The History of Herodotus Chapter 9
By Herodotus
Written 440 B.C.E
Translated by George Rawlinson
Calliope
Mardonius, when Alexander upon his return made known to him the
answer of the Athenians, forthwith broke up from
Thessaly, and led his army with all speed against
Athens; forcing the several nations through whose
land he passed to furnish him with additional troops. The chief
men of Thessaly, far from repenting of the part
which they had taken in the war hitherto, urged
on the Persians to the attack more earnestly than ever.
Thorax of Larissa in particular, who had helped
to escort Xerxes on his flight to Asia, now
openly encouraged Mardonius in his march upon
Greece.
When the army reached Boeotia, the Thebans sought to induce
Mardonius to make a halt: "He would not," they
told him, "find anywhere a more convenient place
in which to pitch his camp; and their advice to him was, that he
should go no further, but fix himself there, and
thence take measures to subdue all Greece without
striking a blow. If the Greeks, who had held
together hitherto, still continued united among
themselves, it would be difficult for the whole
world to overcome them by force of arms. But if
thou wilt do as we advise," they went on to say,
"thou mayest easily obtain the direction of all
their counsels. Send presents to the men of most weight
in the several states, and by so doing thou wilt
sow division among them. After that, it will be a
light task, with the help of such as side with
thee, to bring under all thy adversaries."
Such was the advice of the Thebans: but Mardonius did not follow
it. A strong desire of taking Athens a second
time possessed him, in part arising from his
inborn stubbornness, in part from a wish to inform the
king at Sardis, by fire-signals along the
islands, that he was master of the place.
However, he did not on his arrival in Attica find the Athenians
in their country- they had again withdrawn, some
to their ships, but the greater part to Salamis-
and he only gained possession of a deserted town.
It was ten months after the taking of the city by
the king that Mardonius came against it for the
second time.
Mardonius, being now in Athens, sent an envoy to Salamis, one
Murychides, a Hellespontine Greek, to offer the
Athenians once more the same terms which had been
conveyed to them by Alexander. The reason for his sending
a second time, though he knew beforehand their
unfriendly feelings towards him, was,- that he
hoped, when they saw the whole land of Attica conquered
and in his power, their stubbornness would begin
to give way. On this account, therefore, he
dispatched Murychides to Salamis.
Now, when Murychides came before the council, and delivered his
message, one of the councillors, named Lycidas,
gave it as his opinion- "that the best course
would be, to admit the proposals brought by Murychides,
and lay them before the assembly of the people."
This he stated to be his opinion, perhaps because
he had been bribed by Mardonius, or it may be
because that course really appeared to him the
most expedient. However, the Athenians- both
those in the council, and those who stood without,
when they heard of the advice- were full of
wrath, and forthwith surrounded Lycidas, and
stoned him to death. As for Murychides, the Hellespontine
Greek, him they sent away unharmed. Now there was
a stir in the island about Lycidas, and the
Athenian women learnt what had happened. Then each
exhorted her fellow, and one brought another to
take part in the deed; and they all flocked of
their own accord to the house of Lycidas, and stoned
to death his wife and his children.
The circumstances under which the Athenians had sought refuge in
Salamis were the following. So long as any hope
remained that a Peloponnesian army would come to
give them aid, they abode still in Attica; but when
it appeared that the allies were slack and slow
to move, while the invader was reported to be
pressing forward and to have already entered Boeotia,
then they proceeded to remove their goods and
chattels from the mainland, and themselves again
crossed the strait to Salamis. At the same time they
sent ambassadors to Lacedaemon, who were to
reproach the Lacedaemonians for having allowed
the barbarian to advance into Attica, instead of joining
them and going out to meet him in Boeotia. They
were likewise to remind the Lacedaemonians of the
offers by which the Persian had sought to win
Athens over to his side, and to warn them, that
no aid came from Sparta, the Athenians must
consult for their own safety.
The truth was, the Lacedaemonians were keeping holiday at that
time; for it was the feast of the Hyacinthia, and
they thought nothing of so much moment as to
perform the service of the god. They were also
engaged in building their wall across the
Isthmus, which was now so far advanced that the
battlements had begun to be placed upon it.
When the envoys of the Athenians, accompanied by ambassadors from
Megara and Plataea, reached Lacedaemon, they came
before the Ephors, and spoke as follows:-
"The Athenians have sent us to you to say,- the king of the Medes
offers to give us back our country, and wishes to
conclude an alliance with us on fair and equal
terms, without fraud or deceit. He is willing
likewise to bestow on us another country besides
our own, and bids us choose any land that we
like. But we, because we reverenced Hellenic Jupiter,
and thought it a shameful act to betray Greece,
instead of consenting to these terms, refused
them; notwithstanding that we have been wronged and
deserted by the other Greeks, and are fully aware
that it is far more for our advantage to make
peace with the Persian than to prolong the war with
him. Still we shall not, of our own free will,
consent to any terms of peace. Thus do we, in all
our dealings with the Greeks, avoid what is base
and counterfeit: while contrariwise, ye, who were
but now so full of fear least we should make
terms with the enemy, having learnt of what temper
we are, and assured yourselves that we shall not
prove traitors to our country- having brought
moreover your wall across the Isthmus to an advanced
state- cease altogether to have any care for us.
