THE RETURN OF XERXES TO PERSIA.
B.C. 480
Mardonius.--His apprehensions after the battle.--Depression of
Xerxes.--Mardonius's address to him.--Mardonius offers to complete the
conquest of Greece.--Effect of Mardonius's address.--Xerxes consults
Artemisia.--Artemisia hesitates.--Her advice to Xerxes.--Xerxes adopts
Artemesia's advice.--His anxiety increases.--Xerxes commences his
retreat.--He sends his family to Ephesus.--Excitement in the Greek
fleet.--The Persians pursued.--Debate among the generals.--Themistocles
outvoted.--Another stratagem of Themistocles.--His message to
Xerxes.--Duplicity of Themistocles.--Retreat of Xerxes.--Horrors of the
retreat.--Sufferings from hunger.--Famine and disease.--Xerxes crosses
the Hellespont.--Fate of Mardonius.--Xerxes arrives at Susa.--Xerxes's
dissolute life.--His three sons.--Artabanus, captain of the guard.--He
assassinates Xerxes.--Artaxerxes kills his brother.--He succeeds to the
throne.
Mardonius, it will be recollected, was the commander-in-chief of the
forces of Xerxes, and thus, next to Xerxes himself, he was the officer
highest in rank of all those who attended the expedition. He was, in
fact, a sort of prime minister, on whom the responsibility for almost
all the measures for the government and conduct of the expedition had
been thrown. Men in such positions, while they may expect the highest
rewards and honors from their sovereign in case of success, have always
reason to apprehend the worst of consequences to themselves in case of
failure. The night after the battle of Salamis, accordingly, Mardonius
was in great fear. He did not distrust the future success of the
expedition if it were allowed to go on; but, knowing the character of
such despots as those who ruled great nations in that age of the world,
he was well aware that he might reasonably expect, at any moment, the
appearance of officers sent from Xerxes to cut off his head.
His anxiety was increased by observing that Xerxes seemed very much
depressed, and very restless and uneasy, after the battle, as if he were
revolving in his mind some extraordinary design. He presently thought
that he perceived indications that the king was planning a retreat.
Mardonius, after much hesitation, concluded to speak to him, and
endeavor to dispel his anxieties and fears, and lead him to take a more
favorable view of the prospects of the expedition. He accordingly
accosted him on the subject somewhat as follows:
"It is true," said he, "that we were not as successful in the combat
yesterday as we desired to be; but this reverse, as well as all the
preceding disasters that we have met with, is, after all, of
comparatively little moment. Your majesty has gone steadily on,
accomplishing most triumphantly all the substantial objects aimed at in
undertaking the expedition. Your troops have advanced successfully by
land against all opposition. With them you have traversed Thrace,
Macedon, and Thessaly. You have fought your way, against the most
desperate resistance, through the Pass of Thermopylae. You have overrun
all Northern Greece. You have burned Athens. Thus, far from there being
any uncertainty or doubt in respect to the success of the expedition, we
see that all the great objects which you proposed by it are already
accomplished. The fleet, it is true, has now suffered extensive damage;
but we must remember that it is upon the army, not upon the fleet, that
our hopes and expectations mainly depend. The army is safe; and it can
not be possible that the Greeks can hereafter bring any force into the
field by which it can be seriously endangered."
By these and similar sentiments, Mardonius endeavored to revive and
restore the failing courage and resolution of the king. He found,
however, that he met with very partial success. Xerxes was silent,
thoughtful, and oppressed apparently with a sense of anxious concern.
Mardonius finally proposed that, even if the king should think it best
to return himself to Susa, he should not abandon the enterprise of
subduing Greece, but that he should leave a portion of the army under
his (Mardonius's) charge, and he would undertake, he said, to complete
the work which had been so successfully begun. Three hundred thousand
men, he was convinced, would be sufficient for the purpose.
This suggestion seems to have made a favorable impression on the mind
of Xerxes. He was disposed, in fact, to be pleased with any plan,
provided it opened the way for his own escape from the dangers in which
he imagined that he was entangled. He said that he would consult some of
the other commanders upon the subject. He did so, and then, before
coming to a final decision, he determined to confer with Artemisia. He
remembered that she had counseled him not to attack the Greeks at
Salamis, and, as the result had proved that counsel to be eminently
wise, he felt the greater confidence in asking her judgment again.
He accordingly sent for Artemisia, and, directing all the officers, as
well as his own attendants, to retire, he held a private consultation
with her in respect to his plans.
