Installment 27            
 Now, those of the Persians left down in Europe by Darius, of whom Megabazus was ruler, first the Perinthians among the Hellespontians, who wanted not to be obedient to Darius, subjected, after earlier too they had been treated harshly by the Paeonians. For accordingly the Paeonians from Strymon, at the god’s having given an oracle that they should advance with an army against the Perinthians and if the Perinthians, sitting down in opposition, called to them for themselves by name with shouting, then they should lay on hands, and if they shouted not to them, they should not lay on hands, they, the Paeonians, did that. So, the Perinthians sitting down in opposition in the suburb, thereupon a triple single combat on the basis of a calling forth came about for them; for in fact man on man and horse on horse they set as well as dog on dog. Then, the Perinthians having victory in two respects, when they sang “paean” in a state of joy, the Paeonians conjectured that was the oracle and said doubtless among themselves, “Now would be the oracle’s word’s being brought to completion for us; now ours is the deed”. Thus on the Perinthians, when they had sung “paean”, the Paeonians laid hands and they prevailed much and left few of them.

Indeed what was done previously by the Paeonians this way was done and then, although the Perinthians were proving good concerning their freedom, the Persians and Megabazus prevailed over them by multitude. Then, when Perinthus had been worsted, Megabazus drove the army through Thrace and every city and every nation of those settled there he tamed himself for the king; for that had been enjoined on him by Darius, to subject Thrace.

Now, the Thracians’ nation is the largest, at least after the Indians’, of all human beings’, and if by one it should be ruled or be minded in accordance with the same thing, it would be unconquerable and far the strongest of all nations in my judgement. But, because that’s without means and without way of contriving among them, that it at any time come into being, they are indeed in accordance with that lacking strength. And they have many names, each group according to countries, and those all use laws pretty similar in all respects, except the Getians, the Trausians and those settled inland of the Crestonians.

Of those then what the Getians who think themselves immortal do has been said by me and the Trausians bring to completion all the other matters in accordance with the same ways as the rest of the Thracians, but concerning him who is born to them and him who passes away they act like this: him who has been born his relatives, sitting round, mourn because of all the evils that he must endure after he has been born, while they recount all the human sufferings, and him who has passed away they, playing and taking pleasure, conceal with earth and say over all the evils that he is departed from in a state of complete happiness.

Further, those inland of the Crestonians act like this: each has many wives. Accordingly, whenever one of them dies, there comes about a great judging among his wives and among friends strong rivalries concerning this one about which woman among them was most loved by her husband and she whoever is judged and honored, encomionized by men and women, has her throat cut into the grave by her nearest relation and, having had her throat cut, she is buried with the man, while all the other women consider it a great misfortune: for that proves the greatest disgrace for them.

Now, of all the rest of the Thracians there is the following law: they sell their offspring for leading off. Their maidens they guard not, but allow to have intercourse with the men they themselves want. Their wives they guard strongly; they buy their wives from their begetters for much money. To be branded is judged of good birth and the lack of branding lacking in birth. To be idle’s most beautiful and earth’s worker most lacking in honor. To live from war and plunder’s most beautiful.

Those are their most noteworthy laws and they reverence these gods only, Ares, Dionysus and Artemis, but their kings, apart from all the rest of their fellow-citizens, reverence Hermes most of gods and swear by that one alone and they say they themselves are descended from Hermes.

Further, the acts of burial for the happy among them are these: three days they lay out the corpse and, after they have cut the throats of all kinds of sacred victims, feast themselves, when they have wept first previously; thereafter they perform burial with a burning up or otherwise with a concealing with earth and, after they have piled up a mound, they hold every kind of contest, in which the greatest prizes are offered in proportion for single combat. The acts of burial of the Thracians indeed are those.

Now, about what’s toward the north still of that country no one is able to point out what’s exact regarding who are the human beings settled on it, but by now beyond the Ister a desolate country manifestly is and without bound. And the only ones I am able to learn of by inquiry are the human beings settled beyond the Ister, whose name is the “Sigynnae” and who are users of Median clothing. Moreover, their horses are shaggy on their whole body (and over the extent of five fingers is the depth of their hairs), are small, snub-nosed and unable to carry human beings and, when they are yoked under chariots, are the swiftest; thereupon the natives drive chariots. Further, the borders of those extend near the Enetians in Adries and that they are the Medes’ colonists they say, but how those have come to be the Medes’ colonists, although I am not able to point it out for myself, yet everything could be in the long passage of time. Anyhow, “sigynnae” the Ligyians settled up inland of Massalia call the retail merchants and the Cyprians do the spears. In addition, as the Thracians say, bees occupy what’s beyond the Ister and through their agency it is not possible to go through the farther place. Now, to me in saying that they seem to say things not reasonable. For those living beings appear to be ill suited for chill; rather to me what’s under the Bear seems to be unsettled on account of the cold spells. Now, that about that country is said; anyhow, its parts by the sea Megabazus was rendering obedient to the Persians.

Darius then, as soon as he, having gone across the Hellespont, had come to Sardis, remembered the benefaction done by Histiaeus the Milesian and the advice of the Mytilenian Coes and, after he had sent for them to go to Sardis, offered them a choice. Histiaeus indeed, seeing that he was tyrant of Miletus, requested in addition no tyranny, but asked for Myrcinus, the Edonians’ land, because he wanted to found a city in it. That one indeed chose that and Coes, inasmuch as he was no tyrant, but a commoner, asked to become tyrant of Mytilene.

So, when things had been brought to fulfillment for both, those turned their course after what they had chosen and Darius it happened, when he had seen for himself a matter like the following, conceived a desire to enjoin on Megabazus to take hold of the Paeonians and cause them to be drawn up from Europe to Asia: there was Pigres as well as Mastyes, Paeonian men, who, when Darius had gone across to Asia, themselves wished to be the Paeonians’ tyrants and came to Sardis at the same time as they were taking with them a tall and good-looking sister. Then, after they had been on guard for Darius’ sitting forth down in the suburb of the Lydians, they acted like this: having dressed their sister the best that they were able, for water they sent her who had a vessel on her head, by her arm drew behind a horse and was spinning flax. So, when the woman was going out nearby, a care for Darius it became --for neither Persian nor Lydian were the deeds being done by the woman nor characteristic of any persons from Asia-- and when a care for him it had become, some of his lance-bearers he sent and bade be on guard about what use the woman would make of the horse. They indeed followed behind and she, when she had come to the river, watered the horse and, after she had performed the watering and the vessel with water had filled up for herself, the same way went out nearby, while she carried the water on her head, drew behind by her arm the horse and twisted the spindle.

Now, Darius, marvelling at what he had heard from his watchers and what he himself was seeing, bade bring her into his sight. And when she had been brought, there were present also her brothers and they held a watch of that in no way far off. So, when Darius was asking of what country she was, the young men asserted they were Paeonians and she was their sister. Then he replied, “And what human beings are the Paeonians and where on earth settled?”, and wishing what did they go to Sardis. Hence they pointed out to him that they had gone to give themselves to him, Paeonia was built as a city on the Strymon river, the Strymon was not far from the Hellespont and they were from the Teucrians from Troy colonists. They indeed gave those several accounts and he asked whether in fact all the women in that very place were thus industrious. So they asserted eagerly that that too was thus: for for that very reason then in fact the deed was done.

Thereupon Darius wrote a letter to Megabazus, whom he had left in Thrace as a general, and was giving the injunction that he should cause the Paeonians to stand up from customary abodes and bring to him both themselves and their offspring and wives. Immediately then a horseman ran with the message to the Hellespont and, after he had made a crossing, gave the paper to Megabazus. And when he had read and taken hold of guides, he advanced with an army to Paeonia.

Then the Paeonians, having learned by inquiry that the Persians were going against them, were gathered and advanced out with an army to the sea, because they thought that there the Persians would lay hands on in their invading. The Paeonians indeed were ready to fight off Megabazus’ army at their going in opposition and the Persians, having learned by inquiry that the Paeonians had been gathered together and were guarding the approach toward the sea, with guides turned their course to the upper way and, having escaped the notice of the Paeonians, they rushed into their cities, as they were empty of men, and inasmuch as they had rushed into them, easily seized them. So the Paeonians, when they had learned by inquiry their cities were being held, immediately were scattered in different directions and after themselves each group turned their way and gave themselves over to the Persians. Thus indeed among the Paeonians the Siriopaeonians and the Paeoplians as well as those up to the Prasiad lake, having stood up from customary abodes, were led to Asia.

But those round the Pangaean mountain and the Prasiad lake itself were not worsted to begin with by Megabazus. And he tried in fact to capture completely those settled down on the lake this way: planks tied on high piles stand in the middle of the lake with a narrow way in by one bridge, and the piles standing under the planks at some time anciently all the fellow-citizens jointly set, but afterwards set them by making use of a law like this: they perform a conveyance from the mountain, whose name is Orbelus, and for each wife he who marries set three piles underneath and each brings home numerous wives. Now, they are settled in a manner like that, each having power over a hut on the piles, in which he dwells, and a door fixed below through the piles that leads down to the lake and their infant small children they bind with a cord on their foot, because they are afraid lest they roll down. And for their horses and their yoke-animals they furnish as fodder fish and the multitude of them is so great that, whenever one pushes back the door fixed below, one lets go down with a rope an empty basket into the lake and with a pause of no long a time draws it up full of fish. And of the fish are two kinds, which they call Paprakes and Tilones.

Of the Paeonians indeed those who had been worsted were led to Asia and Megabazus, when he had worsted the Paeonians, sent as messengers to Macedonia seven Persian men, who after him himself were the most esteemed in the camp. And those were sent to Amyntes to ask for earth and water for King Darius. Now, from the Prasiad lake it’s a very short way to Macedonia. For first next to the lake is the mine, from which later than that a talent of silver for Alexander each day came regularly, and after the mine for one walking over a mountain called Dysorum there’s to be in Macedonia.

Accordingly those Persians sent to Amyntes, when they had come, asked after they had gone to Amyntes’ sight for King Darius earth and water. Then he gave that and them to feasts called and, having prepared himself a magnificent dinner, he received the Persians kindly. So when they were done with dinner, while they were drinking on, the Persians said this: “Macedonian host, for us Persians is a law that, whenever we put forth for ourselves a great dinner, then both the concubines and the wedded women should be brought in as sitters by. You now, since you gave a reception eagerly and are providing a great feast as well as are offering King Darius earth and water, follow our law”. Thereupon said Amyntes, “O Persians, our law at any rate is not that, but for men to be separated from women; yet since you, being masters, request in addition that, that too will be present for you.” Having said so much, Amyntes sent for the women. And they, when on being called they had come, in a row opposite the Persians sat. Then the Persians, seeing for themselves women of good form, spoke before Amyntes and asserted for themselves that that which had been done was nothing wise; for it was better from the beginning for the women not to go than, when they had gone and were not seating themselves by, to sit opposite as pains for their eyes. And Amyntes, being compelled, bade them sit by and, the women obeying, immediately the Persians touched breasts, inasmuch as they were drinking wine excessively, and doubtless one even tried to give a kiss.

Amyntes indeed, seeing that, was still, even though he was bearing it ill, inasmuch as he was excessively afraid of the Persians, but Alexander, Amyntes’ son, being present and seeing that, seeing that he was young and without experience of evils, in no way any longer was able to exercise restraint and, since he was bearing it heavily, said to Amyntes this: “You, o father, yield to your age and go away and rest yourself and stop persevering in drinking and I, remaining on right here, will provide what’s suitable for the guests”. Thereupon since Amyntes understood that Alexander was to do newer deeds, he said, “O son, because you are burning up, I almost understand your speeches, that you are willing after you have sent me out to do something newer. Therefore I request of you to innovate nothing against those men, that you may not ruin us, but hold yourself up under the seeing of what is being done and concerning my going away I will obey you.”

