, that the Egyptians have instituted a festi-
val, which lasts from the time of the descent of Rhampsinitus
to that of his return. I am aware, indeed, that such a festival
was celebrated by them, down to my time ; but whether for the
above, or any other reason, I cannot say: on that day, the
priests weave a cloak, and bind the eyes of one of their num-
ber with a handkerchief : they conduct the person, thus bound
about the eyes, and wrapped in the cloak, to the road that
leads to the temple of Ceres, where they leave him, and return.
The blindfolded priest is taken, they say, by two wolves, to
the temple of Ceres, twenty stades' distance from the city: and
is afterwards brought back, to the place he started from, by the
same animals. Those who can believe such tales are at liberty to
adopt what the Egyptians relate : my business, throughout this
History, is to write down what I hear from all persons. The

168 HERODOTUS

Egyptians assert that Ceres and Bacchus are the princes of the
infernal regions. They are, Hkewise, the first people that pro-
mulgated the immortality of the human soul ; and the doctrine,
that, when the body is consumed, the soul enters some other
animal, rising into existence always at that moment ; and that
after it has passed through the bodies of all terrestrial, marine,
and aerial creatures it again animates a human body, born at
that time ; the circuit being made in three thousand years. This
doctrine has been adopted by many Hellenes, some at one
period, and others at another, as being their own invention:
their names, although known to me, I do not mention.

Accordingly, until the reign of Rhampsinitus, by the priests'
account, Egypt enjoyed the advantages of universal justice and
of great prosperity. After that king's reign, and under that
of Cheops over the Egyptians, the country was reduced to the
utmost misery: for he shut up all the temples, in the first
place, and forbade them to offer sacrifice : in the next place, he
ordered all the Egyptians to labour in his own service ; some of
whom he accordingly appointed to the task of dragging, from the
quarries in the Arabian mountains, the blocks down to the Nile :
others he stationed to take the said blocks, when brought
across the river in vessels, and drag them to the range called
the Libyan mountain. They were compelled to labour in this
manner by one hundred thousand at a time, each party during
three months: the time during which the people were thus
ground down, lasted ten years on the road which they con-
structed for the conveyance of the stones ; a work hardly less
laborious, in my opinion, than that of building the pyramid
itself ; for in length it is five stades ; in breadth, ten orgyae ; in,
height, at the loftiest part, eight orgyae ; the materials of pol-
ished stone, covered with all kinds of carved figures. On this
road, therefore, ten years were spent, besides the works on the
hill where the pyramids stand; namely, underground apart-
ments, which Cheops ordered to be made, as repositories for
himself, in an island formed by the canal drawn from the Nile.

The time expended in erecting the pyramid itself was twenty
years: its dimensions are, each face eight plethra, the edifice
being on a quadrangular plan: the height is the same: it is

BUILDING THE PYRAMIDS

From a painting by Giistave Richter

Under the reign of Cheops Egypt was reduced to the utmost
MISERY, He ordered the people to labor, one hundred thousand

AT a time, for ten YEARS, IN BRINGING STONE FROM ArABIA, AND
then for twenty YEARS MORE IN BUILDING THE PYRAMIDS,

—Page 1 68.

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'" r sacrifice: in tlie next place, he

11 r in his own service ; some of

• i t() tlie task of dragging, from the

"MIS, the hlocks down to the Nile:

f <:■{■!■.■ M'^.ks. when brotight

called
'his
...ling
were thus
they con-
'.'.k hardly less
kiing the pyramid
•n Icngt!. Tcadth, ten org}''ae; ia

he lofti*.^.' ]iart. ■%;:!! ■^r^^vx; the materials of pol-
■ \cr .1 with all kinds <:>f carved figures. On this
vears were spent, be3ides the works on the
■mids stand; namely, underground apa*'
'•'■■■-■■ ';> he made, r- — — ■-^..--
'v;- canal d:

^ pyramid itself ■

TuotATj am oT aaj'jaaH a/.w -nYoH r-.qoanO so vioiax 3ht xauviU
uviA«;'joHT (i3H(ixjH 3'/,o ,«<)HA.i OT a.iH03'i auT oajiaaflo aH .vaaaiM
a;^A .AUiAJiA MOJJ'4 3XOT<; oviioy. i«a v.i .fjHASY '/lar hoh ,aMiT a ta

.^OlMAHY^ 3HT ,)'/lUUlja YA 3H0M «HAaY YTliaWT aOI HHHT

.8di o^bH —

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 169

composed, for the most part, of polished stones, nicely jointed,
and none of the blocks less than thirty feet. This pyramid was
erected in the manner which I shall now describe: they
adopted, for their plan, a flight of steps; called, by some,
stairs : by others, a pile of altars. Having laid the first course
of steps for the buildings, they hoisted the remainder of the
blocks to a proper height, by means of machines consisting of
short wooden spars. From the ground, then, they lifted them
up to the first course; and when the stone had reached that
height, they placed it on another contrivance of the same na-
ture prepared for the purpose on the first course, and dragged
it up to the second ; and thus the machines must have been the
same in numbers as that of the steps : or else they had but one
machine, and that moveable, which was taken from step to
step, as they hauled the stone up : for it is proper I should
state both modes ; as they are related. The highest parts were
accordingly the first finished off, after which, they proceeded
down to the other parts, step by step ; and so, at last, came to
the course resting on the ground, and completed also the
footing.

On the pyramid, an inscription, in Egyptian letters, shews
how much was expended in supplying the workmen with rad-
ishes, onions, and garlic ; and I recollect perfectly the interpret-
er's reading to me the inscription, and saying the amount was one
thousand six hundred silver talents. If this statement is cor-
rect, how much more must have been expended for the iron
tools that they worked with, for the provisions, and clothing
of the labourers? when they occupied so long a time as I have
said in erecting the pyramid itself, besides that, I suppose,
passed in cutting stone, conveying it, and building the under-
ground places, which must have been of no small duration. So
deeply had Cheops, it was said, sunk into infamy, that, being
in want of cash, he placed his daughter in a brothel, enjoining
her to extort a certain sum of money : what that was, however,
is not told ; but the damsel not only extorted what her father
prescribed, but contrived to leave for herself separately a memo-
rial, by asking every one that paid her a visit to give one
stone towards the building. And with these stones, it is said.

170 HERODOTUS

she built the pyramid that stands in the middle of the three/ in
front of the great pyramid : its sides are each one and a half
plethron long.

This Cheops, according to the Egyptians, reigned fifty
years: at the decease of this prince, his brother Chephren
assumed the power, and acted after the same manner as
his predecessor; and, among other things, built a pyramid,
which, in size, falls very short of his brother's in its dimen-
sions, for I measured both myself. Neither are there any
under-ground apartments attached to it ; nor is it watered, like
the other, by a canal from the Nile ; which, in the latter case,
flows by means of an artificial drain round the island, where
Cheops himself is said to be deposited. The first story of
Chephren's pyramid consists of Ethiopian stone of various
colours, forty feet less in height than the other, contiguous to
which it stands. Both are erected on one and the same hill,
about a hundred feet high. Chephren is stated to have reigned
fifty-six years. Thus one hundred and six years are reckoned,
during which the greatest calamities visited the Egyptians:
during that time the temples were closed, and never opened. In
consequence of the detestation the Egyptians have for these
two princes, they are not very anxious to mention their names ;
but call the pyramids after a herdsman, Philition, who at that
time grazed his herds about this place.

The king that succeeded Chephren on the throne of Egypt
was, they said, Mycerinus, the son of Cheops; who disap-
proved the conduct of his father. This prince reopened the
temples ; and restored to the people, ground down to the great-
est misery, the privileges of working for themselves, and offer-
ing up sacrifice : he adjudged also their suits in the most equit-
able manner of any of the kings : in consequence of this mode
of acting, the Egyptians praise this monarch far above all
others of their kings : for not only did he judge in equity, but
even, when any one complained of his sentence, he gave him a
remuneration from his own possessions, and pacified his anger.

* The first pyramid was that of Cheops; the second, that of Chephren;
and the third, that of Mycerinus. The fourth pyramid, or that
erected by the daughter of Cheops, was in the middle of the three
first, and opposite that of her father.

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 171

But the beginnings of the calamities that befel this meek
prince, one who took so much care of his subjects, was the
death of his daughter, the only child that remained to him. He
was stricken sorely with sorrow by such a visitation ; and desir-
ous of entombing his deceased daughter in a more sumptuous
manner than was customary, he gave his commands that a hol-
low wooden image of a cow should be prepared, which he
covered with gold, and in it enclosed the body of his departed
daughter. This image, accordingly, was not concealed under-
ground, but was an object of inspection even in my time ; being
found at Sais, standing within the palace, in a hall sumptuously
decorated. Perfumes of all sorts are burnt, every day, before
her; while, through the whole night, a lamp is kept burning.

Adjoining the place of this image, in another apartment, are
seen the images of Mycerinus's concubines ; such the priests of
Sais assert them to be : in fact, several wooden colossuses are
placed here standing, to the number of about twenty perhaps,
all represented as naked : as to who they are, I can say no more
than was said to me. There are, however, some people who
give the following account of this cow, and of the colossuses ; —
that Mycerinus was in love with his daughter, whom he de-
flowered by violence: the young woman, they say, strangled
herself through anguish : accordingly, he entombed her in this
cow ; while the mother cut off the hands of the attendants who
had betrayed her daughter to her father: and even now these
statues bear evidence of the punishment they underwent when
alive. But I think all these things are mere fables, more espe-
cially that about the amputation of the hands ; for I myself saw
that the hands had dropped off in the lapse of time, and re-
mained in full view at the feet of the images, even in my day.
This cow is covered with scarlet trappings : all but the head and
neck, which she exhibits, covered with a very thick plate of
gold ; between the two horns is placed a gold circle, the repre-
sentation of the sun : the cow herself is not represented stand-
ing on her legs, but crouching on her knees : in size, the image
is about that of a large living cow. It is carried every year out
of the apartment where it is kept : at the time that the Egyp-
tians beat their bosoms in honour of a deity whose name I must
not mention here, then they bring out the cow into the light :

172 HERODOTUS

for it is said the princess, on her death-bed, requested her
father, Mycerinus, to let her see the sun once in every year.

After the decease of his daughter, the following was the
second misfortune that befel the monarch. An oracle was re-
ceived from the city of Buto, announcing that "he was to live
six years only, and die in the seventh," It is related, that the
prince, vexed at this doom, sent to the oracle ; and upbraided the
deity, urging, that "his father and uncle had closed the temples,
and slighted the gods, but had enjoyed a long life, in spite of
their oppressions; while he, though pious and religious, was
to die so soon." There came, then, a second communication
from the shrine; stating, "for that very reason his life was
abridged, as he had acted contrary to what he ought to have
done : for it was fated that Egypt should be oppressed with
calamity during one hundred and fifty years; which the two
preceding kings were aware of, whereas he himself was not."
It is added, that Mycerinus having received this intelligence,
and seeing that his fate was already decided, ordered a vast
number of lamps to be made, which he lighted up whenever
night came ; during which he drank and enjoyed himself, never
ceasing night nor day, and travelled over the marshes, the
groves, and all places where he ascertained voluptuousness
might be gratified. This mode of acting was devised by the
king, for the purpose of convicting the oracle of falsehood ;
because, by changing night into day, he should gain twelve
years in the place of six.

This king also left a pyramid; greatly inferior, however,
in size to that of his father, being twenty feet less than three
plethra on each side : it is of a quadrangular form, and built
half-way up of Ethiopian stone. Some Hellenes assert, falsely,
that this pyramid is that of Rhodopis the harlot: these per-
sons are evidently to me quite ignorant who Rhodopis was;
otherwise they could not have attributed to her the erection
of such a pyramid as this, on which, to use such an expression,
thousands of talents innumerable were expended: moreover,
Rhodopis flourished in the reign of Amasis, and not at the
epoch we are now alluding to: for she was very many years
posterior to the kings that left these monuments: by birth, she
was a Thracian, a fellow-slave with ^Esop the fabulist, in the

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 173

service of ladmon, the son of Hephaestopolis, a Samian. For
^sop, there can be no doubt, belonged to ladmon; a fact
clearly proved by this circumstance : the Delphians, according
to the behest of the oracle, had frequently applied, by herald,
for information, "who would claim satisfaction for >;Esop's
life;" nobody appeared, but the son of ladmon's son, another
ladmon, who took the fine: therefore ^sop must have been
the property of ladmon/ Rhodopis arrived in Egypt, under
the conduct of a Samian, called Xanthus: she came there to
exercise her profession ; but was ransomed by a native of Mity-
lene, Charaxus, the son of Scamandronymus, and brother of
Sappho the poetess. Thus Rhodopis was set at liberty, and
stayed in Egypt ; and, being much sought after, amassed great
wealth for a woman of that class, but, at all events, not
enough to erect such a pyramid : any one who wishes, may
see, to this day, what the tithe of her property amounted to,
and would not attribute to her such immense wealth : for Rho-
dopis, anxious to leave in Hellas a monument of herself, had
the following articles made; which she dedicated at Delphi,
as a memorial; such as it never occurred indeed to any indi-
vidual to think of, and present in the temple. Out of the
tenth of her whole property, therefore, she made as many

^ Croesus sent ^sop to Delphi with a great quantity of gold, in order
to offer a magnificent sacrifice to the god, and to distribute to each
citizen four minae. Having, it would seem, some dispute with the
Delphians, he performed the sacrifice, but sent the money back again
to Sardis, deeming the inhabitants unworthy of the prince's munifi-
cence. The Delphians, urged by anger, unanimously accused him of
sacrilege ; and put him to death by dashing him from the rock Hyam-
paeus. The god of Delphi, offended at such a deed, made their lands
to be barren, and sent them all manner of dire diseases. Wishing to
stay the scourge, they proclaimed at the different festivals of Greece,
that if any one could be found to demand satisfaction for the death
of JEsop, they would grant it him. In the third generation, a native
of Samos presented himself, named Idmon [the same with the
ladmon of Herodotus] ; he was no relation to ^sop, but one of the
descendants of those who had purchased him at Samos. They of
Delphi made some satisfaction to him, and so were delivered from
the calamities with which they had been afflicted. — Plutarch.

174 HERODOTUS

iron spits to roast oxen upon, as were equivalent to the tenth
of her possessions, and sent them to Delphi. They still lie,
in a heap, behind the altar erected by the Chians, opposite the
temple. — The harlots of Naucratis are generally very fascin-
ating: for, in the first instance, this woman made herself so
famous, that the name of Rhodopis became familiar to all the
Hellenes. The second example, subsequently to Rhodopis, was
given by a harlot called Archidice, celebrated throughout Hel-
las, but less notorious than the other. — Charaxus, after hav-
ing ransomed Rhodopis, returned to Mitylene; and was often
the subject of Sappho's gibes, in her verses. — But I will say
no more about Rhodopis.

Next to Mycerinus, the priests mention, as his successor on
the throne of Egypt, Asychis, who erected the eastern porch of
Vulcan's temple, which is by far the largest and most beautiful.
Each of the porches is covered with engraved figures, and vast
numbers of architectural ornaments ; but this one more abund-
antly than the rest. In the reign of this king, it is said, the
circulation of money was so straitened, that a law was
instituted by the Egyptians, that to redeem a debt, the person
that owed the money was to pledge the dead body of his
father : to this law was appended another, that the creditor
should have the power of seizing the whole of the sepulchral
deposits belonging to the debtor. He who, after giving this
pledge, failed to cancel the debt, was subjected to the follow-
ing punishment : he was not himself to receive burial at death,
whether in the family sepulchre or any other ; neither was any
of his posterity to be deposited in a tomb. Asychis, ambitious
of surpassing his predecessors, left, as a monument of him-
self, a pyramid composed of bricks, with an inscription
carved on stone, running as follows: "Despise me not in com-
parison with the stone pyramids, for I exceed them as much
as Jove does the other gods. They plunged a pole into the
lake; and collecting what silt adhered to the pole, made of it
bricks, and built me in that manner." — Such was the work
of this prince.

Next to him, I was informed, ruled a blind man belonging
to the town of Anysis ; and himself called Anysis. Under his
reign, Sabacus the Ethiopian king, followed by a mighty force

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 175

of Ethiopians, invaded Egypt: accordingly, the blind prince
took refuge in the marshes, while the Ethiopian extended his
sway over Egypt during fifty years; and, while he held the
power, performed the following actions. Whenever any
Egyptian was found guilty of a crime, Sabacus would not
have him put to death ; but, in proportion to the magnitude of
the offence, adjudged each to labour at throwing up a mound
before the city to which the culprit might belong. By this
means, the towns were raised to a still higher level than be-
fore ; for under king Sesostris, the prisoners of war, who dug
the canals, had already thrown up mounds about the cities;
and under the Ethiopian prince, these were elevated to a much
greater height.

Although every town in Egypt now lies high, the most
extensive mounds must have been, I think, made about Bubastis,
a city which possesses a temple of Bubastis, well deserv'ing
to be mentioned : other temples may be larger and more
sumptuous, but none is more grateful to the eye. Bubastis
is an Egyptian word, answering to Diana. This holy pre-
cinct may be thus described. With the exception of the
road leading to it, the situation is a complete island ; for
two canals from the Nile running inland, without mingling
their waters, extend each to the entrance: one flows around
this side, the other that : each is one hundred feet in breadth,
and shaded with trees. The quadrangle before the temple is
ten orgyse in height ; and decorated with beautiful figures, six
cubits high. As the sacred precinct stands in the centre of
the town, it is visible on every side, from top to bottom, when
you go round it ; for the town itself having been raised con-
siderably above the old level, by means of the works thrown
up, while the temple remained untouched, it is still conspicu-
ous as when first built: a wall runs all round the precinct,
covered with figures cut in the stone. In the inside is seen a
grove of very large trees, growing round an extensive temple,
where the divine image stands. The dimensions of the holy
precinct, both length and breadth, are five stades : near the en-
trance is a causeway of stone, about three stades long, leading
through the public square, eastward : the breadth of this cause-
way is four plethra : on both sides of the road which takes to

176 HERODOTUS

the temple of Mercury lofty trees are planted. Such, then, is
this precinct.

The final departure of the Ethiopian prince is thus de-
scribed by the priests: they say that he saw a vision of the
following nature in his sleep: he fancied he beheld a man
standing over him, who admonished him to collect all the
priests in Egypt, and cut them down the middle. Sabacus
having had this dream, said that he regarded it as a suggestion
sent him by the gods, in order that he should attack the relig-
ious rites, and thereby draw upon himself some calamity at
the hands of the gods or men. He determined not to act so,
but to take his departure from the country; as the period dur-
ing which he was fated to rule over Egypt was gone by: for
before he quitted Ethiopia, the oracle frequented by the Ethio-
pians declared that he was to reign over Egypt fifty years.
As, therefore, that time was come, and he was alarmed at his
dream, he, of his own accord, withdrew from Egypt. After
the departure of Sabacus from Egypt, the blind king resumed
the authority; and came forth from the morasses, where,
during a sojourn of fifty years, he had formed an island of
ashes and earth : for the Egyptians being wont to come to him
with provisions according to what was imposted on each indi-
vidual, unknown to the Ethiopian, Anysis commanded them
to bring with the tribute a certain quantity of ashes, as a
present. Prior to Amyrta^us, nobody was able to find out this
island : during more than seven centuries the predecessors of
Amyrtseus were unable to ascertain where it lay. The name
of this island is Elbo: its extent in every direction is ten stades.

Next to this last, it was stated, that a priest of Vulcan
ascended the throne : his name was Sethon : he neglected,
and held in no account, the fighting caste of the Egyptians,
not feeling any necessity of their services. In consequence,
he took various opportunities of inflicting disgraces on these
people; and, among other things, he deprived them of their
lands, which had been picked out and given them by his
predecessors, to the amount of twelve acres every man. A
short time after, Senacherib, king of the Arabians and As-
syrians, led a mighty host against Egypt ; in this emergency,
the Egyptian warriors would not come forward : but the

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 177

priest, thus beset with difficulties, entered the temple, and,
in front of the sacred image, poured forth his wailings at the
danger he was exposed to. After making this complaint,
sleep came upon him, and in a vision he fancied the deity was
standing by and cheering him, assuring him that he should
suffer no discomfiture in facing the Arabian host; for he
himself would send assistants to him. Trusting to this dream,
the king took such of the Egyptians as chose to follow him,
and encamped with his troops at Pelusium, where the entrance
into Egypt lay. Not one of the warrior caste, however, joined
him: his army consisted of trades-people, mechanics, and
market-people. Having arrived at the above place, the field-
mice poured in legions against the foe during the night, and
devoured the quivers and the bows of the enemy, together
with the shield-thongs; so that, on the following day, a
multitude of the invading troops, reft of their arms, fell in
their flight. And even to this day the stone image of this
king stands in Vulcan's temple, with a mouse in his hand,
saying, as is shewn by the inscription, "Let him that looks at
me, pay homage to the gods."

Up to this portion of our history, the Egyptians, as well
as the priests, shew that the time elapsed from the first king
to the death and end of the reign of this priest of Vulcan
was three hundred and forty-one generations of men, and
during these generations were as many hierarchs and kings.
Now, three hundred generations of men are equal to ten
thousand years; for three generations of men amount to one
hundred years; and the forty-one generations, still remain-
ing over and above the three hundred, make one thousand
three hundred and forty years : thus, in eleven thousand years,
together with the addition of three hundred and forty, ac-
cording to their assertion, no god assumed the human form;
neither, said they, had such a thing happened before, nor
after, among the other kings of Egypt. But during this
period, they asserted, that four times the sun had risen out
of his usual seats : and that twice he rose where he now sets,
and twice he set where he now rises. They add, that, in con-
sequence of these revolutions, no alterations in regard of

178 HERODOTUS

Egypt, whether land or river, occurred: nor likewise with
respect to diseases, or the things pertaining to death.

In former days Hecataeus the Historian, being at Thebes,
was rehearsing his genealogy, and connecting his family with
some god in the sixteenth remove : but the priests of Jupiter be-
haved to him as they did to myself, although I did not men-
lion my genealogy; they took me into the interior of the
edifice, which is of considerable extent, and reckoned up, one
by one, accurately, a number of wooden colossuses which they
shewed me: for every high priest there sets up the image
of himself in his lifetime: after reckoning the whole series,
and shewing them to me, they proved that every one was the
son of his predecessor, commencing at the image of the last
deceased, and proceeding along the line till they had got
through the whole. When Hecataeus, as I said before, reckoned
up his ancestors, and connected them with some god in the
sixteenth generation, the priests objected to him the genealogies
of their hierarchs, whom they enumerated, without admitting
in the list that any man was ever sprung from a god: but
described their genealogical table in this manner; saying, that
each of the colossuses was a Piromis, born of a Piromis, until
they had pointed to four hundred and forty-five colossuses
Piromis, sons of Piromis, and connected the line with no god
or hero. Piromis is an Egyptian word, that means 'a noble
and good man.' Thus, accordingly, the priests proved to me
that all those belonging to these images were far from any
thing like a god ; but that, prior to these men, Egypt had had
the gods for its rulers, who resided among men; and one of
whom was always invested with the supreme power. The last,
they asserted, that ruled over Egypt, was the son of Osiris,
Orus, the Egyptian name for Apollo : this god deposed Typhon,
and was the last of the immortal beings that reigned in Egypt.
Osiris is the Egyptian for Bacchus.

Among the Hellenes, the most modern of the gods are
held to be Hercules, and Bacchus, and Pan. With the Egyp-
tians, Pan is regarded as extremely ancient, and one of the
eight gods called original; Hercules is said to belong to the
second gods, called the twelve gods ; and Bacchus to the third,
sprung from the twelve. I have stated above, how many years

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 179

the Egyptians say have intervened from Hercules to the
reign of Amasis : it is said, that in the case of Pan the num-
ber of years was still greater: the least of all Bacchus, from
whom, down to king Amasis, they reckon fifteen thousand
years. All the above dates the Egyptians profess to know
exactly, having at all times kept an account, and registered the
years. From my time, therefore, to that when Bacchus, it is
said, was born of Semele, Cadmus's daughter, is about one
thousand six hundred years: to Hercules, born of Alcmena,
nine hundred years: to Pan, born of Penelope (the Hellenes
give to her and Mercury the title of parents to Pan), the years
are not so many as to the beginning of the Trojan war; that
is to say, about eight hundred years at my time. Of these
two systems, every one is at liberty to adopt that of either
nation to whom he gives the greater credit: I have therefore
put down what my own opinion on these matters is; for if
these gods had been known in Hellas, and had lived to old
age in that country, I mean Hercules, begotten of Amphitryon,
and especially Bacchus the son of Semele, and Pan, borne
by Penelope, any one might say, that, although they were
mortal men, they bore the names of the gods long extant
before their time. Now the Hellenes affirm, that Bacchus,
immediately after his first coming into existence, was sewed
up in Jupiter's thigh, and conveyed by that god to Nysa, a
place in Ethiopia, situate above Egypt : as to Pan, they do
not pretend even to say whither he was taken to at his birth.
Hence, therefore, I have come to the conclusion, that the
Hellenes obtained information of their names some time after
those of the rest of the gods; and that from that epocha the
Hellenes reckon by the genealogies the dates of the births of
these gods. This accordingly is agreeable to what the Egyp-
tians themselves say.

What both the Egyptians and other nations agree to have
occurred in this country, will be the subject-matter of the
following part of this History; to which will be added some
things from my own personal observation. The Egyptians
having become independent, after the reign of the priest of
Vulcan, established (for they could not live a moment with-
out a king) twelve kings, and divided Egypt into twelve

180 HERODOTUS

parts. These twelve kings connected themselves by inter-
marriages, and entered into the following stipulations; that
they should not destroy the kingdoms of one another, nor
should any one endeavour to get more than another, and
that they should all keep on the most friendly terms : the
reason which induced them to adopt the above resolutions
among one another, was, to fortify themselves strongly. At
the very beginning of their accession to the different gov-
ernments, it was declared by the oracle, "that, of the twelve
he who should in Vulcan's temple make a libation from a
brazen cup would be king of all Egypt ;" for they were wont
to hold general assemblies at all the temples. Accordingly,
they determined upon leaving, in common, a monument of
themselves; and, agreeably to that resolution, caused a laby-
rinth to be built a little above the lake of Moeris, and not far
from the town called the City of the Crocodiles. This edi-
fice, which exceeds all powers of description, I have myself
seen; for it is such, that if one could collect together all the
Hellenic edifices, all the works they have wrought, the collec-
tion would be evidently inferior, as respects the labour em-
ployed, and the expense incurred. The temple of Ephesus is
undoubtedly magnificent, and so is that at Samos: the Pyra-
mids likewise were noble structures, each equal to many of
the mighty works achieved by the Hellenes put together: but
the labyrinth beats the Pyramids themselves. The labyrinth
consists of twelve court-yards, surrounded by piazzas; two
opposite doors constitute the entrances, six looking to the
north six to the south, all in line: one and the same wall on
the outside closes in the twelve courts. In the interior are two
sorts of rooms, those underground, and those above, the latter
raised upon the former: they are three thousand in number,
fifteen hundred of each kind. I myself passed therefore
through, and saw the upper apartments, which I describe from
ocular inspection. I was obliged, however, to confine my
acquaintance with the subterranean parts to the information I
could get by inquiry; for the Egyptians appointed over the
labyrinth would not shew me these apartments by any means,
alleging, that in those places were deposited the relics of the
monarchs who erected the edifice, and those of the sacred

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 181

crocodiles. Thus what I say of the lower apartments is taken
from hearsay; but all about the upper parts is from actual
observation, and I consider them the noblest works of men:
for the passages leading out through the piazzas, and the paths
across the courts, so varied in their windings, present very
many wonders to those that pass by the court to the cham-
bers, and from the chambers to the porches, and from the
porches to other piazzas, and other courts from the chambers :
all these have a roof of stone : the walls are of the same ma-
terials, but full of carved figures. Round every court-yard
is a colonnade of white stones, nicely joined. At the extremity
of the labyrinth rises a pyramid, forty orgyse high, on which
some gigantic figures are carved : the way into this pyramid
is by a subterranean passage.

A still greater wonder than this labyrinth even is seen in
its vicinity: I mean the lake of Mceris; the circuit of which
comprises three thousand six hundred stades, or sixty
schoenes, a number equal to the length of Egypt on the sea-
side. This lake stretches, in its length, from north to south;
its depth, where it is deepest, is forty orgyse : there can be
no doubt that it was excavated by hand; for about the mid-
dle stands two pyramids, each rising fifty orgyae above the
surface of the water, with a foundation to the same depth
under water: on both is placed a stone colossus, seated on a
throne. These pyramids have therefore one hundred orgyse
in total height, which are exactly equal to one stade of six
plethra; for the orgya measures six feet or four cubits, each
foot being equal to four palms, and the cubit to six. The
waters of this lake are not the spontaneous produce of the
soil, which is particularly dry in this quarter: they come
from the Nile by means of a canal; and flow six months
from the Nile into the lake, and six months from the
lake into the Nile : during the six months from the time that
the stream begins to flow out, the lake brings in to the royal
exchequer one silver talent daily, on the fish; but at the
other times, the daily contribution is only twenty minse. The
people belonging to that country told me, also, that this lake
discharges its waters into the Libyan Syrtis, by an under-
ground tunnel, running westward into the interior, along the

182 HERODOTUS

mountain above Memphis. As no mound was to be seen re-
sulting from this excavation, a fact which struck me forcibly,
I inquired of the people that reside nearest to the borders
of the lake where the ground thrown up was to be found:
they informed me, that it was carried away; and I readily
gave credit to them: for I had heard that in Niniveh, the
Assyrian town, a similar thing had taken place. Some thieves
determined to make an attempt to carry off the riches of
Sardanapalus, king of Niniveh, which were considerable, and
deposited in underground treasuries : they accordingly com-
menced in their own houses, and opened a mine leading di-
rect to the palace : every night they conveyed away the mould
proceeding from the excavation, and cast it into the river
Tigris, which passes by the city of Niniveh; and this they
continued to do, until they had compassed their object. I
now heard a similar account respecting the excavation of the
Egyptian lake ; with the exception, that it took place by day,
and not by night : for the Egyptians, after making their ex-
cavations, carried the matters thrown up to the Nile, which
seized the deposit, and presently dispersed it abroad. Such,
therefore, was the manner in which this lake, it is reported,
was dug out.

The twelve kings, however, conducted their governments
with justice, until the time when they met to offer sacrifice
in Vulcan's temple: on the last day of the festival, as they
were about to make libations, the high priest brought them
golden beakers, which they were wont to use in this cere-
mony, but made a mistake in the number, bringing eleven
only for the twelve. Thereupon Psammitichus, who stood last
of all, seeing that he had no beaker, doffed his brazen helmet,
stretched it out to receive the wine, and made his libation : all
the rest of the kings wore helmets, and at this time had them
on. Psammitichus accordingly stretched out his helmet with
no sinister motive; but the rest took into consideration what
Psammitichus had done, and how the oracle pronounced to
them that he who should make a libation from a brass beaker
would be sole king of Egypt : reminded of the oracle, how-
ever, they could not, in justice, decree death to Psammitichus,
being convinced, on their inquiry, that the deed was not pur-

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 183

posely committed; but decided to banish him to the marshes,
after divesting him of the greatest part of his power. It was
added, also, that he should never come out of the marshes,
to have any communication with the rest of Egypt.

This Psammitichus had fled into Syria previous to the
retreat of Sabacus the Ethiopian, who had put to death his
father Neco; and, after the Ethiopian, in consequence of
his dream, had withdrawn from the throne, was brought
back by the Egyptians belonging to the Sa'itic nome. Some
time after, being appointed one of the kings, he was thus
once more compelled, by the eleven kings, to fly to the marshes.
Feeling, therefore, that he had been wronged by his
colleagues, he contemplated revenge on his persecutors;
and sent to the shrine of Latona at Buto, where the most
veracious oracles are received by the Egyptians. The answer
of the oracle was, that vengeance would come when men of
brass appeared rising from the sea: but Psammitichus was
loth to give credit to brass men ever being his coadjutors.
Not long after, however, some lonians and Carians, who had
embarked for purposes of piracy, compelled by necessity to
bear away for Egypt, came on shore, clad in brass armour:
an Egyptian (who had never before beheld men accoutred in
brass) went to Psammitichus in the marshes, and reported,
that some brass men had come from the sea, and were plun-
dering the country. Psammitichus, seeing that the oracle was
thus fulfilled, made friends with the lonians and Carians ; and
having recourse to great promises, brought them over to join
with him. Having effected this, he accordingly, with such
Egyptians as volunteered in his service, and these auxiliaries,
dethroned the eleven kings.

Psammitichus having reduced all Egypt under his do-
minion, erected the porch of Vulcan at Memphis which looks
to the south; and built for Apis a court, where he is fed
whenever he appears: it stands opposite the porch, is sur-
rounded with a piazza, and covered with emblems: colossal
statues, twelve cubits high, instead of pillars, support the
piazza of the court. This prince gave to the lonians, and
those who had assisted him, some lands to occupy, on oppo-
site banks of the Nile: to these two tracts of land he as-

184 HERODOTUS

signed the names of camps; and, accordingly, not only
presented them with land for their subsistence, but fulfilled
all the other promises he had made them. Among other things,
especially, he entrusted to the care of these aliens some of the
sons of the Egyptians, to be taught the Hellenic tongue; and
from these pupils descend the present interpreters in Egypt.

The lonians and Carians remained for a long time in those
quarters, which extend along the seashore, a short distance
below the city t/f Bubastis, on the Pelusiac mouth, as it is
called, of the Nile. These colonists were subsequently trans-
ferred from hence, and settled at Memphis, where they served
as a body-guard to king Amasis against the Egyptians. From
the period of the settlement of these people in Egypt, the
Hellenes have kept up with them such a close connexion, that
we know for certain, beginning from the reign of Psam-
mitichus, every occurrence that has since taken place in Egypt ;
for these lonians and Carians are the first persons speaking a
foreign tongue that settled in Egypt. Down to my day, the
dock for ships, and the ruins of houses, were still seen in the
country, from whence they were transplanted. Such was
therefore the manner in which Psammitichus obtained pos-
session of Egypt.

I have already made frequent mention of the Egyptian
oracle; but shall here extend my remarks on this subject;
for it well deserves distinction. The holy precinct of Latona,
situate in a large town, presents itself to your view, when
you sail up from the sea by the mouth called the Lebennytic
mouth of the Nile: the name of the city, where this shrine
stands, is Buto, as I have before observed. Within this city
are seen not only the precincts sacred to Apollo and Diana,
but the temple likewise of Latona, in which, accordingly, the
oracle is located: it is of considerable extent, and the front
portico rises to the height of ten orgyse: but what struck me
as the most marvellous of all, that was to be seen at this
place, was, the temple of Latona itself, made, length and
height, of one single block of stone : the sides are all equal,
each dimension measuring forty cubits: the roof consists of
another flat stone, the eaves of which project beyond the walls,
on every side, by four cubits. This edifice, therefore, is the

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 185

most admirable of all the things that are to be seen about this
precinct : the next to this is an island called Chemmis : it lies
in a deep and broad lake, close by the holy precinct in Buto,
and is said by the Egyptians to float. I myself, however,
never saw it swim or move, and was struck with astonishment
when I heard of the existence of floating islands. In this one,
accordingly, is seen a large temple of Apollo : here, also, three
altars have been erected: palm-trees grow in abundance in
this island, as well as many other fruit-bearing and forest
trees.

The Egyptians give the following explanation of the
floating properties of this island: that Latona, one of the
eight gods first existent, and who resided at Buto, where her
oracle stands, saved Apollo, whom she had received from Isis
as a sacred deposit, by concealing him in this island, now said
to float, but in early days known to be fixed. This happened
at the time that Typhon, searching on all sides, came in the
expectation of finding the son of Osiris. For the Egyptians
assert, that Apollo and Diana were the offspring of Bacchus
and Isis, and that Latona was their nurse and saviour: for
Orus is the Egyptian for Apollo, and Isis for Ceres, and
Bubastis for Diana. From this tradition, and none other,
-^schylus the son of Euphorion adopted the following tenet,
in which he is singular among the earlier poets; that Diana
is the daughter of Ceres.^ In consequence of the event de-
scribed above, this island was made to float. Such is the
account the Egyptians give.

Psammitichus occupied the throne of Egypt fifty- four
years ; during twenty-nine of which, that prince besieged
Azotus, a large town in Syria, which he at last captured. This
town of Azotus is that, which, of all we know, stood the
most protracted siege. Necos was a son of Psammitichus,
and succeeded to the throne of Egypt. This prince was the
first that began the canal leading to the Erythraean sea; an
undertaking which Darius the Persian, in later times, con-
tinued.

The length of this cut is a voyage of four days: its

* This must have been in a play now lost.

186 HERODOTUS

breadth is made such, that two triremes may pull abreast:
the waters that feed this canal come from the Nile: it begins
a little above the city of Bubastis, and ends in the Erythraean
sea, not far from the Arabian town of Patumos. This work
was dug first through the parts of the Egyptian plain that
are contiguous to Arabia: above the plain rises the moun-
tain that stretches down to Memphis, in which the quarries
are. Accordingly, at the foot of this mountain the canal
takes a long reach, from the west to the east; then stretches
to the defiles; from whence, taking its course towards the
south, it proceeds to the Gulf of Arabia. The shortest way
from the Mediterranean sea, to the southern, called also the
Erythraean, is from Mount Casius, the frontier of Egypt and
Syria, whence to the Gulf of Arabia is one thousand stades:
the above is the most direct road ; but the canal is considerably
longer, inasmuch as it is more winding. One hundred and
ten thousand Egyptian delvers perished on this undertaking,
during Necos's reign: that prince, therefore, ceased in the
middle of the work, in consequence of an oracle, that came
warning him that "he was working for an alien;" for the
Egyptians call every body aliens who do not use the same
language as themselves. But Necos having put a stop to his
excavations, turned his attention to war: triremes were con-
structed ; some on the shore of the Mediterranean ; others on
the gulf of Arabia, which is a part of the Erythraean sea:
the docks for the ships are still seen: these fleets were ready
for use whenever required. Necos engaged by land the Syrian
forces near Magdolus, and conquered : after the battle, he
took Cadytis, a large city of Syria. The garb worn by the
king in these achievements was sent to Branchidae in Milesia,
and dedicated to Apollo. He died sometime after, having
reigned, in all, sixteen years; and bequeathed the throne to
his son Psammis.

Under the reign of Psammis, a deputation from the people
of Elis arrived ; boasting that they had established the Olym-
pic lists on the most equitable and fairest principles in the
world ; and fancying that the Egyptians, the wisest of man-
kind, would be unable to devise any thing better. The depu-
ties of Elis, on their arrival in Egypt, explained for what

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 187

purpose they had come: in consequence, the king convened
those esteemed the wisest of the Egyptians. The assembly
met, and heard the ambassadors describe all the regulations
respecting the lists which they had thought proper to make:
after explaining every particular, the Eleans declared they
had come to ascertain, "whether the Egyptians could devise
any improvement in these institutes." The Egyptians held
council; and asked the Eleans, whether their fellow-citizens
were allowed to contend in the games: the deputies made
answer, that the lists were open to any of themselves or the
Hellenes, who chose. In consequence, the Egyptians observed :
"that, enacting such rules, they swerved wide of every thing
like justice : for it could not be otherwise than that they would
give the preference to their own citizen, and so do an injus-
tice to a stranger; but that if they really wished to found just
laws, they would advise them to institute the games for candi-
dates of other cities, and exclude from the list every citizen
of Elis." Such was the admonition the Egyptians ministered
to the people of Elis.

Psammis, having reigned alone six years, died immediately
after an attack on Ethiopia: he was succeeded by his son
Apries, who, next to his great-grandfather, Psammitichus,
was the most prosperous of former sovereigns, during a reign
of five-and-twenty years; in the course of which he marched
his army against Sidon, and engaged the Tyrian king by sea.
As he was, however, doomed to be visited with calamity, this
came to pass on an occasion that I shall describe more largely
in my Libyan History, but shall now touch lightly upon.
Apries having sent an expedition against the Cyrenasans, met
with a sore defeat. The Egyptians attributing the blame to
the king, rebelled against him ; being convinced that Apries, in
furtherance of his own views, had sent them to evident de-
struction, in order that such a destruction of them should take
place, as would enable him to reign undisturbed over the rest
of the nation. Highly exasperated, at this, the men that
escaped from the rout, and the friends of the slain, openly
rebelled.

Apries, informed of what had occurred, sent Amasis
to the insurgents, who was to repress the sedition by per-

188 HERODOTUS

suasives. On his arrival, he endeavoured to appease the
Egyptians, exhorting them not to behave in that manner;
when one of the insurgents, standing behind him, put an helmet
on the speaker's head, saying, "that he crowned him as their
king:" this was not very repugnant to the wishes of Amasis
himself, as he plainly shewed; for the insurgents having ap-
pointed him king of the Egyptians, he prepared to march
against Apries. But Apries, informed of his intention, des-
patched Patarbemis, one of his suite, and a man of great
repute, with orders to bring before him Amasis alive. At
the arrival of Patarbemis, he called Amasis; but Amasis (who
happened to be then mounted) lifted up his thigh, and broke
wind, and bade the messenger take that back to Apries:
nevertheless, as Patarbemis begged him to come before the
king, who had sent for him, Amasis answered him thus: "He
had long been preparing to do that very thing; and that
Apries should have no cause to blame him, for he would forth-
with make his appearance, bringing others in his train."

Patarbemis, fully apprised of the intention of Amasis, both
from what had been said, and the preparations he himself saw
making, hastened to take his departure, for the purpose of
communicating, as speedily as possible, to the king, tidings
of what was going on : but, as he presented himself before
Apries unaccompanied by Amasis, the king, without taking
time to deliberate, and excited by anger, ordered the ears
and nose of Patarbemis to be cut off. The rest of the Egyp-
tians who still adhered to the king's cause, witnesses of the
shameful treatment of so distinguished a fellow-citizen, hesi-
tated not an instant, but forthwith went over to the insur-
gents, and gave their allegiance to Amasis. Apries, informed
of this, placed his auxiliaries under arms, and led them
against the Egyptians : his army amounted to thirty thousand
auxiliaries, made up of Carians and lonians; and his palace
was in the city of Sa'is, a vast and admirable structure. Apries'
party took the field against the Egyptians, while that of Amasis
marched against the auxiliaries : they both met near the town
of Momemphis, and prepared for the conflict.

The Egyptians are divided into seven classes : these are
respectively called, priests, soldiers, herdsmen, swineherds.

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 189

tradesmen, interpreters, pilots : such are the Egyptian classes :
their names are derived from their professions. The military
are called either Calasires or Hermotybies : they belong to the
following nomes — for the whole of Egypt is divided into
nomes : the following are the nomes of the Hermotybies : Busi-
rites, Saites, Chemmites, Papremites, the island of Prosopitis,
the half of Natho : to the above nomes the Hermotybies be-
long: they amount at the highest to one hundred and sixty
thousand : none of these is ever apprenticed to any handycraft,
but are all devoted to war. The Calasires belong to the other
following nomes : Thebais, Bubastites, Aphthites, Tanites, Men-
desius, Sebennytes, Athribites, Pharbaethites, Thmuites; Onu-
phites Anysius, Myecphorites — this nome consists of a part of
the island lying off the city of Butis : the above are the nomes to
which the Calasires belong : they amount, at the highest, to two
hundred and fifty thousand : none of these are allowed to apply
to any trade, but to military pursuits alone ; the son inheriting
his father's calling. Whether the Hellenes borrowed this cus-
tom likewise from the Egyptians, is a question which I cannot
describe for certain, inasmuch as I see Thracians, Scythians,
Persians, Lydians, and nearly all foreigners, esteem as a lower
class of their fellow-citizens such persons as profess any handy-
craft trade and transmit it to their posterity ; while those who
keep aloof from trade are esteemed noble ; such, above all, as
distinguish themselves in war. These principles are instilled
among all the Hellenes, and the Lacedaemonians especially : the
Corinthians are the people that shew the greatest respect for
mechanics.

With the exception of the priests, the military are the only
Egyptians entitled to any privileges: to each of this class
are awarded twelve choice arouras of ground : the aroura,
throughout Egypt, is equal to one hundred cubits, the Egyptian
cubit being the same as that of Samos : this privilege extended
to all, without discrimination: the following perquisites, they
participate in turn, never the same as before. One thousand
Calasires, and the same number of Hermotybies, were ap-
pointed as body-guards every year to the king : to these, besides
the lands above mentioned, the following largess was given

190 HERODOTUS

every day; to each man, five minae of roasted corn, two minx
of beef, four arysters of wine.

After the arrival of Apries near Momemphis, at the head
of the auxiliaries, and Amasis at the head of all the Egyptians,
the two parties engaged battle: the auxiliaries behaved gal-
lantly: they were, however, far inferior in numbers, and con-
sequently defeated. Apries is represented as being convinced
that even a god might not dethrone him, so firmly did he con-
ceive himself seated : but in this battle he was beaten : taken
prisoner, he was conveyed back to Sais, to his former palace,
now that of Amasis: here, for some time, he was kept at the
palace, and Amasis treated him very kindly: but at last, the
Egyptians blaming Amasis for such unjust behaviour, in thus
cherishing the greatest enemy both of themselves and himself,
he delivered Apries up to them, who put him to death by strang-
ulation, and then interred him in his paternal tombs. These
receptacles are in Minerva's precinct, close to the temple, on
the left hand as you enter : the Saitae are wont to bury all kings,
born in their nome, within this precinct ; for the monument of
Amasis is seen there at a greater distance from the temple than
the tombs of Apries and his forefathers. In the sacred quad-
rangle stands a great hall, adorned with pillars made to imitate
palm-trees, and decked with various embellishments: within
the hall stands a niche, with folding-doors, within which is the
sepulchre.

At Sais, also, is seen, in Minerva's precinct, the depositary
of one whose name I do not hold it lawful to mention in
this matter: it stands behind the temple, and occupies the
whole of that wall of the sacred building : large stone obelisks
are found in the precinct ; near which is a pond adorned with
a border of stone-work ; it is in shape circular, and, as far as I
can judge, is about the size of that of Delos, called the trochoid,
of him mentioned above :^ this spectacle is called the mysteries,
On this sheet of water the Egyptians represent the adventures
by the Egyptians; concerning which, although informed of
every detail, I shall hold a decent silence ; as well as what con-

1 That is to say, of him whose name Herodotus has just informed
us he does not think himself at liberty to divulge.

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 191

cerns the initiation of Ceres, called by the Hellenes the thes-
mophoria ; which I am well acquainted with, but shall withhold
describing, excepting so far as it may be lawful to speak of it.
It was the daughters of Danaus that imported this ceremony
of the initiation, and communicated the same to the Pelasgian
women : in subsequent times, the whole of Peloponnesus being
reft of its former occupants by the Dorians, these rites became
extinct, except with the Arcadians, the only Peloponnesians
that remained and preserved their remembrance.

Apries thus cut off, Amasis ascended the throne: he be-
longed to the Saitic nome, and was a native of the town called
Siuph. At first, accordingly, the Egyptians slighted Amasis,
and held him in little account, as having been previously noth-
ing but a private man, and of no very distinguished family:
Amasis, however, soon brought them over to him, by his skill
and affability. Of the many precious things that he possessed
there was a golden foot-bason, in which Amasis himself, and
all his guests, were wont to wash their feet: accordingly, he
broke up this vase, had it converted into an image of the god,
and set it up in the most prominent part of the city. The Egyp-
tians, crowding round the image, devoutly worshipped it. Ama-
sis, hearing how the citizens acted, called a meeting of the Egyp-
tians, and explained to them, "that the image had been made
out of the foot-bason in which the Egyptians were wont to
' vomit, to make water, and to wash their feet ; and now it had
become a special object of their adoration." He added, "that
he himself now had undergone the same change as the foot-
bason ; for previously he was but a private man, whereas at pres-
ent he was their king :" and he then proceeded to exhort them to
honour and respect him : in this manner he brought the Egyp-
tians to brook his rule. He adopted the following arrangement
in his affairs : from the dawn of day, to the usual time when
the public square is full of people, he applied closely to the
affairs brought before him : the remainder of the day he passed
drinking and joking with his guests, throwing aside all thought
and abandoning himself to fun and frolic. His friends, dis-
pleased at this behaviour, remonstrated with him, in these
words : "My liege," said they, "you do not hold restraint enough
on yourself; and debase your rank by such levity. It behoves

192 HERODOTUS

you to sit venerated on your venerated throne; and attend
through the day to affairs : thus the Egyptians might be con-
vinced they are ruled by a great man, and you yourself obtain
more repute: your conduct now is in no manner kingly." His
answer to this was: "They who make use of bows are wont to
brace them when they wish to shoot ; but unbrace them, when
they have done : for were the bow to remain constantly strung,
it would surely snap; and so the archer would not be able to
use it, in case of need. Such is the case with man: were he to
be incessantly engaged in serious business, nor abandon himself
sometimes to sport and pastime, he would gradually become
either mad or stupid : this I know, and allot, accordingly, a
portion of my time to both." Such was the answer he returned
to his friends.

Amasis is represented, when a private man, as a giddy
youth given to drink and mockery: when the means failed
him to drink and carouse, he went about pilfering. The per-
sons who accused him of having their property, were wont,
in consequence of his denial, to bring him before the oracle that
happened to be in their neighbourhood : in many instances, he
was convicted by the oracles ; in others, he escaped : in conse-
quence of this, when he came to the throne, he acted in the
following manner: of all such gods as absolved him of theft,
he neglected their temples, and contributed nothing to their
repairs; neither did he present sacrifice in them, considering
them unworthy of any remuneration, and having false oracles :
such as declared him guilty of theft, he attended to with the
greatest care, as being truly gods, and proffering true answers.

In the temple of Minerva at Sai's, he erected a wonderful
portico, far surpassing all, in height and size, as well as in the
bulk and quality of the stones : he likewise dedicated, not only
large colossuses and huge sphinxes,* but also brought, to repair
the sacred edifice, stone blocks of extraordinary dimensions:
some of these he took from the quarries in the vicinity of Mem-
phis; but the largest blocks of all came from Elephantine, a

* Monstrous figures, which had the body of a lion and the face of a
man. The Egyptian artists represented commonly the sphinx with
the body of a Hon and the face of a young woman.

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 193

place twenty days' voyage from Sais. But of all these masses,
that which struck me with the greatest astonishment was a
chamber brought from Elephantine, and hewn out of one sin-
gle block of stone: this enormous mass occupied three years
in its conveyance ; two thousand men, all belonging to the caste
of the pilots, being specially appointed for that purpose. The
length of this chamber is, on the outside, twenty-one cubits; its
breadth, fourteen; its height, eight. Such are the dimensions
of this chamber, measured on the outside: in the inside, they
are, in length, eighteen cubits; breadth, twelve; height, five.
This stone chamber lies near the entrance into the precinct : the
reason why it was not drawn into the sacred inclosure is stated
to have been, that the architect, wearied by the labour, seeing
what a long time had been taken up, breathed a sigh as the
chamber moved forward. Amasis, considering the sigh omi-
nous, forbad the stone to be drawn any further: but others
say, that one of the workmen employed at the levers was
crushed beneath the mass, and consequently the chamber was
not moved any further. Amasis dedicated, in all the renowned
temples, works of gigantic size : at Memphis, in particular, he
dedicated, in front of Vulcan's temple, a colossus, reclining on
his back, seventy-five feet long: on the same base stand two
colossuses of Ethiopian stone, each twenty feet high; one on
one side, and the other on the other side of the temple. There
is at Sais a similar colossus, lying, as at Memphis, on the back.
It was Amasis also who erected at Memphis the temple to Isis,
a vast edifice, deserving to be seen.

Under the reign of Amasis, Egypt, it is said, enjoyed the
greatest prosperity, both in regard to the advantages accruing
to the land from the river, and to mankind from the land ; the
towns in that period amounted to twenty thousand, all inhabited.
Amasis it was that gave to the Egyptians the law, that every
year each Egyptian should make known to the governor of his
nome,^ from whence he got his living : if he failed to do so, and
could not produce an honest livelihood, he was condemned to
death. Solon the Athenian borrowed this law from Egypt, and

* The provinces of Egypt were called Nomes, and the governor, or
chief magistrate of each of those provinces, a Nomarch.

194 HERODOTUS

instituted it at Athens : that nation still observes this law as an
excellent enactment. Amasis, being fond of the Hellenes, not
only conferred various favours to different persons of that na-
tion, but gave to the Hellenes, that came into Egypt, the town
of Naucratis for their residence: to such as did not wish to
settle in the country, but carry on traffic with Egypt, he be-
stowed places where they might erect altars and precincts to
their gods.

The most extensive of these holy precincts, and the most
renowned and frequented, was the Hellenium: it was erected
at the common cost of the following states: of the lonians,
Chios, Teos, Phocsea, and Clazomenae ; of the Dorian, Rhodes,
Cnidus, Halicarnassus, and Phaselis; of the Cohans, the
Mytilenseans alone: to the above cities this sacred precinct
belongs, and they appoint the presidents of the factory. What-
ever other cities may claim a share, claim what is not their own.
The Mginetce, however, have erected a temple to Jupiter, apart
to themselves : the Samians have done the same to Juno ; and
the Milesians to Apollo. Originally, Naucratis was the only
factory; there was no other in Egypt: if any one arrived at
another mouth of the Nile, he was obliged to take an oath, "that
he did not enter of his own accord :" and having done so, he
was to proceed round to the Canobic mouth : in the case only
of contrary winds impeding navigation, the cargo was to be
conveyed, in barises, round the Delta, until it reached Naucratis.
Such was the privilege bestowed to Naucratis. The Amphicty-
ons having entered into a contract to build, for three hundred
talents, the temple now standing at Delphi — for the former
one had been burnt down accidentally, and the Delphians were
taxed to furnish one quarter of the costs — the people of Delphi
undertook a begging excursion to different places, from which
they obtained subscriptions: in this way they brought from
Egypt a very great contribution : for Amasis gave them a thou-
sand talents of alum ; and the Hellenic settlers contributed, on
their part, twenty minse.

Amasis contracted a league of friendship and alliance with
the Cyrenaeans : he determined, also, to take a wife from thence ;
— whether he desired to unite himself to an Hellenic lady, or
wished to give thus a proof of his attachment to the Cryenaeans.

EUTERPE [BOOK TWO] 195

He espoused, therefore, the daughter of Battus; some say,
Arcesilaus; others also Critobulus, a respectable citizen: the
lady's name was Ladice. When Amasis lay with his bride, he
found himself unable to consummate, although he could enjoy
other women : this had lasted a considerable time, when Amasis
sent for Ladice herself, and addressed her thus: "Ladice, you
have used some charm upon me, and now you have no means of
escaping the most miserable death of all women." Amasis,
in spite of all Ladice said in her defence, relaxed not his stern
intention : the princess prayed mentally to Venus, that Amasis
might be gratified that night, which would be the only preventive
of the calamity that awaited her, and vowed she would send to
the goddess an image at Cyrene : immediately she had made this
vow, Amasis was made happy : his happiness continued, and his
affection for his consort increased. Ladice fulfilled her vow to
the goddess : she ordered the image to be made, and sent it off
to Cyrene ; where it remained safe and sound to my time, with
its back turned to Cyrene. Cambyses, after his conquest of
Egypt, when he discovered who Ladice was, sent her back, un-
hurt, to Cyrene. Amasis dedicated offerings in Hellas: first,
a gilt statue of Minerva at Cyrene, and his own portrait painted :
secondly, at Lindus, two stone statues to Pallas, together with
an admirable corset of linen : he dedicated, moreover, to Juno,
at Samos, two wooden images of himself, which stood to my
days in the great temple behind the doors : those dedications at
Samos he made out of regard for the compact of friendship
entered into between himself and Polycrates the son of Ajax:
the dedication at Lindus was not in consequence of any similar
compact, but because it was related that the daughters of Dan-
aus, in their flight from the sons of ^gyptus, having touched
at Lindus, founded there the temple of Minerva : such were the
dedications of Amasis. He was the first that ever conquered
Cyprus, and subjected that island to tribute.

THUCYDIDES

HISTORY

OF THE

PELOPONNESIAN WAR

FROM 431 TO 427 B. C.

TRANSLATED BY

WILLIAM SMITH, A.M., D.D.

RECTOR OF THE HOLY TRINITY IN CHESTER, AND CHAPLAIN TO THE RIGHT HON.
THE EARL OF DERBY

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THE SAME

ON THE

LIFE OF THUCYDIDES

AND HIS

QUALIFICATIONS AS AN HISTORIAN

197

INTRODUCTIONS

LIFE OF THUCYDIDES

Thucydides, an Athenian, by borough a Halymusian, was
born in the year before Christ four hundred and seventy-
one; twenty years after Hellanicus,^ thirteen after Herodotus,
and about three years before Socrates. He was descended of
a very splendid and noble family, though perhaps not so hon-
ourable as many others, since it was not purely Attic. Its
splendour can no longer be doubted, when it is known to be
the family of Miltiades. Miltiades the elder, born a citizen
of Athens, had reigned over the Dolonci, a people in Thrace;
and left vast possessions in that country to his descendants :
and Miltiades the younger had married Hegesipyle the daughter
of Olorus, a Thracian king. Yet foreign blood, though royal,
was always thought to debase the Athenian. The firm re-
publicans of Athens had an hereditary aversion to every cir-
cumstance of royalty and the polite inhabitants of it abhorred
all connexions with Barbarians, the scornful title they gave
to all the rest of the world, except their countrymen of Greece.
Iphicrates, a famous Athenian in later times, was the son of
an Athenian shoemaker and a Thracian princess. Yet, being
asked to which of his parents he thought himself most obliged,
he replied haughtily — "To my mother. She did all she could
to make me -an Athenian ; my father would have made me a
Barbarian." The younger Miltiades whom wars had obliged
to quit his hold in Thrace, commanded the troops of Athens
in the famous field of Marathon. He died afterwards in a
jail, unable to pay a large fine set upon him by the people of
Athens. His son Cimon contrived afterwards to pay it. The
family for a tfme had been in poverty and distress, but emerged

^ A native of Mitylene in Lesbos, born B.C. 490. He lived till the
age of eighty-five. In the course of his long life he wrote many
works on genealogy, chorography, and chronology, of which only
fragments remain.

199

200 INTRODUCTION

again in Cimon. Cimon the same day gained a victory both by
land and sea over the Persians at Mycale. By his conduct he
very much enlarged the power of Athens, and put it in a trai
of much greater advancement. In civil affairs he clashed wii;
Pericles, who was leader of the popular party: Cimon alway.s
sided with the noble or the few ; as were the party-distinctions
in vogue at Athens.

The proofs that Thucydides was of this family are strong
and convincing. Plutarch directly asserts it in the life of
Cimon. His father, in grateful at least if not honourable re-
membrance of the Thracian king, whose daughter Miltiades
had married, bore the name of Olorus. His mother also was
another Hegesipyle. He inherited rich possessions in Thrace ;
particularly some mines of gold. A monument of him was
to be seen for many ages after, in the Coele at Athens, amongst
the Cimonian, or those belonging to the family of Cimon;
and stood next, according to Plutarch, to that of Elpinice,
Cimon's own sister. His father's name in the inscription on
this monument, at least some latter grammarians have averred
it, was Olorus. Thucydides himself, in the fourth book of
his history, calls it Orolus. Can we want stronger authority?
Whether any stress ought to be laid on the variation, or
whence the mistake, though a very minute one, might pro-
ceed, are points too obscure and trifling to take up any
attention.

Such was the family of which Thucydides was descended.
His pedigree might be fetched from the gods; since that of
Miltiades is traced down from ^acus. But, like my author, I
should choose to keep as clear of the fabulous as possible.
Cicero says of him, "Though he had never written a his-
tory, his name would still have been extant, he was so hon-
ourable and noble."^ I quote this, merely as a testimony to
the splendour of ..his .birth, since it may be questioned whether
the historian, in the present instance, hath not entirely pre-
served his memory, and been solely instrumental in ennobling
and perpetuating the man.

His education no doubt was such as might be expected

^ In the Orator.

LIFE OF THUCYDIDES 201

from the splendour of his birth, the opulence of his family,
and the good taste then prevailing in Athens, the politest city
that then existed, or ever yet existed in the world. It is im-
possible however to give any detail of it. The very little to
be found about it in writers of any class whatever, seems
merely of a presumptuous though probable kind. It is said
Anaxagoras was his preceptor in philosophy, because the name
of Anaxagoras was great at this period of time. Anaxagoras,
the preceptor of Euripides, of Pericles, and of Socrates, is
named also by Marcellinus for the preceptor of Thucydides.
And he adds, quoting Antyllus for an evidence, that "it was
whispered about that Thucydides was atheistical, because he
was so fond of the theory of Anaxagoras, who was generally
reputed and styled an atheist." The solution of an eclipse
from natural causes accounting for appearances from the laws
of motion, and investigating the course of nature, were suf-
ficient proofs of atheism amongst a people so superstitious
as the Athenians. Thucydides, possibly, might be well ac-
quainted with the philosophy of Anaxagoras, without having
personally attended his lectures. However that be, his own
history abundantly shows that he was no atheist; it may be
added, and no polytheist. By his manner of speaking of the
oracles and predictions tossed about in his own time, it is plain
he looked upon them as equivocal, or rather insinuates them to
be mere forgeries. "And yet," says Mr. Hobbes,^ "he con-
firms an assertion of his own touching the time this war lasted,
by the oracle's prediction." The passage occurs in the fifth
book of this history. But whoever considers it, will find it
only an argiimentum ad hominem, to stop the mouths of such
as believed in oracles, from contesting his own computation
of the whole time the Peloponnesian war lasted. I can only
say, that he was undoubtedly a serious man, and of a large
fund of solid sense, which deriving originally from the bounty
of nature, he had most certainly improved by a regular and
sound education.

For a reason of much less weight, Antipho is assigned for
his master in rhetoric — because he speaks handsomely of him

1 Of the Life and History of Thucydides.

202 INTRODUCTION

in the eighth book. He there indeed pays due acknowledge-
ment to the merit of Antipho as a speaker; but it cannot be
inferred from hence, that he had ever any connection with
him. Others have made Antipho a scholar of Thucydides/
with full as little reason. Thucydides certainly was never a
teacher by profession. It is pity to waste so much time on
uncertainties. It is certain Thucydides had a liberal educa-
tion, though the particular progress of it cannot now be traced.

But, to show the peculiar bent of his genius, and a re-
markable prognostic what sort of person he would prove, the
following story is recorded by several authors, and dated by
Mr. Dodwell in the fifteenth year of his age. — His father car-
ried him to the Olympic games. He there heard Herodotus
read his history to the great crowd of Grecians assembled at
tihat solemnity. He heard him with fixed attention; and, at
length, burst out into tears. "Tears childish indeed," it hath
been remarked, but however such as few children would have
shed, and highly expressive of his inward spirit. The active
aspiring mind of Themistocles was not stronger shown, when
the trophy of Miltiades would not let him be at rest; nor
the genius of the lad at Westminster-school, when he could
not sleep for the colours in Westminster-hall. Herodotus is
said to have obesrved it, and to have complimented Olorus
on his having a son, that had so violent a bent to letters. A
similar passage in any person's life would always be called to
mind, when he was the subject of conversation.

In about two years more, Thucydides was obliged by the
laws to take his exercise in the study of arms, and to begin
to share in the defence of his country. Every citizen of
Athens was also a soldier. They served at first within the
walls, or on great emergencies marched, though to no great
distance from home. As years and skill advanced, they were
called upon to join in more distant and foreign expeditions.
We are quite in the dark about the particular services in which
he might thus be employed. We are sure at least he much
improved in the theory of arms. He qualified himself for

1 Plutarch'h Lives of the Ten Orators.

LIFE OF THUCYDIDES 203

the great trust of heading the forces of the state ; and, in the
sequel, we shall see him invested with a command.