"Mardonius proposes," said he, "that the expedition should on no account
be abandoned in consequence of this disaster, for he says that the fleet
is a very unimportant part of our force, and that the army still remains
unharmed. He proposes that, if I should decide myself to return to
Persia, I should leave three hundred thousand men with him, and he
undertakes, if I will do so, to complete, with them, the subjugation of
Greece. Tell me what you think of this plan. You evinced so much
sagacity in foreseeing the result of this engagement at Salamis, that I
particularly wish to know your opinion."
Artemisia, after pausing a little to reflect upon the subject, saying,
as she hesitated, that it was rather difficult to decide, under the
extraordinary circumstances in which they were placed, what it really
was best to do, came at length to the conclusion that it would be wisest
for the king to accede to Mardonius's proposal. "Since he offers, of his
own accord, to remain and undertake to complete the subjugation of
Greece, you can, very safely to yourself, allow him to make the
experiment. The great object which was announced as the one which you
had chiefly in view in the invasion of Greece, was the burning of
Athens. This is already accomplished. You have done, therefore, what you
undertook to do, and can, consequently, now return yourself, without
dishonor. If Mardonius succeeds in his attempt, the glory of it will
redound to you. His victories will be considered as only the successful
completion of what you began. On the other hand, if he fails, the
disgrace of failure will be his alone, and the injury will be confined
to his destruction. In any event, your person, your interests, and your
honor are safe, and if Mardonius is willing to take the responsibility
and incur the danger involved in the plan that he proposes, I would give
him the opportunity."
Xerxes adopted the view of the subject which Artemisia thus presented
with the utmost readiness and pleasure. That advice is always very
welcome which makes the course that we had previously decided upon as
the most agreeable seem the most wise. Xerxes immediately determined on
returning to Persia himself, and leaving Mardonius to complete the
conquest. In carrying out this design, he concluded to march to the
northward by land, accompanied by a large portion of his army and by all
his principal officers, until he reached the Hellespont. Then he was to
give up to Mardonius the command of such troops as should be selected to
remain in Greece, and, crossing the Hellespont, return himself to Persia
with the remainder.
If, as is generally the case, it is a panic that causes a flight, a
flight, in its turn, always increases a panic. It happened, in
accordance with this general law, that, as soon as the thoughts of
Xerxes were once turned toward an escape from Greece, his fears
increased, and his mind became more and more the prey of a restless
uneasiness and anxiety lest he should not be able to effect his escape.
He feared that the bridge of boats would have been broken down, and then
how would he be able to cross the Hellespont? To prevent the Greek fleet
from proceeding to the northward, and thus intercepting his passage by
destroying the bridge, he determined to conceal, as long as possible,
his own departure. Accordingly, while he was making the most efficient
and rapid arrangements on the land for abandoning the whole region, he
brought up his fleet by sea, and began to build, by means of the ships,
a floating bridge from the main land to the island of Salamis, as if he
were intent only on advancing. He continued this work all day,
postponing his intended retreat until the night should come, in order to
conceal his movements. In the course of the day he placed all his family
and family relatives on board of Artemisia's ship, under the charge of a
tried and faithful domestic. Artemisia was to convey them, as rapidly as
possible, to Ephesus, a strong city in Asia Minor, where Xerxes supposed
that they would be safe.
In the night the fleet, in obedience to the orders which Xerxes had
given them, abandoned their bridge and all their other undertakings,
and set sail. They were to make the best of their way to the Hellespont,
and post themselves there to defend the bridge of boats until Xerxes
should arrive. On the following morning, accordingly, when the sun rose,
the Greeks found, to their utter astonishment, that their enemies were
gone.
A scene of the greatest animation and excitement on board the Greek
fleet at once ensued. The commanders resolved on an immediate pursuit.
The seamen hoisted their sails, raised their anchors, and manned their
oars, and the whole squadron was soon in rapid motion. The fleet went as
far as to the island of Andros, looking eagerly all around the horizon,
in every direction, as they advanced, but no signs of the fugitives were
to be seen. The ships then drew up to the shore, and the commanders were
convened in an assembly, summoned by Eurybiades, on the land, for
consultation.
A debate ensued, in which the eternal enmity and dissension between the
Athenian and Peloponnesian Greeks broke out anew. There was, however,
now some reason for the disagreement. The Athenian cause was already
ruined. Their capital had been burned, their country ravaged, and their
wives and children driven forth to exile and misery. Nothing remained
now for them but hopes of revenge. They were eager, therefore, to press
on, and overtake the Persian galleys in their flight, or, if this could
not be done, to reach the Hellespont before Xerxes should arrive there,
and intercept his passage by destroying the bridge. This was the policy
which Themistocles advocated. Eurybiades, on the other hand, and the
Peloponnesian commanders, urged the expediency of not driving the
Persians to desperation by harassing them too closely on their retreat.