Ye covenanted with us to go out and meet the
Persian in Boeotia; but when the time came, ye were
false to your word, and looked on while the
barbarian host advanced into Attica. At this
time, therefore, the Athenians are angered with you; and
justly,- for ye have not done what was right.
They bid you, however, make haste to send forth
your army, that we may even yet meet Mardonius in Attica.
Now that Boeotia is lost to us, the best place
for the fight within our country, will be the
plain of Thria."
The Ephors, when they had heard this speech, delayed their answer
till the morrow; and when the morrow came, till
the day following. And thus they acted for ten
days, continually putting off the ambassadors from
one day to the next. Meanwhile the
Peloponnesians generally were labouring with
great zeal at the wall, and the work nearly approached completion.
I can give no other reason for the conduct of
the Lacedaemonians in showing themselves so
anxious, at the time when Alexander came, that the Athenians
should not join the Medes, and now being quite
careless about it, except that at the former
time the wall across the Isthmus was not complete, and
they worked at it in great fear of the Persians,
whereas now the bulwark had been raised, and so
they imagined that they had no further need of
the Athenians.
At last the ambassadors got an answer, and the troops marched
forth from Sparta, under the following
circumstances. The last audience had been fixed
for the ambassadors, when, the very day before it was to be given,
a certain Tegean, named Chileus, a man who had
more influence at Sparta than any other
foreigner, learning from the Ephors exactly what the Athenians
had said, addressed these words to them- "The
case stands thus, O ye Ephors! If the Athenians
are not our friends, but league themselves with the barbarians,
however strong our wall across the Isthmus may
be, there will be doors enough, and wide enough
open too, by which the Persian may gain entrance
to the Peloponnese. Grant their request then,
before they make any fresh resolve, which may
bring Greece to ruin."
Such was the counsel which Chileus gave: and the Ephors, taking
the advice into consideration, determined
forthwith, without speaking a word to the
ambassadors from the three cities, to despatch to the Isthmus
a body of five thousand Spartans; and
accordingly they sent them forth the same night,
appointing to each Spartan a retinue of seven Helots, and
giving the command of the expedition to
Pausanias the son of Cleombrotus. The chief
power belonged of right at this time to Pleistarchus, the son
of Leonidas; but as he was still a child
Pausanias, his cousin, was regent in his room.
For the father of Pausanias, Cleombrotus, the son of Anaxandridas,
no longer lived; he had died a short time after
bringing back from the Isthmus the troops who
had been employed in building the wall. A prodigy
had caused him to bring his army home; for while
he was offering sacrifice to know if he should
march out against the Persian, the sun was suddenly
darkened in mid sky. Pausanias took with him, as
joint-leader of the army, Euryanax, the son of
Dorieus, a member of his own family.
The army accordingly had marched out from Sparta with Pausanias:
while the ambassadors, when day came, appeared
before the Ephors, knowing nothing of the march
of the troops, and purposing themselves to leave Sparta
forthwith, and return each man to his own
country. They therefore addressed the Ephors in
these words:- "Lacedaemonians, as you do not stir from home,
but keep the Hyacinthian festival, and amuse
yourselves, deserting the cause of your
confederates, the Athenians, whom your behaviour wrongs,
and who have no other allies, will make such
terms with the Persians as they shall find
possible. Now when terms are once made, it is plain that,
having become the king's allies, we shall march
with the barbarians whithersoever they choose to
lead. Then at length you will perceive what the consequences
will be to yourselves." When the envoys had
spoken, the Ephors declared to them with an
oath:- "Our troops must be at Oresteum by this time, on
their march against the strangers." (The
Spartans say "strangers" for "barbarians.") At
this the ambassadors, quite ignorant of what had happened,
questioned them concerning their meaning; and
when, by much questioning, they had discovered
the truth, they were greatly astonished thereat, and forthwith
set off, at their best speed, to overtake the
Spartan army. At the same time a body of five
thousand Lacedaemonian Perioeci, all picked men and
fully armed, set forth from Sparta, in the
company of the ambassadors.
So these troops marched in haste towards the Isthmus. Meanwhile
the Argives, who had promised Mardonius that
they would stop the Spartans from crossing their
borders, as soon as they learnt that Pausanias with
his army had started from Sparta, took the
swiftest courier they could find, and sent him
off to Attica. The message which he delivered, on his
arrival at Athens, was the following:
"Mardonius," he said, "the Argives have sent me
to tell thee that the Lacedaemonian youth are gone forth from
their city, and that the Argives are too weak to
hinder them. Take good heed therefore to thyself
at this time." After thus speaking, without a
word more, he returned home.
When Mardonius learnt that the Spartans were on their march, he
no longer cared to remain in Attica. Hitherto he
had kept quiet, wishing to see what the
Athenians would do, and had neither ravaged their territory,
nor done it any the least harm; for till now he
had cherished the hope that the Athenians would
come to terms with him. As, however, he found
that his persuasions were of no avail, and as
their whole policy was now clear to him, he
determined to withdraw from Attica before Pausanias with
his army reached the Isthmus; first, however, he
resolved to burn Athens, and to cast down and
level with the ground whatever remained standing of
the walls, temples, and other buildings. His
reason for retreating was, that Attica was not a
country where horse could act with advantage; and
further, that if he suffered defeat in a battle,
no way of escape was open to him, except through
defiles, where a handful of troops might stop all
his army. So he determined to withdraw to
Thebes, and give the Greeks battle in the
neighbourhood of a friendly city, and on ground well suited for
cavalry.