The anonymous author of his life relates, that Thucydides
was one of the number, whom the Athenians sent to found a
colony at Thuria in Italy. Lampo and Xenocritus were the
leaders of this colony, and Herodotus is said to have been as-
sociated in it. If Thucydides went the voyage (and the
strange inconsistencies of him who relates it render his whole
account suspicious,) he must have been about twenty-seven
years of age. One thing is pretty certain; his stay at Thuria
could have been of no very long continuance. This is not to
be inferred from the ostracism, which the same writer says
he soon after suffered; a mistake incurred, it is highly prob-
able, by confounding him with Thucydides the son of Milesias,
who was of the same family, and being a leader in the oli-
garchical party at Athens, had the ostracism thrown upon him
by the interest and popularity of Pericles. But the quarrel
between the Corcyreans and Corinthians about Epidamnus
broke out soon after this. The enemies of Athens were now
scheming the demolition of its growing power. Thucydides
writes all the preparatory transactions, marks all the defensive
measures of the Athenians, as a person who was privy to
every one of them. And there should be very strong and very
positive proofs of the contrary, before any reader of his his-
tory doubts of his having been all the time at Athens.

His own Introduction, of itself in a great measure estab-
lishes the fact. He perceived the storm was gathering; he
knew the jealousies of the states which composed the La-
cedemonian league ; he also knew the real strength of Athens,
and heard all the preventive measures recommended by Pericles
to put his countrymen in a proper posture of defence. He
himself seems to have been alert for the contention, and ready
both with lance and pen, not only to bear his share in the
events, but also to perpetuate the memory of them. He longed
to become an historian; he saw a fine subject for history
fast approaching; he immediately set about noting all oc-
currences, began at once to collect materials ; and was resolved
to write the History of the Peloponnesian War before it was
actually on foot. *—-"

204 INTRODUCTION

Can we doubt then of his residence during this portion of
time at Athens? He was arrived, at the breaking out of this
war, to the full vigour and ripeness of his years and under-
standing, being, according to his chronologist, Mr. Dodwell,
just forty years old. We learn from himself,^ that he knew
personally the whole series of things; he was ever present at
the transactions of one or other of the contending parties;
more, after his exile at those of the Peloponnesians ; and con-
sequently, before his exile, at those of the Athenians. He
speaks of Pericles, as one who was an eye-witness of his con-
duct; as one who heard him harangue in the assembly of the
people, convincing that a war there would necessarily be, and
for that reason they ought not to weaken themselves by ill-
judged concessions, but gallantly to exert that naval power
which had made Athens envied and dreaded, and which alone,
as it had made, could keep her great. He must regularly have
taken his post upon the walls, and seen the Peloponnesians, in
the first year of the war, lay all the adjacent country waste.
He must have marched under Pericles to retaliate on the ter-
ritories of Megara, since the whole force of the state was
obliged to take the field on this occasion. He must have as-
sisted at the public funeral solemnized in the winter for the
first victims of this war, and heard Pericles speak in honour
of the dead and the living, and make his countrymen
enamoured of their own laws and constitution. The plague
broke out immediately after this ; we are absolutely certain he
was then in Athens. He himself assures us of it. He was
an eye-witness to all that horrid -scene. He had the plague
himself; and hath given a circumstantial detail of it.

The war proceeds with vigour, and through a great variety
of events. Thucydides must have borne his share in the serv-
ice; the particulars he hath not recorded. No man was ever
less guilty of egotism; he never mentions himself but when
it is absolutely necessary. His next six years were certainly
employed in fighting and in writing; the latter was his pas-
sion, and the former his duty. In the forty-seventh year of
his age, he was joined in the command of an Athenian squad-

1 Book the fifth.

LIFE OF THUCYDIDES 205

ron and land- force on the coasts of Thrace. He might be
assigned to this particular station, on account of his posses-
sions and interest in this part of the world. It was judged
at Athens, that he was best qualified to serve his country in
this department. The Lacedemonian commander in Thrace
dreaded his opposition.

It was Brasidas the Spartan, who was now at the head of
the Peloponnesian troops in Thrace. He had made a forced
march thither through Thessaly and Macedonia. By his fine
deportment and his persuasive address joined to uncommon
vigilance and activity, he had hitherto carried all before him.
He at length endeavoured to get possession by surprise of the
important city of Amphipolis : he had very nearly succeeded.
Eucles commanded there for the Athenians. Thucydides was
at this time in the isle of Thasus, about half a day's sail from
Amphipolis. A messenger was despatched to him, to hasten
him up for the defence of the city. He put to sea imme-
diately with a small squadron of seven ships. Brasidas, know-
ing he was coming, opened a negotiation with the Amphi-
politans, and gained admission for his troops. Thucydides
stood up the Strymon in the evening, but too late, since
Brasidas had got fast possession of Amphipolis. The city of
Eion is situated also upon the river Strymon lower down,
and about two miles and a half from Amphipolis. Thucydides
put in here, and secured the place. "Brasidas (in his own
words^ ) had designed that very night to seize Eion also. And,
unless this squadron had come in thus critically to its defence,
at break of day it had been lost." Thucydides, without losing
a moment, provided for its defence. Brasidas, with armed
boats, fell down the river from Amphipolis, and made two
attempts upon it, but was repulsed in both: upon which, he
gave up the scheme, and returned back.

One would imagine that Thucydides had done all that
could be done on this occasion, and deserved to be thanked
instead of punished. The people of Athens made a diflferent
determination. Cleon was now the demagogue of greatest in-
fluence there, and is generally supposed to have exasperated

^ Book the fourth.

206 INTRODUCTION

them against the man who had not wrought impossibilities in
saving their valuable town of Amphipolis. It is certain their
fury rose so high against him, that they stripped Thucydides
of his command, and passed the sentence of banishment upon
him. It is himself who tells us,^ "It was his lot to suffer a
twenty years' exile from his country after the affair of
AmphipoHs."

We have thus lost Thucydides the commander to secure
more fast Thucydides the historian. Though sadly treated, he
scorned to be angry with his country. His complexion was
not at all choleric or resentful; there appears not the least sign
of any gall in his constitution. Discharged of all duties and
free from all public avocations, he was left without any at-
tachments but to simple truth, and proceeded to qualify him-
self for commemorating exploits, in which he could have no
share. He was now eight and forty years old, and entirely at
leisure to attend to the grand point of his ambition, that of
writing the history of the present war; a calm spectator of
facts, and dispassionate observer of the events he was de-
termined to record.

"Exile, according to Plutarch,^ is a blessing which the
Muses bestow upon their favourites. By this means they
enable them to complete their most beautiful and noble com-
positions." He then quotes our author for the first proof of
his observation — "Thucydides the Athenian compiled his his-
tory of the Peloponnesian war at Scaptesyle in Thrace." At
that place he fixed his residence. It lay convenient for taking
care of his private affairs and overlooking his mines: they
lay not within the dominions of Athens ; for then they would
have been forfeited to the state. Hence he made excursions
at proper seasons to observe transactions, and pick up intelli-
gence. He was now more conversant in person on the Pelo-
ponnesian side. Some private correspondences he might still
carry on with Athenians. And he had money to purchase all
proper materials, was ready, and knew how to lay it out. This
was his employment till the very end of the war; and it is
certain he collected materials for carrying down his history to

1 Book the fifth, ^Oi Banishment

LIFE OF THUCYDIDES 207

that period of time "when (in his own words^) the Lace-
demonians and their alHes put an end to the empire of Athens,
and became masters of the Long Wall and the Piraeus." But
whoever reads it, will be inclined to think, that he drew it
not up in that accurate and elaborate manner in which it now
appears, till the war was finished. He might keep every thing
by him in the form of annals ; he might go on altering or cor-
recting, as he saw better reason or gained more light. His
complete well-connected history, though the first thing in his
intention, was the last in execution.

His exile lasted twenty years. It commenced in the eighth
year of the war, in the year before Christ four hundred twenty-
three. Consequently, he was restored the year before Christ
four hundred and three, being at that time sixty-eight years
old. In that very year an amnesty was published at Athens,
in the archonship of Euclides, after the demolition of the
thirty tyrants by Thrasybulus.

Thucydides was now at liberty, if he pleased, to return
and pass the remainder of his days at Athens, Whether he
did so or not, is left quite in the dark. He lived twelve years
after, and died in the year before Christ three hundred ninety-
one, being then about fourscore years old. He was constantly
employed in giving coherence and dignity to this History; —
with what accuracy, what severity, what toil, the reader may
judge, since he will find that after all he left it imperfect.
The first seven books are indeed fully and exactly finished.
The eighth, though moulded into due form, hath plainly not
had a final revisal, and breaks off abruptly. The whole work is
said to have fallen into Xenophon's possession, who at the
time of the death of Thucydides, was exiled from Athens:
and Xenophon is also said to have made it public. This car-
ries a great air of probability with it, since Xenophon became
the continuator of Thucydides, not in so lofty and majestic,
but in a sweeter and more popular style. There is a chasm
indeed between the time the History of Thucydides breaks
off, and the Grecian History of Xenophon begins. There is
no accounting for this but by conjecture. May I venture to

1 Book the fifth.

208 INTRODUCTION

offer one, I believe, entirely new, but which, for that reason,
I shall readily give up to the first person of judgment, who
thinks it hath no foundation? It is this — That Thucydides
left somewhat more behind him than now appears. How it
came to be suppressed or lost, I will not pretend to guess. It
is natural to imagine, that his acknowledged continuator re-
sumed the subject at the very spot where his predecessor had
left off. Nearly two years are however wanting, in which
several important incidents took place. It is pity ; but we
have no redress. General historians are by other means en-
abled to supply the deficiency ; but the loss of any thing from
so masterly a hand is still to be regretted.

The place of the death and interment of Thucydides was
most probably Scaptesyle in Thrace. Long habitude might
have made him fond of a spot where he had passed so many
years in studious and calm retirement. The hurry and bustle
and engagements of Athens could not have been much to the
relish of so grave, and now so old a man. His monument
there among the Cimonian confirms this opinion, since most
writers agree, it had the mark upon it which showed it to be a
cenotaph, and the words, 'Here lieth,' were not in the in-
scription.^ I have nothing to add about his family. It is
said he left a son; but the very name of that son is merely
conjectural. I have collected every thing that carries any con-
sistency with it about the Man; I shall proceed with more
pleasure to view him in a clearer and more steady light, and
mark the character in which it was his ambition to be dis-
tinguished, that of an Historian.

THUCYDIDES AS AN HISTORIAN

It is now to be considered, how well qualified Thucydides
was, to undertake that nice and 'arduous task of writing his-
tory.— No one certainly was ever better fitted for it by outward
circumstances ; and very few so enabled to perform it well by
the inward abilities of genius and understanding.

Lucian, in his celebrated treatise "How a History ought to
be written," is generally supposed to have had his eye fixed on

^ Marcellinus.

THUCYDIDES AS AN HISTORIAN 209

Thucydides. And every person of judgment, who loves a sin-
cere relation of things, would be glad, if it were possible, to have
the writer of them abstracted from all kind of connection with
persons or things that are the subject-matter ; to be of no coun-
try, no party; clear of all passions; independent in every light;
entirely unconcerned who is pleased or displeased with what he
writes ; the servant only of reason and truth.

Sift Thucydides carefully, and we shall find his qualifica-
tions in all these respects very nearly, if not quite, complete.

No connection with, no favouring or malevolent bias to-
wards, any one person in the world, can be fixed upon him.
Never man so entirely detached, or proceeded so far (if I
may use the expression) in annihilating himself. What friend
doth he commend ? or, what enemy doth he reproach ? — Brasi-
das was the irnmediate occasion of his disgrace and exile. Yet,
how doth he describe him ? He makes the most candid acknowl-
edgments of his personal merit, and doth justice to all his
shining and superior abilities. Cleon is generally supposed to
have irritated the people against him, and to have got him most
severely punished, when he merited much better returns from
his country. Doth he show the least grudge or resentment
against this Cleon ? He represents him indeed in his real char-
acter of a factious demagogue, an incendiary, a bully, and of
course an arrant coward. And how do all other writers ? how
doth Aristophanes paint this worthless man, this false bellow-
ing patriot? Thucydides never so much as drops an insinua-
tion that he was hurt by Cleon. And thus, by general consent,
he hath gained immortal honour by giving fair and true repre-
sentations of men, whom he never felt to be such, but whom
succeeding writers have assured us to have actually been his
enemies. — As to things ; though in the first seven years of the
war he must in some measure have had employment, yet he
was soon disentangled from all business whatever, in a manner
which bore hard upon his reputation. He hath stated the fact ;
and then with the greatest calmness and unconcern, he hath
left the decision to posterity.

He was henceforth of no country at all. Cut off from the
republic of Athens, he never sought after or desired a naturali-
zation in any other state of Greece. He was now only to choose

210 INTRODUCTION

out and fix a proper spot of observation, from whence, like a
person securely posted on a promontory, he could look calmly
on the storm that was raging or the battle that was fighting
below, could note every incident, distinguish every turn, and
with a philosophical tranquility enjoy it all. In short, he now
was, and continued all the rest of the Peloponnesian war, a
citizen of the world at large, as much as any man ever actually
was.

Mr. Hobbes imagines he hath dived to the bottom of the
real principles of Thucydides, and avers him a tight and sound
royalist. He is sure, that he least of all liked the democracy : as
sure, he was not at all fond of an oligarchy. He founds his
assurance on a passage in the eighth book — "They decreed the
supreme power to be vested in the five thousand, which num-
ber to consist of all such citizens as were enrolled for the heavy
armour, and that no one should receive a salary." — Thucydides
just after pronounceth this, in his own opinion, "a good model-
ling of their government, a fine temper between the few and the
many, and which enabled Athens from the low estate into
which her affairs were plunged to re-erect her head." If this
passage proves any thing of the author's principles, it certainly
proves them in a pretty strong degree republican. Mr. Hobbes,
however, sets out from hence to prove him a royalist. "For,"
says he, "he commendeth the government of Athens more, both
when Pisistratus reigned (saving that it was an usurped power,)
and when in the beginning of this war it was democratical
in name, but in effect monarchical under Pericles." He
praiseth, it is true, the administration at both these periods;
and he also praiseth the good effects resulting from an ad-
minstration lodged in the hands of five thousand men. Under
Pericles it was lodged in more, but the extraordinary abilities
and influence of the man had taught all their voices to follow
the dictates of his heart. Yet Pericles was all the time a
strong republican, and owned his masters. Plutarch says,
he never harangued them without praying beforehand, that
"not a word might slip out of his mouth, that was not perti-
nent to the business in hand ;" and that he never put on his
armour to lead them out into the field, without saying to him-
self— "Remember, Pericles, you are going to command free

THUCYDIDES AS AN HISTORIAN 211

men and Grecians." I leave it to the reader, whether the
principles of Thucydides can thus be discovered. It ap-
pears only, that he was always candid to a good administra-
tion, and might possibly think of government, as Mr. Pope
has wrote:

For modes of government let fools contest.
That which is best administer'd is best.

That studied obscurity in which he hath veiled himself, will
not let us discover, whether on instant and critical occasions
he ever suffered himself to be actuated by any of the darker
passions, or too fondly indulged those of a brighter cast.
But it cannot be found from what he writes, that he hath
praised any man from fondness, or even from gratitude, de-
graded any one through envy, or reproached any one with
malice and ill-nature. The same will hold in regard to states
or whole communities. Doth he ever censure the Athenians
in the wrong place? or commend the Lacedemonians but in
the right? Were his name expunged from the beginning of
the whole work and the conclusions of the years, could any
one guess to what state he had ever belonged, whether he was
a Lacedemonian, a Corinthian, an Athenian, or a Sicilian,
except from the purity of the Attic dialect in which he writes ?

His unconcern about the opinions of a present generation,
is strong and clear. It looks as if he thought they would
scarce give him a reading, so little care had he taken to soothe
or to amuse them. He had a greater aim than to be the
author in vogue for a year. He hated contention, and scorned
short-lived temporary applause. He threw himself on pos-
terity. He appealed to the future world for the value of the
present he had made them. The judgment of succeeding
ages hath approved the compliment he thus made to their
understandings. So long as there are truly great princes, able
statesmen, sound politicians, politicians that do not rend
asunder politics from good order and general happiness, he
will meet with candid and grateful acknowledgments of his
merit.

Other historians have sooner pleased, have more diffus-
ively entertained. They have aimed more directly at the

212 INTRODUCTION

passions, have more artificially and successfully struck at the
imagination. Truth in its severity, and reason in its robust
and manly state, are all the Muses and Graces to which
Thucydides hath done obedience. Can we wonder, that he
hath not been more generally read and admired? or, could
we wonder, if he had not been so much? A great work
planned under such circumstances and with such qualifica-
tions as I have been describing, cool serious judgment will
always commend as a noble design, even though executed it
may prove too cheerless to the more lively passions, its relish
not sufficiently quick for the popular taste, or piquant enough
to keep the appetite sharp and eager.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus hath exerted himself much on
account of Thucydides; hath tried him by laws which have
poetry rather than history for their object; and censures him
for not delighting, when his profession was only to instruct.
Mr. Hobbes has gallantly defended his author, and shown all
the arguments of Dionysius to be impertinent, and to proceed
from partiality and envy. I shall not repeat, it will suffice
to refer the curious reader to what Mr. Hobbes hath written
upon this topic. Thucydides hath also been censured in regard
to the choice of his subject. Homer hath celebrated the Tro-
jan war, and intermingled in his poems all the historic strokes
of that and of preceding ages, enlivening and exalting every
thing he touched. That splendid part of the Grecian history,
in which his counrtymen resisted and triumphed over the very
formidable arms of the Persian monarch, had already been
recorded by Herodotus. Should Thucydides plunge back into
dark and fabulous ages, and turn a mere legendary and ro-
mantic writer? He had, he could have, no subject equal to his
ambition and his abilities, but the war which broke out in his
own days, which he foresaw would prove extensive and im-
portant, when the efforts of her enemies would be vigorously
exerted to pull down the power of Athens, to demolish that
naval strength which gave her the sovereignty of the sea, and
made her the dread and envy of her neighbours. Coolly there-
fore with my reason as an examiner of things, and warmly
with my passion as an Englishman, I cannot but applaud his
choice, who hath projected the soundest and best system of

THUCYDIDES AS AN HISTORIAN 213

English politics, so long before the constitution had existence;
and hath left us fine lessons, such as his factious countrymen
would not observe, how to support the dominion of the sea
on which our glory is built, and on which our welfare entirely
depends. In this light it is a most instructive and interesting
history, and we may felicitate ourselves on the choice of
Thucydides. I must not anticipate; Thucydides would have
his readers pick out their own instructions. I can only add,
that Thucydides is a favourite historian with the statesmen
and patriots of Great Britain : this fits him also to be an his-
torian for the people. Other nations have admired him, and I
hope will continue to admire him, gratis : we are bound to thank
him, and never to lose sight of that grand political scheme,
fornied by aThemi.stocles, and warmly and successfully pur-
sued by an Aristides, a Cimon, and a Pericles; the swerving
from which at Athens drew after it the loss of the sovereignty
at sea, then sunk her into a petty state, and made her end at
last in a mere academy, though most excellent in its kind.

From such considerations it will also follow, that the his-
tory of Thucydides is more useful than that of Livy; at least,
that we have more reason to applaud the choice of the former.
I design no comparison between these two historians. The
performance of the Jesuit Rapin on that point is in general
reading. Livy's history is certainly more august, more splen-
did, more amazing: I only insist that it is not more useful.
And, though Livy be happier in his subject, this ought not to
degrade Thucydides, who seized the only fine subject that could
offer itself to him: in regard to him, it was either this or none
at all. The parallel should be only drawn in regard to execu-
tion, where much hath been said on both sides, and the
superiority still remains undecided. ,>

This brings me to the inward abilities of genius and un- ^
derstanding, which capacitated my author to execute his work. . '
His genius was certainly of the highest order: it was truly \

sublime. Here the critics unanimously applaud. In the ar- ^.

rangement of his matter he emulated Homer. In the grandeur \

of his thoughts and loftiness of his sense he copied Pindar. \

He is ever stately and majestic; his stateliness perhaps too '

formal, his majesty too severe. He wrote, as he thought, far

214 . INTRODUCTION

beyond an ordinary person. He thinks faster than he can ut-
ter: his sentences are full-stored with meaning; and his very
words are sentences. Hence comes his obscurity. Where pure
thought is the object, he connects too fast, nor is enough dilated
for common apprehension. But this is not the case with the
narrative part of his history, which is pithy, nervous, and suc-
cinct, yet plain, striking, and manly. He never flourishes,
never plays upon words, never sinks into puerilities, never
swells into bombast. It is a relation from the mouth of a very
great man, whose chief characteristic is gravity. Others talk
more ingenuously ; others utter themselves with a more cheer-
ful air ; yet every one must attend to Thucydides, must hearken
with serious and fixed attention, lest they lose a word, a
weighty and important word, by which the whole story would
be spoiled. ,

It is in his Orations, that he is most remarkably
obscure. He might not be so in so high a degree to the ap-
prehensions of mankind, when his history was first made pub-
lic. The world was then used to hear continual harangues : no
business of a public nature could be carried on without them.
In his time, the speakers aimed entirely at strength and brev-
ity. If they were not exceeding quick, the apprehensions of the
Athenians would outstrip, or at least affect to outstrip, their
? utterance. They must think much, and yet leave much of
i what they had thought to the ready conception of the audi-
l ence. An orator in the following history^ calls them "Spec-
tators of speeches." They affected to discern at the first
glance ; and without waiting for formal deduction and solemn
inference, to be masters of the point as it were by intuition.
The more copious and diffusive eloquence was the improve-
ment of the next generation. But the most forcible orator
that even Athens ever boasted, improved, if he did not quite
learn, his peculiar manner from Thucydides. It was Demos-
thenes, who copied him in the close energy of his sentences,
and the abrupt rapidity of his thoughts. Demosthenes is said
to have transcribed him eight times over with his own hand :
so diligently did he persevere to form an intimate acquaintance

* Cleon's speech in book the third.

THUCYDIDES AS AN HISTORIAN 215

with him, and habituate himself to his quick manner of con-
ception, and to his close and rapid delivery. Cicero says how-
ever,^ that "no rhetorician of Greece drew any thing from
Thucydides. He hath indeed been praised by all; I own it;
but, as a man who was an explainer of facts with prudence,
severity, and gravity: not as a speaker at the bar, but an his-
torical relater of wars. And therefore he was never numbered
amongst the orators." Cicero learned nothing from him: he
could not, neither in his own words "would he if he could."
His talents were different ; he was quite in all respects accom-
plished; he was eloquence itself. But Demosthenes — and can
there be higher praise? — Demosthenes certainly loved and
studied Thucydides, for whose perfection I am not arguing;
I would only establish his character of loftiness and sublimity.
Longinus^ proposeth him as the model of true grandeur and
exaltation in writing history.

I think no fair comparison can be made of him, except
with the historians who are his countrymen, who like himself
are original in their own way, and the first in their manner.
These are only two, Herodotus and Xenophon. In point of
life, Thucydides was junior a little to the former, and senior
to the latter. In stateliness, grandeur, and majesty, he far
surpasseth them both. The manner of Herodotus is grace-
ful and manly; his address is engaging; he loves to tell a
stftryj and, however fabulous or trifling that story, he will be
heard with pleasure. The course of his history is clear and
smooth, and yields a most cheerful prospect : that of Thucyd-
ides is deep, rapid, impetuous, and therefore very apt to be
rough and muddy. You may clearly perceive the bottom of the
one: but it is very hard to dive to the bottom of the other.
Herodotus, like a master on the horn, can wind a lofty air,
and without any harshness sink down into the lowest and mel-
lowest notes. Thucydides sounds the trumpet; his blasts are
sonorous and piercing, and they are all of the "martial strain."^
Xenophon never pretends to grandeur; his character is a
beautiful simplicity : he is sweeter than honey ; he charms every

1 In the Orator. ^ On the Sublime. Section 14.

^ Cicero in the Orator.

216 INTRODUCTION

ear; the Muses themselves could not sing sweeter than he
hath wrote. Each beats and is beaten by the others in some
particular points. Each hath his particular excellence : that of
Herodotus is gracefulness; that of Thucydides, grandeur; and
that of Xenophon, sweetness itself. If generals, and admirals,
and statesmen, were to award the first rank, it would undoubt-
edly be given for Thucydides; if the calmer and more polite
gentry, it would go for Herodotus; if all in general who can
read or hear, Xenophon hath it all to nothing.

THUCYDIDES

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR

INTRODUCTION

Thucydides an Athenian hath compiled the history of the
war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians, as man-
aged by each of the contending parties. He began to write
upon its first breaking out, from an expectation that it would
prove important, and the most deserving regard of any that had
ever happened. He grounded his conjecture on the earnest-
ness of both the flourishing parties to make all necessary prep-
arations for it ; and he saw that all the rest of Greece was en-
gaged on one side or the other, some joining immediately, and
others intending soon to do it ; for this was the greatest com-
motion that ever happened amongst the Grecians, since in it
some Barbarians, and it may be said the greatest part of man-
kind, were concerned. The actions of an earlier date, and
those still more ancient, cannot possibly, through length of
time, be adequately known; yet, from all the lights which a
search into the remotest times hath afforded me, I cannot
think they were of any great importance, either in regard to
the wars themselves, or any other considerations.

RIVALRY OF ATHENS AND SPARTA

Lacedemon^ ever since it came into the hands of the Dori-
ans, in whose possession it still continueth, though harassed with
seditions the longest of any place we know, yet hath ever been
happy in a well regulated government, and hath always been
exempt from tyrants ; for, reckoning to the conclusion of this
present war, it is somewhat more than four hundred years that
the Lacedemonians have enjoyed the same polity. On this
basis was their power at home founded, and this enabled them
to exert it in regulating other states. — But, after that the
tyrants were by them extirpated from Greece, not many years
intervened before the battle of Marathon was fought by the

217

218 THUCYDIDES

Medes against the Athenians; and in the tenth year after that,
the Barbarian (Xerxes) again, with a vast armament, invaded
Greece in order to enslave it. Hanging then on the very brink
of ruin, the Lacedemonians, on account of their pre-eminent
power, tool< the command of all the Greeks combined together
in their own defence ; whilst the Athenians, on the approach
of the Medes, having already determined to abandon their
city, and aid in their necessary stores, went on board their
ships, and made head against him by sea. Having thus by
their common efforts repulsed the Barbarian, the Grecians,
not only those who revolted from the king, but those also who
had combined together against him, were soon after divided
among themselves, siding either in the Athenian, or in the Lace-
demonian league; for the mastery appeared plainly to be in
their hands, since these were the most powerful by land and
those by sea. The agreement between the Athenians and Lace-
demonians was but of short continuance ; variance ensued ;
and they entered the lists of war one against another, each with
the additional strength of their own respective allies: and
hence, if any other Grecians quarrelled, they went over in
parties to these as their principals. Lisomuch that from the
invasion of the Medes quite down to the breaking out of this
war, one while striking up truces, another while at open war,
either with one another or the confederates revolting from
either league, they had provided themselves with all military
stores, and much improved their skill by constant practice ex-
ercised in dangers.

As for the Lacedemonians, they gave law to their confed-
erates without the heavy imposition of tributes. Their study
was only to keep them well affected to themselves, by introduc-
ing the oligarchy among them. But the Athenians lorded it
over theirs, having got in course of time the ships of all those
who might oppose them, into their own hands, excepting the
Chians and the Lesbians, and imposed on them a certain pay-
ment of tribute. And their own particular preparations for
the present war were more ample than former times had
known, even during the greatest vigour of their state and the
most perfect harmony between them and their allies.

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 219

CIVIL WAR AT CORCYRA^

All these things ensued in the sequel of this war, which
was carried on between the Athenians and Peloponnesians,
after breaking the thirty years' truce concluded between them
upon the reduction of Euboea.

The reasons for which this truce was broke, and their
course of variance, I have in the first place thought proper to
write, that none may be at a loss about the origin of so mo-
mentous a war among the Grecians. The growth of the Athe-
nian power I conceive to have been the truest occasion of it,
though never openly avowed; the jealousy struck by it into
the Lacedaemonians made the contest necessary. But the pre-
tences, publicly alleged on either side for breaking the truce
and declaring open war, shall now be related.

Epidamnus is a city on the right hand as you sail into the
Ionian gulf : adjoining to it live the Barbarian Taulantii, a
people of Illyria. The Corcyreans settled a Colony here, the
leader of which was Phalius, the son of Heratoclides, a Corin-
thian by birth, of the lineage of Hercules, invited to the office
out of the mother-city, according to the custom of ancient
times: and beside this, some Corinthians and others of Doric
descent joined themselves to this colony. In process of time,
the city of the Epidamnians became great and populous. Yet,
having been afterwards harassed with seditions of many
years' continuance, they were brought very low (according to
report) by war waged against them by the neighbouring Bar-
barians, and were deprived of the greatest share of their power.
But the most recent event at Epidamnus before the present war
was, that the people there had driven the nobles out of the city.
These sheltering themselves amongst the Barbarians, began
depredations on those who remained behind, both by land and
sea. The Epidamnians of the place, suffering vastly from these
depredations, despatched ambassadors to Corcyra as their
mother-city, beseeching them, " Not to behold their destruction
with eyes unconcerned, but to reconcile their exiles to them,

* The island of Corcyra is now known as Corfu. The Corcyreans
were colonists from Corinth.

220 THUCYDIDES

and to deliver them from this Barbarian war." The ambas-
sadors, sitting down submissively in the temple of Juno, offered
these supplications. But the Corcyreans refusing to receive
them, sent them home again without effect. The Epidamnians,
thus convinced that no redress could be had from Corcyra, and
ignorant how to proceed in their present perplexities, sent to
Delphos to inquire of the god, " Whether they should surren-
der their city to the Corinthians as their founders, and should
seek security from their protection?" He answered, that "they
should surrender and take them for their leaders." The Epi-
damnians, in pursuance of this oracle, arriving at Corinth,
make there a tender of the colony, representing that "the leader
of it had been at Corinth," and communicating the oracle; and
farther entreated them " not to look on with eyes of unconcern
till their destruction was completed, but to undertake their
redress." The Corinthians granted them their protection
from a regard to justice, imagining themselves to be no less
interested in their colony than the Corcyreans. But they were
also actuated by a hatred of the Corcyreans, from whom,
though a colony of their own, they had received some con-
temptuous treatment : for they neither paid them the usual
honour on their public solemnities, nor began with a Corin-
thian in the distribution of the sacrifices, which is always done
by other colonies. This their contempt was founded as well
on the sufficiency of their own wealth, in which at that time
they equalled the richest of the Greeks, as on the superiority
of their military force. Their insolence became greater in
time with the enlargement of their navy, and they assumed
glory to themselves in a naval character as succeeding the
Phseacians in the possession of Corcyra. This was their chief
incentive to furnish themselves with a naval strength, and in
it they were by no means inconsiderable : for they were masters
of a hundred and twenty triremes, when they began this war.
Upon all these reasons the resentments of the Corinthians
rising high against them, they undertook with pleasure the re-
lief of Epidamnus; encouraging all who were so disposed, to
go and settle there, and sending thither a garrison of Ambra-
ciots and Leucanians and their own people. These marched by
land to Apollonia, which is a colony of the Corinthians, from

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 221

a dread of the Corey reans, lest they should have hindered their
passage had they attempted it by sea.

As soon as the Corcyreans heard that the new inhabitants
and garrison were got to Epidamnus, and that the colony was
delivered into the hands of the Corinthians, they grew hot
with indignation: and putting out immediately with twenty-
five ships which were soon followed by another equipment,
they commanded them " at their peril to receive their exiles : —
for those who had been driven out of Epidamnus had already
been at Corcyra, where, pointing to the sepulchres, and claim-
ing the rights of consanguinity, they had entreated them to
undertake their restoration: — "and to send away the garri-
son and new inhabitants which they had received from Cor-
inth." The Epidamnians were quite deaf to these haughty
commands. And upon this the Corcyreans, with a squadron
of forty ships, accompanied by the exiles whom they pre-
tended to restore, and an aid of Illyrians, began hostilities.
Having blocked up the city, they made proclamation, "that
all Epidamnians who were willing and the strangers might
depart without molestation, or otherwise they should be treated
as enemies." But this having no effect, the Corcyreans beset
the place wdiich is situated upon an isthmus, on all sides, in
regular siege.

The Corinthians, upon the arrival of messengers from Epi-
damnus with an account of the siege, draw their forces to-
gether. They also gave public notice, " that a new colony was
going to Epidamnus, into which all that would enter should
have equal and like privileges with their predecessors; that, if
any one was unwilling to set out immediately, and yet chose to
have the benefit of the colony, he might deposit fifty Corin-
thian drachmas, and be excused his personal attendance."
The number of those who entered for immediate transporta-
tion, and of those who deposited their money, was large.
They sent farther to the Megareans, requesting a number of
ships to enlarge their convoy, that their passage might not be
obstructed by the Corcyreans, from whom they received a
supply of eight, and four more from Pale of the Cephallen-
ians. The same request was made to the Epidaurians, who
sent five. A single ship joined them from Hermione; two

222 THUCYDIDES

from Troezene ; ten from the Leucadians ; and eight from the
Ambraciots, Of the Thebans and PhHasians they requested
money; of the Eleans, empty ships and money. And the
number of ships fitted out by themselves amounted to thirty
and three thousand heavy-armed.

When the Corcyreans were informed of these prepara-
tions, they went to Corinth, purposely accompanied by am-
bassadors from Lacedemon and Sicyon. There they charged
the Corinthians " to fetch away their garrison and new settle-
ment from Epidamnus, as having no manner of pretensions
there: that, if they had any thing to allege to the contrary,
they were willing to submit to a fair trial in Peloponnesus
before such states as both sides should approve ; and to which-
ever party the colony should be adjudged, by them it should
be held." They also intimated "their readiness to refer the
point in dispute to the oracle at Delphos; — war, in their own
inclinations, they were quite against: but if it must be so, on
their sides, (they said) mere necessity would prescribe the
measure; and if thus compelled to do it, they should for as-
sistance have recourse to friends not eligible indeed, but better
able to serve them than such as they already had." The Cor-
inthians answered, that " if they would withdraw their fleet
and their Barbarians from before Epidamnus, they would
then treat of an accommodation: but, till this was done, their
honour would not suffer them to submit to a reference, whilst
their friends were undergoing the miseries of a siege." The
Corcyreans replied, that " if they would recall their people
from Epidamnus, themselves also would do the like ; but were
ready further to agree, that both parties should remain in their
present situation, under a suspension of arms, till the affair
could be judicially determined."

The Corinthians were not only deaf to every proposal, but
so soon as ever they had manned their ships and their allies
were come up, despatching a herald beforehand to declare war
against the Corcyreans, and then weighing anchor with a force
of seventy-five ships and two thousand heavy-armed, they
stretched away for Epidamnus to make head against the Cor-
cyreans. The commanders of this fleet were Aristeus the son
of Pellicas, Callicrates the son of Callias, and Timanor the

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 223

son of Timanthes; those of the land forces were Archotimus
the son of Eurytimus, and Isarchidas the son of Isarchus.

When they were come up as far as Actium in the district
of Anactorium, where standeth the temple of Apollo, in the
mouth of the gulf of Ambracia, they were met by a herald
despatched expressly in a row-boat by the Corcyreans, forbid-
ding them " at their peril to proceed." But at the same time
the Corcyreans were busied at home in manning their own
ships, repairing such as were old to make them fit for serv-
ice, and equipping the rest with the utmost expedition. When
the herald brought back nothing pacific from the Corinthians,
and their squadron was now completed to eighty ships (for
they had had forty employed in the siege of Epidamnus), they
sailed in quest of the enemy, and drawing up against them
came to an engagement. The victory fell beyond dispute to
the side of the Corcyreans, and fifteen ships of the Corinthians
were utterly destroyed.

Their good fortune was such that on the very same day
Epidamnus was surrendered to the besiegers upon a capitula-
tion, by which "all the strangers in the place were to be
sold for slaves, but the Corinthians to be detained prisoners at
discretion."

After the engagement at sea, the Corcyreans having erected
a trophy^ upon Leucimna a promontory of Corey ra, put to
death all the prisoners they had taken, except the Corinthians

^ This was constantly done by the Grecians upon a victory. Nay,
when the victory was claimed on both sides, both sides erected
trophies, of which several instances occur in Thucydides. The
trophies for a victory at land were decked out with the arms they
had taken ; those for a victory at sea, with arms also and the shatters
of the enemy's ships. "To demolish a trophy was looked on as
unlawful, and a kind of sacrilege, because they were all consecrated
to some deity; nor was it less a crime to pay divine adoration before
them, or to repair them when decayed, as may be likewise observed
of the Roman triumphal arches : this being the means to revive the
memory of forgotten quarrels, and engage posterity to revenge the
disgrace of their ancestors ; for the same reason, those Grecians who
first introduced the custom of erecting pillars for trophies, incurred
a severe censure from the ages they lived in." — Potter's Archaologia.

224 THUCYDIDES

whom they kept in chains. And after this, as the Corinthians
and alHes having been vanquished in fight were forced to re-
tire within their own harbours, they were quite masters of all
the adjacent sea; and, sailing first to Leucas, a colony of the
Corinthians, they laid its territory waste; and then burned
Cyllene, a dock of the Eleans, because they had supplied the
Corinthians with ships and money. In this manner they con-
tinued masters of the sea a long time after their naval victory,
and in their cruises very much annoyed the allies of the Cor-
inthians. It was not until the beginning of the summer, that
a check was given them by a fleet and land army, who were
commissioned, in order to relieve their harassed allies, to
station themselves at Actium and round the Chimerium of
Thesprotis. There they lay, to cover Leucus and other places
which were in friendship with them from the ravage of the
enemy. The Corcyreans, upon this, with a naval and land
force stationed themselves over-against them at Leucimna.
But, neither party venturing out to attack the other, they lay
quiet in their opposite stations the whole summer; and, on the
approach of winter, both sides withdrew to their respective
homes.

During the remainder of the year, after the engagement
at sea, and all the following, the Corinthians, whose indigna-
tion was raised in this their war against the Corcyreans, were
building new ships, and sparing neither labour nor cost to
get a strong armament ready for sea, and sent throughout
Peloponnesus and the other parts of Greece to hire marines
into their service. The Corcyreans, hearing of these great
preparations, were terribly alarmed, and with reason; for at
that time they were in no alliance with any of the Grecians, nor
comprehended either in the Athenian or Lacedaemonian league.
And hence,»they thought it quite expedient to go and sue for
the alliance of the Athenians, and endeavour to obtain some
succour from them. The Corinthians gaining intelligence of
their design, despatched an embassy at the same time to Ath-
ens, instructed by any means to prevent the junction of the
Athenians to the naval strength of the Corcyreans, which
might hinder them from bringing this war to a successful

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 225

issue. The Athenians being met in general assembly, both
embassies rose up to plead their own cause.
* * * *

The Athenians having heard both parties, met twice in
full assembly on this occasion. At the first meeting they
thought there was validity in the arguments of the Corinthians ;
but, at the second, they came to a different resolution — not
indeed to form such an alliance with the Corcyreans as to have
the same enemies and the same friends (for then, if the Cor-
cyreans should summon them to join in an expedition against
Corinth, their treaty with the Peloponnesians would be broke;)
but an alliance merely defensive, for the reciprocal succour of
one another, if either Corey ra or Athens, or any of their re-
spective allies should be assaulted. A war with the Pelopon-
nesians seemed to them unavoidable; and they had no mind
to leave Corcyra, which had so great a naval force, for a prey
to the Corinthians; but, to break them to the utmost of their
power against one another, that upon occasion they might be
the better able to war with the Corinthians, thus weakened to
their hands, though joined by other states of Greece which
had power at sea. At the same time that island appeared to
them most conveniently situated in the passage to Italy and
Sicily. Upon these motives the Athenians received the Cor-
cyreans into their alliance : and, not long after the departure
of the Corinthians, sent ten ships to their aid under the com-
mand of Lacedemonius the son of Cimon, Diotimus the son
of Strombichus, and Proteas the son of Epicles. Their orders
were, "by no means to engage the Corinthians, unless they
stood against and endeavoured to make a descent at Corcyra,
or any of its dependent places ; if they did so, to resist them
with all their efforts." These orders were given with a view
of not infringing the treaty: and this their aid of shipping
arriveth at Corcyra.

THE SEA-FIGHT AT CORCYRA

The Corinthians, when they had completed their prepara-
tions, set sail for Corcyra with a fleet of one hundred and
fifty ships. Of these, ten belonged to the Eleans, twelve to the
Megareans, ten to the Leucadians, twenty-seven to the Am-

226 THUCYDIDES

braciots, one to me Anactorians, and the other ninety were
their own. The quotas from the alHed cities had each of them
their respective commanders ; but the Corinthian squadron was
commanded by XenocHdes the son of Euthycles, with four
colleagues. So soon as they were all assembled at that part of
the continent which looks towards Corcyra, they set sail from
Leucas, and arrive at the Chimerium in Thesprotis. A har-
bour openeth itself here, and above it is the city of Ephyre, at a
distance from the sea, in Eleatis, a district of Thesprotis:
near it is the outlet into the sea of the lake of Acherusia, into
which the river Acheron, having run through Thesprotis, is at
last received ; from which also it deriveth its name. The river
Thyamis also runneth here, dividing Thesprotis from Ces-
trine, and between these two rivers ariseth the cape of Chime-
rium. The Corinthians therefore arrive at this part of the
continent, and fix their station there. But the Corcyreans so
soon as ever advised of their sailing, having manned a hun-
dred and ten ships, under the command of Miciades, ^simides,
and Eurybatus, took their station at one of those isles which
are called the Sybota, accompanied by the ten Athenian ships.
Their land-force was left at the promontory of Leucimna, with
an aid of a thousand heavy-armed Zacynthians. The Corin-
thians had also ready upon the continent a numerous aid of
barbarians: for the people on that coast ever continued their
friends. When every thing was in order among the Corin-
thians, taking in provisions for three days, they weigh by
night from Chimerium with a design to fight ; and having
sailed along till break of day, they discover the ships of the
Corcyreans already out at sea, and advancing against them.
When thus they had got a view of each other, both sides form
into the order of battle. In the right wing of the Corcyreans
were the Athenian ships; the rest of the fleet was all their
own, ranged into three squadrons, each of which was respect-
ively under the orders of the three commanders : in this man-
ner was the order of the Corcyreans formed. In the right of
the Corinthians were the ships of the Megareans and Ambraci-
ots ; in the centre the other allies in their several arrangements ;
the Corinthians formed the left wing themselves, as their ships
were the best sailers, to oppose the Athenians and the right

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 227

of the Corcyreans. When the signal flags were hoisted on
both sides, they ran together and began the engagement ; both
sides having stowed their decks with bodies of heavy-armed,
with many further that drew the bow or tossed the javeHn.
Their preparations still retained something of the awkward
manner of antiquity. The engagement was sharply carried
on, yet without exertions of skill, and very much resembling a
battle upon land. When they had laid one another close, they
were not easily separated again, because of the number and
hurry of the vessels. The greatest hope of victory was placed
in the heavy-armed fighting on the decks, who fixed to their
post engaged hand to hand, whilst their ships continued with-
out any motion. They had no opportunity to make their
charges and tacks, but fought it out by dint of strength and
courage without any dexterity. The tumult was great on all
sides, and the whole action full of disorder: in which the
Athenian ships relieved the Corcyrean wherever they were
pressed too hard, and did what they could to intimidate the
enemy; but their commanders refrained from any direct
attack, remembering with awe the orders of the Athenians.
The right wing of the Corinthians suffered the most; for the
Corcyreans with twenty ships, having put them to flight,
chased them when dispersed to the continent, and continuing
the pursuit to their very camp, landed immediately, where they
set fire to their abandoned tents and carried off all the bag-
gage: in this part therefore the Corinthians and their allies
were vanquished, and the Corcyreans were plainly superior.
But in the left, where the Corinthians personally engaged, they
easily prevailed, as twenty ships of the Corcyreans, and those
too from a number at first inferior, were gone off in the pur-
suit. But the Athenians, seeing the Corcyreans thus distressed,
now came up to their support more openly than before, hav-
ing hitherto refrained from any direct attack. And when
the chase was clearly begun, and the Corinthians followed their
success, then every one amongst them applied himself to
action. There was no longer any time for discretion : Corin-
thians and Athenians were forced by absolute necessity to en-
gage one another.

The chase being thus begun, the Corinthians towed not

228 THUCYDIDES

after them the hulks of the vessels they had sunk, but turned
all their attention to the men who were floating about, and
cruized at large more to slaughter than take alive. And, hav-
ing not yet discovered the defeat of their right, they slaugh-
tered through ignorance their own friends. For the number
of ships being large on either side, and covering a wide extent
of sea, after the first confusion of the engagement they were
not able easily to distinguish which were the victors or which
the vanquished : since Grecians against Grecians had never at
any time before engaged at sea with so large a number of
vessels. But after the Corinthians had pursued the Corcy-
reans to land, they returned to look after their shattered ves-
sels and their own dead. And most of these they took up and
carried to Sybota, where also lay the land-force of their
barbarian auxiliaries: this Sybota is a desert haven in Thes-
protis. Having performed this duty, they gathered together
again into a body and went in quest of the Corcyreans, who
with those damaged vessels that yet could swim, and with all
that had no damage, together with the Athenians, came out to
meet them, fearing lest they might attempt to land upon their
shore. It was now late in the day, and they had sung their
paean as going to attack, when on a sudden the Corinthians
slackened their course, having descried a reinforcement of
twenty sail coming up from Athens. This second squadron
the Athenians had sent away to support the former ten, fear-
ing (what really happened) lest the Corcyreans might be van-
quished, and their own ten ships be too few for their support.
The Corinthians, therefore, having got a view of them, and
suspecting they came from Athens, and in a larger number
than they yet discovered, began gradually to fall away. They
were not yet descried by the Corcyreans (for the course kept
them more out of their ken), who were surprised to see the
Corinthians thus slacken their course, till some, who had
gained a view, informed them that such ships are coming up,
and then they also fell back themselves : for now it began to
be dark, and the Corinthians being turned about had dissolved
their order. In this manner they were separated from one
another : and the naval engagement ended with the night.

The Corcyreans having recovered their station at Leu-

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 229

C3mina, those twenty ships from Athens, under the command of
Glauco the son of Leager, and Andocides the son of Leo-
goras, having passed through floating carcases and wrecks,
came up to the station, not long after they had been descried.
Yet the Corcyreans (for now it was night) were in great
consternation lest they should be enemies : but they were soon
known, and then came to an anchor.

Next morning the thirty Athenian ships, accompanied by
such of the Corcyreans as were fit for sea, weighed away and
made over for the haven at Sybota where the Corinthians
lay, designing to try whether or no they would engage again.
The Corinthians, putting their ships from off the shore and
drawing up into order in the deeper water, remained there
without advancing. They had no design or inclination to begin
another engagement, as they were sensible of the junction of
the fresh Athenian ships, and of the numerous difficulties with
which they were beset, about the custody of the prisoners whom
they had on board, and the want of necessary materials to re-
pair their ships upon this desert coast. Their thoughts were
more employed upon their return home, and the method to
accomplish it, from the apprehension lest the Athenians, judg-
ing the league to be broke as they had come to blows, might
obstruct their passage. For this reason they determined be-
forehand to despatch a boat with proper persons, though with-
out the solemn protection of a herald, and so to sound their
intentions. The message to be delivered was this :

"You are guilty of injustice, ye men of Athens, in begin-
ning war and violating treaties : for you hinder us from taking
due vengeance upon our enemies, by lifting up your arms
against us. If you are certainly determined to hinder our
course, either against Corcyra or any other place whither we
are willing to go, and so violate treaties, take us first who
are here in your power, and treat us as enemies."

The persons sent thus delivered their message: and the
whole company of the Corcyreans who heard it, shouted out
immediately to "apprehend and put them to death." But the
Athenians returned this answer.

"We neither begin war, ye men of Peloponnesus, nor vio-
late treaties. We are come hither auxiliaries to these Corey-

230 THUCYDIDES

reans our allies. If therefore you are desirous to sail to any
other place, we hinder you not. But, if you go against Corey ra
or any other place belonging to it, we shall endeavor to op-
pose you, to the utmost of our power."

Upon receiving this answer from the Athenians, the Corin-
thians prepared for their return home, and erected a trophy
at Sybota on the continent. But the Corcyreans were employed
in picking up the wrecks and bodies of the dead, driving
towards them by favour of the tide and the wind, which blow-
ing fresh the night before had scattered them all about ; and,
as if they too had the victory, erected an opposite trophy at
Sybota in the island. The reasons upon which each side thus
claimed the victory were these. The Corinthians erected a
trophy, because they had the better of the engagement till
night, and so were enabled to pick up most of the shatters and
the dead ; they had, further, taken a number of prisoners, not
less than a thousand, and had disabled about seventy ships of
the enemy. — The Corcyreans did the same : because they also
had disabled about thirty; and, upon the coming up of the
Athenians, had recovered all the wreck and dead bodies driv-
ing towards them ; and because the Corinthians tacking about
had retired from them the night before, so soon as they de-
scried the Athenian ships ; and when they came to offer them
battle at Sybota, durst not come out against them. In this
manner did both sides account themselves victorious.

The Corinthians, in their passage homewards, by strata-
gem seized Anactorium, which lieth in the mouth of the gulf
of Ambracia. It belonged in common to the Corcyreans and
themselves. They put it entirely into the hands of the Corin-
thian inhabitants, and then retired to their own home. Eight
hundred of their Corcyrean prisoners who were slaves, they
sold at public sale. Two hundred and fifty they reserved in
safe custody, and treated them with extraordinary good usage,
that after their ransom they might serve them in their design
of gaining Corcyra: for the majority of them were persons of
the greatest authority in that state. Thus, therefore, is Cor-
cyra preserved in the war of the Corinthians; and the ships
of the Athenians after such service left them. But this was the
first ground of war to the Corinthians against the Athenians,

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 231

because they had assisted the Corcyreans in a naval engage-
ment against themselves, who were in treaty with them.

THE COUNCIL AT SPARTA

The Lacedemonians, summoning to appear before them,
not barely their allies, but whoever had any manner of charge
to prefer against the Athenians, assembled in grand council, as
usual, and commanded them to speak; others who were pres-
ent laid open their respective complaints, but the Megareans
preferred the largest accusations, in particular, that, '' they had
been prohibited the use of all the harbours in the Athenian
dominions, and the market of Athens, contrary to the treaty."
The Corinthians were the last who stood forth. Having first
allowed sufficient time to others to exasperate the Lacede-
monians, they preferred their own charge.

'I* *P *!* *^

To this effect the Corinthians spoke. And it happened,
that at this very juncture an Athenian embassy was at Lace-
demon, negotiating some other points ; who, so soon as they
were advertised of what had been said, judged it proper to
demand an audience of the Lacedemonians. It was not their
design to make the least reply to the accusations preferred
against them by the complainant states, but in general to con-
vince them, that "they ought not to form any sudden resolu-
tions, but to consider matters with sedate deliberation." They
were further desirous " to represent before them, the extensive
power of their own state, to excite in the minds of the elder a
recollection .of those points they already knew, and to give
the younger information in those of which they were igno-
rant;" concluding, that "such a representation might turn
their attention more to pacific measures than military opera-
tions." Addressing themselves, therefore, to the Lacede-
monians, they expressed their desire to speak in the present
assembly, if leave could be obtained. An order of admittance
being immediately sent them, they approached, and delivered
themselves as f olloweth :

These things were said by the Athenian embassy. And

232 THUCYDIDES

when the Lacedemonians had thus heard the accusations of
their alHes against the Athenians, and what the Athenians
had urged in their turn, ordering all parties to withdraw, they
proceeded to serious consultation amongst themselves. The
majority agreed in the opinion, that "the Athenians were
already guilty of injustice, and that a war ought to be im-
mediately declared." But Archidamus their king, esteemed a
man of good understanding and temper, standing forth, ex-
pressed his own sentiments thus :

"I have learned myself by the experience of many wars,
and I see many of you, ye Lacedemonians, as great proficients
in years as I am, that no one should be fond of an enterprise
because it is new, which is a vulgar weakness, judging it thence
both advisable and safe. The war, which is at present the
subject of your consultation, you will find, if examined dis-
creetly, to bode a very long continuance. Against Pelopon-
nesians, it is true, and borderers upon ourselves, we have ever a
competent force in readiness, and by expeditious steps can
advance against any of them. But against a people whose ter-
ritories are far remote, who are further most expert in naval
skill, who with all the expedients of war are most excellently
provided, with wealth both private and public, with shipping,
with horses, with arms, and with men, far beyond what any
other state in Greece can singly pretend to; who, more than
this, have numerous dependent states upon whom they levy
tribute — where is the necessity* sanguinely to wish for war
against such a people? and wherein is our dependence, if thus
unprepared we should declare it against them? Is it on our
naval force? But in that we are inferior: and if to this we
shall apply our care, and advance ourselves to an equality with
them, why this will be a work of time. Or, is it on our wealth ?
In this we are yet much more deficient; and neither have it
in any public fund, nor can readily raise it from private purses.
But the confidence of some may perhaps be buoyed up with
our superiority in arms and numbers, so that we may easily
march into their territory and lay it waste: yet other terri-
tories, and of large extent, are subject to their power, and by
sea they will import all necessary supplies. If, further, we
tempt their dependents to a revolt, we shall want a naval

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 233

strength to support them in it, as the majority of them are
seated upon islands. What therefore will be the event of this
our war? For if we are unable either to overpower them at
sea, or divert those revenues by which their navy is supported,
we shall only by acting prejudice ourselves. And in such a
situation to be forced to give it up will be a blemish on our
honour; especially if we shall be thought to have been the
authors of the breach. For let us not be puffed up with idle
hope that this war must soon be over, if we can lay their ter-
ritory waste; I have reason on better grounds to apprehend,
that we shall leave it behind as a legacy to our children. It is
by no means consistent with the spirit of Athenians either to
be slaves to their soil, or, like unpractised soldiers, to shudder
at a war. Nor again, on the other hand, am I so void of sen-
sibility as to advise you to give up your confederates to their
outrage, or wilfully to connive at their encroachments ; but only
not yet to have recourse to arms, to send ambassadors to pre-
fer our complaints, without betraying too great an eagerness
for war, or any tokens of pusillanimity. By pausing thus, we
may get our own affairs in readiness, by augmenting our
strength through an accession of allies, either Grecian or Bar-
barian, wheresoever we can procure supplies of ships or
money. And the least room there cannot be for censure, when
a people in the state we are in at present, exposed to all the
guiles of the Athenians, endeavour to save themselves not
merely by Grecian but even by Barbarian aid. And at the
same time let us omit no resource within the reach of our own
ability.

"If, indeed, upon our sending an embassy, they will hearken
to reason, that will be the happiest for us all. If not; after
two or three years' delay, then better provided, we may, if
it be thought expedient, take the field against them. But in
good time, perhaps, when they see our preparations and the
intent of them clearly explained by our own declarations, they
may make each requisite concession, before their territory is
destroyed by ravage, and whilst yet they may save their prop-
erty from utter devastation. Regard their territory, I beseech
you, in no other light than as a hostage for their good be-
haviour, and the more firmly such the better may be its

234 THUCYDIDES

ture. Of this we ought to be sparing as long as possible, that
we drive them not into desperate fury, and render more un-
practicable their defeat. For if, thus unprovided as we are,
and worked up to anger by the instigations of our confederates,
we at once begin this ravage, reflect whether we shall not
taint its reputation, and the more embroil Peloponnesus ; since
accusations as well of states as private persons it is possible to
clear away; but in a war, begun by general concurrence for
the sake of a single party, which it is impossible to see how
far it will extend, we cannot at pleasure desist, and preserve
our honour..

" Let no one think it a mark of pusillanimity, that many as
we are we do not rush immediately upon one single state. That
state has as large a number of dependants who contribute to
its support : and a war is not so much of arms as of money,
by which arms are rendered of service; and the more so, when
a landed power is contending against a naval. Be it therefore
our earliest endeavour to provide amply for this, nor let us
])rematurely be too much fermented by the harangues of our
allies. Let us, to whose account the event, whatever it be, will
be principally charged — let us, with sedate deliberation, en-
deavour in some degree to foresee it; and be not in the least
ashamed of that slow and dilatory temper for which the
Corinthians so highly reproach you. For through too great
precipitancy you will come more slowly to an end, because
you set out without proper preparations. The state of which
we are the constituents, hath ever been free and most cele-
brated by fame: and that reproach can at most be nothing
but the inborn sedateness of our minds. By this we are dis-
tinguished, as the only people who never grow insolent with
success, and who never are abject in adversity. And when
again they invite us to hazardous attempts by uttering our
praise, the delight of hearing must not raise our spirits above
our judgment. If any, farther, endeavour to exasperate us
by a flow of invective, we are not by that to be provoked the
sooner to compliance. From tempers evenly balanced it is,
that we are warm in the field of battle, and cool in the hours
of debate : the former, because a sense of duty hath the great-
est influence over a sedate disposition, and magnanimity the

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 235

keenest sense of shame: and good we are at debate, as our
education is not polite enough to teach us a contempt of laws,
and by its severity giveth us so much good sense as never to
disregard them. We are not a people so impertinently wise,
as to invalidate the preparations of our enemies by a plausible
harangue, and then absurdly proceed to a contest; but we
reckon the thoughts of our neighbours to be of a similar
cast with our own, and that hazardous contingencies are not
to be determined by a speech. We always presume that the
projects of our enemies are judiciously planned, and then seri-
ously prepare to defeat them. For we ought not to found
our success upon the hope that they will certainly blunder in
their conduct, but that we have omitted no proper step for our
own security. We ought not to imagine, there is so mighty
difference between man and man; but that he is the most ac-
complished who hath been regularly trained through a course
of needful industry and toil.

" Such is the discipline which our fathers have handed down
to us; and by adhering to it, we have reaped considerable
advantages. Let us not forego it now, nor in a small portion
of only one day precipitately determine a point wherein so
many lives, so vast an expense, so many states, and so much
honour, are at stake. But let us more leisurely proceed, which
our power will warrant us in doing more easily than others.
Despatch ambassadors to the Athenians concerning Potidaea;
despatch them concerning the complaints our allies exhibit
against them; and the sooner, as they have declared a readi-
ness to submit to fair decisions. Against men who offer this
we ought not to march before they are convicted of injustice.
But, during this interval, get every thing in readiness for war.
Your resolutions thus will be most wisely formed, and strike
into your enemies the greatest dread."

Archidamus spoke thus. But Sthenelaidas, at that time
one of the ephori, standing forth the last on this occasion, gave
his opinion as f olloweth :

" The many words of the Athenians, for my part, I do not
understand. They have been exceeding large in the praise of
themselves; but as to the charge against them, that they injure
our allies and Peloponnesus, they have made no reply. If,

236 THUCYDIDES

in truth, they were formerly good against the Medes, but are
now bad towards us, they deserve to be doubly punished ; be-
cause, ceasing to be good, they are grown very bad. We
continue the same persons both then and now ; and shall not,
if we are wise, pass over the injuries done to our allies, nor
wait any longer to revenge them, since they are past waiting
for their sufferings. But — other people, forsooth, have a
great deal of wealth, and ships, and horses — we too have gal-
lant allies, whom we ought not to betray to the Athenians, nor
refer them to law and pleadings, since it was not by pleadings
they were injured : but we ought, with all expedition and with
all our strength, to seek revenge. How we ought to deliberate
when we have been wronged, let no man pretend to inform
me : it would have belter become those who designed to com-
mit such wrongs, to have deliberated a long time ago. Vote
then the war, Lacedaemonians, with a spirit becoming Sparta.
And neither suffer the Athenians to grow still greater, nor
let us betray our own confederates; but, with the gods on
our side, march out against these authors of injustice."

Having spoke thus, by virtue of his office as presiding in
the college of ephori,^ he put the question in the Lacedaemonian
council. But, as they vote by voice and not by ballot, he said,
"he could not amidst the shout distinguish the majority;" and,
being desirous that each of them, by plainly declaring his
opinion, might show they were more inclined to war, he pro-
ceeded thus — "To whomsoever of you, Lacedaemonians, the
treaty appeareth broke, and the Athenians to be in the wrong,
let him rise up and go thither," pointing out to them a certain
place : " but whoever is of a contrary opinion, let him go yon-

1 The college of Ephori (or inspectors) at Sparta consisted of five.
They were annually elected by the people from their own body,
and were designed to be checks upon the regal power. They never
forgot the end of their institution, and, in fact quite lorded it over
the kings. In a word, the whole administration was lodged in their
hands, and the kings were never sovereigns but in the field at the
head of their troops. One of the Ephori had the honour to give
its style to the year, in the same manner as the first archon did at
Athens.

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 237

der." They rose up and were divided; but a great majority
was on that side which voted the treaty broke.

Upon this, calHng in their confederates, they told them,
"They had come to a resolution that the Athenians were guilty
of injustice; but they were desirous to put it again to the
vote in a general assembly of all their confederates, that by
taking their measures in concert, they might briskly ply the
war, if determined by common consent."

Matters being brought to this point, they departed to their
respective homes, and the Athenian ambassadors, having ended
their negotiations, staid not long behind. This decree of the
Lacedaemonian council that "the treaty was broke," was
passed in the fourteenth year of the treaty concluded for thirty
years after the conquest of Eubcea. But the Lacedaemonians
voted this treaty broke and a war necessary not so much out
of regard to the arguments urged by their allies, as from their
own jealousy of the growing power of the Athenians. They
dreaded the advancement of that power, as they saw the great-
est part of Greece was already in subjection to them.
* * * *

On these motives was formed the public resolution of the
Lacedaemonians — that "the treaty was violated, and the Athe-
nians were guilty of injustice." They had also sent to Delphi,
to inquire of the god, "Whether their war would be success-
ful." He is reported to have returned this answer, that "if
they warred with all their might, they should at last be tri-
umphant, and he himself would fight on their side, invoked
or uninvoked."

They had now again summoned their confederates to at-
tend, and designed to put it to a general ballot, "Whether the
war should be undertaken?" The ambassadors from the sev-
eral constituents of their alliance arrived, and assembled in one
general council. Others made what declarations they pleased,
the majority inveighing against the Athenians, and insisting
upon war; but the Corinthians (who had beforehand re-
quested every state apart to ballot for war), alarmed for
Potidaea, lest for want of some speedy relief it might be
utterly destroyed, being present also at this council, stood forth
the last of all, and spoke to this effect ; * * * *

238 THUCYDIDES

"Since then war, considered in every light, appears hon-
ourable in regard to you, ye Lacedaemonians; since we, with
united voices, encourage you to it, as most strongly requisite
for our general and separate interests, — defer no longer to
succour the Potidseans, Dorians by descent, and besieged by
lonians, (the reverse was formerly the case,) and to fetch
again the liberty of others. The business will admit of no
longer delay, when some already feel the blow; and others, if
it once be known that we met here together, and durst not
undertake our own defence, will in a very little time be sen-
sible of the same. Reflect within yourselves, confederates,
that affairs are come to extremities, that we have suggested
the most advisable measures, and give your ballot for war.
Be not terrified at its immediate dangers; but animate your-
selves with the hope of a long lasting peace to be procured by
it. For a peace produced by war is ever the most firm; but
from tranquility and ease to be averse to war, can by no
means abate or dissipate our danger. With this certain con-
clusion, that a state in Greece is started up into a tyrant, and
aims indifferently at the liberty of us all, her arbitrary plan
being partly executed and partly in agitation, let us rush
against and at once pull her down. Then shall we pass the
remainder of our lives exempt from dangers, and shall imme-
diately recover liberty for those Grecians who are already
enslaved."

In this manner the Corinthians spoke ; and the Lacedaemo-
nians, when they had heard them all deliver their several
opinions, gave out the ballots to all the confederates that were
present, in regular order, both to the greater and lesser states :
and the greatest part of them balloted for war. But, though
thus decreed, it was impossible for them, as they were quite
unprepared, immediately to undertake it. It was agreed,
therefore that "every state should get in readiness their several
contingents, and no time to be lost." However in less than a
year, every thing needful was amply provided : and, before
its expiration, an irruption was made into Attica, and the
war openly on foot. But even this interval was employed
in sending embassies to Athens, charged with accusations, that

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 239

reasons strong as possible for making war might appear on
their side, if those should meet with disregard.

THE ASSEMBLY AT ATHENS

The Athenians summoned an assembly, where every one
was invited to deliver his opinion. They determined, after
deliberate consultation on all the points in contest, to return
one definite answer. Several others spoke on this occasion,
and were divided in their sentiments; some insisting on the
necessity of a v/ar ; others, that peace should not be obstructed
by that decree, which ought to be repealed. At length Peri-
cles, the son of Xantippus, standing forth, who was at that
time the leading man at Athens, and a person of the greatest
abilities both for action and debate, advised them thus:

In this manner Pericles spoke; and the Athenians, judg-
ing that what he had advised was most for their interest,
decreed in conformity to his exhortation. They returned a
particular answer to the Lacedaemonians, according to his di-
rections, nay in the very words of his motion ; and in fine con-
cluded— that "they would do nothing upon command, but
were ready to submit the points in contest to a judicial de-
termination, according to treaty, upon a fair and equal foot-
ing." Upon this, the ambassadors departed; and here all
negotiations came to a conclusion.