Now, when Amyntes had requested that and was gone, Alexander said to the Persians, “Of those women, o guests, there is for you much ease of the having, even if you want to have intercourse with all or however so many of them. About that you yourselves will make an indication, but now, since almost by now the hour of bed goes forward for you and I see you are well off for strong drink, those women, if it is dear to you, let go away to wash themselves and, after they have washed themselves, receive back.” Having said that, he, since the Persians were agreeable, sent away the women, who went out to the women’s apartment, and Alexander himself, after he had dressed beardless men equal in number to the women with the clothing of the women and given daggers, led them by within and, leading those by, he said to the Persians this: “O Persians, you look like you are feasted with a perfect complete banquet. For all the other things that we had and in addition that it was possible to find out and furnish is present for you and in particular this greatest of all things, our mothers and sisters, we lavish on you, that you may learn that you are honored completely by us with the very things, of which you are worthy, and in addition also to the king who sent you announce back that a Greek man, Macedonians’ governor, received you well in respect to both table and bed.” Having said that, Alexander seated by a Persian man a Macedonian man, as a woman by his speech, and they, when the Persians tried to touch them, did them to death.

Those in fact were destroyed by that manner of death, both themselves and their train of servants: for indeed there followed them both coaches and servants and all their large equipage: all that indeed together with all those were made to disappear. Then afterwards, not much later, a great search for those men was made by the Persians and them Alexander restrained with wisdom by giving much money and his own sister, whose name was Gygaee, and Alexander restrained them by giving that to Boubares, a Persian man, the searchers for the perished’s general. Now, the way of death of those Persians, thus restrained, was kept silent.

Further, that those descended from Perdicces were Greeks, just according as they themselves say, I myself in fact know thus and, what’s more, in the later accounts will show forth that they are Greeks and in addition also those of the Greeks who manage the contest in Olympia came to know it is thus; for, when Alexander had chosen to contend and gone down for that very thing, those of the Greeks who would run in opposition tried to exclude him by asserting for themselves that the contest was not of barbarian contestants but of Greek. And Alexander when he had shown forth that he was an Argive, was judged to be Greek and, competing in a stade, he finished together with the first. Now, that somehow thus happened.

So Megabazus, leading the Paeonians, came to the Hellespont and thence, after he had been conveyed across, came to Sardis. And seeing that by then Histiaeus the Milesian was walling the land that from Darius he in fact had asked as a fee, a gift for guarding the pontoon, and, that place being by the river Strymon, whose name is Myrcinus, Megabazus, having learned what was being done by Histiaeus, as soon as he had gone to Sardis in his leading the Paeonians, said to Darius this: “O king, what kind of a thing did you do in granting a clever and wise Greek man to found himself a city in Thrace, where there is abundant forest for shipbuilding, many spars and silver mines and a large Greek crowd is settled round and a large barbarian, who, having taken hold for themselves on a leader, will do that whatever that one commands both day and night. You now stop that man’s doing that that you may not be gripped in a home war. So in a gentle manner send for and stop him and, whenever you take complete hold of him, bring about that he will no longer come to the Greeks”.

Saying that, Megabazus easily persuaded Darius on the ground that he well foresaw what was to happen. Then afterwards, having sent a messenger to Myrcinus, Darius said this: “Histiaeus, King Darius says this: I in thinking find to me and my affairs there is no man more well minded than you and that not by speeches but deeds I know by having learned. Therefore now, since I have in mind to work out great matters, come to me by all means, that I may communicate for myself with you.” Having put faith in those words and at the same time considering great to become the king’s advisor, Histiaeus came to Sardis. And on his coming, Darius said to him this: “Histiaeus, I sent for you for this reason: as soon as I had returned from the Scythians and you had come to be away from my eyes, I sought after no other thing yet so in a short space as to see you and for you to come into speeches with me, since I am knowledgeable that of all possessions the most honorable is an intelligent and well-minded friendly man, both of which in fact I know to your credit and am able to bear witness in respect to with regard to my affairs. Therefore now, because you acted well by coming, this to you I propose for myself: let Miletus be and the newly founded city in Thrace and you follow me and have the very things whichever I have, while you are my fellow at meals and fellow at counsels.”

Darius, having said that and having set up Artaphrenes, his brother by the same father, to be subordinate ruler of Sardis, drove away to Susa and at the same time brought with himself Histiaeus and he appointed Otanes to be general of the men by the sea, whose father Sisamnes, who had become one of the royal judges, King Cambyses, because in return for money he had judged an unjust judgement, cut the throat of and flayed all the human hide of. Then, having stripped off his skin, he cut thongs from it and stretched tight the chair, on which he sat and judged, and having performed a straining tight, Cambyses appointed to be judge in place of Sisamnes, whom he had killed and flayed, the son of Sisamnes, after he had enjoined on him to remember the chair, on which he sat down and judged.

Hence that Otanes, he who sat down on that chair, then having become successor to Megabazus in his generalship, took the Byzantians and the Calchedonians, took Antandrus the country in the land of the Troad, took Lamponium and, having taken hold of ships from the Lesbians, took Lemnos and Imbros, both still then being settled by Pelasgians.

The Lemnians indeed both fought well and in defending themselves in time were caused evil and over their survivors the Persians as subordinate ruler set Lycaretus, Maeandrius who had been king of Samos’ brother. That Lycaretus as ruler in Lemnos met his end and the cause of that’s this: all he tried to enslave and subject and some he accused of abandoning the host against the Scythians and some of harming Darius’ army when from the Scythians it was being conveyed away back.

Now, that one worked out that when he had become general and afterwards for not much time there was a cessation of evils and there began for the second time from Naxos and Miletus to come about for the Ionians evils. For on the one hand Naxos in happiness excelled the islands and on the other hand at the same time Miletus was itself in its own quite highest degree then flourishing and Ionia’s ornament, but previous to that for two generations of men had been sick in the highest degree with faction, until the Parians restored order to it; for those as restorers of order from all Greeks the Milesians chose.

And the Parians reconciled them this way; when the best of them had come to Miletus, because indeed they were seeing they were ruined in their houses, they asserted that they wanted to go out and through their country. So doing that and going out and through all Milesia, whenever they saw any field in the desolated country worked on well, they wrote down for themselves the name of the master of the field. Then having driven out and through the whole country and found those rare, as soon as they had gone down to the town, after they had brought about an assembly, they appointed those to govern the city, whose fields they had found well worked on --for they asserted that they thought that also for the people’s things they would quite so care just as for their own-- and to the rest of the Milesians who previously were factious they gave orders to obey them.

Now, the Parians restored order to the Milesians thus and then from those cities this way began evils to come about for Ionia. From Naxos were banished men among the rich by the people and, having been banished, they came to Miletus. Of Miletus then in fact was guardian Aristagores, the son of Molpagores, who was the son-in-law and cousin of Histiaeus, the son of Lysagores, whom Darius was detaining in Susa. For Histiaeus was tyrant of Miletus and in fact during that time was in Susa, when the Naxians had gone, who were previously foreign friends of Histiaeus. Then the Naxians, having come to Miletus, asked Aristagores whether in any way to them he could furnish any power and they could go back down to their own land. So he considered that, if through him they went back down to the city, he would rule Naxos and, using as a pretext their foreign friendship with Histiaeus, this to them as a speech he brought forward: “I myself for you am not capable of furnishing such great power as to bring about a going back down, the Naxians who have the city being unwilling --for I have learned by inquiry that eight thousand shield are the Naxians’ and many large boats-- but I will make contrivances in using every kind of eagerness. Now, I devise this way: Artaphernes is in fact my friend and Artaphernes for you is Hystaspes’ son and Darius the king’s brother and rules all those on the sea in Asia with many a host and many ships. Therefore, I think that man will do whatever we request.” Having heard that, the Naxians put forth to Aristagores to do as best he could and bade promise gifts and expense for the host with the intention that they themselves would pay, because they had many hopes that, whenever they appeared out in Naxos, the Naxians would do all of whatever they themselves bade and likewise also the rest of the islanders; for of those islands not even one yet was under Darius.

Then Aristagores, having come to Sardis, said to Artaphrenes that Naxos was an island in magnitude not large, but otherwise beautiful and good and near Ionia; moreover, there was within many kinds of wealth and slaves. “You therefore against that country drive an army and bring back down to it the exiles from it. And for you, if you do that, on the one hand is ready with me much money besides the expenses for the host --for that is just for us who bring you to furnish-- and on the other hand islands for the king you will acquire in addition, Naxos itself and those that depend on that, Paros, Andros and all the others called Cyclades. Then, setting off thence, easily you will apply yourself to Euboea, a large and happy island, not smaller than Cyprus and very easy to be taken. Now, a hundred ships suffice to worst all those.” Then he replied to him with this: “You for the house of the king are proving a proposer of good things and in all that you are advising well, except the ships’ number. Now, instead of a hundred ships two hundred will be ready for you together with spring, but to that must also the king himself prove agreeable.”

Aristagores indeed, when he had heard that, was very joyful and went away to Miletus and Artaphrenes, when to him, after he had sent to Susa and communicated what was said by Aristagores, Darius himself also had proven agreeable, prepared himself two hundred triremes and a very large crowd of Persians and all the other allies and as general of those appointed Megabates, a Persian man of the Achaemenids, his own and Darius’ cousin, of whom Pausanies, the son of Cleombrotus, a Lacedemonian, if indeed the account is true at any rate, a time later than that betrothed to himself the daughter, because he had gotten hold of a desire to become tyrant of Greece. So having appointed Megabates general, Artaphrenes dispatched the army off to Aristagores.

Then Megabates, having taken over from Miletus Aristagores, the Ionian host and the Naxians, sailed ostensibly toward the Hellespont, but when he had come to be in Chios, he landed his ships at Caucasa, that thence with the north wind to Naxos he might cross over. And, because the Naxians had not to perish by that expedition, a matter like this happened to come about: while Megabates was going the round of the guards on the ships, on the Myndian ship in fact no one was on guard and he, considering it something awful, bade his lance-bearers to find out the ruler of that ship, whose name was Scylax, and bind that one and divide him through the oar-hole of the ship after that following fashion: they caused head to be outside and his body inside. So, after Scylax had been bound,someone announced out to Aristagores that his foreign friend, the Myndian, Megabates had bound and was maltreating. Then he went and begged the Persian, but obtaining nothing of what he asked for, he himself went and performed a release and Megabates, having learned by inquiry, considered it very awful and was angry with Aristagores. But he said, “But for you and those matters what is it? Did not Artaphrenes dispatch you off to obey me and sail wherever I bid? Why are you doing many things?” That said Aristagores and the other in wrath at that, when it had become night, sent to Naxos by boat men to point out to the Naxians all the matters that were on hand for them.

For the Naxians accordingly were not expecting at all absolutely that against them that expedition would set off. However, when they had learned by inquiry, immediately they brought for themselves the things from the fields into their wall and they prepared themselves on the ground that they would be besieged both foods and drinks and strengthened for themselves the wall. So those were preparing themselves on the ground that war would be on hand for them and the others, when they had caused to cross over from Chios their ships to Naxos, against people fenced in approached and conducted a siege four months. Then, when that money, with which the Persians had come, had been expended by them and by Aristagores himself had been used up in addition much and in short the seige needed more, thereupon having built walls for the exiles of the Naxians, they departed to the mainland and were faring badly.

So Aristagores was not able to bring to completion his promise to Artaphrenes and at the same time the expense of the host, as it was being asked for, was oppressing him and he was afraid because the army fared badly and he was fallen out with Megabates and thought the kingdom of Miletus would be taken away. Then being afraid of each of those things, he resolved on revolt; for it happened that also the one branded on the head had come from Susa from Histiaeus and was indicating that Aristagores should revolt from the king. For Histiaeus, wanting to indicate to Aristagores that he should revolt, was able in no other way to make an indication safely, inasmuch as the ways were guarded, and so he, having shaved thoroughly the most trusted of his slaves at his head, branded it and waited for his hairs to grow out and, as soon as they had grown out, he sent him away to Miletus after he had enjoined on him nothing else but, whenever he came to Miletus, to bid Aristagores to shave him at his hairs and make an inspection on his head. The brands were indicating, as has been said by me previously also, revolt. So that Histiaeus did, because he considered a great misfortune his detention in Susa. Hence, if a revolt was made, he had many hopes that he would be released to the sea, but if Miletus made no greater innovation, in no way he would come to it any longer he calculated.