After he had quitted Attica and was already upon his march, news
reached him that a body of a thousand
Lacedaemonians, distinct from the army of
Pausanias, and sent on in advance, had arrived in the Megarid.
When he heard it, wishing, if possible, to
destroy this detachment first, Mardonius
considered with himself how he might compass their ruin. With
a sudden change of march he made for Megara,
while the horse, pushing on in advance, entered
and ravaged the Megarid. (Here was the furthest point
in Europe towards the setting sun to which this
Persian army ever penetrated.)
After this, Mardonius received another message, whereby he learnt
that the forces of the Greeks were collected
together at the Isthmus; which tidings caused
him to draw back, and leave Attica by the way of Deceleia.
The Boeotarchs had sent for some of the
neighbours of the Asopians; and these persons
served as guides to the army, and led them first to Sphendale,
and from thence to Tanagra, where Mardonius
rested a night; after which, upon the morrow, he
bent his course to Scolus, which brought him into the
territory of the Thebans. And now, although the
Thebans had espoused the cause of the Medes, yet
Mardonius cut down all the trees in these parts;
not however from any enmity towards the Thebans,
but on account of his own urgent needs; for he
wanted a rampart to protect his army from attack,
and he likewise desired to have a place of
refuge, whither his troops might flee, in case
the battle should go contrary to his wishes. His army at
this time lay on the Asopus, and stretched from
Erythrae, along by Hysiae, to the territory of
the Plataeans. The wall, however, was not made to extend
so far, but formed a square of about ten
furlongs each way.
While the barbarians were employed in this work, a certain citizen
of Thebes, Attaginus by name, the son of
Phrynon, having made great preparations, gave a
banquet, and invited Mardonius thereto, together with fifty of the
noblest Persians. Now the banquet was held at
Thebes; and all the guests who were invited came
to it.
What follows was recounted to me by Thersander, a native of
Orchomenus, a man of the first rank in that
city. Thersander told me that he was himself
among those invited to the feast, and that
besides the Persians fifty Thebans were asked;
and the two nations were not arranged separately, but a Persian
and a Theban were set side by side upon each
couch. After the feast was ended, and the
drinking had begun, the Persian who shared Thersander's
couch addressed him in the Greek tongue, and
inquired of him from what city he came. He
answered, that he was of Orchomenus; whereupon the other
said-
"Since thou hast eaten with me at one table, and poured libation
from one cup, I would fain leave with thee a
memorial of the belief I hold- the rather that
thou mayest have timely warning thyself, and so be able
to provide for thy own safety. Seest thou these
Persians here feasting, and the army which we
left encamped yonder by the river-side? Yet a little
while, and of all this number thou wilt behold
but a few surviving!"
As he spake, the Persian let fall a flood of tears: whereon
Thersander, who was astonished at his words,
replied- "Surely thou shouldest say all this to
Mardonius, and the Persians who are next him in honour"- but the
other rejoined- "Dear friend, it is not possible
for man to avert that which God has decreed
shall happen. No one believes warnings, however true.
Many of us Persians know our danger, but we are
constrained by necessity to do as our leader
bids us. Verily 'tis the sorest of all human ills,
to abound in knowledge and yet have no power
over action." All this I heard myself from
Thersander the Orchomenian; who told me further, that he mentioned
what had happened to divers persons, before the
battle was fought at Plataea.
When Mardonius formerly held his camp in Boeotia, all the Greeks
of those parts who were friendly to the Medes
sent troops to join his army, and these troops
accompanied him in his attack upon Athens. The Phocians
alone abstained, and took no part in the
invasion; for, though they had espoused the
Median cause warmly, it was very much against their will,
and only because they were compelled so to do.
However, a few days after the arrival of the
Persian army at Thebes, a thousand of their heavy-armed
soldiers came up, under the command of
Harmocydes, one of their most distinguished
citizens. No sooner had these troops reached
Thebes, than some horsemen came to them from
Mardonius, with orders that they should take up a position
upon the plain, away from the rest of the army.
The Phocians did so, and forthwith the entire
Persian cavalry drew nigh to them: whereupon there
went a rumour through the whole of the Greek
force encamped with the Medes, that Mardonius
was about to destroy the Phocians with missiles. The same
conviction ran through the Phocian troops
themselves; and Harmocydes, their leader,
addressed them thus with words of encouragement- "Phocians" said
he, "'tis plain that these men have resolved
beforehand to take our lives, because of the
accusations of the Thessalians, as I imagine. Now, then,
is the time for you all to show yourselves brave
men. 'Tis better to die fighting and defending
our lives, than tamely to allow them to slay us
in this shameful fashion. Let them learn that
they are barbarians, and that the men whose
death they have plotted are Greeks!"