Such were the pretexts and dissentions on both sides pre-
vious to the war, and which took their first rise from the busi-
ness of Epidamnus and Corcyra. These however never
interrupted their commercial dealings nor mutual intercourse,
which still were carried on without the intervention of her-
alds, but not without suspicions. For such incidents mani-
festly tended to a rupture, and must infallibly end in
war.

240 THUCYDIDES

THE THEBAN ATTEMPT ON PLAT^A

In the very beginning of the spring^ — a body of Thebans
somewhat above three hundred, under the command of Py-
thangelus the son of Phyhdas, and Diemporiis the son of One-
toridas, two of the rulers of BcEOtia, about the first sleep, got
into Platsea of Boeotia with their arms, which place was then
in alliance with the Athenians. They were induced to this
attempt, and had the gates opened to them, by Nauclides and
associates, citizens of Platsea, who had formed a design for
the sake of aggrandizing themselves, to destroy all their fel-
low-citizens averse to their schemes, and to gain the city for
the Thebans. But the affair was managed by Eurymachus,
the son of Leontiades, a person of the greatest authority
among the Thebans. For the Thebans, foreseeing a war un-
avoidable, had, even now while peace was actually subsisting
and the war not yet declared, a strong desire to get possession
of Platsea, which had been at eternal enmity with them. No
regular watch was as yet kept in it, which was a means of facili-
tating their entrance. When they had gained admission, they
drew themselves up in order of battle on the public forum,
contrary to the scheme proposed by the conspirators, of march-
ing immediately to the houses of their enemies, and putting
them to the sword. Their own design was, publicly to offer
some fair proposals, and gain the city by an amicable composi-
tion. With this view, their herald proclaimed aloud, that —
"All who were willing to enter into league, according to the
ancient custom of all Boeotians,^ should come and join their
arms with them." By this method they thought the city would
easily be brought to an accommodation.

The Platseans, when they found that the Thebans were al-
ready got in and had surprised the town, being in great con-

^ Before Christ 431.

2 Boeotia was one large republic formed by the union of several little
states. The sovereignty (as Thucydides informs us, book the fifth)
was lodged in four councils, composed of deputies sent from every
city in the union. These were the states general, and sat at Thebes,
the principal city of Boeotia. Platsea had no share in this union,
but was closely allied with and under the protection of Athens.

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 241

stemation, and thinking the enemy more numerous than they
really were, for the night prevented a view of them, came soon
to a composition; and accepting what terms they offered,
made no resistance ; especially as they found that violence was
offered to no man. Yet, by means of the parley, they had dis-
covered that the Thebans were few in number; and judged,
should they venture an attack, they might easily overpower
them : — for the bulk of the Platseans had not the least inclina-
tion to revolt from the Athenians. It was at length concluded,
that this point should be attempted, after having conferred to-
gether, by digging through the partition walls of one another's
houses, to avoid the suspicion which going through the streets
might have occasioned. Then along the streets they arranged
carriages without the oxen, to serve them instead of a rampart,
and made a proper disposition for every thing necessary for
immediate execution. When they had got every thing ready
in the best manner they were able, watching till night began to
vanish and the first dawn appear, they marched from their
houses towards the Thebans, that they might fall upon them
before the full light should embolden their resistance, and give
them equal advantages in the fight, and that they might be more
intimidated by being charged in the dark, and sensible of dis-
advantage from their ignorance of the city. The attack was
immediately begun, and both sides soon came to action. The
Thebans, when they found themselves thus circumvented,
threw themselves into an oval, and wherever assaulted, pre-
vented impression. Twice or thrice they beat them back with
success; and when the assaults were again with a loud noise
repeated, when the very women and menial servants were
shouting and screaming from the houses all around, and throw-
ing stones and tiles amongst them, incommoded further by the
rain which had fallen plentiful that night, they were seized
with fear, and abandoning their defence, fled in confusion
about the city. The greatest part of them running in the dark
and the dirt, knew not any of the passages by which they could
get out, (for this affair happened upon the change of the
moon,) and were pursued by men who, knowing them all, pre-
vented their escape, so that many of them perished. The
gates by which they entered, and which only had been opened,

242 THUCYDIDES

one of the Platseans had barred fast by thrusting the point of
a spear into the staple instead of a bolt, so that they could not
possibly get out there. Thus pursued about the city, some of
them got upon the walls, and threw themselves over, but most
of these were killed by the fall ; some of them found a gate un-
guarded, and a woman supplying them with a hatchet, they
cut the bolt in pieces unperceived, though few only escaped
by this means, for they were soon discovered. Others were
separately slain in the different quarters of the city. But the
greatest part, and chiefly those who had kept in a body, threw
themselves into a great house contiguous to the walls, the
doors of which happened to be open, imagining the doors of
this house to be the city gates and a certain passage to a place
of safety. When the Plataeans saw them thus shut up, they
consulted together, whether they should fire the house and
burn them all in their inclosure, or reserve them for some other
punishment. But at last these, and all the other Thebans yet
surviving, who were scattered about the city, agreed to give
up their arms, and surrender themselves to the Plataeans pris-
oners at discretion. Such was the issue of this attempt on
Platsea.

The other Thebans, who ought during night to have come
up with all their strength, to reinforce the first body in case
they miscarried, and were still upon the march, when the news
of this defeat met them, advanced with all possible expedition.
Plataea is distant from Thebes about seventy stadia,^ and the
rain which fell that night had retarded their march; for the
river Asopus was so much swelled by it that it was not easily
fordable. It was owing to the march in such a rain and the
difficulty of passing this river, that they came not up till their
men were either slain or made prisoners. When the Thebans
were convinced of that event, they cast their attention towards
the Platseans who were still without ; for the people of Plataea
were scattered about the adjacent country with their imple-
ments of husbandry, because annoyance in time of peace was
quite unexpected. They were desirous to catch some of these
as exchange for their own people within the city, if any were

* About seven English miles.

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 243

yet living and prisoners there. On this they were fully bent;
but in the midst of their project the Plataeans, who suspected
the probability of some such design, and were anxious for
their people yet without, despatched a herald to the Thebans
representing to them "the injustice of the attempt already
made; since, treaties subsisting, they had endeavoured to sur-
prise the city;" and then warned them "to desist from any vio-
lence to those without. If not, they positively declared they
would put all the prisoners yet alive to the sword; whereas,
in case they retired peaceably out of their territory, they would
deliver them up unhurt." This account the Thebans give, and
say farther it was sworn to. The Platseans disown the prom-
ise of an immediate discharge of the prisoners, which was re-
served for terms to be agreed on in a subsequent treaty, and
flatly deny that they swore. The Thebans however retired out
of their territory, without committing any violence. But the
Platseans, when they had with expedition fetched into the city
all their effects of value that were out in the fields, immedi-
ately put all their prisoners to the sword. The number of
those that were taken was one hundred and eighty. Eury-
machus was amongst them, with whom the traitors had con-
certed the surprise. And this done, they despatched a messen-
ger to Athens : and restored to the Thebans their dead under
truce. And then they regulated the affairs of the city in the
manner most suitable to their present situation.

The news of the surprisal of Plataea had soon reached the
Athenians, who immediately apprehended all the Boeotians
then in Attica, and despatched a herald to Plataea with orders
"to proceed no farther against the Theban prisoners, till they
should send their determination about them;" for they were
not yet informed of their having been actually put to death.
The first messenger had been sent away immediately upon the
irruption of the Thebans — the second so soon as they were de-
feated and made prisoners — as to what happened afterwards,
they were utterly in the dark. Thus ignorant of what had since
been done, the Athenians despatched away their herald, who
upon his arrival found them all destroyed. Yet after this, the
Athenians marching a body of troops to Platsea, carried thither
all necessary provisions, left a garrison in the place, and

244 THUCYDIDES

brought away all the hands that would be useless in a siege,
with the women and children.

PREPARATIONS FOR WAR

After this business of Plataea, and so manifest a breach of
peace, the Athenians made all necessary preparations for im-
mediate war. The Lacedaemonians also and their confederates
took the same measures. Nay, both sides were intent on de-
spatching embassies to the king [of Persia]^ and to several
other Barbarian powers, wherever they had hope of forming
some effectual interest for themselves, and spared no pains to
win those states over to their alliance, which had hitherto been
independent. In the Lacedaemonian league, besides the ships
already furnished out for them in Italy and Sicily, the con-
federates there were ordered to prepare a new quota, propor-
tioned to the abilities of the several states, that the whole num-
ber of their shipping might be mounted to five hundred. — They
were farther to get a certain sum of money in readiness ; but
in other respects to remain quiet, and till their preparations
could be completed, never to admit more than one Athenian
vessel at a time within their ports. — The Athenians made a
careful survey of the strength of their own alliance, and sent
pressing embassies to the places round about Peloponnesus, to
Corcyra, to Cephallene, to the Acarnanians, and to Zacynthus ;
plainly seeing, that if these were in their interest, they might
securely attack Peloponnesus on all sides. — The minds of both
parties were not a little elated, but were eager after and big
with war. For it is natural to man in the commencement of
every important enterprise, to be more than usually alert. The
young men, who were at this time numerous in Peloponnesus,
numerous also at Athens, were for want of experience quite
fond of the rupture. And all the rest of Greece stood atten-
tively at gaze on this contention between the two principal
states. Many oracles were tossed about, the soothsayers sung
abundance of predictions, amongst those who were upon the
point to break, and even in the cities that were yet neutral.
Nay, Delos had been lately shook with an earthquake, which it

1 Artaxerxes Longimanus.

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 245

had never been be fore in the memory of the Greeks. It was said,
and indeed beheved, that this was a prognostic of something
extraordinary to happen: and all other accidents of an uncom-
mon nature whatever were sure to be wrested to the same
meaning.

The generality of Greece was indeed at this time much
the best affected to the Lacedaemonians, who gave out the spe-
cious pretence, that "they were going to recover the liberty of
Greece." Every one made it both his private passion and his
public care, to give them all possible succour both in word and
act ; and every one thought that the business certainly flagged
in those places where he himself was not present in in-
vigorate proceedings. So general an invasion was there at this
time formed against the Athenians, when some were passion-
ately desirous to throw off their yoke, and others apprehensive
of falling under their subjection. — With such preparations and
such dispositions did they they run into the war. * * *

The Lacedaemonians, immediately after the attempt on
Plataea, sent circular orders to the states both within and with-
out Peloponnesus, to draw their quotas of aid together, and
get every thing in readiness for a foreign expedition, as intend-
ing to invade Attica. When all was ready, they assembled on
the day appointed, with two-thirds of the force of every state,
at the Isthmus. When the whole army was thus^ drawn to-
gether, Archidamus king of the Lacedaemonians, who com-
manded in the expedition, convened the commanders from all
the auxiliary states, with all those that were in authority, and
most fitting to be present, and addressed them as follows :

"Peloponnesians and allies, many are the expeditions in
which our fathers have been engaged both within and without
Peloponnesus. Even some of us, who are more advanced in
years, are by no means unexperienced in the business of war.
Yet, never before did we take the field with a force so great as
the present. But, numerous and formidable in arms as we may
now appear, we are however marching against a most powerful
state. Thus it is incumbent upon us to show ourselves not

* Plutarch informs us that the number amounted to sixty thousand
men.

246 THUCYDIDES

inferior in valour to our fathers, nor to sink below the expecta-
tions of the world. The eyes of all Greece are fixed attentively
on our motions. — Their good will to us, their hatred of the
Athenians, make them wish for our success in all our undertak-
ings. It is therefore our business, without placing too great
confidence in superior numbers, or trusting to the presumption
that our enemies dare not come out and fight us — for no rea-
sons like these, to relax our discipline, or break the regularity
of our march — but, the commander of every confederate body
and every private soldier ought to keep within himself the con-
stant expectation of being engaged in action. Uncertain are
the turns of war ; great events start up from a small beginning,
and assaults are given from indignation. Nay, frequently an
inferior number engaging with caution hath proved too hard
for a more numerous body, whom contempt of their enemy ex-
poseth to attacks for which they are not prepared. Upon hos-
tile ground, it is always the duty of soldiers to be resolutely
bold, and to keep ready for action with proper circumspection.
Thus will they be always ready to attack with spirit, and be
most firmly secured against a surprise.

"We are not marching against a people who are unable to
defend themselves, but excellently well qualified for it in every
respect ; so that we may certainly depend upon their advancing
against us to give us battle; — nor yet perhaps in motion, so
long as no enemy appears; but most assuredly so when once
they see us in their territory, wasting and destroying their sub-
stance. All men must kindle into wrath, when uncommon in-
juries are unexpectedly done them, when manifest outrage
glares before them. Reflection then may indeed have lost its
power, but resentment most strongly impels them to resistance.
Something like this may more reasonably be looked for from
Athenians than from other people. They esteem themselves
worthy to command others, and their spirit is more turned to
make them to suffer depredations. Against so formidable a
people are we now to march ; and by the event, whatever it be,
shall we acquire the greatest glory or disgrace, for our ances-
tors and ourselves. — Let it therefore be the business of every
man to follow his commander, observant in every point of dis-
cipline and the rules of war, and obeying with expedition the

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 247

orders you receive. The finest spectacle and the strongest de-
fence is the uniform observation of discipline by a numerous
army." * * *

Whilst the Peloponnesians were yet assembling at the Isth-
mus, or yet on the march, before they had entered Attica, Peri-
cles the son of Xantippus, who with nine others had been ap-
pointed to command the Athenian forces, when he saw an
irruption from the Peloponnesians unavoidable, had conceived
a suspicion that Archidamus, whom the hospitable intercourse
had made his friend, from a principle of good-nature willing
to oblige him, would leave his lands untouched, or, might be
ordered to do so by the policy of the Lacedaemonians, as they
had already demanded an excommunication on his account ; by
which means he must certainly incur the pubic jealousy. He
declared therefore to the Athenians, in a general assembly of
the people — that "though Archidamus was his friend, he should
not be so to the prejudice of the state ; and that if the enemy
spared his lands and houses in the general ravage, he made a
free donation of them to the public ; so that for any accident
of that nature he ought not to fall under their censure." He
then exhorted all who were present, as he had done before — "to
prepare vigorously for war, and to withdraw all their effects
from out of the country, — by no means to march out against
the enemy, but keep within the walls and mind the defence of
the city ; — to fit out their navy, in which their strength princi-
pally consisted, and keep a tight rein over all their dependents.
By the large tributes levied upon these, he said, their power was
chiefly to be supported, since success in war was a constant
result from prudent measures and plentiful supplies. * * *

The Athenians heard him with attention, and followed his
advice. They withdrew from the country their children, their
wives, all the furniture of their houses there, pulling down
with their own hands the timber of which they were built.
Their flocks and their labouring-cattle they sent over into
Eubcea and the adjacent islands. But this removal was a very
grievous business to them, since it had been the ancient custom
of many of the Athenians to reside at large in the country. * * *

When they were come into the city, some few had houses
ready for their reception, or sheltered themselves with their

248 THUCYDIDES

friends and relations. The greater part were forced to settle
in the less frequented quarters of the city, in all the buildings
sacred to the gods and heroes, except those in the citadel, the
Eleusinian, and any other from whence they were excluded by
religious awe. There was indeed a spot of ground below the
citadel, called the Pelasgic, which to turn into a dwelling-place
had not only been thought profaneness, but was expressly for-
bid by the close of a line in a Pythian oracle, which said,

Best is Pelasgic empty.

Yet this sudden urgent necessity constrained them to convert
it to such a use. To me, I own, that oracle seems to have car-
ried a different meaning from what they gave it. For the calami-
ties of Athens did not flow from the profane habitation of this
place, but from the war which laid them under the necessity
of employing it in such a manner. The oracle makes no men-
tion of the war, but only hints that its being some time inhabit-
ed would be attended with public misfortune. Many of them,
further, were forced to lodge themselves within the turrets of
the walls, or wherever they could find a vacant corner. The
city was not able to receive so large a conflux of people. But
afterwards, the long walls, and a great part of the Piraeus,
were portioned out to them for little dwellings. At the same
time they were busied in the military preparations, gathering
together the confederate forces, and fitting out a fleet of one
hundred ships to infest Peloponnesus. In affairs of such great
importance were the Athenians engaged.

THE INVASION OF ATTICA

The Peloponnesian army, advancing forwards, came up
first to Oenoe, through which they designed to break into At-
tica. Encamping before it, they made ready their engines, and
all other necessaries for battering the walls. For Oenoe, being
a frontier-town between Attica and Boeotia, was walled about,
since the Athenians were used, upon the breaking out of war,
to throw a garrison into jt. * * *

But after this assault on Oenoe, and the successive miscar-
riage of all the methods employed to take it, the Athenians still

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 249

resolutely refraining from the least show of submission, they
broke up the siege and marched into Attica, in the height of
summer, when the harvest was ripe, about eighty days after
the Thebans had miscarried in the surprise of Platsea.
* * * *

The Athenians, so long as the enemy remained about Eleu-
sis and the plain of Thriasia, conceived some hopes that they
would advance no farther. * * * g^t when they saw the
enemy advanced to Acharnse, which was distant but sixty^ sta-
dia from Athens, they thought their incursions were no longer
to be endured. It appeared, as it reasonably might, a heavy
grievance, to have all their lands thus ravaged within their
sight; — a scene like this the younger sort never had beheld,
nor the elder but once — in the Persian war. The bulk of the
people, but especially the younger part, were for sallying out
and fighting, and not to stand tamely looking upon the insult.
Numbers of them assembled together in a tumultuous man-
ner, which was the rise of great confusion, some loudly de-
manding to march out against the enemy, and others restrain-
ing them from it. The soothsayers gave out all manner of
predictions, which every hearer interpreted by the key of his
own passions. The Acharnians, regarding themselves as no
contemptible part of the Athenian body, because their lands
had been wasted, in a most earnest manner insisted upon a
sally. The whole city was in a ferment, and all their resent-
ments centred on Pericles. They quite forgot the prudent con-
duct he had formerly planned out for them. — They reproached
him as a general that durst not head them against their ene-
mies, and regarded him as author of all the miseries which
their city endured.

Pericles seeing their minds thus chagrined by the present state
of their affairs, and in consequence of this, intent upon unad-
visable measures, but assured within himself of the prudence
of his own conduct in thus restraining them from action,
called no general assembly of the people, nor held any public
consultation, lest passion which was more alive than judg-
ment, should throw them into indiscretions. He kept strict

^ About six Ensflish miles.

250 THUCYDIDES

guard in the city, and endeavoured as much as possible to pre-
serve the pubhc quiet. Yet he was always sending out small
parties of horse, to prevent any damage that might be done
near the city, by adventurous stragglers from the army. * * *

The Peloponnesians, when the Athenians made no ^how
of coming out against them, broke up from Acharnse, and
laid waste some other of the Athenian boroughs, which lay
between the mountains Parnethus and Brilissus.

During the time of these incursions, the Athenians sent
out the hundred ships they had already equipped, and which
had on board a thousand heavy-armed soldiers and four hun-
dred archers, to infest the coast of Peloponnesus. The com-
manders in the expedition were Carcinus son of Xenotimus,
Proteas son of Epicles, and Socrates son of Antigenes. Un-
der their orders, the fleet so furnished out, weighed anchor
and sailed away.

The Peloponnesians, continuing in Attica till provisions
began to fail them, retired not by the same route they came in,
but marched away through Bceotia. And passing by Oropus
they wasted the tract of ground called Piraice, which was
occupied by the Oropians, who were subject to Athens. On
their return into Peloponnesus, the army was dispersed into
their several cities.

THE ATHENIAN OPERATIONS

After their departure, the Athenians settled the proper sta-
tions for their guards both by land and sea, in the same dis-
position as they were to continue to the end of the war. They
also made a decree, that "a thousand talents should be taken
from the fund of the treasure in the citadel, and laid up by
itself; that this sum should not be touched, but the expense
of the war be defrayed from the remainder — and, that if any
one moved or voted for converting this money to any other
use than the necessary defence of the city, in case the enemy
attacked it by sea, he should suffer the penalty of death."
Besides this, they selected constantly every year an hundred
of their best triremes, with the due number of able command-
ers. These also they made it capital to use upon any other

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 251

occasion, than that extremity for which the reserve of money
was destined.

The Athenians on board the fleet of one hundred sail on
the coasts of Peloponnesus, being joined by the Corcyreans in
fifty ships and by some other of their confederates in those
parts, hovered for a time and infested the coast, and at length
made a descent and assaulted Methone, a town of Laconia,
whose walls were but weak and poorly manned. It happened
that Brasidas the son of Tellis a Spartan had then the com-
mand of a garrison somewhere near Methone. He was sensi-
ble of the danger he was in, and set forwards with one hun-
dred heavy-armed to its relief. The Athenian army was then
scattered about the country, and their attention directed only
to the walls ; by which means, making a quick march through
the midst of their quarters, he threw himself into Methone,
and, with the loss of but a few who were intercepted in the
passage, effectually secured the town. For this bold exploit,
he was the first man of all who signalized themselves in this war,
that received the public commendation at Sparta. Upon this
the Athenians re-embarked and sailed away, and coming up
to Pheia, a town of Elis, they ravaged the country for two
days together. A body of picked men of the lower Elis, with
some other Eleans, that were got together from the adjacent
country, endeavoured to stop their devastations, but coming to
a skirmish, were defeated by them. But a storm arising, and
their ships being exposed to danger on the open coast, they
went immediately on board, and sailed round the cape of
Icthys, got into the harbour of Pheia. The Messenians in the
meantime, and some others who had not been able to gain
their ships, had marched over-land and got possession of the
place. Soon after the ships, being now come about, stood into
the harbour, took them on board, and quitting the place put out
again to sea. By this time a great army of Eleans was drawn
together to succour it, but the Athenians were sailed away to
other parts of the coast, where they carried on their

depredations.

* * * *

In the autumn of this summer, the Athenians, with all
their forces, citizens and sojourners, made an incursion into

252 THUCYDIDES

the territories of Megara, under the command of Pericles the
son of Xantippus. — Those also who had been cruizing about
Peloponnesus in the fleet of one hundred sail (for they were
now at i^gina, ) finding upon their return that all their fellow
citizens were marched in the general expedition against Me-
gara, followed them with the fleet and came up to them. By
this means, the army of the Athenians became the largest they
had ever at any time got together, the city being now in its
most flourishing state, and as yet uninfected with the plague:
for there were of Athenian citizens only no less than ten
thousand heavy-armed, exclusive of the three thousand who
were now at Potidaea : the sojourners of Athens who marched
out along with them, were not fewer than three thousand
heavy-armed : they had besides a very large number of light-
armed soldiers. They laid waste the greatest part of the
country, and then returned to Athens. Every succeeding year
of the war the Athenians constantly repeated these incursions
into the territory of Megara, sometimes with their cavalry,
and sometimes with all their united force, till at last they
made themselves masters of Nissea.

In the close also of the summer, Atalante, an island lying
near the Locrians of Opus, till now uninhabited, was fortified
and garrisoned by the Athenians, to prevent the pirates of
Opus, and other parts of Locris, from annoying Euboea. —
These were the transactions of the summer, after the depart-
ure of the Peloponnesians out of Attica.

FUNERAL ORATION BY PERICLES

The winter following, * * * the Athenians in con-
formity to the established custom of their country, solemnized
a public funeral for those who had been first killed in this war,
in the manner as follows :

The bones of the slain are brought to a tabernacle erected
for the purpose three days before, and all are at liberty to
deck out the remains of their friends at their own discretion.
But when the grand procession is made, the cypress coffins are
drawn on carriages, one for every tribe, in each of which are
separately contained the bones of all who belonged to that

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 253

tribe. One sumptuous bier is carried along empty for those
that are lost, whose bodies could not be found among the slain.
All who are willing, both citizens and strangers, attend the
solemnity ; and the women who were related to the deceased,
stand near the sepulchre groaning and lamenting. They de-
posit the remains in the public sepulchre, which stands in the
finest suburb of the city; — for it hath been the constant cus-
tom here to bury all who fell in war, except those at Marathon,
whose extraordinary valour they judged proper to honour with
a sepulchre on the field of battle. As soon as they are in-
terred, some one selected for the office by the public voice, and
ever a person in great esteem for his understanding, and of
high dignity amongst them, pronounces over them the decent
panegyric — and this done, they depart. Through all the war,
as the occasions recurred, this method was constantly observed.
But over these, the first victims of it, Pericles the son of
Xantippus was appointed to speak. So, when the proper time
was come, walking from the sepulchre, and mounting a lofty
pulpit erected for the purpose, from whence he might be heard
more distinctly by the company, he thus began:

" Many of those who have spoken before me on these oc-
casions, have commended the author of that law which we are
now obeying, for having instituted an oration to the honour
of those who sacrifice their lives in fighting for their country.
For my part, I think it sufficient, for men who have approved
their virtue in action, by action to be honoured for it — by such
as you see the public gratitude now performing about this
funeral ; and that the virtues of many ought not to be endan-
gered by the management of any one person, when their credit
must precariously depend on his oration, which may be good
and may be bad. Difficult indeed it is, judiciously to handle a
subject where even probable truth will hardly gain assent. The
hearer, enlightened by a long acquaintance, and warm in his
affection, may quickly pronounce every thing unfavourably'
expressed, in respect to what he wishes and what he knows, —
whilst the stranger pronounceth all exaggerated, through envy
of those deeds which he is conscious are above his own achieve-
ment. For the praises bestowed upon others, are then only to
be endured, when men imagine they can do those feats they

254 THUCYDIDES

hear to have been done: they envy what they cannot equal,
and immediately pronounce it false. Yet, as this solemnity
hath received its sanction from the authority of our ancestors,
it is my duty also to obey the law, and to endeavour to pro-
cure, as far as I am able, the good will and approbation of all
my audience.

" I shall therefore begin first with our forefathers, since
both justice and decency require we should on this occasion
bestow on them an honourable remembrance. In this our
country they kept themselves always firmly settled, and through
their valour handed it down free to every since-succeeding
generation. Worthy indeed of praise are they, and yet more
worthy are our immediate fathers; since, enlarging their own
inheritance into the extensive empire which we now possess,
they bequeathed that their work of toil to us their sons. Yet
even these successes, we ourselves here present, we who are
yet in the strength and vigour of our days, have nobly im-
proved, and have made such provisions for this our Athens,
that now it is all-sufficient in itself to answer every exigence
of war and of peace. I mean not here to recite those martial
exploits by which these ends were accomplished, or the resolute
defences we ourselves and our fathers have made against the
formidable invasions of Barbarians and Greeks — your own
knowledge of these will excuse the long detail. But by what
methods we have risen to this height of glory and power, by
what polity and by what conduct we are thus aggrandized. I
shall first endeavour to show ; and then proceed to the praise
of the deceased. These, in my opinion, can be no impertinent
topics on this occasion; the discussion of them must be bene-
ficial to this numerous company of Athenians and of strangers.

" We are happy in a form of government which cannot
envy the laws of our neighbours; — for it hath served as a
model to others, but is original at Athens. And this our form,
as committed not to the few, but to the whole body of the
people, is called a democracy. How different soever in a pri-
vate capacity, we all enjoy the same general equality our laws
are fitted to preserve ; and superior honours just as we excel.
The public administration is not confined to a particular fam-
ily, but is attainable only by merit. Poverty is not a hindrance

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 255

since whoever is able to serve his country, meets with no
obstacle to preferment from his first obscurity. The offices
of the state we go through without obstructions from one
another; and live together in the mutual endearments of
private life without suspicions; not angry with a neighbour
for following the bent of his own humour, nor putting on that
countenance of discontent, which pains though it cannot pun-
ish— so that in private life we converse without diffidence or
damage, whilst we dare not on any account offend against the
public, through the reverence we bear to the magistrates and
the laws, chiefly to those enacted for redress of the injured,
and to those unwritten, a breach of which is allowed disgrace.
Our laws have further provided for the mind most frequent
intermissions of care by the appointment of public recreations
and sacrifices throughout the year, elegantly performed with a
peculiar pomp, the daily delight of which is a charm that puts
melancholy to flight. The grandeur of this our Athens causeth
the produce of the whole earth to be imported here, by which
we reap a familiar enjoyment, not more of the delicacies of
our own growth, than of those of other nations.

" In the affairs of war we excel those of our enemies, who
adhere to methods opposite to our own. For we lay open
Athens to general resort, nor ever drive any stranger from us
whom either improvement or curiosity hath brought amongst
us, lest any enemy should hurt us by seeing what is never con-
cealed. We place not so great a confidence in the preparatives
and artifices of war, as in the native warmth of our souls
impelling us to action. In point of education, the youth of
some people are inured by a course of laborious exercise, to
support toil and exercise like men; but we, notwithstanding
our easy and elegant way of life, face all the dangers of war as
intrepidly as they. This may be proved by facts, since the
Lacedaemonians never invade our territories barely with their
own, but with the united strength of all their confederates.
But, when we invade the dominions of our neighbours, for the
most part we conquer without difficulty in an enemy's country
those who fight in defence of their own habitations. The
strength of our whole force no enemy yet hath ever experi-
enced, because it is divided by our naval expeditions, or en-

256 THUCYDIDES

gaged in the different quarters of our service by land. But if
any wliere they engage and defeat a small party of our forces,
they boastingly give it out a total defeat ; and if they are beat,
they w^ere certainly overpowered by our united strength.
What though from a state of inactivity rather than laborious
exercise, or with a natural rather than an acquired valour, we
learn to encounter danger ? — this good at least we receive from
it, that we never droop under the apprehension of possible mis-
fortunes, and when we hazard the danger, are found no less
courageous than those who are continually inured to it. In
these respects our whole community deserves justly to be ad-
mired, and in many we have yet to mention.

" In our manner of living we show an elegance tempered
with frugality, and we cultivate philosophy without enervating
the mind. We display our wealth in the season of beneficence,
and not in the vanity of discourse. A confession of poverty is
disgrace to no man, no effort to avoid it is disgrace indeed.
There is visibly in the same persons an attention to their own
private concerns and those of the public ; and in others engaged
in the labours of life, there is a competent skill in the affairs
of government. For we are the only people who think him
that does not meddle in state-affairs — not indolent, but good
for nothing. And yet we pass the soundest judgments, and are
quick at catching the right apprehensions of things, not think-
ing that words are prejudicial to actions, but rather the not
being duly prepared by previous debate, before we are obliged
to proceed to execution. Herein consists our distinguishing
excellence, that in the hour of action we show the greatest
courage, and yet debate beforehand the expediency of our
measures. The courage of others is the result of ignorance;
deliberation makes them cowards. And those undoubtedly
must be owned to have the greatest souls, who, most acutely
sensible of the miseries of war and the sweets of peace, are not
hence in the least deterred from facing danger.

" In acts of beneficence, further, we differ from the many.
We preserve friends not by receiving but by conferring obli-
gations. For he who does a kindness hath the advantage over
him who by the law of gratitude becomes a debtor to his bene-
factor. The person obliged is compelled to act the more in-

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 257

sipid part, conscious that a return of kindness is merely a pay-
ment and not an obligation. And we alone are splendidly
beneficent to others, not so much from interested motives, as
for the credit of pure liberality. I shall sum up what yet re-
mains by only adding — that our Athens in general is the school
of Greece; and, that every single Athenian amongst us is ex-
cellently formed, by his personal qualification, for all the vari-
ous scenes of active life, acting with a most graceful demeanor,
and a most ready habit of despatch.

" That I have not on this occasion made use of a pomp of
words, but the truth of facts, that height to which by such a
conduct this state hath risen, is an undeniable proof. For we
are now the only people of the world who are found by experi-
ence to be greater than in report — ^the only people who, repel-
ling the attacks of an invading enemy, exempts their defeat from
the blush of indignation, and to their tributaries yields no dis-
content, as if subject to men unworthy to command. That we
deserve our power, we need no evidence to manifest. We have
great and signal proofs of this, which entitle us to the admira-
tion of the present and future ages. We want no Homer to
be the herald of our praise ; no poet to deck off a history with
the charms of verse, where the opinion of exploits must suffer
by a strict relation. Every sea has been opened by our fleets,
and every land hath been penetrated by our armies, which have
every where left behind them eternal monuments of our enmity
and our friendship.

" In the just defence of such a state these victims of their
own valour, scorning the ruin threatened to it, have valiantly
fought and bravely died. And every one of those who survive
is ready, I am persuaded, to sacrifice life in such a cause. And
for this reason have I enlarged so much on national points, to
give the clearest proof that in the present war we have more
at stake than men whose public advantages are not so valuable,
and to illustrate by actual evidence, how great a commendation
is due to them who are now my subject, and the greatest part
of which they have already received. For the encomiums with
which I have celebrated the state, have been earned for it by
the bravery of these, and of men like these. And such compli-
ments might be thought too high and exaggerated, if passed on

258 THUCYDIDES

any Grecians but them alone. The fatal period to which these
gallant souls are now reduced, is the surest evidence of their
merit — an evidence begun in their lives and completed in their
deaths. For it is a debt of justice to pay superior honours to
men, who have devoted their lives in fighting for their country,
though inferior to others in every virtue but that of valour.
Their last service effaceth all former demerits, — it extends to
the public ; their private demeanors reached only to a few. Yet
not one of these was at all induced to shrink from danger,
through fondness of those delights which the peaceful affluent
life bestows, — not one was the less lavish of his life, through
that flattering hope attendant upon want, that poverty at length
might be exchanged for affluence. One passion there was in
their minds much stronger than these, — the desire of vengeance
on their enemies. Regarding this as the most honourable prize
of dangers, they boldly rushed towards the mark, to glut re-
venge, and then to satisfy those secondary passions. The un-
certain event, they had already secured in hope ; what their eyes
showed plainly must be done, they trusted their own valour
to accomplish, thinking it more glorious to defend themselves
and die in the attempt, than to yield and live. From the re-
proach of cowardice indeed they fled, but presented their bodies
to the shock of battle ; when, insensible of fear, but triumphing
in hope, in the doubtful charge they instantly dropped — and
thus discharged the duty which brave men owe to their country.
"As for you, who now survive them — it is your business
to pray for a better fate — but, to think it your duty also to
preserve the same spirit and warmth of courage against your
enemies; not judging of the expediency of this from a mere
harangue — where any man indulging a flow of words may tell
you, what you yourselves know as well as he, how many ad-
vantages there are in fighting valiantly against your enemies
— ^but rather, making the daily-increasing grandeur of this
community the object of your thoughts, and growing quite
enamoured of it. And when it really appears great to your
apprehensions, think again, that this grandeur was acquired by
brave and valiant men; by men who knew their duty, and in
the moments of action were sensible of shame ; who, whenever
their attempts were unsuccessful, thought it dishonour their

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 259

country should stand in need of any thing their valour could
do for it, and so made it the most glorious present. Bestow-
ing thus their lives on the public, they have every one received
a praise that will never decay, a sepulchre that will always be
most illustrious — not that in which their bones lie mouldering,
but that in which their frame is preserved, to be on every occa-
sion, when honour is the employ of either word or act, eternally
remembered. This whole earth is the sepulchre of illustrious
men : nor is it the inscription on the columns in their native soil
alone that show their merit, but the memorial of them, better
than all inscriptions, in every foreign nation, reposited more
durably in universal remembrance than on their own tomb.
From this very moment, emulating these noble patterns,
placing your happiness in liberty, and liberty in valour, be pre-
pared to encounter all the dangers of war. For, to be lavish
of life is not so noble in those whom misfortunes have reduced
to misery and despair, as in men who hazard the loss of a
comfortable subsistence, and the enjoyment of all the blessings
this world affords, by an unsuccessful enterprise. Adversity,
after a series of ease and affluence, sinks deeper into the heart
of a man of spirit, than the stroke of death insensibly received
in the vigour of life and public hope.

"For this reason, the parents of those who are now gone,
whoever of them may be attending here, I do not bewail, — I
shall rather comfort. It is well known to what unhappy acci-
dents they were liable from the moment of their birth; and,
that happiness belongs to men who have reached the most
glorious period of life, as these now have who are to you the
source of sorrow, — these, whose life hath received its ample
measure, happy in its continuance, and equally happy in its
conclusion. I know it in truth a difficult task, to fix comfort
in those breasts, which will have frequent remembrances in
seeing the happiness of others, of what they once themselves
enjoyed. And sorrow flows not from the absence of those
good things we have never yet experienced, but from the loss
of those to which we have been accustomed. They who are
not yet by age exempted from issue, should be comforted in
the hope of having more. The children yet to be born will be
a private benefit to some, in causing them to forget such as

260 THUCYDIDES

no longer are, and will be a double benefit to their country in
preventing its desolation, and providing for its security. For
those persons cannot in common justice be regarded as mem-
bers of equal value to the public, who have no children to
expose to danger for its safety. — But you, whose age is al-
ready far advanced, compute the greater share of happiness
your longer time hath afforded for so much gain, persuaded in
yourselves, the remainder will be but short, and enlighten that
space by the glory gained by these. It is greatness of soul
alone that never grows old : nor is it wealth that delights in
the latter stage of life, as some give out, so much as honour.

"To you, the sons and brothers of the deceased, whatever
number of you are here, a field of hardy contention is opened.
For him who no longer is, every one is ready to commend, so
that to whatever height you push your deserts, you will
scarce ever be thought to equal, but to be somewhat inferior to
these. Envy will exert itself against a competitor, whilst life
remains : but when death stops the competition, affection will
applaud without restraint.

"If after this it be expected from me to say any thing
to you who are now reduced to a state of widowhood, about
female virtue, I shall express it all in one short admonition; —
It is your greatest glory not to be deficient in the virtue peculiar
to your sex, and to give the men as little handle as possible
to talk of your behaviour, whether well or ill.

"I have now discharged the province allotted me by the
laws, and said what I thought most pertinent to this assembly.
Our departed friends have by facts been already honoured.
Their children from this day till they arrive at manhood shall
be educated at the public expense of the state* which hath ap-
pointed so beneficial a meed for these and all future relics of
the public contests. For wherever the greatest rewards are
proposed for virtue, there the best of patriots are ever to be
found. — Now, let every one respectively indulge the decent
grief for his departed friends, and then retire."

* The law was, that they should be instructed at the public expense,
and when come to age presented with a complete suit of armour, and
honoured with a seat in all public places.

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 261

Such was the manner of the pubHc funeral solemnized
this winter, and with the end of which, the first year of this
war was also ended.

THE PLAGUE AT ATHENS

In the very beginning of [the following] summer [b.c. 430]
the Peloponnesians and allies, with two-thirds of their forces,
made an incursion as before into Attica, under the command
of Archidamus son of Zeuxidamus, king of the Lacedaemoni-
ans, and having formed their camp, ravaged the country.

They had not been many days in Attica, before a sickness
began first to appear amongst the Athenians, such as was
reported to have raged before this in other parts, as about
Lemnos and other places. Yet a plague so great as this, and
so dreadful a calamity, in human memory could not be par-
alleled. The physicians at first could administer no relief,
through utter ignorance; nay, they died the faster, the closer
their attendance on the sick, and all human art was totally un-
availing. Whatever supplications were offered in the temples,
whatever recourse to oracles and religious rites, all were in-
significant; at last, expedients of this nature they totally re-
linquished, overpowered by calamity. It broke out first, as it
is said, in that part of Ethiopia which borders upon Egypt;
it afterwards spread into Egypt and Libya, and into great
part of the king's dominions, and from thence it on a sudden
fell on the city of the Athenians. The contagion showed itself
first in the Piraeus, which occasioned a report that the Pelopon-
nesians had caused poison to be thrown into the wells, for as
yet there were no fountains there. After this it spread into
the upper city, and then the mortality very much increased.
Let every one, physician or not, freely declare his own senti-
ments about it ; let him assign any credible account of its rise,
or the causes strong enough in his opinion to introduce so ter-
rible a scene — I shall only relate what it actually was ; and as,
from an information in all its symptoms, none may be quite
at a loss about it, if ever it should happen again, I shall give
an exact detail of them; having been sick of it myself, and
seen many others afflicted with it.

262 THUCYDIDES

This very year, as is universally allowed, had been more
than any other remarkably free from common disorders; or,
whatever diseases had seized the body, they ended at length in
this. But those who enjoyed the most perfect health were
suddenly, without any apparent cause, seized at first with head-
aches extremely violent, with inflammations, and fiery redness
in the eyes. Within — the throat and tongue began instantly
to be red as blood; the breath was drawn with difficulty and
had a noisome smell. The symptoms that succeeded these were
sneezing and hoarseness; and not long after, the malady
descended to the breast, with a violent cough : but when once
settled in the stomach, it excited vomitings, in which was
thrown up all that matter physicians call discharges of bile,
attended with excessive torture. A great part of the in-
fected were subject to such violent hiccups without any dis-
charge, as brought upon them a strong convulsion, to some
but of a short, to others of a very long continuance. The body,
to the outward touch, was neither exceeding hot, nor of a pal-
lid hue, but reddish, livid, marked all over with little pustules
and sores. Yet inwardly it was scorched with such excessive
heat, that it could not bear the lightest covering or the finest
linen upon it, but must be left quite naked. They longed for
nothing so much as to be plunging into cold water; and many
of those who were not properly attended, threw themselves into
wells, hurried by a thirst not to be extinguished ; and whether
they drank much or little, their torment still continued the
same. The restlessness of their bodies, and an utter inability
of composing themselves by sleep, never abated for a moment.
And the body, so long as the distemper continued in its height,
had no visible waste, but withstood its rage to a miracle, so
that most of them perished within nine or seven days, by the
heat that scorched their vitals, though their strength was not
exhausted; or, if they continued longer, the distemper fell into
the belly, causing violent ulcerations in the bowels, accom-
panied with an incessant flux, by which many, reduced to an
excessive weakness, were carried off. For the malady begin-
ning in the head, and settling first there, sunk afterwards
gradually down the whole body. And whoever got safe
through all its most dangerous stages, yet the extremities of

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 263

their bodies still retained the marks of its violence. For it
shot down into their privy-members, into their fingers and toes,
by losing which they escaped with life. Some there were who
lost their eyes; and some who, being quite recovered, had at
once totally lost all memory, and quite forgot not only their
most intimate friends, but even their own selves. For as this
distemper was in general virulent beyond expression, and its
every part more grievous than had yet fallen to the lot of
human nature, so, in one particular instance, it appeared to be
none of the natural infirmities of man, since the birds and
beasts that prey on human flesh either never approached the
dead bodies, of which many lay about uninterred; or certainly
perished if they ever tasted. One proof of this is the total
disappearance then of such birds, for not one was to be seen,
either in any other place, or about any one of the carcases.
But the dogs, because of their familiarity with man, afforded
a more notorious proof of this event.

The nature of this pestilential disorder was in general —
for I have purposely omitted its many varied appearances, or
the circumstances particular to some of the infected in con-
tradiction to others — such as hath been described. None of
the common maladies incident to human nature prevailed at
that time; or whatever disorder any where appeared, it ended
in this. Some died merely for want of care; and some, with
all the care that could possibly be taken; nor was any one
medicine discovered, from whence could be promised any cer-
tain relief, since that which gave ease to one was prejudicial
to another. Whatever difference there was in bodies, in point
of strength or in point of weakness, it availed nothing; all
were equally swept away before it, in spite of regular diet and
studied prescriptions. Yet the most affecting circumstances
of this calamity were — that dejection of mind, which constant-
ly attended the first attack ; for the mind sinking at once into
despair, they the sooner gave themselves up without a struggle
— and that mutual tenderness, in taking care of one another,
which communicated the infection, and made them drop like
sheep. This latter case caused the mortality to be so great.
For if fear withheld them from going near one another, they
died for want of help, so that many houses became quite deso-

264 THUCYDIDES

late for want of needful attendance; and if they ventured, they
were gone. This was most frequently the case of the kind
and compassionate. Such persons were ashamed, out of a
selfish concern for themselves, entirely to abandon their
friends, when their menial servants, no longer able to endure
the groans and lamentations of the dying, had been compelled
to fly from such a weight of calamity. But those especially,
who had safely gone through it, took pity on the dying and
the sick, because they knew by experience what it really was,
and were now secure in themselves ; for it never seized any one
a second time so as to be mortal. Such were looked upon as
quite happy by others, and were themselves at first overjoyed
in their late escape, and the groundless hope that hereafter no
distemper would prove fatal to them. Beside this reigning
calamity, the general removal from the country into the city
was a heavy grievance, more particularly to those who had
been necessitated to come thither. For as they had no houses,
but dwelled all the summer season in booths, where there was
scarce room to breathe, the pestilence destroyed with the ut-
most disorder, so that they lay together in heaps, the dying
upon the dead, and the dead upon the dying. Some were tum-
bling one over another in the public streets, or lay expiring
round about every fountain, whither they had crept to assuage
their immoderate thirst. The temples, in which they had
erected tents for their reception, were full of the bodies of
those who had expired there. For in a calamity so outra-
geously violent, and universal despair, things sacred and holy
had quite lost their distinction. Nay, all regulations observed
before in matters of sepulture were quite confounded, since
every one buried wherever he could find a place. Some, whose
sepulchres were already filled by the numbers which had per-
ished in their own families, were shamefully compelled to seize
those of others. They surprised on a sudden the piles which
others had built for their own friends, and burned their dead
upon them ; and some, whilst one body was burning on a pile,
tossed another body they had dragged thither upon it, and
went their way.

Thus did the pestilence give their first rise to those in-
iquitous acts which prevailed more and more in Athens. For

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 265

every one was now more easily induced openly to do what for
decency they did only covertly before. They saw the strange
mutability of outward condition, the rich untimely cut off, and
their wealth pouring suddenly on the indigent and necessitous ;
so that they thought it prudent to catch hold of speedy enjoy-
ments and quick gusts of pleasure ; persuaded that their bodies
and their wealth might be their own merely for the day. Not
any one continued resolute enough to form any honest or gen-
erous design, when so uncertain whether he should live to effect
it. Whatever he knew could improve the pleasure or satis-
faction of the present moment, that he determined to be honour
and interest. Reverence of the gods or the laws of society
laid no restraints upon them ; either judging that piety and im-
piety were things quite indifferent, since they saw that all men
perished alike; or, throwing away every apprehension of being
called to account for their enormities, since justice might be
prevented by death ; or rather, as the heaviest of judgments to
which man could be doomed, was already hanging over their
heads, snatching this interval of life for pleasure, before it fell.
With such a weight of calamity were the Athenians at this
time on all sides oppressed. Their city was one scene of death,
and the adjacent country of ruin and devastation. In this their
affliction they called to mind, as was likely they should, the
following prediction, which persons of the greatest age in-
formed them had been formerly made:

Two heavy judgments will at once befall,

A Doric war without, a plague within your wall.

There had indeed been a dispute before, whether their
ancestors in this prediction read loimos a plague, or limos a
famine. Yet in their present circumstances all with probability
agreed that loimos, a plague, was the right : for they adapted
the interpretation to what they now suffered. — But in my senti-
ments, should they ever again be engaged in a Doric war, and
a famine happen at the same time, they will have recourse with
equal probability to \h^ other interpretation. It was further
remembered by those who knew of the oracle given to the
Lacedaemonians, that when ihey inquired of the god, "whether
they should engage in this wai/' his answer was, that — "if they

266 THUCYDIDES

carried it on with all their strength, they should be victorious,
and he himself would fight on their side;" — and therefore they
concluded that what now befell was the completion of the ora-
cle. The pestilence broke out immediately upon the irruption
of the Peloponnesians, and never extended itself to Pelopon-
nesus, a circumstance which ought to be related. It raged the
most, and for the longest time, in Athens, but afterwards
spread into the other towns, especially the most populous.
And this is an exact account of the plague.

* * * *

The same summer, Agnon the son of Nicias, and Cleo-
pompus the son of Clinius, joined in the command with Peri-
cles, setting themselves at the head of the force which he had
emloyed before, carried them without loss of time against
the Chalcideans of Thrace. But when they were come up to
Potidaea, which was still besieged, they played their engines
of battery against, and left no method' unattempted to take it.
But the success in this attempt did not answer expectation,
nor indeed was the event in any respect the least proportioned
to their great preparations ; for the plague followed them even
hither, and making grievous havoc among the Athenians, de-
stroyed the army; so that even those soldiers that had been
there before, and had from the beginning of the siege been in
perfect health, caught the infection from the troops brought
thither by Agnon. — Phormio, and the body of sixteen hundred
men under his command, had before this quitted Chalcidice, so
that Agnon sailed back with the ships to Athens, of his four
thousand men the plague having swept away one thousand and
fifty in about forty days : but the soldiers wha were there be-
fore were left to carry on the siege of Potidaea.

THE APOLOGY OF PERICLES

After the second incursion of the Peloponnesians, the Athe-
nians whose lands were now a second time laid waste, who felt
the double affliction of pestilence and war, had entirely changed
their sentiments of things. The blame was universally thrown
on Pericles, as if at his instigation they had engaged in this
war, and by him had been plunged in all these calamities.

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 267

They desired with impatience to make up the breach with the
Lacedaemonians; but though they despatched an embassy for
this purpose, no terms could be agreed on. Thus grievously
distressed, and no method of resource occurring to their minds,
their resentments fell still heavier on Pericles. He, seeing
them quite dispirited with their present misfortunes, and intent
on such projects as he had reason to expect they would, called
a general assembly of the people, which, by continuing in the
command of the army, he was authorized to do. He had a
mind to encourage them, to soothe the hot resentments fer-
menting in their breasts, and bring them into a more calm and
confident temper. He presented himself before them, and spoke
as follows : —

" I fully expected, I freely own it, to become the object of
your resentments. I am not ignorant of the causes of it ; and
for this purpose have convened this assembly, to expostulate
with, nay, even to reprimand you, if without any reason you
make me the mark of your displeasure, or cowardly sink un-
der the weight of your misfortunes : for it is my firm opinion,
that by the full health and vigour of a state the happiness of its
constitutents is better secured, than when each separate member
is thriving whilst the public welfare totters. Be the situation
of any private person prosperous and fine as his heart can wish
— if his country be ruined, he himself must necessarily be in-
volved in that ruin. But he that is unfortunate in a flourish-
ing community, may soon catch hold of expedients of redress.
When therefore your country is able to support the misfor-
tunes of its every member, and yet each of those members
must needs be enveloped in the ruin of his country, why will
you not join and unite your efforts to prevent that ruin — and
not (as you are now going to do, because confounded with
your domestic misfortunes) basely desert the public safety, and
cast the most unjust censures upon me who advised this war,
upon your ownselves also who approved this advice? What
— I am the man that must singly stand the storm of your
anger! — I am indeed the man who I am confident is not in-
ferior to any one amongst you in knowing what ought to be
known, and in speaking what ought to be spoke, who sincerely
loves his country, and is superior to all the sordid views of

268 THUCYDIDES

interest. For he who thinks aright, and yet cannot communi-
cate his own thoughts, is just as insignificant as if he could
not think at all. He that enjoys both these faculties in per-
fection, and yet is an enemy to his country, will in like man-
ner never say any thing for his country's good : or, though he
love his country, and be not proof against corruption, he may
prostitute every thing to his own avarice. If therefore you
judged my qualifications in all these respects to be in some
moderate degree superior to those of other men, and were thus
drawn into a war by my advice, there can certainly be no reason
why I should be accused of having done you wrong. Those
indeed who are already in the fast possession of all the ends
attainable by war, must make a foolish choice if they run to
arms: but, if once under a necessity, either through tame sub-
mission to be enslaved by a neighbour power or by a brave re-
sistance to get the mastery over them — he who flies danger in
such a case, is much more worthy of reproach than he who
meets it with bold defiance.

" I indeed am the man I was, and of the mind I was. It
is you whose resolutions have wavered ; — you who, whilst un-
hurt, through my persuasion resolved on war, and repent so
soon as you feel its strokes — who measure the soundness of
my advice by the weakness of your own judgments, and there-
fore condemn it, because the present disasters have so entirely
engaged the whole of your attention, that you have none left
to perceive the high importance of it to the public. Cruel
indeed is that reverse of fortune which hath so suddenly afflict-
ed you, dejecting your minds and dispiriting your former
resolutions! Accidents sudden and unforeseen, and so oppo-
site to that event you might reasonably have expected, enslave
the mind; — which hath been your case in all the late contin-
gencies, and more particularly so in this grievous pestilence.
Yet men who are the constitutents of such a mighty state, and
whose manners have been by education formed for its sup-
port, ought never to want that inward fortitude which can
stem the greatest of afflictions, nor by self -desertion utterly to
efface their native dignity. The world will always have equal
reason to condemn the person who sinks from a height of
glory by his owp pusillanimity, and to hate the person who

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 269

impudently pretends to what he never can deserve. It must be
therefore your duty to suppress this too keen a sensibility of
your own private losses, and with united fortitude to act in
the defence of the public safety. Let us therefore bravely
undergo the toils of this war; and if the toil increaseth, let our
resolution increase with it. And let these, added to all those
other proofs of my integrity I have exhibited on other occa-
sions, suffice to convince you that your present censures and
suspicions of me are rash and groundless.

" I shall now lay before you a point, which, so far as I can
judge, you have as yet never properly considered, nor have I
in any former discourse insisted upon — the means within your
reach of rising to supreme dominion. Nor should I meddle
even now with a point, pompous beyond poetic visions, did I
not see you beyond measure fearful and dejected. You think
you are only masters of your own dependents; but I loudly
aver that you are greater masters now both at land and sea,
those necessary spheres for carrying on the services of life,
than any other power ; and may be greater yet, if so inclined.
There is not now a king, there is not any nation in the univer-
sal world, able to withstand that navy, which at this juncture
you can launch out to sea. Why is not this extensive power
regarded in balancing the loss of your horses and lands, those
intolerable damages which you think you have suffered? — It
is not so reasonable to grieve and despond under such petty
losses, as to despise from the thought, that they are merely the
trappings and embellishments of wealth; to fix the firm re-
membrance within us, that liberty, in defence of which we are
ready to hazard our all, will easily give us those trifles again;
and that by tamely submitting to our enemies, the possession
of all we have will be taken from us. We ought not in either
of these respects to degenerate from our fathers. By toil, and
toil alone, they gained these valuable acquisitions, defended
themselves in the possession, and bequeathed the precious in-
heritance to us. And to lose the advantages we have possessed,
will be much more disgraceful than to have miscarried in their
pursuit. But we ought to encounter our enemies not with
valour only, but with confidence of success. Valour starts up
even in a coward, if he once prevails through lucky ignorance;

270 THUCYDIDES

but such a confidence must be in every mind, which is seri-
ously convinced of its own superiority, as is now our case.
Nay, even when the match is equal, the certainty of what
must be done arising from an inward bravery, adds the greater
security to courage. Confidence then is not built on hope
which acts only in uncertainty, but on the sedate determination
of what it is able to perform, an assurance of which is more
guarded against disappointments.

"It is further your duty to support the public character (as
in it to a man you pride yourselves) with which its extensive
rule invests our community, and either not to fly from toils or
never to aim at glory. Think not you have only one point at
stake, the alternative of slavery instead of freedom; but think
also of the utter loss of sovereignty, and the danger of ven-
geance for all the offences you have given in the practice of it.
To resign it, is not in your power, — and of this let him be
assured, who refines through fear, and hopes to earn indem-
nity by exerting it no longer. In your hands it hath run out
into a kind of tyranny. To take it up seems indeed unjust, but
to lay it down is exceeding dangerous. And if such dastardly
souls could persuade others, they would soon bring this state
td utter ruin, or indeed any other, where they were members,
and enjoyed the chief administration of affairs. For the un-
disturbed and quiet life will be of short continuance without
the interposition of a vigilant activity. Slavery is never to be
endured by a state that once hath governed — such a situation
can be tolerable only to that which hath ever been dependent.

" Suffer not yourselves therefore to be seduced by men of
such mean and grovelling tempers, nor level your resentments
at me — since, though I advised the war, it was not begun with-
out your approbation — if the enemy hath invaded you in such
a manner as you could not but expect from your own resolu-
tions never to be dependent. What though beyond our ap-
prehensions we have suffered the sad visitation of pestilence? —
Such misfortunes no human foresight will be able to prevent
— though I know that even this hath in some measure served
to sharpen your aversion to me. But if this be just, I claim
as my lawful right the glory of all those happy contingencies,
which may ever befall you beyond your expectation. The

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 271

evils inflicted by heaven must be borne with patient resigna-
tion; and the evils by enemies with manly fortitude. Such
rational behaviour hath hitherto been habitual in Athens; let
it now be reversed by you ; — ^by you, who know to what a pitch
of excellence the state hath rose in the esteem of the world,
by not yielding to adversity ; but, by braving all the horrors of
war, and pouring forth its blood in the glorious cause, hath
reached the highest summit of power, and ever since retained
it. The memory of this, time itself will never be able to
efface, even though we may suffer it to droop and perish in our
hands — as what is human must decline. — Our memory I say,
who, though Grecians ourselves, gave laws to all other Gre-
cians, stood the shock of most formidable wars, resisted them all
when combined against us, conquered them all when separately
engaged, and maintained ourselves in possession of the most
flourishing and most powerful state in the world. These things
let the indolent and sluggish soul condemn, but these let the
active and industrious strive to emulate, for these they who can-
not attain will envy.

" To be censured and maligned for a time, hath been the
fate of all those whose merit hath raised them above the com-
mon level; — but wise and judicious is the man who, enjoying
the superiority, despiseth the envy. An aversion so conceived
will never last. His merit soon breaks forth in all its splen-
dour, and his glory is afterwards handed down to posterity,
never to be forgot. You, who have so clear a prospect before
you, both of what will be some time glorious, and of what at
present is not disgraceful, recollect your own worth and secure
both. Sink not so low as to petition terms from the Lacedae-
monians ; nor let them imagine that you feel the weight of your
present misfortunes. The man whose resolution never sinks
before it, but strives by a brave opposition to repel calamity,
such — whether in a public or private capacity — must be ac-
knowledged to be the worthiest man."

By arguments like these did Pericles endeavour to mollify
the resentments of the Athenians against himself, and to divert
their minds from their public calamities. In regard to the pub-
lic, they seemed to be satisfied with all that he had urged ; they
desisted from soliciting an accommodation with the Lacedae-

272 THUCYDIDES

monians; and were more hearty than ever for continuing the
war. Yet, in their own private concerns, they were grievously
dejected under their present misfortunes. The poor citizens
who had but little, could not bear with patience the loss of that
little. The rich and the great regretted the loss of their estates,
with their country-seats and splendid furniture ; — but worst of
all, that instead of peace they had the sad alternative of war.
However, neither poor nor rich abated their displeasure to
Pericles, till they had laid upon him a pecuniary fine.^ And
yet, no long time after — so unsteady are the humours of the
people — they elected him general again, and intrusted him with
the administration of affairs. The keen sense they had at
first of their own private losses soon grew blunt and unaffect-
ing, and they could not but allow him the most capable person
to provide for all the urgent necessities of the public. For the
supreme authority he enjoyed in times of peace he had exer-
cised with great moderation ; he was vigilant and active for the
good of the community, which never made so great a figure
as under his administration ; and after the war broke out it is
plain he best knew the reach of its ability to carry it on. He
lived two years and six months from its commencement : and
after his death, his judicious foresight in regard to this war
was more and more acknowledged. For he had assured them
they could not fail of success, provided they would not med-
dle by land, but apply themselves solely to their navy, without
being solicitous to enlarge their territories in this war, or ex-
posing Athens itself to danger. But they had recourse to
schemes quite opposite to these, nay even to some that had
no connection at all with this war, wherein private ambition or
private interest pushed them to such management as was highly
prejudicial to themselves and their allies. Wherever these
politic schemes succeeded, private persons carried off all the
honour and advantage; — whenever they miscarried, the hard-

* Plutarch (in the life of Pericles) says, Authors are not agreed
about the quantity of the fine at this time laid upon Pericles. Some
lower it to fifteen talents, others mount it up to fifty. The dem-
agogue, who incited the people to fine him, is also said by some to
have been Cleon.

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 273

ships of the war fell more severely on the state. The reason
was this — Pericles, a man of acknowledged worth and ability,
and whose integrity was undoubtedly proof against corruj.-
tion, kept the people in order by a gentle management, and was
not so much directed by them as their principal director. He
had not worked himself into power by indirect methods, and
therefore was not obliged to soothe and honour their caprices,
but could contradict and disregard their anger with peculiar
dignity. Whenever he saw them bent on projects injurious or
unreasonable, he terrified them so by the force of his eloquence,
that he made them tremble and desist ; and when they were dis-
quieted by groundless apprehensions, he animated them afresh
into brave resolution. The state under him, though styled a
democracy, was in fact a monarchy. His successors more on a
level with one another, and yet every one affecting to be chief,
were forced to cajole the people, and so to neglect the con-
cerns of the public. This was the source of many grievous
errors, as must unavoidably be the case in a great community
and possessed of large dominion ; — but in particular of the ex-
pedition to Sicily; the ill conduct of which did not appear so
flagrantly in relation to those against whom it was undertaken,
as to the authors and movers of it, who knew not how to make
the proper provision for those who were employed in it. For,
engaged in their own private contests for power with the peo-
ple, they had not sufficient attention to the army abroad, and
at home were embroiled in mutual altercations. Yet, notwith-
standing the miscarriage in Sicily, in which they lost their army
with the greater part of their fleet, andi the sedition which in-
stantly broke out in Athens, they bravely resisted for three
years together, not only their first enemies in the war, but the
Sicilians also in conjunction with them, the greater part of
their dependents revolted from them, and at length Cyrus the
king's son, who, favouring the Peloponnesians, supplied them
with money for the service of their fleet; — nor would at last
be conquered, till by their own intestine feuds they were utterly
disabled from resisting longer. So much better than any other
person was Pericles acquainted with their strength, when he
marked out such a conduct to them as would infallibly have

274 THUCYDIDES

enabled the Athenian state to have continued the war longer
than the Peloponnesians could possibly have done.

THE SIEGE OF PLAT^A.

Early the next summer [the third year of the war, B.C.
429] the Peloponnesians and their allies, omitting the incursion
as before into Attica, marched their forces against Plataea.
Archidamus son of Zeuxidamus king of the Lacedaemonians,
commanded, who having encamped his army, was preparing
to ravage the adjacent country. He was interrupted by an
embassy from the Plataeans, who addressed themselves to him
in the following manner. —

"The war, O Archidamus and Lacedaemonians, you are
now levying on Plataea, is a flagrant breach of common justice,
a blemish on your honour and that of your fathers. Pausanias
the Lacedaemonian, son of Cleombrotus, when — aided by
those Grecians, who cheerfully exposed themselves with him
to the dangers of that battle which was fought on our land —
he had delivered Greece from Persian slavery, at a public sac-
rifice to Jupiter the deliverer, solemnized by him on that occa-
sion in the public forum at Plataea, called all the confederates
together, and there conferred these privileges on the Plataeans
— 'That they should have free possession of the city and terri-
tory belonging to it, to be governed at their own discretion ; —
that no one should ever unjustly make war upon them, or
endeavour to enslave them; and in case of such attempts, all
the confederates then present should avenge it to the utmost of
their power.' — Such grateful returns did your fathers make us
in recompense of our valour and the zeal we excited in the
common dangers. Yet their generosity you are now reversing
— you, with the Thebans our inveterate foes, are come hither
to enslave us. But by the gods, who were then witnesses to
the oath they swore, by all the tutelary deities both of your
own and of our community, we adjure you to do no damage
to Platsean ground, nor to violate your oaths, but to retire and
leave us in that state of independence which Pausanias justly
established for us." — To these words of the Plataeans, Archi-
damus made this reply:

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 275

"What you have urged, ye men of Plataea, is just and
reasonable, if it be found agreeable to your actions. Let the
declarations of Pausanias be observed; be free and inde-
pendent yourselves, and at the same time vindicate their own
freedom to others, to those who, after participation of the
same common dangers, made that oath in your favour, and
yet are now enslaved by the Athenians. To rescue them and
others from that slavery have our preparations been made,
this war hath been undertaken. You who know what liberty
is, and are such advocates for it, do you abide firmly by your
oaths; at least, as we heretofore advised you, keep at quiet,
enjoying only what is properly your own; side with neither
party; receive both in the way of friendship, in the way of
enmity, neither. To a conduct like this we never shall object."