They were formidable enemies after all, and, if they were now disposed
to retire and leave the country, it was the true policy of the Greeks to
allow them to do so. To destroy the bridge of boats would only be to
take effectual measures for keeping the pest among them. Themistocles
was outvoted. It was determined best to allow the Persian forces to
retire.
Themistocles, when he found that his counsels were overruled, resorted
to another of the audacious stratagems that marked his career, which was
to send a second pretended message of friendship to the Persian king. He
employed the same Sicinnus on this occasion that he had sent before into
the Persian fleet, on the eve of the battle of Salamis. A galley was
given to Sicinnus, with a select crew of faithful men. They were all put
under the most solemn oaths never to divulge to any person, under any
circumstances, the nature and object of their commission. With this
company, Sicinnus left the fleet secretly in the night, and went to the
coast of Attica. Landing here, he left the galley, with the crew in
charge of it, upon the shore, and, with one or two select attendants, he
made his way to the Persian camp, and desired an interview with the
king. On being admitted to an audience, he said to Xerxes that he had
been sent to him by Themistocles, whom he represented as altogether the
most prominent man among the Greek commanders, to say that the Greeks
had resolved on pressing forward to the Hellespont, to intercept him on
his return, but that he, Themistocles, had dissuaded them from it, under
the influence of the same friendship for Xerxes which had led him to
send a friendly communication to the Persians before the late battle;
that, in consequence of the arguments and persuasions of Themistocles,
the Greek squadrons would remain where they then were, on the southern
coasts, leaving Xerxes to retire without molestation.
All this was false, but Themistocles thought it would serve his purpose
well to make the statement; for, in case he should, at any future time,
in following the ordinary fate of the bravest and most successful Greek
generals, be obliged to fly in exile from his country to save his life,
it might be important for him to have a good understanding beforehand
with the King of Persia, though a good understanding, founded on
pretensions so hypocritical and empty as these, would seem to be worthy
of very little reliance. In fact, for a Greek general, discomfited in
the councils of his own nation, to turn to the Persian king with such
prompt and cool assurance, for the purpose of gaining his friendship by
tendering falsehoods so bare and professions so hollow, was an instance
of audacious treachery so original and lofty as to be almost sublime.
Xerxes pressed on with the utmost diligence toward the north. The
country had been ravaged and exhausted by his march through it in coming
down, and now, in returning, he found infinite difficulty in obtaining
supplies of food and water for his army. Forty-five days were consumed
in getting back to the Hellespont. During all this time the privations
and sufferings of the troops increased every day. The soldiers were
spent with fatigue, exhausted with hunger, and harassed with incessant
apprehensions of attacks from their enemies. Thousands of the sick and
wounded that attempted at first to follow the army, gave out by degrees
as the columns moved on. Some were left at the encampments; others lay
down by the road-sides, in the midst of the day's march, wherever their
waning strength finally failed them; and every where broken chariots,
dead and dying beasts of burden, and the bodies of soldiers, that lay
neglected where they fell, encumbered and choked the way. In a word, all
the roads leading toward the northern provinces exhibited in full
perfection those awful scenes which usually mark the track of a great
army retreating from an invasion.
The men were at length reduced to extreme distress for food. They ate
the roots and stems of the herbage, and finally stripped the very bark
from the trees and devoured it, in the vain hope that it might afford
some nutriment to re-enforce the vital principle, for a little time at
least, in the dreadful struggle which it was waging within them. There
are certain forms of pestilential disease which, in cases like this,
always set in to hasten the work which famine alone would be too slow
in performing. Accordingly, as was to have been expected, camp fevers,
choleras, and other corrupt and infectious maladies, broke out with
great violence as the army advanced along the northern shores of the
AEgean Sea; and as every victim to these dreadful and hopeless disorders
helped, by his own dissolution, to taint the air for all the rest, the
wretched crowd was, in the end, reduced to the last extreme of misery
and terror.