Thus spake Harmocydes; and the Persian horse, having encircled
the Phocians, charged towards them, as if about
to deal out death, with bows bent, and arrows
ready to be let fly; nay, here and there some did
even discharge their weapons. But the Phocians
stood firm, keeping close one to another, and
serrying their ranks as much as possible: whereupon
the horse suddenly wheeled round and rode off. I
cannot say with certainty whether they came, at
the prayer of the Thessalians, to destroy the Phocians,
but seeing them prepared to stand on their
defence, and fearing to suffer damage at their
hands, on that account beat a retreat, having orders from
Mardonius so to act; or whether his sole intent
was to try the temper of the Phocians and see
whether they had any courage or no. However this may
have been, when the horsemen retired, Mardonius
sent a herald to the Phocians, saying- "Fear
not, Phocians- ye have shown yourselves valiant men- much
unlike the report I had heard of you. Now
therefore be forward in the coming war. Ye will
not readily outdo either the king or myself in services."
Thus ended the affair of the Phocians.
The Lacedaemonians, when they reached the Isthmus, pitched their
camp there; and the other Peloponnesians who had
embraced the good side, hearing or else seeing
that they were upon the march, thought it not right
to remain behind when the Spartans were going
forth to the war. So the Peloponnesians went out
in one body from the Isthmus, the victims being
favourable for setting forth; and marched as far
as Eleusis, where again they offered sacrifices,
and, finding the omens still encouraging, advanced
further. At Eleusis they were joined by the
Athenians, who had come across from Salamis, and
now accompanied the main army. On reaching Erythrae in
Boeotia, they learnt that the barbarians were
encamped upon the Asopus; wherefore they
themselves, after considering how they should act, disposed
their forces opposite to the enemy upon the
slopes of Mount Cithaeron.
Mardonius, when he saw that the Greeks would not come down into
the plain, sent all his cavalry, under Masistius
(or Macistius, as the Greeks call him), to
attack them where they were. Now Masistius was a man
of much repute among the Persians, and rode a
Nisaean charger with a golden bit, and otherwise
magnificently caparisoned. So the horse advanced against
the Greeks, and made attacks upon them in
divisions, doing them great damage at each
charge, and insulting them by calling them women.
It chanced that the Megarians were drawn up in the position most
open to attack, and where the ground offered the
best approach to the cavalry. Finding themselves
therefore hard pressed by the assaults upon their ranks,
they sent a herald to the Greek leaders, who
came and said to them, "This is the message of
the Megarians- We cannot, brothers-in-arms, continue
to resist the Persian horse in that post which
we have occupied from the first, if we are left
without succours. Hitherto, although hard pressed,
we have held out against them firmly and
courageously. Now, however, if you do not send
others to take our place, we warn you that we shall quit
our post." Such were the words of the herald.
Pausanias, when he heard them, inquired among
his troops if there were any who would volunteer to
take the post, and so relieve the Megarians. Of
the rest none were willing to go, whereupon the
Athenians offered themselves; and a body of picked
men, three hundred in number, commanded by
Olympiodorus, the son of Lampo, undertook the
service.
Selecting, to accompany them, the whole body of archers, these
men relieved the Megarians, and occupied a post
which all the other Greeks collected at Erythrae
had shrunk from holding. After the struggle had continued
for a while, it came to an end on this wise. As
the barbarians continued charging in divisions,
the horse of Masistius, which was in front of the
others, received an arrow in his flank, the pain
of which caused him to rear and throw his rider.
Immediately the Athenians rushed upon Masistius
as he lay, caught his horse, and when he himself
made resistance, slew him. At first, however,
they were not able to take his life; for his armour
hindered them. He had on a breastplate formed of
golden scales, with a scarlet tunic covering it.
Thus the blows, all falling upon his breastplate,
took no effect, till one of the soldiers,
perceiving the reason, drove his weapon into his
eye and so slew him. All this took place without any
of the other horsemen seeing it: they had
neither observed their leader fall from his
horse, nor beheld him slain; for he fell as they wheeled
round and prepared for another charge, so that
they were quite ignorant of what had happened.
When, however, they halted, and found that there
was no one to marshal their line, Masistius was
missed; and instantly his soldiers,
understanding what must have befallen him, with loud cheers
charged the enemy in one mass, hoping to recover
the dead body.
So when the Athenians saw that, instead of coming up in squadrons,
the whole mass of the horse was about to charge
them at once, they called out to the other
troops to make haste to their aid. While the rest of the
infantry, however, was moving to their
assistance, the contest waxed fierce about the
dead body of Masistius. The three hundred, so long as they fought
by themselves, had greatly the worse of the
encounter, and were forced to retire and yield
up the body to the enemy; but when the other troops
approached, the Persian horse could no longer
hold their ground, but fled without carrying off
the body, having incurred in the attempt a further
loss of several of their number. They therefore
retired about two furlongs, and consulted with
each other what was best to be done. Being without a
leader, it seemed to them the fittest course to
return to Mardonius.
When the horse reached the camp, Mardonius and all the Persian
army made great lamentation for Masistius. They
shaved off all the hair from their own heads,
and cut the manes from their war-horses and their
sumpter-beasts, while they vented their grief in
such loud cries that all Boeotia resounded with
the clamour, because they had lost the man who,
next to Mardonius, was held in the greatest
esteem, both by the king and by the Persians
generally. So the barbarians, after their own fashion,
paid honours to the dead Masistius.