When the Plataean ambassadors had heard this reply of
Archidamus, they returned into the city, and communicating
what had passed to the body of the citizens, they carried back in
answer to him — "That they could not possibly comply with
his proposals, without the consent of the Athenians, because
their wives and children were in their power — that they were
apprehensive a compliance might endanger their whole com-
munity, since in such a case either the Athenians might not
confirm the neutrality, or the Thebans, who were compre-
hended in the same neutral oath to the two principal powers,
might again attempt to seize their city." — Archidamus to re-
move their apprehensions spoke as follows: "Deliver up your
city and your houses to us Lacedaemonians; let us know the
bounds of your territory and the exact number of your trees,
and make as true a calculation as you possibly can of all that
belongs to you. Depart yourselves, and reside wherever you
please, so long as the war continues; at the end of it we will
restore every thing again. In the mean time, we will make
the best use of every thing intrusted to us, and pay you an
annual equivalent for your subsistence." Upon hearing this,
they again returned into the city, and the whole body of the
people assisting at a general consultation, they returned for
answer — "That they desired only to communicate the pro-
posals to the Athenians, and then with their approbation
would accept them. In the meantime they begged a suspen-

276 THUCYDIDES

sion of arms, and to have their lands spared from depreda-
tion." He granted them a truce for the time requisite to re-
ceive an answer, and forbore ravaging the country.

The ambassadors of Plataea, having been at Athens, and
consulted with the Athenians, return again with this answer
to their city: "The Athenians say that in no preceding time,
ever since we entered into confederacy with them, did they
ever suffer us in any respect to be injured; that neither will
they neglect us now, but send us a powerful aid. And you they
solemnly abjure by the oaths which your fathers have sworn,
to admit no change or innovation in the league subsisting be-
tween you and them." — When the ambassadors had thus de-
livered the answer of the Athenians, after some consultation,
the Platseans resolved, "never to desert them, to bear any
devastation of their lands, nay, if such be the case, to behold
it with patience, and to suffer any extremities to which their
enemies might reduce them; — that, further, no person should
stir out of the city, but an answer be given from the walls. —
That it was impossible for them to accept the terms proposed
by the Lacedaemonians."

This was no sooner heard than Archidamus the king made
this solemn appeal to all their tutelary heroes and gods. —
"Ye gods and heroes," said he, "who protect this region of
Plataea, bear witness to us, that it was not till after a violation
of oaths already sworn, that we have marched into this coun-
try, where our fathers through the blessings you sent down
upon their prayers overcame the Medes, and which you then
made that fortunate field whereon the arms of Greece were
crowned with victory — and that whatever we shall here under-
take, our every step shall be agreeable to justice. We have
offered many honourable conditions to them, which are all
rejected. Grant therefore our supplications, that the first
transgressors of justice may receive their punishment, and that
those who fight with equity may obtain revenge." After this
solemn address to the gods, he roused up his army into action.

He first of all formed an inclosure round about them with
the trees they had felled, so that no one could get out of the
city. In the next place, they raised a mount of earth before
the place, hoping that it could not long hold out a siege

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 277

against the efforts of so large an army. Having felled a
quantity of timber on mount Cithaeron, with it they framed
the mount on either side, that thus cased it might perform the
service of a wall, and that the earth might be kept from moul-
dering away too fast. Upon it they heaped a quantity of mat-
ter, both stones and earth, and whatever else would cement
together and increase the bulk. This work employed them
for seventy days and nights without intermission, all being
alternately employed in it, so that one part of the army was
carrying it on, while the other took the necessary refreshments
of food and sleep. Those Lacedaemonians who had the com-
mand over the hired troops of the other states, had the care
of the work, and obliged them all to assist in carrying it on.
The Platseans, seeing this mount raised to a great height,
built a counter-work of wood, close to that part of the city-
wall against which this mount of earth was thrown up, and
strengthened the inside of it with bricks, which they got for
this use by puHing down the adjacent houses. The wooden
case was designed to keep it firm together, and prevent the
whole pile from being weakened by its height. They farther
covered it over with sheep-skins and hides of beasts, to defend
the workmen from missive weapons, and to preserve the
wood from being fired by the enemy. This work within was
raised to a great height, and the mount was raised with equal
expedition without. Upon this, the Platseans had recourse to
another device. They broke a hole through the wall, close to
which the mount was raised, and drew the earth away from
under it into the city. But this being discovered by the Pelo-
ponnesians, they threw into the hole hurdles made of reeds
and stuffed with clay, which being of a firm consistence could
not be dug away like earth. By this they were excluded, and
so desisted for a while from their former practice. Yet dig-
ging a subterraneous passage from out of the city, which they
so luckily continued that it undermined the mount, they again
withdrew the earth from under it. This practice long es-
caped the discovery of the besiegers, who still heaping on
matter, yet the work grew rather less, as the earth was drawn
away from the bottom, and that above fell in to fill up the
void. However, still apprehensive, that as they were few in

278 THUCYDIDES

number, they should not be able long to hold out against such
numerous besiegers, they had recourse to another project.
They desisted from carrying on the great pile which was to
counterwork the mount, and beginning at each end of it where
the wall was low, they run another wall in the form of a cres-
cent along the inside of the city, that if the great wall should
be taken this might afterwards hold out, might lay the enemy
under the necessity of throwing up a fresh mount against it,
and that thus the further they advanced the difficulties of the
siege might be doubled, and be carried on with increase of
danger.

When their mount was completed, the Peloponnesians
played away their battering-engines against the wall ; and one
of them worked so dexterously from the mount against the
great pile within, that they shook it very much, and threw the
Platseans into consternation. Others they applied in differ-
ent parts against the wall, the force of which was broken by
the Plataeans, who threw ropes around them; they also tied
large beams together, with long chains of iron at both ends of
the beams, by which they hung downwards from two other
transverse beams inclined and extended beyond the wall; —
these they drew along obliquely, and against whatever part
they saw the engine of battery to be aimed, they let go the
beams with a full swing of the chains, and so dropped them
down directly upon it, which by the weight of the stroke
broke off the beak of the battering machine. Upon this the
Peloponnesians, finding all their engines useless, and their
mount effectually counterworked by the fortification within,
concluded it a business of no little hazard to take the place
amidst so many obstacles, and prepared to draw a circumval-
lation about it.

But at first they were willing to try whether it were not
possible to set the town on fire, and burn it down, as it was
not large, by help of a brisk gale of wind ; for they cast their
thoughts towards every expedient of taking it without a large
expense and a tedious blockade. Procuring for this purpose a
quantity of faggots, they tossed them from their own mount
into the void space between the wall and the inner fortifica-
tion. As many hands were employed in this business, they had

-. -^i

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 279

soon filled it up, and then proceeded to toss more of them into
the other parts of the city lying beyond, as far as they could by
the advantage which the eminence gave them. Upon these
they threw fiery balls made of sulphur and pitch, which caught
the faggots, and soon kindled such a flame as before this time
no one had ever seen kindled by the art of man. It hath in-
deed sometimes happened, that wood growing upon moun-
tains hath been so heated by the attrition of the winds, that
without any other cause it hath broken out into fire and flame.
But this was exceeding fierce; and the Plataeans, who had
bafiled all other efforts, were very narrowly delivered from
perishing by its fury; for it cleared the city to a great dis-
tance round about, so that no Platsean durst approach it ; and
if the wind had happened to have blown along with it, as the
enemy hoped, they must all unavoidably have perished. It is
now reported, that a heavy rain falling on a sudden, attended
with claps of thunder, extinguished the flames, and put an
end to this imminent danger.

The Peloponnesians, upon the failure of this project,
marched away part of their army; but, continuing the re-
mainder there, raised a wall of circumvallation quite round the
city, the troops of every confederate state executing a de-
terminate part of the work. Both inside and outside of this
wall was a ditch, and by first digging these they had got ma-
terials for brick. This work being completed about the rising
of Arcturus,^ they left some of their own men to guard half
of the wall, the other half being left to the care of the Boeo-
tians ; then marched away with the main army, and dismissed
the auxiliary forces to their respective cities. — The Plataeans
had already sent away to Athens their wives, their children,
their old people, and all the useless crowd of inhabitants.
There were only left in the town during this siege, four hun-
dred Plataeans, eighty Athenians and one hundred and ten
women to prepare their food. This was the whole number of
them when the siege was first formed : nor was there any
other person within the wall, either slave or free. — And in this
manner was the city of Plataea besieged in form.

3|C SJC j|» 3p

* Beginning of September.

280 THUCYDIDES

This winter [the following one] the Plataeans — for they
were still blocked up by the Peloponnesians and Boeotians —
finding themselves much distressed by the failure of their
provisions, giving up all hope of succour from the Athenians,
and quite destitute of all other means of preservation, formed
a project now in concert with those Athenians who were shut
up with them in the blockade, "first of all to march out of the
town in company, and to compass their escape, if possible, over
the works of the enemy." The authors of this project were
Thseanetus the son of Timedes a soothsayer, and Eumolpidas
the son of Daimachus, who was one of their commanders. But
afterwards, half of the number, affrighted by the greatness of
the danger, refused to have a share in the attempt. Yet the
remainder, to the number of about two hundred and twenty,
resolutely adhered to attempt an escape in the following
manner :

They made ladders equal in height to the enemy's wall.
The measure of this they learned from the rows of brick,
where the side of the wall facing them was not covered over
with plaster. Several persons were appointed to count the
rows at the same time; some of them might probably be
wrong, but the greater part would agree in the just computa-
tion; especially as they counted them several times over, and
were besides at no great distance, since the part marked out
for the design was plainly within their view. In this method,
having guessed the measure of a brick from its thickness, they
found out what must be the total height for the ladders.

The work of the Peloponnesians was of the following struc-
ture: it was composed of two circular walls; one towards
Plataea, and the other outward, to prevent any attack from
Athens. These walls were at a distance of sixteen feet one
from the other ; and this intermediate space of sixteen feet was
built into distinct lodgments for the guards. These, however,
standing thick together, gave to the whole work the appear-
ance of one thick entire wall, with battlements on both sides.
At every ten battlements were lofty turrets of the same
breadth with the whole work, reaching from the face of the
inward wall to that of the outward ; so that there was no pas-
sage by the sides of a turret, but the communication lay open

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 281

through the middle of them all. By night, when the weather
was rainy, they quitted the battlements, and sheltering them-
selves in the turrets, as near at hand and covered over-head,
there they continued their watch. Such was the form of the
work by which the Platseans were inclosed on every side.

The enterprising body, when every thing was ready, laying
hold of the opportunity of a night tempestuous with wind and
rain, and further at a dark moon, marched out of the place.
The persons, who had been authors of the project, were now
the conductors. And first they passed the ditch which sur-
rounded the town; then they approached quite up to the wall
of the enemy, undiscovered by the guards. The darkness of
the night prevented their being seen, and the noise they made
in approaching was quite drowned in the loudness of the
storm. They advanced also at a great distance from one an-
other, to prevent any discovery from the mutual clashing of
their arms. They were further armed in the most compact
manner, and wore a covering only on the left foot for the sake
of treading firmly in the mud. At one of the intermediate
spaces between the turrets they got under the battlements,
knowing they were not manned. The bearers of the ladders
went first, and applied them to the wall. Then twelve light-
armed, with only a dagger and a breast-plate scaled, led by
Ammeas the son of Choraebus, who was the first that mounted.
His followers, in two parties of six each, mounted next on
each side of the turrets. Then other light-armed with javelins
succeeded them. Behind came others holding the bucklers of
those above them, thus to facilitate their ascent, and to be
ready to deliver them into their hands, should they be obliged
to charge. When the greater part of the number was
mounted, the watchmen within the turrets perceived it. For
one of the Platseans, in fastening his hold, had thrown down
a tile from off the battlements, which made a noise in the fall ;
and immediately was shouted an alarm. The whole camp
came running towards the wall, yet unable to discover the rea-
son of this alarm, so dark was the night, and violent the
storm. At this crisis the Plataeans, who were left behind in
the city, sallied forth and assaulted the work of the Pelopon-
nesians, in the part opposite to that where their friends were

282 THUCYDIDES

attempting to pass, from them to divert as much as possible
the attention of the enemy. Great was the confusion of the
enemy yet abiding in their posts, for not one durst leave his
station to run to the place of alarm, but all were greatly per-
plexed to guess at its meaning. At last the body of three
hundred, appointed for a reserve of succour upon any emer-
gency, marched without the work to the place of alarm. Now
the lighted torches, denoting enemies, were held up towards
Thebes. On the other side, the Plataeans in the city held up
at the same time from the wall many of these torches already
prepared for this very purpose, that the signals given of the
approach of foes might be mistaken by their enemies the The-
bans, who judging the affair to be quite otherwise than it
really was, might refrain from sending any succour, till their
friends who had sallied might have effectuated their escape,
and gained a place of security.

In the meantime those of the Plataeans, who having mount-
ed first, and by killing the guards had got possession of the
turrets on either hand, posted themselves there to secure the
passage, and to prevent any manner of obstruction from
thence. Applying further their ladders to these turrets from
the top of the wall, and causing many of their number to
mount, those now upon the turrets kept off the enemies, run-
ning to obstruct them both above and below, by discharging
their darts; whilst the majority, rearing many ladders at the
same time, and throwing down the battlements, got clean over
at the intermediate space between the turrets. Every one, in the
order he got over to the outward side, drew up upon the inner
brink of the ditch, and from thence, with their darts and jave-
lins, kept off those who were flocking towards the work to
hinder their passage. When all the rest were landed upon the
outside of the work, those upon the turrets coming down last
of all, and with difficulty, got also to the ditch. By this time
the reserve of three hundred was come up to oppose them, by
the light of torches. The Plataeans by this means, being in
the dark, had a clear view of them, and from their stand upon
the brink of the ditch, aimed a shower of darts and javelins
at those parts of their bodies which had no armour. The
Plataeans were also obscured ; as the glimmering of lights

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 283

made them less easy to be distinguished ; so that the last of
their body got over the ditch, though not without great diffi-
culty and toil. For the water in it was frozen, not into ice
hard enough to bear, but in a watery congelation, the effect
not of the northern but eastern blasts. The wind blowing
hard, had caused so much snow to fall that night, that the
water was swelled to a height not to be forded without some
difficulty. However, the violence of the storm was the great-
est furtherance of their escape.

The pass over the ditch being thus completed, the Platseans
went forward in a body, and took the road to Thebes, leaving
on their right the temple of Juno built by Andocrates. They
judged it would never be supposed, that they had taken a
route which led directly towards their enemies : and they saw
at the same time the Peloponnesians pursuing them with
torches along the road to Athens, by Cythseron and the Heads
of the Oak. For ^six or seven stadia they continued their
route towards Thebes, but then turning short, they took the
road to the mountains by Erythrse and Hysiae; and having
gained the mountains, two hundred and twelve of the num-
ber completed their escape to Athens. Some of them indeed
turned back into the city, without once attempting to get over ;
and one archer was taken prisoner at the outward ditch.

The Peloponnesians desisted from the fruitless pursuit,
and returned to their posts. But the Plataeans within the city,
ignorant of the real event, and giving ear to the assurances of
those who turned back, that "they are all to a man cut off,"
despatched a herald as soon as it was day to demand a truce
for fetching off the dead ; but learning hence the true state of
the affair, they remained well satisfied. And in this manner
these men of Plataea, by thus forcing a passage, wrought their
own preservation.

* * * *

The following summer the Platseans, whose provisions
were quite spent, and who could not possibly hold out any
longer, were brought to a surrender in the following manner.
The enemy made an assault upon their wall, which they had

^ About half a mile.

284 THUCYDIDES

not sufficient strength to repel. The Lacedaemonian general
being thus convinced of their languid condition, was deter-
mined not to take the place by storm. In this he acted pur-
suant to orders sent to him from Lacedsemon, with a view that
whenever a peace should be concluded with the Lacedaemoni-
ans, one certain condition of which must be reciprocally to
restore the places taken in the war, Plataea might not be included
in the restitution, as having freely and without compulsion
gone over to them. A herald is accordingly despatched with
this demand — "Whether they are willing voluntarily to give
up the city to the Lacedaemonians, and accept them for their
judges who would punish only the guilty, and contrary to
forms of justice not even one of those." — The herald made
this demand aloud. And the Plataeans, who were now reduced
to excessive weakness, delivered up the city.

The Peloponnesians supplied the Plataeans with necessary
sustenance for the space of a few days, till the five delegates
arrived from Lacedaemonia to preside at the trial. And yet
when these were actually come, no judicial process was formed
against them. They only called them out, and put this short
question to them — "Whether they had done any service to the
Lacedaemonians and their allies in the present war?" — Their
answer was, "That they begged permission to urge their plea
at large;" which being granted, they pitched upon Astymachus
the son of Asopalaus, and Lacothesonof Aeimnestus, whohad
formerly enjoyed the public hospitality of the Lacedaemonians,
to be their speakers, who stood forth and pleaded thus :

"Placing in you, O Lacedaemonians, an entire confidence,
we have delivered up our city ; but never imagined we should
be forced to such a process as this, when we expected only to
be tried by justice and laws — when we yielded to plead, not
before other judges as is now our fate, but only before your-
selves. Then indeed we thought that justice might be ob-
tained.— But now we have terrible grounds for apprehending,
that we have at once been doubly overreached. Strong mo-
tives occur to alarm our suspicions, that the point most in view
is to deprive us of our lives, and that you will not prove im-
partial judges. We cannot but be too certain of this, when
no manner of crime is formerly objected, against which we

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 285

might form our defence ; when barely at our own entreaty we
are heard, and your concise demand is such, that if we answer
it with truth we condemn ourselves; if with falsehood, must
be instantly refuted.

"Thus on all sides beset with perplexities, something of
necessity must be said in our own behalf; nay, where the dan-
ger is so urgent, the only small glimpse of security appears
in hazarding a plea. For persons like us distressed, in silence
to abandon their own defence — this may with sad compunc-
tion torture them at last, as if their safety might have been
earned by speaking for themselves — though never was persua-
sion so much to be despaired of as at present. Were we
indeed, who are the persecuted party, entirely unknown to our
judges, we might then allege such evidence as through igno-
rance you could not overturn, and so further our defence. But
now we must speak before men who are informed of every
point. Nor do our fears result from the prior knowledge you
have had of us, as if you were now proceeding against us for
having in valour been inferior to yourselves; but from our
own sad forebodings, that we are cited to a tribunal which
hath already condemned us to gratify others. Yet, what we
can justly say for ourselves in regard to all our differences
with the Thebans, we shall boldly allege ; the good services we
have done to you and the rest of Greece we shall fairly recite
— and strive, if possible, to persuade.

"To your concise demand — Whether we have done any
good service in this war to the Lacedaemonians and their allies?
— we answer thus: If you interrogate us as enemies, though
we have done you no good, yet we have done you no harm;
if you regard us as friends, you have offended more than we,
in making war upon us. — In regard to the peace and against
the Mede, we have ever honestly performed our duty: the
peace was not violated first by us against him ; we alone of all
the Boeotians attended you in the field to maintain the liberty
of Greece. For, though an inland people, we boldly engaged
in the sea-fight at Artemisium ; and in the battle fought upon
this our native ground, we assisted you and Pausanias; and
whatever the danger to which Greece, in that troublesome
period of time, was exposed, in all we bore a share beyond

286 THUCYDIDES

our strength. To you in particular, O you Lacedaemonians, in
that greatest consternation Sparta ever felt, when after the
earthquake your rebellious Helots had seized upon Ithome, we
immediately despatched the third part of our force for succour.
These things you are bound in honour never to forget. For
thus upon former, and those most critical occasions, we with
honour showed ourselves your friends. — But at length we
became your enemies! — For that blame only yourselves: be-
cause when we stood in great want of support against the vio-
lence and oppression of the Thebans, to you we applied, and
by you were rejected. You commanded us then to address our-
selves to Athens. Athens, you said, was near, but Sparta lay
too remote to serve us. Yet, notwithstanding this, in the pres-
ent war we have committed no one dishonorable act in regard
to you, nor should ever have committed. You enjoined us
indeed to revolt from the Athenians, and we refused to com-
ply ; but in this we have done no injustice. For they marched
cheerfully to our succour against the Thebans, when you
shrunk back: and to betray them afterwards had been base
in us ; in us, who were highly indebted to them, who at our own
request were received into their friendship, and honoured by
them with the freedom of Athens. No, it was rather our duty
boldly to advance wherever they pleased to order. And when-
ever either you or the Athenians lead out your allies into the
field, not such as merely follow you are to be censured for any
wrong you may respectively commit, but those who lead them
out to its commission.

"Manifold and notorious are the instances in which the
Thebans have injured us. But outrageous above all is the last,
about which you need no information, since by it we are
plunged into this depth of distress. A right undoubtedly we
had to turn our avenging arms upon men, who, in the midst
of peace, and what is more, upon the sacred monthly solemnity,
feloniously seized upon our city. We obeyed herein that great
universal law, which justifieth self-defence against a hostile
invader; and therefore cannot with any appearance of equity,
be now doomed to punishment at their own instigation. For,
if your own immediate interest, and their present concur-
rence with you in war, is to prescribe and regulate your sen-

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 287

tence, you will show yourselves by no means fair judgts of
equity, but partially attached to private interest. What though
these incendiaries seem now a people well worth your gaining ?
there was a season, a most dangerous and critical season, when
you yourselves, and the other Grecians, were in different senti-
ments. Now indeed, incited by ambition, you aim the fatal
blow at others ; but at that season, when the Barbarian struck
at enslaving us all, these Thebans were then the Barbarian's
coadjutors. And equitable certainly it is that our alacrity
at that season should be set in the balance against our present
transgressions, if transgressors at present we have been. You
then would find our greater merits quite outweighing our petty
offences; and our merits to be dated at a time when it was
exceeding rare to see Grecian bravery ranged in opposition
to the power of Xerxes ; when praise was ascribed, not to those
who, intent on self-preservation, dropped all the means of with-
standing his invasion, but who chose, through a series of dan-
ger, courageously to execute the most glorious acts. Of this
number are we, and as such have been, pre-eminently, most
honourably distinguished. And yet, from this original we fear
our ruin now may have taken its rise, as we chose to follow
the Athenians from a regard to justice, rather than you from
the view of interest. But so long as the nature of things con-
tinues to be the same, you also ought to convince the world,
that your sentiments about them are not changed, that your
principles still suggest it to you as your greatest interest, that
whenever your gallant compatriots have laid upon you an obli-
gation strong enough to be eternally in force, something on
every present occurrence should be done for us by way of just
acknowledgment.

"Reflect further within yourselves, that you are now dis-
tinguished by the body of Greece as examples for upright dis-
interested conduct. Should you therefore determine in regard
to us what in justice cannot be supported — for the eyes of the
world are now intent on your proceedings, and as judges ap-
plauded for their worth you sit upon us whose reputation is
yet unblemished : take care that you do not incur the general
abhorrence, by an indecent sentence against valuable men,
though you yourselves are more to be valued ; nor reposite in

288 THUCYDIDES

her common temples those spoils you have taken from us the
benefactors of Greece. How horribly will it seem for Pla-
tsea to be destroyed by Lacedaemonians ; that your fathers in-
scribed the city upon the tripod of Delphos in justice to its
merit, and that you expunged its very being from the com-
munity of Greece to gratify the Thebans ! To such excesses of
misery have we been ever exposed, that if the Medes had pre-
vailed we must have been utterly undone; and now must be
completely ruined by the Thebans, in the presence of you who
were formerly our most cordial friends ! Two of the sharpest,
most painful trials we are to undergo, who but lately, had we
not surrendered our city, must have gradually perished by
famine; and now stand before a tribunal to be sentenced
to death. Wretched Platseans, by all mankind abandoned!
We, who beyond our strength were once the supports of
Greece, are now quite destitute, bereft of all redress! Not
one of our old allies to appear in our behalf; and even you, O
ye Lacedaemonians, you our only hop>e, as we have too much
reason to apprehend, determined to give us up.

"But, by the gods, who witnessed once the social oaths
we mutually exchanged! by that virtue we exerted for the
general welfare of Greece! by those we adjure you to be
moved with compassion, and to relent, if with the Thebans you
are combined against us ! In gratitude to us, beg the favour of
them, that they would not butcher whom you ought to spare;
demand such a modest requital from them for your base con-
currence, and entail not infamy upon yourselves, to give others
a cruel satisfaction. To take away our lives will be a short and
easy task; but then, to efface the infamy of it, will be a work
of toil. You have no colour to wreak your vengeance upon us
as enemies, who have ever wished you well, and bore arms
against you in mere self-defence. Your decisions can in no
wise be righteous, unless you exempt us from the dread of
death. Recollect in time, that you received us by free sur-
render, that to you we held forth our hands ; the law forbids
Grecians to put such to death; and that we have been from
time immemorial benefactors to you. For cast your eyes
there upon the sepulchres of your fathers, who fell by the
swords of the Medes, and were interred in this our earth : these

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 289

we have annually honoured with vestments, and all solemn
decorations at our public expense. Whatever hath been the
produce of our soil, to them we have ever offered the first-
fruits of the whole; as friends, out of earth that was dear to
them; as companions, to those who once fought together in
the same field ; and, lest all this by a wrong determination you
instantly disannul, maturely reflect. For Pausanias interred
them here, judging he had laid them in a friendly soil, and
in the care of men with friendly dispositions. If therefore you
put us to death, and turn this Platsean into Theban soil, what is
this but to leave your fathers and relations in a hostile land,
and in the power of those who murdered them, never again
to receive the sepulchral honours? Will you further enslave
the spot on which the Grecians earned their liberty ? Will you
lay desolate the temples of those gods to whom they addressed
their vows before that battle against the Medes, and so were
victorious ? And, will you abolish the solemn sacrifices, which
those gallant patriots have founded and anointed ?

"It cannot, O Lacedaemonians, be consistent with your
glory, to violate the solemn institutions of Greece, the memory
of your own forefathers, and your duty tp us your benefactors,
thus, merely to gratify the malice of a hostile party, to put
men to death who have never wronged you. No; but — to
spare, to relent, to feel the just emotions of compassion, to
recall the idea not only what miseries we are designed to
suffer, but what persons they are for whom they are designed ;
and to remember the uncertain attack of calamity ; upon whom,
and how, undeservedly, it may fall ! To you, as in honour and
necessity too obliged we address our entreaties ; invoking aloud
the gods whom Greece at her common altars and with joint
devotion adores, — to accept our plea: alleging those oaths
which your fathers have sworn, — to pay them reverence. We
are suppliants now at the sepulchres of your fathers, we call
upon the dead reposited there, to be saved from Thebans, that
the kindest of friends, as we have been, may not be sacrificed to
the most deadly foes. Again, we recall to memory that day,
in which having performed the most splendid achievements
in company with them, we are yet this day in danger of the
most deplorable fate. Conclude we must — though it is hard

290 THUCYDIDES

for men in our distress to conclude; when the very moment
their words are ended, their very Hves are most imminently en-
dangered : yet still we insist that we surrendered not city to
the Thebans, rather than that we should have chose the most
miserable end by famine ; but confiding in you, into your hands
we gave it. And highly fitting it is, that if we cannot prevail,
you should reinstate us in it, and leave us there at our own
option to take our fate. But once more we conjure you, that
we, who are citizens of Plataea, who have showed ourselves
the most steady patriots of Greece, and now, O Lacedaemoni-
ans, your suppliants, — may not be turned over, out of your
hands, out of your protection, to the Thebans, our unrelenting
enemies ; — that you would become our saviours, and not deem
to utter destruction the men to whom all Greece is indebted for
her freedom."

In this manner the Plataeans spoke ; and the Thebans, fear-
ing lest their words might work so far upon the Lacedaemon-
ians as to cause them to relent, stood forth, and declared a
desire to be also heard ; "since the Platseans, as they conceived,
had been indulged in a much longer discourse, than was requis-
ite to answer the question." Leave accordingly was given, and
they proceeded thus :

"We should not have requested your attention to any thing
we had to offer, if these Plataeans had replied in brief to the
question, and had not run out into slander and invective
against us; — if they had not defended themselves in points
quite foreign to the purpose, and not at all charged against
them as crimes ; and launched forth into their own praise, un-
censured and unprovoked. But now it is incumbent upon us,
in some points to contradict and in some to refute, to prevent
the bad effects which might result, either from the crimina-
tions uttered against us, or the pompous praise they have be-
stowed upon themselves ; that you, under proper information
with whom the greater truth remains, may fairly decide be-
tween us.

"Our enmity against them we openly avow, as it pro-
ceeded from just and honourable motives; since to us, who
were the founders of Plataea, after we had gained possession
of Boeotia and of other towns as well as Plataea, which, after

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 291

being purged from extraneous mixtures, remained in our juris-
diction,— these men disdained to pay submission, and scorned
original and fundamental laws. They wilfully divided from
the other Bceotians, transgressing the laws of their country,
and, when likely to be forced back into their duty, they went
over to the Athenians, and in concert with them accumulated
wrongs upon us, which have since been justly retaliated upon
them.

"But, when the Barbarian invaded Greece, they were the
only Boeotians who did not join the Mede. — This they allege,
and hence they arrogate applause to themselves, and lavish
their calumnies upon us. We grant indeed they did not join
the Mede ; and the reason was, because the Athenians did not
join him. Yet afterwards, when with the same all-grasping
ambition the Athenians invaded Greece, they were the only
Boeotians then who joined those Athenians. But consider
further the respective situation from which such conduct en-
sued in both. Our city at that time was not administered by
the few who presided with an equal and steady rule, nor di-
rected by the general voice of the people. Its state was such,
as with laws and policy is quite incompatible ; it bordered close
upon a tyranny : the encroaching ambition of a handful of men
held fast possession of it. These, with no other view than the
strong establishment of their own private authority in the
success of the Mede, by force overawed the people and opened
their gates to the invader. This was not the act of a whole
city, of a city master of its own conduct ; nor ought she to be
reproached for offences committed in despite of her laws. But
on the other hand, when the Mede was once repulsed and the
city repossessed of her ancient polity, you ought then to con-
sider— fresh invasions being formed by the Athenians, projects
attempted to bring the rest of Greece and our dominions also
into their subjection, sedition fomented amongst us, by favour
of which they seized the greater part — Whether in the field of
Coronea we fought them and prevailed, recovered the liberty
of Bceotia, proceed even now with all alacrity to regain their
liberty for others, supplying them with horse and all other mili-
tary provision, far beyond any other confederate. Such is the
apology we make for all the charge against us in having joined

292 THUCYDIDES

the Mede. But — that you have been the most outrageous
foes to Greece, and are most deserving of whatever punish-
ment can be inflicted upon you, we shall next endeavour to
demonstrate.

"In order to procure some revenge on us, it is your own
plea, 'you became confederates and citizens of Athens.' — Be it
so. You ought then to have marched in their company only
against us; you ought not to have followed them in their ex-
peditions against others. Had your own wills been averse to
attend them on these occasions, it was always in your power
to have recourse to that Lacedaemonian league, in which you
concurred against the Mede, and about which you make at
present the greatest parade. That would have been amply
sufficient to turn aside our enmity from you; and, what is
above all, had securely enabled you to rectify your measures.
But it was not against your will, neither was it upon compul-
sion, that you have solely adhered to the Athenians.

"But, then you rejoin — 'It was base to betray your bene-
factors.'— Yet it was much more base and more enormous to
betray at once the whole body of Grecians, with whom you
had sworn a mutual defence, than the single Athenians : the
Athenians truly have enslaved your country; and the others
would regain its freedom. You have not made your benefac-
tors the requital which gratitude enjoined, or which is ex-
empted from reproach. — ' Injured and oppressed, you applied,'
it is pretended, *to them for redress;' — and then you co-oper-
ated with them in oppressing others. But it is not more dishon-
ourable to be wanting in any act of gratitude, how justly soever
it may be due, than to make the return in a manner in itself
unjust. You yourselves by acting thus have afforded undeni-
able proofs, that you alone did not join the Mede from a zeal
for the Grecians, but merely because the Athenians did not
join him. You were desirous to act in concert with the latter,
but in opposition to the former ; and now modestly claim to be
recompensed by your country, for all the iniquitous services
you have done to a party. But justice will never suffer this.
To Athenians you gave the preference, strive therefore from
them to obtain redress. Cease vainly to allege the mutual oaths
you once exchanged, as if they were obliged at present to pre-

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 293

serve you : — you renounced, you violated first those oaths, who
rather concurred to enslave the ^Eginetae and some other people
of the same association, than endeavoured to prevent it; and
all without compulsion; still happy in the uninterrupted pos-
session of your own rights, and not compelled to receive law
from others, as was our fate. Nay, to the very last moment,
before this blockade was formed against you, when we calmly
invited you to be quiet and neutral, you insolently refused.
Which therefore is the people, on whom all Greece may fasten
her hatred more deservedly than on you, who have made it a
point to exert your bravery in ruining your country? Those
former good dispositions you have so largely boasted, you have
now shown plainly to be repugnant to your genius. What your
natural turn hath ever been, the event hath with truth ascer-
tained. The Athenians took the road of violence, and you at-
tended them through all the journey. — And thus, ample proof
hath been exhibited by us, that against our wills we served the
Persian, and that you with most cheerful disposition have pro-
moted the Athenian tyranny.

" But in regard to your finishing charge against us as guilty
of excessive outrage and injustice: — that, contrary to every
law, in the midst of peace, on a day of sacred solemnity, we
seized upon your city — this great offence, in our opinion, is
less to be imputed to us than to yourselves. Had we marched
indeed against your city in a hostile manner, had we scaled
your walls and put your property to fire and sword, the charge
had then been just. But if men of the first rank amongst you
both for wealth and birth, desirous to put a stop to your for-
eign combinations, and recall you to the common institutions
of all Boeotians ; if such at their own free motion invited our
presence, wherein are we unjust? for the leaders, in all cases,
are greater transgressors than the followers. Though, in the
present, neither are they in our judgments, nor are we, trans-
gressors. They were citizens as well as you ; they had larger
concerns at stake; and therefore, opening their gate and re-
ceiving us within their walls as friends and not as foes, they
intended to prevent the corrupted part of your body from
growing worse, and protect the worthy and good according to
their merit. They calmly studied the welfare of your minds

294 THUCYDIDES

and your bodies, not suffering your city to become an alien, but
recovering it again to its duty and relations, exempting it from
being the foe of any honest Grecian, and re-uniting it in the
bonds of amity with them all. — There are proofs besides, that
we did not intermeddle in a hostile manner. We did no man-
ner of violence to any one; we proclaimed aloud, that "who-
ever was desirous to conform to the primitive institutions of
all Boeotians, should come and join us." — You heard our voice
with pleasure; you came in and entered into articles with us;
you remained for a time without disturbance; but at length,
having discovered the smallness of our number, and then per-
haps we were judged to have proceeded inhumanly in pre-
suming to enter without the consent of your populace, you then
returned us not such treatment as you had received from us.
you made no remonstrances against innovations, nor persuaded
us to depart, but in open breach of articles you rushed upon
us. We lament not here so much the death of those whom you
slew in this base attack upon us ; some colour of law might be
alleged for their destruction : but when, contrary to every law,
in cold blood, you murdered men who had spread their arms
for mercy, and had surrendered themselves prisoners on prom-
ise of their lives, — was not that a monstrous act? In one
short interval of time you were guilty of three outrageous
enormities, an infraction of articles, the succeeding butchery
of our people, and a breach of the solemn promise made to us,
that you would not kill them, provided we refrained from
plundering your lands. Yet still you cry aloud, that we are
the breakers of law ; you still remonstrate, that you are not
debtors to justice. It is false. The point, we presume, will
soon be determined right : and for these, for all offences, you
shall have your reward.

"We have thus distinctly run over this affair, for your
sakes, O ye Lacedemonians, as well as for our own; that you
may be convinced with how much equity you are going to
condemn them, and that we have pursued the offenders upon
yet stronger obligations of justice. Let not the recital of their
former virtues, if virtues truly they ever had, mollify your
hearts. Virtue should be pleaded by men who have suffered ;
but, on those who have committed baseness, it should redouble

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 295

their punishment, because they sin in foul contrariety to their
former selves. Let them not save themselves by lamentations
and pathetic complaints, though they cried out so movingly
upon the sepulchres of your fathers, and their own destitute
forlorn condition. For, to stop their cries, we have proved
against them, that our youths, when butchered by them, met
with a more cruel and unjust fate : those youths, some of whose
fathers, reconciling Boeotia with you, died in the field of Cor-
onea ; the rest, now advanced in years, bereft of their children,
their houses desolate, prefer a supplication far more just to
you, to avenge the mupon these Plataeans. Those are most
deserving of pity, who have suffered some great indignity;
but when vengeance is duly inflicted on such men as these
Plataeans, the world hath cause to triumph. Their present des-
titute forlorn condition is the work of themselves. They wil-
fully rejected a better alliance; and, though uninjured, broke
every law against us ; executioners of hatred more than justice,
though now about to suffer less than the precedent they set
requireth. For they shall be executed by lawful sentence ; not
like men who with stretched-out hands obtained fair quarter,
as they describe themselves, but who surrendered on this con-
dition— to submit to justice.

"Avenge therefore, O Lacedaemonians, the law of Greece,
so grossly violated by them. Retaliate all the injuries we have
suffered, requiting so that cheerful friendship we have ever
shown you; and let not their flow of words overturn our just
demands. Make now a precedent for Greece hereafter to fol-
low. Show them, that decisions must be formed, not accord-
ing to what men may say, but according to what they have
done : if their actions have been right, that a short simple nar-
ration may at any time suffice ; but, if those actions have been
wrong, that all studied ornamental periods are intended to
disguise the truth. If those who preside at judgments, as you
at present, would proceed in a summary way, to a general de-
termination against the guilty, little room would be left, to
disguise unjustifiable actions by plausible speeches."

In this manner the Thebans replied; and the Lacedaemo-
nian judges agreed in the resolution, that the question, —
"Whether they had received any good service from them

i

/ 'k''-

296 THUCYDIDES

in the war?" — was properly and fairly conceived. They
grounded this, upon the former proposal made to them to re-
main neutral, according to the old treaty of Pausanias after
the Medish invasion, and upon another more lately, which
they had offered before they had blocked them up, to be com-
mon friends to both sides in conformity to the same treaty.
But after this double refusal, looking upon themselves as no
longer bound to observe those articles, which others had de-
liberately infringed to traverse their interest, — they now pro-
ceed again to bring them forwards man by man, and put the
question — "Whether they had done good service to the Lace-
demonians and allies in the present war?" — and upon their
answering *No,' led them aside and slew them. Not one of
the number did they exempt; so that in this massacre there
perished of Platseans not fewer than two hundred, and twenty-
five Athenians who had been besieged in their company; and
all the women were sold for slaves. The Thebans assigned
the city, for the space of a year, to be the residence of certain
Megareans, who had been driven from home in the rage of a
sedition, and to those surviving Plataeans who had been friends
to the Theban interest. But afterwards they levelled it with
the earth, rooted up its hole foundation, and near to Juno's
temple erected a spacious inn two hundred feet square, par-
titioned within both above and below into a range of apart-
ments. In this structure they made use of the roofs and
doors that had belonged to the Platseans; and of the other
moveables found within their houses, of the brass and iron,
they made beds, which they consecrated to Juno, in whose hon-
our they also erected a fane of stone one hundred feet in
diameter. The land being confiscated to public use, was
farmed out for ten years, and occupied by Thebans. So much,
nay, so totally averse to the Plataeans were the Lacedaemonians
become; and this, merely to gratify the Thebans, whom they
regarded as well able to serve them in the war which was
now on foot. And thus was the destruction of Plataea com-
pleted in the ninety-third year of its alliance with Athens.

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 297

THE REVOLT OF LESBOS

In the succeeding summer [the fourth year of this war, B.C.
428] the Peloponnesians and alHes, when the corn was full-
grown, made incursions into Attica, under the command of
Archidamus son of Zeuxidamus king of the Lacedaemonians,
and having fixed their camp ravaged the country. The Athen-
ian cavalry at all convenient places skirmished with them as
usual, and checked the greater number of the light-armed from
advancing before the heavy-armed, and infesting the parts ad-
jacent to the city. Having continued here till provisions began
to fail, they retired and were disbanded to their respective cities.

Upon this irruption of the Peloponnesians, Lesbos immedi-
ately revolted from the Athenians, excepting Methymne. They
were well inclined to such a step before the war broke out, but
were discountenanced by the Lacedaemonians, and now were
necessitated to make their revolt sooner than they intended.
They would have been glad to have deferred it, till they had
completed the works they were about for securing their har-
bour, perfecting their walls and the ships then upon the stocks
— till they had received what they wanted from Pontus, both
archers and corn, and whatever they had already sent for
thither.

The reason was — the people of Tenedos then at enmity with
them, those of Methymne, and even some persons of Mitylene
underhand, who in a civil broil had received the hospitable pro-
tection at Athens, had sent the Athenians advice — "That they
are compelling all Lesbos to go into Mitylene, and are getting
every thing in readiness for a revolt by the aid of the Lacedae-
monians and their kindred Boeotians; and if timely prevention
be not given, Lesbos will be lost."

The Athenians, at present miserably distressed by the
plague and a war now grown very brisk and vigorous, I new
that the accession of Lesbos to their enemies, possessed as it
was of a naval force and fresh in strength, must be a terrible
blow, and would not listen at first to the accusations sent, chiefly
from the earnestness of their own wishes, that they might be
groundless. But when they had in vain despatched an em-
bassy to the Mityleneans to put a stop to the forced resort of

\

298 THUCYDIDES

the Lesbians thither and their other preparations, their fears
were increased, and they became intent on some expedient of
timely prevention — and ordered thither on a sudden forty sail
that lay ready fitted out for a cruize on Peloponnesus. Cleip-
pides, son of Deinias, with two colleagues, had the command of
this fleet. Information had been given them, that the festival
of Apollo Maloeis was soon to be celebrated without the city,
at which solemnity the whole people of Mitylene are obliged
to assist. — It was therefore hoped, that they might surprise
them on this occasion, and by one sudden assault complete the
work. Should it so fall out, it would be a happy turn : — but, if
this miscarried, they were to order the Mityleneans to deliver
up their shipping and demolish their works, and, in case they
refused, to make instant war.

With these instructions the fleet went to sea. And the
Athenians seized ten triremes belonging to the Mityleneans,
which happened at tliat time to be lying in their port as an
auxiliary quota in pursuance of treaty, and cast into prison all
the crews. But a certain person passing over from Athens to
Euboea, and hastening by land to Geraestus, finds a vessel there
ready to put off, on board of which he gets a quick passage to
Mitylene, and on the third day after his setting out from
Athens, gives notice to the Mityleneans that such a fleet was
coming to surprise them. Upon this they adjourned their
festival, and patching up their half-finished walls and har-
bours as well as they could, stood ready on their guard. Not
long after the Athenian fleet arrived, and finding the alarm had
been given, the commanders notified to them the injunctions
they brought ; with which as the Mityleneans refused to comply
they ranged themselves for action.

The Mityleneans, unprepared as they were, and thus sud-
denly necessitated to make some resistance, advanced on board
their ships a little beyond the mouth of their harbour, as will-
ing to engage. But being forced to retreat upon the approach
of the Athenian fleet, they begged a parley with the command-
ers, from a view, if it were possible upon easy conditions, to
rid themselves of that fleet for the present. And the Athenian
commanders readily accorded, from the apprehension, that they
had not sufficient strength to support the war against all Lesbos.

/

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 299

Hostilities having thus ceased for a time, the Mityleneans
despatched their agents to Athens, and amongst the number
one of those persons who had sent inteUigence of their motions,
but had now repented of the step — to procure if possible the
recalment of the fleet, by assurances, that they were not bent
on any innovation. But in the meantime, undiscovered by the
Athenian fleet which lay at anchor in the road of Malea, to the
north of the city, they send a trireme to carry an embassy to
Lacedsemon ; for they had no room to believe they should suc-
ceed in their negotiation at Athens. This embassy, after a
laborious and dangerous voyage, arriving at Lacedasmon, began
to solicit a speedy succour. And when their agents returned
from Athens totally unsuccessful, the Mityleneans and all
the rest of Lesbos, excepting Methymne, prepare for war. This
last place sent in aid to the Athenians, as did also the Imbrians
and Lemnians, and some few other of their allies.

The Mityleneans once indeed made a general sally with
all their people against the station of the Athenians. Here-
upon a battle ensued, after which the Mityleneans, though
by no means worsted, yet durst not continue all night in the
field, but diffident of their own strength retreated behind their
walls. After this they kept themselves quiet, unwilling to run
any more hazards, till they had got some additional strength
from Peloponnesus, and were in other respects better pro-
vided. By this time Meleas a Lacedaemonian and Hermaeon-
das a Theban are arrived among them, who had been des-
patched on some business before the revolt, and unable to
compass the return before the Athenian fleet came up, had
now in a trireme got in undiscovered since the battle. It was
the advice of these to despatch another trireme and embassy
in company with them, which is accordingly done. But the
Athenians, as the Mityleneans remained in so quiet a posture,
became more full of spirits than before, and sent summons
of aid to their confederates, who came in with more than
ordinary alacrity, as they saw such an appearance of weak-
ness on the side of the Lesbians. Having now formed a
station on the south side of the city they fortified by a wall
two camps, which invested the place on both sides, whilst
their shipping was so stationed as to shut up both the

300 THUCYDIDES

harbours. By this means the communication by sea was quite
cut off from the Mityleneans. Of the land indeed the Mityle-
neans and other Lesbians, who had now flocked to their aid,
were for the most part masters. The quantity which the Athe-
nians had occupied by their camps was but inconsiderable, as
the station of their shipping and their market was held chiefly
at Melea : and in this posture stood the war against Mitylene.

The ambassadors of Mitylene, who were sent in the first
ship, having been ordered by the Lacedaemonians to repair
to Olympia, that their applications might be addressed, and
resolutions formed about them, in the grand resort of their
whole alliance, arrive at that place. It was that Olympiad in
which Dorieus the Rhodian was a second time victor. So,
when the solemnity was ended, and an audience was granted
them, they spoke as follows —

"Ye men of Lacedsemon, and you their confederates, we
are sensible of that method of procedure, which hath hitherto
prevailed amongst the Grecians — Revolters, whilst a war is
on foot, and deserters from a former alliance they readily
receive, and so long as their own interest is furthered by it,
abundantly caress them; yet, judging them traitors to their
former friends, they regard them as persons who ought not to
be trusted. To judge in this manner is certainly right and
proper, where those who revolt, and those, from whom they
break asunder, happen to be equal to one another in turn of
principle, in benevolent affection, and well matched together
in expedients of redress and military strength, and no just
reason of revolt subsist. — But the case is quite different be-
tween us and the Athenians. And we ought not to be treated
with censure and reproach, from the appearance of having
deserted them in extremities, after having been honourably
regarded by them in the season of tranquility. This our con-
duct to justify and approve, especially as we come to request
your alliance, our words shall first be employed, as we know
that friendship can be of no long continuance in private life,
nor public associations have any stability, unless both sides
engage with an opinion of reciprocal good faith, and are uni-

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 301

form in principle and manners, tor out of dissonancy of
temper, diversities of conduct continually result.

"An alliance, it is true, was formerly made between us and
the Athenians, when you withdrew yourselves from the Me-
dian war, and they staid behind you to complete what was yet
to be done. We grant it — we made an alliance with the
Athenians — not to enslave the rest of Greece to Athenians,
but to deliver Greece from the Barbarian yoke. And whilst
they led us on in just equality, so long with alacrity we fol-
lowed their guidance. But when once we perceived that they
relaxed in their zeal against the Mede, and were grown earnest
in riveting slavery upon allies; we then began to be alarmed.
It was impossible, where so many parties were to be con-
sulted, to unite together in one body of defence, and thus all
the allies fell into slavery, except ourselves and the Chians.
We indeed, left in the enjoyment of our own laws, and of
nominal freedom, continued still to follow them to war : but,
from the specimens we had hitherto seen of their behaviour,
we could no longer regard these Athenians as trusty and faithful
leaders. For it was not in the least probable, that after en-
slaving those who were comprehended in the same treaty
with ourselves, they would refrain from treating such as yet
were free in the same tyrannic manner, whenever opportunity
served. Had we all indeed been left in the free exercise of
our own laws, we should then have had the strongest proof
that the Athenians acted upon honest uninnovating principles.
But now, when they have laid their yoke upon the greater
number, though they still continue to treat us as their equals,
yet undoubtedly it highly grates them; and they cannot long
endure, when such numbers couch beneath their power, that
our state alone should stand up and claim equality. Nor it
cannot be ! For the more their power hath swelled in bulk and
strength, by so much are we become more desolate. The only
secure pledge of a lasting alliance is that mutual awe, which
keeps the contracting parties in proper balance. For then, if
any be disposed to make encroachments, he finds he cannot act
upon advantage, and is eflfectually deterred. Our preserva-
tion hitherto hath not been owing to their honesty, but their
cunning. Their scheme hath been, gradually to advance their

302 THUCYDIDES

empire by all the specious colourings of justice, by the road
of policy rather than of strength. And thus we have been
reserved to justify their violence, and to be quoted as a proof,
that unless those whom they have enslaved had deserved
their fate, a state upon an equal footing with themselves would
never have marched in conjunction with them to execute their
vengeance. By the same strain of policy, their first step was
to lead out those that were strongest against the weaker par-
ties, designing to finish with them, when left destitute of any
outward resource, by the prior reduction of the rest. Where-
as, if they had begun with us, the confederate body remain-
ing yet possessed of its strength, and able to make a stand,
their enslaving project could not have equally succeeded.
They were besides under some apprehension of our naval
force, lest uniting with yours or any other state, such an ac-
cession might have endangered the whole of their plan. Some
respite was also gained, from the respect we have ever shown
to their whole community and to the series of magistrates
who have presided amongst them. We knew, however, that
we could not long hold out, had not this war come timely to
our relief. We saw our own fate in the examples which had
been made of others.

"What friendship, therefore, what assurance of liberty
could subsist, when, receiving each other with the open coun-
tenance, suspicion lay lurking within? — when, in war appre-
hensive of our power, to us they paid their court; and we,
from the same principle, paid our court to them in the season
of tranquility? The bond of union, which mutual good-will
cements in others, was in us kept fast by fear. For through
the prevalence of fear, and not of friendship, we have thus
long persisted in alliance. And whichever side security had
first emboldened, that side would first have begun encroach-
ments upon the other. Whoever therefore chargeth us with
injustice for revolting, whilst they were only meditating our
ruin, and before we actually felt the miseries designed us, —
that person chargeth us without a reason. For had our situ-
ation been such, that we could have formed equal schemes to
their prejudice, and disconcerted all their projects, what neces-
sity did we lie under to resign our equality and receive their

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 303

law? But, as the power of attempting was ever within their
reach, we ought certainly to lay hold of every proper expedient
to ward off the blow.

" Such are the reasons, ye men of Lacedaemon, and you
their confederates, such the grievances which induced our
revolt; — reasons so clear, that all who hear them must justify
our conduct — grievances so heavy, that it was time to be
alarmed, and to look for some expedient of safety. We long
since showed our inclination to find this expedient, when dur-
ing the peace we sent you to negotiate a revolt, but by you
rejected, were obstructed in our scheme. And now, no sooner
did the Boeotians invite, than we without a pause obeyed the
call. Now we have determined to make a double revolt; —
one from the Grecians, no longer in concert with the Athenians
to force the load of oppression upon them, but with you to
vindicate their freedom — another from the Athenians, that
we may not in the train of affairs be undone by them, but
timely vindicate our own safety.

"Our revolt, we grant it, hath been too precipitate and un-
prepared. But this lays the stronger obligation upon you to
admit us to alliance, with the utmost expedition to send us
succours, that you may show your readiness to redress the
oppressed, and at the same instance annoy your foes. Such
a juncture for this was never known before. What with the
plague and the exorbitant expense of the war, the Athenians
are quite exhausted. Their fleet is divided, some to cruise
upon your coast, others to make head against us. It is not
probable they can have now the competent reserve of ship-
ping, should you invade them a second time this summer both
by land and sea; so that, either they must be unable, thus
divided, to make head against you, if you singly attack them,
or the union of us both they will not be able to face.

"Let no one amongst you imagine, that this will be en-
dangering your own domestic welfare, for the sake of foreign-
ers with whom you have no connexion. For though Lesbos
lies apparently at a great distance from you, yet the conveni-
ences of it will lie near at hand for your service. For the war
will not be made in Attica, as such a one supposeth, but in
those parts whence Attica deriveth its support. Their revenue

304 THUCYDIDES

ariseth from the tribute paid by their dependents. And that
revenue will be increased, if they can compass the reduction
of us. For then not a soul will dare to revolt, and their own
will be enlarged by the addition of our strength, and more
grievous burdens will be laid upon us, as being the last who
have put on their yoke. On the other hand, if with proper
alacrity you undertake our support, you will gain over a state
possessed of a considerable navy, that acquisition you so
greatly want ; and you will more easily be enabled to demolish
the Athenians, by withdrawing their dependents from them:
for then, every one of that number will with assurance and
confidence revolt — and you yourselves be cleared of the bad
imputation you at present lie under, of rejecting those who
fly to you for protection. If, added to this, you manifest your
views to re-establish the general freedom, you will so con-
siderably strengthen the sinews of war, that all resistance will
be unavailing.

"Reverencing therefore as you ought, these hopes which
Greece hath conceived of you; — reverencing further Olympian
Jove, in whose temple we now stand like supplicants dis-
tressed and suing for redress — grant to the Mityleneans the
honour of your alliance, and undertake their protection. Re-
ject not the entreaties of men, who have now indeed their
lives and properties exposed to dangers merely their own, but
whose deliverance from their present plunge will reflect securi-
ty and advantage upon all; and who, if you now continue to
be deaf to their entreaties, must drop into such a ruin as will
at length involve you all. At this crisis show yourselves to be
the men, which the voice of Greece united in your praise and
our dreadful situation require you to be."

In this manner the Mityleneans urged their plea; and the
Lacedaemonians and confederates, having listened with at-
tention, and owned themselves convinced, admitted the Les-
bians into their alliance, and decreed an incursion into Attica.
To put this in execution, orders were issued to the confed-
erates then present, expeditiously to march with two-thirds
of their forces to the Isthmus. The Lacedaemonians them-
selves arrived there first, and got machines ready at the Isth-
mus to convey their ships over-land from Corinth to the sea

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 305

of Athens, that they might invade them at the same time both
by land and sea. They indeed were eager and intent on the
enterprise : but the other confederates were very slow in
assembling together, as they were busy in getting in their
harvest, and began to be sadly tired of the war.

When the Athenians found that such preparations were
made against them, as an avowed insult on their imagined
weakness, they had a mind to convince their foes that such
imaginations were erroneous, and that they were well able,
without countermanding their fleet from before Lesbos, to
make head against any force that could come from Pelopon-
nesus. Accordingly, they manned out a hundred ships, ob-
liging all, as well sojourners as citizens (those excepted of
the first and second class), to go on board. Showing them-
selves first before the Isthmus in great parade, they displayed
their force, and then made descents at pleasure all along the
coast. The Lacedaemonians seeing them thus strong beyond
what they had imagined, concluded that the Lesbians had
purposely amused them with fictions; and being perplexed
how to act, as their confederates were not yet come up to join
them, and as information was brought them, that the first
Athenian squadron, consisting of thirty sail, was laying waste
the territory round about their city, they retired to their own
homes.

Afterwards they set about the equipment of a fleet to
be sent to Lesbos; and ordered the confederate cities to send
in their contingents, the whole amounting to forty sail; and
further appointed Alcidas to be admiral in chief, who was
ready to put himself at the head of the expedition. The Athe-
nians departed off the coast with their hundred sail, when
they saw their enemies had retreated.

During the time this fleet was out at sea, though the
Athenians at the commencement of the war had as large, if
not a larger number of ships, yet they never had their whole
navy so completely fitted out for service and with so much
pomp as now. One hundred of their ships were stationed for
guards round Attica, and Euboea, and Salamis; and another
hundred were coasting all along Peloponnesus, beside those
that were at Potidsea, and in other parts, — insomuch that the

306 THUCYDIDES

whole number employed this summer amounted to two hun-
dred and fifty sail. The expense of this, with that of Potidaea,
quite exhausted their treasure. For the pay of the heavy-
armed who were stationed at Potidaea, was two drachmas
a-day, each of them receiving a drachma* for himself and
another for his servant. The number of the first body sent
thither was three thousand, and not fewer than those were
employed during the whole siege; — but the sixteen hundred
who came with Phormio were ordered away before its con-
clusion. The whole fleet also had the same pay. In this man-
ner was their public treasure now for the first time exhausted
— and such a navy, the largest they ever had, completely
manned.

The Mityleneans, during the time the Lacedaemonians lay
at the Isthmus, with a body of their own and auxiliaries,
marched by land against Methymne, expecting to have it be-
trayed to them. Having assaulted the place, and being disap-
pointed in their expectations, they marched back by way of
Antissa, and Pyra, and Eressus. In each of these places they
halted for a while, to settle affairs in as firm order as possible,
and to strengthen their walls, and then without loss of time
returned to Mitylene.

Upon their departure, the Methymneans marched out
against Antissa. The Antisseans with a party of Auxiliaries
sallying out to meet them, gave them a terrible blow, so that
many of them were left dead upon the spot, and those who
escaped made the best of their way back.

The Athenians — advised of these incidents, and that fur-
ther the Mityleneans were quite masters of the country, and
that their own soldiers were not numerous enough to bridle
their excursions — about the beginning of autumn, send a rein-
forcement of a thousand heavy armed of their own people
commanded by Paches the son of Epicurus. These having
rowed themselves the transports which brought them, arrive;
and build a single wall in circle quite round Mitylene, and on
the proper spots of ground strengthened it by erecting forts.
Thus was Mitylene strongly besieged on all sides, both by sea

* Fifteen cents.

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 307

and land. — And by this time it began to be winter. * * *
About the end of this winter, Salaethus the Lacedaemonian
was despatched in a trireme from Lacedsemon to Mitylene;
was being landed at Pyrrha, went from thence by land, and
having passed the Athenian circumvallation by favour of a
breach made in it by a torrent of water, gets undiscovered into
Mitylene. His commission was, to tell the governors of the
place, that "at the same time an incursion will be made into
Attica, and a fleet of forty sail be sent to their relief, accord-
ing to promise; that he himself was despatched before-hand,
to assure them of these, and to take all proper care of other
points." Upon this the Mityleneans resumed their spirits, and
grew more averse to any composition with the Athenians.

The winter was now past, and in this manner ended the
fourth year of the war, of which Thucydides hath compiled
the history.

In the beginning of the ensuing summer^ — after that the
Peloponnesians had despatched Alcidas, admiral appointed,
and the forty-two ships under his command, to the relief of
Mitylene, with the most pressing orders — they and their con-
federates invaded Attica. Their design was, by this diversion
to give the Athenians so much employ on all sides, that they
might be unable to give any obstruction to their squadron
bound for Mitylene. This present invasion as led by Cleo-
menes, who was his father's brother, in the right of Pausanias
son of Pleistionax the king, but yet in his minority. They
now utterly destroyed those parts of Attica that had been rav-
aged already. Whatever again began to flourish, and what-
ever had been spared in former incursions, now fell be-
fore their fury. And this incursion, next to the second, was
the sharpest they ever made upon the Athenians. For, having
continued their stay so long, as to give time to their squad-
ron to arrive at Lesbos, and send them news of their success,
they had leisure to extend their devastations over almost all
the country. But when all their expectations ended in disap-
pointment, and forage began to fail, they withdrew and were
disbanded to their respective cities.

^ Before Christ 427.

308 THUCYDIDES

In the meantime the Mityleneans, when they saw nothing
of the squadron from Peloponnesus (which was loitering in
the course, ) and their provisions began to fail, are necessitated
to capitulate with the Athenians upon this occasion — Salaethus,
who had also himself given up all hopes of relief, causeth the
populace, who were before light-armed, to put on heavy ar-
mour, with a design to make a sally on the Athenians. But
they, so soon as they had received their armour, would no
longer obey their governors, but assembling together in bodies,
ordered those in authority either publicly to produce what pro-
visions they had, and divide equally among them, or otherwise
they would immediately make their own terms with the Athe-
nians, and give up the city. Those in command being sensible
that they had not force sufficient to hinder this, and that
their own danger would be extreme, should they by standing
out be excluded the capitulation, join with them in procuring
the following terms from Paches and the Athenians :

"That it should be submitted to the people of Athens to
determine as they please in relation to the Mityleneans.

" That the Mityleneans should immediately receive their
army into the city — and despatch an embassy to them to
know their pleasure.

"That sufficient respite should be indulged for this, during
which Paches should put no one Mitylenean in chains, should
make none a slave, should put none to death."

These were the terms of the surrender — But those of the
Mityleneans who had been most active in all the negotiations
with the Lacedaemonians, were thrown into the utmost con-
sternation, and being quite in despair when the army took
possession of the place, seat themselves down at the altars for
refuge. Paches, having ordered them to arise with a promise
of protecting them from insults, sends them over to Tenedos,

till he could know the pleasure of the Athenians.
* * * *

When the authors of the revolt and Salaethus were arrived
at Athens, the Athenians instantly put Salaethus to death.
He made them many fruitless proposals to save his life; and
amongst the rest, that the siege of Plataea should be raised,
which was still besieged by the Peloponnesians. They next

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 309

entered into consultation, what should be done with the re-
volters; and in the warmth of anger decreed — "That not only
those who were now at Athens should be put to death, but
the same sentence should extend to all the men of Mitylene
who were adult; and the women and children be sold for
slaves." They were exasperated against them not only because
they had revolted, but because they had done it without the
provocation which others had received in the rigour of their
government. The Peloponnesian fleet added the greater im-
petuosity to this their resentment as they had dared to venture
so far as Ionia in aid of the rebels. For it plainly appeared to
them, that the revolt had not been made without much pre-
vious deliberation. In short, they despatch a trireme to notify
their decree to Paches, with orders to see it put in immediate
execution upon the Mityleneans.

The day following, repentance on a sudden touched their
hearts, moved by the reflection, that they had passed a savage
and monstrous decree in dooming a whole city to that destruc-
tion, which was due only to the authors of the guilt. This
was no sooner perceived by the Mitylenean ambassadors then
residing at Athens, and such of the Athenians as inclining to
mercy had a mind to save them, than they addressed them-
selves to the magistrates, begging the decree might be again
debated. Their request was the more easily granted, as the
magistrates had discovered that the bulk of the city were de-
sirous to have a second opportunity of declaring their senti-
ments. An assembly of the people is again convened, and
various opinions were offered by different persons, till Cleon
the son of Cleanetus, who in the former assembly had pro-
posed and carried the murdering sentence, who in all other
respects was the most violent of all the citizens, and at this
time had by far the greatest influence over the people, stood
forth again and spoke as follows: —

"Upon many other occasions my own experience hath
convinced me, that a democracy is incapable of ruling over
others; but I see it with the highest certainty now in this
your present repentance concerning the Mityleneans. In secu-
rity so void of terror, in safety so exempt from treachery,
you pass your days within the walls of Athens, that you are

310 THUCYDIDES

grown quite safe and secure about your dependents. When-
ever, soothed by their specious entreaties, you betray your
judgment or relent in pity, not a soul amongst you reflects
that you are acting the dastardly part, not in truth to confer
obligations upon those dependents, but to endanger your own
welfare and safety. It is then quite remote from your
thoughts, that your rule over them is in fact a tyranny, that
they are ever intent on prospects to shake off your yoke — that
yoke, to which they ever reluctantly submitted. It is not for-
giveness on your part, after injuries received, that can keep
them fast in their obedience, since this must be ever the con-
sequence of your own superior power, and not of gratitude in
them.

"Above all, I dread that extremity of danger to which we
are exposed, if not one of your decrees must ever be carried
into act, and we remain for ever ignorant — that the community
which uniformly abides by a worse set of laws, hath the ad-
vantage over another, which is finely modelled in every re-
spect, except in practice; — that modest ignorance is a much
surer support than genius which scorns to be controlled; —
and that the duller part of mankind in general administer
public affairs much better than your men of vivacity and wit.
The last assume a pride in appearing wiser than the laws; in
every debate about the public good they aim merely at victory,
as if there were no other points sufficiently important wherein
to display their superior talents ; and by this their conduct they
generally subvert the public welfare: the former, who are
diffident of their own abilities, who regard themselves as less
wise than the laws of their country — though unable to detect
the specious orator, yet being better judges of equity than
champions in debate, for the most part enforce the rational
conduct. This beyond denial is our duty at present ; we should
scorn competitions in eloquence and wit, nor wilfully and
contrary to our own opinion mislead the judgment of this full
assembly.