Now, Histiaeus with that intention sent away the messenger and to Aristagores it happened in the same time all those events went together. Therefore he took counsel for himself with the men of his faction and brought out to light his opinion and what had come from Histiaeus. All the others indeed brought forth for themselves an opinion in accordance with the same thing, but Hecataeus the composer of accounts first would not allow war with the king of the Persians to be taken up and recounted all the nations that Darius ruled and his power, but when he could not produce persuasion, second he advised that they should bring about that they would be masters by ship of the sea. Now, in no other way he asserted in speaking that he observed that would be, because he knew the power of the Milesians was lacking in strength, but if the money of the shrine in Branchidae was taken down, which Croesus the Lydian had dedicated, he had many hopes they would be masters over the sea, and thus they themselves would be able to use the money and their enemies would not plunder it. And that money was great, as has been made clear by me in the first of my accounts. Indeed that opinion prevailed not, but it was decided notwithstanding to revolt and for one of them to sail to Myus to the camp that had gone from Naxos and was there and try to arrest the generals who sailed on the ships .

So, after Ietragores had been sent away for that very purpose and had arrested with treachery Oliatus, son of Ibanollis, a Mylasian, Histiaeus, son of Tymnes, a Termerian, Coes, son of Erxandrus, to whom Darius had presented Mytilene, Aristagores, son of Heracleides, a Cymian and numerous others, thus indeed out in the open Aristagores was in revolt and contriving everything against Darius. And first in speech he let go of the tyranny and brought about equality before the law for Miletus, that willingly the Milesians might revolt with him, and afterwards also in the rest of Ionia he brought about that same thing by driving out some of the tyrants, and some, those tyrants whom he had taken hold of from the ships that had joined in sailing to Naxos, then, because he wanted to perform for himself friendly acts for the cities, he was offering off to them by offering over one to one city, another to another, whence each was.
 

Now, Coes the Mytilenians, as soon as they had taken him over, led out and stoned down, but the Cymians let their own man go and likewise also the greater part of the others were performing a letting go. Now, deposition of tyrants was being made throughout the cities and Aristagores the Milesian, when he had deposed the tyrants, bade each group establish generals in each of the cities and, second, he himself was made one dispatched to Lacedemon by trireme; for indeed there was need for him of a great alliance to be found out.

So of Sparta Anaxandrides, the son of Leon, no longer was around and was king, but had met his end, and Cleomenes, the son of Anaxandrides, was holding the kingdom and held it not in accordance with manly goodness, but in accordance with birth. For to Anaxandrides, while he had as wife his own sister’s daughter and that woman was satisfactory to him, children were not born and, that being like that, the ephors said after they had called for him, “If, mind you, you provide not for yourself, well by us that must not be overlooked, for the family of Eurysthenes to become extinct. Now, you the wife that you have, since she brings forth not, send away for youself and another marry, and by doing that you will please the Spartiates”. Then he replied by asserting that he would do neither of those things and they were counselling and advising not beautifully that that wife that he had, although she was without fault to him, he should let go away and another bring back home and that he would not obey them.

Thereupon the ephors and the elders, having taken counsel, brought forward for Anaxandrides this: “Since then we see that you are holding yourself to the wife that you have, you then keep doing that and refuse to take a step against that, that not any counsel of another kind concerning you the Spartiates may take. Of the wife that you have we ask not from you the sending away, but you to that one all that now you are furnishing keep furnishing and another in addition to that one bring in as a wife for producing children.” They saying that in some way, Anaxandrides went along and afterwards with two wives he was settled at two hearths and doing in no way Spartan things.

Then, no long time having gone by, the wife who had gone afterwards at a later moment brought forth that very Cleomenes. Indeed that one was bringing out to light a king sitting by for the Spartiates and the previous wife, the previous time being without offspring, then somehow became pregnant and enjoyed that as chance. So that she was bearing by a true account the relatives of the wife who had gone after learned by inquiry and bothered her and they asserted for themselves that she was merely boasting, because she wanted to bring in another’s child. And, they performing terrible acts, when the time was becoming short, through lack of belief’s agency the ephors, sitting around, guarded over the woman while she was bringing forth. Then she, when she had brought forth Dorieus, immediately conceived Leonides and after that one immediately conceived Cleombrotus and some indeed say that as twins Cleombrotus and Leonides were born. And she who had brought forth Cleomenes and had gone after in the second place, who was the daughter of Prinetades, the son of Demarmenus, no longer was bringing forth the second time.

Cleomenes indeed, as is said, was not sound of mind and at the point of madness, while Dorieus was among all his contemporaries the first and knew well that in accordance with manly goodness he himself would get hold of the kingdom. Therefore, seeing that thus he was minded, when Anaxandrides had died and the Lacedemonians, using their law, had established for themselves as king the oldest, Cleomenes, Dorieus, considering terrible and thinking not worthy to be ruled as king by Cleomenes, asked for a band from the Spartiates and led it for colonization without either consulting the oracle in Delphi about to which land he should go to found or doing any of the things practiced customarily, but inasmuch as he was bearing it heavily, he let go to Libya his boats, and Therian men were leading him down. Having come to Cinyps, he colonized the most beautiful place of the Libyans alongside the river and, driven out thence in the third year by the Macians, the Libyans and the Carchedonians, he came to the Peloponnesus.

So thereupon him Antichares, an Eleonian man, advised on the basis of Laius’ oracles to found Heracleia in Sicily and asserted that the whole country of Eryx was the sons of Heracles’ because Heracles himself had gotten its possession. Then he, having heard that, was gone to Delphi to consult the oracle about whether he was to take the country against which he was dispatching himself, and Pythia proclaimed to him he would take it. So Dorieus took over the expedition that also to Libya he was leading and conveyed himself to Italy.

Further, during that time, as the Sybaritians say, it was that they themselves and Telys, their king, were to advance with an army against Croton and the Crotonians, having become very afraid, asked Dorieus to succour them and hit the mark when they had asked; indeed Dorieus joined in advancing with an army against Sybaris and joined in taking Sybaris. Now, that the Sybaritians say Dorieus and those with him did, but the Crotonians assert that no foreigner with them in addition took hold for themselves on the war against the Sybaritians except Callies alone, an Elean prophet of the Iamids, and that one did in a manner like this: from Telys, the Sybaritians’ tyrant, he ran away and came to them, since for him the sacrifices were not turning out good, when he was sacrificing for himself against Croton. Those accounts again those give.

And as pieces of evidence each group shows forth these: the Sybaritians a sacred precinct and a temple that is alongside the dry Crathis, which they say Dorieus set up for himself, after he had joined in taking the city, for Athena called Crathian, and that, Dorieus himself’s death, they consider the greatest proof, in that by performing acts in addition to what had been prophesied he had been been destroyed --for if indeed he had not done anything in addition, but was doing that, for which he had been dispatched, he would have taken the Erycian country and, having taken it, he would have occupied it and he himself as well as his army would not have been destroyed-- while again the Crotonians show forth many perquisites given to Callies the Elean in the Crotonian land, which even up to my time still Callies’ descendants were enjoying, but not one to Dorieus and Dorieus’ descendants; now, if Dorieus had joined in taking hold on the Sybaritian war for himself, many times more would have been given to him than to Callies. Now, that each group of them as pieces of evidence bring forth to light for themselves and it is possible to that group, whichever of them one is persuaded by, to assent.

So there sailed with Dorieus also other co-founders among the Spartiates, Thessalus, Paraibates, Celees and Euryleon, who, when they had come with the whole expedition to Sicily, died worsted by the Phoenicians and Egestians, except that Euryleon alone among the co-founders survived that suffering. Then that one, having rallied those of his army that had survived, got hold of Minoe, the Selinousians’ colony, and joined in freeing the Selinousians from the monarch Peithagores. But afterwards, when he had taken down that one, he himself laid his hand to the tyranny of Selinous and was monarch for a short time; for him the Selinousians stood up against and killed when he had fled down to Zeus of the public square’s altar.

Further, there joined in following Dorieus and joined in dying Philippus, the son of Boutacides, a Crotonian man, who had had Telys the Sybaritian’s daughter betrothed to him and been banished from Croton, and he, played false in his marriage, sailed to Cyrene and was gone. So from that land he set forth and joined in following with his own trireme and his own expenses for men and he was an Olympic victor and the most beautiful of the Greeks in his time. On account of his beauty then he won from the Egestians what no one else; for on his grave having set up a hero’s shrine, with sacrifices they propitiate him.

Now, Dorieus in a manner like that met his end, but if he had held himself up under being ruled by Cleomenes as king and remained behind in Sparta, he would have become king of Lacedemon; for not a long time Cleomenes ruled and he died without a son and left only a daughter, whose name was Gorgo.

Anyhow, there came Aristagores, the tyrant of Miletus, to Sparta when Cleomenes had the rule and it was that man with whom indeed he went to speeches, as the Lacedemonians say, with a bronze tablet, on which all the earth together’s circumference had been cut and all the sea and all rivers. So Aristagores came into speeches and said to him this: “Cleomenes, at my eagerness for coming hither marvel not; for the present situation is like that following kind: for the Ionians’ children to be slaves instead of free is a reproach and a pain most great to ourselves and besides of those left to you, inasmuch as you are the chiefs of Greece. Therefore now in the name of the Greek gods rescue the Ionians from slavery, men of the same blood. And easily for you it is possible for that to succeed; for both the barbarians are not valorous and you in respect what’s in reference to war to the greatest things have come up concerning virtue. Further, their manner of fighting is like this: bows and short spear, and with trousers they go to the battles and with turbans on their heads. Thus easy to be worsted they are. Moreover, also the goods of those who inhabit that mainland are as many as not even to all the others together (as they begin with gold): silver, bronze, embroidered clothing, yoke-animals and slaves, which, should you want them in spirit, you yourselves would have. And they have a settlement down and are next to each other, as I will point out: to the Ionians here the Lydians here, who are settled in a good land and are most rich in silver” --and he said that while he made a showing on the earth’s circumference, which he was bringing with himself cut in the tablet-- ”and next to the Lydians,” asserted in speech Aristagores, “here are the Phrygians toward the east, who are most rich in flocks of all that I know and most rich in fruit. Then next to the Phrygians are the Cappadocians, whom we call Syrians and bordering on those are the Cilicians and they extend down to the sea here, in which Cyprus here, an island, is situated, who pay five hundred talents to the king as their yearly tribute, Then next to Cilicians here are the Armenians here, those too being rich in flocks, and next to the Armenians the Matienians with the land here. And there is next to those the Cissian land here and it’s this in which indeed alongside the river here, the Choaspes, is situated that Susa, where the great king makes his dwelling, and his wealth’s treasuries are there. So, after you have taken that city, take courage by then and with Zeus concerning wealth contend. Well, concerning a country not large and not so good and of small boundaries must you delay in battles, against Messenians, who are equally matched, and Arcadians and Argives, whose is neither anything of the nature of gold nor silver, concerning which eagerness in fact induces one to fight and die, and, it being possible to rule all Asia easily, will you choose something else?” Aristagores said that and Cleomenes replied with this: “O Milesian foreigner, I am delaying in giving an answer to you until the third day”.

At that time so great a drive they made, but when it had come to be the appointed day for the answer and they had gone to the place agreed on, Cleomenes asked Aristagores how many days’ way it was from the sea of the Ionians to the king. Then Aristagores, although he was wise in all other respects and one who had deceived that one well, was tripped up in that thing; for although he had to say not what was, at least if he wanted to lead the Spartiates away to Asia, anyhow he spoke and asserted that the way up was three months’. So the other snatched away the remaining speech that Aristagores had begun to speak about the way and said, “O Milesian foreigner, depart from Sparta before the sinking of the sun; for you are speaking no well spoken speech for the Lacedemonians, because you desire to lead them three months’ way from the sea”.