The Greeks, on the other hand, were greatly emboldened by what
had happened, seeing that they had not only
stood their ground against the attacks of the
horse, but had even compelled them to beat a retreat.
They therefore placed the dead body of Masistius
upon a cart, and paraded it along the ranks of
the army. Now the body was a sight which well deserved
to be gazed upon, being remarkable both for
stature and for beauty; and it was to stop the
soldiers from leaving their ranks to look at it, that
they resolved to carry it round. After this the
Greeks determined to quit the high ground and go
nearer Plataea, as the land there seemed far more
suitable for an encampment than the country
about Erythrae, particularly because it was
better supplied with water. To this place therefore, and
more especially to a spring-head which was
called Gargaphia, they considered that it would
be best for them to remove, after which they might once more
encamp in their order. So they took their arms,
and proceeded along the slopes of Cithaeron,
past Hysiae, to the territory of the Plataeans; and
here they drew themselves up, nation by nation,
close by the fountain Gargaphia, and the sacred
precinct of the Hero Androcrates, partly along some hillocks
of no great height, and partly upon the level of
the plain.
Here, in the marshalling of the nations, a fierce battle of words
arose between the Athenians and the Tegeans,
both of whom claimed to have one of the wings
assigned to them. On each side were brought forward the
deeds which they had done, whether in earlier or
in later times; and first the Tegeans urged
their claim as follows:-
"This post has been always considered our right, and not the right
of any of the other allies, in all the
expeditions which have been entered into
conjointly by the Peloponnesians, both anciently and in later
times. Ever since the Heraclidae made their
attempt, after the death of Eurystheus, to
return by force of arms into the Peloponnese, this custom has been
observed. It was then that the right became
ours, and this was the way in which we gained
it:- When, in company with the Achaeans and Ionians who then dwelt
in the Peloponnese, we marched out to the
Isthmus, and pitched our camp over against the
invaders, then, as the tale goes, that Hyllus made proclamation,
saying- 'It needs not to imperil two armies in a
general battle; rather let one be chosen from
the Peloponnesian ranks, whomsoever they deem the
bravest, and let him engage with me in single
combat, on such terms as shall be agreed upon.'
The saying pleased the Peloponnesians, and oaths
were sworn to the effect following:- 'If Hyllus
conquer the Peloponnesian champion, the
Heraclidae shall return to their inheritance; if, on the
other hand, he be conquered, the Heraclidae
shall withdraw, lead back their army, and engage
for the next hundred years to make no further endeavours
to force their return." Hereupon Echemus, the
son of Aeropus and grandson of Phegeus, who was
our leader and king, offered himself, and was preferred
before all his brothers-in-arms as champion,
engaged in single combat with Hyllus, and slew
him upon the spot. For this exploit we were rewarded by
the Peloponnesians of that day with many goodly
privileges, which we have ever since enjoyed;
and, among the rest, we obtained the right of holding
the leading post in one wing, whenever a joint
expedition goes forth beyond our borders. With
you then, O Lacedaemonians, we do not claim to compete;
choose you which wing ye please; we yield and
grant you the preference: but we maintain that
the command of the other wing belongs of right to
us, now no less than formerly. Moreover, set
aside this exploit which we have related, and
still our title to the chief post is better than that
of the Athenians: witness the many glorious
fights in which we have been engaged against
yourselves, O Spartans! as well as those which we have
maintained with others. We have therefore more
right to this place than they; for they have
performed no exploits to be compared to ours, whether
we look to earlier or to later times."
Thus spake the Tegeans; and the Athenians made reply as follows:-
"We are not ignorant that our forces were
gathered here, not for the purpose of
speech-making, but for battle against the barbarian. Yet as the
Tegeans have been pleased to bring into debate
the exploits performed by our two nations, alike
in carlier and in later times, we have no choice but to
set before you the grounds on which we claim it
as our heritage, deserved by our unchanging
bravery, to be preferred above Arcadians. In the first
place, then, those very Heraclidae, whose leader
they boast to have slain at the Isthmus, and
whom the other Greeks would not receive when they asked
a refuge from the bondage wherewith they were
threatened by the people of Mycinae, were given
a shelter by us; and we brought down the insolence
of Eurystheus, and helped to gain the victory
over those who were at that time lords of the
Peloponnese. Again, when the Argives led their troops
with Polynices against Thebes, and were slain
and refused burial, it is our boast that we went
out against the Cadmeians, recovered the bodies,
and buried them at Eleusis in our own territory.
Another noble deed of ours was that against the
Amazons, when they came from their seats upon
the Thermodon, and poured their hosts into
Attica; and in the Trojan war too we were not a
whit behind any of the Greeks. But what boots it to speak
of these ancient matters? A nation which was
brave in those days might have grown cowardly
since, and a nation of cowards then might now be valiant.
Enough therefore of our ancient achievements.
Had we performed no other exploit than that at
Marathon- though in truth we have performed exploits
as many and as noble as any of the Greeks- yet
had we performed no other, we should deserve
this privilege, and many a one beside. There we stood
alone, and singly fought with the Persians; nay,
and venturing on so dangerous a cast, we
overcame the enemy, and conquered on that day forty and six
nations! Does not this one achievement suffice
to make good our title to the post we claim?