At length Xerxes, with a miserable remnant of his troops, arrived at
Abydos, on the shores of the Hellespont. He found the bridge broken
down. The winds and storms had demolished what the Greeks had determined
to spare. The immense structure, which it had cost so much toil and time
to rear, had wholly disappeared, leaving no traces of its existence,
except the wrecks which lay here and there half buried in the sand along
the shore. There were some small boats at hand, and Xerxes, embarking in
one of them, with a few attendants in the others, and leaving the
exhausted and wretched remnant of his army behind, was rowed across the
strait, and landed at last safely again on the Asiatic shores.
[Illustration: THE RETURN OF XERXES TO PERSIA.]
The place of his landing was Sestos. From Sestos he went to Sardis,
and from Sardis he proceeded, in a short time, to Susa. Mardonius was
left in Greece. Mardonius was a general of great military experience and
skill, and, when left to himself, he found no great difficulty in
reorganizing the army, and in putting it again in an efficient
condition. He was not able, however, to accomplish the undertaking which
he had engaged to perform. After various adventures, prosperous and
adverse, which it would be foreign to our purpose here to detail, he was
at last defeated in a great battle, and killed on the field. The Persian
army was now obliged to give up the contest, and was expelled from
Greece finally and forever.
When Xerxes reached Susa, he felt overjoyed to find himself once more
safe, as he thought, in his own palaces. He looked back upon the
hardships, exposures, and perils through which he had passed, and,
thankful for having so narrowly escaped from them, he determined to
encounter no such hazards again. He had had enough of ambition and
glory. He was now going to devote himself to ease and pleasure. Such a
man would not naturally be expected to be very scrupulous in respect to
the means of enjoyment, or to the character of the companions whom he
would select to share his pleasures, and the life of the king soon
presented one continual scene of dissipation, revelry, and vice. He gave
himself up to such prolonged carousals, that one night was sometimes
protracted through the following day into another. The administration of
his government was left wholly to his ministers, and every personal duty
was neglected, that he might give himself to the most abandoned and
profligate indulgence of his appetites and passions.
He had three sons who might be considered as heirs to his
throne--Darius, Hystaspes, and Artaxerxes. Hystaspes was absent in a
neighboring province. The others were at home. He had also a very
prominent officer in his court, whose name, Artabanus, was the same with
that of the uncle who had so strongly attempted to dissuade him from
undertaking the conquest of Greece. Artabanus the uncle disappears
finally from view at the time when Xerxes dismissed him to return to
Susa at the first crossing of the Hellespont. This second Artabanus was
the captain of the king's body-guard and, consequently, the common
executioner of the despot's decrees. Being thus established in his
palace, surrounded by his family, and protected by Artabanus and his
guard, the monarch felt that all his toils and dangers were over, and
that there was nothing now before him but a life of ease, of pleasure,
and of safety. Instead of this, he was, in fact, in the most imminent
danger. Artabanus was already plotting his destruction.
One day, in the midst of one of his carousals, he became angry with his
oldest son Darius for some cause, and gave Artabanus an order to kill
him. Artabanus neglected to obey this order. The king had been excited
with wine when he gave it, and Artabanus supposed that all recollection
of the command would pass away from his mind with the excitement that
occasioned it. The king did not, however, so readily forget. The next
day he demanded why his order had not been obeyed. Artabanus now began
to fear for his own safety, and he determined to proceed at once to the
execution of a plan which he had long been revolving, of destroying the
whole of Xerxes's family, and placing himself on the throne in their
stead. He contrived to bring the king's chamberlain into his schemes,
and, with the connivance and aid of this officer, he went at night into
the king's bed-chamber, and murdered the monarch in his sleep.
Leaving the bloody weapon with which the deed had been perpetrated by
the side of the victim, Artabanus went immediately into the bed-chamber
of Artaxerxes, the youngest son, and, awaking him suddenly, he told him,
with tones of voice and looks expressive of great excitement and alarm,
that his father had been killed, and that it was his brother Darius that
had killed him. "His motive is," continued Artabanus, "to obtain the
throne, and, to make the more sure of an undisturbed possession of it,
he is intending to murder you next. Rise, therefore, and defend your
life."
Artaxerxes was aroused to a sudden and uncontrollable paroxysm of anger
at this intelligence. He seized his weapon, and rushed into the
apartment of his innocent brother, and slew him on the spot. Other
summary assassinations of a similar kind followed in this complicated
tragedy. Among the victims, Artabanus and all his adherents were slain,
and at length Artaxerxes took quiet possession of the throne, and
reigned in his father's stead.
THE END.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
1. Minor changes have been made to correct typesetters errors, and to
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every effort has been made to remain true to the original book.
2. The chapter summaries in this text were originally published as
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chapter for the reader's convenience.