Cleomenes indeed said that and went to his house and Aristagores took hold of a suppliant’s wand and went to Cleomenes’. Then after he had gone in to the inside, seeing that he was a suppliant, he bade Cleomenes listen, after he had sent away the small child --for indeed there was standing by Cleomenes his daughter, whose name was Gorgo, and that one, an only offspring actually, was in fact eight or nine years of age-- and Cleomenes bade him say what he wanted and not hold back for the small child’s sake. Thereupon indeed Aristagores began with ten talents making promises, if he brought to completion for him what he asked and, Cleomenes throwing his head back in refusal, Aristagores went on progressively going higher with his money, until he had promised fifty talents and the small child made utterance: “Father, the foreigner will destroy you, if you don’t stand away and go”. Cleomenes indeed, having taken pleasure in the small child’s advice, went to another room and Aristagores departed entirely from Sparta and to him was granted no longer over a greater extent to make an indication concerning the way up to the king.

Now, it is concerning that way thus: there are royal stations everywhere and most beautiful resting-places and all the way together’s through a settled and safe land, as in fact through Lydia and Phrygia twenty stations are stretching and ninety-four and a half parasangs. And there follows after Phrygia the Halys river, on which are gates that there’s every necessity to drive through and out and thus pass through and out, and there’s a large guard-house on it. Then for one who has stepped through into Cappadocia and by that way is making his way up to the boundaries of the Cilicans are thirty stations but two and a hundred and four parasangs. And on their borders you will drive through and out two gates and pass by two guard-houses. Then for one who has driven through and out that and is going his way through Cilicia are three stations and fifteen and a half parasangs. And the border of Cilicia and Armenia is a navigable river, whose name’s Euphrates. Then in Armenia are fifteen stations for resting areas and fifty six and a half parasangs and there’s a guard-house among them. Then four navigable rivers flow through that land that there’s every necessity to ferry across, first the Tigris and afterwards a second and third named Zabatus, although it is not the same river and flows not from the same source --for the first of them recounted flows from the Armenians and the later from the Matienians; then the fourth of the rivers has as a name “Gyndes”, which Cyrus once had divided into three hundred and sixty channels. So from that Armenia for one who is throwing oneself into the Matienian land are thirty four stations and a hundred and thirty seven parasangs. Then from that land for one changing one’s place and stepping into the Cissian country are eleven stations and forty two and a half parasangs to the river Choaspes, that too being navigable, on which Susa, a city, has been built. All those stations are a hundred and eleven. Now, the resting areas of the stations are so many for one stepping up from Sardis to Susa.

And if the royal way has been measured correctly in its parasangs and the parasang amounts to thirty stades, just as indeed that does amount to that, from Sardis the stades to the royal palace that is called Memnonian are thirteen thousand five hundred, the parasangs being four hundred fifty. So for those going through and out of a hundred fifty stades on each day ninety days precisely are used up.

Thus by the Milesian Aristagores who had said to Cleomenes the Lacedemonian that it was three months’ way up to the king it had been spoken correctly. But if one looks for what’s still more exact than that, I will indicate that too; for the way from Ephesus to Sardis one must add to that way. And indeed I say all the stades from the Greek sea up to Susa --for that is called the Memnonian town-- are fourteen thousand forty, because the stades from Ephesus to Sardis are five hundred and forty, and thus by three days is lengthened the way of three months.

Now, Aristagores was driven from Sparta and went to Athens after it had been made free of tyrants thus: when Hipparchus, the son of Peisistratus and Hippies the tyrant’s brother, after he had seen a most vivid vision of a dream, Aristogeiton and Harmodius, being in family by descent Gephyrians, after that the Athenians were ruled by a tyranny for four years nothing less but even more than before that.

Now, the vision of Hipparchus’ dream was this: on the night before the Panathenaea Hipparchus thought a tall and good looking man stood over him and spoke these riddling words:

 Bear, lion done unbearables, with bearing heart;
No human being, unjust, won’t pay a payment.

And that, as soon as it had become day, he was manifest in communicating for himself to the oneirocritics and afterwards, when he had renounced for himself the vision, he sent his procession and it was that, in which indeed he met his end.

Now, the Gephyrians, of whom were the killers of Hipparchus, as they themselves say, had descended from Eretria in the beginning, but, as I in inquiring round have found, were Phoenicians among the Phoenicians who had come with Cadmus to the land now called Boeotia and were settled in that land after they had taken their share of the Tanagrician portion. Then, the Cadmians earlier having been made to stand up away thence, those Gephyrians second were made to stand up away by the Boeotians and turned themselves to Athens. And the Athenians received them on stated terms to be their fellow-citizens and made an imposition that they should keep themselves away from some not many things not worth description.

Then those Phoenicians who had come with Cadmus, of whom were the Gephyrians, having settled in that country, brought in many other teachings to the Greeks and, in particular, letters, which were not previously the Greeks’ as far as seems to me, first those which in fact all the Phoenicians together use, and afterward, as time went forward, together with the sound they changed also the shape of the letters. And there were settled round them in the greater number of the places during that time among the Greeks the Ionians, who took over by learning from the Phoenicians the letters and, after they had changed the shape of a few of them, used them: then in their using them they uttered, just as also what was just was providing the lead, because the Phoenicians had performed the leading of them into Greece, that they were called Phoenician. Moreover, the Ionians have been calling pieces of papyrus hides from of old, because once in a lack of pieces of papyrus they used goat and sheep hides, and still even in what’s in my time many of the barbarians write on hides like that.

Further, I, even myself, saw Cadmian letters in the shrine of Ismenian Apollo in the Thebes of the Boeotians engraved on three tripods, the greater number similar to the Ionic. One of the tripods indeed has an inscription:

Amphitryon set me who’s from Teleboai.

That would be in age from in the time of Laius, the son of Labdacus, the son of Polydorus, the son of Cadmus.

And another tripod in hexametric measure says:

Boxer Scaius me for far-shooting Apollo,
He a winner, set, for you a quite fair image.

Scaius, the son of Hippocoon, would be if indeed that one at any rate is the dedicator and not another with the same name as the son of Hippocoon, in age from in the time of Oedipus, son of Laius.

And a third tripod, that too in hexameter, says:

Laodamas’ self tripod for good shot Apollo,
He a monarch, set, for you a quite fair image.

Indeed in the time of that Laodamas, the son of Eteoclees, when he was monarch, the Cadmians were made to stand up and away by the Argives and turned themselves to the Enchelians and the Gephyrians, left behind, later by the Boeotians’ agency went up to Athens and by them shrines were set up in Athens, of which there’s no share for the remaining Athenians, other ones separated from all the other shrines and, in particular, Achaean Demeter’s shrine and rites.

Indeed the vision of Hipparchus’ dream and the Gephyrians whence they had originated, of whom were Hipparchus’ killers, has been described by me, but one must in addition to that further take up the account that at the beginning I was going to say, how of tyrants the Athenians were freed. Hippies, being tyrant and being embittered with the Athenians on account of Hipparchus’ death, the Alcmeonidae, in birth being Athenians and exiles from the sons of Peisistratus, when for them together with all the other exiles among the Athenians in their attempts in accordance with force success was not occurring, but they stumbled greatly in their attempts to go back and free Athens, after they had walled Leipsydrium over Paeonia, the Alcmeonidae thereupon in contriving everything against the sons of Peisistratus had themselves hired by the Amphictyonians the temple in Delphi, which exists now, but did not then yet, to build completely. And seeing that they were well off for money and were esteemed men by descent still, they completely made the temple by working more beautiful than its model in all other respects and, although tufaceous stone had been agreed on by them to make the temple, of Parian they made the front parts of it completely.

Indeed therefore, as the Athenians say, those men sat down in Delphi and were convincing Pythia with money that, whenever men from among the Spartiates came with either a private expedition or a public to consult the oracle, she should propose to them that they should free Athens. Then the Lacedemonians, when for them on each and every occasion the same prophecy was being made, sent Anchimolius, who was an esteemed man from among their townsmen, with an army to drive out the sons of Peisistratus from Athens, even though nevertheless they were foreign friends of theirs in the highest degree; for the things of the god there were considering more important than those of men. And they sent those by sea with boats and he indeed, having touched at Phalerum, disembarked his host, while the sons of Peisistratus, having learned that by inquiry previously, called to themselves from Thessaly help; for an alliance had been made by them with them. Then the Thessalians, at their request, used a common opinion and sent off a thousand horse and their own king, Cinees, a Condian man. When the sons of Peisistratus had gotten hold of them as allies, they contrived like this: having cleared the Phalerians’ plain and made that place suitable for horse, they let go upon the camp the horse; then having fallen on them, it was destroying many others among the Lacedemonians and, in particular, Anchimolius, and those of them who had survived into their ships they penned. Indeed the first expedition from Lacedemon thus got off and Anchimolius’ burial grounds are in Attic land in Alopecae, near the temple of Heracles in Cynosarges.

Then afterwards the Lacedemonians, having equipped a larger expedition, sent it off against Athens, after as general of the host they had appointed King Cleomenes, the son of Anaxandrides, and they dispatched it no longer by sea, but by mainland. When they had thrown into the Attic country, the horse of the Thessalians was the first to mix with them and after no long time got turned back and of them fell over forty men. So the survivors departed as they were straightway toward Thessaly. Then Cleomenes, having come to the town together with those of the Athenians who wanted to be free, was beseiging the tyrants enclosed within the Pelargic wall.

In fact by all means in no way at all the Lacedemonians would have taken the sons of Peisistratus completely; for both they had not in mind to perform a blockade and the sons of Peisistratus with foods and drinks were well prepared; in short, they would have made a seige a few days and departed to Sparta, but, as it was, a fortune supervened, bad for the one group, while that same was an ally for the other; for, as they were being put out of the country secretly, the sons of the sons of Peisistratus were captured. And when that had happened, all their affairs were disturbed together and they surrendered for their offspring as a fee, on the conditions that the Athenians wanted, so as for them in five days to go out from the Attic land. Then afterwards they went out to Sigeium on the Scamander, after they had ruled the Athenians for thirty six years, and they were, even those, by descent Pylians and Neleidians, as they had been born of the same men as those of the circle of Codrus and Melanthus, who previously were incomers and had become the Athenians’ kings. So after that fact Hippocrates as an act of remembrance gave for himself the same name to his son, Peisistratus; after the son of Nestor, Peisistratus, he assigned the appellation. Thus the Athenians were rid of tyrants and as to all that, after they had been freed, they worked out and suffered worthy of the need of description before Ionia stood apart from Darius and Aristagores the Milesian came to Athens and requested of them to come to the rescue, that first I will point out.

Athens, which had been even previously great, then, having been rid of tyrants, became greater. And in it two men had power, Cleisthenes, an Alcmeonid man, the very one who indeed was subject of an account that he had convinced Pythia, and Isagores, son of Teisandrus, who was of an esteemed house --I am not able point out what’s his by descent (but his relations sacrifice to Carian Zeus). Those men became factious about power and Cleisthenes, when he was being worsted, was taking for himself as a companion the people. Then afterwards the Athenians, who had been of four tribes, he made of ten tribes, after of the sons of Ion --Geleon, Aegicores, Argades and Hoples-- he had gotten rid of the appellations and found out other heroes’ appellations, native ones’s, except for Ajax’. And that one, because a neighbor and ally, although he was a foreigner, he added for himself.