"For my part, I persist in my former declarations, and I
am surprised at the men who proposed to have the affair of
Mitylene again debated, who endeavour to protract the execu-
tion of justice, in the interest of the guilty more than of the

.VI .-J X

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 311

injured. For by this means the sufferer proceeds to take ven-
geance on the criminal with the edge of his resentment blunted ;
when revenge, the opposite of wrong, the more nearly it treads
upon the heels of injury, generally inflicts the most condign
punishment. But I am more surprised at him, whoever he be,
that shall dare to contradict, and pretend to demonstrate, that
the injuries done by the Mityleneans are really for our service,
and that our calamities are hardships on our dependents. He
certainly must either presume upon his own eloquence, if he
contends to prove that what was plainly decreed was never
decreed; or, instigated by lucre, will endeavour to seduce you
by the elaborate and plausible artifice of words. In such con-
tentions, the state indeed awards the victory to whom she
pleaseth, but she sustains all the damage herself. You are
answerable for this, Athenians — you, who fondly dote on these
wordy competitions — you, who are accustomed to be specta-
tors of speeches and hearers of actions. You measure the
possibility of future effects by the present eloquence of your
orators; you judge of actions already past, not by the certain
conviction of your own eyes, but the fallible suggestions of
your ears, when soothed by the inveigling insinuating flow of
words. You are the best in the world to be deceived by nov-
elty of wit, and to refuse to follow the dictates of the ap-
proved judicious speaker, — slaves as you are to whatever
trifles happen always to be in vogue, and looking down with
contempt on tried and experienced methods. The most earnest
wish that the heart of any of your body ever conceived is, to
become a speaker; if that be unattainable, you range yourselves
in opposition against all who are so, for fear you should seem
in judgment their inferiors. When any thing is acutely ut-
tered, you are ready even to go before it with applause, and
intimate your own preconception of the point, at the same
time dull at discerning whither it will tend. Your whole pas-
sion, in a word, is for things that are not in reality and com-
mon life; but of what passeth directly before your eyes yoii
have no proper perception. And, frankly, you are quite in-
fatuated by the lust of hearing, and resemble more the idle
spectators of contending sophists, than men who meet to delib-
erate upon public affairs. From such vain amusements, en-

312 THUCYDIDES

deavouring to divert you, I boldly affirm that no one city in
the world hath injured you so much as Mitylene.

"Those who, unable to support the rigour of your govern-
ment, or who, compelled to do it by hostile force, have re-
volted from you, I readily absolve. But for a people who
inhabit an island, a fortified island; who had no reason to
dread the violence of our enemies, except by sea; who even at
sea, by the strength of their own shipping, were able to guard
themselves against all attacks; who enjoyed their own model
of government, and were ever treated by us with the highest
honour and regard — for such a people to revolt in this man-
ner is never to be forgiven. Is not their whole procedure one
series of treachery? Have they not rather made war upon
than revolted against us? for revolt can only be ascribed to
those who have suffered violence and outrage. Have they
not further sought out our implacable foes, and begged to
participate with them in our destruction? This certainly is a
much greater aggravation of guilt, than if merely on their
own domestic strength they had rebelled against us. They
would not be deterred by the calamities of their neighbours,
who have frequently before this revolted, and been punished
for it by a total reduction : nor would they so far acquiesce in
present felicity, as not to hazard the dangerous reverse of
misery. Audacious in regard to the future, presumptuous
above their strength, but below their intention, they made war
their choice, and in preferring violence to the just observance
of duty have placed their glory. For, though uninjured and
unprovoked, the first moment they saw a probability of pre-
vailing, they seized it and rebelled.

"It is the usual effect of prosperity, especially when felt
on a sudden, and beyond their hope, to puff up a people into
insolence of manners. The successes of mankind, when at-
tained by the rational course, are generally of much longer
continuance than when they anticipate pursuit. And in a word,
men are much more expert at repelling adversity than pre-
serving prosperity. By this ought we long ago to have ad-
justed our conduct towards the Mityleneans, never distinguish-
ing them above others with peculiar regard; and then, they
never would have been that insolent people we have found

n'^'ir:J^^»:

r-rL- tZKSZJ.

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 313

them now. For so remarkably perverse is the temper of man,
as ever to contemn whoever courts him, and admire whoever
will not bend before him.

"Let condign punishments therefore be awarded to their
demerits. Let not the guilt be avenged upon the heads of the
few, and the bulk of offenders escape unpunished. The whole
people to a man have rebelled against us, when it was in their
power to have been sheltered here, and now again to be re-
instated in their former seats. But they judged the danger
would be lessened by the general concurrence with the few,
and so all revolted in concert.

"Extend further your regards to the whole body of your
dependents; for if you inflict the same punishments on those
who revolt by compulsion of enemies, and who revolt on pure
deliberate malice, which of them, do you think, will not seize
the least pretext to throw off your yoke; when, if he succeeds,
his liberty is recovered, and, though he fails, the hurt is so
easy to be cured? Besides this, our lives and fortunes will be
endangered upon every single attempt which shall be made.
Suppose we succeed, we only recover an exhausted ruinated
city, but shall for the future be deprived of the revenue arising
from it, the essence of our strength ; but if we cannot prevail,
we shall enlarge the number of enemies we already have, and
at a time when we ought to be employed in resisting our pres-
ent adversaries, we shall be entangled in wars against our own
dependents. We ought not therefore to encourage the hope,
whether raised by the force of entreaty, or purchased by the
force of corruption, that their errors are but the errors of men
and shall therefore be forgiven. The damage they have done
was not involuntary, but they have been deliberate determined
villains : forgiveness is only for those who erred not by design.

^' Moved by the ardency and zeal of my former plea, you
made the decree; and now I earnestly conjure you, not to
repent of your own determinations, not to plunge yourselves
in inextricable difficulties, through pity, through delight of
hearing, and soft forbearance, the three most prejudicial ob-
stacles of power. It is just to show pity to those who are its
proper objects, and not to men, who would never have felt
compassion for us, nor to foes who of necessity must be im-

314 THUCYDIDES

placable. The orators, those delights of your ears, will have
room in debates of lesser moment to catch at your applause,
but should be silenced here, where they only can give the public
a short-lived pleasure, whilst they embroil it with perplexities
not easy to be surmounted, and themselves alone, in requital
of speaking well, will be well rewarded for it. Forbearance,
further, may be shown to those who are willing to be, and
will for the future prove themselves, our friends; but not to
such inveterate souls as these, who, if suffered to live, will
live only to wreak their malice against you.

"I shall wave enlargements, and give you only one short
assurance, that if you hearken to my admonitions, you will at
the same time do justice to the Mityleneans and service to
yourselves; but if you resolve in any other manner, you will
receive no thanks from them, and will establish the clearest
evidence for your own condemnation. For, if these men had
reason to revolt, it follows that you have tyrannically ruled
them. Grant the injustice of such a rule, but yet that you have
presumed to be guilty of it ; — why then, upon the mere motive
of interest, you ought now to chastise them beyond what is
right, or immediately to forego your power, and dropping
yourselves down into impotent security, to set about the prac-
tice of humanity and virtue. But adieu to this vain ex-
pedient! and at once resolve to make them feel that weight
of misery they designed for us. Convince them that those who
have escaped it can feel as strong resentments as those who
projected the fatal blow. Determine now, by recollecting with
yourselves what kind of usage you would have received from
them, had they succeeded in their plots; they! the uninjured,
unprovoked aggressors. It is an allowed truth, that men who
without the least provocation have recourse to acts of malice,
will be sated with nothing less than complete destruction, as
they must ever be terrified at the sight of a surviving foe. For
he who suffers from a quarter whence he never deserved it,
will not so easily lay down his resentments, as when mutual
enmity hath kindled the contention. Be not therefore traitors
to your ownselves. Figure to yourselves, as strongly as you
can, the miseries they designed you ; remember how you wished
for nothing in this world so much as to have them in your

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 315

power, and now retaliate upon them. Relent not at the scene
of horror imagination may present to your fancy, but fix your
remembrance fast on that weight of misery which was just
now suspended over your own heads. Punish these wretches
according to their deserts, make them a notable example to
the rest of your dependents, that death must be the portion of
whoever dares revolt. For when once they are certain of this,
your arms will be no more recalled from your foreign enemies,
to be employed in the chastisement of your own dependents."

In this manner Cleon^ supported the decree, and when he
had concluded, Diodotus the son of Eucrates, who in the
former assembly had most strenuously opposed the bloody
sentence against the Mityleneans, stood forth, and thus
replied : —

"I neither blame those who proposed the resumption of
the decree against Mitylene, nor do I praise the men who
inveigh against repeated consultations on points of the great-
est importance. But I lay it down for certain, that there are
no two greater impediments of sound mature counsel than
precipitation and anger: of which, the one is closely con-
nected with madness, the other with raw inexperience and
short limitary judgment.

"It may indeed be warmly asserted, that words are not the
proper guides to actions. But the author of such an assertion
is either wanting in discernment, or confines it only to his
own selfish views. He is wanting in discernment, if he
imagines there is any other possible method of putting light
into things that are future or unseen; or confines it only to
himself, if willing to recommend a scandalous measure, and
conscious he hath not eloquence enough to support it openly,
he launcheth out into plausible calumnies, to intimidate his
opponents as well as his audience.

1 By means of his eloquence, and an impudence that never could be
dashed, Cleon was now a prime favourite with the people, but the
scorn and terror of all good men at Athens. He had ever been a
snarler at Pericles, but so long as he lived could obtain no share in the
public administration. He had now got the the ascendant by cajoling
the people, and by his loud and daily invectives against their masters
and commanders.

316 THUCYDIDES

"But odious beyond all support is their procedure who pre-
maturely condemn the advice of others as purchased and cor-
rupt. For would they only acquiesce in the charge of igno-
rance, the defeated opponent goes ofif with the bare char-
acter of a man less enlightened indeed, but quite as honest. If
he be charged with corruption, his point he may carry, but his
honesty will ever be suspected : and if his point be lost, he
must pass for knave and blockhead both. Such methods can
never be conducive to the public good. The men best able to
advise, are by this means intimidated : though the public wel-
fare would then be best secured, if every person of so disin-
genuous a temper was not able to open his mouth; for then,
by his seducements, the public could never be misled. But it
is the duty of every true patriot to despise the slanders of
opponents, and on fair and impartial views to get his own
advice accepted. It is the duty of every well-regulated public,
not indeed to load a man with honours for having given the
best advice, but, never to abridge him of his present portion;
and if he cannot prevail, by no means to disgrace, much less
to punish him : for then, neither would the successful de-
bater, from a view of enhancing his own personal honours,
ever speak against conscience, or aim merely at applause ; nor
would he, who hath been unsuccessful in his motions, be greedy
of proposing whatever may cajole, and so earn popularity for
himself. But the method in vogue with us is the reverse of
this; and what is worse, if a person be suspected of corrup-
tion, though he advise the most prudent expedients, yet the
odium raised against him upon the weak suggestion of lucre,
quite weighs him down, and we are deprived of the manifest
service he could do to the state. Nay, such is our method,
that even the best advice, if readily offered, can escape sus-
picion no more than the worst. And hence it is necessarily
incumbent, as well upon him who would persuade the publici
into the most prejudicial measures, to seduce the people with
art; as upon him who would advise the best, to disguise the
truth in order to prevail. Amidst these jugglings, the public
alone is debarred the service of its most able counsellors, since
in a plain and open method they cannot possibly act, and
artifice must clear the way before them. For the man who

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 317

openly bestows any benefit upon it, is constantly suspected of
doing underhand a greater to himself.

"When affairs therefore of so high concern are before you,
when the general temper is so over-run with jealousy, we, who
presume to advise, must enlarge our prospect farther than
you, who only assist at a transient consultation; because we
are accountable for what we propose, and you are not ac-
countable for the prejudices with which you hear. For if not
only he who proposed, but he who complied, were equally an-
swerable for events, your determinations would be better
framed than they are at present. But now, hurried along as
you are by your hasty resentments on any sinister event, you
wreak your fury only upon the single opinion of the person
who advised, and not upon your own joint opinions, by con-
currence of which the miscarriage was incurred.

"For my part, I neither stand up to deny certain facts in
favour of the Mityleneans, nor to waste the time in fruitless
accusations. We are not debating now what wrongs they
have done us, since that would be a reproach to sense ; but what
determination about them is best. For, though I can prove,
beyond a scruple, that they have injured us in the most out-
rageous manner, yet I shall not for that reason advise you to
butcher them, unless it be expedient; nor, were they objects
of forgiveness, should I advise forgiveness, unless I judged
it for the interest of the public. I apprehend, that our con-
sultations turn more upon a future than a present view. And
Cleon here moat confidently asserts, that the surest expedient
of your future welfare is, to prevent all other revolts by in-
flicting death in doom of this; but, equally confident of the
just expedient of future security, I declare quite on the other
side. And I entreat you, by no m.eans to reject the real ad-
vantage of mine for the specious colourings of his advice.
Strict justice, I grant, may be with him ; and, enraged as you
are against the Mityleneans, may have a sudden influence upon
you. But we meet not here in judgment upon them, and justly
to decide is not now our employment ; we are only to consult
how to dispose of them best for our own advantage.

"In the public communities of men, death is the penalty
awarded to several crimes, to ©uch as are not enormous like

318 THUCYDIDES

this, but of a less guilty nature. Yet puffed up with hope, men
run all hazards, and no one ever yet hath boldly incurred the
danger, if self -convinced beforehand, that he could not sur-
vive the attempt. Where was the city so bent on revolt, that,
when its own domestic strength, or the aid of others, were
judged unequal to the work, durst ever attempt it? The
whole of mankind, whether individuals or communities, are
by nature liable to sin : and a law of infallible prevention will
never be enacted. Men by repeated trials have enforced all
kinds of punishment, attentive, if possible, to restrain the out-
rages of the wicked. And in the early age it is probable, that
milder penalties were assigned for the most enormous wrongs ;
but, being found by experience ineffectual, they were after-
wards extended generally to loss of life : this however is not
yet effective. Some terror therefore must be invented, even
more alarming than this, or this will never sufficiently restrain.
But then there is a poverty which renders necessity daring;
there is a power which renders pride and insolence rapacious.
There are other contingencies, which, in the fervour of pas-
sions, as every human mind is possessed by some too stubborn
to admit a cure, drive them on bodly to confront extremities.
But the greatest incentives of all are hope and love: this
points out a path, and that moves along according to direction :
this thoughtlessly proposeth the scheme, and that immediately
suggesteth a certainty of success. These are the sources of
all our evils; and these invisible principles within us are too
strong for all the terrors that are seen without. To these add
fortune, who contributes her ample share to divest the mind
of its balance. She shows herself by unexpected starts, and
encourageth even the incompetent to venture dangers, and hath
a greater influence over communities, as the ends proposed by
them are of the greatest concern, such as liberty or dominion,
where every individual, amidst the universal ardour, unac-
countably plumes himself up, and acts with a spirit above him-
self. But in truth, it is quite impossible; it is a proof of
egregious folly to imagine, when human nature is impelled by
its own impetuous passions towards such objects, that the force
of laws or any intervening terror is strong enough to divert
them from the mark. Hence therefore ariseth the strongest

i

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 319

dissuasive to us from confiding in the penalty of death as the
only pledge of our future safety, which must betray us into
weak prejudicial measures, which must drive all revolters into
utter despair, by showing them plainly, that we shall never ac-
cept repentance, shall not give them one moment's indulgence
to palliate their offences.

"Consider with yourselves, in the merciful light, that a
revolted city, when for certainty assured that it cannot hold
out, may submit upon our own conditions, whilst yet in a ca-
pacity to reimburse our expenses, and to advance the future
tribute. But in the opposite case, can you imagine there is any
city which will not better prepare itself for revolt than Mitylene
hath done, and hold out a siege to the last extremity ? Is there
no difference between a quick and a slow submission? Shall
not we be hurt, if forced through their despair to continue a
tedious and expensive siege; and, when the place is taken, to
be masters only of one heap of desolation, unable for the future
to squeeze the least pittance or revenue from it ? It is revenue
alone which renders us a terror to our foes. We ought not
therefore with the rigour of judges to inflict the exactest pun-
ishments upon these offenders. We ought rather to provide
for futurity, and by moderate correction still to preserve those
cities in a full capacity of paying us the needful tribute. To
keep men firm in their duty, we should scorn the expedient of
severe and sanguinary laws, since mild discretionary caution
would better answer the purpose. This prudent conduct we
are now reversing, if, when re-possessed of a city stripped of
its former liberty and ruled with violence, sufficient motives
of revolt, that it may again become independent; if now we
judge, that this ought to be avenged with a weight of severity.
Men who have known what liberty is, ought not to be too se-
verely chastised, if they have dared to revolt; but we ought to
observe them with timely vigilance before they revolt, to pre-
vent their taking the least step towards it or even once entertain-
ing a thought about it ; at least, when we have quelled the insur-
rection, the guilt should be fastened upon as few as possible.

"Consider, I beseech you, with yourselves, how greatly
you will err in this, and in another respect, if Cleon's advice be
approved. For now, the populace of all the cities are generally

320 THUCYDIDES

well-affected towards us. They either refuse to concur with
the few in their revolts; or, if their concurrence be forced, they
instantly turn enemies to those who forced them; — and you
proceed to determine the contest, assured that the populace
of the adverse city will be active in your favour. But if you
doom to general excision the people of Mitylene, those who
had no share in the revolt — who, when once they had got arms
into their hands, spontaneously delivered up the place; — you
will be guilty, first, of base ingratitude, for murdering your
own benefactors, — and you will, next, establish such a prece-
dent, as the factious great above all things wish to see. For
then, whenever the latter effect the revolt of cities, they will
instantly have the people attached to their party; since you
yourselves have enforced the precedent, that punishment must
fall upon the heads, not only of the guilty, but even of the
innocent. Whereas, indeed, though they had been guilty, we
ought to have dissembled our knowledge of it, that we might
not force the only party which ever takes our side into utter
enmity and aversion. And I esteem it much more conducive
to the firm support of empire, rather to connive at the wrongs
we may have felt, than in all the severity of justice to destroy
those persons whom in interest we ought to spare. And thus,
that union of justice to others and duty to yourselves in this
instance of punishing the Mityleneans, as alleged by Cleon, is
plainly found to be grossly inconsistent, to be utterly impossible.

"Own yourselves therefore convinced, that the greatest ad-
vantages will result from the conduct which I have recom-
mended; and, without giving too wide a scope to mercy or
forbearance, by which I could never suffer you to be seduced,
follow my advice, and in pursuance of it resolve — ' To judge
and condemn, at your own discretion, those guilty Mityleneans
whom Paches hath sent hither to attend your decisions, and
to let the others continue as they are.' These are expedients of
your future welfare, and of immediate terror to your foes.
For they who can form the soundest deliberations, stand
stronger up against hostile opposition, than the men who rush
to action with indiscreet unpremeditating strength."

Diodotus ended here. And when these two opinions, dia-
metrically opposite to one another, had been thus delivered^

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 32X

the Athenians had a stiff contest in support of each, and upon
holding up of hands there seemed near an equahty; but the
majority proved at last to be along with Diodotus.

Upon this they immediately sent away another trireme, en-
joining all possible despatch, lest this second, not coming in
time, might find the city already destroyed, as the other had
got the start of a day and a night. The Mitylenean ambas-
sadors amply furnished them with wine and barley-cakes and
promised them great rewards if they arrived in time. By this
means they were so eager to accelerate the passage, that even
whilst plying the oar they eat their cakes dipped in wine and
oil; and whilst one half of the number refreshed themselves
with sleep, the others kept rowing amain. So fortunate were
they that not one adverse blast retarded their course. The
former vessel, as sent on a monstrous errand, had not has-
tened its passage in the least ; and the latter was most intently
bent on expedition. That indeed got before to Mitylene, but
only long enough for Paches to read over the decree, and give
orders for its immediate execution. At that crisis the latter
arriveth, and prevented the massacre. To such an extremity
of danger was Mitylene reduced.

The other Mityleneans, whom Paches had sent to Athens
as deepest concerned in the revolt, were there put to death,
according to the advice of Cleon. And the number of these
amounted to somewhat above a thousand.

The Athenians, further, demolished the walls of Mitylene
and took away their shipping. They did not for the future
enjoin an annual tribute upon the Lesbians, but dividing the
whole island into shares (except what belonged to Methymne),
three thousand in the whole, they set apart three hundred of
these as sacred to the gods, and sent some of their own people,
who were appointed by lot, to take possession of the rest, as
full proprietors. The Lesbians, as tenants of these, were .
obliged to pay them two minse ($35 ) yearly for every share ; in
consideration of which they had still the use of the soil. The
Athenians also took from them several towns upon the con-
tinent, which had belonged to the Mityleneans, and which con-
tinued afterwards in subjection to the Athenians. Thus ended
the commotions of Lesbos.

THE ANABASIS

OF

XENOPHON

OR THE

RETREAT

OF THE

TEN THOUSAND GREEKS

TOGETHER WITH A DISSERTATION UPON THE
MACEDONIAN PHALANX

BY POLYBIUS

TRANSLATED BY

EDWARD SPELMAN, ESQ.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THE SAME

323

INTRODUCTION

A SHORT ACCOUNT OF XENOPHON

Xenophon was an Athenian; his Father's Name Gryllus.
All that we know of him 'till he attended Cyrus in his Expe-
dition, is, that he was a Disciple of Socrates. If, to have
been a Disciple of that great Man was an Instance of his
good Fortune, the Improvement he made of that Education is
an Instance of his Merit; and, indeed, nothing less than the
happiest Disposition, the best Education, and the greatest Im-
provement of both, could render Xenophon that universal Man
we find him in his Writing : his Cyropaedia shews him to have
possessed, in a sovereign Degree, the Art of Government; his
Expedition of Cyrus shews him a compleat General; his His-
tory, an entertaining, an instructive, and a faithful Historian ;
his Panegyric of Agesilaus, an Orator; and his Treatise of
Hunting, a Sportsman; his Apology for Socrates, and the
Account he gives of his Manner of conversing, shew that he
was both a Friend, and a Philosopher; and all of them, that
he was a good Man. This appears remarkably in his pre-
serving Byzantium from being plundered by his Soldiers, who,
having gained no other Reward of the dangerous Expedition
they had been engaged in, but their Preservation, were not
only strongly tempted to plunder that Town by the hope of
making their Fortunes, but justly provoked to it by the disin-
genuous Behaviour of the Lacedaemonian Governor; yet these
two lawless Passions, Avarice, and Revenge, the Authority,
and Eloquence of Xenophon quite subdued.

As Cyrus had assisted the Lacedaemonians in their War
against the Athenians, the latter looked upon Xenophon's At-
tachment to that Prince as criminal, and banished him for
engaging in his Service. After this, Xenophon attended
Agesilaus, when he was sent for by the Lacedaemonians with
his Army from Asia; where, the Success of his Arms gave
something more than Uneasiness to Artaxerxes, who, not

325

326 INTRODUCTION

without Cause, began to fear the same Fate from Agesilaus,
which his Successor, Darius, afterwards found from Alexan-
der; but the former, by corrupting the Greek Cities, and, by
that Means, engaging them to make War upon the Lacedae-
monians, suspended the Fate of Persia for a Time: But, in
all Evils, Relief, obtained by Corruption, is only a Respite,
not a Cure ; for, when Alexander invaded Persia, the same low
Arts were again practised by Darius to recall him from Asia
by a Diversion in Greece; but, these proving ineffectual, the
Persians, by trusting more to the Vices of their Enemies,
than to their own Virtue, became an easy Conquest. Ages-
ilaus, soon after he returned, fought the Battle of Coronea,
where, though wounded, he defeated the Thebans, and their
Allies; at this Battle Xenophon was present. After that, he
retired to Scilus, where he passed his Time in reading, the
Conversation of his Friends, Sporting, and writing History.
But, this Place, being over-run by the Eleans, in whose Neigh-
bourhood it was, Xenophon went to Corinth, where he lived
'till the first Year of the 105th Olympiad, when he died in the
ninety-first Year of his Age : So that, he must have been about
fifty Years of Age at the Time of the Expedition of Cyrus,
which was the fourth Year of the ninety-fourth Olympiad,
just forty Years before. I am sensible some learned Men are
of Opinion that he was not so old at the Time of the Expedi-
tion, though I see no Reason to disbelieve Lucian in this Par-
ticular, who says that Xenophon was above ninety Years of
Age when he died. However, this is beyond all Dispute, that
he lived 'till after the Battle of Mantinea, which, according to
Diodorus Siculus, was in the second Year of the 104th Olym-
piad, because he closes his History of the Affairs of Greece
with the Account of that Battle : In which Account it is very
extraordinary that he should say nothing more of the most
remarkable Incident in it, I mean the Death of Epaminondas,
than that he fell in the Action ; but this may be accounted for
by that Modesty, which was the distinguishing Character of
our Author, because it is well known that Epaminondas fell
by the Hand of Gryllus, the Son of Xenophon, who was sent
by his Father to the Assistance of the Athenians. It will easily
be imagined that a General, at the Head of a victorious Army,

LIFE OF XENOPHON 327

then pursuing his Victory, could not be attacked, much less
slain, without manifest Danger to the daring Enemy, who
should attempt it. This Gryllus found, for he had no sooner
lanced the fatal Dart, which deprived Thebes of the greatest
General of that Age, but he was cut to Pieces by the Friends
of Epaminondas. When the News of his Death was brought
to Xenophon, he said no more than that he knew he was
mortal.

THE ANABASIS
BOOK I

Cyrus was the youngest Son of Darius by Parysatis, and
Brother to Artaxerxes. Darius being sick, and apprehensive
of his approaching End, desired both his Sons might attend
him. Artaxerxes the Eldest being then present, he sent for
Cyrus from his Government with which he had invested him,
as Satrape, having also appointed him General of all the
People, who assemble in the Plain of Castolus. Hereupon,
Cyrus came to Court, accompanied by Tissaphernes as his
Friend, and attended by three hundred heavy-armed Greeks,
under the command of Xenias of Parrhasie.

After the Death of Darius, and the Accession of Artax-
erxes, Tissaphernes accuses Cyrus to his Brother of Treason :
Artaxerxes gives credit to the Accusation, and orders Cyrus
to be apprehended, with a design to put him to death : but his
Mother having saved him by her Intercession, sends him back
to his Government. Cyrus, as soon as he left the Court after
this Danger and Disgrace, deliberates by what means he may
no longer be subject to his Brother, but if possible, reign in his
place. In this he was supported by his Mother Parysatis,
who had a greater love for Cyrus, than for the King Artax-
erxes ; and when any Persons belonging to the Court resorted
to him, he sent them back more disposed to favour him than
the King : Besides, he took so great care of the Barbarians who
were with him, as to render them both good Soldiers, and
affectionate to his Service : He also levied an Army of Greeks
with all possible Secrecy, that he might find the King in no
degree prepared to resist him. And whenever he recruited
the Garrisons that were dispersed in the several Cities under
his Command, he ordered each of their Officers to inlist as
many Peloponnesians as possible, and of those the best Men
they could get, under pretence that Tissaphernes had a de-
sign upon those Cities. For the Cities of Ionia formerly be-

328

ANABASIS— BOOK I 329

longed to Tissaphernes, having been given to him by the King,
but at that time they had all revolted from him to Cyrus, ex-
cept Miletus : The Inhabitant* of which being engaged in the
same Design, and Tissaphernes having early notice of their
Intentions, put some of them to Death, and banished others;
these Cyrus received, and raising an Army besieged Miletus
both by Sea and Land, endeavouring to restore the banished
Citizens : this he made another pretence for raising an Army ;
and sending to the King, he desired, that, as he was his Broth-
er, he might have the Command of these Cities rather than
Tissaphernes: In this also he was assisted by his Mother; so
that the King was not sensible of the Design that was formed
against him, but looking upon these Preparations as directed
against Tissaphernes, was under no concern at their making
War upon one another : For Cyrus sent the King all the Taxes,
that were raised in those Cities, which had been under the
Government of Tissaphernes.

He had also another Army raised for him in the Cher-
sonesus, over-against Abydus, in this manner. There was a
banished Lacedemonian, his Name Clearchus; Cyrus, becom-
ing acquainted with him, admired the Man, and made him a
Present of ten thousand Daricks; with which Money Clear-
chus raised an Army, and marching out of the Chersonesus,
made War upon the Thracians, who inhabit above the Helles-
pont, which, being a great Advantage to the Greeks, induced
the Cities upon the Hellespont to subsist his Forces with
greater Chearf ulness. Thus was this Army also secretly main-
tained for his Service. Aristippus of Thessaly, between whom
and Cyrus there was an Intercourse of Hospitality, being op-
pressed by a contrary Faction at home, came to him, demand-
ing two thousand Mercenaries, and their Pay for three Months,
in hope, by their assistance, to subdue his Adversaries : Cyrus
granted him four thousand Men, and six Months Pay, desiring
him to come to no terms with his Adversaries without con-
sulting him: In this manner the Army in Thessaly was also
privately maintained for his Use. At the same time he ordered
Proxenus the Boeotian, a Friend of his to attend him with all
the Men he could raise, giving it out that he designed to make

330 XENOPHON

War upon the Pisidians, who, it was said, infested his Coun-
try. He then ordered Sophaenetus the StymphaHan, and Soc-
rates the Achaian, with whom also he had an Intercourse of
HospitaHty, to come to him with as many Men as they could
raise, pretending to make war upon Tissaphernes, in con-
junction with the banished Milesians: These too obeyed his
Commands.

Having now determined to march into the Upper Asia, he
pretended his Design was to drive the Pisidians entirely out
of the Country : and, as against them, he assembles there both
his Barbarian and Greek Forces; commanding at the same
time Clearchus with all his Troops to attend him, and Aristip-
pus to come to an Agreement with his Fellow-Citizens, and
send his Army to him. He also appointed Xenias the Arca-
dian, who had the Command of the Mercenaries in the several
Cities, to come to him with all his Men, leaving only sufficient
Garrisons in the Citadels. He next ordered all the Troops
that were employed in the Siege of Miletus, together with the
banished Citizens, to join him, engaging to the last, if his
Expedition was attended with success, not to lay down his
Arms, 'till he had restored them. These chearfully obeyed
him, (for they gave credit to what he said) and, taking their
Arms with them, came to Sardes. Xenias also came thither
with the Garrisons he had drawn out of the Cities, consisting
of four thousand heavy-armed Men. Proxenus brought with
him fifteen hundred heavy-armed and five hundred light-armed
Men. Sophaenetus the StymphaHan a thousand heavy-armed ;
Socrates the Achaian about five hundred heavy-armed : Pasion
the Magarean seven hundred Men. Both he and Socrates were
among those who were employed in the Siege of Miletus.
These came to him to Sardes. Tissaphernes observing all this,
and looking upon these Preparations as greater than were
necessary against the Pisidians, went to the King with all the
haste he could, taking with him about five hundred Horse;
and the King being informed by Tissaphernes of the intended
Expedition of Cyrus, prepared himself to oppose him.

Cyrus, with the Forces I have mentioned, marched from
Sardes; and advancing through Lydia, in three Days, made

ANABASIS— BOOK I 331

twenty two Parasangas, as far as the River Maeanaer: this
River is two Plethra in breadth; and having a Bridge over it
supported by seven Boats, he passed over, and advanced
through Phrygia, making in one day's March eight Parasan-
gas, to Colosea, a large City, rich and well inhabited, where he
staid seven Days, when Menon the Thessalian came to him
with a thousand heavy-armed Men, and five hundred Tar-
geteers, consisting of Dolopians, ^Enians, and Olynthians.
From thence he made, in three Days march, twenty Parasangas
to Celaense, a City of Phrygia, large, rich, and well inhabited :
Here the Palace of Cyrus stood, with a large Park full of wild
Beasts, which Cyrus hunted on Horseback, when he had a
mind to exercise himself and his Horses : Through the mid-
dle of this Park runs the River Mseander, but the Head of it
rises in the Palace; it runs also through the City of Celsenas.
There is besides a fortified Palace belonging to the ^great King
in Celaenae, at the head of the River Marsyas, under the Cita-
del. This River likewise runs through the City, and falls into
the Maeander ; the Marsyas is twenty-five Feet broad : Here
Apollo is said to have flayed Marsyas, whom contending with
him in Musick, he had overcome, and to have hung up his Skin
in the Cave, from whence the Springs flow : For this reason
the River is called Marsyas. Here Xerxes, when he fled from
Greece after his Defeat, is said to have built both this Palace,
and the Citadel of Celaenae. Here Cyrus staid thirty Days, and
hither Clearchus the banished Lacedaemonian came with a
thousand heavy-armed Men, five hundred Thracian Targeteers,
and two hundred Cretan Archers. At the same time Sosias
the Syracusan came with a thousand heavy-armed Men, and
Sophaenetus the Arcadian with a thousand more. Here Cyrus
reviewed the Greeks in the Park, and took an account of their
Numbers; they amounted in the whole to eleven thousand
heavy-armed Men, and about two thousand Targeteers.

From hence Cyrus made in two days march ten Parasan-
gas, and arrived at Peltae, a City well inhabited : there he staid

^This is the Title given by all the Greek Authors to the King of
Persia, which is preserved to the Successors of Mahomet in that of
the Grand Seignor.

332 XENOPHON

three Days, during which, Xenias the Arcadian solemnized
the LupercaHan Sacrifice, and celebrated a Game; the Prizes
were golden Scrapers ; at this Game Cyrus was present. From
thence he made in two marches twelve Parasangas, and came
to the Market of the Cramians, a City well inhabited, the last
of the Country of Mysia. From thence he made in three days
march thirty Parasangas, and arrived at a well peopled
City called the Plain of Caystrus, where he staid five Days.
(There was now due to the Soldiers above three Months Pay,
which they, coming often to his Door, demanded: He con-
tinued to give them Hopes, and was visibly concerned ; for he
was not of a Temper to deny Money, when he had it. Hither
Epyaxa, the Wife to Syennesis King of the Cilicians, came
to Cyrus ; it was said she made him a Present of great Sums
of Money. Cyrus therefore gave the Army four Months Pay
at that time. The Cilician Queen had a Guard of Cilicians and
Aspendians; and Cyrus was reported to have an Amour
with her.

From thence he made, in two days march, ten Parasangas,
and came to the City of Thymbrium, a Town well inhabited.
Here was a Fountain near the Road, called the Fountain of
Midas, King of Phrygia, where Midas is said to have caught
the Satyr, by mixing the Fountain with Wine. From thence he
made, in two days march, ten Parasangas, and arrived at
Tyriaeum, a populous Town, where he staid three Days. And
here, it is said, the Cilician Queen desired Cyrus to shew her
his Army; in compliance therefore with her Request, Cyrus
reviewed in the Plain, both his Greek and Barbarian Forces;
ordering the Greeks to dispose themselves, according to their
Custom, and stand in Order of Battle, and that each of the
Commanders should draw up his own Men; so they were
drawn up four deep. Menon had the right with his People,
and Clearchus the left with his Men; the rest of the Gen-
erals being in the Center. First therefore Cyrus viewed the
Barbarians, (they marched by him drawn up in Troops, and
Companies) then the Greeks, Cyrus driving by them on a
Car, and the Cilician Queen in a Chariot. They had all
brazen Helmets, scarlet Vests, Greaves, and burnished Shields.

ANABASIS— BOOK I 333

After he had passed by them all, he stopped his Car in the
Center of the Front, and sending Pigres his Interpreter to the
Greek Generals, he ordered the whole Line to present their
Pikes, and advance in Order of Battle: These conveyed
his Orders to the Soldiers ; who, when the Trumpets sounded,
presented their Pikes and advanced : then marching faster than
ordinary with Shouts, ran of their own accord to the Tents;
upon this, many of the Barbarians were seized with Fear, the
Cilician Queen quitted her Chariot, and fled; and the Sutlers
leaving their Commodities, ran away : The Greeks, not with-
out laughter, repaired to their Tents. The Cilician Queen,
seeing the Lustre and Order of their Army, was in admiration,
and Cyrus pleased to see the Terror with which the Greeks
had struck the Barbarians.

Thence, in three days march, he made twenty Parasangas,
and came to Iconium, the last City of Phrygia, where he staid
three Days. Thence he made in five days march, thirty Para-
sangas through Lycaonia; which, being an Enemy's Country,
he gave the Greeks leave to plunder it. From hence he sent
the Cilician Queen into Cilicia the shortest way, and appointed
Menon the Thessalian himself, with his Soldiers, to escort her.
Cyrus, with the rest of the Army, moved on through Cappa-
docia, and in four days march, made five and twenty Parasan-
gas to Dana, a large and rich City, well inhabited: Here he
staid three Days, during which, he put to death Megaphernes, a
Persian, one of his Courtiers, with another Person who had a
principal Command, accusing them of Treachery. Thence they
prepared to penetrate into Cilicia; the Entrance was just
broad enough for a Chariot to pass, very steep, and inac-
cessible to an Army, if there had been any opposition; and
Syennesis was said to have possessed himself of the Eminences,
in order to guard the Pass; for which reason, Cyrus staid
one Day in the Plain. The day after. News was brought by a
Messenger that Syennesis had quitted the Eminences upon In-
formation that both Menon's Army were in Cilicia within the
Mountains, and also that Tamos was sailing round from Ionia
to Cilicia with the Galleys, that belonged to the Lacedaemo-
nians, and to Cyrus, who immediately marched up the Moun-

334 XENOPHON

tains without opposition, and made himself master of the
Tents, in which the Cihcians lay to oppose his Passage. From
thence he descended into a large and beautiful Plain, well
watered, and full of all sorts of Trees and Vines; abounding
in Sesame, Panick, Millet, Wheat and Barley; and is sur-
rounded with a strong and high Ridge of Hills from Sea
to Sea.

After he had left the Mountains, he advanced through the
Plain, and having made five and twenty Parasangas in four
days march, arrived at Tarsus, a large and rich City of Cilicia,
where stood the Palace of Syennesis King of Cilicia; having
the River Cydnus running through the middle of it, and is two
hundred Feet in breadth. This City was abandoned by the
Inhabitants, who, with Syennesis, fled to a Fastness upon the
Mountains, those only excepted who kept the publick Houses :
But the Inhabitants of Soli and Issi, who lived near the Sea,
did not quit their Habitations. Epyaxa, the Wife of Syennesis,
came to Tarsus five Days before Cyrus. In the Passage over
the Mountains into the Plain, two Companies of Menon's Army
were missing. It was said by some, that, while they were in-
tent on plunder, they were cut off by the Cilicians, and by
others, that being left behind, and unable to find the rest of
the Army, or gain the Road, they wandered about the Coun-
try, and were destroyed : The number of these amounted to
one hundred heavy-armed Men. The rest, as soon as they ar-
rived, resenting the loss of their Companions, plundered both
the City of Tarsus, and the Palace that stood there. Cyrus, as
soon as he entered the City, sent for Syennesis: but he, al-
ledging that he had never yet put himself in the hands of any
Person of superior Power, declined coming, 'till his Wife
prevailed upon him, and received assurance from Cyrus:
After that, when they met, Syennesis gave Cyrus great Sums
of Money to pay his Army, and Cyrus made him such Presents,
as are of great value among Kings ; these were a Horse with a
golden Bit, a Chain, Bracelets, and a Scimitar of Gold, with a
Persian Robe, besides the Exemption of his Country from
further plunder ; to this he added the Restitution of the Prison-
ers they had taken, wherever they were found.

ANABASIS— BOOK I 335

Here Cyrus and the Army staid twenty Days, the Soldiers
declaring they would go no further; for they suspected he
was leading them against the King, and said they were not
raised for that Service. Clearchus was the first, who en-
deavoured to force his Men to go on ; but as soon as he began
to march, they threw Stones at him, and at his sumpter
Horses, so that he narrowly escaped being then stoned to
death. Afterwards, when he saw it was not in his power to
prevail by force, he called his Men together, and first stood
still a considerable time, shedding many Tears, while the
Soldiers beheld him in amaze and silence ; then spoke to them
in the following manner:

" Fellow-Soldiers ! wonder not that I am concerned at the
present Posture of Affairs ; for I am engaged to Cyrus by the
Rights of Hospitality, and when I was banished, among other
Marks of Distinction with which he honoured me, he gave me
ten thousand Daricks : After I had received this Money, I
did not treasure it up for my own use, or lavish it in Pleasures,
but laid it out upon you: And first, I made war upon the
Thracians, and with your Assistance, revenged the Injuries they
had done to Greece, by driving them out of the Chersonesus,
where they were endeavouring to dispossess the Greek In-
habitants of their Lands. After that, when I was summoned
by Cyrus, I carried you to him with this view, that, if there
were occasion, I might in return for his Favours, be of Serv-
ice to him : but, since you refuse to go on with me, and I am
under a necessity either, by betraying you, to rely on the
Friendship of Cyrus, or, by being false to him, to adhere to
you; though I am in doubt whether I shall do right or not;
however, I have determined to give you the preference, and
with you to suffer every thing that may happen : Neither shall
any one say, that, having led Greeks among Barbarians, I be-
trayed the Greeks, and preferred the Friendship of the Bar-
barians ; but, since you refuse to obey me, and to follow me, I
will follow you, and share in all your Sufferings ; for I look
upon you as my Country, my Friends, and Fellow-Soldiers,
and that with you I shall live in honour wherever I am, but
without you, that I shall neither be useful to my Friends, or

^36 XENOPHON

formidable to my Enemies : Be assured therefore, that whither
soever you go, I resolve to go with you." Thus spoke Clear-
chus : The Soldiers, both those who belonged to him and the
rest of the Army, hearing this, commended him for declaring
he would not march against the King ; and above two thousand
left Xenias and Pasion, and taking their Arms and Baggage
with them, came and encamped with Clearchus.

These things gave Cyrus great Perplexity and Uneasiness :
so he sent for Clearchus, who refused to go, but dispatched
a Messenger to him, unknown to the Soldiers, with Encourage-
ment, that this Affair would take a favourable Turn: he ad-
vised Cyrus to send for him, but at the same time let him
know that he did not design to go to him. After this, as-
sembling his own Soldiers, with those who were lately come
to him, and as many of the rest as desired to be present, he
spoke to them as follows:

"Fellow-Soldiers! it is certain the Affairs of Cyrus are in
the same Situation in respect to us, with ours in regard to him ;
for neither are we any longer his Soldiers, since we refuse to
follow him, neither does he any longer give us Pay. I know,
he thinks himself unjustly treated by us; so that, when he
sends for me, I refuse to go to him, chiefly through Shame,
because I am conscious to myself of having deceived him in
every thing; in the next place, through Fear, lest he should
cause me to be apprehended and punished for the Wrongs he
thinks I have done him. I am therefore of opinion, that this
is no time for us to sleep, or to neglect the Care of our
selves, but to consult what is to be done. If we stay, we are
to consider by what means we may stay with the greatest
Security; and if we resolve to go away, how we may go with
the greatest Safety, and supply ourselves with Provisions ; for
without these, neither a Commander, or a private Man, can
be of any use. Cyrus is a very valuable Friend, where he is a
Friend, but the severest Enemy, where he is an Enemy. He
is also Master of that Strength in Foot, Horse, and at Sea,
which we all both see and are acquainted with, for truly we do
not seem to be encamped at a great distance from him; so

ANABASIS— BOOK I 337

that this is the time for every one to advise what he judges
best :" Here he stopped.

Upon this some rose up of their own accord to give their
Opinions; others, by his Direction, to shew the Difficulties
either of staying or going without the Approbation of Cyrus :
One, pretending to be in haste by returning to Greece, said,
that, if Clearchus refused to conduct them thither, they ought
immediately to chuse other Generals, to buy Provisions (there
being a Market in the Barbarians Camp) and pack up their
Baggage: then go to Cyrus and demand Ships of him to
transport them; which if he refused, to desire a Commander
to conduct them, as through a Friend's Country; and, if this
also he refused, continued he, we ought forthwith to draw up a
declaration of Battle, and send a Detachment to secure the
Eminences, that neither Cyrus, nor the Cilicians, (many of
whom we have taken Prisoners, and whose Effects we have
plundered, and still possess,) may prevent us: after him
Clearchus spoke to this effect :

"Let none of you propose me to be General in this Ex-
pedition, (for I see many things that forbid it) but con-
sider me as one resolved to obey, as far as possible, the Per-
son you shall chuse, that you may be convinced I also know
as well as any other, how to submit to Command." After him
another got up, shewing the Folly of the Man who advised
to demand the Ships, as if Cyrus would not resume his Ex-
pedition; he shewed also how weak a thing it was to apply
for a Guide to that Person whose Undertaking we had de-
feated. "If, says he, we can place any Confidence in a Guide
appointed by him, what hinders us from desiring Cyrus him-
self to secure those Eminences for us? I own I should be un-
willing to go on board the Transports he may give us, lest he
should sink the Ships; I should also be afraid to follow the
Guide he may appoint, lest he should lead us into some place,
out of which we could not disengage ourselves; and since it
is proposed we should go away without the consent of Cyrus,
I wish we could also go without his Knowledge, which is im-
possible. These then are vain Thoughts; I am therefore of

338 XENOPHON

opinion that proper Persons, together with Clearchus, should
go to Cyrus, and ask him in what Service he proposes to em-
ploy us ; and to acquaint him, that, if the present Undertaking
be of the same nature with that in which he before made use
of foreign Troops, we will follow him, and behave ourselves
with equal bravery to those who attended him upon that oc-
casion;^ but if this Enterprize appears to be of greater Moment
than the former, and to be attended with greater Labour and
Danger, that we desire he will either prevail on us by Per-
suasion to follow him, or suffer himself to be prevailed upon
to allow us to return home. By this means, if we follow him,
we shall follow him, as Friends, with Chear fulness, and if we
return, we shall return with Safety: And let them report to
us what he says, which we may then consider of." This was
resolved.

Having chosen the Persons therefore, they sent them with
Clearchus, who asked Cyrus the Questions appointed by the
Army ; to which he made this answer : " I am informed, that
Abrocomas, my Enemy, lies near the Euphrates, at the dis-
tance of twelve days march; therefore, my Intention is, if I
find him there, to punish, by leading my Army against him;
but if he flies from the place, I will there consider what we
are to do." This coming to the ears of those who were ap-
pointed to attend Cyrus, made their Report to the Soldiers,
who suspected his Design was to lead them against the King;
yet they resolved to follow him; and when they demanded
an Encrease of Pay, he promised to give them half as much
more as they had already; that is, instead of one Darick, a
Darick and a half every Month to each Man. But it was not
even then known that he intended to lead them against the
King, at least, it was not public.

Hence, he made in two days march ten Parasangas, to the
River Pharus, which was three hundred Feet broad. From
thence to the River Pyramus, which is one Stadium in breadth,
making in one march five Parasangas; from which place, he

^The three hundred Greeks, who, as our Author tells us, attended
Cyrus to Court under the Command of Xenias of Parrhasie.

ANABASIS— BOOK I 339

made, in two days march, fifteen Parasangas, and arrived at
Issus, the last Town of Cilicia, situated near the Sea ; a large
City, rich, and well inhabited, where he staid three days, dur-
ing which time, five and thirty ships, with Pythagoras, a
Lacedaemonian, (the Admiral) at the head, sailed from Pelo-
ponnesus, and came to Cyrus, being conducted from Ephesus
by Tamos, an Egyptian, who carried with him five and twenty
other Ships belonging to Cyrus, with which he had besieged
Miletus, because that City was in friendship with Tissaphernes,
against whom, Tamos made war in conjunction with Cyrus.
With these Ships also came Cheirisophus, the Lacedaemonian,
whom Cyrus had sent for, with seven hundred heavy-armed
Men, which he commanded under Cyrus, before whose Tent
the Ships lay at Anchor. Hither also four hundred heavy-
armed Greeks came to Cyrus, (leaving Abrocomas, in whose
Service they were,) and marched with him against the King,

Hence Cyrus made in one march five Parasangas to the
Gates of Cilicia and Syria : These were two Fortresses, of
which the inner next Cilicia was possessed by Syennesis with
a Guard of Cilicians, and the outer next to Syria, was said
to be defended by the King's Troops: Between these two
Fortresses runs a River called Kersus, one hundred Feet in
breadth : The Interval between them was three Stadia in the
whole, through which it was not possible to force a way ; the
Pass being narrow, the Fortresses reaching down to the Sea,
and above were inaccessible Rocks. In both these Fortresses
stood the Gates. In order to gain this Pass, Cyrus sent for
his Ships, that, by landing his heavy-armed Men both within,
and without the Gates, they might force their Passage through
the Syrian Gates, if defended by the Enemy; which he ex-
pected Abrocomas, who was at the Head of a great Army
would attempt : However, Abrocomas did not do this, but, as
soon as he heard Cyrus was in Cilicia, he suddenly left
Phoenicia, and went back to the King, with an Army, consist-
ing, as it was said, of three hundred thousand Men.

Hereupon, Cyrus proceeded through Syria, and in one
march, made five Parasangas to Myriandrus, a City near the

340 XENOPHON

Sea, inhabited by the Phoenicians, which being a Mart-Town,
where many Merchant Ships lay at Anchor, they continued
seven days; during which, Xenias the Arcadian General, and
Pasion the Megarean, took Ship, and putting their most valu-
able Effects on board, sailed away. It was the general Opinion,
that this was owing to their Resentment against Clearchus,
whom Cyrus had suffered to retain the Troops that left them,
and put themselves under his Command with a view of re-
turning to Greece, and not of marching against the King. As
soon therefore as they disappeared, a Rumour was spread that
Cyrus would follow them with his Galleys : Some wished that,
having acted perfidiously, they might be taken: others pitied
them, if they should fall into his hands.

Cyrus immediately assembled together the General Officers,
and spoke thus to them: "Xenias and Pasion have left us,
but let them be assured that they are not gone away so as to be
concealed, (for I know whither they are going) neither are
they escaped, (for my Galleys can come up with their Ship.)
But I call the Gods to witness that I do not intend to pursue
them, neither shall any one say, that, while People are with
me, I use their Service; but that, when they desire to leave
me, I seize them, treat them ill, and rob them of their For-
tunes. Let them go therefore, and remember, they have be-
haved themselves worse to me, than I to them. Their Wives
and Children are under a Guard at Tralles, however not even
these shall they be deprived of, but shall receive them in return
for the gallant Behaviour they have formerly shewn in my
Service." The Greeks, if any before shewed a backwardness
to the Enterprize, seeing this Instance of Cyrus's Virtue, fol-
lowed him with greater Pleasure and Chearfulness.

After this, Cyrus in four days march made twenty Parasan-
gas, and came to the River Chalus, which is one hundred Feet
broad, and full of large tame Fish, which the Syrians look
upon as Gods, and do not suffer them to be hurt any more than
Pigeons. The Villages in which they encamped belonged to
Parysatis, and were given to her for her Table. Thirty Para-
sangas more, in five days march, brought him to the source

ANABASIS— BOOK I 341

of the River Daradax, the breadth of which was one hundred
Feet, having near it the palace of Belesis, who was formerly
governor of Syria, with a very large and beautiful Park pro-
ducing every thing proper to the Season : Cyrus laid waste the
Park, and burned the Palace. From thence in three days march
he made fifteen Parasangas, and came to the River Euphrates,
which is four Stadia in breadth; where, being the large and
flourishing City of Thapsacus, they remained five days; dur-
ing which, Cyrus, sending for the Generals of the Greeks, told
them that he proposed marching to Babylon against the great
King, and ordered them to acquaint the Soldiers with it, and
to persuade them to follow him. Hereupon, they called them
together, and informed them of it; but the Soldiers were
angry with their Generals, saying they knew this before, but
concealed it from them; therefore refused to march, unless
they had Money given them, as the other Soldiers had, who
before attended Cyrus to his Father, and that not to fight, but
only to wait upon him, when his Father sent for him. The
Generals immediately gave an account of this to Cyrus, who
promised to give every Man five Minas of Silver, as soon as
they came to Babylon, and their full Pay, 'till he brought them
back to Ionia ; by which means great part of the Greeks were
prevailed upon : but Menon, before it appeared whether the
rest of the Soldiers would follow Cyrus, or not, called his own
Men together apart, and spoke thus to them :

"Fellow-Soldiers! if you will follow my Advice, you shall,
without either Danger, or Labour, be in greater esteem with
Cyrus, than the rest of the Army. What then do I advise?
Cyrus is this minute entreating the Greeks to follow him
against the King: I say, therefore, we ought to pass the
Euphrates, before it appears what Answer the rest of the
Greeks will make to him; for, if they determine to
follow him, you will be looked upon as the Cause of
it by first passing the River, and Cyrus will not only think
himself under an Obligation to you, as to those who are
the most 2ealous for his Service, but will return it, (which no
Man better understands;) but if the rest determine otherwise,
we will then all return : As you only are obedient to his Or-

342 XENOPHON

ders, he will look upon you as persons of the greatest Fidelity,
and as such employ you in the Command both of Garrisons
and of Companies; and I am confident you will find Cyrus
your Friend in whatever else you desire of him." The Sol-
diers, hearing this, followed his Advice, and passed the Eu-
phrates, before the rest had returned an Answer : When Cyrus
heard they had passed the River, he was pleased, and sending
Glus to them, ordered him to say to them in his Name : " Sol-
diers ! I praise you for what you have done, and will take care
that you also shall have reason to praise me ; if I do not, think
me no longer Cyrus." Hereupon, the Soldiers conceiving great
hopes, prayed for his Success ; after which, [having, as it was
reported, sent magnificent Presents to Menon] he, at the head
of his Army, passed the River, the Water not reaching above
their Breasts, notwithstanding the Inhabitants of Thapsacus
declared, that the River was never fordable before, or passable
but in Boats, which Abrocomas had burned, as he marched
before them, to prevent Cyrus from passing over; it seemed
therefore providential, and that the River visibly submitted to
Cyrus, as to its future King.

From thence he advanced through Syria, and, having in
nine days march made fifty Parasangas, came to the River
Araxes : where, being many Villages full of Corn and Wine,
they staid three Days, made their Provisions, and then pro-
ceeded through Arabia, keeping the River Euphrates on his
right hand, and in five days march through a Desert, made
thirty-five Parasangas. The Country was a Plain throughout,
as even as the Sea, and full of Wormwood ; if any other kinds
of Shrubs, or Reeds grew there, they had all an aromatic Smell;
but no Trees appeared. Of wild Creatures, the most numer-
ous were wild Asses, and not a few Ostriches, besides Bustards,
and Roe-Deer, which our Horsemen sometimes chased. The
Asses, when they were pursued, having gained ground of the
Horses, stood still (for they exceeded them much in speed)
and when these came up with them, they did the same thing
again: so that our Horsemen could take them by no other
means but by dividing themselves into Relays, and succeeding
one another in the Chace. The Flesh of those that were taken

i

ANABASIS— BOOK I 343

was like that of red Deer, but more tender. None could take
an Ostrich; the Horsemen, who pursued them, soon giving it
over : for they flew far away as they fled, making use both of
their Feet to run, and of their Wings, when expanded, as a
Sail to waft them along. As for the Bustards, they may be
taken, if one springs them hastily, they making short flights,
like Partridges, and are soon tired. Their flesh was very
delicious.

In marching through this Country they came to the River
Masca, a hundred Feet in breadth, surrounding a large City
uninhabited, called Corsote; whence, after continuing three
days, making their Provisions, he made ninety Parasangas in
thirteen days march, through a Desert, still keeping the Eu-
phrates on his right, and came to Pylse ; during which Marches,
many sumpter Horses died of Hunger, there being no Grass
nor any other plant, but the whole Country entirely Barren;
the Inhabitants being employed near the River with digging
Mill-stones, which they afterwards fashioned and conveyed
to Babylon for sale to buy Provisions for their support. By
this time the Army wanted Corn, and there was none to be
bought, but in the Lydian Market, which was in the Camp of
the Barbarians, belonging to Cyrus, where a Capithe of
Wheat, or Barley-Meal was sold for four Sigli. The Siglus is
worth seven Attick Oboli and a half ; and the Capithe holds two
Attick Choenixes^ : so that the Soldiers lived upon Flesh.
Some of these Marches were very long, when Cyrus had a
mind his Army should go on 'till they came to water or
forage. And once where the Road was narrow and so deep,
that the Carriages could not pass without difficulty, Cyrus
stopped with those about him of the greatest Authority, and
Fortune, and ordered Glus and Pigres to take some of the
Barbarians belonging to his Army, and help the Carriages
through; but, thinking they went slowly about it, he com-
manded as in Anger, the most considerable Persians, who
were with him, to assist in hastening on the Carriages, which
afforded an Instance of their ready Obedience; for, throwing
oflF their purple Robes, where each of them happened to stand,

iPecks.

344 XENOPHON

they ran, as if it had been for a Prize, even down a very
steep Hill, in their costly Vests, and embroidered Drawers,
some even with Chains about their Necks, and Bracelets round
their Wrists; and, leaping into the Dirt with these, they lifted
up the Carriages, and brought them out sooner than can be
imagined. Upon the whole, Cyrus appeared throughout to
hasten their march, stopping, no where unless to get Provisions,
or for other things that were very necessary; he judging the
quicker he marched, the more unprepared the King would be
to encounter him, and the slower, the more numerous would
be the King's Army; for it was obvious to any Person of
Attention, that the Persian Empire, though strong with re-
gard to the Extent of Country, and Numbers of Men, was
however weak by reason of the great Distance of Places, and
the Division of its Forces, when surprised by a sudden Invasion.

In their march through the Desert, they discovered a large
and populous City situated on the other side of the Eu-
phrates, called Carmande, where the Soldiers bought Pro-
visions, having passed over to it upon Rafts, by filling the
Skins, which they made use of for Tents, with dry Hay,
and sewing them together so close, that the Water could not
get therein: these Provisions were such as Wine made of
the Fruit of the Palm-Tree, and Panic, there being great plenty
of this in the Country. 'Twas here, that a dispute arose be-
tween Menon's Soldiers, and those of Clearchus; the latter,
thinking one of Menon's Men in the wrong, struck him; the
Soldier, thereupon informed his Companions of it, who not
only resented it, but were violently incensed against Clearchus,
who, the same day, after he had been at the place where the
Men passed the River, and inspected the Provisions, rode back
to his own Tent with a few Attendants through Menon's Army ;
and before the arrival of Cyrus, who was on his way thither,
it happened that one of Menon's Soldiers, as he was riving
Wood, saw Clearchus riding threw the Camp, and threw his
Ax at him, but missed him; then another, and another threw
Stones at him, upon which, a great Outcry ensuing, many did
the same. However, Clearchus escaped to his own Quarter,
and immediately ordered his Men to their Arms; command-

ANABASIS— BOOK I 345

ing the heavy-armed Soldiers to stand still, resting their
Shields against their Knees, and taking with him the Thracians
and the Horse, of whom he had above forty in his Army, the
greatest part Thracians, he rode up to Menon's Men, who
thereupon, were in great Consternation, as well as Menon him-
self, and ran to their Arms, while others stood amazed, not
knowing what to do; but Proxenus, for he happened to be
coming after them at the head of his heavy-armed Men, ad-
vanced between them both, and making his Soldiers stand
to their Arms, begged of Clearchus to desist. But he took it
very ill, that, having narrowly escaped being stoned to death,
the other should speak tamely of his Grievance ; and there-
fore desired he would withdraw from between them. In the
mean time Cyrus came up, and being informed of what had
happened, immediately took his Arms, and with the Persians
who were present, rode between them, and spoke to them in
the following manner: "Clearchus! and Proxenus! and you
Greeks who are present! you are not sensible of what you are
doing; for, if you fight with one another, be assured, that I
shall this day be destroyed, and you not long after ; for, if our
Affairs decline, all these Barbarians, whom you see before you,
will be greater Enemies to you than those belonging to the
King." Clearchus, hearing this, came to himself, and both
sides resigning their Anger, laid up their Arms where they
were before.

While they were marching forward, there appeared the
Footing and Dung of Horses, which, by the Print of their
Feet, were judged to be about two thousand, marching before,
burning all the Forage, and every thing else that could be of
any use. There was a Persian, by Name Orontas, a Prince
of the Blood, and of Reputation, in mihtary Aflfairs, equal to
the most considerable among the Persians; having formed a
Design to betray Cyrus, with whom he had before been at
war; but, being now reconciled, told Cyrus, that, if he would
give him a thousand Horse, he would place himself in Ambus-
cade, and either destroy those Horse that burned all before
him, or take many of them Prisoners, which would prevent
them both from burning the Country, and from being able

346 XENOPHON

to inform the King that they had seen his Army. Cyrus
thinking this Proposal for his Service, ordered him to take a
Detachment out of every Troop* belonging to the several
Commanders.

Orontas, presuming the Horse were ready, wrote a Let-
ter to the King, acquainting him, that he should come to him
with as many Horse as he could get, and desiring him to give
Orders at the same time, to his own Horse that they should
receive him as a Friend; reminding him also of his former
Friendship and Fidelity. This Letter he gave to a trusty
Person, as he thought, who, as soon as he had received it, de-
livered it to Cyrus; who immediately commanded Orontas to
be apprehended, and caused seven of the most considerable
Persians about him to assemble in his Tent ; and, at the same
time, upon giving Orders to the Greek Generals for bringing
their heavy-armed Men, and place them round his Tent, with
their Arms in their Hands, they obeyed his Commands, and
brought with them about three thousand heavy-armed Men.
He also called Clearchus to the Council, as a Man, whom both
he, and the rest looked upon to be of the greatest Dignity
among the Greeks. When he came out, he gave his Friends
an account of the Trial of Orontas, (for Secrecy was not
enjoined,) and of the Speech which Cyrus made, as follows:

Friends! I have called you hither to the end that I may
consider with you of what is most just both in the sight of
Gods and Men, and accordingly proceed against this Criminal
Orontas. In the first place, my Father appointed this Man
to be my subject; afterwards, by the Command, as he says, of
my Brother, he made war upon me, being then in possession of
the Citadel of Sardes; this War I prosecuted in such a man-
ner, as to dispose him to desire an end of it, and I received
his Hand, and gave him mine; since that time, say Orontas,
have I done you any Injury? To which he answered. None.
Cyrus again asked him. Did not you afterwards, without any
Provocation from me, as you yourself own revolt to the
Mysians, and lay waste my Country to the utmost of your
Power? Orontas owned it. After that (continued Cyrus)

ANABASIS— BOOK I 347

when you again became sensible of your want of power, did
not you fly to the Altar of Diana, profess repentance, and hav-
ing prevailed with me, give me again your Faith, and receive
mine? This also Orontas confessed. What Injury then, (says
Cyrus) have I done you, that you should now, for the third
time, be found endeavouring to betray me? Orontas saying
that he was not provoked to it by any Injury, Cyrus continued,
You own then you have wronged me ? I am under a necessity
of owning it, replied Orontas; upon which, Cyrus asked him
again. Can you yet be an Enemy to my Brother, and a Friend
to me? Though I should, says Orontas, O Cyrus! you will
never think me so.

Hereupon, Cyrus said to those who were present. Such
are the Actions of this Man, and such his Words: at the
same time, desiring the Opinion of Clearchus, who delivered
it as follows : My Advice is, that this Man be forthwith put
to death, to the end that we may no longer be under a neces-
sity of guarding against his Practices, but have leisure, being
freed from him, to do good to those who desire to be our
Friends : after which, upon declaring the rest were unanimous
in this Advice, they all rose up, and, together with his Rela-
tions, by Order of Cyrus, laid hold on Orontas's Girdle, as a
Token of his being condemned; and instantly led out by the
proper Officers; when, although in that dishonourable situa-
tion, those who used to prostrate themselves before him, even
then paid him the same Veneration, though they knew he
was leading to death. He was carried into the Tent of
Artapates, who was in the greatest Trust with Cyrus of any
of his Sceptre-Bearers; from which time, no one ever saw
Orontas either alive or dead, nor could any one certainly re-
late how he was put to death, though various Conjectures were
made about it ; neither was it ever known that any Monument
was erected to his memory.