Nevertheless, Lacedaemonians, as to strive concerning
place at such a time as this is not right, we
are ready to do as ye command, and to take our
station at whatever part of the line, and face whatever
nation ye think most expedient. Wheresoever ye
place us, 'twill be our endeavour to behave as
brave men. Only declare your will, and we shall
at once obey you."
Such was the reply of the Athenians; and forthwith all the
Lacedaemonian troops cried out with one voice,
that the Athenians were worthier to have the
left wing than the Arcadians. In this way were the Tegeans
overcome; and the post was assigned to the
Athenians.
When this matter had been arranged, the Greek army, which was in
part composed of those who came at the first, in
part of such as had flocked in from day to day,
drew up in the following order:- Ten thousand Lacedaemonian
troops held the right wing, five thousand of
whom were Spartans; and these five thousand were
attended by a body of thirty-five thousand Helots, who
were only lightly armed- seven Helots to each
Spartan. The place next to themselves the
Spartans gave to the Tegeans, on account of their courage
and of the esteem in which they held them. They
were all fully armed, and numbered fifteen
hundred men. Next in order came the Corinthians, five
thousand strong; and with them Pausanias had
placed, at their request, the band of three
hundred which had come from Potidaea in Pallene. The
Arcadians of Orchomenus, in number six hundred,
came next; then the Sicyonians, three thousand;
then the Epidaurians, eight hundred; then the Troezenians,
one thousand; then the Lepreats, two hundred;
the Mycenaeans and Tirynthians, four hundred;
the Phliasians, one thousand; the Hermionians, three hundred;
the Eretrians and Styreans, six hundred; the
Chalcideans, four hundred; and the Ambraciots,
five hundred. After these came the Leucadians and Anactorians,
who numbered eight hundred; the Paleans of
Cephallenia, two hundred; the Eginetans, five
hundred; the Megarians, three thousand; and the Plataeans,
six hundred. Last of all, but first at their
extremity of the line, were the Athenians, who,
to the number of eight thousand, occupied the left
wing, under the command of Aristides, the son of
Lysimachus.
All these, except the Helots- seven of whom, as I said, attended
each Spartan- were heavy-armed troops; and they
amounted to thirty-eight thousand seven hundred
men. This was the number of Hoplites, or heavy-armed
soldiers, which was together against the
barbarian. The light-armed troops consisted of
the thirty-five thousand ranged with the Spartans, seven in
attendance upon each, who were all well equipped
for war; and of thirty-four thousand five
hundred others, belonging to the Lacedaemonians and the rest
of the Greeks, at the rate (nearly) of one light
to one heavy armed. Thus the entire number of
the light-armed was sixty-nine thousand five
hundred.
The Greek army, therefore, which mustered at Plataea, counting
light-armed as well as heavy-armed, was but
eighteen hundred men short of one hundred and
ten thousand; and this amount was exactly made up by
the Thespians who were present in the camp; for
eighteen hundred Thespians, being the whole
number left, were likewise with the army; but these men
were without arms. Such was the array of the
Greek troops when they took post on the Asopus.
The barbarians under Mardonius, when the mourning for Masistius
was at an end, and they learnt that the Greeks
were in the Plataean territory, moved likewise
towards the river Asopus, which flows in those parts. On
their arrival Mardonius marshalled them against
the Greeks in the following order:- Against the
Lacedaemonians he posted his Persians; and as the Persians
were far more numerous he drew them up with
their ranks deeper than common, and also
extended their front so that part faced the Tegeans; and here
he took care to choose out the best troops to
face the Lacedaemonians, whilst against the
Tegeans he arrayed those on whom he could not so much
depend. This was done at the suggestion and by
the advice of the Thebans. Next to the Persians
he placed the Medes, facing the Corinthians, Potidaeans,
Orchomenians, and Sicyonians; then the
Bactrians, facing the Epidaurians, Troezenians,
Lepreats, Tirynthians, Mycenaeans, and Phliasians; after them
the Indians, facing the Hermionians, Eretrians,
Styreans, and Chalcidians; then the Sacans,
facing the Ambraciots, Anactorians, Leucadians, Paleans,
and Eginetans; last of all, facing the
Athenians, the Plataeans, and the Megarians, he
placed the troops of the Boeotians, Locrians, Malians, and
Thessalians, and also the thousand Phocians. The
whole nation of the Phocians had not joined the
Medes; on the contrary, there were some who had gathered
themselves into bands about Parnassus, and made
expeditions from thence, whereby they distressed
Mardonius and the Greeks who sided with him, and
so did good service to the Grecian cause.
Besides those mentioned above, Mardonius
likewise arrayed against the Athenians the Macedonians and the
tribes dwelling about Thessaly.