Now, in that, as far as it seems to me, that Cleisthenes was imitating his mother’s father, Cleisthenes, Sicyon’s tyrant. For Cleisthenes, after having begun to war with the Argives, on the one hand made rhapsodes cease in Sicyon from competing in contests for the Homeric epics’ sake, because Argives and Argos for the greater part entirely are celebrated in hymns, and on the other hand, because there was (and is) a hero’s shrine in the very public square of Sicyonians of Adrastus, the son of Talaus, Cleisthenes conceived a desire to banish that one, since he was an Argive, from the country. Then having gone to Delphi, he consulted the oracle about whether he should banish Adrastus and Pythia proclaimed to him and asserted that Adrastus was king of the Sicyonians and he a stone thrower. So since the god refused to give in to that at any rate, he went away back and was thinking of a contrivance, by which Adrastus would depart and, when he thought it had been found out by him, he sent to Boeotian Thebes and asserted that he desired to bring in for himself Melanippus, the son of Astacus, and the Thebans performed the giving. Then Cleisthenes brought in for himself Melanippus and appointed a scared precinct for him in the very town hall and set him in the strongest place. And Cleisthenes brought in for himself Melanippus --for in fact one must describe that-- on the ground that he was most hateful to Adrastus, who had killed his brother, Mecisteus, and his son-in-law, Tydeus. So when he had appointed the sacred precinct, he took away for himself the sacrifices and festivals of Adrastus and gave them to Melanippus. Now, the Sicyonians were honoring Adrastus very grandly; for that country was Polybus’ and Adrastus was Polybus’ daughter’s son and Polybus without a son on meeting his end gave Adrastus the rule. Indeed in all other respects the Sicyonians were honoring Adrastus and indeed in addition to his sufferings with tragic choruses were giving dignity and honoring not Dionysus, but Adrastus. However, Cleisthenes gave back choruses to Dionysus and the rest of the sacrificing to Melanippus.

That was done in respect to Adrastus and the tribes of the Dorians, that indeed the Sicyonians’ might not be the same as the Argives’, he changed to other name. In that in fact the greatest derision he displayed for Sicyonians; for after the pig, the ass and the porker their appellations by changing their endings alone he assigned, except for his own tribe, and to that the name derived from his “arche”, rule, he gave for himself. Those latter are called Archelaoi, “rulers of people”, and one other group Pigites, another Assites and one other Porkites. Those names of their tribes the Sicyonians used both in the time when Cleisthenes was ruling and after he had been dead for sixty years. Thereafter, however, they gave speech to themselves and changed into Hyllians, Pamphylians and Dymanatians, and a fourth group to them they added for themselves named after Adrastus’ son, Aegialeus, and assigned their appellation for their being called Aegialians.

Installment 29              
 Now, that the Sicyonian Cleisthenes had done and indeed the Athenian Cleisthenes, being that Sicyonian’s daughter’s son and having his name after him, as far as it seems to me, that one also looked contemptuously over at the Ionians and, in order that indeed their tribes might not be the same as the Ionians’, imitated the similarly named Cleisthenes. For when indeed the Athenians’ people, previously thrust away, then by all means to his own party he had gained over for himself, he changed the name of their tribes and made more from fewer. Indeed ten tribal rulers instead of four he made and by tens also the demes he distributed to the tribes. In short, he was by gaining over the people for himself far above the men of the opposed faction.

Then in his turn Isagores, since he was being worsted, contrived in opposition this: he called to himself Cleomenes the Lacedemonian, because he had become his foreign friend in consequence of the sons of Peisistratus’ siege. And blame had Cleomenes for going frequently to Isagores’ wife. At the first indeed Cleomenes was sending to Athens a herald and trying to have Cleisthenes banished and with him many others among the Athenians by picking those under a curse. And that in his sending he spoke of on the basis of an instruction of Isagores; for the Alcmeonids and the men joined in the faction of them had blame for that killing, but he himself had not a share and not his friends.

So those among the Athenians this way were named under a curse: there was a Cylon, a man among the Athenians, an Olympic winner. That one plumed himself for tyranny and, after he had won over a company of his contemporaries, tried to take complete hold of the acropolis, but since he was not able to gain mastery, he sat a suppliant at the image. Those the presidents of the naucraries stood up, the very ones who were governing Athens then, as liable to any punishment except death, and for the killing of them blame had the Alcmeonids. That before Peisistratus’ age happened.

So when Cleomenes was sending and trying to have Cleisthenes and those under a curse banished, Cleisthenes himself secretly got out and afterwards nonetheless there was present at Athens Cleomenes with no large band and on his coming he drove out as accursed seven hundred families among the Athenians that Isagores had suggested to him. Then having done that, second he tried to dissolve the council and in the hand of three hundred men of Isagores’ faction was attempting to put the offices of rule. But when the council resisted and wanted not to obey, Cleomenes and Isagores and the men of his faction took complete hold of the acropolis and among the Athenians those left with the same thought were besieging them two days and on the third under a truce there went out from the country all of them who were Lacedemonians. So there was brought to completion for Cleomenes the prophetic utterance; for when he had stepped up to the acropolis and was indeed to get complete hold of it, he went to sanctuary of the goddess with the intention that he would make an address, but the priestess stood up from her chair before he passed the doors and said, “O Lacedemonian stranger, move back and go not into the shrine: for it’s not lawful for Dorians to go in thither”. And he said, “O woman, well I am not a Dorian, but an Achaean”. He indeed, making no use of the omen, laid hands on and then was thrown back out with the Lacedemonians and all the others the Athenians tied down for the way to death and among them also Timesitheus the Delphian, the works of whose hands and courage I would be able to describe as the greatest.

Now, those, bound, met their end and the Athenians after that sent for Cleisthenes and the seven hundred families banished by Cleomenes and sent messengers to Sardis, because they wanted to form an alliance with the Persians: for they knew that against them the Lacedemonians and Cleomenes had been stirred up to war. Then, the messengers having come to Sardis and saying what had been enjoined, Artaphrenes, the son of Hystaspes, Sardis’ subordinate ruler, asked being which human beings and having been settled where on earth did they request to become the Persians’ allies and, when he had learned by inquiry from the messengers, he gave them this summary answer: if the Athenians gave King Darius earth and water, then he would make an agreement for an alliance with them, but if they gave it not, them depart he bade. So the messengers threw it on themselves and asserted they would perform the giving, because they wanted to make the alliance.

Those indeed went away to their own land and had great blames and Cleomenes, knowing he had been treated very insolently with words and deeds by the Athenians, was gathering together from all the Peloponnesus an army, although he was not pointing out that for which he was performing the gathering together, because he desired to punish the people of the Athenians and wanted to establish Isagores as tyrant; for that one had gone out with him from the acropolis. Cleomenes indeed with a large expedition made an invasion into Eleusis and the Boeotians from an agreement took Oenoe and Hysiae, the farthest peoples in the Attic land, and the Chalcidians on the other side were harming by going against places in the Attic land. Then the Athenians, although they were held by an attack on both sides, of the Boeotians and the Chalcidians at a later time were to have remembrance and to the Peloponnesians who were in Eleusis they put for themselves their arms in opposition.

So when they were to join their camps in battle, the Corinthians were the first, after they had given an account to themselves that they were not doing what was just, to change themselves and depart and afterwards Demaretus, the son of Ariston, that one also being king of the Spartiates, even though he had joined in leading out the host from Lacedemon and was not differing in the former time with Cleomenes. (And in consequence of that dissension there was laid down a law in Sparta that it was not permitted for both kings to follow, the host going out --for thitherto both followed-- and, one of those being discharged, there should be left behind also one of the Tyndaridae --for indeed before then both those too, being called in by them, followed.) Then indeed in Eleusis those of the allies left, seeing that the kings of the Lacedemonians were not agreeing and the Corinthians had abandoned their post, themselves too departed and were gone, Dorians who had performed that coming to the Attic land as the fourth indeed, as twice they had made an invasion for war and twice for the good of the multitude of the Athenians, the first time when they had made a settling down in Megara (that expedition would be correctly called in the time when Codrus was king of the Athenians), the second and third time when for the Peisistratids’ driving out they had set off from Sparta and come and the fourth time then when to Eleusis Cleomenes, leading Peloponnesians, had made an invasion; thus a fourth time then Dorians had made an invasion into Athens.

Accordingly, that expedition having dispersed ingloriously, thereupon the Athenians, wanting to punish, first acted with a host against the Chalcidians. Then the Boeotians came to the rescue of the Chalcidians to Euripus and to the Athenians, when they had seen the rescuers, it seemed good on the Boeotians earlier than on the Chalcidians to lay hands. Indeed the Athenians gave battle to the Boeotians and by much prevailed and they killed very many and seven hundred of them captured alive. Then that same day the Athenians, having stepped across to Euboea, gave battle also to the Chalcidians and, after they had defeated those too, four thousand cleruchs on the horse-rearers’ country they left (and “the horse-rearers” the rich among the Chalcidians were called). Moreover, all of those too that they had captured alive, together with those of the Boeotians captured alive they held under guard, after they had bound them in fetters and in time they released them, after they had priced them at two minae. And their fetters, in which they had been bound, they hung up in the acropolis, the very that still even to my time were surviving and hanging from walls scorched with fire by the Mede and opposite the hall turned to the west. And the ransom’s tithe they dedicated after they had made for themselves a bronze four-horse chariot, and it stands on the left hand first for one who goes into the gateway in the acropolis and this has been written on it:

Nations of Boeotians and Chalcidians tamed
The sons of Athenians in deeds of war
And in dismal iron bond did quench insolence.
Their tithe, these mares here, for Pallas they put up.

Now, the Athenians were increased, and this makes clear not in accordance with one matter alone but in every way that equal voice is an excellent thing, if in fact the Athenians, when they were being ruled by tyrants, than none who were settled round them were better in respect to the affairs of war, but set free from tyrants proved far the first. Accordingly that makes clear that, when they were repressed, they were willingly bad on the ground that they were working for a master, but when they were freed, each himself for himself was eager to perform complete work.

Now, those did that and the Thebans after that sent to a god, because they wanted to punish the Athenians. And Pythia asserted that retribution would not be theirs from themselves and bade make a declaration to a many-voiced one and make a request of those nearest. Accordingly, when the messengers sent to the god had gone back, they declared the oracle, after they had gathered an assembly. Then when they were learning by inquiry from them who were saying they should make a request of those nearest, the Thebans said after they had heard those, ”Are not then nearest us settled Tanagrians, Coronians and Thespians? And those at any rate together with us fight on each and every occasion and eagerly join in bearing war completely. Why must we make a request of those at any rate? But rather perhaps the oracle may not be that.”

When they were having considerations like that, at last one spoke after he had come to learn, “I seem to myself to understand what the prophecy wants to say to us. Of Asopus are said to have been born daughters, Thebe and Aegina; those being sisters, I think for us the god proclaimed that we should request of the Aeginetians to become helpers.” And since not any opinion seemed to appear better than that, immediately they sent and were making a request of the Aeginetians by summoning in accordance with the oracle them to come to their rescue, on the ground that they were nearest kin, and they asserted that they were sending with them who were demanding aid the Aeacidae.

Then, when the Thebans had made their attempt in accordance with their alliance with the Aeacidae and been treated harshly by the Athenians, again the Thebans, having sent, were giving them back the Aeacidae and requesting the men. So the Aeginetians, encouraged by great happiness and reminded of an ancient enmity that pertained to the Athenians, at that time, after the Thebans had made their request, an unheralded war against the Athenians brought. For while those were applying themselves to the Boeotians, they sailed with large ships on against the Attic land and they ruined Phaleron utterly and on the rest of the sea-coast many peoples utterly and by doing that greatly were harming the Athenians.

Now, the enmity that was owed previously to the Athenians by the Aeginetians came about from a beginning like this: for the Epidaurians the earth would give up no produce. Accordingly concerning that calamity the Epidaurians were consulting the oracle in Delphi, and Pythia bade them set up images of Damie and Auxesie and for them, after they had performed the setting up, it would turn out better. Accordingly the Epidaurians then asked whether they should have the images made of bronze or stone and Pythia allowed neither of those, but material of a cultivated olive-tree’s wood. Accordingly the Epidaurians made a request of the Athenians to give them olive-tree to cut for themselves, because they believed those there to be quite the holiest. And it is also said that olive-trees were nowhere else on earth during that time than at Athens. Then they asserted that they would make the offering on this condition, on the condition that they would lead away each year sacred offerings for Athena of the City and for Erechtheus, and the Epidaurians, having given their consent on that condition, obtained what they were requesting and, after they had had images made out of those olive-trees, set them up. And the earth was bearing for them and they were bringing to completion what they had agreed on.