Cyrus next proceeded through the Country of Babylon,
and after compleating twelve Parasangas in three days march,
reviewed his Forces, both Greeks and Barbarians, in a Plain
about Midnight, (expecting the King would appear the next

348 XENOPHON

Morning, at the Head of his Army, ready to give him Bat-
tle) giving the Command of the right Wing to Clearchus, and
that of the left to Menon the Thessalian, while he himself
drew up his own Men. After the Review, and as soon as the
Day appeared, there came Deserters from the great King,
bringing an account of his Army to Cyrus, who thereupon
called together the Generals and Captains of the Greeks,
and advised with them concerning the Order of Battle ; at the
same time encouraging them by the following Persuasions :
O Greeks ! it is not from any want of Barbarians, that I make
use of you as my Auxiliaries, but, because I look upon you as
superior to great Numbers of them; for that reason I have
taken you also into my Service: Shew yourselves therefore
worthy of that Liberty you enjoy, in the possession of which I
think you extremely happy; for be assured that I would pre-
fer Liberty before all things I possess, with the Addition of
many others. But, that you may understand what kind of
Combat you are going to engage in, I shall explain it to you :
Their Numbers are great, and they come on with mighty
Shouts, which if you can withstand, for the rest I am almost
ashamed to think what kind of Men you will find our Coun-
try produces. But you are Soldiers; behave yourselves with
Bravery, and, if any one of you desires to return home, I will
take care to send him back the Envy of his Country ; but I am
confident that my Behaviour will engage many of you rather
to follow my Fortunes, than return home.

Gaulites, a banished Samian, a Man of Fidelity to Cyrus,
being present, spoke thus; It is said by some, O Cyrus! that
you promise many things now, because you are in such im-
minent Danger, which upon any Success, you will not
remember; and by others, that, though you should remem-
ber your Promises, and desire to perform them, it will not be
in your power. Cyrus then replied; Gentlemen! my pa-
ternal Kingdom to the South, reaches as far as those Climates
that are uninhabitable through Heat, and to the North, as far
as those that are so through Cold: Every thing between is
under the Government of my Brother's Friends; and, if we
conquer, it becomes me to put you, who are my Friends, in

ANABASIS— BOOK I 349

possession of it; so that I am under no apprehension, if we
succeed, lest I should not have enough to bestow on each of
my Friends ; I only fear, lest I should not have Friends enough,
on whom to bestow it: But to each of you Greeks, besides
what I have mentioned, I promise a Crown of Gold/ Here-
upon, the Officers espoused his Cause with greater Alacrity,
and made their Report to the rest; after which, the Greek
Generals, and some of the private Men, came to him to know
what they had to expect, if they were victorious; all whom
he sent away big with hopes; and all who were admitted, ad-
vised him not to engage personally, but to stand in the Rear :
Clearchus himself put this Question to him; Are you of
Opinion, O Cyrus ! that your Brother will hazard a Battle ?
Certainly, answered Cyrus: If he is the Son of Darius and
Parysatis, and my Brother, I shall never obtain all this with-
out a stroke.

While the Soldiers were accomplishing themselves for the
Action, the number of the Greeks was found to amount to ten
thousand four hundred heavy-armed Men, and two thousand
four hundred Targeteers; and that of the Barbarians in the
Service of Cyrus, to one hundred thousand Men, with about
twenty Chariots armed with Scythes. The Enemy's Army was
said to consist of twelve hundred thousand Men, and two
hundred Chariots armed with Scythes, besides six thousand
Horse, under the Command of Artagerses, all which were
drawn up before the King, whose Army was commanded by
four Generals, Commanders and Leaders, Abrocomas, Tis-
saphernes, Gobryas, and Arbaces, who had each the command
of three hundred thousand Men; but of this Number, nine
hundred thousand only were present at the Battle, together
with one hundred and fifty Chariots armed with Scythes ; for,

^Plutarch has given us the Substance of a most magnificent Letter,
written by Cyrus, to the Lacedaemonians, desiring their Assistance
against his Brother; he there tells them, that, if the Men, they send
him, are Foot, he will give them Horses; if Horsemen, Chariots; if
they have Country Houses, he will give them Villages; if Villages,
Cities ; and that they shall receive their Pay by Measure, and not by
Tale.

350 XENOPHON

Abrocomas coming out of Phoenicia, arrived five Days after
the Action. This was the Account the Deserters gave to Cyrus
before the Battle, which was afterwards confirmed by the
Prisoners. From thence Cyrus, in one day's march, made
three Parasangas, all his Forces, both Greeks and Barbarians,
marching in Order of Battle; because he expected the King
would fight that day ; for, in the middle of their March, there
was a Trench cut five Fathom broad, and three deep ; extend-
ing twelve Parasangas upwards, traversing the Plain as far
as the Wall of Media. In this Plain are four Canals derived
from the River Tigris; being each one hundred Feet in
breadth, and deep enough for Barges laden with Corn, to sail
therein : they fall into the Euphrates ; and are distant from
one another one Parasanga, having Bridges over them.^

The great King, hearing Cyrus was marching against him,
immediately caused a Trench to be made, (by way of For-
tification, ) near the Euphrates ; close to which also, there was
a narrow Pass, through which Cyrus and his Army marched,
and came within the Trench; when, finding the King did not
engage that day, by the many Tracks that appeared both of
Horses and Men which were retreated, he sent for Silanus, the
Soothsayer of Ambracia, and (agreeable to his promise) gave
him three thousand Daricks, because the eleventh Day before
that, when he was offering Sacrifice, he told Cyrus, the King
would not fight within ten Days; upon which, Cyrus said,
"If he does not fight within that time, he will not fight at all;
and, if what you say proves true, I'll give you ten Talents."
Since therefore the King had suffered the Army of Cyrus to

^Arrian differs very much from our Author, in relation to these
Canals ; he says, that the Level of the Tigris is much lower than that
of the Euphrates, and consequently all the Canals that run from the
one to the other, are derived from the Euphrates, and fall into the
Tigris. In this, he is supported by Strabo and Pliny, who say, that
in the Spring, when the Snows melt upon the Hills of Armenia, the
Euphrates would overflow the adjacent Country, if the Inhabitants
did not cut great numbers of Canals to receive and circulate this
Increase of Water, in the same manner as the Egyptians distribute
that of the Nile.

ANABASIS— BOOK I 351

march through this Pass unmolested, both Cyrus and the rest
concluded that he had given over all Thoughts of fighting ; so
that the next day Cyrus marched with less Circumspection;
and the third day, rode on his Car, very few marching before
him in their Ranks; great part of the Soldiers observed no
Order, many of their Arms being carried in Waggons, and
upon sumpter Horses.

It was now about the time of Day,* when the Market is
usually crowded, the Army being near the place, where they
proposed to encamp, when Patagyas, a Persian, one of those
whom Cyrus most confided in, was seen riding towards them
full speed, his Horse all in a Sweat, and he calling to every
one he met, both in his own Language, and in Greek, that
the King was at hand with a vast Army, marching in Order
of Battle; which occasioned a general Confusion among the
Greeks, all expecting he would charge them, before they had
put themselves in Order : but Cyrus leaping from his Car, put
on his Corslet, then mounting his Horse, took his Javelins in
his Hand, ordered all the rest to arm, and every Man to take
his Post; by virtue of which Command they quickly formed
themselves, Clearchus on the right Wing, close to the Eu-
phrates, next to him Proxenus, and after him the rest : Menon
and his Men were posted upon the left of the Greek Army.
Of the Barbarians, a thousand Paphlagonian Horse, with the
Greek Targeteers, stood next to Clearchus on the right : upon
the left, Ariaeus, Cyrus's Lieutenant-General was placed with
the rest of the Barbarians : they had large Corslets, and
Cuisses, and all of them Helmets but Cyrus, who placed him-
self in the Center with six hundred Horse, and stood ready
for the Charge, with his Head unarmed; in which manner,
they say it is also customary for the rest of the Persians to
expose themselves in a day of Action : all the Horses in Cyrus's
Army had both Frontlets and Breast-plates, and the Horsemen
Greek Swords.

It was now the middle of the Day, and no Enemy was yet
to be seen; but in the Afternoon there appeared a Dust like

*Nine o'clock.

352 XENOPHON

a white Cloud, which not long after spread itself like a Dark-
ness over the Plain ; when they drew nearer, the brazen Armour
flashed, and their Spears and Ranks appeared ; having on their
left, a Body of Horse armed in white Corslets (said to be
commanded by Tissaphernes) and followed by those with
Persian Bucklers, besides heavy-armed Men with wooden
Shields, reaching down to their Feet, (said to be Egyptians)
and other Horse, and Archers; all which marched according
to their respective Countries, each Nation being drawn up in a
solid oblong square ; and before them were disposed at a con-
siderable distance from one another. Chariots armed with
Scythes fixed aslant at the Axle-Trees, with others under the
Body of the Chariot, pointing downwards, that so they might
cut asunder every thing they encountered, by driving them
among the Ranks of the Greeks, to break them; but it now
appeared that Cyrus was greatly mistaken when he exhorted
the Greeks to withstand the Shouts of the Barbarians ; for they
did not come on with Shouts, but as silently and quietly as
possible, and in an equal and slow march. Here Cyrus, riding
along the Ranks with Pigres the Interpreter, and three or four
others, commanded Clearchus to bring his Men opposite to the
Center of the Enemy, (because the King was there) saying,
if we break that, our Work is done : but Clearchus, observing
their Center, and understanding from Cyrus that the King
was beyond the left Wing of the Greek Army, (for the King
was so much superior in number, that, when he stood in the
Center of his own Army, he was beyond the left Wing to that
of Cyrus) Clearchus, I say, would not however be prevailed on
to withdraw his right from the River, fearing to be sur-
rounded on both sides; but answered Cyrus, he would take
care all should go well.

Now the Barbarians came regularly on; and the Greek
Army standing on the same Ground, the Ranks were formed,
as the Men came up; in the mean time, Cyrus riding at a
small distance before the Ranks, surveying both the Enemy's
Army and his own, was observed by Xenophon an Athenian,
who rode up to him, and asked whether he had any thing to
command ; Cyrus, stopping his Horse, ordered him to let them

ANABASIS— BOOK I 353

all know, that the Sacrifices and Victims promised success.
While he was saying this, upon hearing a noise running through
the Ranks, he asked him what meant it ? Xenophon answered,
that the Word was now giving for the second time; Cyrus,
wondering who should give it, asked him what the Word was ;
the other replied, Jupiter the Preserver, and Victory: Cyrus
replied, I accept it, let That be the Word: After which, he
immediately returned to his Post, and the two Armies being
now within three or four Stadia of each other, the Greeks sung
the Paean, and began to advance against the Enemy; but the
Motion occasioning a small Fluctuation in the Line of Bat-
tle, those who were left behind, hastened their march, and at
once, gave a general Shout, as their Custom is when they in-
voke the God of War, and all ran forward, striking their
Shields with their Pikes (as some say) to frighten the
Enemy's Horses; so that, before the Barbarians came within
reach of their Darts, they turned their Horses and fled, but
the Greeks pursued them as fast as they could, calling out to
one another not to run, but to follow in their Ranks : some of
the Chariots were borne through their own People without
their Charioteers, others through the Greeks, some of whom
seeing them coming, divided ; while others being amazed, like
Spectators in the Hippodrome, were taken unawares ; but even
these were reported to have received no harm, neither was there
any other Greek hurt in the Action, except one upon the left
Wing, who was said to have been wounded by an Arrow.

Cyrus seeing the Greeks victorious on their side, rejoiced
in pursuit of the Enemy, and was already worshipped as King
by those about him; however, he was not so far transported
as to leave his Post, and join in the Pursuit : but, keeping his
six hundred Horse in a Body, observed the King's Motions;
well knowing that he was in the Center of the Persian Army ;
for in all Barbarian Armies, the Generals ever place them-
selves in the Center, looking upon that Post as the safest,
on each side of which their Strength is equally divided; and,
if they have occasion to give out any Orders, they are re-
ceived in half the time by the Army. The King therefore being
at that time in the Center of his own Battle, was however

354 XENOPHON

beycnd the left Wing of Cyrus ; and, when he saw none opposed
him in front, nor any Motion made to charge the Troops that
were drawn up before him, he wheeled to the left, in order
to surround their Army ; whereupon, Cyrus fearing he should
get behind him, and cut off the Greeks, advanced against the
King, and charging with his six hundred Horses, broke those
who were drawn up before him, put the six thousand Men
to flight, and, as they say, killed Artagerses, their Commander,
with his own hand.

These being broken, and the six hundred belonging to
Cyrus dispersed in the Pursuit, very few were left about him
and those almost all Persons who used to eat at his Table:
however, upon discovering the King, properly attended, and,
unable to contain himself, immediately cried out; I see the
Man; then ran furiously at him, and, striking him on the
Breast, wounded him through his Corslet, (as Ctesias the Phy-
sician says, who affirms that he cured the Wound) having
while he was giving the Blow, received a wound under the
Eye, from somebody, who threw a Javelin at him with great
force ; at the same time, the King and Cyrus engaged hand to
hand, and those about them, in defence of each/ In this
Action Ctesias, (who was with the King) informs us how many
fell on his side; on the other, Cyrus himself was killed, and
eight of the most considerable Friends lay dead upon him.
When Artapates, who was in the greatest Trust with Cyrus
of any of his sceptred Ministers, saw him fall, they say, he
leaped from his Horse, and threw himself about him; when,
(as some say) the King ordered him to be slain upon the Body

^ I cannot help noting here a very fine Passage in Plutarch in his Life
of Artaxerxes, where he excuses himself for not entering into the
Detail of this Battle, because Xenophon had already described it in
so masterly a Stile, that he thinks it folly to attempt it after him ; he
says, that many Authors have given an Account of this memorable
Action, but that Xenophon almost shews it, and, by the Clearness of
his Expression, makes his Reader assist with Emotion at every In-
cident, and partake of every Danger, as if the Action was not past,
but present. The same Author calls the Place where this Battle
was fought, Cunaxa.

ANABASIS— BOOK I 355

of Cyrus ; though others assert, that, drawing his Scimitar, he
slew himself ; for, he wore a golden Scimitar, a Chain, Brace-
lets, and other Ornaments, which are worn by the most con-
siderable Persians; and was held in great esteem by Cyrus,
both for his Affection and Fidelity.

Thus died Cyrus! a Man universally acknowledged by
those who were well acquainted with him, to have been, of all
the Persians since the ancient Cyrus, indued with the most
princely Qualities, and the most worthy of Empire. First,
while he was yet a Child, and educated with his Brother, and
other Children, he was looked upon as superior to them All in
all things: For all the Children of the great Men in Persia
are brought up at Court, where they have an opportunity
of learning great Modesty, and where nothing immodest is
ever heard or seen. There the Children have constantly be-
fore their Eyes, those who are honoured and disgraced by
the King, and hear the Reasons of both : So that while they
are Children, they presently learn to command, as well as to
obey: Cyrus was observed to have more Docility than any of
his Years, and to shew more Submission to those of an ad-
vanced Age, than any other Children, though of a Condition
inferior to his own ; he was also observed to excel not only in
his Love of Horses, but in his Management of them; and in
those Exercises that relate to War, such as Archery and
lancing of Darts, they found him the most desirous to learn,
and the most indefatigable. When in the Flower of his
Age; he was, of all others, the fondest of Hunting, and in
hunting, of Danger: And once, when a Bear rushed upon
him, he did not decline the Encounter, but closed with her,
and was torn from his Horse, when he received those Wounds,
of which he ever after wore the Scars; at last he killed the
Bear, and the Person, who first ran to his assistance, he
made a happy Man in the eyes of all that knew him

When he was sent by his Father Governor of Lydia, the
greater Phrygia, and Cappadocia, and was declared General
of all those who are obliged to assemble in the Plain of
Castolus, the first thing he did was to shew, that, if he entered
into a League, engaged in a Contract, or made a Promise,

356 XENOPHON

his greatest Care was never to deceive; for which reason
both the Cities that belonged to his Government, and private
Men, placed a Confidence in him: And, if any one had been
his Enemy, and Cyrus had made Peace with him, he was
under no apprehension of suffering by a Violation of it:
So that, when he made war against Tissaphernes, all the
Cities, besides Miletus, willingly declared for him: And these
were afraid of him, because he would not desert their ban-
ished Citizens; for he shewed by his Actions, as well as his
Words, that, after he had once given them assurance of his
Friendship, he would never abandon them, though their
Number should yet diminish, and their Condition be yet im-
paired. It was evident that he made it his endeavour to out-
do his Friends in good, and his Enemies in ill Offices; and
it was reported that he wished to live so long, as to be able to
overcome them both, in returning both. There was no one
Man therefore of our Time, to whom such numbers of People
were ambitious of delivering up their Fortunes, their Cities,
and their Persons.

Neither can it be said, that he suffered Malefactors and
Robbers to triumph; for to these he was of all Men, the
most inexorable. It was no uncommon thing to see such Men
in the great Roads deprived of their Feet, their Hands, and
their Eyes; so that any Person, whether Greek or Barbarian,
might travel whithersoever he pleased, and with whatsoever
he pleased, through the Country under his Command, and
provided he did no Injury, be sure of receiving none. It is
universally acknowledged that he honoured, in a particular
manner, those who distinguished themselves in Arms. His
first Expedition was against the Pisidians and Mysians ; which
he commanded in Person, and those whom he observed for-
ward to expose themselves, he appointed Governors over the
conquered Countries, and distinguished them by other Pres-
ents; so that brave men were looked upon as most fortunate,
and Cowards as deserving to be their Slaves ; for which reason,
great numbers presented themselves to danger, where they
expected Cyrus would take notice of them.

ANABASIS— BOOK I 357

As for Justice, if any Person was remarkable for a particu-
lar regard to it, his chief care was, that such a one should
enjoy a greater Affluence than those, who aimed at raising
their Fortunes by unjust means. Among many other In-
stances therefore of the Justice of his Administration, this
was one, that he had an Army which truly deserved that
Name, for the Officers did not come to him from Countries on
the other side of the Sea, for Gain, but, because they were
sensible that a ready Obedience to Cyrus's Commands was of
greater Advantage to them, than their monthly Pay; and
indeed, if any one was punctual in the execution of his Orders,
he never suffered his Diligence to go unrewarded; for which
reason, it is said, that Cyrus was the best served of any Prince
in all his Enterprizes. If he observed any Governor of a Prov-
ince joining the most exact Oeconomy with Justice, improving
his Country, and encreasing his Revenue, he never took any
share of these Advantages to himself but added more to them ;
so that they laboured with Chear fulness, enriched themselves
with Confidence, and never concealed their possessions from
Cyrus, who was never known to envy those who owned them-
selves to be rich ; but endeavoured to make use of the Riches
of all who concealed them. It is universally acknowledged,
that he possessed, in an eminent degree, the Art of cultivating
those of his Friends, whose Good-will to him he was assured
of, and whom he looked upon as proper Instruments to assist
him in accomplishing any thing he proposed; as an acknowl-
edgement for which, he endeavoured to shew himself a most
powerful assistant to them in every thing he found they
desired.

As, upon many accounts, he received, in my opinion, more
Presents than any one Man, so, of all Men living, he dis-
tributed them to his Friends, with the greatest Generosity, and
in this Distribution consulted both the Taste, and the Wants
of every one. And, as for those Ornaments of his Person
that were presented to him, either as of use in War, or Em-
bellishments to Dress, he is said to have expressed this Sense
of them, that it was not possible for him to wear them all,
but that he looked upon a Prince's Friends, when richly

358 XENOPHON

dressed, as his greatest Ornament. However, it is not so
much to be wondered at, that, being of greater Ability than
his Friends, he should out-do them in the Magnificence of his
Favours ; but, that he should surpass them in his Care and
his Earnestness to oblige, is, in my opinion, more worthy of
Admiration. He frequently sent his Friends small Vessels
half full of Wine, when he received any that was remarkably
good, letting them know, that he had not for a long time
tasted any that was more delicious ; besides which he also fre-
quently sent them half Geese, and half Loaves, &c., ordering
the Person who carried them to say, Cyrus liked these things,
for which reason he desires you also to taste of them. Where
Forage was very scarce, and he, by the Number and Care of
his Servants, had an opportunity of being supplied with it,
he sent to his Friends, desiring they would give the Horses, that
were for their own riding, their share of it, to the end they
might not be oppressed with Hunger, when they carried his
Friends. When he appeared in publick upon any occasion,
where he knew many People would have their eyes upon him,
he used to call his Friends to him, and affected to discourse
earnestly with them, that he might shew whom he honoured.
So that by all I have heard, no Man, either of the Greeks or
Barbarians, ever deserved more esteem from his Subjects:
this, among others, is a remarkable Instance : No one ever
deserted from Cyrus, though a Subject, to the King; Orontas
alone attempted it, yet he soon found, that the Person on
whose Fidelity he depended, was more a Friend to Cyrus than
to him : many who had been most in favour with Cyrus, came
over to him from the King after the War broke out between
them, with this Expectation, that in the Service of Cyrus their
Merit would be more worthily rewarded than in that of the
King. What happened also to him at his Death, made it
evident, that he was not only himself a good Man, but that he
knew how to make choice of those, who were faithful, affec-
tionate, and constant ; even when he was killed, all his Friends
and his Favourites died fighting for him, except Ariaeus, who,
being appointed to the Command of the Horse on the left
Wing, as soon as he heard that Cyrus was killed, fled with
all that Body which was under his Command.

ANABASIS— BOOK I 359

When Cyrus was dead, his Head and right Hand were cut
off upon the spot, and the King, with his Men, in the Pursuit,
broke into his Camp ; while those with Ariaeus no longer made
a stand, but fled through their own Camp to their former
Post, which was said to be four Parasangas from the Field
of Battle. The King, with his Forces, among many other
things, took Cyrus's Mistress, a Phocaean, who was said to be
a Woman of great Sense and Beauty. The other, a Milesian,
who was the younger of the two, was also taken by the King's
Troops, but escaped naked to the Quarter of the Greeks, who
were left to guard the Baggage. These, forming themselves,
killed many of those who were plundering the Camp, and lost
some of their own Men ; however, they did not fly, but saved
the Milesian, with the Men and Effects, and, in general, every
thing else that was in their Quarter. The King and the Greeks
were now at the distance of about thirty Stadia from one
another, pursuing the Enemy that were opposite to them,
as if they had gained a compleat Victory; and the King's
Troops plundering the Camp of the Greeks, as if they also
had been every where victorious. But, when the Greeks were
informed, that the King, with his Men were among their
Baggage, and the King, on his side, heard from Tissaphernes,
that the Greeks had put those before them to flight, and were
gone forward in the Pursuit, he then rallied his Forces, and
put them in order. On the other side, Clearchus consulted
with Proxenus, who was nearest to him, whether they should
send a Detachment, or should all march to relieve the Camp.

In the mean time the King was observed to move forward
again, and seemed resolved to fall upon their Rear ; upon which,
the Greeks faced about, and put themselves in a posture to
march that way, and receive him : However, the King did not
advance that way; but, as before, passed beyond their left
Wing,^ led his Men back the same way, taking along with him
those who had deserted to the Greeks during the Action, and
also Tissaphernes with his Forces: for Tissaphernes did not

1 Xenophon considers the Greek Army as it stood when the Battle
began, otherwise after they had faced about, their left Wing was
become their right.

360 XENOPHON

fly at the first Onset, but penetrated with his Horse, where the
Greek Targeteers were posted, quite as far as the River : How-
ever, in breaking through, he killed none of their Men, but
the Greeks dividing, wounded his People both with their Swords
and Darts. Episthenes of Amphipolis commanded the Tar-
geteers, and is reported to have shewn great Conduct upon this
occasion. Tissaphernes therefore, as sensible of his Disadvan-
tage, departed, when, coming to the Camp of the Greeks, found
the king there, and reuniting their Forces, they advanced, and
presently came opposite to the left of the Greeks, who being
afraid they should attack their Wing, by wheeling to the right
and left, and annoy them on both sides ; they resolved to open
that Wing, and cover the Rear with the River. While they
were consulting upon this, the King marched by them, and
drew up his Army opposite to theirs, in the same Order in
which he first engaged : whereupon, the Greeks, seeing they
drew near in Order of Battle, again sung the Paean, and went
on with much more Alacrity than before ; but the Barbarians
did not stay to receive them, having fled sooner than the first
time, to a Village, where they were pursued by the Greeks,
who halted there; for there was an Eminence above the Vil-
lage, upon which the King's Forces faced about. He had no
Foot with him, but the Hill was covered with Horse in such a
manner, that it was not possible for the Greeks to see what was
doing: However, they said they saw the royal Ensign there,
which was a golden Eagle with its Wings extended, resting
upon a Spear. When the Greeks advanced towards them, the
Horse quitted the Hill, not in a Body, but some running one
way, and some another: However, the Hill was cleared of
them by degrees, and at last they all left it. Clearchus did not
march up the Hill with his Men, but, halting at the foot of it,
sent Lycius the Syracusan, and another, with Orders to recon-
noitre the place, and make their Report; Lycius rode up the
Hill, and, having viewed it, brought Word that the Enemy fled
in all haste. Hereupon the Greeks halted, (it being near Sun
set) and lying under their Arms, rested themselves ; in the mean
time wondering, that neither Cyrus appeared, nor any one
from him; not knowing he was dead but imagined, that he
was either led away by the Pursuit, or had rode forward to

ANABASIS— BOOK II 361

possess himself of some Post: however, they consulted among
themselves, whether they should stay where they were, and send
for their Baggage, or return to their Camp : to the latter they
resolved upon, and arriving at their Tents about Supper-time,
found the greatest part of their Baggage plundered, with all
the Provisions, besides the Carriages which, as it was said,
amounted to four hundred, full of Flour and Wine, which Cy-
rus had prepared, in order to distribute them among the Greeks,
lest at any time his Army should labour under the want of
Necessaries; but they were all so rifled by the King's Troops
that the greatest part of the Greeks had no Supper, neither had
they eaten any Dinner; for, before the Army could halt in
order to dine, the King appeared. And in this manner they
passed the Night.

BOOK II

In the foregoing Book we have shewn, by what means
Cyrus raised an Army of Greeks, when he marched against
his Brother Artaxerxes, what was performed during his
March, and in what manner the Battle was fought, how Cyrus
was killed, and the Greeks, thinking they had gained a com-
pleat Victory, and that Cyrus was alive, returned to their
Camp, and betook themselves to rest. As soon as the Day
approached, the Generals, being assembled, wondered that Cy-
rus neither sent them any Orders, or appeared himself; re-
solved therefore to collect what was left of their Baggage, and
armed themselves to move forward in order to join Cyrus;
but just as they were on the point of marching, and as soon
as the Sun was risen, Procles, who was Governor of Teu-
thrania, a Descendant from Damaratus the Lacedaemonian, and
Glus, the Son of Tamos, came to them, and declared that Cyrus
was dead, and that Ariaeus had left the Field, and was retired
with the rest of the Barbarians, to the Camp they had left the
Day before ; where he said he would stay for them that Day,
if they thought fit to come; but that the next, he should return
to Ionia, whence he came. The Generals, and the rest of the
Greeks, hearing this, were greatly afflicted ; and Clearchus with
astonishment said, "Would to God Cyrus was alive! but since
he is dead, let Ariaeus know, that we have overcome the King,

362 XENOPHON

and, as you see, meet with no further Resistance, and that,
if you had not come, we had marched against the King; at
the same time, assure Ariasus from us, that, if he will come
hither, we will place him on the Throne: for those who gain
the Victory, gain with it a right to command." After he had
said this, he directly sent back the Messengers, together with
Cherisophus the Lacedaemonian, and Menon the Thessalian :
for Menon himself desired it, he being a Friend to Ariseus,
and engaged to him by an Intercourse of Hospitality. Clear-
chus staid 'till they returned, making Provisions as well as he
could, by killing the Oxen and Asses that belonged to the Bag-
gage; and, instead of other Wood, made use of the Arrows,
which they found in great Quantities in the Field of Battle,
not far from the place where their Army lay, (and which the
Greeks obliged the Deserters to pull out of the Ground) and
also of the Persian Bucklers, and the Egyptian Shields, that
were made of Wood, besides a great many Targets, and empty
Waggons; with all which they dressed their Victuals, and, in
this manner, supported themselves that Day.

It was now about the time the Market is generally full,
when the Heralds arrived with the Message from the King
and Tissaphernes, all of whom were Barbarians, (except
Phalinus, who was a Greek, and happened then to be with
Tissaphernes, by whom he was much esteemed ; for he pre-
tended to understand Tactics, and the Exercise of Arms) who,
after assembling together the Greek Commanders, said, that
the King, since he had gained the Victory, and killed Cyrus,
ordered the Greeks to deliver up their Arms, and, repairing
to Court, endeavour to obtain some favourable Terms from the
King. The Greeks received this with much Indignation ; how-
ever, Clearchus said no more to them than that, It was not
the Part of Conquerors to deliver up their Arms ; but (address-
ing himself to the Generals) do you make the best and most
becoming Answer you can, and I will return immediately: (he
being called out by one of his Servants to inspect the Entrails
of the Victim, which he was then offering up in Sacrifice.)
Whereupon, Cleanor the Arcadian, the oldest Person present,
made answer, "They would sooner die than deliver up their

ANABASIS— BOOK II 363

Arms." Then Proxenus, the Theban, said, "I wonder, O
Phalinus! whether the King demands our Arms, as a Con-
queror; or, as a Friend, desires them by way of Present; if,
as a Conqueror, what occasion has he to demand them ? Why
does he not rather come and take them? if he would persuade
us to dehver them, say, what are the Soldiers to expect in re-
turn for so great an Obhgation?" Phalinus answered; "The
King looks upon himself as Conqueror, since he has killed
Cyrus; for who is now his Rival in the Empire? He looks
upon you also as his Property, since he has you in the middle
of his Country, surrounded by impassable Rivers; and can
bring such numbers of Men against you, that, though he de-
livered them up to you, your Strength would fail you before
you could put them all to death."

After him Xenophon an Athenian, said, "You see, O
Phalinus! that we have nothing now to depend upon, but our
Arms, and our Courage; and, while we are Masters of our
Arms, we think we can make use of our Courage also; but
that, when we deliver up these, we deliver up our Persons too ;
do not therefore expect we shall deliver up the only Advan-
tages we possess; on the contrary, be assured, that with these
we are resolved to fight with you, even for those you are in
possession of." Phalinus, hearing this, smiled, and said,
"Young Man! indeed you seem to be a Philosopher, and speak
handsomely; but, believe me, you are mistaken, if you im-
agine, that your Courage will prevail over the Power of the
King." However, it was reported, that others, whose Resolu-
tion began to fail, said, that, as they had been true to Cyrus,
they would also be of great service to the King, if he were
disposed to be their Friend ; and that, whatever Commands he
had for them, they would obey him; and, if he proposed to
invade Egypt, they would assist him in the Conquest of it.
In the mean time, Clearchus returned, and asked if they had
already given their Answer. To whom Phalinus said, "These
Men, O Clearchus! say one, one thing, and another, another;
but pray let us have your Thoughts." To which he replied; I
rejoice, O Phalinus ! to see you, as, I am persuaded, all these
do, who are present ; for you are a Greek, as well as we, whom

364 XENOPHON

you see before you in so great numbers; wherefore, in our
present Circumstances, we desire you to advise us what we
ought to do with regard to the Proposals you bring; and in-
treat you, by all the Gods, give us that Advice, which you
think best, and most becoming, and which will do you most
honour in the Eyes of Posterity, when it shall be said, that
Phalinus, being sent by the King with Orders to the Greeks
that they should deliver up their Arms, and, being consulted
by them, gave them this Advice : for you are sensible, that your
Advice, whatever it is, must be reported in Greece." Clear-
chus insinuated this, with a view of engaging the King's Em-
bassador himself to advise them not to deliver up their Arms,
that, by this means, the Greeks might entertain better hopes:
But Phalinus artfully avoided the Snare, and, contrary to his
Expectation spoke as follows :

"If you had the least hope of a thousand to preserve your-
selves by making war against the King, I should advise you
not to deliver up your Arms; but, if you cannot hope for
Safety without his Concurrence, I advise you to preserve
yourselves by the only means you can." Clearchus replied,
"This, I find, is your Sense of the Matter; and this Answer
you are desired to return from us; that we think, if it is pro-
posed we should be Friends to the King, we shall be more
valuable Friends by preserving our Arms, than by parting with
them; and that, if we are to go to war with him, we shall
make war with greater advantage by keeping our Arms, than
by delivering them." Phalinus said, "I shall report this An-
swer: However, the King ordered me also to let you know,
that, if you stay where you are, you will have Peace; but, if
you advance or march back, you must expect War : let me have
your Answer also to this; and whether I shall acquaint the
King, that you will stay here, and accept of Peace, or that you
declare for War." Clearchus replied, "Let the King know,
that in this we are of the same opinion with him." What is
that? said Phalinus. Clearchus answered, "If we stay there
may be Peace, but, if we march back, or advance. War."
Phalinus again asked, "Shall I report peace or war?" Clear-
chus replied, "Peace, if we stay, and, if we march back, or ad-

ANABASIS— BOOK II 365'

vance, War" ; but did not declare what he proposed to do. So
Phalinus, and those with him, went away.

In the mean time Procles and Cherisophus came from
-(\ri3eus, leaving Menon with him, and brought word that
Ariaeus said, there were many Persians of greater Considera-
tion than himself, who would never suffer him to be their
King: but desires, if you propose marching away with him,
that you will come to him to-night; if not, he says he will
depart the next Morning early. Clearchus answered, what you
advise is very proper, if we join him; if not do whatever you
think expedient to your advantage ; for he would not acquaint
even these with his Purpose. After this, when it was Sun-set,
he assembled the Generals and Captains, and spoke to them as
follows: "Gentlemen! I have consulted the Gods by Sacri-
fice, concerning marching against the King, and the Victims,
with great reason, forbid it; for I am now informed, that,
between us and the King, lies the Tigres, a navigable River,
which we cannot pass without Boats; and these we have not:
neither is it possible for us to stay here, for we are without
Provisions. But the Victims were very favourable to the De-
sign of joining Cyrus's Friends. The Order therefore we
ought to pursue, is this; let every Man retire, and sup upon
what he has; and, when the Horn sounds to rest, pack up
your Baggage; when it sounds a second time, charge the
sumpter Horses; and, when a third, follow your Leader, and
let the Baggage march next to the River, and the heavy-armed
Men cover it." The Generals and Captains hearing this, de-
parted, and did as they were directed ; Clearchus having taken
upon him the command of the Army, who submitted to him,
not, as having elected him to that Employment, but, because
they were sensible that he alone was equal to the Command,
the rest being without Experience. They had made from
Ephesus, (a City of Ionia,) to the Field of Battle, ninety-
three Marches, which amounted to five hundred and thirty-five
Parasangas, or sixteen thousand and fifty Stadia: and, from
the Field of Battle to Babylon, it was computed there were
three thousand and sixty Stadia.

After this, as soon as it was dark, Miltocythes, the Thra-

366 XENOPHON

cian, with his Horse, being forty in number, and three hun-
dred Thracian Foot, deserted to the King. Clearchus, in the
manner he had appointed, led the rest, and, about Midnight,
arrived at their first Camp, where they found Ariaeus with his
Army; and the Men being drawn up and standing to their
Arms, the Generals and Captains of the Greeks went in a body
to Ariaeus, and both they and he, with the most considerable
Men about him, took an Oath not to betray one another, and to
become Allies: The Barbarians also swore that they would
conduct them without Deceit. This was the Substance of their
Oath, which was preceded by the Sacrifice of a Boar, a Bull, a
Wolf, and a Ram, whose Blood being all mixed together in the
hollow of a Shield, the Greeks dipped a Sword therein, and
the Barbarians a Spear.^ When they had pledged their Faith,
Clearchus said, "Since, O Ariaeus! your Rout and ours are
the same, say, what is your Opinion concerning our march?
Shall we return the same way we came, or have you thought
of any other more convenient?" Ariaeus, answered, "If we
return the same way we came, we shall all perish with Hunger ;
since we are now entirely destitute of Provisions : for, during
the last seventeen days march, we could supply ourselves with
nothing out of the Country, even in our way hither; and,
whatever was found there, we have consumed in our Passage ;
so that though the way we now propose to take is longer, yet
we shall be in no want of Provisions. We must make our
first Marches as long as ever we can, to the end we may get
as far as possible from the King's Army : for, if we can once
gain two or three days march of him, it will not after that be in
his power to overtake us : Since with a small Army he will
not dare to follow us, and with a great one he will not be able

^The Custom of giving a Sanction to solemn Leagues and Treaties,
by the Sacrifice of particular Animals, is very ancient: Thus the
Agreement between the Greeks and Trojans, and the single Combat
of Paris and Menelaus, which was consequent to it, was preceded
by the Sacrifice of three Lambs, one to the Earth, another to the Sun,
and a third to Jupiter. The Blood of the Victims was often mixed
with Wine, and sometimes received in a Vessel, in which the con-
tracting Parties dipped their Arms, as Herodotus informs us was
practised by the Scythians.

ANABASIS— BOOK II 367

to make quick marches ; it is also probable he may want Pro-
visions." This, says he, is my Opinion.

This Scheme, for the march of the Army was calculated
for nothing but a Retreat, or a Flight; but Fortune proved a
more glorious Conductor. As soon therefore as it was Day,
they began their march, with the Sun on their right, expecting
to arrive by Sun-set at some Villages that lay in the Country
of Babylon; and in this they were not mistaken. But in the
Afternoon they thought they saw the Enemy's Horse; upon
which, not only the Greeks, who happened to have left their
Ranks, ran to them in all haste, but Ariseus also alighting,
(for being wounded, he was carried in a Chariot) put on his
Corslet, as did all those about him. But, while they were arm-
ing, the Scouts, who had been sent out, brought word, that they
were not Horse, but only sumpter Horses at Pasture, whence
every one presently concluded that the King's Camp was not
far off : For a Smoke also appeared in the neighbouring Vil-
lages. However, Clearchus did not lead them against the
Enemy ( for he knew the Men were tired, and had eaten noth-
ing all Day; besides it was late) ; neither did he march out of
the way, avoiding the Appearance of a Flight ; but leading them
directly forward, at Sun-set he quartered with the Vanguard,
in the Villages nearest to him, out of which the King's Army
had carried away even the Timber that belonged to the Houses.
Those who arrived first, encamped with some kind of Uni-
formity, but the others who followed, coming up when it was
dark, quartered, as they could, and made so great a noise in
calling out to one another, that the Enemy heard them, of
whom those who lay nearest to the Greeks ran away, leaving
even their Tents ; which being known the next Day ; no sump-
ter Horses or Camp appeared, neither was there any Smoke
to be seen in the Neighbourhood ; and the King himself it seems
was struck at the Approach of our Army, by what he did the
next day.

On the other side, the Night advancing, the Greeks also
were seized with Fear, which was attended with a Tumult
and Noise, usual in such cases; upon this, Clearchus ordered

368 XENOPHON

Tolmides of Elis, the best Cryer of his time, whom he hap-
pened to have with him, to command silence, and make Proc-
lamation from the Commanders, that, whoever gave Infor-
mation of the Person, who had turned the Ass into the Quarter
of the heavy-armed Men, should receive the Reward of a sil-
ver Talent, By this Proclamation, the Soldiers understood,
that their fear was vain, and their Commanders safe. At
break of Day, Clearchus ordered the Greeks to stand to their
Arms in the same Disposition they had observed in the Action.

What I said concerning the King's being terrified at our
Approach, became then manifest; for, having sent. to us the
Day before, demanding our Arms, sent also Heralds by Sun-
rise to treat of a Truce : when, coming to the Out-guards, en-
quired for the Commanders; Clearchus, who was then view-
ing the Ranks, ordered them to stay 'till he was at leisure ; and,
as soon as he had drawn up the Army with much Elegance, the
Ranks being closed on all sides, and no unarmed Men to be
seen, sent for the Messengers ; came forward himself, attended
by those of his Soldiers, who were the best armed, and most
graceful in their Persons, desiring the rest of the Generals to
do the like, and asked the Messengers what they wanted ? they
replied; they were Persons come to treat of a Truce, being
properly qualified to carry Messages between the King and
the Greeks. He answered, let the King know, that first we
must fight: for we have nothing to dine on, and there is no
Man so hardy as to mention a Truce to the Greeks, unless he
first provides them a Dinner. The Messengers, hereupon de-
parted, but returning presently, (by which it appeared that the
King was near at hand, or some other Person, who was ap-
pointed to transact this matter) brought Word; the King
thought their Demand very reasonable, and that they had with
them, Guides, who, if a Truce were concluded, should conduct
them to a place, where they would find Provisions. Clearchus
then asked, whether the King proposed to comprehend those
only in the Truce, who went between him and them, or whether
it should extend to all; they said to all, 'till the King is in-
formed of your Proposals. Whereupon Clearchus, ordering
them to withdraw immediately, held a Council, where it was

ANABASIS— BOOK II 359

resolved to conclude a Truce, and to march peaceably to the
place where the Provisions were, and supply themselves there-
with. Clearchus said, I join with you in this opinion; how-
ever, I will not directly acquaint the Messengers with our Res-
olution, but defer it 'till they apprehend lest we should reject
the Truce. I imagine that our Soldiers also will lie under the
same Apprehension. Therefore, when he thought it time, he
let them know that he would enter into a Truce, and immedi-
ately ordered the Guides to conduct them where they might
get Provisions.

Clearchus, upon marching with his Army in Order of
Battle, to conclude the Truce, having himself taken charge of
the Rear, met with Ditches and Canals full of Water, so that
they were not able to pass without Bridges, which they made
with Palm-Trees, having found some lying upon the Ground,
and others they cut down. Upon this occasion it might be
observed, how equal Clearchus was to the Command; for,
taking his Pike in his left Hand, and a ^StafiF in his right,
if he saw any of those he had appointed to this Service, back-
ward in the execution of it, he displaced him, and substituted a
proper Person in his room, he himself, at the same time, going
into the Dirt, and assisting them; so that every one was
ashamed not to be active. He had appointed Men of thirty
Years of Age to this Service, but, when those of a more ad-
vanced Age, saw Clearchus forwarding the Work in Person,
they gave their Assistance also. Clearchus pressed it the more,
because he suspected the Ditches were not always so full of
Water, (for it was not the Season to water the Country) im-
agining the King had ordered the Waters to be let out, with
this view, that the Greeks might foresee great Difficulties
attending their march.

At last, coming to the Villages, where the Guides told them
they might supply themselves with Provisions, they found plen-
ty of Corn, and Wine made of the Fruit of the Palm-Tree,

*The Lacedaemonian Commanders carried a Staff or Stick, (I am
afraid of calling it a Cane) possibly for the same purpose, as the
Roman Centurions used a Vitis, that is, to correct their Soldiers.

370 XENOPHON

and also Vinegar drawn, by boiling, from the same Fruit.
These Dates, such as we have in Greece, they give to their
Domesticks; but those which are reserved for the Masters,
are chosen Fruit, and worthy of Admiration, both for their
Beauty and Size, having in all respects, the Appearance of
Amber, and so delicious, that they are frequently dried for
Sweet-meats: The Wine that was made of it, was sweet to
the Taste, but apt to give the Head-ach: Here the Soldiers
eat, for the first time, the Pith of the Palm-Tree, many ad-
miring both the Figure, and its peculiar Sweetness, although
it also occasioned violent Head-achs; but the Palm-Tree,
whence this Pith was taken, withered entirely. Here they staid
three Days; during which, Tissaphernes, with the Queen's
Brother, and three other Persians, coming from the great
King, attended by many Slaves, were met by the Greek Gen-
erals, when Tissaphernes, by an Interpreter, first spoke in
the following manner:

"I live, O Greeks! in the Neighbourhood of Greece; and,
seeing you involved in many insuperable Difficulties, looked
upon it as a piece of good Fortune, that I had room to re-
quest the King to allow me to conduct you safe into Greece:
for I imagine, I shall find no want of Gratitude either in you,
or in the whole Greek Nation; upon which Consideration, I
made my request to the King, alledging, that I had a Title to
this Favour, because I was the first Person, who informed him
that Cyrus was marching against him, and, together with this
Information, brought an Army to his Assistance: And also,
because I was the only Commander in that part of the Army,
opposite to the Greeks, who did not fly, but broke through,
and joined the King in your Camp; whither he came, after he
had killed Cyrus; and, with these Troops, here present, who
are most faithful to him, I pursued the Barbarians belonging
to Cyrus. These things, the King said, he would take into
Consideration; but commanded me to ask you, what Motive
induced you to make war upon him? I advise you to answer
with Temper, that I may, with the greater ease, obtain some
favour for you, from the King."

Upon this, the Greeks withdrew, and, having consulted

ANABASIS— BOOK II 371

together, Clearchus made answer, "We did not come together
with a design of making War upon the King, neither did we
march against him : But Cyrus found many Pretences, as you
very well know, that he might take you unprepared, and lead
us hither. However, when we saw him in Difficulties, our
Respect both to Gods, and Men, would not allow us to aban-
don him, especially since we had formerly given ourselves
leave to receive Obligations from him: But since Cyrus is
dead, we neither contend with the King for his Kingdom, nor
have any reason to desire to infest his Country: neither do
we mean to destroy him, but to return home, provided no
one molests us; but, if any Man offers an Injury to us, we
shall, with the Assistance of the Gods, endeavour to revenge
it. And, if any one confers a Favour on us, we shall not, to
the utmost of our power, be behind-hand in returning it."

Tissaphernes in answer to this, replied; "I shall acquaint
the King, and immediately return with his Sentiment; 'till
then, let the Truce continue; in the mean time we will pro-
vide a Market for you." The next Day he did not return,
which gave the Greeks some uneasiness ; but the third Day he
came, and informed them, that he had prevailed upon the King
to allow him to conduct them safe to Greece, though many
opposed it, alledging, that it was unbecoming the Dignity of
the King, to suffer those to escape, who had made war upon
him. He concluded thus; "And now you may rely upon the
Assurance we give you, that we will effectually cause the Coun-
try to treat you as Friends, conduct you without Guile into
Greece, and provide a Market for you : And, wherever we do
not provide one, we allow you to supply yourselves out of the
Country. On your side, you must take an Oath to us, that
you will march, as through a Friend's Country, without doing
any damage to it, and only supply yourselves with Meat, and
Drink, when we do not provide a Market for you ; and, when
we do, that you will pay for what you want." This was agreed
upon; and Tissaphernes, with the Queen's Brother, took the
Oath, and gave their Hands to the Greek Generals, and Cap-
tains, and received those of the Greeks; after which, Tissa-
phernes said, I must now return to the King, and, when I have

372 XENOPHON

dispatched what is necessary, I will come back to you with
all things in readiness both to conduct you into Greece, and
return myself to my own Government.

Hereupon, the Greeks and Ariaeus, being encamped near to
one another, waited for Tissaphernes above twenty Days;
during which, the Brothers, and other Relations of Ariaeus,
came to him, and some of the Persians came to those who were
with him, giving them Encouragement, and Assurances from
the King, that he would forget their taking up Arms against
him in favour of Cyrus, and every thing else, that was past.
While these things were transacting, it was manifest that
Ariaeus and his People paid less regard to the Greeks : many of
whom, therefore, being dissatisfied, came to Clearchus, and to
the rest of the Generals, saying, "Why do we stay here? Do
we not know, that the King desires, above all things, to de-
stroy us, to the end that all the rest of the Greeks may be de-
terred from making War against him? He now seduces us
to stay, because his Army is dispersed, which being re-as-
sembled, it is not to be imagined, but that he will attack us:
Possibly also he may obstruct our march, either by digging a
Trench, or raising a Wall in some convenient place, in such a
manner, as to render it impracticable. For he will never will-
ingly suffer us to return to Greece, and publish, that, being so
few in number, we have defeated his Army at the very Gates
of his Palace, and returned in triumph." <

Clearchus replied to those who alledged this; "I consider
all these things as well as you ; but I consider at the same time,
that, if we now depart, it will be thought, our Intention is to
declare War, and to act contrary to the Terms of the Truce;
the Consequence of which, will be, that no one will provide a
Market for us, or a Place, where we may supply ourselves:
besides, we shall have no Guide to conduct us ; and the moment
we enter upon these Measures, Ariseus will desert us ; so that
we shall presently have no Friend left, and even those, who
were so before, will become our Enemies. I don't know
whether we have any other River to pass, but we all know that
it is not possible for us to pass the Euphrates, if the Enemy

ANABASIS— BOOK II 373

oppose it. If we are obliged to fight, we have no Horse to
assist us, whereas those of the Enemy, are very numerous, and
very good ; so that, if we conquer, how many shall we be able
to kill? And, if we are conquered, none of us can possibly
escape. Therefore I don't see why the King, who is possessed
of so many Advantages, should, if he desires to destroy us,
think it necessary first to take an Oath, and pledge his Faith,
then to provoke the Gods by Perjury, and shew both the Greeks
and Barbarians, how little that Faith is to be relied on." He
said a great deal more to the same purpose.

In the mean time Tissaphernes arrived with his Forces, as
if he designed to return home, and with him Orontas also with
his Men, and the King's Daughter, whom he had married.
From thence they began their march, Tissaphernes leading the
way, and providing them with a Market. Ariaeus marched at
the Head of the Barbarians, who had served under Cyrus,
with Tissaphernes and Orontas, and encamped with them.
The Greeks, being diffident of these, marched by themselves,
having Guides to conduct them. Each of them always en-
camped separately, at the distance of a Parasanga, or less;
and were each upon their Guard against one another, as
against an Enemy, and this immediately created a Suspicion :
Sometimes, while they were providing themselves with Wood,
Forage, or other things of that nature, they came to Blows;
which also bred ill Blood between them. After three days
march, they came to, and passed through the Wall of Media,
which was built with burned Bricks laid in Bitumen; being
twenty Feet in thickness, one hundred in height ; and, as it was
said, twenty Parasangas in length, and not far from Babylon.

From thence they made, in two days march, eight Parasan-
gas, and passed two Canals, one upon a Bridge, the other
upon seven Pontons : These Canals were derived from the
Tigris ; from them Ditches were cut that ran into the Country,
the first, broad, then narrower, which at last ended in small
Water-courses, such as are used in Greece to water Panic.
Thence they came to the River Tigris, near which stood a large
and populous City, called Sitace, at the distance of fifteen Sta-

374 • XENOPHON

dia from the River; the Greeks encamped close to the Town,
near a large and beautiful Park, thick with Trees of every
kind, and the Barbarians on the other side of the Tigris, but
out of sight of our Army. After Supper Proxenus and Xen-
ophon happened to be walking before the Quarter where the
heavy-armed Men lay encamped ; when a Man came and asked
the Out-guards, where he might speak with Proxenus or
Clearchus; but did not enquire for Menon, though he came
from Ariaeus, with whom Menon lived in Hospitality: and,
when Proxenus told him he was the Person he enquired after,
the Man said, Ariaeus and Artaezus, who were faithful to
Cyrus, and wish you well, sent me to advise you to stand upon
your guard, lest the Barbarians attack you to-night, there
being numerous Forces posted in the neighbouring Park.
They advise you also to send a Detachment to guard the Bridge
over the Tigris, because Tissaphernes designs, if he can, to
break it down to-night; to the end, that you may not be able
to pass the River, but be shut in between the Tigris, and the
Canal. Hereupon, they carried him to Clearchus, and in-
formed him of what he said; upon which, Clearchus was in
great Trouble and Consternation ; when a young Man, who was
present, having considered the matter, said, "To attack us,
and break down the Bridge too, are things inconsistent ; for it
is plain, if they attack us, they must either conquer, or be con-
quered : if they conquer, why should they break down the
Bridge? For, in that case, though there were many Bridges,
we should have no Place to retreat to with safety : on the other
side if we conquer them, and the Bridge be broken down, they
themselves will have no Place to fly to; neither can the rest
of their Army, though in great numbers on the other side, if
they break it down, give them any Assistance."

Clearchus, hearing this, asked the Messenger, of what Ex-
tent the Country was, that lay between the Tigris, and the
Canal: he answering; it was of a large Extent, and contained,
besides Villages, many large Cities; they concluded, that the
Barbarians had sent this Man insidiously, from an Appre-
hension, lest the Greeks should not pass the Bridge, but re-
main in the Island, which was defended on one side, by the

ANABASIS— BOOK II ' 375

Tigris, and on the other, by the Canal; where the Country,
that lay between, being large, and fruitful, and in no want of
Labourers to cultivate it, might both supply them with Pro-
visions, and afford them a Retreat, if they were disposed to
make War upon the King: after which, they went to Rest;
however, they sent a Detachment to guard the Bridge : but no
Attempt of any kind was made upon their Camp, neither did
any of the Enemy come up to the Bridge, as the Guards in-
formed us. The next Morning, by break of Day, they passed
the Bridge, which was supported by thirty-seven Pontons, with
all possible Precaution: for, some of the Greeks, who were
with Tissaphernes, sent word, that the Enemy designed to
attack them in their Passage; but this did not prove true.
However, while they were passing the River, Glus appeared
with some others, observing whether they passed it or not;
when, perceiving they did, he rode off.

From the Tigris they made, in four days march, twenty
Parasangas, and- came to the River Physcus, one hundred
Feet in breadth, having a Bridge over it. Here stood a large
and populous City, called Opis, where they were met by a
natural Brother to Cyrus and Artaxerxes, who was marching
to the Assistance of the King, at the head of a numerous Army,
which he had drawn out of Susa and Ecbatana; and, causing
his Troops to halt, he took a view of the Greeks, as they passed
by him. Clearchus led his Men two by two, standing still
from time to time : Thus, while the Vanguard halted, the
whole Army was obliged to stand still which made their Forces
appear very numerous, even to the Greeks themselves, and the
Persian was struck with the sight. From thence they made,
in six days march, thirty Parasangas, through the desert Part
of Media, and arrived at the Villages belonging to Parysatis,
the Mother to Cyrus and Artaxerxes: These Tissaphernes,
to insult the Memory of Cyrus, gave the Greeks leave to plun-
der of every thing but Slaves ; by which means they found a
great Quantity of Corn, Cattle, and other things. From
thence they made twenty Parasangas, in five days march
through a desert, having the Tigris on their left. At the end
of their first Day's march, they saw a large and rich City, on

376 ' XENOPHON

the other side of the River, called Caenae; whence the Bar-
barians transported Bread, Cheese, and Wine upon Rafts
made of Skins.

After that, they came to the River Zabatus, four hundred
Feet in breadth, where they staid three days, during which
time, there were Jealousies, but no Evidence of Treachery:
Clearchus therefore resolved to have a Conference with Tis-
saphernes, and, if possible, to put an end to these Jealousies,
before they broke out into Hostilities : with this view he sent a
Person, to let him know that he desired a Conference with him.
Tissaphernes having readily answered, he might come ; Clear-
chus spoke thus: "I am sensible, O Tissaphernes! that we
have sworn, and pledged our Faith, not to do any Injury to one
another. Notwithstanding which, I observe you are upon your
guard against us, as against an Enemy; and we, perceiving
this, stand also upon our guard. But, since upon Considera-
tion I cannot find that you endeavour to do us any mischief,
and am very sure that we have not the least Thought of
hurting you, I judged it proper to have a Conference with
you, to the end that we might, if possible, extinguish our
mutual Diffidence : for I have known Men, who, while through
Calumnies or Jealousies, they stood in fear of one another,
have, with a View of inflicting a Mischief before they re-
ceived one, done irreparable Injuries to those, who never had
either the Intention, or Desire to hurt them. As therefore I
am of opinion, that such Mistakes are easiest removed by
Conferences, I come with an Intention of convincing you, that
you have no reason to distrust us: for to mention that first,
which is of the greatest moment ; our Oaths, to which we have
called the Gods to witness, forbid us to be Enemies ; and that
Person who is conscious to himself of having neglected them,
in my opinion, can never be happy; for, whoever becomes the
Object of divine Wrath, I know no Swiftness can save him, no
Darkness hide him, no strong Place defend him; since, in all
Places, all Things are subject to their Power, and every where
they are equally Lords of all. This is my Opinion concerning
both our Oaths, and the Gods, whom, by our Agreement, we
have made the Depositaries of our Friendship. As to human

ANABASIS— BOOK n 377

Advantages, I look upon you to be the greatest we can prom-
ise ourselves at this juncture; for, while we are with you,
every Road is pervious, every River passable, and we are
sure to know no want : but, without you, every Road becomes
obscure, (for we are utterly unacquainted with them) every
River impassable, every Multitude terrible, and Solitude the
most terrible of all; for that is attended with the want of
every thing. If therefore we should arrive to such a degree of
Madness, as to put you to death, what should we do else but
destroy our Benefactor, and still have the King, the most
powerful of all Avengers, to contend with? I shall now let
you see what hopes I should deprive myself of, if I endeav-
oured to hurt you. I desired to make Cyrus my Friend, be-
cause I looked upon him as the most capable of all Men living
to serve those be wished well to. Now, I find, you have not
only obtained the Army, but the Country, that belonged to
Cyrus, as an Accession to your own; and that the King's
Power, of which he felt the Weight, is become your Support.
In these Circumstances therefore, who would be so mad as not
to desire to be your Friend? Yet further I shall let you
know upon what I found my hopes, that you will also desire to
be a Friend to us: I know the Mysians are troublesome to
you; these, with the Forces under my Command, I hope I
can oblige to submit to your Power : I know the same thing of
the Pisidians, and am informed that many other Nations are
in the same Disposition, who, by my means, shall cease for
ever to disturb your Happiness. I find you are incensed against
the Egyptians, more than against any other Nation, and cannot
see what Forces you can better employ than ours, to assist
you in chastising them. If you desire to be a Friend to any
of your Neighbours, your Friendship, through our means,
will become most valuable; and, if any of them molest you,
you may, as their Superior, destroy them by our Assistance;
for we shall not only be subservient to you for the sake of our
Pay, but also in return for the Obligation we shall justly owe
to you, as to our Deliverer. When I consider all these things
I am so much surprized to find you diffident of us, that I
would willingly know the Person, who is so powerful an Ora-
tor, as to persuade you, that we form Designs against you."

378 XENOPHON

Tissapnernes answered : " I am pleased to hear you speak
with so much prudence ; for while you entertain these Thoughts
if you should meditate anything against me, you would, at the
same time, act contrary to your own Interest : but do you hear
me in your turn, while I inform you, that you yourselves can-
not, with justice, distrust either the King, or me; for, if we
were desirous to destroy you, do you think we are in any want
of numerous Horse, or Foot to effect it? or of Arms defensive
and offensive, with which we have it in our power to do you
mischief, without the danger of receiving any? Or do you
think we want proper Places to attack you ? Are there not so
many Plains inhabited by our Friends, through which you
must march with great difficulty ? So many Mountains within
your sight, over which your Road lies, and which, by our pos-
sessing ourselves of them, we can render impassable to you?
So many Rivers which afford us the Advantage of chusing out
what numbers of you we think proper to engage? Some of
these you cannot even pass but by our Assistance. But say,
we are inferior in all these : Fire at least will prove superior
to the Fruits of the Earth. By burning these we can oppose
Famine to you, with which, though you are ever so brave, you
will not be able to contend. Why therefore should we, who
have so many Opportunities of making war upon you, none of
which carry any Danger with them, chuse the only one of all
these, that is both impious and dishonourable; the Refuge of
those, who are destitute of all others, distressed and driven to
Extremities, and who, being at the same time wicked Men, re-
solve to accomplish their Designs through Perjury towards the
Gods, and Breach of Faith towards Men? We are not, O
Clearchus! either so weak, or so void of Reason. When it
was in our power to destroy you, why did we not attempt it?
Be assured, the desire I had of approving my Fidelity to the
Greeks was the Reason; and that, as Cyrus marched against
the King, relying on foreign Forces, from the Pay he gave
them; so I might return home supported by the same Troops,
from the Obligations I had conferred on them. As to the
many things, in which you may be of service to me, some of
them you have mentioned; but I know, which is the greatest:
It is the Prerogative of the King to wear an upright Turban

ANABASIS— BOOK II 379

upon his Head; but, with your Assistance possibly another
may, with some Confidence, wear it in his Heart."

Clearchus, thinking all he said to be true, replied; "Since
therefore we have so many Motives to be Friends, do not
those, who, by Calumnies, endeavour to mal<e us Enemies, de-
serve the severest Punishment?" "If you, says Tissaphernes,
with the rest of the Generals, and Captains, think fit to come
to me in publick, I will acquaint you with those, who aver that
you have Designs against me and my Army." "I will bring
them all, says Clearchus ; and, at the same time, let you know,
in my turn, whence I received my Information concerning
you." As soon as this Conference was over, Tissaphernes
shewed him great Civility, and, desiring him to stay, enter-
tained him at Supper. The next day Clearchus, returning to
the Camp, made it manifest that he entertained very friendly
Thoughts of Tissaphernes, and gave an Account of what he
proposed. He said, those Tissaphernes demanded, ought to
go to him; and that the Persons who were found to be the
Authors of these Calumnies, ought to be punished as Trait-
ors and ill-affected to the rest of the Greeks : for he suspected
Menon to be one of them, knowing that he and Ariaeus had
been in Conference with Tissaphernes, and that he was form-
ing a Party against him, and intriguing in order to draw the
whole Army to a dependence upon himself; and, by that means,
to recommend himself to Tissaphernes. Clearchus also him-
self was no less solicitous to engage the Esteem of the whole
Army, and to remove those, who opposed him: but some of
the Soldiers in contradiction to him, said, that all the Gen-
erals and Captains ought not to go, neither ought they to trust
Tissaphernes. However, Clearchus so strongly insisted upon
it, that he prevailed to have five Generals, and twenty Captains
sent to him: about two hundred Soldiers followed, under
colour of going to the Market.

When they came to the Door or Tissaphernes, the Gen-
erals, Proxenus a Boeotian, Menon a Thessalian, Agias an
Arcadian, Clearchus, a Lacedaemonian, and Socrates an Acha-
ian, were called in ; the Captains staid without : Not long after,

380 XENOPHON

at the same Signal, those who were within, were apprehended,
and those without, cut to pieces. After this, some of the
Barbarian Horse, scouring the Plain, killed all the Greeks they
met with, both Freemen and Slaves. The Greeks, from their
Camp, seeing these Excursions of the Horse, were surprized,
and in doubt of what they were doing, 'till Nicarchus, an
Arcadian, came flying from them, being wounded in the
Belly, and bearing his Bowels in his Hands, and informed them
of all that had passed. Upon this, the Greeks were amazed,
and expecting they would immediately come and attack their
Camp, ran to their Arms. But they did not all come; only
Ariaeus with Arteazus and Mithridates came. Persons who
had shewn the greatest Fidelity to Cyrus. However, the In-
terpreter of the Greeks said, he saw the Brother to Tissa-
phernes with them, and knew him. They were followed by
three hundred other Persians clad in Armour ; who, when they
drew near, ordered, if any Generals or Captains of the Greeks
were present, they should advance, to the end, they might ac-
quaint them with the King's Pleasure. Upon this, the Gen-
erals, Cleanor, an Orchomenian, and Sophsenetus, a Stym-
phalian, went out of the Camp with great Caution; and with
them Xenophon, an Athenian, that he might learn what was
become of Proxenus. (Cheirisophus happened to be absent,
being employed, with others, in getting Provisions in some
Village.) When they came within hearing, Ariaeus said,
"Clearchus, O Greeks ! having been found guilty of a Viola-
tion both of his Oath, and of the Articles of Peace, is justly
punished with death ; while Proxenus, and Menon, for having
given Information of his Designs, are in great honour. Of
you, the King demands your Arms, for he says they are his, as
having belonged to Cyrus, who was his Subject."^

Hereupon, the Greeks made answer, Cleanor the Orcho-
menian, speaking in the Name of the rest: "O Ariaeus! thou
most wicked of all Men, and the rest of you, who were Friends
to Cyrus! have you no regard either to the Gods or Men?

^Literally his Slave; this, it seems, was the Style of the Persian
Court, which not only treated their Subjects as Slaves, but had
the Insolence to call them so.

ANABASIS— BOOK II 381

You, who after you have sworn to us to look upon our Friends
and Enemies as your own, now conspire with Tissaphernes,
the most impious and deceitful of all Men, to betray us ; and
having both destroyed those Persons, to whom you gave your
Oaths, and deceived the rest of us, now come with our Enemies
to invade us?" To this Ariseus answered, "But it first ap-
peared that Clearchus was forming Designs against Tissa-
phernes, Orontas, and all the rest of us." Upon this, Xeno-
phon replied, "If Clearchus, contrary to his Oath, has been
guilty of a Violation of the Peace, he is justly punished; for
it is just, that those who are guilty of Perjury, should be put
to death. However, send Proxenus and Menon to us, since
they are both your Benefactors, and our Commanders : For
it is evident, that, being Friends to both of us, they will en-
deavour to advise that, which is best for both." To this the
Barbarians made no answer, but, having conferred together
for a considerable time, they departed.