I have named here the greatest of the nations which were
marshalled by Mardonius on this occasion, to
wit, all those of most renown and account. Mixed
with these, however, were men of divers other peoples, as
Phrygians, Thracians, Mysians, Paeonians, and
the like; Ethiopians again, and Egyptians, both
of the Hermotybian and Calascirian races, whose weapon is the
sword, and who are the only fighting men in that
country. These persons had formerly served on
board the fleet of Xerxes, but Mardonius disembarked them before
he left Phalerum; in the land force which Xerxes
brought to Athens there were no Egyptians. The
number of the barbarians, as I have already mentioned,
was three hundred thousand; that of the Greeks
who had made alliance with Mardonius is known to
none, for they were never counted: I should guess
that they mustered near fifty thousand strong.
The troops thus marshalled were all foot
soldiers. As for the horse, it was drawn up by
itself.
When the marshalling of Mardonius' troops by nations and by
maniples was ended, the two armies proceeded on
the next day to offer sacrifice. The Grecian
sacrifice was offered by Tisamenus, the son of Antiochus, who
accompanied the army as soothsayer: he was an
Elean, and belonged to the Clytiad branch of the
Iamidae, but had been admitted among their own citizens
by the Lacedaemonians. Now his admission among
them was on this wise:- Tisamenus had gone to
Delphi to consult the god concerning his lack of
offspring, when it was declared to him by the
Pythoness that he would win five very glorious
combats. Misunderstanding the oracle, and imagining
that he was to win combats in the games,
Tisamenus at once applied himself to the
practice of gymnastics. He trained himself for the Pentathlum,
and, on contending at Olympia, came within a
little of winning it; for he was successful in
everything, except the wrestling-match, which was carried
off by Hieronymus the Andrian. Hereon the
Lacedaemonians perceived that the combats of
which the oracle spoke were not combats in the games, but
battles: they therefore sought to induce
Tisamenus to hire out his services to them, in
order that they might join him with their Heracleid kings in
the conduct of their wars. He however, when he
saw that they set great store by his friendship,
forthwith raised his price, and told them, "If
they would receive him among their citizens, and
give him equal rights with the rest, he was
willing to do as they desired, but on no other terms
would they ever gain his consent." The Spartans,
when they heard this, at first thought it
monstrous, and ceased to implore his aid. Afterwards,
however, when the fearful danger of the Persian
war hung over their heads, they sent for him and
agreed to his terms; but Tisamenus now, perceiving
them so changed, declared, "He could no longer
be content with what he had asked before: they
must likewise make his brother Hagias a Spartan,
with the same rights as himself."
In acting thus he did but follow the example once set by Melampus,
at least if kingship may be compared with
citizenship. For when the women of Argos were
seized with madness, and the Argives would have hired Melampus
to come from Pylos and heal them of their
disease, he demanded as his reward one-half of
the kingdom; but as the Argives disdained to stoop to this,
they left him and went their way. Afterwards,
however, when many more of their women were
seized, they brought themselves to agree to his terms;
and accordingly they went again to him, and said
they were content to give what he required.
Hereon Melampus, seeing them so changed, raised his demand,
and told them, "Except they would give his
brother Bias one-third of the kingdom likewise,
he would not do as they wished." So, as the Argives were
in a strait, they consented even to this.
In like manner the Spartans, as they were in great need of
Tisamenus, yielded everything: and Tisamenus the
Elean, having in this way become a Spartan
citizen, afterwards, in the capacity of soothsayer, helped the
Spartans to gain five very glorious combats. He
and his brother were the only men whom the
Spartans ever admitted to citizenship. The five combats
were these following:- The first was the combat
at Plataea; the second, that near Tegea, against
the Tegeans and the Argives; the third, that at
Dipaeeis, against all the Arcadians excepting
those of Mantinea; the fourth, that at the
Isthmus, against the Messenians; and the fifth, that at Tanagra,
against the Athenians and the Argives. The
battle here fought was the last of all the five.
The Spartans had now brought Tisamenus with them to the Plataean
territory, where he acted as soothsayer for the
Greeks. He found the victims favourable, if the
Greeks stood on the defensive, but not if they began
the battle or crossed the river Asopus.
With Mardonius also, who was very eager to begin the battle, the
victims were not favourable for so doing; but he
likewise found them bode him well, if he was
content to stand on his defence. He too had made use
of the Grecian rites; for Hegesistratus, an
Elean, and the most renowned of the Telliads,
was his soothsayer. This man had once been taken captive
by the Spartans, who, considering that he had
done them many grievous injuries, laid him in
bonds, with the intent to put him to death. Thereupon
Hegesistratus, finding himself in so sore a
case, since not only was his life in danger, but
he knew that he would have to suffer torments of many kinds before
his death,- Hegesistratus, I say, did a deed for
which no words suffice. He had been set with one
foot in the stocks, which were of wood but bound
with iron bands; and in this condition received
from without an iron implement, wherewith he
contrived to accomplish the most courageous deed upon record.