Moreover, still during that time and before then the Aeginetians were listening to the Epidaurians in all the other respects and the Aeginetians were stepping across to Epidaurus and giving and taking from one another lawsuits. But from then on having fit together ships for themselves and made use of wilfulness, they stood away from the Epidaurians. And seeing that they were hostile, they were injuring them, inasmuch as indeed they were masters of the sea, and, in particular, those images of Damie and Auxesie of theirs they took for themselves underhandedly and conveyed and set them up in their own country in the inland part. whose name is Oee and it is somewhere approximately about twenty stades distant from the city. Then having performed the setting up in that place, they propitiated them with sacrifices and ribald female choruses, as promoters of a chorus being appointed for each of the divinities ten men, and the choruses were speaking badly of no man, but of the native women. And the Epidaurians’ were also the same sacred rites and theirs are also unspoken of sacred rites.

So, these images having been stolen, the Epidaurians were not bringing to completion for the Athenians what they had agreed on. Then the Athenians sent and were angry at the Epidaurians, and they were bringing forth to light by speech that they were not acting unjustly, because all the time that they had the images in their country, they were bringing to completion what they had agreed on, but since they had been deprived of them, it was not just for them to perform a bringing forth of offerings any longer, but they bade them make an exaction for themselves from the Aeginetians who had them. Thereupon the Athenians, having sent to Aegina, were demanding back the images, and the Aeginetians asserted for themselves and the Athenians there was no business.

Now, the Athenians say that after their demanding back there was dispatched away with one trireme those of their townsmen who, sent from the commonwealth and having come to Aegina, those images, on the ground that they were of their pieces of wood, were trying to draw up from their bases, that they might convey them back for themselves. And when they were not able in that manner to gain mastery over them, they put ropes round and were dragging the images and for them, as they were dragging, thunder and together with the thunder an earthquake supervened and the men of the trireme who were doing the dragging became crazy through the agency of those things and, after they had suffered that, were killing each other, as if enemies, until out of all one was left and was conveyed back by himself to Phalerum.

Now, the Athenians say that it happened thus and the Aeginetians that not with one ship the Athenians came, because one or a little more than one, even if in fact theirs had been no ships, they would have warded off from themselves easily, but with many ships they were sailing against their country and they themselves yielded to them and fought no naval battle --however, they are not able to indicate completely that exactly, neither whether because they were admitting for themselves that they were inferior in fighting naval battles, in accordance with that, they yielded nor whether because they wanted to perform a kind of act that in fact they did-- and now, the Athenians, since no one was established for war with them, having stepped out of their ships, turned themselves to the images and, when they were not able to draw them from their bases, thus indeed put rope round for themselves and were performing a dragging, until both the images, being dragged, did the same (and they are giving accounts not credible to me, but some other), as they fell on their knees, and through the time after that they continued to be thus. The Athenians indeed did that and the Aeginetians say they, when they had learned by inquiry about the Athenians, that they were to advance with an army against them, had the Argives made ready, and the Athenians indeed were stepped off on Aegina and there were present and coming to their rescue the Argives and they escaped notice in their stepping across from Epidaurus to the island and on the Athenians, who had had no hearing before, fell and performed for themselves a cutting off of the path from the ships, while at the same time in that moment the thunder came about and the earthquake for them.

Now, this is said by the Argives and the Aeginetians and it is agreed also by the Athenians that who of them was brought to safety to the Attic land proved only one, but the Argives say that, when they had destroyed the Attic camp, that one survived and contrarily the Athenians that it was of the divine; however not that one did not actually survive, but perished in a manner like this: after all, conveyed to Athens, he announced forth the suffering. Then after the wives of those men who had advanced with the army against Aegina had learned by inquiry, since they considered something awful that he alone out of all had been brought to safety, as round about they took hold of that man and were stabbing him with the pins of their clothes, each of them asked where was her husband. And that one was destroyed thus and to the Athenians something still more awful than their suffering seemed to be the work of the women. They indeed knew not with what else they should punish the women, but changed their clothing to Ionian; for indeed the women of the Athenians were wearing before then Dorian clothing, most near to Corinthian. Accordingly they changed to the linen tunic, that indeed they might make no use of pins.

Now, for those who make use of a true account that clothing anciently is not Ionian, but Carian, since at any rate all the ancient Greek clothing of the women was the same that we now call Dorian. And the Argives and the Aeginetians in fact thereupon besides made the following to be law, that among each of them the pins should be made half as long as the established measure then and at the shrine of those goddesses the women should dedicate pins most of all and they should bring forth nothing else Attic to the shrine nor earthenware, but from native basins, as a law, for the future in that very place drinking should be. Now, the women of the Argives and the Aeginetians ever since so long a time in accordance with their dispute with the Athenians customarily were wearers still even to my time of longer pins than before then.



So the beginning of the enmity that came about for the Athenians against the Aeginetians came about in accordance with what has been said. At that time indeed at the Thebans’ summoning eagerly the Aeginetians, remembering what had happened concerning the images, came to the rescue of the Boeotians. The Aeginetians indeed were devastating in the Attic land the places by the sea and to the Athenians minded to advance with an army against the Aeginetians came a prophecy from Delphi that they should hold back after the injustice of the Aeginetians thirty years and the thirty first, after they appointed a sacred precinct for Aeacus, they should begin for themselves the war against the Aeginetians and for them would be successful what they wanted, but if they advanced on with an army immediately, they would undergo many sufferings in the intervening space of time and would also perform many deeds, but finally bring about subjection. When the Athenians had heard that had been brought back, they appointed that sacred precinct for Aeacus that now is set up in the public square and thirty years they did not hold up under hearing how they had to hold off, since they had undergone untoward sufferings at the Aeginetians’ hands.

So for them, when they were preparing themselves for revenge, from the Lacedemonians a matter arose and proved before their feet. For when the Lacedemonians had learned by inquiry of what had been contrived by the Alcmeonidae in reference to Pythia and what by Pythia against them and the sons of Peisistratus, they considered it a double calamity, in that they had driven out men who were their foreign friends from the land of them and in that for them, when they had done that, no gratitude appeared from the Athenians. And besides in addition to that the oracles were leading them on, as they were saying that many untoward things would be from the Athenians, of which previously they were ignorant, but at that time at Cleomenes’ conveying them to Sparta they learned completely. And Cleomenes acquired the oracles from the Athenians’ acropolis, which the sons of Peisistratus had previously possessed and, when they were being driven out, had left in the shrine and, after they had been left behind, Cleomenes took up.

So at that time when the Lacedemonians took up the oracles and saw that the Athenians were growing and in no way were ready to obey them, having grasped in mind that, should the Attic race be free, it would prove evenly balanced with their own, but should it be held down by tyranny, lacking in strength and ready to obey rulers, having learned each of those things, they sent for Hippies, the son of Peisistratus, from Sigeium on the Hellespont, in which the sons of Peisistratus had taken refuge. And when for them Hippies on being called had come, the Spartiates, having sent also for all the other allies’ messengers, said to them this: “Allied men, we admit in regard to ourselves that we did not act correctly; for because we were encouraged by deceptive prophecies, men who were our foreign friends in the highest degree and were undertaking to render the Athenians under our hand, those we drove out of their fatherland and thereafter, when we had done that, we gave over the city to an ungrateful people, which, when it had been freed on account of us and raised its head, treated insolently and threw out us and our king, and having grown pride, increases so that those settled round them, the Boeotians and the Chalcidians, especially have completely understood their lesson and soon some other too will learn completely his erring. So since we erred in doing that, now we will try remedying it together with you, as for that very reason we sent for Hippies here and you from the cities, that with a common speech and a common expedition we might bring him to Athens and give back what in fact we took away”.

They said that and the allies’ multitude would not consent to the speeches. Now, all the others were maintaining silence, but a Corinthian, Soclees, said this: “Verily indeed the sky will be below the earth and the earth in mid air over the sky and human beings will have a district in the sea and fishes that which previously human beings had, since at any rate you, O Lacedemonians, dissolve equalities of power and prepare for yourselves to bring tyrannies down to the cities, than which nothing is either more unjust among human beings or more stained with killing. For if that at any rate seems to you to be good so as for the cities to be ruled by tyranny, you yourselves, first having established yourselves a tyrant, among those themselves thus and all the others seek to establish one, but as it is, you yourselves, being without experience of tyrants and being on guard that that in a most awful way not come about in Sparta, make ill use of your allies; if however you were experienced in it just as we, you would be able to contribute better opinions about it than now. For the Corinthians’ city’s constitution was like this: it was an oligarchy and the Bacchiadae, so-called, were governing the city and they were giving and leading away for themselves from each other wives. Then to Amphion, who was among those men, was born a lame daughter and her name was Labda. Because no one of the Bacchiadae was willing to marry that one, Eetion, the son of Echecrates, had her as wife, he being from the deme Petre, but by descent a Lapith and a son of Caeneus. Then to him not from that wife or from another were born sons. Therefore he was dispatched to Delphi concerning begetting and him, when he was going in, straightaway Pythia addressed with these verses:

Eetion, none prize you, who are prizable.
Labda’s big and will bring boulder forth, and it will
Fall on men who’re monarchs and will make Corinth just.

"That, given as an oracle to Eetion, was announced back somehow to the Bacchiadae, to whom the oracle that had come to be previously in Corinth was unintelligible, although it was referring to the same thing as that of Eetion’s and was speaking this way:

An eagle’s big in rocks and will bring lion forth,
Strong, savage, and it will loose below many’s knees.
Now, that mind well, Corinthians, who round lovely
Peirene are settled and Corinth on rock’s brow.

"That oracle indeed for the Bacchiadae, when it had come to be previously, was insoluble, but at that time regarding the one that had come to be for Eetion, when they had learned it by inquiry, immediately also that earlier they understood was consonant with that of Eetion’s. And having understood that one too they kept in a state of silence, although they desired to destroy the offspring that was to be born to Eetion. So as soon as the woman had brought forth, they sent ten from among themselves to the deme, in which Eetion had settled himself down, to kill the small child. Then those, having come to Petre and having gone to the court of Eetion, were demanding the small child, and Labda, knowing nothing of that for the sake of which those had come and thinking they were making the demand because of friendliness for its father, brought and put it in the the hands of one of them. Now, by them then counsel had been taken on the way that the one of them that was the first to take hold of it should perform a dashing on the ground. Accordingly, when Labda had brought and given it, at the one who had taken hold by divine chance the small child smiled and him, after he had pointed that out to himself, a feeling of pity restrained from killing and, after he had felt pity, he gave it over to a second, and he to a third; in short thus it went through all the ten and out in its being given over, because no one wanted to do it to death. Therefore having given back the small child to her who had brought it forth and having gone away outside, standing at the doors, they upbraided each other and were blaming in fact most the first to have taken hold, because he had not acted in accordance with what had been thought good, until indeed to them, time passing by, it seemed good to go in again and for all to have a share in the killing. Now, evils for Corinth had to spring up from the offspring of Eetion. For Labda was hearing all that while she was standing near the very doors and in fear lest there should be a change of mind for them and they, having taken hold the small child the second time, should kill it she brought and concealed it in the spot that appeared to her to be most unlikely to be thought of, in a box, because she knew that, if they turned back and came for searching, they were to look through all things, which in fact actually happened. So to them, after they had gone in and were searching, when it appeared not, it seemed good to depart and say to those who had sent them off that they had done everything that those had enjoined. They indeed went away and said that, and for Eetion after that his son grew and to him, because he had escaped that danger, after the kypsele, the box, in respect to appellation Cypselus as a name was given. Then for Cypselus, after he had become a man and was making a consultation for prophecy, there came about an ambiguous oracle in Delphi, having become trusting in which he made an attempt and got hold of Corinth. And this oracle was:

Blessed is that man who steps down into my house,
Cypselus Eetion’s son, famed Corinth’s king,
He himself and sons, but no longer his sons’ sons.