The Generals being thus apprehended, were carried to the
King, by whose Orders their Heads were cut off. One of them,
Clearchus, was allowed by all that knew him to have been
a Man both of a military Genius, and one who delighted in
War to the last degree. For, as long as the Lacedaemonians
were at war with the Athenians, he continued in the Service
of his Country ; but, after the Peace, he persuaded his Fellow-
Citizens, that the Thracians oppressed the Greeks, and having
prevailed on the Ephori, by some means or other, he set sail
with a design to make war upon the Thracians, who inhabit
above the Chersonesus and Perinthus. After his Departure
the Ephori, for some reasons, changed their Minds, and re-
called him from the Isthmus; but he refused to obey them,
and sailed away for the Hellespont; whereupon, he was con-
demned to die by the Magistrates of Sparta, as guilty of Dis-
obedience. Being now a banished Man, he comes to Cyrus,
and by what means he gained his Confidence, has been men-
tioned in another place : Cyrus gave him ten thousand Daricks.
Having received this Money, he did not give himself up to
Indolence, but, raising an Army with it, made war upon the
Thracians; and, overcoming them in Battle, plundered their

382 XENOPHON

Country, and continued the War, 'till Cyrus had occasion for
his Army, when he departed with a design of attending him
in his Expedition.

These therefore seem to be the Actions of a Man delight-
ing in War, who, when it is in his power to live in Peace
without Detriment or Dishonour, prefers War ; when to live in
. Ease, chuses Labour, with a View to War ; and when to enjoy
Riches without danger, chuses rather, by making War, to
diminish them: so that he spent his Money in War, as chear-
fully as if it had been in Gallantry, or any other Pleasure: so
much he delighted in it. His Genius for War appeared by his
Forwardness to expose himself, and to attack the Enemy
either by Night or Day, and by his Conduct in danger ; as those
who attended him upon all occasions, universally acknowledged.
He was said to have possessed the Art of commanding, as far
as could be expected from a Man of his Temper: for, being
as capable, as any other, of taking care his Army was supplied
with Provisions, and of providing them, he was not less so of
inspiring those, who were present, with a Dread of disobeying
Clearchus. This he effected by Severity; for his Look was
stern, and his Voice harsh : He always punished with Rigour,
and frequently in Passion; so that he sometimes repented it.
But he also inflicted Punishments with Deliberation, looking
upon an Army without Discipline to be of no service. He is
reported to have said, that a Soldier ought to fear his Com-
mander more than the Enemy, if it is expected that he should
do his Duty upon Guard, abstain from what belongs to a
Friend, or attack the Enemy without Reluctance. In Dan-
gers the Men obeyed him absolutely, nor ever desired to be
commanded by any other; for they said his Sternness seemed
then changed to Chearfulness, and his Severity to Resolution ;
so that they looked upon it no longer as Severity, but as their
Preservation. However, when the Danger was over, and they
had an opportunity of serving under other Commanders, many
of them left him; for he was not in the least gracious but al-
ways rough and cruel: so that the Soldiers were in the same
Disposition to him, as Scholars to their Master ; none ever fol-
lowing him out of Friendship or Good-will. Those, who were

ANABASIS— BOOK II 383

appointed by his Country, or compelled through Want, or any
other Necessity to serve under him, were perfectly obedient to
him. And, when they began to conquer under his Command,
many things concurred to make them good Soldiers ; for their
Confidence in their own Strength, joined to their Fear of him,
made them observant. This was his Character as a Comman-
der ; but it was said that he was unwilling to be commanded by
others. When he died, he was about fifty Year of Age.

Proxenus, the Boeotian, even from a Child, was desirous of
becoming equal to great Employments; and, to satisfy this
desire, gave a Sum of Money to Gorgias the Leontine.^ After
he had been some time with him, thinking himself now both
able to command, and, if he entered into the friendship of great
Men, to return all Obligations, he engaged in this Enterprize
with Cyrus, whence he promised to himself great Reputation,
great Power, and great Riches : Though he was earnest in the
pursuit of these, yet on the other side his Conduct plainly
shewed that he did not desire to gain any of them through In-
justice ; but that he ought to attain them with Jusice and Hon-
our, and not otherwise. He was very capable of commanding
an orderly and a well-disciplined Army; but incapable of in
spiring Respect or Fear, and stood in greater Awe of his

^This Gorgias was a celebrated Master of Eloquence. He so far
surpassed all the rest of his Profession, that Diodorus Siculus tells
us he received no less from his Scholars than one hundred Minae,
that is, 1. 322 : 18 :4 Sterling. [$1600.] This Gorgias, it seems, was
at the head of the Embassy which the Leontines sent to Athens,
the second Year of the 88th Olympiad, to desire their Assistance
against the Syracusans. In the first Audience he had of the Athe-
nians his Eloquence or rather the Novelty of it so inchanted that
People, who were great Admirers of both, that they were unfor-
tunately prevailed upon to engage in the Sicilian War, the Event of
which gave them so fatal a Blow, they could never recover it. Dio-
dorus Siculus says also, that he was the Inventor of the Art of
Rhetoric, and the first who made use of studied Figures and laboured
Antitheses of equal Length, and the same Termination; this manner
of speaking, the same Author says, pleased at first from its Novelty,
but was afterwards looked upon as affected, and, if frequently prac-
tised, ridiculous.

384 XENOPHON

Men, than they of him; it being visible, that he was more
afraid of disobliging them, than they of disobeying him. It
was his opinion, that all which was required to be, and seem to
be equal to the Command, was to praise worthy Men, and not
to praise the unworthy; for which reason he was beloved by
Men of Worth and Honour, while ill Men were for ever form-
ing Designs against him, as against a Man easy to be circum-
vented. He was about thirty Years old, when he died.

Menon the Thessalian, did not either conceal his immod-
erate Desire of Riches ; or his Desire of commanding, in order
to increase them; or of being esteemed for the same reason.
He desired to be well with those in Power, that his Injustice
might escape Punishment. He thought the shortest ways to
accomplish his Designs were Perjury, Falsehood, and Deceit ;
and that Simplicity and Truth were Weaknesses. He was
observed to have no Affection for any Man, and, where he
professed a Friendship, it was visible he designed to betray.
He never spoke with Contempt of an Enemy, but was ever
turning all those he conversed with into ridicule. He never
formed any Design against the Possessions of an Enemy, ( for
he thought it difficult to rob those who were upon their guard)
but looked upon himself as the only Person that was sensible
how very easy it is to seize the unguarded Possessions of a
Friend. He stood in fear of those whom he observed to be
guilty of Perjury and Injustice, as of Men well armed; but
practised upon Persons of Piety and Truth, as upon those,
who are defenceless. And, as others value themselves upon
Religion, Veracity, and Justice, so Menon valued himself upon
being able to deceive, to invent Falshoods and abuse his
Friends ; and looked upon those as ignorant, who were without
Guile. When he endeavoured to gain the first place in any
Man's Friendship, he thought the most effectual way of recom-
mending himself, was by slandering those who were in pos-
session of it. He sought to make himself obeyed by the Sol-
diers, by becoming an Accomplice in their Crimes, and aimed
at being esteemed and courted, by shewing that he had both
the Power and the Will to commit great Injustice. If any
one forsook him, he spoke of it as a favour, that while he made

ANABASIS— BOOK III 385

use of his Service, he did not destroy him. Whatever is not
pubHcly known in this Man's Character, may seem to be
feigned, but the following Particulars all the World is ac-
quainted with. While he was in the Flower of his Youth he
obtained the Command of the Mercenaries in the Service of
Aristippus. At that Age also he was in great favour with
Ariseus, a Barbarian, because he delighted in beautiful Youths;
and before he himself had a Beard, he had a bearded Favourite,
called Tharypas. When the rest of the Generals suffered for
having made war against the King with Cyrus, he though equal-
ly guilty, did not lose his Life; but was afterwards punished
with death by the King, not like Clearchus, and the rest of the
Generals, by losing his Head, which was looked upon as the
most honourable Death; but, as it is said, after he had been
tortured, a whole Year, like a Malefactor.

Agias, the Arcadian, and Socrates, the Achaian, were both
put to death at the same time; these were without Reproach
both in War, and Friendship. They were then about forty
Years of Age.

BOOK III

In the foregoing Discourse, we have related the Actions
of the Greeks during the Expedition of Cyrus to the Battle,
and what happened after his Death, when the Greeks marched
away with Tissaphernes upon the Peace, i After the Gen-
erals were apprehended, and the Captains and Soldiers who
accompanied them, put to death, the Greeks were in great
distress; knowing they were not far from the King's Palace,
surrounded on all sides with many Nations and many Cities,
I all their Enemies ; that no one would any longer supply them
with Provisions; that they were distant from Greece above
ten thousand Stadia, without a Guide to conduct them, and
their Road thither intercepted by impassable Rivers ; that even
those Barbarians, who had served under Cyrus, had betrayed
them, and that they were now left alone without any Horse to
assist them. \ By which it was evident, that if they overcame
the Enemy, they could not destroy a Man of them in the

386 XENOPHON

Pursuit, and if they themselves were overcome, not one of them
could escape. These Reflections so disheartened them, that
few eat any thing that Evening, few made Fires, and many
that Night never came to their Quarter, but laid themselves
down, every Man in the place where he happened to be, un-
able to sleep through Sorrow, and a Longing for their Coun-
try, their Parents, their Wives and Children, whom they never
expected to see again : In this Disposition of Mind, they all
lay down to rest.

There was in the Army, an Athenian, by Name, Xenophon,
who, without being a General, a Captain, or a Soldier, served
as a Volunteer : for, having been long attached to Proxenus by
the Rights of Hospitality, the latter sent for him from home,
with a promise, if he came, to recommend him to Cyrus ; from
whom, he said, he expected greater Advantages, than from his
own Country. Xenophon having read the Letter, consulted
Socrates the Athenian concerning the Voyage, who fearing
lest his Country might look upon his Attachment to Cyrus
as criminal, because that Prince was thought to have espoused
the Interest of the Lacedaemonians against the Athenians with
great Warmth, advised Xenophon to go to Delphos, and con-
sult the God of the Place concerning the Matter. Xenophon
went thither accordingly and asked Apollo, to which of the
Gods he should offer Sacrifice, and address his Prayers, to the
end that he might perform the Voyage he proposed in the best
and most reputable manner, and, after a happy Issue of it,
return with safety. Apollo answered, that he should sacrifice
to the proper Gods. At his Return, he acquainted Socrates
with this Answer ; who blamed him, because he had not asked
Apollo in the first place, whether it were better for him to
undertake this Voyage, than to stay at home : but, having him-
self first determined to undertake it, he had consulted him con-
cerning the most proper means of performing it with success :
but, since says he, you have asked this, you ought to do what
the God has commanded. / Xenophon therefore, having offered
Sacrifice to the Gods according to the Direction of the Oracle,
set sail, and found Proxenus and Cyrus at Sardes ready to
march towards the Upper Asia. Here he was presented to

ANABASIS— BOOK III 387

Cyrus, and Proxenus pressing him to stay, Cyrus was no less
earnest in persuading him, and assured him, that, as soon as the
Expedition was at an end, he would dismiss him; this he pre-
tended was designed against the Pisidians.

Xenophon, therefore, thus imposed on, engaged in the En-
terprize, though Proxenus had no share in the Imposition, for
none of the Greeks, besides Clearchus, knew it was intended
against the King : but, when they arrived in Cilicia, every one
saw the Expedition was designed against him. Then, though
they were terrified at the length of the way, and unwilling to
go on, yet the greatest part of them, out of a regard both
to one another, and to Cyrus, followed him: and Xenophon
was of this number. When the Greeks were in this distress,
he had his share in the general Sorrow, and was unable to
rest. However, getting a little sleep, he dreamed he thought it
thundered, and that a Flash of Lightning fell upon his pa-
ternal House, which upon that was all in a blaze. Imme-
diately he awoke in a fright, and looked upon his Dream as
happy in this respect, because, while he was engaged in Dif-
ficulties and Dangers, he saw a great light proceeding from
Jupiter. On the other side, he was full of fear, when he con-
sidered that this Dream was sent by Jupiter the King, and
that the Fire, by blazing all round him, might portend, that he
should not be able to get out of the King's Territories, but
should be surrounded on all sides with Difficulties.

However the Events, which were consequent to this Dream,
sufficiently explain the Nature of it ; for presently these Things
happened: As soon as he awoke, the first Thought that oc-
curred to him was this. Why do I lie here? the Night wears
away, and as soon as the Day appears, it is probable the
Enemy will come and attack us; and if we fall under the
Power of the King, what can preserve us from being Spectators
of the most tragical Sights, from suffering the most cruel Tor-
ments, and from dying with the greatest Ignominy? Yet no
one makes Preparation for Defence, or takes any Care about
it: but here we lie, as if we were allowed to live in Quiet.
From what City therefore do I expect a General to perform

388 XENOPHON

these things? What Age do I wait for? But, if I abandon
myself to the Enemy this Day, I shall never live to see an-
other. Upon this, he rose, and first assembled the Captains
who had served under Proxenus; and, when they were to-
gether, he said to them, "Gentlemen! I can neither sleep,
(which, I suppose, is your case also) nor lie any longer, when
I consider the Condition to which we are reduced. For it is
plain the Enemy would not have declared War against us, had
they not first made the necessary Preparations : while, on our
side, none takes any care how we may resist them in the best
manner possible. If we are remiss, and fall under the Power
of the King, what have we to expect from him, who cut off
the Head and Hand of his own Brother, even after he was
dead, and fixed them upon a Stake ? j How then will he treat
us, who have no support, and have made war against him,
with a design to reduce him, from the Condition of a King,
to that of a Subject, and, if it lay in our power, to put him to
death? Will he not try the power of every Extremity, to
the End, that, by torturing us in the most ignominious man-
ner, he may deter all Men from ever making war against
him? We ought therefore to do every thing rather than fall
into his Hands. While the Peace lasted, I own, I never ceased
to consider ourselves, as extremely miserable, and the King,
with those who belonged to him, equally happy: When I
cast my Eyes around, and beheld how spacious and beautiful
a Country, they were Masters of, how they abounded in Pro-
visions, Slaves, Cattle, Gold, and rich Apparel; and,- on the
other hand, reflected on the Situation of our Men, who had no
share of all these Advantages, without paying for them, which
I knew very few were any longer able to do, and that our
Oaths forbad us to provide ourselves by any other means ;
when I reflected, I say, on these things, I was more afraid of
Peace than now I am of War. But, since they have put an
end to the Peace, there seems to be an end also both of their
Insolence, and our Jealousy: And these Advantages lie now
as a Prize between us, to be given to the bravest: In this
Combat the Gods are the Umpires, who will, with Justice,
declare in our favour; for our Enemies have provoked them
by Perjury, while we, surrounded with every thing to tempt

ANABASIS— BOOK III 389

us, have, with Constancy, abstained from all, that we might
preserve our Oaths inviolate : So that, in my opinion, we have
reason to engage in this Combat with greater Confidence than
they. Besides, our Bodies are more patient of Cold, of Heat,
and of Labour than theirs; and our Minds, with the divine
Assistance, more resolved: And if, as before, the Gods
vouchsafe to grant us the Victory,! their Men will be more
obnoxious to Wounds and Death. But possibly others may
also entertain these Thoughts: For Heaven's sake then, let
us not stay 'till those who do come and encourage us to
glorious Actions, but let us prevent them, and excite even
them to Virtue. Shew yourselves the bravest of all the Cap-
tains, and the most worthy to command of all the Generals.
As for me, if you desire to lead the way in this, I will fol-
low you with Chearf ulness ; and if you appoint me to be your
Leader, I shall not excuse myself by reason of my Age, but
think myself even in the Vigour of it to repel an Injury.

The Captains, hearing this, all desired he would take upon
him the Command, except a certain Person, by Name Appol-
lonides, who affected to speak in the Bceotian Dialect. This
Man said, that, whoever proposed any other means of re-
turning to Greece, than by endeavouring to persuade the King
to consent to it, talked impertinently; and, at the same time,
began to recount the Difficulties they were engaged in. But
Xenophon interrupting him, said, "Thou most admirable Man!
who art both insensible of what you see, and forgetful of
what you hear. You were present, when the King, after the
Death of Cyrus, exulting in his Victory, sent to us to deliver
up our Arms, and when, instead of delivering them up, we
marched out ready to give him Battle, and encamped near
him, what did he leave undone by sending Embassadors, beg-
ging Peace, and supplying us with Provisions, 'till he had ob-
tained it? And afterwards, when our Generals and Captains
went to confer with them, as you advise us to do, without their
Arms, relying on the Peace, what has been their Treatment?
Are not these unfortunate Men daily scourged, tortured, and
insulted, and forbid even to die, though, I dare say, they earn-
estly desire it? When you know all this, can you say that

390 XENOPHON

those, who exhort us to defend ourselves, talk impertinently,
and dare you advise us to sue again to the King for favour?
For my part, Gentlemen! I think we ought not to admit this
Man any longer into our Company, but use him as he de-
serves, by removing him from his Command, and employing
him in carrying our Baggage : for, by being a Greek with
such a Mind, he is a Shame to his Country, and dishonours all
Greece."

Then Agasias of Stymphalus said, "This Man has no
relation to Boeotia, or to any other Part of Greece ; for to my
knowledge, both his Ears are bored, like a Lydian. Which
was found to be true : so they expelled him their Com-
pany. The rest went to all the Quarters of the Army, and
where any Generals were left, they called them up; where
they were wanting, their Lieutenants; and where there were
any Captains left, they called up them. When they were all
assembled, they placed themselves before the Quarter, where
the heavy-armed Men lay encamped ; the Number of the Gen-
erals and Captains amounting to about a hundred. While this
was doing, it was near Midnight. Then Hieronymus of Elis,
the Oldest of all the Captains, who had served under Proxe-
nus, began thus: "Gentlemen! we have thought proper, in
the present Juncture both to assemble ourselves, and call you
together, to the end we may, if possible, consider of some-
thing to our Advantage. Do you, O Xenophon ! represent to
them what you have laid before us." Upon this, Xeno-
phon said :

"We are all sensible that the King, and Tissaphernes, have
caused as many of us as they could to be apprehended, and it
is plain they design, by the same treacherous means, if they
can, to destroy the rest. We ought, therefore, in my opinion,
to attempt every thing, not only to prevent our falling under
their Power, but, if possible, to subject them to ours.
Know then, that, being assembled in so great Num-
bers, you have the fairest of all Opportunities; for all the
Soldiers fix their Eyes on you : if they see you disheartened,
their Courage will forsake them; but, if you appear resolute

ANABASIS— BOOK III 391

yourselves, and exhort them to do their Duty, be assured, they
will follow you, and endeavour to imitate your Example. It
seems also reasonable that you should excel them in some
degree, for you are their Generals, their Leaders, and their
Captains : and, as in time of Peace you have the Advantage of
them both in Riches and Honours, so now in time of War,
you ought to challenge the Pre-eminence in Courage, in Coun-
sel, and, if necessary, in Labour. In the first place then, it is
my Opinion, that you will do great service to the Army, if
you take care that Generals and Captains are immediately
chosen in the room of those who are slain: Since, without
Chiefs, nothing either great or profitable can indeed be
achieved upon any occasion, but least of all in War. For,
as Discipline preserves Armies, so the want of it has already
been fatal to many. After you have appointed as many Com-
manders, as are necessary, I should think it highly seasonable
for you to assemble and encourage the rest of the Soldiers;
for no doubt you must have observed, as well as I, how de-
jectedly they came to their Quarters, and how heavily they
went upon Guard : So that, while they are in this Disposi-
tion, I don't know what Service can, either by Night or Day,
be expected from them. They have at present nothing before
their Eyes, but Sufferings, if any one could turn their Thoughts
to Action, it would greatly encourage them. For you know,
that, neither Numbers nor Strength give the Victory: but
that side which, with the Assistance of the Gods, attacks with
the greatest Resolution, is generally irresistable. I have taken
notice also, that those Men who in War seek to preserve their
Lives at any rate commonly die with Shame and Ignominy;
while those who look upon Death as common to all, and un-
avoidable, and are only solicitous to die with honour, oftener
arrive at old Age, and while they live, live happier. As there-
fore we are sensible of these things, it behoves us at this
critical juncture, both to act with Courage ourselves, and to
exhort the rest to do the same."

After him Cheirisophus said: "Before this time, O Xeno-
phon ! I knew no more of you than that you were an Athenian :
but now I commend both your Words and Actions, and wish

392 XENOPHON

we had many in the Army Hke you; for it would be a gen-
eral good. And now, Gentlemen! let us lose no time: those
of you, who want Commanders, depart immediately and chuse
them; and when that is done, come into the middle of the
Camp, and bring them with you: after that, we will call the
rest of the Soldiers hither: and let Tolmides the Cryer, at-
tend." Saying this, he rose up, that what was necessary,
might be transacted without delay. After this Timasion a
Dardanian was chosen General in the room of Clearchus,
Xanthicles an Achaian in the room of Socrates, Cleanor an
Orchomenian in the room of Agias an Arcadian, Philysius an
Achaian in the room of Menon, and Xenophon an Athenian
in that of Proxenus.

As soon as the Election was over, it being now near break
of Day, the Officers advanced to the middle of the Camp, and
resolved first to appoint Out-guards, and then to call the Sol-
diers together. When they were all assembled, Cheirisophus,
the Lacedaemonian first got up, and spoke as follows: "Sol-
diers! we are at present under great Difficulties, being de-
prived of such Generals, Captains, and Soldiers : Besides, the
Forces of Ariaeus, who were before our Auxiliaries, have be-
trayed us. However, we ought to emerge out of our present
Circumstances, like brave Men, and not be cast down, but en-
deavour to redeem ourselves by a glorious Victory. If that
is impossible, let us die with honour, and never fall alive under
the power of the Enemy: for, in that case, we should suflFer
such things, as I hope the Gods keep in store for them."

After him Cleanor of Orchomenus rose up and said. " You
see, O Soldiers ! the Perjury and Impiety of the King, as well
as the Perfidy of Tissaphernes, who amused us by saying that
he lived in the Neighbourhood of Greece, and should, of all
things, be most desirous to carry us in safety thither : It was
He that gave us his Oath to perform this; He that pledged
his Faith ; He that betrayed us, and caused our Generals to be
apprehended : And this he did in defiance even of Jupiter the
Avenger of violated Hospitality; for, having entertained
Clearchus at his Table, by these Arts he first deceived, and
then destroyed our Generals. Ariaeus also, whom we offered

ANABASIS— BOOK III 393

to place upon the Throne, with whom we were engaged by a
mutual Exchange of Faith not to betray one another; this
Man, I say, without either Fear of the Gods, or Respect for
the Memory of Cyrus, though, of all others the most esteemed
by him when alive, now revolts to his greatest Enemies, and
endeavours to distress us, who were his Friends. But of these
may the Gods take Vengeance! It behoves us, who have
these things before our Eyes, not only to take care that these
Men do not again betray us, but also to fight with all possible
Bravery, and submit to what the Gods shall determine."

Then Xenophon rose up, dressed for the War in the most
gorgeous Armour he could provide, for he thought, if the
Gods granted him Victory, these Ornaments would become a
Conqueror, and if he were to die, they would decorate his
Fall. He began in the following manner : "Cleanor has laid
before you the Perjury and Treachery of the Barbarians:
which, to be sure, you yourselves are no Strangers to. If
therefore we have any Thoughts of trying their Friendship
again, we must be under great Concern, when we consider
what our Generals have suffered, who by trusting to their
Faith, put themselves in their power. But, if we propose to
take Revenge of them with our Swords for what they have
done, and persecute them for the future with War in every
shape; we have, with the Assistance of the Gods, many fair
Prospects of Safety." While he was speaking, one of the
Company sneezed, upon this the Soldiers all at once adored
the God. Then Xenophon said, " Since, O Soldiers ! while
we were speaking of Safety, Jupiter the Preserver, sent us an
Omen, I think we ought to make a Vow to offer Sacrifice to
this God, in Thanksgiving for our Preservation, in that Place
where we first reach the Territories of our Friends ; and also
to the rest of the Gods, in the best manner we are able. Who-
ever, then is of this Opinion, let him hold up his Hand." And
they all held up their Hands ; then made their Vows, and
sung the Paean. After they had performed their Duty to the
Gods, he went on thus :

" I was saying that we had many fair Prospects of Safety.
In the first place we have observed the Oaths, to which we

394 XENOPHON

called the Gods to witness, while our Enemies have been
guilty of Perjury, and have violated both their Oaths and the
Peace. This being so, we have reason to expect the Gods
will declare against them, and combat on our side; and They
have it in their power, when they think fit, soon to humble
the High, and, with ease, to exalt the Low, though in distress.
Upon this occasion, I shall put you in mind of the Dangers
our Ancestors were involved in, in order to convince you that
it behoves you to be brave, and that those who are so, are
preserved by the Gods amidst the greatest Calamities: for,
when the Persians, and their Allies, came with a vast Armv
to destroy Athens, the Athenians, by daring to oppose them,
overcame them ; and having made a Vow to Diana to sacrifice
as many Goats to her as they killed of the Enemy, when they
could not find enough, they resolved to sacrifice five hundred
every Year ; and even to this Day they oflfer Sacrifice in Thanks-
giving for that Victory. Afterwards when Xerxes invaded
Greece, with an innumerable Army, then it was that our An-
cestors overcame the Ancestors of these very Men, both by
Sea and Land ; of which the Trophies, that were erected
upon that occasion, are lasting Monuments still to be seen. But
of all Monuments the most considerable is the Liberty of
those Cities, in which you have received your Birth and Edu-
cation: for you pay Adoration to no other Master but the
Gods. From such Ancestors are you descended : neither can
I say that you are a dishonour to them, since, within these
few Days, you engaged the Descendants of those Men, many
times superior to you in number, and, with the Assistance of
the Gods, defeated them. Then you fought to place Cyrus
on the Throne, and in his Cause fought bravely: Now your
own Safety is at stake, you ought certainly to shew more
Courage and Alacrity. You have also reason now to enter-
tain a greater Confidence in your own Strength than before;
for though you were then unacquainted with the Enemy,
and saw them before you in vast numbers, however you dared
to attack them with the Spirit of your Ancestors: whereas
now you have had Experience of them, and are sensible that,
though they exceed you many times in number, they dare not
stand before you, why should you any longer fear them?

ANABASIS— BOOK III 395

Neither ought you to look upon it as a Disadvantage, that the
Barbarians belonging to Cyrus, who, before fought on your
side, have now forsaken you ; for they are yet worse Soldiers
than those we have already overcome. They have left us
therefore, and are fled to them : and it is our Advantage that
those who are the first to fly, should be found in the Enemy's
Army rather than in our own. If any of you are disheartened
because we have no Horse, in which the Enemy abound, let
them consider that ten thousand Horse are no more than ten
thousand Men; for no one was ever killed in an Action by
the Bite or Kick of a Horse. The Men do every thing that is
done in Battle. But further, we are steadier upon the Ground
than they on Horseback ; for they, hanging upon their Horses
are not only afraid of us, but also of falling; while we stand-
ing firmly upon the Ground, strike those who approach us,
with greater Force, and a surer Aim. The Horse have but
one Advantage over us, they can fly with greater Security.
But if you are confident of your Strength in Battle, yet look
upon it as a Grievance that Tissaphernes will no longer conduct
us, or the King supply us with a Market; consider which is
the most advantageous to have Tissaphernes for our Con-
ductor, who, 'tis plain has betrayed us, or such Guides as we
shall make choice of, who will be sensible that, if they mis-
lead us, they must answer it with their Lives. Consider also
whether it is better for us to purchase, in the Markets they
provide, small Measures for great Sums of Money, which
we are no longer able to furnish, or, if we conquer, to
make use of no other Measure but our Will. If you
are convinced that these things are best in the way they
are in, but think the Rivers are not to be repassed, and that
you have been greatly deluded in passing them, consider with
yourselves, whether the Barbarians have not taken very wrong
Measures even in this; for all Rivers, though at a distance
from their Springs, they may be impassable, yet if you go to
their Sources, you will find them so easily fordable, as not even
to wet your Knees. But, if the Rivers refuse us Passage,
and no Guide appears to conduct us, even in that case we
ought not to be disheartened ; for we know that the Mysians,
who are certainly not braver Men than ourselves, inhabit

396 XENOPHON

many large and rich Cities in the King's Territories against
his Will. The Pisidians, we also know, do the same. We
have ourselves seen the Lycaonians, who, after they had made
themselves Masters of the strong Places that command the
Plains, enjoy the Product of the Country. And I should
think we ought not yet to betray a desire of returning home ;
but prepare every thing as if we proposed to settle here: for
I am well assured that the King would grant many Guides to
the Mysians, and give them many Hostages, as a Security,
to conduct them out of his Territories without fraud; he
would even level the Roads for them, if they insisted upon
being sent away in Chariots. And I am convinced he would,
with great Alacrity, do the same for us, if he saw us disposed
to stay here: But I am afraid, if once we learn to live in
Idleness, and Plenty, and converse with the fair and stately
Wives and Daughters of the Medes and Persians, we shall,
like the Lotophagi,^ forget to return home. It seems there-
fore to me both just and reasonable that we first endeavour
to return to Greece, and to our Families, and let our Country-
men see that they live in voluntary Poverty, since it is in their
power to bring their Poor hither, and enrich them; for all
these Advantages, Gentlemen! are the Rewards of Victory.
The next thing, I shall mention to you, is in what manner we
may march with the greatest Security, and, if necessary, fight
with the greatest Advantage. In the first place, continued
he, I think we ought to burn all the Carriages, that the Care
of them may not influence our march, but that we may be
directed in it by the Advantage of the Army. After that, we
ought to burn our Tents also; for they are troublesome to
carry, and of no use either in fighting, or in supplying our-
selves with Provisions. Let us also rid ourselves of all super-
fluous Baggage, and reserve only those things, that are of
use in War, or for our Meat and Drink; to the end as many
of us, as possible, may march in their Ranks, and as few be
employed in carrying the Baggage; for the Conquered, you
know, have nothing they can call their own; and, if we con-

^This Tradition seems derived from Homer, who says that those who
eat of the Lotus never think of returning home.

ANABASIS— BOOK III • 397

quer, we ought to look upon the Enemy as Servants to be
employed in carrying our Baggage. It now remains that I
speak to that which is, in my opinion, of the greatest Conse-
quence. You see that even the Enemy did not dare to declare
War against us, 'till they had seized our Generals, for they
were sensible, that, while we had Commanders, and yielded
Obedience to them, we were able to conquer them; but, hav-
ing seized our Commanders, they concluded that we should
from a want of Command and Discipline, be destroyed. It
is necessary therefore that our present Generals should be
more careful than the former, and the Soldiers more ob-
servant, and more obedient to Them than to their Predeces-
sors; and, if you make an Order, that whoever of you
happens to be present, shall assist the Commander in chastis-
ing those who are guilty of Disobedience, it will be the most
effectual means to frustrate the Designs of the Enemy; for,
from this Day, instead of one Clearchus, they will find a
thousand, who will suffer no Man to neglect his Duty. But
it is now Time to make an End, for it is probable the Enemy
will presently appear; and, if you approve of any thing I
have said, ratify it immediately, that you may put it in Execu-
tion. But, if any other Person thinks of any thing more
proper, though a private Man, let him propose it; for our
Preservation is a general Concern."

After that, Cheirisophus said, "If it is necessary to add any
thing to what Xenophon has laid before us, it may be done by
and by: At present I think we ought to ratify what he has
proposed, and whoever is of that opinion, let him hold up
his Hand:" and they all held up their Hands. Then Xeno-
phon, rising up again, said, "Hear then, O Soldiers! what,
in my opinion, we are to expect. It is evident that we must
go to some place where we may get Provisions. I am informed
there are many fair Villages not above twenty Stadia from
hence: I should not therefore be surprized if the Enemy, like
cowardly Dogs that follow, and, if they can, bite those who
pass by, but fly from those who pursue them, should also
follow us when we begin to move. Possibly therefore we
shall march with greater Safety, if we dispose the heavy-

398 XENOPHON

armed Men in an hollow square, to the end the Baggage, and
the great number of those who belong to it, may be in greater
Security. If then we now appoint the proper Persons to
command the Front, each of the Flanks, and the Rear, we
shall not have to consider of this, when the Enemy appears;
but shall presently be ready to execute what we have resolved.
If any other Person has any thing better to propose, let it be
otherwise: If not, let Cheirisophus command the Front, since
he is a Lacedaemonian ; let two of the oldest Generals command
the Flanks; and Timasion and Myself, who are the youngest,
will, for the present take charge of the Rear. Afterwards,
when we have had Experience of this Disposition, we may
consider what is best to be done, as occasion offers. If any
one thinks of any thing better, let him mention it." But no
body opposing what he offered, he said, "Let those who are
of this Opinion, hold up their Hands:" so this was resolved.
"Now, says he, you are to depart, and execute what is de-
termined : And whoever among you desires to return to his
Family, let him remember to fight bravely, (for this is the
only means to effect it) : Whoever has a mind to live, let him
endeavour to conquer ; for the part of the Conqueror is to
inflict Death, that of the Conquered to receive it. And if any
among you covet Riches, let him endeavour to overcome:
for the Victorious not only preserve their own Possessions,
but acquire those of the Enemy."

After he had said this, they all rose up, and departing,
burnt their Carriages, and Tents ; as for the superfluous part
of their Baggage, they gave that to one another where it was
wanted, and cast the rest into the Fire, and then went to
Dinner. While they were at Dinner, Mithridates advanced
with about thirty Horse, and, desiring the Generals might
come within hearing, he said, "O Greeks! I was faithful
to Cyrus, as you yourselves know, and now wish well to you ;
and do assure you that while I remain here, I am under
great Apprehensions. So that if I saw you taking salutary
Resolutions, I would come over to you and bring all my
People with me. Inform me therefore of what you resolve,
for I am your Friend and Wellwisher, and desire to join you

ANABASIS— BOOK III 399

in your march." After the Generals had consulted together,
they thought proper to return this Answer, Cheirisophus
speaking in the Name of the rest. "We resolve, says he, if
we are suffered to return home, to march through the Country
with as little damage to it as possible; but, if any one opposes
our march, to fight our way through in the best manner we
are able." Mithridates upon this endeavoured to shew how
impossible it was for them to return in safety, without the
King's Consent. This rendered him suspected, besides, one
belonging to Tissaphernes was in his Company, as a Spy upon
him. From this time forward the Generals determined, that
they would admit of no further Treaty while they continued
in the Enemy's Country : for, by coming in this manner, they
not only debauched the Soldiers, but Nicharchus, an Ar-
cadian, one of the Captains, who deserted to them that Night,
with about twenty Men.

As soon as the Soldiers had dined, the Army passed the
River Zabatus, and marched in Order of Battle, with the
Baggage, and those who attended it, in the middle : They had
not gone far, before Mithridates, appeared again with about
two hundred Horse, and four hundred Archers and Slingers
very light, and fit for Expedition. He advanced as a Friend;
but, when he came near, immediately both the Horse and Foot
discharged their Arrows ; the Slingers also made use of their
Slings, and wounded some of our Men, so that the Rear of
the Greeks received great Damage, without being able to
return it: For the Bows of the Cretans did not carry so far
as those of the Persians : The former also, being lightly
armed, had sheltered themselves in the middle of the heavy-
armed Men, neither could our Darters reach their Slingers.
Xenophon seeing this, resolved to pursue the Enemy, and the
heavy-armed Men and Targeteers, who were with him in the
Rear, followed the Pursuit. But they could come up with
none of them; for the Greeks had no Horse, and their Foot
could not in so short a Space overtake those of the Enemy,
who had so much the Start of them. Neither durst they in
the Pursuit separate themselves too far from the rest of the
Army; for the Barbarian Horse wounded them even as they

400 XENOPHON

fled, shooting backward from their Horses: And, as far as
the Greeks were advanced in the Pursuit, so far were they
obliged to retreat fighting. Insomuch that they could not march
above five and twenty Stadia all that Day; however, in the
Evening, they arrived in the Villages, Here the Troops were
again disheartened ; and Cheirisophus with the oldest Generals
blamed Xenophon for leaving the main Body to pursue the
Enemy, and exposing himself without any possibility of
hurting them.

Xenophon hearing this, said they had reason to blame him,
and that they were justified by the Event. "But, says he, I
was under a Necessity of pursuing the Enemy, since I saw our
Men suffer great Damage by standing still, without being
able to return it : but when we were engaged in the Pursuit,
continued he, we found what you say to be true: For we
were not more able to annoy the Enemy than before, and
retreated with great Difficulty. We have reason therefore
to thank the Gods that they came upon us only with a small
Force and a few Troops, so that, instead of doing us great
Damage, they have taught us our Wants. For now the
Enemy's Archers and Slingers wound our Men at a greater
distance, than either the Cretans, or the Darters can reach
them; and when we pursue them, we must not separate our-
selves far from the main Body; and in a short Space our
Foot, though ever so swift, cannot come up with theirs, so
as to reach them with their Arrows. If we mean there-
fore to hinder them from disturbing us in our March, we
must immediately provide ourselves with Slingers and Horse.
I hear there are Rhodians in our Army, the greatest part of
whom, they say, understand the Use of the Sling; and that
their Slings carry twice as far as those of the Persians, who
throwing large Stones, cannot offend their Enemy at a great
Distance : whereas the Rhodians, besides Stones, make use of
leaden Balls. If therefore we enquire who have Slings, and
pay them for them; and also give Money to those who are
willing to make others, granting at the same time some other
Immunity to those, who voluntarily list among the Slingers,
possibly some will offer themselves, who may be fit for that

ANABASIS— BOOK III 401

Service. I see also Horses in the Army, some belonging to
me, and some left by Clearchus; besides many others that we
have taken from the Enemy, which are employed in carrying
the Baggage. If therefore we chuse out all the best of these,
and accoutre them for the Horse, giving to the Owners
sumpter Horses in Exchange, possibly these also may annoy
the Enemy in their Flight." These things were resolved upon :
and the same Night two hundred Slingers listed themselves.
The next Day proper Horses and Horsemen were appointed
to the number of fifty, and buff Coats and Corslets were pro-
vided for them; and the Command of them was given to
Lycius the Son of Polystratus, an Athenian.

That Day the Army staid in the same Place : and the next
they began their March earlier than usual; for they had a
Valley formed by a Torrent to pass, and were afraid the
Enemy should attack them in their Passage. As soon as
they had passed it, Mithridates appeared again with a thous-
and Horse and four thousand Archers and Slingers; for so
many Tissaphernes had granted him, at his Desire, and upon
his undertaking with that Number to deliver the Greeks into
his Power : for having, in the last Action, with a small Force,
done them (as he imagined) great Damage, without receiving
any, he had a Contempt for them. When the Greeks were
advanced about eight Stadia beyond the Valley, Mithridates
also passed it with the Forces under his Command. The
Greek Generals had given Orders to a certain Number both
of the Targeteers and heavy-armed Men to follow the Chace,
and also to the Horse to pursue them boldly, with Assurance
that a sufficient Force should follow to sustain them. When
therefore Mithridates overtook them, and was now within
Reach of their Slings and Arrows, the Trumpet sounded, and
those of the Greeks, who had Orders, immediately attacked
the Enemy, the Horse charging at the same time. However,
the Persians did not stand to receive them, but fled to the
Valley. In this Pursuit, the Barbarians lost many of their
Foot, and about eighteen of their Horse were taken Prisoners
in the Valley. The Greeks, of their own accord, mangled the
bodies of the slain, to create the greater Horror in the Enemy.

402 XENOPHON

After this Defeat, the Persians retired, and the Greeks,
marching the rest of the Day without Disturbance, came to
the River Tigris, where stood a large uninhabited City, called
Larissa,^ anciently inhabited by the Medes, the Walls of which
were twenty-five Feet in Breadth, one hundred in Height, and
two Parasangas in Circuit ; all built with Bricks, except the
Plinth which was of Stone, and twenty Feet high. This City
when besieged by the King of Persia, at the Time the Persians
were wresting the Empire from the Medes, he could not make
himself Master of it by any means; when it happened that
the Sun, obscured by a Cloud, disappeared, and the Darkness
continued 'till, the Inhabitants being seized with Consternation,
the Town was taken. Close to the City stood a Pyramid of
Stone one hundred Feet square, and two hundred high, in
which a great number of Barbarians, who fled from the
neighbouring Villages, had conveyed themselves.

Thence they made, in one day's march, six Parasangas, to
a large uninhabited Castle, standing near a Town, called
Mespila, formerly inhabited also by the Medes. The Plinth
of the Wall was built with polished Stone full of Shells, being
fifty Feet in Breadth, and as many in Height. Upon this
stood a brick Wall fifty Feet also in Breadth, one hundred
in Height; and six Parasangas in Circuit. Here Media the
King's Consort, is said to have taken Refuge, when the Medes

^It is very judiciously remarked by the great Bochart, that it is im-
probable there should be any such Name of a Town in this Part of
the World as Larissa, because it is a Greek Name ; and though there
were several Cities so called, they were all Greek: And as no Greeks
settled in these Parts, 'till the Time of Alexander's Conquests, which
did not happen 'till many Years after Xenophon's Death, so he con-
chides they could meet with no such Name so far from Greece as
beyond the River Tigris. He therefore conjectures, that this City
is the Resen, mentioned by Moses, Gen. x. 12. where he says, Ashur
built Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great City.
This agrees exactly with what Xenophon says of it. Bochart there-
fore supposes, that when the Greeks asked the People of the Coun-
try, what City are these the Ruins of? They answered "Laresen,"
that is, "of Resen." It is easy to imagine how this Word might be
softened by a Greek Termination, and made Larissa.

ANABASIS— BOOK III 403

were deprived of the Empire by the Persians. When the
Persian King besieged this City, he could not make himself
Master of it either by Length of Time or by Force, but Jupiter
having struck the inhabitants with a panick Fear, it was
taken.

From this place they made, in one day's march, four Para-
sangas. During their march Tissaphernes appeared with his
own Horse, and the Forces of Orontas, who had married the
King's Daughter, together with those Barbarians, who had
served under Cyrus in his Expedition ; to these was added the
Army which the King's Brother had brought to his Assistance,
and the Troops the King had given him. All these together
made a vast Army. When he approached he placed some
of his Forces against our Rear, and others against each
of our Flanks, but durst not attack us, being unwilling to
hazard a Battle: however, he ordered his Men to use their
Slings and Bows. But, when the Rhodians, who were
disposed in Platoons, began to make use of their Slings,
and the Cretan Bowmen, in Imitation of the Scythians, dis-
charged their Arrows, none of them missing the Enemy,
(which they could not easily have done, though they had
endeavoured it) both Tissaphernes himself quickly got out of
their reach, and the other Divisions retired. The remaining
part of the Day the Greeks continued their March, and the
others followed, without harassing them any more with Skir-
mishes; for the Slings of the Rhodians not only carried further
than those of the Persians, but even than most of the Archers
could throw their Arrows. The Persian Bows are long, so
that their Arrows, when gathered up, were of service to the
Cretans, who continued to make use of them, and accustomed
themselves to take a great Elevation, in order to shoot them
to a greater distance. Besides, there were found a consider-
able Quantity of Bow-strings in the Villages, and some Lead,
both which were employed for the Slings,
visions: for there was Plenty of Corn in the Villages. The

This Day, after the Greeks were encamped in the Villages,
the Barbarians, having suffered in the Skirmish, retired: the
next the Greeks staid where they were, and made their Pro-

404 XENOPHON

Day after they marched over the open Country, and Tissa-
phernes followed, harassing them at a Distance. Upon this
occasion the Greeks observed that an equilateral Square was
not a proper Disposition for an Army, when pursued by the
Enemy; for, whenever the Square l:as a narrow Road, a
Defile between Hills, or a Bridge to pass, the Wings must close,
and consequently the heavy-armed Men be forced out of
their Ranks, and march uneasily, being both pressed together
and disordered ; so that of necessity they become useless for
want of Order. On the other Side, when the Wings come to
be again extended, the Men who before were forced out of
their Ranks, must divide, and consequently leave an Opening
in the Center; which very much disheartens those who are
thus exposed, when the Enemy is at their Heels. Besides,
when they have a Bridge, or any other Defile to pass, every
Man is in a Hurry, wanting to be first. Upon which occasion
the Enemy has a fair Opportunity of attacking them. After
the Generals had discovered this, they formed six Companies
of one hundred Men each, whom they subdivided into others
of fifty, and these again into others of twenty-five, and ap-
pointed Officers to all of them. The Captains of these Com-
panies upon a March, when the Wings closed, staid behind,
so as not to disorder the Rear ; they at that Time marching clear
of the Wings. And when the Sides of the Square came to be
again extended, they then filled up the Center, if the Opening
was narrow, with the Companies of one hundred Men each;
if larger, with those of fifty; and if very large, with those
of five and twenty; so that the Center was always full. If
therefore the Army were to pass any Defile or Bridge, there
was no confusion, the Captains of these several Companies
bringing up the Rear; and, if a Detachment were wanted
upon any Occasion, these were always at hand. In this Dispo-
sition they made four Marches.

While they were upon their March the fifth Day, they saw
a Palace and many Villages lying round it. The Road, which
led to this Place lay over high Hills, that reached down from
the Mountain, under which there stood a Village. The
Greeks were rejoiced to see these Hills, and with great Reason,

"IS '■'^■■'r'" .":/«:•,.

ANABASIS— BOOK III 405

the Enemy's Forces consisting in Horse. But after they had
left the Plain, and ascended the first Hill, while they were
descending thence in order to climb the next, the Barbarians
appeared, and from the Eminence showered down upon them,
under the Scourge,^ Darts, Stones, and Arrows. They wound-
ed many, and had the Advantage over the Greek light-armed
Men, forcing them to retire within the Body of the heavy-
armed; so that the Slingers and Archers were that day en-
tirely useless, being mixed with those who had Charge of the
Baggage. And when the Greeks, being thus pressed, en-
deavoured to pursue the Enemy, as they were heavy-armed
Men, they moved slowly to the Top of the Mountain, while
the Enemy retreated : And when the Greeks retired to their
main Body, the same thing happened to them again. They
found the same Difficulty in passing the second Hill ; so that
they determined not to order out the heavy-armed Men from
the third Hill; but, instead of that, brought up the Targeteers
to the Top of the Mountain from the Right of the Square.
When these were got above the Enemy, they no longer mo-
lested our Men in their Descent, fearing to be cut off from
their own Body, and that we should attack them on both
Sides. In this Manner we marched the rest of the Day, some
in the Road upon the Hills, and others abreast of them upon
the Mountain, 'till they came to the Villages; when they ap-
pointed eight Surgeons, for there were many wounded.

Here they staid three Days, both on account of the wound-
ed, and because they found plenty of Provisions, as Wheat-
Meal, Wine, and a great quantity of Barley for Horses; all
which was laid up for the Satrape of the Country. The
fourth Day they descended into the Plain ; where, when Tissa-
phernes had overtaken them with the Army under his Com-
mand, he taught them how necessary it was to encamp in the
first Village they came to, and to march no longer fighting;
for some being wounded, some employed in carrying those
who were so, and others in carrving the Arms of the latter,
great numbers were not in a Condition to fight. But, when

^It was Part of the Persian Discipline to make their Soldiers do
their Duty, as Xenophon says, under the Scourge.

406 XENOPHON

they were encamped, and the Barbarians, coming up to the
Village, offered to skirmish, the Greeks had greatly the Ad-
vantage of them; for they found a great difference between
sallying from their Camp to repulse the Enemy, and being
obliged to march fighting, whenever they were attacked. When
the Evening approached, it was Time for the Barbarians to
retire; because they never encamped at a less distance from
the Greeks, than sixty Stadia, for Fear these should fall upon
them in the Night. A Persian Army being then subject to
great Inconveniences ; for their Horses are tied, and generally
shackled, to prevent them from running away; and, if an
Alarm happens, a Persian has the Housing to fix, his Horse
to bridle, and his Corslet to put on, before he can mount. All
these Things cannot be done in the Night without great Diffi-
culty, particularly, if there is an Alarm. For this Reason
they always encamped at a Distance from the Greeks. When
these perceived they designed to retire, and that the Word was
given, they, in the Enemy's hearing, received Orders to mpke
ready to march ; whereupon, the Barbarians made a Halt ;
but, when it grew late, they departed; for they did not hold
that it was expedient to march, and arrive at their Camp, in
the Night.

When the Greeks plainly saw they were retired, they also
decamped, and marching away, advanced about sixty Stadia.
The two Armies were now at so great a Distance from one
another, that the Enemy did not appear, either the next Day,
or the Day after. But on the fourth, the Barbarians, having
got before the Greeks in the Night, possessed themselves of
an Eminence that commanded the Road, through which the
Greeks were to pass. It was the Brow of a Hill, under which
lay the descent into the Plain. As soon as Cheirisophus saw
this Eminence possessed by the Enemy, he sent for Xenophon
from the Rear, and desired him to bring up the Targeteers to
the Front. Xenophon did not take these with him, (for he
saw Tissaphernes advancing with his whole Army) but, rid-
ing up to him himself, said. Why do you send for me? Cheiri-
sophus answered, you see the Enemy have possessed them-
selves of the Hill that commands the Descent, and unless we

ANABASIS— BOOK III 407

dislodge them, it is not possible for us to pass: but, adds
he, why did you not bring the Targeteers with you? Xeno-
phon replied, because he did not think proper to leave the
Rear naked, when the Enemy was in Sight : but, says he, it
is high time to consider how we shall dislodge those Men.
Here Xenophon observing the Top of the Mountain, that was
above their own Army, found there was a Passage from that
to the Hill, where the Enemy was posted. Upon this he said,
" O Cheirisophus ! I think, the best Thing we can do, is to
gain the Top of this Mountain, as soon as possible; for, if
we are once Masters of That, the Enemy cannot maintain
themselves upon the Hill. Do you stay with the Army, if you
think fit, I'll go up to the Hill, or, do you go, if you desire it,
and I'll stay here." Cheirisophus answered, I give you your
Choice : To this Xenophon replied, that, as he was the younger
man, he chose to go; but desired he would send with him some
Troops from the Front, since it would take a great Deal of
Time to bring up a Detachment from the Rear. So Cheiri-
sophus sent the Targeteers that were in the Front : Xenophon
also took those that were in the Middle of the Square. Be-
sides these, Cheirisophus ordered the three hundred chosen
Men, who attended on himself in the Front of the Square, to
follow him.

After that they marched with all possible Expedition. The
Enemy, who were upon the Hill, the Moment they saw them
climb the Mountain, advanced at the same time striving to
get there before them. Upon this Occasion there was a vast
Shout raised both by the Greek Army, and that of Tissaphernes
each encouraging their own Men. And Xenophon, riding by
the Side of his Troops, called out to them, " Soldiers ! think
you are this Minute contending to return to Greece, this
Minute to see your Wives and Children: After this
momentary Labour we shall go on without any further
Opposition." To whom Soteridas the Sicyonian said, "We
are not upon equal Terms, O, Xenophon! for you are on
Horseback, while I am greatly fatigued with carrying my
Shield." Xenophon hearing this, leaped from his Horse, and
thrust him out of his Rank; then, taking his Shield, marched

408 XENOPHON

on as fast as he could. He happened to have a Horseman's
Corslet on at that Time, which was very troublesome. How-
ever, he called to those who were before to mend their Pace,
and to those behind, who followed with great Difficulty, to
come up. The rest of the Soldiers beat and abused Soteridas,
and threw Stones at him, 'till they obliged him to take his
Shield, and go on. Then Xenophon remounted, and led them
on Horseback, as far as the Way would allow; and, when it
became impassable for his Horse, he hastened forward on
Foot. At last they gained the Top of the Mountain, and pre-
vented the Enemy.

Hereupon, the Barbarians turned their Backs, and fled
every one as he could; and the Greeks remained Masters of
the Eminence. Tissaphernes and Ariaeus with their Men,
turning out of the Road, went another way; while Cheiri-
sophus with his Forces came down into the Plain, and en-
camped in a Village abounding in every Thing. There were
also many other Villages in this Plain, near the Tigris, full
of all Sorts of Provisions. In the Evening the Enemy ap-
peared on a sudden in the Plain, and cut off some of the
Greeks, who were dispersed in plundering; for many Herds of
Cattle were taken, as the People of the Country were en-
deavouring to make them pass the River. Here Tissaphernes
and his Army attempted to set Fire to the Villages; whereby
some of the Greeks were disheartened, from the Apprehen-
sion of wanting Provisions if he burned them. About this
time Cheirisophus and his Men came back from relieving their
Companions, and Xenophon being come down into the Plain,
and riding through the Ranks, after the Greeks were re-
turned, said, "You see, O Greeks! the Enemy already ac-
knowledge the Country to be ours; for, when they made
Peace with us, they stipulated that we should not burn the
Country belonging to the King, and now they set Fire to it
themselves; as if they looked upon it no longer as their own.
But, wherever they leave any Provisions for themselves,
thither also they shall see us direct our March. But, O
Cheirisophus! I think we ought to attack these Burners, as
in Defence of our own Country." Cheirisophus answered, I

ANABASIS— BOOK III 409

am not of that Opinion. On the contrary, let us also set Fire
to it ourselves, and by that Means they will give over the
sooner."

When they came to their Tents, the Soldiers employed
themselves in getting Provisions, and the Generals and Cap-
tains assembled, and were in great Perplexity: for, on one
Side of them were exceeding high Mountains, and on the
other, a River so deep, that, when they sounded it with their
Pikes, the Ends of them did not even appear above the
Water. While they were in this Perplexity, a certain Rhodian
came to them, and said, " Gentlemen ! I'll undertake to carry
over four thousand heavy-armed Men at a Time, if you'll
supply me with what I want, and give me a Talent for my
Pains." Being asked what he wanted, "I shall want, says he,
two thousand leather Bags. I see here great numbers of
Sheep, Goats, Oxen and Asses: if these are slayed, and their
Skins blown, we may easily pass the River with them. I
shall also want the Girts belonging to the sumpter Horses : With
these, adds he, I will fasten the Bags to one another, and
hanging Stones to them, let them down into the Water, in-
stead of Anchors, then tie up the bags at both Ends, and,
when they are upon the Water, lay Fascines upon them, and
cover them with Earth. I will make you presently sensible,
continues he, that you can't sink, for every Bag will bear up
two Men, and the Fascines and the Earth will prevent them
from slipping."

The Generals, hearing this, thought the Invention in-
genious, but impossible to be put in Practice ; there being great
Numbers of Horse on the other Side of the River to oppose
their Passage, and these would at once break all their Meas-
ures. The next Day the Army turned back again, taking a
different Road from that which leads to Babylon ; and march-
ed to the Villages that were not burned, setting Fire to those,
they abandoned. Insomuch that the Enemy did not ride up
to them, but looked on, wondering which Way the Greeks
meant to take, and what their Intention was. Here, while
the Soldiers were employed in getting Provisions, the Gen-

410 XENOPHON

erals and Captains re-assembled, and ordering the Prisoners
to be brought in, enquired concerning every Country that lay
round them. The Prisoners informed them that there was to
the South a Road that led to Babylon and Media, through
which they came; another to the East, leading to Susa and
Ecbatana, where the King is said to pass the Summer, and the
Spring; a third to the West over the Tigris, to Lydia and
Ionia; and that the Road, which lay over the Mountains to
the North, led to the Carduchians.^ This People, they said,
inhabited those Mountains, and that they were a warlike Na-
tion, and not subject to the King; and that once the King's
Army, consisting of one hundred and twenty thousand Men,
penetrated into their Country ; whence not one of them re-
turned, the Roads being hardly passable. But that whenever
there was a Peace subsisting between them and the Governor
residing in the Plain, there was an Intercourse between the
two Nations.

The Generals, hearing this, kept those Prisoners by them-
selves from whom they received the Intelligence of each Coun-
try, without discovering what Rout they designed to take.
However, they found there was a Necessity to pass the Moun-
tains, and penetrate into the Country of the Carduchians : for
the Prisoners informed them, that, as soon as they had passed
through it, they should arrive in Armenia, which was a spac-
ious and plentiful Country, and of which Orontas was Gover-
nor ; whence they might, without difficulty, march which Way
soever they pleased. Upon this they offered Sacrifice, to the
End, that, when they found it convenient, they might depart,
(for they were afraid the Pass over the Mountains might be
possessed by the Enemy ) and commanded the Soldiers, as soon
as they had supped, to get their Baggage ready; then all to
go to Rest, and march upon the first Order.

^This People came afterwards to be better known under the Name
of Parthians.

ANABASIS— BOOK IV 411

BOOK IV

We have hitherto given an Account of what happened in
the Expedition of Cyrus to the time of the Battle, of what
happened after the Battle, during the Truce concluded between
the King and the Greeks who had served under Cyrus, and in
what Manner, after the King and Tissaphernes had broken
the Truce, the Greeks were harassed, while they were fol-
lowed by the Persian Army.

When the Greeks came to the Place, where the River
Tigris is, both from its Depth, and Breadth, absolutely im-
passable, and no Road appeared, the craggy Mountains of
the Carduchians hanging over the River, the Generals resolved
to march over those Mountains : For they were informed by
the Prisoners, that, after they had passed them, they would
have it in their Power to cross the Head of the Tigris in Ar-
menia, if they thought proper; if not, to go round it. The
Source of the Euphrates also was said not to be far distant
from that of the Tigris;^ and indeed the Distance between
these two Rivers is in some places but small. To the End
therefore that the Enemy might not be acquainted with their
Design of penetrating into the Country of the Carduchians,
and defeat it, by possessing themselves of the Eminences,
they executed it in the following Manner. When it was about
the last Watch, and so much of the Night was left, as to allow
them to traverse the Plain while it was yet dark, they de-
camped, and, marching when the Order was given, came to
the Mountain by break of Day. Cheirisophus commanded the
Vanguard with his own People, and all the light-armed Men;
and Xenophon brought up the Rear with the heavy-armed,
having none of the light-armed, because there seemed no Dan-
ger of the Enemy's attacking their Rear, while they were
marching up the Mountain. Cheirisophus gained the Top be^

^Strabo informs us that the Euphrates and Tigris both rise out of
mount Taurus, the former on the North of it, and the latter on the
South, and that the Sources of these Rivers are distant from one
another about two thousand five hundred Stadia.

412 XENOPHON

fore he was perceived by the Enemy : then led forward ; and
the rest of the Army, as fast as they passed the Summit, fol-
lowed him into the Villages, that lay dispersed in the Val-
leys and Recesses of the Mountains.

Upon this, the Carduchians left their Houses, and, with
their Wives and Children, fled to the Hills, where they had
an Opportunity of supplying themselves with Provisions in
Abundance. The Houses were well furnished with all sorts
of brass Utensils, which the Greeks forbore to plunder;
neither did they pursue the Inhabitants, in Hope, by sparing
them, to prevail upon the Carduchians, since they were Ene-
mies to the King, to conduct them through their Country in a
friendly Manner : But they took all the Provisions they met
with ; for they were compelled to it by Necessity. However,
the Carduchians paid no Regard to their Invitations, or shewed
any other Symptoms of a friendly Disposition: and, when
the Rear of the Greek Army was descending from the Top
of the Mountains into the Villages, it being now dark, (for as
the Way was narrow, they spent the whole Day in the Ascent
of the Mountains, and the Descent from thence into the Vil-
lages) some of the Carduchians, gathering together, attacked
the hindmost, and killed and wounded some of them with
Stones, and Arrows. They were but few in number; for
the Greek Army came upon them unawares. Had the Enemy
been more numerous at that Time, great Part of the Army
had been in Danger. In this Manner they passed the Night in
the Villages : the Carduchians made Fires all round them upon
the Mountains, and both had their Eyes upon one another.

As soon as it was Day, the Generals and the Captains of
the Greeks assembled, and resolved to reserve only those
sumpter Horses upon their March that were necessary and
most able, and to leave the rest, and dismiss all the Slaves they
had newly taken : for the great number of sumpter Horses
and Slaves retarded their March ; and many of their Men, by
having Charge of these, were unfit for Action. Besides, there
being so many Mouths, they were under a Necessity of pro-
viding and carrying double the Quantity of Provisions. This

ANABASIS— BOOK IV 413

being resolved, they gave Orders to have it put in Exe-
cution.

While therefore they were upon their March after Din-
ner, the Generals placed themselves in a narrow Pass, and,
whatever they found reserved by the Soldiers, contrary to
Order, they took it away ; and the Men submitted, unless any
of them happened privately to have retained some Boy, or
beautiful Woman he was fond of. In this Manner they
marched that Day, sometimes fighting, and sometimes resting
themselves. The next Day there was a great Storm, how-
ever, they were obliged to go on; for their Provisions failed
them. Cheirisophus led the Van, and Xenophon brought up
the Rear. Here, the Ways being narrow, the Enemy made a
brisk Attack upon them, and, coming up close, discharged their
Arrows, and made use of their Slings : So that the Greeks,
sometimes pursuing, and sometimes retreating, were obliged
to march slowly; and Xenophon often ordered the Army to
halt, when the Enemy pressed hard upon them. Upon one
of these Orders Cheirisophus, who used to stand still on the
like Occasions, did not stop, but marched faster than usual,
and ordered the Men to follow. By this it appeared there was
something extraordinary, but they were not at Leisure to
send to him to enquire the Cause of this Haste : So that the
March of those in the Rear had the Resemblance more of a
Flight, than a Retreat. Here fell a brave Man, Cleonymus a
Lacedaemonian, who was wounded in the Side by an Arrow,
that made its Way both through his Shield and his buff Coat.
Here also fell Basias an Arcadian, whose Head was pierced
quite through with an Arrow. When they were arrived at the
Place, where they designed to encamp, Xenophon immediately
went, as he was, to Cheirisophus, and blamed him for not
stopping, but obliging the Rear to fly and fight at the same
Time. "Here we have lost two brave and worthy Men, says
he, without being, able either to bring them off, or to bury
them." To this Cheirisophus answered, "Cast your Eyes,
upon those Mountains, and observe how unpassable they all
are. You see there is but one Road, and that a steep one. It
is, you may observe, possessed too by a great Multitude of

414 XENOPHON

Men, who stand ready to defend it. For this Reason I marched
hastily, without staying for you, that, if possible, I might pre-
vent the Enemy, and make myself Master of the Pass: for
our Guides assure us there is no other Road." Xenophon re-
plied, "I have two Prisoners: for, when the Enemy molested
us in our March, we placed some Men in Ambush, (which
gave us time to breathe) and, having killed some of them,
we were also desirous of taking some alive with this View,
that we might have Guides who were acquainted with the
Country."

The Prisoners therefore being brought before them, they
questioned them separately, whether they knew of any other
Road than That, which lay before them. One of them said
he knew no other, though he was threatened with divers Kinds
of Torture. As he said nothing to the Purpose, he was put
to Death in the Presence of the other. The Survivor said, this
Man pretended he did not know the other Road, because he
had a Daughter married to a Man, who lived there : But that
he himself would undertake to conduct us through a Road
that was passable even for the sumpter Horses. Being asked
whether there was any difficult Pass in that Road, he said
there was a Summit, which, if not secured in Time, would
render the Passage impracticable. Upon this it was thought
proper to assemble the Captains, the Targeteers, and some of
the heavy-armed Men : And, having informed them how Mat-
ters stood, to ask them whether any of them would shew
their Gallantry, and voluntarily undertake this Service. Two
of the heavy-armed Men offered themselves, Aristonymus of
Methydria, and Agasias of Stymphalus, both Arcadians. But
Callimachus of Parrhasie, an Arcadian, and Agasias had a
Contest who should undertake it. The latter said that he
would go, and take with him Voluntiers out of the whole Army.
"For I am well assured, says he, if I have the Command, many
of the Youth will follow me." After that they asked if any
of the light-armed Men, or of their Officers would also be of
the Party. Upon which Aristeas of Chios presented himself.
He had, upon many Occasions of this nature, done great Serv-
ice to the Army.