Calculating how much of his foot he would be
able to draw through the hole, he cut off the
front portion with his own hand; and then, as he was guarded
by watchmen, forced a way through the wall of
his prison, and made his escape to Tegea,
travelling during the night, but in the daytime stealing
into the woods, and staying there. In this way,
though the Lacedaemonians went out in full force
to search for him, he nevertheless escaped, and
arrived the third evening at Tegea. So the
Spartans were amazed at the man's endurance,
when they saw on the ground the piece which he had cut
off his foot, and yet for all their seeking
could not find him anywhere. Hegesistratus,
having thus escaped the Lacedaemonians, took refuge in Tegea;
for the Tegeans at that time were ill friends
with the Lacedaemonians. When his wound was
healed, he procured himself a wooden foot, and became
an open enemy to Sparta. At the last, however,
this enmity brought him to trouble; for the
Spartans took him captive as he was exercising his
office in Zacynthus, and forthwith put him to
death. But these things happened some while
after the fight at Plataea. At present he was serving Mardonius
on the Asopus, having been hired at no
inconsiderable price; and here he offered
sacrifice with a right good will, in part from his hatred of the
Lacedaemonians, in part for lucre's sake.
So when the victims did not allow either the Persians or their
Greek allies to begin the battle- these Greeks
had their own soothsayer in the person of
Hippomachus, a Leucadian- and when soldiers continued
to pour into the opposite camp and the numbers
on the Greek side to increase continually,
Timagenidas, the son of Herpys, a Theban, advised Mardonius
to keep a watch on the passes of Cithaeron,
telling him how supplies of men kept flocking in
day after day, and assuring him that he might cut
off large numbers.
It was eight days after the two armies first encamped opposite
to one another when this advice was given by
Timagenidas. Mardonius, seeing it to be good, as
soon as evening came, sent his cavalry to that pass of
Mount Cithaeron which opens out upon Plataea, a
pass called by the Boeotians the "Three Heads,"
called the "Oak-Heads" by the Athenians. The horse sent
on this errand did not make the movement in
vain. They came upon a body of five hundred
sumpter-beasts which were just entering the plain, bringing
provisions to the Greek camp from the
Peloponnese, with a number of men driving them.
Seeing this prey in their power, the Persians set upon them
and slaughtered them, sparing none, neither man
nor beast; till at last, when they had had
enough of slaying, they secured such as were left, and
bore them off to the camp to Mardonius.
After this they waited again for two days more, neither army
wishing to begin the fight. The barbarians
indeed advanced as far as the Asopus, and
endeavoured to tempt the Greeks to cross; but neither side
actually passed the stream. Still the cavalry of
Mardonius harassed and annoyed the Greeks
incessantly; for the Thebans, who were zealous in the cause
of the Medes, pressed the war forward with all
eagerness, and often led the charge till the
lines met, when the Medes and Persians took their place,
and displayed, many of them, uncommon valour.
For ten days nothing was done more than this; but on the eleventh
day from the time when the two hosts first took
station, one over against the other, near
Plataea- the number of the Greeks being now much greater
than it was at the first, and Mardonius being
impatient of the delay- there was a conference
held between Mardonius, son of Gobryas, and Artabazus,
son of Pharnaces, a man who was esteemed by
Xerxes more than almost any of the Persians. At
this consultation the following were the opinions delivered:-
Artabazus thought it would be best for them to
break up from their quarters as soon as
possible, and withdraw the whole army to the fortified town
of Thebes, where they had abundant stores of
corn for themselves, and of fodder for the
sumpter-beasts. There, he said, they had only to sit quiet,
and the war might be brought to an end on this
wise:- Coined gold was plentiful in the camp,
and uncoined gold too; they had silver moreover in great
abundance, and drinking-cups. Let them not spare
to take of these, and distribute them among the
Greeks, especially among the leaders in the several cities;
'twould not be long before the Greeks gave up
their liberty, without risking another battle
for it. Thus the opinion of Artabazus agreed with that of
the Thebans; for he too had more foresight than
some. Mardonius, on the other hand, expressed
himself with more fierceness and obstinacy, and was
utterly disinclined to yield. "Their army," he
said, "was vastly superior to that of the
Greeks; and they had best engage at once, and not wait till
greater numbers were gathered against them. As
for Hegesistratus and his victims, they should
let them pass unheeded, not seeking to force them
to be favourable, but, according to the old
Persian custom, hasting to join battle."
When Mardonius had thus declared his sentiments, no one ventured
to say him nay; and accordingly his opinion
prevailed, for it was to him, and not to
Artabazus, that the king had given the command of the
army.
Mardonius now sent for the captains of the squadrons, and the
leaders of the Greeks in his service, and
questioned them:- "Did they know of any prophecy
which said that the Persians were to be destroyed in Greece?"
All were silent; some because they did not know
the prophecies, but others, who knew them full
well, because they did not think it safe to speak out.
So Mardonius, when none answered, said, "Since
ye know of no such oracle, or do not dare to
speak of it, I, who know it well, will myself declare
it to you. There is an oracle which says that
the Persians shall come into Greece, sack the
temple at Delphi, and when they have so done, perish one
and all. Now we, as we are aware of the
prediction, will neither go against the temple
nor make any attempt to sack it: we therefore shall not perish
for this trespass. Rejoice then thus far, all ye
who are well-wishers to the Persians, and doubt
not we shall get the better of the Greeks." When
he had so spoken, he further ordered them to
prepare themselves, and to put all in readiness
for a battle upon the morrow.
As for the oracle of which Mardonius spoke, and which he referred
to the Persians, it did not, I am well assured,
mean them, but the Illyrians and the Enchelean
host. There are, however, some verses of Bacis which
did speak of this battle:-