"Indeed that was the oracle, and Cypselus, when he had become tyrant, proved a man of just that following kind: many of the Corinthians he banished and many of money he deprived and somewhat far the most of their soul. Then when that one had ruled for thirty years and woven his life to its end well, his son, Periander, became his successor in the tyranny. Now, Periander originally was gentler than his father, but when he had associated through messengers with Thrasyboulus, the tyrant of Miletus, he proved by far still more stained with killing than Cypselus. For having sent to Thrasyboulus a herald, he was inquiring by establishing for himself what most safe manner of his affairs most beautifully he would be guardian of the city. So Thrasyboulus led away him who had gone from Periander outside the town and, after he had stepped into a sown field, at the same time as he went through and out the standing corn while he was questioning and cross-examining the herald concerning his coming from Corinth, on each and every occasion, whenever he saw any of the ears was projecting, he was docking it and, as he docked it, he cast it away, until the standing corn’s most beautiful and tallest part he destroyed in a manner like that. Then having gone through and out the spot and having made no word of suggestion, he sent away the herald and, when the herald had returned to Corinth, Periander was eager to learn by inquiry the suggestion, but the other asserted that Thrasyboulus had made no suggestion to him and he was marvelling at him, to what kind of man he had sent him away, on the ground that he was crazed and destructive of his own things. And he was describing the very things that he had seen from Thrasuboulus. Periander, however, having understood what had been done and gotten by mind that Thrasyboulus was suggesting to him that he should kill the prominent among his townsmen, right thereupon he was showing forth every kind of badness to his fellow-citizens. For all those acts that Cypselus had left over in his killing and banishing, Periander brought them away to completion and in one day he stripped completely all the women among the Corinthians on account of his own wife, Melissa. For to him, when he had sent to the Thesprotians to the Acheron river messengers to the dead’s place of prophecy concerning a foreign friend’s deposit, Melissa, having made an appearance up, asserted that she would neither indicate nor disclose the place in which the deposited was placed, because she was cold and was naked --for of the clothes that he had buried down with her there was no use, because they had not been entirely burnt-- and a piece of evidence for him, that she gave that as a true account, was the fact that on the cold oven Periander threw his loaves. Then, when that had been announced away back to Periander, because the sign was credible to him who had had intercourse with Melissa, when she was a corpse, right straightaway after the announcement he had a proclamation made that to the temple of Hera should go out all the women among the Corinthians. They indeed as for a festival went and made use of the most beautiful adornment and he placed in ambush his lance-bearers and stripped them all entirely alike, the free and the serving maids, and, having brought together the collection into a hole, he called on Melissa in prayer and burned it completely. So to him, after he had done that and for the second time had sent, the ghost of Melissa pointed out the place, at which she had put down the foreign friend’s deposit. A thing like that for you is tyranny, O Lacedemonians, and of deeds like that, and us, the Corinthians, not only immediately great wonder held when we saw that you were sending for Hippies, but also now indeed we wonder more greatly that you were giving that account just then and we pronounce an adjurement for ourselves by calling on the Greek gods for ourselves not to establish tyrannies in the cities. Therefore you will not cease, but will try contrary to the just to bring Hippies back down? Know that to you the Corinthians at least refuse to give their assent.”

 
Soclees, being an ambassador from Corinth, said this, and Hippies answered him, after he had called on the same gods as that one, that yea verily the Corinthians most of all would yearn after the sons of Peisistratus, whenever for them came the appointed days to be distressed by the Athenians. Hippies replied with that, inasmuch as he completely knew most exactly of men the oracles, but those of the allies left to that time kept themselves in a state of silence and, when they had heard Soclees’ having spoken freely, quite every one of them, after having burst into speech, was choosing the Corinthian’s opinion and making entreaty to the Lacedemonians not to do anything newer concerning a Greek city.

Thus that was stopped and to Hippies, when he was being driven away thence, Amyntes the Macedonian was offering Anthemous, and the Thessalians were offering Iolcus, but he was choosing neither and returned back to Sigeium that Peisistratus had taken by spear from the Mytilenians; then having gained mastery over it, he established to be tyrant his own bastard son, Hegesistratus, who without a fight had what he had taken over from Peisistratus. For there were waging war by setting off from the city of Achilleium and Sigeium for a long time the Mytilenians and the Athenians, as the former were asking back their country and the Athenians both refused to give way and showed forth by speech there was no share more of the Aeolians in the country of Ilium than of both themselves and all the others of the Greeks who had joined Menelaus in avenging Helen’s acts of seizure.

So while they were waging war other events of all kinds happened in the battles and moreover indeed also Alcaeus the poet, after an engagement had occurred and the Athenians were winning, himself in fleeing fled off and his arms the Athenians seized and hung them up in the temple of Athena in Sigeium. Then that Alcaeus in a lyric poem made a composition of and dispatched to Mytilene as he announced out for himself his own suffering to Melanippus, a man, a companion. Now, the Mytilenians and the Athenians Periander, son of Cypselus, reconciled; for to that one as arbitrator they appealed for themselves. And he made the reconciliation this way: each side should inhabit the land that they occupied.

Now, Sigeium thus came to be under the Athenians. And Hippies, when he had come from Lacedemon to Asia, was setting every matter in motion by slandering the Athenians to Artaphrenes and doing quite all that Athens might come to be under himself and Darius. Hippies indeed did that and the Athenians, having learned of that by inquiry, sent to Sardis messengers and refused to allow the Persians to obey the Athenians’ exiles. Then Artaphrenes bade them, if they wanted to be safe and sound, receive back again Hippies. Hence indeed the Athenians refused to consent to the speeches, when they were being brought away, and to them, because they were refusing to consent, it seemed good in the open to be the Persians’ enemies.

So to them, who believed that and were fallen out with the Persians, at just that time the Milesian Aristagores, driven out by Cleomenes the Lacedemonian from Sparta, came to Athens; for that city of those left was the most powerful. Then having gone before the people, Aristagores said the same that he had also in Sparta about the goods in Asia and the Persian war, that neither shield nor lance they had customarily and easy to be worsted they were. That indeed he said and in addition to that this, that the Milesians were the Athenians’ colonists and it was reasonable for them to perform a rescue, because they had great power. And there was nothing that he did not promise inasmuch as he was in need very much, until he convinced them. For it seems to be easier to deceive many than one, if he proved not able to deceive Cleomenes the Lacedemonian, but to three myriads of Athenians he did that. The Athenians indeed, convinced, voted to dispatch off twenty ships as succours for the Ionians and appointed to be general of them Melanthius, who was a man among the townsmen esteemed in all the respects. And those ships proved the beginning of evils for the Greeks and the barbarians.

Then Aristagores, having sailed before and come to Miletus, found out a plan, from which for the Ionians no advantage was to be (and accordingly he was not even acting for that purpose, but that he might pain King Darius), and sent to Phrygia a man to the Paeonians from the Strymon river who had become taken by the spear by Megabazus and were settled in a place in Phrygia and in a village by themselves, him who, when he had come to the Peaonians, said this: “Paeonian men, Aristagores, the tyrant of Miletus, sent me to suggest a means of salvation to you, if in fact you want to obey. For now all Ionia stands apart from the king and it is possible for you to be brought to safety to your own land; up to the sea for yourselves and from there on for us by now it will be a care”. So having heard that, the Paeonians considered it very desirable and having taken up children and wives, they ran away to the sea, while some others of them in fact remained in fear there. And when the Paeonians had come to the sea, thereafter they stepped across to Chios. Then, when they were by then in Chios, at their feet had gone many a horse of the Persians in pursuit of the Paeonians and, when they had not overtaken them, they announced out to Chios to the Paeonians that they should go away back, but the Paeonians refused to consent to the speeches and from Chios the Chians led them to Lesbos and the Lesbians conveyed them to Doriscus. Then thence on land they were conveyed and came to Paeonia.

Now, as for Aristagores, when the Athenians had come with twenty ships and at the same time were taking with them five triremes of Eretrians, who not for the sake of the Athenians were advancing with the army but for the sake of the Milesians themselves, because they were paying back what was owed to them (for the Milesians indeed previously helped the Eretrians to bear to the end the war against the Chalcidians, when in fact of the Chalcidians indeed against the Eretrians and the Milesians the Samians came to the rescue), when those then had come with them and all the other allies were present, he, Aristagores, carried out an expedition against Sardis. He himself did not advance with the army, but remained in Miletus and appointed others to be generals of the Milesians, his brother, Charopinus, and among all the other townsmen Hermophantus.

Then having come with that expedition into Ephesus, the Ionians left boats behind in Coresus in the Ephesian land and they themselves went inland with a large band with the taking of Ephesians as guides. So making their way alongside the river Caustrius, thereafter when they had come and stepped over the Tmolus, they took Sardis, no one having opposed them, and took everything else except the acropolis, but the acropolis Artaphrenes himself was guarding with no small force of men.

So from plundering after they had taken the city this restrained them: there were in Sardis more houses of reed and all of them that were also of brick had roofs of reed. When one of the soldiers had set on fire one of those, immediately from house to house the fire went and overspread the whole town. Then, the town burning, the Lydians and all of the Persians that were in the city, caught from all sides, seeing that the fire was grazing on the edges and they had no means of going out from the town, flowed together into the public square and to the Pactolus river that in carrying down gold-dust for them from Tmolus through the middle of the public square flows and thereafter disembogues into the Hermus river; then it does into the sea. It’s to that Pactolus (and into the public square), to which the Lydians and the Persians were collected and were compelled to defend themselves. Then the Ionians, seeing that some of their enemies were defending themselves and some with a large multitude were moving forward, retreated away in fear to the mountain called Tmolus and thence under cover of night departed to their ships.

And Sardis was burnt down and in it also a shrine of a native god, Cybebe, using which as a pretext the Persians later burnt in revenge the shrines among the Greeks. But then the Persians who had districts on this side of the Halys river, because they were learning beforehand of that by inquiry, were gathered together and came to the rescue of the Lydians. And somehow in Sardis the Ionians were no longer they found and by following in accordance with a track they took them in Ephesus. And the Ionians were arrayed in opposition and they gave battle and were worsted greatly. In fact many of them the Persians killed, others of name and moreover also Eualcides who was general of the Eretrians and had won contests with crowns as prizes and been praised many times by Simonides the Ceian. Then they who among them had fled from the battle were scattered throughout the cities.

Then indeed thus they competed and afterwards the Athenians, entirely having left behind the Ionians, Aristagores calling on them many times through messengers, asserted that they would not succour them. So the Ionians, deprived of the alliance of the Athenians, because thus to them belonged what had been done against Darius, indeed nonetheless were planning their war against the king. And having sailed to the Hellespont, they brought under themselves Byzantium and all the rest of the cities there and having sailed away out of the Hellespont, they acquired in addition the greater part of Carie to be their ally; for in fact as regards Caunus, although previously it had not wanted to be an ally, when they had burnt down Sardis, then to them even that land was added.

The Cyprians too willingly all were added to them except the Amathousians; for those too stood apart from the Medes this way: there was a Onesilus, Gorgus the king of the Salaminians’ younger brother and son of Chersis, son of Siromus, son of Euelthon. That man often and previously was urging Gorgus to stand apart from the king and then, when he had learned by inquiry that the Ionians too were standing apart, he absolutely was zealous and trying to induce him. But when he could not persuade Gorgus, thereupon Onesilus awaited his having gone out of the town of the Salaminians together with the men of his faction and shut him out of the gates. Gorgus indeed, deprived of his city, fled to the Medes, and Onesilus was ruler of Salamis and tried to convince all Cyprians to join in standing apart. All the others he convinced, but the Amathousians, because they wanted not to obey him, he beseiged by sitting down before them.

Now, Onesilus was beseiging Amathous and when to King Darius it had been announced out that Sardis had been taken and burnt down by the Athenians and the Ionians and that there had become the leader of the gathering so as for that to be woven together the Milesian Aristagores, first it is said that he, when he had learned that by inquiry, considered of no account the Ionians, because he knew well that those at any rate would not go unpunished for having stood apart, and asked who the Athenians were; then afterwards, when he had learned by inquiry, he demanded his bow and, when he had taken hold of and placed in an arrow, he let it fly up to the sky and, as he hurled it into the lower air, he said, “O Zeus, let it be allowed me to punish the Athenians”, and, when he had said that, he assigned to one of his servants on each occasion, when dinner was put forth for him, at three times to say, “Master, remember the Athenians”.