The Day was now far advanced : So the Generals ordered

ANABASIS— BOOK IV 415

these to eat something, and set out; and delivered the Guide
to them bound. It was agreed that if they made themselves
Masters of the Summit, they should make it good that Night,
and, as soon as it was Day, give them Notice of it by sound-
ing a Trumpet : And that those above should charge that
Body of the Enemy that was posted in the Passage that lay
before them, while those below marched up to their Assistance
with all the Expedition they were able. When Things were
thus ordered, they set forward, being about two thousand in
Number. And, notwithstanding it rained most violently, Xeno-
phon marched at the Head of the Rear-Guard towards the
Passage before them, in order to draw the Attention of the
Enemy that Way, and conceal, as much as possible, the March
of the Detachment. When Xenophon, with the Rear-Guard,
came to a Valley which they were to pass, in order to climb
the Ascent, the Barbarians rolled down vast round Stones,
each a Ton in Weight, with others both larger and smaller.
These, being dashed against the Rocks in their Fall, the
Splinters were hurled every Way, which made it absolutely
impossible to approach the Road. Some of the Captains de-
spairing to gain this Passage, endeavoured to find out an-
other, and employed themselves in this Manner, 'till it was
dark. When they imagined they could retire without being
seen, they went away to get their Supper ; for the Rear-Guard
had not dined that Day. However, the Enemy continued to
roll down Stones all Night, as was perceived by the Noise
they made in their Fall. In the mean Time, those, who
marched round with the Guide, surprized the Enemy's Guard
as they were sitting round a Fire: And, having killed some
of them, and forced others down the Precipice, they staid there,
thinking they had made themselves Masters of the Summit.
But in this they were mistaken, for there was still an Eminence
above them, near which lay the narrow Way, where the
Guard sate : There was indeed a Passage, from the Post they
had taken, to that the Enemy were possessed of in the open
Road. Here they remained that Night.

As soon as it was Day, they put themselves in Order, and
marched in Silence against the Enemy: And, there being a

416 XENOPHON

Mist, came close to them before they were perceived. When
they saw one another, the Trumpet sounded, and the Greeks
shouting, made their Attack. However the Barbarians did
not stand to receive them, but quitted the Road, very few of
them being killed in the Flight: for they were prepared for
Expedition. Cheirisophus and his Men, hearing the Trumpet,
immediately marched up the Pass which lay before them.
The rest of the Generals took Bye-paths, each of them where
he happened to be, and, climbing as well as they could, drew
up one another with their Pikes; And these were the first
who joined the Detachment that had gained the Post. Xeno-
phon, with one half of the Rear-Guard, marched up the same
Way those went who had the Guide, (this Road being the
most convenient for the sumpter Horses) the other half he
ordered to come up behind the Baggage. In their March they
came to a Hill that commanded the Road, and was possessed
by the Enemy, whom they were either to dislodge, or to be
severed from the rest of the Greeks. The Men indeed might
have gone the same Way the rest took, but the sumpter Horses
could go no other. Encouraging therefore one another, they
made their Attack upon the Hill in Columns, not surrounding
it, but leaving the Enemy Room to run away, if they were so
disposed. Accordingly, the Barbarians seeing our Men march-
ing up the Hill, every one where he could, without discharg-
ing either their Arrows, or their Darts upon those who ap-
proached the Road, fled, and quitted the Place. The Greeks,
having marched by this Hill, saw another before them also
possessed by the Enemy. This they resolved to attack like-
wise: But Xenophon considering, that, if he left the Hill,
they had already taken, without a Guard, the Enemy might
repossess it, and from thence annoy the sumpter Horses as
they passed by them ; ( for the Way being narrow, there was
a long File of them.) He therefore left upon this Hill Cephi-
sodorus the Son of Cephisiphon, an Athenian, and Archagoras
a banished Argive, both Captains; while he, with the rest,
marched to the second Hill, and took that also in the same
manner. There yet remained a third, by much the steepest.
This was the Eminence that commanded the Post where the
Guard was surprized at the Fire, the Night before, by the

ANABASIS— BOOK IV 417

Detachment. When the Greeks approached the Hill, the
Barbarians quitted it without striking a Stroke : So that every-
body was surprized, and suspected they left the Place, fearing
to be surrounded and besieged in it. But the Truth was, that,
seeing from the Eminence what passed behind, they all made
Haste away with a Design to fall upon the Rear.

Xenophon, with the youngest of his Men, ascended to the
Top of this Hill, and ordered the rest to march slowly after,
that the two Captains, who were left behind, might join them :
And that when they were all together, they should chuse some
even Place in the Road, and there stand to their Arms. He
had no sooner given his Orders than Archagoras, the Argive,
came flying from the Enemy, and brought an Account, that
they were driven from the first Hill, and that Cephisodorus
and Amphicrates, and all the rest, who had not leaped from
the Rock and joined the Rear, were slain. The Barbarians,
after this Advantage, came to the Hill opposite to that where
Xenophon stood; and Xenophon treated with them, by an
Interpreter, concerning a Truce, and demanded the Dead.
They consented to deliver them, provided he agreed not to
burn their Villages. Xenophon came into this. While the
other part of the Army approached, and these were employed
in treating, all the Men moved from the Post they were in
towards the same Place. Upon this the Enemy made a stand,
and, when the Greeks began to descend from the Top of the
Hill to join those who were drawn up in Order of Battle,
they advanced in great Numbers, and with Tumult ; and, after
they had gained the top of the Hill, which Xenophon had
quitted, they rolled down Stones, and broke the Leg of one
of our Men. Here Xenophon's Armour-bearer deserted him,
taking away his Shield: But Eurylochus of Lusia, an Ar-
cadian, and one of the heavy-armed Men ran to his Relief, and
covered both himself and Xenophon with his Shield, while the
rest joined those who stood ready drawn up.

And now the Greeks were all together, and quartered there,
in many fine Houses, where they found Provisions in Abun-
dance: For there was so great a Plenty of Wine, that they

418 XENOPHON

kept it in plaistered Cisterns. Here Xenophon and Cheiri-
sophus prevailed upon the Barbarians to deliver up their Dead
in Exchange for the Guide. These, as far as they were able,
they buried with all the Honours that are due to the Memory
of brave Men. The next Day they marched without a Guide,
and the Enemy, both by fighting with them, and seizing all the
Passes, endeavoured to hinder them from advancing. When-
ever therefore they opposed the Vanguard, Xenophon ascend-
ing the Mountains from behind, endeavoured to gain some
Post that commanded the Enemy, and by this Means opened
a Passage for those who were in the Van : And, when they
attacked the Rear, Cheirisophus ascended the Hills, and en-
deavouring also to get above the Enemy, removed the Ob-
struction they gave to the march of the Rear. Thus they
were very attentive to relieve one another. Sometimes also
the Barbarians, after the Greeks had ascended the Eminences,
gave them great Disturbance in their Descent: For they
were very nimble ; and though they came near to our Men,
yet still they got off, having no other Arms but Bows and
Slings. They were very skilful Archers : Their Bows were
near three Cubits in length, and their Arrows above two.
When they discharged their Arrows, they drew the String
by pressing upon the lower part of the Bow with their left
Foot, These Arrows pierced through the Shields and Corslets
of our Men, who taking them up, made Use of them instead
of Darts, by fixing Thongs to them. In these Places the
Cretans were of great Service, They were commanded by
Stratocles, a Cretan,

This Day they staid in the Villages situate above the
Plain that extends to the River Centrites, which is two hun-
dred Feet broad, and the Boundary between Armenia and the
Country of the Carduchians. Here the Greeks rested them-
selves. This River is about six or seven Stadia from the
Carduchian Mountains, Here therefore they staid with great
Satisfaction, having Plenty of Provisions, and often calling
to Mind the Difficulties they had undergone. For, during the
seven Days, they had marched through the Country of the
Carduchians, they were continually fighting, and suffered

ANABASIS— BOOK IV 419

more than from all the attempts of the King and Tissapliernes.
Looking upon themselves therefore, as freed from these Hard-
ships, they rested with Pleasure. But, as soon as it was Day,
they saw a Body of Horse, on the other Side of the River,
compleatly armed, and ready to oppose their Passage; and,
above the Horse, another of Foot drawn up upon an Eminence,
to hinder them from penetrating into Armenia. These were
Armenians, Mygdonians, and Chaldaeans, all mercenary
Troops, belonging to Orontas and Artuchus. The Chaldseans
were said to be a free People, and Warlike : Their Arms were
long Shields and Spears. The Eminence upon which they
were drawn up, was about three or four hundred Feet from
the River. The only Road the Greeks could discover, led
upwards, and seemed to have been made by Art. Over-against
this Road the Greeks endeavoured to pass the River: but,
upon Trial, they found the Water came up above their Breasts,
that the River was rendered uneven by large slippery Stones,
and that it was not possible for them to hold their Arms in
the Water, which if they attempted, they were borne away
by the Stream, and, if they carried them upon their Heads,
they were exposed to the Arrows, and the other missive
Weapons of the Enemy. They retired therefore, and en-
camped on the Banks of the River.

From hence they discovered a great Number of armed
Carduchians, who were got together upon the Mountain, in
the very Place where they had encamped the Night before.
Here the Greeks were very much disheartened, seeing on one
Side of them a River hardly passable and the Banks
of it covered with Troops to obstruct their Passage, and
on the other, the Carduchians ready to fall upon their
Rear, if they attempted it. This Day therefore, and the
following Night, they remained in the same Place under
great Perplexity. Here Xenophon had a Dream, he thought
he was in Chains, and that his chains breaking asunder of
their own accord, he found himself at Liberty, and went
whithersoever he pleased. As soon as the first Dawn of
Day appeared, he went to Cheirisophus, and told him he was
in hopes every thing would be well, and acquainted him with

420 XENOPHON

his Dream. Cheirisophus was pleased to hear it: And, while
the Morn advanced, all the Generals, who were present, offered
Sacrifice, and the very first Victims were favourable. As soon
therefore as the Sacrifice was over, the Generals and Captains
departing ordered the Soldiers to get their Breakfast. While
Xenophon was at Breakfast, two young Men came to him, for
it was well known that all Persons might have free access to
him at his Meals; and, that, were he even asleep, they might
wake him, if they had any thing to communicate concerning
the Operations of the War. These Youths informed him,
that, while they were getting Brush-wood for the Fire, they
saw on the other Side of the River, among the Rocks that
reached down to it, an old Man, and a Woman with some
Maid-Servants, hiding something, that looked like Bags full
of Clothes, in the hollow of a Rock. That, seeing this, they
thought they might securely pass the River, because the Place
was inaccessible to the f^nemy's Horse. So they undressed
themselves, and, taking their naked Daggers in their Hands,
proposed to swim over: But the River being fordable, they
found themselves on the other Side before the Water came up
to their Middle : And, having taken the Clothes, repassed it.

Xenophon, hearing this, made a Libation himself, and
ordered Wine to be given to the Youths to do the same, and
that they should address their Prayers to the Gods, who had
sent the Dream, and discovered the Passage to compleat their
Happiness. After the Libation, he immediately carried the
two youths to Cheirisophus, to whom they gave the same
Account. Cheirisophus, hearing this, made Libations also.
After that, they gave Orders to the Soldiers to get their Bag-
gage ready. Then, assembling the Generals, they consulted
with them in what Manner they should pass the River with
most Advantage, and both overcome those who opposed them
in Front, and secure themselves against the others, who threat-
ened their Rear. And it was resolved that Cheirisophus should
lead the Van, and pass over with one half of the Army, while
the other staid with Xenophon : And that the sumpter Horses,
with all those that attended the Army, should pass in the mid-
dle. After this Disposition was made, they began their March.

ANABASIS— BOOK IV 421

The two Youths led the way, keeping the River on their left.
They had about four Stadia to go to come to the Ford.

As they marched on one Side of the River, several Bodies
of Horse advanced on the other opposite to them. When they
came to the Ford, and to the Bank of the River, the Men
stood to their Arms, and first Cheirisophus, with a Garland
upon his head, pulled off his Clothes, and, taking his arms,
commanded all the rest to do the same: He then ordered the
Captains to draw up their Companies in Columns, and march
some on his left Hand, and some on his right. In the mean
Time the Priests offered Sacrifice, and Poured the Blood of
the Victims into the River; and the Enemy from their Bows
and Slings discharged a Volley of Arrows and Stones, but
none of them reached our Men. After the Victims appeared
favourable, all the Soldiers sung the Psean and shouted, and
all the Women answered them; for the Men had many Mis-
tresses in the Army.

Immediately Cheirisophus with his Men, went into the
River; and Xenophon, taking those of the Rear-guard, who
were most prepared for Expedition, marched back in all Haste
to the Passage opposite to the Road that led to the Armenian
Mountains, making a Feint, as if his Design was to pass the
River in that Place, and intercept the Horse that were march-
ing along the Bank of it. The Enemy, seeing Cheirisophus
with his Men passing the River with great Ease, and Xeno-
phon, with his Forces, marching back in all Haste, were afraid
of being intercepted, and fled with Precipitation to the Road,
that led from the River up into the Country. Having gained
that Road, they continued their March up the Mountain. As
soon as Lycius, who had the Command of the Horse, and
.lEschines, who commanded the Targeteers belonging to
Cheirisophus saw the Enemy flying with so much Haste, they
pursued them, the rest of the Soldiers crying out to them that
they would not be left behind, but would march up the Moun-
tain in a body. When Cheirisophus had passed the River with
his Forces, he did not pursue the Horse, but marched along
the Bank against the other Body of the Enemy posted upon the

422 XENOPHON

upper Ground. These, finding themselves abandoned by their
Horse, and seeing our heavy-armed Men coming up to attack
them, quitted the Eminence that commanded the River.

Xenophon therefore perceiving every thing went well on
the other Side, returned in all Haste to the Army that was
passing over; for, by this Time the Carduchians were seen
descending into the Plain, as if they designed to fall upon the
Rear. Cheirisophus had now possessed himself of the Emi-
nence, and Lycius, while he was pursuing the Enemy, with
a few of his Men, took part of their Baggage that was left
behind, and in it, rich Apparel, and drinking Cups. The Bag-
gage of the Greeks, with those who had Charge of it, was yet
passing; when Xenophon, facing about, drew up his Men
against the Carduchians. He ordered all the Captains to
divide their several Companies into two distinct Bodies of
twenty-five Men each, and to extend their Front to the Left,
and that the Captains with the Leaders of these distinct Bodies
should march against the Carduchians, while the hindmost Men
of every File posted themselves upon the Bank of the River.

Now the Carduchians, when they saw the Rear reduced to
a few by the Departure of those who had the Charge of the
Baggage, advanced the faster, singing as they came on. Upon
this, Cheirisophus, seeing all on his Side was secure, sent the
Targeteers, the Slingers, and Archers to Xenophon, with
Directions to do whatever he commanded : But he, as soon as
he saw them coming down the Hill, sent a Messenger to them
with Orders to halt, as soon as they came to the River; and
that, when they saw him begin to pass it with his Men, they
should come forward in the Water on each side opposite to
him, the Darters with their Fingers in the Slings of their Darts,
and the Archers with their Arrows on the String, as if they
designed to pass over, but not advance far into the River. At
the same Time he ordered his own Men, when they came near
enough to the Enemy to reach them with their Slings, and the
heavy-armed Men struck their shields with their Pikes, to
sing the Paean, and rush at once upon the Enemy : And, when
they were put to Flight, and the Trumpet from the River

ANABASIS— BOOK IV 423

sounded a Charge/ to face about to the Right, and that the hind-
most Men of every File should lead the Way, and all make
what haste they could to the River, which they were to pass
in their Ranks, that they might not hinder one another ; telling
them that he should look upon him as the bravest Man, who
first reached the opposite Side.

The Carduchians, seeing those who remained, but few
in Number, ( for many even of those who had orders to stay,
were gone, some to take Care of the sumpter Horses, some of
their Baggage, and others of other things) came up boldly
towards them, and began to use their Slings and Bows. But,
when the Greeks, singing the Psean, ran forward to attack
them, they did not stand to receive them, (for though they
were well enough armed for a sudden Onset and Retreat upon
the Mountains they inhabited, yet they were not at all so to
fight Hand to Hand. ) In the mean Time the Trumpet sounded
upon which the Enemy fled much faster than before ; and the
Greeks, facing about, passed the River in all Haste. Some
of the Enemy seeing this, ran back to the River, and wounded
a few of our Men with their Arrows ; but many of them, even
when the Greeks were on the other Side, were observed to
continue their Flight. In the mean Time those who had met
them in the River, carried on by their Courage, advanced
unseasonably, and repassed it after Xenophon and his Men
were on the other Side ; by this Means some of them also were
wounded.

The Army, having passed the River aboijt Noon, drew up
in their Ranks, and, in this manner, marched at once over the
Plain of Armenia, intermixed with Hills of an easy Ascent,

^ Why should Xenophon order a Charge to be sounded when his
Men were to retreat? I imagine his Intention was, to make the
Enemy fly the faster, that so they might be at a greater Distance
from them, when they were engaged in passing the River; and this
seems to have been the Effect of it, for Xenophon will tell us pres-
ently, that, when the Trumpet sounded, the Enemy fled much faster
than before.

424 XENOPHON

making no less than five Parasangas : For there were no
Villages near the River, by Reason of the continual Wars with
the Carduchians. However at last they came to a large Vil-
lage, that had a Palace in it belonging to the Satrape, and upon
most of the Houses there were Turrets : Here they found
Provisions in Abundance. From this Place they made, in
two Days March, ten Parasangas, 'till they were advanced
above the Head of the Tigris. From thence they made fifteen
Parasangas in three Days March, and came to the River Tele-
boas. The River though not large, was beautiful, and had
many fine Villages on its Banks: This Country was called
the western Part of Armenia. The Governor of it was Teri-
bazus, who had behaved himself with great Fidelity to the
King, and, when he was present, no other lifted the King on
Horseback. This Person rode up towards the Greeks with a
Body of Horse, and, sending his Interpreter, acquainted them
that he desired to speak with their Commanders. Upon this
the Generals thought proper to hear what he had to say, and,
advancing within hearing, asked him what he wanted. He
answered that he was willing to enter into a League with them
upon these Terms : That He should not do any Injury to the
Greeks, or they burn the Houses, but have Liberty to take
what Provisions they wanted. The Generals agreed to this:
so they concluded a League upon these Conditions.

From thence they advanced through a Plain, and in three
Days March made fifteen Parasangas. Teribazus following
them with his Forces, at the Distance of about ten Stadia;
when they came to a Palace surrounded with many Villages
abounding in all Sorts of Provisions. While they lay en-
camped in this Place, there fell so great a Snow in the Night,
that it was resolved the next Morning the Soldiers, with
their Generals, should remove into the Villages, and quarter
there: for no Enemy appeared; and the great Quantity of
Snow seemed a Security to them. Here they found all sorts
of good Provisions; such as Cattle, Corn, old Wines exceed-
ing fragrant, Raisins and Legumens of all Kinds. In the
mean Time some of the Men, who had straggled from the
Camp, brought Word that they had seen an Army, and that

ANABASIS— BOOK IV 425

in the Night many Fires appeared. For this Reason the Gen-
erals thought it not safe for the Troops to quarter in the
Villages at a Distance from one another ; so resolved to bring
the Army together. Upon this they re-assembled, and it was
determined to encamp abroad. While they passed the Night
in this Camp, there fell so great a Quantity of Snow, that it
covered both the Arms and the Men as they lay upon the
Ground : the sumpter Horses also were so benummed with the
Snow, that it was with Difficulty they were made to rise. It
was a miserable Sight to see the Men lie upon the Ground
still covered with Snow. But, when Xenophon was so hardy
as to rise naked, and rive Wood, immediately another got up,
and, taking the Wood from him, cleft it himself. Upon this
they all rose up, and, making Fires, anointed themselves; for
they found there many Sorts of Ointments, which served them
instead of Oil, as Hogs-grease, Oil of Sesame, of bitter
Almonds, and of Turpentine. There was also found a precious
Ointment made of all these.

After this they determined to disperse themselves again in
the Villages, and quarter under Cover. Upon which the Sol-
diers ran with great Shouts and Pleasure to the Houses and
Provisions : But those who had set Fire to the Houses, when
they left them before, were justly punished by encamping
abroad, exposed to the Inclemency of the Weather. From
hence they sent that Night a Detachment to the Mountains,
where the Stragglers said they had seen the Fires, under the
Command of Democrates of Temenus, because he was ever
thought to give a true Account of things of this Nature, re-
porting Matters as they really were. At his Return he said
he had seen no Fires, but, having taken a Prisoner, he brought
him with him. This Man had a Persian Bow and Quiver,
and an Amazonian Battle- Ax; and, being asked of what Coun-
try he was, he said he was a Persian, and that he went from
the Army of Teribazus to get Provisions. Upon this they
asked him of what Numbers that Army consisted, and with
what Intention it was assembled. He answered, that Teribazus
besides his own Army, had mercenary Troops of Chalybians
and Taochians ; and, that his Design was to attack the Greeks in

426 XENOPHON

their Passage over the Mountains, as they marched through
the Defile, which was their only Road.

The Generals, hearing this, resolved to assemble the Army,
and, leaving a Guard in the Camp under the command of
Sophasnetus of Stymphalus they immediately set forward, tak-
ing the Prisoner with them for their Guide. After they
had passed the Mountains, the Targeteers, who marched be-
fore the rest, as soon as they discovered the Enemy's Camp,
ran to it with Shouts, without staying for the heavy-armed
Men. The Barbarians, hearing the Tumult, did not stand their
Ground, but fled. However, some of them were killed, and
about Twenty Horses taken, as was also the Tent of Teribazus,
in which they found Beds with Silver Feet, and drinking Cups,
with some Prisoners, who said they were his Bakers and
Cup-Bearers. When the Commanders of the heavy-anned
Men were informed of all that passed, they determined to
return in all Haste to their own Camp, lest any Attempt should
be made upon those they had left there ; and immediately or-
dering a Retreat to be sounded, they returned, and arrived
there the same Day.

The next Day they resolved to march away with all the
haste they could, before the Enemy should rally their Forces,
and possess themselves of the Pass? Their Baggage there-
fore being presently ready, they set forward through a deep
Snow with many Guides ; and, having the same Day passed
the Eminence, upon which Teribazus designed to attack them,
they encamped. From thence they made three Marches
through a Desert, and came to the Euphrates which they
passed, the Water coming up to their Navel. It was said
the Sources of this River were not far off. From thence
they made, in three Days March, fifteen Parasangas over a
Plain covered with a deep Snow. The last Day's March was
very grievous, for the North Wind, blowing full in their
Faces, quite parched and benummed the Men. Upon this one
of the Priests advised to sacrifice to the Wind, which was
complied with, and the Vehemence of it visibly abated. The
Snow was a Fathom in Depth, insomuch that many of the

ANABASIS— BOOK IV 427

Slaves and sumpter Horses died, and about thirty Soldiers.
They made Fires all Night, for they found Plenty of Wood
in the Place where they encamped; and those who came late,
having no Wood, the others, who were before arrived, and
had made Fires, would not allow them to warm themselves,
'till they had given them a Share of the Wheat, or of the other
Provisions they had brought with them. By this Exchange
they relieved one another's Wants. In the Places where the
Fires were made, the Snow being melted, there were large
Pits which reached down to the Ground; this afforded an
Opportunity of measuring the Depth of the Snow.

From thence they marched all the next Day through the
Snow, when many of the Men contracted the Bulimy.^
Xenophon, who commanded the Rear, seeing them lie upon
the ground, knew not what their Distemper was : But, being
informed by those, who were acquainted with it, that it was
plainly the Bulimy, and that, if they eat any thing they
would rise again, he went to the Baggage, and, whatever Re-
freshments he found there, he gave some to those who were
afflicted with this Distemper, and sent Persons able to go
about, to divide the rest among others, who were in the same
Condition: And, as soon as they had eaten something, they
rose up, and continued their March. During which, Cheiris-
ophus came to a Village, just as it was dark, and, at a Foun-
tain, without the Walls, he found some Women and Girls,
who belonged to it, carrying Water. These enquired who
they were? the Interpreter answered in Persian that they
were going to the Satrape from the King. The Women re-
plied, that he was not there, but at a Place distant about a
Parasanga from thence. As it was late, they entered the

1 The Bulimy is a Distemper creating excessive Hunger; it is thus
described with all its Symptoms by Galen: The Bulimy is a Disorder
in which the Patient frequently craves for Victuals, loses the Use
of his Limbs, falls down, and turns pale ; his Extremities become cold,
his Stomach oppressed, and his Pulse scarce sensible. The French
Philosophical Transactions speak of a Countryman who was violently
afflicted with this Distemper, but was cured by voiding several Worms
of the Length and Bigness of a Tobacco-pipe.

428 XENOPHON

Walls together with the Women, and went to the Bailiff of the
Town. Here Cheirisophus encamped with all that could come
up. The rest, who were unable to continue their March, passed
the Night without Victuals or Fire, by which Means some of
them perished : And a Party of the Enemy following our
March, took some of the sumpter Horses that could not keep
Pace with the rest, and fought with one another about them.
Some of the Men also, who had lost their Sight by the Snow,
or whose Toes were rotted off by the Intenseness of the Cold,
were left behind. The Eyes were relieved against the Snow
by wearing something black before them, and the Feet against
the Cold, by continual Motion, and by pulling off their Shoes
in the Night. If any slept with their Shoes on, the Latchets
pierced their Flesh, and their Shoes stuck to their Feet ; for,
when their old Shoes were worn out, they wore Carbatines
made of raw Hides. These Grievances therefore occasioned
some of the Soldiers to be left behind; who, seeing a Piece
of Ground that appeared black, because there was no Snow
upon it, concluded it was melted; and melted it was by a
Vapour that was continually exhaling from a Fountain in a
Valley near the Place. Thither they betook themselves, and,
sitting down, refused to march any further. Xenophon, who
had Charge of the Rear, as soon as he was informed of this,
tried all Means to prevail upon them not to be left behind,
telling them that the Enemy were got together in great Num-
bers, and followed them close. At last he grew angry. They
bid him kill them, if he would, for they were not able to go on.
Upon this, he thought the best Thing he could do, was, if
possible, to strike a Terror into the Enemy that followed, lest
they should fall upon the Men who were tired. It was now
dark, and the Enemy came on with great Tumult, quarrelling
with one another about their Booty. Upon this, such of the
Rear-guard as were well, rising up, rushed upon them; while
those who were tired, shouted out as loud as they could, and
struck their Shields with their Pikes. The Enemy, alarmed at
this, threw themselves into the Valley through the Snow, and
were no more heard of.

Then Xenophon, with the rest of the Forces, went away,
assuring the sick Men, that, the next Day some People should

ANABASIS— BOOK IV 429

be sent to them : But, before they had gone four Stadia, they
found others taking their Rest in the Snow, and covered with
it, no Guard being appointed. These they obHged to rise who
acquainted him, that those in the Head of the Army did not
move forward. Xenophon, hearing this, went on, and sending
the ablest of the Targeteers before, ordered them to see what
was the Occasion of the Stop. They brought Word that the
whole Army took their Rest in that Manner. So that Xeno-
phon and his Men, after they had appointed such Guards as
they were able, passed the Night there also without either Fire
or Victuals. When it was near Day, he sent the youngest of
his Men to oblige the Sick to get up and come away. In the
mean Time Cheirisophus sent some from the Village to en-
quire in what Condition the Rear was. These were rejoiced
to see them, and having delivered their Sick to them to be con-
ducted to the Camp, they marched forward : And, before they
had gone twenty Stadia, they found themselves in the Village,
where Cheirisophus was quartered. When they came together,
they were of Opinion that the 'Army might quarter in the Vil-
lages with Safety. So Cheirisophus staid in the Place he was
in, and the rest went to the several Villages that were allotted
to them.

Here Polycrates, an Athenian, one of the Captains, desired
he might have Leave to absent himself; and, taking with him
those who were most prepared for Expedition, he made such
Haste to the Village that had fallen to Xenophon's Lot, that
he surprised all the Inhabitants together with their Bailiff in
their Houses. He found here seventeen Colts, that were bred
as a Tribute for the King; and also the BaiHff's Daughter,
who had not been married above nine Days. However, her
Husband, being gone to hunt the Hare, was not taken in
any of the Villages. Their Houses were under Ground; the
Mouth resembling that of a Well, but spacious below : There
was an Entrance dug for the Cattle, but the Inhabitants de-
scended by Ladders. In these Houses were Goats, Sheep,
Cows and Fowls, with their young. All the Cattle were main-
tained within Doors with Fodder. There was also Wheat,
Barley, and Legumens, and Beer in Jars, in which the Malt

430 XENOPHON

itself floated even with the Brims of the Vessels/ and with it
Reeds, some large, and others small, without Joints. These,
when any one was dry, he was to take into his Mouth and
suck. The Liquor was very strong, when it was unmixed with
Water, and was exceeding pleasant to those who were used
to it.

Xenophon invited the Bailiff of this Village to sup with
him, and encouraged him with this Assurance, that his Children
should not be taken from him, and that, when they went
away, they would leave his House full of Provisions in Return
for those they took, provided he performed some signal Ser-
vice to the Army, by conducting them, 'till they came to an-
other Nation. The Bailiff promised to perform this, and, as
an instance of his Good-will, informed them where there was
Wine buried. The Soldiers rested that Night in their several
Quarters in the midst of Plenty, keeping a Guard upon the
Bailiff, and having an Eye at the same Time upon his Chil-
dren. The next Day Xenophon, taking the Bailiff along with
him, went to Cheirisophus, and, in every Village through
which he passed, made a Visit to those, who were quartered
there; and found them every where feasting and rejoicing.
They all would force him to sit down to Dinner with them,
and he every where found the Tables covered with Lamb, Kid,
Pork, Veal and Fowls; with Plenty of Bread, some made of
Wheat, and some of Barley. When any one had a Mind to
drink to his Friend, he took him to the Jar, where he was obliged
to stoop, and, sucking, drink like an Ox. The Soldiers gave the

^Literally Barley Wine. Diodorus Siculus tells us, that Osiris, that
is, the Egyptian Bacchus, was the Inventor of Malt Liquor as a
Relief to those Countries, where Vines did not succeed, which is the
Reason assigned by Herodotus for the Egyptians using it. This
was also the Liquor used in France, 'till the Time of the Emperor
Probus, when Vines were first planted there. Pliny says they called it
Cervisia, a Word probably derived from Cervoise, which, among
the ancient Gauls, signified Beer. Julian, who was Governor of
France, before he was Emperor, vents his Spleen against Malt-Liquor,
which Necessity, or rather Ignorance, in his Time, had made the
Drink of that Country. (See The Greek Anthology, volume three.)

ANABASIS— BOOK IV 431

Bailiff leave to take whatever he desired ; but he took nothing,
only wherever he met with any of his Relations, he carried
them along with him.

When they came to Cheirisophus they found them also
feasting, and crowned with Garlands made of Hay, and Arme-
nian Boys, in Barbarian Dresses, waiting on them. To these
they signified by Signs what they would have them do, as if
they had been deaf. As soon as Cheirisophus and Xenophon
had embraced one another, they asked the Bailiff, by their
Interpreter who spoke the Persian Language, what Country
it was. He answered, Armenia. After that they asked him
for whom the Horses were bred. He said for the King, as
a Tribute. He added that the neighbouring Country was in-
habited by the Chalybians, and informed them of the Road
that led to it. After that Xenophon went away, carrying back
the Bailiff to his Family, and gave him the Horse he had
taken some time before, which was an old one, with a Charge
that he should recover him for a Sacrifice, (for he had heard
he was consecrated to the Sun) being afraid that, as he was
very much fatigued with the Journey, he should die. At the
same Time he took one of the young Horses for himself, and
gave one of them to each of the Generals and Captains. The
Horses of this Country are less than those of Persia, but
have a great deal more Spirit. Upon this Occasion, the Bai-
liff taught us to tie Bags to the Feet of the Horses and Beasts
of Burden, when they travelled through the Snow, for, with-
out them, they sunk up to their Bellies.

After they had staid here eight Days, Xenophon delivered
the Bailiff to Cheirisophus, to serve him as a Guide, and left
him all his Family, except his Son, a Youth just in the Flower
of his Age. This Youth he committed to the Charge of Epis-
thenis of Amphipolis, with a Design to send him back with his
Father, if he conducted them in a proper Manner. At the
same Time they carried as many Things as they could into his
House, and, decamping, marched away. The Bailiff conducted
them through the Snow unbound. They had now marched
three Days, when Cheirisophus grew angry with him for not
carrying them to some Villages. The Bailiff said there were

432 XENOPHON

none in that Part of the Country. Upon this Cheirisopnus
struck him, but did not order him to be bound: So that he
made his Escape in the Night, leaving his Son behind him. This
ill Treatment and Neglect of the Bailiff was the Cause of the
only Difference, that happened between Cheirisophus and
Xenophon during their whole March. Episthenis took an Af-
fection to the Youth, and, carrying him into Greece, found
great Fidelity in him.

After this they made seven Marches at the Rate of five
Parasangas each Day, and arrived at the River Phasis,^ which
is about one hundred Feet in Breadth. From thence they
made, in two Marches, ten Parasangas; when they found the
Chalybians, Taochians, and Phasians posted upon the Passage
that led over the Mountains to the Plain. As soon as Cheiri-
sophus saw the Enemy in Possession of that Post, he halted
at the Distance of about thirty Stadia, that he might not ap-
proach them while the Army marched in a Column: For
which Reason he ordered the Captains to bring up their Com-
panies to the Front, that the Army might be drawn up in a
Line. '

When the Rear-Guard came up, he called the Generals and
Captains together, and spoke to them in this Manner. " The
Enemy, you see are Masters of the Pass over the Mountain.
We are therefore now to consider in what manner we may
charge them with the greatest Advantage. It is my Opinion
that while the Soldiers get their Dinner, we should consult
among ourselves, whether it will be most proper to attempt the
Passage to-day, or stay 'till to-morrow." "My Advice is," says
Cleanor, "that as soon as we have dined, we should take our
Arms, and attack the Enemy; for, if we defer it 'till to-
morrow, this Delay will inspire those who observe us with
Confidence, and their Confidence, will, in all Probability, draw
others to their Assistance.

*It must be observed that this is not the River Phasis, which falls
into the Euxine Sea, and to which Sportsmen are obliged for the
Breed of Pheasants. Delisle is of opinion that the Phasis here men-
tioned is the Araxes, which falls into the Caspian Sea.

ANABASIS— BOOK IV 4A%

After him, Xenophon said, "This is my Sense of the Mat-
ter. If we are obHged to fight, we ought to prepare our selves
to fight with all possible Bravery: But, if we propose to pass
the Mountain in the easiest manner, we are to consider by what
means we may receive the fewest Wounds, and lose the fewest
Men. The Mountain that lies before us, reaches above sixty
Stadia in Length, and, in all this Extent, no Guard appears
to be posted any where, but only in this Part. For which
Reason I should think it more for our Advantage to endeavour
to surprize some unguarded Place upon the Mountain, and, if
possible, prevent their seizing it, than to attack a Post already
fortified, and Men prepared to resist : For it is easier to climb
a steep Ascent, without fighting, than to march upon plain
Ground, when the Enemy are posted on both Sides of us. We
can also better see what lies before us in the Night, when we
are not obliged to fight, than in the Day-time, when we are:
And the roughest Way is easier to those who march without
fighting than an even Way, to those whose Heads are exposed
to the Darts of an Enemy. Neither do I think it impossible
for us to steal such a March, since we may have the Advantage
of the Night to conceal us, and may take so great a Circuit as
not to be discovered. I am also of Opinion, that, if we make
a false Attack upon the Post which is possessed by the Enemy,
we shall, by that means, find the rest of the Mountain more
unguarded : For this will oblige them to keep all their Forces
in a Body. But why do I mention Stealing? Since I am in-
formed, O Cheirisophus ! that among you Lacedaemonians,
those of the first Rank practise it from their Childhood, and
that, instead of being a Dishonour, it is your Duty to steal
those things which the Law has not forbidden: And to the
End you may learn to steal with the greatest Dexterity and Se-
crecy imaginable, your Laws have provided that those who are
taken in a Theft, shall be whipped." This is the Time there-
fore for you to shew how far your Education has improved
you, and to take Care that, in stealing this March, we are not
discovered, lest we smart severely for it."

Cheirisophus answered, "I am also informed, that you
Athenians are very expert in stealing the public Money, not-

434 XENOPHON

withstanding the great Danger you are exposed to, and that
your best Men are the most expert at it, that is, if you chuse
your best Men for your Magistrates. So that this is a proper
Time for you also to shew the Effects of your Education." I
am ready, rephes Xenophon, to march with the Rear-Guard,
as soon as we have supped, in order to possess myself of the
Mountain. I have Guides with me : for our light-armed Men
have, in an Ambuscade, taken some of the Marauders, that
follow the Army, By these I am informed that the Mountain
is not inaccessible, but that Goats and Oxen graze upon it, so
that, if we are once Masters of any Part of it, it will be accessi-
ble also to our sumpter Horses. Neither do I believe the Ene-
my will keep their Post, when they see we are Masters of the
Summit, and upon an Equality with themselves ; because they
are now unwilling to come down to us upon equal Ground."
But Cheirisophus said, " Why should you go, and leave the
Charge of the Rear? Rather send others, unless any offer
themselves to this Service." Upon this Aristonymus of Me-
thydria presented himself with his heavy-armed Men, and Aris-
teus of Chius, and Nicomachus of Oete, both with their light-
armed. And it was agreed that, when they had possessed
themselves of the Summit, they should light several Fires.
When these Things were settled, they went to Dinner, after
which Cheirisophus led the whole Army within ten Stadia of
the Foe, as if he had absolutely resolved to march that Way.

Supper being ended, and Night coming on, those who had
Orders marched away, and made themselves Masters of the
Top of the Mountain. The others went to Rest where they
were. The Enemy, finding our Men were possessed of that
Post, remained under Arms, and made many Fires all Night.
As soon as it was Day, Cheirisophus, after he had offered
Sacrifice, led his Forces up the Road, while those who had
gained the Summit attacked the Enemy; g^eat Part of whom
staid to defend the Pass, and the rest advanced against those
who were Masters of the Eminence. But, before Cheirisophus
could come up to the Enemy, those upon the Summit were
engaged; where our Men had the Advantage, and drove the
Enemy before them. In the mean Time the Greek Targeteers

ANABASIS— BOOK IV 435

ran on from the Plain to attack those who were ready drawn
up to receive them, and Cheirisophus, at the Head of the heavy-
armed Men, followed as fast as was consistent with a regular
March. However the Enemy that were posted in the Pass,
when they saw those above give way, fled also. When great
Numbers of them were slain, and many of their Bucklers
taken, which the Greeks, by cutting them to Pieces, rendered
useless. As soon as they had gained the Ascent, they offered
Sacrifice, and having erected a Trophy, marched down into
the Plain, where they found Villages well stored with all
Sorts of Provisions.

From hence they came to the Country of the Taochians,
making in five Marches, thirty Parasanges; and here their
Provisions began to fail them: For the Taochians inhabited
Fastnesses, into which they had conveyed all their Provisions.
At last the Army arrived at a strong Place, which had neither
City, nor Houses upon it, but where great Numbers of Men
and Women with their Cattle were assembled. This Place
Cheirisophus ordered to be attacked the Moment he came
before it, and, when the first Company suffered, another went
up, and then another; for the Place being surrounded with
Precipices, they could not attack it on all Sides at once. When
Xenophon came up with the Rear-guard, the Targeteers and
heavy-armed Men, Cheirisophus said to him, "You come very
seasonably, for this Place must be taken, otherwise the Army
will be starved."

Upon this they called a Council of War, and Xenophon
demanding, what could hinder them from carrying the Place ;
Cheirisophus answered, " there is no other Access to it but
This, and, when any of our Men attempt to gain it, they roll
down Stones from the impending Rock, and those they light
upon are treated as you see;" pointing at the same time to
some of the Men, whose Legs and Ribs were broken. "But,
says Xenophon, when they have consumed all the Stones they
have, what can hinder us then from going up? For I can see
nothing to oppose us, but a few Men. and of these not above
two or three that are armed. The Space, you see, through

436 XENOPHON

which we must pass exposed to these Stones, is about one hun-
dred and fifty Feet in Length, of which that of one hundred
Feet is covered with large Pines, growing in Groups, against
which, if our Men place themselves, what can they suffer,
either from the Stones that are thrown, or rolled down by the
Enemy? The remaining Part of this Space is not above fifty
Feet, which, when the Stones cease, we must dispatch with all
possible Expedition. But, says Cheirisophus, the Moment we
offer to go to the Place that is covered with the Trees, they will
shower down Stones upon us. That, replies Xenophon, is
the very Thing we want, for by this Means they will be con-
sumed the sooner. However, continues he, let us, if we can,
advance to that Place, from whence we may have but a little
Way to run, and from whence we may also, if we see con-
venient, retreat with Ease."

Upon this, Cheirisophus and Xenophon, with Callimachus
of Parrhasie, one of the Captains, advanced, (for the last
had the Command that Day of the Captains in the Rear) all
the rest of the Officers standing out of Danger. Then about
seventy of the Men advanced under the Trees, not in a Body,
but one by one, each sheltering himself as well as he could:
While Agasias, the Stymphalian and Aristonymus of Methyd-
ria, who were also Captains belonging to the Rear, with some
others stood behind, without the Trees, for it was not safe for
more than one Company to be there. Upon this Occasion Cal-
limachus made Use of the following Stratagem. He advanced
two or three Paces from the Tree under which he stood ; but,
as soon as the Stones began to fly, he quickly retired, and,
upon every Excursion, more than ten Cart-Loads of Stones
were consumed. When Agasias saw what Callimachus was do-
ing, and that the Eyes of the whole Army were upon him,
fearing lest he should be the first Man who entered the Place,
he, without giving any Notice to Aristonymus, who stood next
to him, or to Eurylochus of Lusia, both of whom were his
Friends, or to any other Person, advanced alone, with a
Design to get before the rest. When Callimachus saw him
passing by, he laid hold on the Border of his Shield. In the
mean Time Aristonymus, and, after him, Eurylochus ran by

ANABASIS— BOOK IV 437

them both: For all these were Rivals in Glory, and in a con-
stant Emulation of each other. And, by contending thus,
they took the Place : For, the Moment one of them had gained
the Ascent, there were no more Stones thrown from above.

And here followed a dreadful Spectacle indeed; for the
Women jfirst threw their Children down the Precipice, and
then themselves. The Men did the same. And here ^neas the
Stymphalian, a Captain, seeing one of the Barbarians, who
was richly dressed, running with a Design to throw himself
down, caught hold of him, and the other drawing him after,
they both fell down the Precipice together, and were dashed
to Pieces. Thus we made very few Prisoners, but took a
considerable Quantity of Oxen, Asses, and Sheep.

From thence the Greeks advanced, through the Country
of the Chalybians, and, in seven Marches, made fifty Para-
sangas. These being the most valiant People they met with
in all their March, they came to a close Engagement with the
Greeks. They had linen Corslets that reached below their
Navel, and, instead of Tassels, thick Cords twisted. They
had also Greaves and Helmets, and at their Girdle a short
Faulchon, like those of the Lacedaemonians, with which they
cut the Throats of those they over-powered, and afterwards,
cutting off their Heads, carried them away in Triumph. It
was their Custom to sing and dance, whenever they thought
the Enemy saw them. They had Pikes fifteen Cubits in length,
with only one Point. They staid in their Cities 'till the Greeks
marched past them, and then followed harassing them per-
petually. After that they retired to their strong Holds, into
which they had conveyed their Provisions : So that the Greeks
could supply themselves with nothing out of their Country, but
lived upon the Cattle they had taken from the Taochians.

They now came to the River Harpasus, which was four
hundred Feet broad. And from thence advanced through the
Country of the Scythinians, and, in four Days March, made
twenty Parasangas, passing through a Plain into some Villages ;
in which they staid three Days, and made their Provisions.
From this Place they made, in four Days March, twenty Para-

438 XENOPHON

sangas, to a large and rich City well inhabited : It was called
Gymnias. The Governor of this Country sent a Person to the
Greeks, to conduct them through the Territories of his Ene-
mies. This Guide, coming to the Army, said he would under-
take, in five Days, to carry them to a Place, from whence they
should see the Sea. If not, he consented to be put to death.
And, when he had conducted them into the Territories be-
longing to his Enemies, he desired them to lay waste the
Country with Fire and Sword. By which it was evident that
he came with this View, and not from any Good-will he bore
to the Greeks. The fifth Day they arived at the holy Moun-
tain called Theches. As soon as the Men, who were in the Van-
guard, ascended the Mountain, and saw the Sea, they gave a
great Shout, which, when Xenophon and those in the Rear,
heard, they concluded that some other Enemies attacked them
in Front, for the People belonging to the Country they had
burned, followed their Rear, some of whom those who had
Charge of it, had killed, and taken others Prisoners in an
Ambuscade. They had also taken twenty Bucklers made of
raw Ox-hides with the Hair on.

The Noise still increasing as they c^me nearer, and the
Men, as fast as they came up, running to those who still con-
tinued Shouting, their Cries swelled with their Numbers, so
that Xenophon, thinking something more than ordinary had
happened, mounted on Horse-back, and, taking with him Lycius
and his Horse, rode up to their Assistance : And presently they
heard the Soldiers calling out Sea! Sea! and chearing one
another. At this they all set a running, the Rear-guard as
well as the rest, and the Beasts of Burden, and Horses were
driven forward. When they were all come up to the Top of
the Mountain, they embraced one another, and also their
Generals and Captains with Tears in their Eyes. And imme-
diately the Men, by whose Order it is not known, bringing
together a great many Stones, made a large Mount, upon which
they placed a great Quantity of Shields made of raw Ox-hides,
Staves, and Bucklers taken from the Enemy. The Guide him-
self cut the Bucklers in Pieces, and exhorted the rest to do
the same. After this the Greeks sent back their Guide, giving

ANABASIS— BOOK IV 439

him Presents out of the public Stock, these were a Horse, a
silver Cup, a Persian Dress, and ten Daricks. But, above all
Things the Guide desired the Soldiers to give him some of
their Rings, many of which they gave him. Having there-
fore shewn them a Village, where they were to Quarter, and
the Road that led to the Macronians, when the Evening came
on, he departed, setting out on his Return that Night. From
thence the Greeks, in three Days March, made ten Parasangas,
through the Country of the Macronians. During their first
Day's March, they came to a River, which divides the Ter-
ritories of the Macronians from those of the Scythians. The
Greeks had on their Right an Eminence of very difficult Ac-
cess, and on their Left another River, into which the River that
served for a Boundary between the two Nations, and which
the Greeks were to pass, emptied itself. The Banks of this
River were covered with Trees, which were not large, but grew
close to one another. These the Greeks immediately cut down,
being in Haste to get out of the Place. The Macronians were
drawn up on the opposite Side to obstruct their Passage. They
were armed with Bucklers and Spears, and wore Vests made of
Hair. They animated one another, and threw Stones into the
River; but, as they did not reach our Men, they could do us
no Damage.

Upon this, one of the Targeteers coming to Xenophon,
said, he had formerly been a Slave at Athens; that he un-
derstood the Language of these People; "and, says he, if I
am not mistaken, this is my own Country, and, if there is no
Objection, I will speak to the People." Xenophon answered,
"there is none; so speak to them, says he, and first enquire
what People they are." He did so, and they answered they
were Macronians. "Ask them therefore, says Xenophon, why
they are drawn up against us, and seek to be our Enemies?"
To which they answered, "because you invade our Country."
The Generals then ordered him to let them know it was not
with a View of doing them any Injury, "but that, having
made War against the King, we were returning to Greece,
and desirous to arrive at the Sea." The Macronians asked
"whether they were willing to give Assurance of this." The

440 XENOPHON

Greeks answered that they were wilHng both to give and take
it. Upon this the Macronians gave the Greeks a Barbarian
Spear, and the Greeks gave them one of theirs ; for this, they
said, was their Method of pledging their Faith: And botfi
Parties called upon the Gods to be Witnesses to their Treaty.

When this Ceremony was over, the Macronians came in a
friendly manner among the Greeks, and assisted them in cut-
ting down the Trees in order tO' prepare the Way for their
Passage. They also supplyed them with a Market in the best
Manner they were able, and conducted them through their
Country during three Days, 'till they brought them to the
Mountains of the Colchians. One of these was very large, but
not inaccessible. And, upon this, the Colchians stood in Order
of Battle: The Greeks, at first, drew up their Army in a
Line, with a Design to march up the Mountain in this Dispo-
sition; afterwards, the Generals, being assembled, thought
proper to deliberate in what Manner they should engage the
Enemy with most Advantage; when Xenophon said it was
his Opinion they ought ot change the Disposition, and, divid-
ing the heavy-armed Men into Companies of a hundred Men
each, to throw every Company into a separate Column ; " for,
says he, the Mountain, being, in some Places, inaccessible, and,
in others, of easy Ascent, the Line^ will presently be broken,
and this will, at once, dishearten the Men; besides, if we ad-

^The Reasons given here by Xenophon for attacking this Mountain
in Columns, rather than in a Line, being the same with those alledged
by Polybius, in his Dissertation upon the Macedonian Phalanx, for
the Advantages which the Roman Legions had over it, I thought
the English Reader would not be displeased with a Translation of
this Dissertation, wherein we find a much more particular Descrip-
tion of the Macedonian Phalanx, and of all its Operations, than is to
be met with in any other Author, particularly, since the 17th Book of
Polybius, in which this Dissertation is, not being entire, has not, that
I know of, been translated into our Language. From the Reason-
ing both of Xenophon, and Polybius, it may be gathered that Philip,
the Son of Amyntas, and Father to Alexander the Great, who we
find, by Diodorus Siculus, instituted the Macedonian Phalanx, did
not improve the Greek Discipline by that Institution. This Disserta-
tion of Polybius will be found at the End of this Book.

ANABASIS— BOOK IV 441

vance with many Men in File, the Enemy's Line will out-reach
ours, and they may apply that Part of it, which out-reaches
us, to what Service they think proper; and if with few, we
ought not to wonder, if they break through our Line, wherever
their Numbers and Weapons unite to make an Impression;
and, if this happens in any Part, the whole Line must suffer.
To avoid therefore these Inconveniences, I think the several
Companies, being thus drawn up in separate Columns, ought
to march at so great a Distance from one another, that the
last on each Side may reach beyond the Enemy's Wings; by
this Means, not only our last Companies will out-reach their
Line, but, as we make our Attack in Columns, the bravest of
our Men will charge first : and let every Company ascend
the Mountain in that Part, where it is of easy Access ; neither
will it be an easy Matter for the Enemy to fall into the In-
tervals, when the Companies are placed on each Side, or to
break through them, when they advance in Columns: And,
if any of the Companies suffer, the next will relieve them, and,
if any one of them can, by any Means, gain the Summit, the
Enemy will no longer stand their Ground." This was resolved
on, so they divided the heavy-armed Men into Companies, and
threw every Company into a separate Column; then Xeno-
phon, going from the Right of the Army to the Left, spoke
thus to the Soldiers; "Gentlemen! the Enemy, you see before
you, are now the only remaining Obstacle, that hinders us
from being already in the Place, whither we are, long since,
hastening. These, if we can, we ought even to eat alive."

When every Man stood in his Place, and all the Compa-
nies were drawn up in Columns, they amounted to about
eighty Companies of heavy-armed, each of which consisted of
near a hundred Men; the Targeteers, and Archers, they di-
vided into three Bodies of near six hundred Men each, one
of which they placed beyond the left Wing, another beyond
the Right, and the third in the Center. Then the Generals
ordered the Soldiers to make their Vows to the Gods, and,
after they had made them, and sung the Paean, they marched :
Cheirisophus, and Xenophon advanced at the Head of those
Targeteers, who were beyond the Enemy's Line ; these, seeing

442 XENOPHON

them coming up, moved forward to receive them, and some
filed off to the Right, and others to the Left, leaving a great
Void in the Center: When the Arcadian Targeteers, who
were commanded by ^^schines, the Acarnanian, saw them di-
vide, they ran forward in all Haste, thinking they fled, and
these were the first who gained the Summit. They were fol-
lowed by the Arcadian heavy-armed Men, commanded by
Cleanor, the Orchomenian. The Enemy, when once they began
to give Ground, never stood after, but fled some one Way, and
some another. After the Greeks had gained the Ascent, they
encamped in many Villages full of all sorts of Provisions.
Here they found nothing else worthy of their Admiration,
but, there being great Quantities of Bee-hives in those Vil-
lages, all the Soldiers, who eat of the Honey-Combs, lost their
Senses, and were seized with a Vomiting and Purging, none
of them being able to stand upon their Legs.^ Those who eat
but little, were like Men very drunk, and those, who eat much,
like Mad-men, and some like dying Persons. In this Condi-
tion great Numbers lay upon the Ground, as if there had been
a Defeat, and the Sorrow was general : The next Day, none
of them died, but recovered their Senses, about the same Hour
they were seized, and the third, and fourth Day, they got up
as if they had taken Physic.

From thence they made, in two Days March, seven Para-
sangas, and arrived at the Sea, and at Trebisond, a Greek
City, well inhabited, and situated upon the Euxine Sea; it

^The Accident, here mentioned by Xenophon, is accounted for by
Pliny, and further explained by Tournefort: The first says there is a
kind of Honey, found in this Country, called from its Effect, Maeno-
menon; that is, that those who eat of it are seized with Madness:
He adds, that the common Opinion is that this Honey is gathered
from the Flowers of a Plant called Rhododendros, which is very
common in those Parts. Tournefort, when he was in that Country,
saw there two Plants, which he calls Chamaerhododendros, the first
with Leaves like the Medlar, and yellow Flowers; the others with
Leaves like the Laurocerasus, and purple Flowers; this, he says, is
probably the Rhododendros of Pliny, because the People of the Coun-
try look upon the Honey, that is gathered from its Flowers, to pro-
duce the Effects described by Xenophon.

ANABASIS— BOOK IV 443

is a Colony of the Sinopians, but lies in the Country of the
Colchians. Here they staid about thirty Days, encamping in
the Villages of the Colchians, and, from thence, made Ex-
cursions into their Country, and plundered it: The Inhabi-
tants of Trebisond supplied them with a Market in their Camp,
and received the Greeks with great Hospitality, making them
presents of Oxen, Barley-Meal, and Wine: They also con-
cluded a Treaty with them in Favour of the neighbouring
Colchians, the greatest Part of whom inhabit the Plain, and
from these also the Greeks received more Oxen, as a Mark
of their Hospitality. After this, they prepared the Sacrifice
they had vowed. They had received Oxen enough to offer
to Jupiter the Preserver, and to Hercules, in Return for their
having conducted them with Safety, and also to the other
Gods what they had vowed. They also celebrated a Gymnick
Game upon the Mountain, where they encamped, and chose
Dracontius of Sparta (who, having involuntarily killed a Boy
with his Faulchon, fled from his Country, when he was a
Child) to take Care of the Course, and preside at the Game.

When the Sacrifice was over, they delivered the Hides of
the Victims to Dracontius, and desired he would lead them to
the Place, where he had prepared the Course. This Hill, says
he, pointing to the Place where they stood, is the properest
Place for running, let them take which Way they will. But,
said they, how is it possible for them to wrestle in so uneven,
and so bushy a Place ? He that is thrown, replied he, will feel
the greater Anguish. The Course was run by Boys, the great-
est Part of whom were Prisoners, and the long Course by
above sixty Cretans. Others contended in Wrestling, Boxing,
and the Pancratium. All which made a fine Sight : For many
entered the Lists, and, as their Friends were Spectators, there
was great Emulation. Horses also ran ; they were obliged to
run down to the Sea, and turning there, to come up again to
the Altar. In the Descent, many rolled down the Hill, but when
they came to climb it, the Ascent was so very steep the Horses
could scarce come in a Foot-pace. Upon this the Spectators
shouted, and laughed, and animated their Friends.

POLYBIUS

THE MACEDONIAN PHALANX

Having promised, in the fourth Book, to compare, upon a
proper Occasion, the Arms of the Romans, and Macedonians,
and the different Dispositions of their respective Armies, as
also to consider the Advantages, and Disadvantages of both;
I shall take the Opportunity of their being engaged together,
to endeavour to perform my Promise. For since the Macedo-
nian Disposition, recommending itself by Success, formerly
prevailed over That of the Asiaticks and Greeks ; and, on the
other Side, the Roman Disposition has been victorious over
That of the Africans, and of all the Inhabitants of the western
Part of Europe; and since, in our Time, there has been not
only one but many Trials of the Dispositions and Soldiers of
both Nations; it w^ill be a useful and a creditable Undertaking
to enquire into the Difference of their Discipline, and consider
the Cause of the Victories of the Romans, and of their ex-
celling all other Nations in military Atchievements, to the End
we may not, by attributing their Success to Fortune, like weak
Men, compliment the Victorious without Foundation; but, by
being acquainted with the true Reasons of it, celebrate and
admire the Conquerors with Justice.

As to what relates to the Battles, in which the Romans
were engaged with Hannibal, and the Defeats they received
from him, it is unnecessary to enlarge upon them, since they
were not owing either to their Arms, or their Disposition, but
to a Superiority of Genius, and Conduct in Hannibal. This
we have made appear in the Relation of those Battles : And this
is farther confirmed by the Event of the War, (for, as soon
as the Romans were commanded by a General equal to Han-
nibal, they presently became victorious) and also by the Con-
duct of Hannibal himself, who, disliking the Arms his Men
had. 'till then, made Use of, upon the first Victory he gained
over the Romans, immediately armed his Forces with the Arms

444

THE MACEDONIAN PHALANX 445

of the latter, and continued to use them ever after. It is also
certain that Pyrrhus not only made use of Italian Arms, but
also of Italian Forces, in his Engagements with the Romans,
placing a Body of Italians, and of his own Men, drawn up in
a Phalanx, alternately: However, not even, by this means,
was he able to beat the Romans, but the Event of all their
Battles proved doubtful. It was necessary to premise these
Things, to the End that nothing may seem to contradict our
Assertions. I now return to the proposed Comparison. Many
Arguments may convince us that nothing can resist the Phalanx
in Front, or withstand its Onset, when possessed of all the
Advantages, that are peculiar to it : For each Man, with his
Arms, when drawn up in Order of Battle, takes up three Feet
in Depth ; and their Pikes, though originally sixteen Cubits in
Length, are however in Reality fourteen; of these, four are
taken up by the Distance between his Hands, and so much of
the hinder Part of the Pike, as is necessary to balance the fore
Part, when presented to the Enemy : This being so, it is plain
that the Pike, when grasped with both Hands, and presented,
must project ten Cubits before each Man. Hence it happens,
that the Pikes of the fifth Rank will project two Cubits, and
those of the second, third, and fourth, will project more than
two, before the File-leaders, when the Intervals, between the
Ranks, and Files of the Phalanx, are properly observed, as
Homer has shewn in these Verses :

An Iron Scene gleams dreadful o'er the Fields,
Armour in Armour lock'd, and Shields in Shields,
Spears lean on Spears, on Targets Targets throng,
Helms stuck to Helms, and Man drove Man along.

— Mr. Pope.

This being truly and beautifully expressed, it follows, that five
Pikes, differing two Cubits from one another in Length, must
project before each of the File-leaders: So that it is an easy
matter to represent to one's self, the Appearance, .and Strength
of the whole Phalanx, when being, as usual, drawn up sixteen
deep, and presenting its Pikes, it makes an Attack. Of these
sixteen Ranks, those, that exceed the fifth, cannot contribute,
with their Pikes, to annoy the Enemy; for which reason they

446 POLYBIUS

do not present them, but each Rank inclines them over the
Shoulders of that before it, in Order to secure them from
above, the Pikes, by their Closeness, defending them from the
missive Weapons, which might otherwise, by flying over the
foremost Ranks, fall upon those, who stand behind them.
Besides, each of these Ranks, pressing in File, with the whole
Weight of their Body, the Rank which immediately precedes,
they not only strengthen the Attack, but make it impossible
for the foremost Ranks to retreat. This being the Disposition
of the Phalanx in the Whole, and in Part, we are now to give
an Account of the Properties, and Difference of the Roman
Arms, and Disposition, by comparing them together. The
Romans likewise, with their Arms, take up three Feet in Depth :
But, as they cover their Bodies with their Shields, changing
their Guard at every Stroke, and make Use of their Swords
both to cut, and thrust, it happens that their Line of Battle is
in a perpetual Fluctuation; this makes it necessary for each
Man to have Room, and an Interval of, at least, three Feet,
both in Rank and in File, if it is expected he should do his
Duty ; from whence it follows, that one Roman will stand oppo-
site to two File-leaders of the Phalanx, and consequently be
exposed to, and engaged with ten Spears,, which it is not possi-
ble for one Man, when once the Armies close, to cut to Pieces,
before he is annoyed by them, or easy to break through, since
the hindmost Ranks can contribute nothing either to the Force
of the File-leaders, or to the Efficacy of their swords. From
what has been said it may be easily concluded that, as I before
observed, nothing can withstand the Onset of the Phalanx in
Front, while it preserves all the Advantages that are peculiar
to it. What therefore is the Cause that gives the Victory
to the Romans, and defeats those, who make use of the Pha-
lanx? It is this: military Operations are uncertain both in
Time, and Place ; whereas the Phalanx has but one Time, one
Place, and one Disposition, in which it can perform the Service
that is expected from it. If therefore there was a Necessity
for the Enemy to engage the Phalanx at its own Time, and
Place, in every decisive Action, it is reasonable to conclude,
from what has been said, that the latter would always prove
victorious. But, if this is possible, and easy to be avoided, why

THE MACEDONIAN PHALANX 447

should that Disposition be, any longer, looked upon as formid-
able? And, indeed, it is allowed that the Phalanx stands in
Need of an even, and open Ground, where there is no Impedi-
ment, such as Ditches, Chasms, Valleys, Eminences, and Rivers :
For all these are capable of confounding, and breaking its Ranks.
It must also be allowed that it is almost impossible, at least,
very rare, to find Places of twenty or more Stadia, in which
there is nothing of this Nature : However, admit there are such
Places; if the Enemy does not think fit to engage the Phalanx
there, but, instead of that, marches round, and lays waste the
Towns and Country of their Friends, what will be the
Service of such a Disposition? Since, while the Phalanx
remains in the Places, that are proper for it, so far
is it from being able to relieve its Friends, that it is incapable
even of preserving itself; for the Enemy will easily cut off
their Provisions, the Moment they have, without Opposition,
made themselves absolute Masters of the Country: And, if the
Phalanx quits the Places that are proper for it, to engage in
any Enterprize, it will become an easy Conquest. But, if the
Enemy, resolving to engage the Phalanx in an even Place,
should, instead of exposing his whole Army at once to the On-
set of the Phalanx, retreat a little the Instant it charges, the
Event may be easily foreseen from what the Romans now
practise. For I desire no Judgment be formed of my Asser-
tions from what I say, but from what has already happened :
Since the Romans do not engage the Phalanx with all their
Legions draw up in a Line parallel to the former; but some
Divisions of them lie behind in Reserve, while others are en-
gaged ; so that, whether the Phalanx forces those who are
opposite to it to give Way, or is itself forced by them to give
Way, the Property of it is destroyed : For, in Order to pursue
those who fly, or to fly from those who pursue, some Parts of
the Line must leave the rest : which no sooner happens, than
an Opening is given for the Reserve to take the Ground they
left, and, instead of attacking those who remain in Front, to
break in upon their Flanks, or their Rear. Since, therefore,
it is an easy Matter to avoid the Opportunities, and Advan-
tages of the Phalanx, but impossible for the latter to avoid
Those the Romans have over it, how is it possible there should

448 POLYBIUS

not, in reality, be a great Difference between them? Besides,
it is some times necessary for the Phalanx to march through,
and encamp in all Sorts of Places; at others, to prevent the
Enemy, by seizing some advantageous Post; some times, to
besiege, at others, to be besieged, and to meet with unexpected
Occurrences; for all these Things are incident to War, and
either decide the Victory, or greatly contribute to it: And,
in all these, the Disposition of the Macedonians is of little, or
no Use; it being impossible for the Men, either in Com-
panies, or singly, to perform any Service : Whereas That of the
Romans is properly adapted to all; for every Roman, when
once armed for Action, is equally fit for all Places, for all
Times, and all Occurrences : He is also ready and equally dis-
posed either for a general, or a particular Action, to charge
with his Company, or engage in a single Combat. As, there-
fore, the Disposition of the Romans is vastly superior to That
of the Macedonians in the Use of all its Parts, so the Enter-
prizes of the former are vastly more successful than Those of
the latter.

MnXER, M.M. PA

The Classics, Greek 36O6

& Latin. .06 •
Greek, vol, 5. v.5

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