And having assigned that, he said, after he had called into sight Histiaeus the Milesian, whom Darius was detaining a long time by then, “I have learned by inquiry, Histiaeus, that your guardian, to whom you had entrusted Miletus, has performed newer deeds against me; for having led men against me from the other mainland and Ionians with them, who will pay me a penalty for what they have done, he convinced those to follow together with those men of his and has deprived me of Sardis. How then to you does that now appear to be beautiful? And how without your plans was something like that done? See to it that at a later time you should not hold yourself in blame”. Thereupon Histiaeus said, “King, what kind of word have you given utterance to, that I have planned a deed from which for you something painful, either great or small, was to result? And I would do that because I lack what and am in need of what, for whom is on hand all the very things that are for you and who all plans from you am thought worthy to overhear? Well, if at any rate anything like that that you have spoken of my guardian does, know that he, having thrown matters on himself, has acted. And, to begin with, I for my part do not believe the speech, how the Milesians and my guardian are doing something newer concerning your affairs, but if after all anything like that they are doing and you have heard what is, o king, learn the kind of deed that you have worked out by having caused me to be drawn up away from the sea. For the Ionians seem, after I had come to be away from their eyes, to have done what they had long been having a desire to, but had I been in Ionia not even one city would have moved a little. Therefore now like speed let me go away to make my way to Ionia that for you I may adjust all that to the same state and hand over that guardian of Miletus, who has contrived that, placed in the hand. Then having done that in accordance with your mind I swear by the royal gods that verily I will not slip off the tunic, with which I will step down into Ionia, until to you I should make Sardo, the largest island, tributary”.

Histiaeus indeed in saying that was trying to deceive and Darius was persuaded and let him go away, after he had enjoined that, whenever he rendered brought to completion what he had promised to him, he should come to be with him back at Susa.

So in all that time, in which the message about Sardis went up to the king and Darius, having performed the deeds concerning the bow, had come in speeches with Histiaeus and Histiaeus, released by Darius, was conveyed to the sea, this happened: to Salaminian Onesilus, while he was beseiging the Amathousians, it was announced out that leading a large Persian host by ships, Artybius, a Persian man, was expected to come to Cyprus. So having learned that by inquiry, Onesilus sent heralds in different ways into Ionia and called for them. Then the Ionians, having taken counsel for no long time, were present with a large expedition. The Ionians indeed were on hand at Cyprus and the Persians, having crossed by ships from Cilicia, went to Salamis by land; moreover, with their ships the Phoenicians were sailing round the promontory that is called the keys of Cyprus.

Then, that matter proving like that, the tyrants of Cyprus said, when they had called together the Ionians’ generals, “Ionian men, a choice to you we Cyprians are offering of which you want to approach. For if on land you want to be drawn up and make thorough trial of the Persians, it would be the hour for you to step out of your ships and be drawn up on land and for us to step into your ships to contend against the Phoenicians, but if you want rather to make thorough trial of the Phoenicians, you must see to it, whichever indeed of those things you choose, that in respect to the matter so far as depends on you Ionia and Cyprus will be free”. The Ionians said thereupon, “Us did send away the commonwealth of the Ionians to guard the sea, but not that we might give over our ships to the Cyprians and ourselves on land approach the Persians. Now, we there in charge of which we were stationed will try to be useful and you must remember the kinds of things that you were suffering when you were slaves to the Medes and prove good men”.

The Ionians replied with that and afterwards, when the Persians were present at the plain of the Salaminians, the kings of the Cyrians drew up completely all the other Cyrians opposite all the other soldiers by performing a drawing up against, but having selected the Salaminians’ and the Solians’ best, they drew it up against the Persians. And against Artybius, the general of the Persians, as a volunteer was drawn up Onesilus.

And Artybius was riding a horse taught to stand itself straight against a hoplite. Therefore, having learned that by inquiry, Onesilus, because there was his a shield-bearer in birth a Carian and in the things of war very esteemed and otherwise full of spirit, said to that one, “I have learned by inquiry Artybius’ horse stands itself straight and both with feet and mouth makes an end of anyone to whom it goes. You therefore take counsel and say immediately which you want to guard and strike, whether the horse or Artybius himself”. Thereupon his attendant said, “O king, ready I am to do either both or one of those things or in general whatever you impose; however, how to me at least it seems to be for your matters more expedient, I will point out. King and general must I assert king and general approach, because if you take down a man who’s a general, a great thing for you it proves and second, if he you, which may it not come to be, at the hands of a noteworthy person even dying’s a half misfortune, and we servants approach other servants and against horse, whose contrivances don’t you fear at all; for I promise you that he will stand himself opposite no man any longer at all”.

That he said and immediately afterwards the camps were joining battle on land and with ships. Now, in ships the Ionians proved tops that day and excelled over the Phoenicians and among those the Samians were best, and on land, when the camps had gone together, they came to blows and they were battling. Then concerning both generals this was happening: when Artybius who was sitting down on his horse was approaching toward Onesilus, Onesilus according as he had agreed with his shield-bearer smote Artybius in his approaching. So when the horse threw his feet on the shield of Onesilus, thereupon the Carian with a sickle struck and swept off the horse’s feet.

Artybius indeed, the general of the Persians, together with his horse fell there on the very spot, and while all the others also were battling, Stesenor, who was tyrant of Courium, played the traitor with no small force of men round him. And those Courians are said to be the Argives’ colonists. Then when the Courians had played the traitor, immediately also the Salaminians’ war chariots were performing the same act as the Courians and, that being done, the Persians were superior to the Cyprians. So, the camp routed, many others fell and in particular Onesilus, the son of Chersis, the very one who had brought about the standing apart of the Cyprians, and the king of the Solians, Aristocyprus, the son of Philocyprus and of that Philocyprus whom Solon the Athenian, when he had come to Cyprus, in epic verses had praised most of tyrants.

Now, as for Onesilus the Amathousians, because he had beseiged them, after they had cut off his head, conveyed it to Amathous and hung it above their gates. Then, the head hanging and by then being hollow, a swarm of bees slipped into it and filled it with combs. So, that matter having become like that, because the Amathousians were consulting the oracle about that object, it was prophesied to them that the head they should take down and bury and to Onesilus sacrifice as to a hero in every year and that for them, if they did that, it would turn out better.

Now, the Amathousians were doing that even during the period up to my time and the Ionians who fought the naval battle in Cyrus, when they had learned that the affairs of Onesilus were destroyed and all the other cities of the Cyprians were being besieged except Salamis and that to their earlier king, Gorgus, the Salaminians had given over, immediately the Ionians, having learned that, sailed away to Ionia. And of the cities in Cyprus there held out for the longest time when it was being besieged the Solians’, which by digging round under its wall in the fifth month the Persians took.

The Cyprians indeed, having become free a year, again anew were made slaves completely and Daurises who had Darius’ daughter as wife and Hymaees and Otanes, other Persian generals, those too who had Darius’ daughters as wives, after they had pursued after those of the Ionians who had advanced with an army to Sardis and forced them into their ships, when they had gained mastery over them in the battle, thereafter divided among themselves and were plundering the cities.

Daurises, having turned to the cities in the Hellespont, took Dardanus and took Abydus, Percote, Lampsacus and Paesus. Those on each day he was taking and when he was driving from Paesus against Parius, a city, to him there went a message that the Carians had the same mind as the Ionians and were standing apart from the Persians. Therefore having turned away from the Hellespont, he drove his army against Caria.

And somehow to the Carians that was announced out earlier than Daurises came. Then the Carians, after they had learned by inquiry, were gathered together at the so-called White Pillars and the river Marsyes that flows from the Idrian country and disembogues into the Maeander. So, when the Carians were gathered together, thereupon there were made many other counsels and one seeming to me to be quite best, Pixodarus the son of Mausolus a Cindyan man’s, who had in marriage a daughter of the king of the Cilicians, Syennesis.That man’s opinion imported that, after the Carians had stepped across the Maeander and had the river at their back, thus they should give battle that the Carians, not being able to flee back and compelled to remain on the very spot, might prove still better than their nature. Now, that opinion was not prevailing, but that at the Persians’ back the Maeander should become rather than at theirs, obviously indeed if a flight of the Persians took place and they were worsted in the battle, that they would not return back because of their falling into the river.

Then afterwards when the Persians were present and had stepped across the Maeander, thereupon by the Marsyes river the Carians gave battle to the Persians and fought a violent fight and for a long time and finally they were worsted on account of multitude. Among the Persians indeed fell men, up to two thousand, and among the Carians, up to ten thousand. Thereafter then those of them who had escaped were trapped at Labraunda in Zeus of the Army’s shrine, a large and holy grove of plane-trees. And the Carians are the only ones of those whom we know who conduct sacrifices to Zeus of the Army. So then those trapped there were taking counsel about salvation whether by either giving themselves over to the Persians or abandoning Asia entirely they would fare better.

Then for them, while they were taking that counsel, there came to be present in coming to the rescue the Milesians and the allies of those. So thereupon what counsel previously the Carians were taking they let go of and they again from the beginning were preparing to wage war. And to the Persians, when they were going against them, they gave battle and, having fought, were worsted over a greater extent than before. So, although many of all fell, most the Milesians were struck.

Then after that blow the Carians made an undertaking again and fought again. For having learned by inquiry that the Persians were minded to advance with an army against the cities, they laid in wait on the way in Pedasus, having fallen into which at night, the Persians were destroyed, both they themselves and their generals, Daurises, Amorges and Sisimaces, and with them died also Myrsus, the son of Gyges. And of that laying in wait the leader was Heracleides, son of Ibanollis, a Mylasan man.

Now, those of the Persians thus were destroyed and Hymaees, even himself being of those who had pursued after those of the Ionians who had advanced with an army to Sardis, after he had turned himself to the Propontis, took Mysian Cius and, after he had taken that out, when he had learned by inquiry that Daurises had utterly left the Hellespont and was advancing with an army toward Caria, having left behind the Propontis, he toward the Hellespont was leading his army and he took all the Aeolians who were inhabiting the land of Ilium and took the Gergithians who were left over from the ancient Teucrians. In short, Hymaees himself, while he was taking those nations, met his end by illness in the Troad.

That one indeed thus met his end and Artaphrenes, the subordinate ruler of Sardis, and Otanes, the third general, were appointed to advance with an army against Ionia and the adjacent Aeolian land. Now, in Ionia they took Clazomenae and among the Aeolians Cyme.

Then, while the cities were being captured, because Aristagores the Milesian, as he showed thoroughly, was not excellent in soul, who, having disturbed Ionia and stirred up great deeds, was counselling flight on seeing that. And, in addition, to him it appeared also impossible to overcome King Darius. Thereupon indeed hence he, having called together the men joined to his faction, was taking counsel, after he was saying that it was better for them for there to be a prepared place of refuge, if after all they were thrust out of Miletus, whether indeed then to Sardo from that place he should lead for colonization or to the Edonians’ Myrcinus, which Histiaeus was walling after he had taken it from Darius as a gift. That Aristagores asked.

Now, of Hecataeus, the son of Hegesander, an account-composing man, the opinion imported that they should dispatch to neither of those lands, but on the island of Leros he should build a wall and hold his peace, if he was banished from Miletus, and thereafter he, making his base in that land, would go down to Miletus.

That indeed Hecataeus was advising and to Aristagores himself the greatest opinion was to perform a leading away to Myrcinus. Miletus indeed he entrusted to Pythagores, an esteemed man among his townsmen, and he himself, having taken over everyone who wanted, sailed to Thrace and got hold of the country to which he had been dispatched. Then Aristagores himself, making his base in that land, was killed as well as his army, when he was sitting down round a city and the Thracians wanted to go out under a truce.



end of Book 5