THE HISTORY OF HERODOTUS
By Herodotus
Translated into English by G. C. Macaulay
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOL. II
{e Herodotou diathesis en apasin epieikes, kai tois men
agathois sunedomene, tois de kakois sunalgousa}.—Dion.
Halic.
PREPARER'S NOTE
This text was prepared from the third edition, printed in 1914, by
MacMillan and Co., Limited, St. Martin's Street, London.
Greek text has been transliterated and marked with brackets, as in the
opening citation above.
THE HISTORY OF HERODOTUS
BOOK V. THE FIFTH BOOK OF THE HISTORIES, CALLED TERPSICHORE
1. In the meantime those of the Persians who had been left behind in
Europe by Dareios, of whom Megabazos was the commander, had subdued the
people of Perinthos first of the Hellespontians, since they refused to
be subject to Dareios. These had in former times also been hardly dealt
with by the Paionians: for the Paionians from the Strymon had been
commanded by an oracle of their god to march against the Perinthians;
and if the Perinthians, when encamped opposite to them, should shout
aloud and call to them by their name, they were to attack them; but if
they should not shout to them, they were not to attack them: and thus
the Paionians proceeded to do. Now when the Perinthians were encamped
opposite to them in the suburb of their city, a challenge was made and
a single combat took place in three different forms; for they matched a
man against a man, and a horse against a horse, and a dog against a dog.
Then, as the Perinthians were getting the better in two of the three,
in their exultation they raised a shout of paion, 1 and the Paionians
conjectured that this was the very thing which was spoken of in the
oracle, and said doubtless to one another, "Now surely the oracle
is being accomplished for us, now it is time for us to act." So the
Paionians attacked the Perinthians when they had raised the shout of
paion, and they had much the better in the fight, and left but few of
them alive.
2. Thus it happened with respect to those things which had been done to
them in former times by the Paionians; and at this time, although the
Perinthians proved themselves brave men in defence of their freedom,
the Persians and Megabazos got the better of them by numbers. Then after
Perinthos had been conquered, Megabazos marched his army through the
length of Thracia, forcing every city and every race of those who
dwell there to submit to the king, for so it had been commanded him by
Dareios, to subdue Thracia.
3. Now the Thracian race is the most numerous, except the Indians, in
all the world: and if it should come to be ruled over by one man, or
to agree together in one, it would be irresistible in fight and the
strongest by far of all nations, in my opinion. Since however this is
impossible for them and cannot ever come to pass among them, 2 they are
in fact weak for that reason. They have many names, belonging to their
various tribes in different places; but they all follow customs which
are nearly the same in all respects, except the Getai and Trausians and
those who dwell above the Crestonians.
4. Of these the practices of the Getai, who believe themselves to be
immortal, have been spoken of by me already: 3 and the Trausians perform
everything else in the same manner as the other Thracians, but in regard
to those who are born and die among them they do as follows:--when
a child has been born, the nearest of kin sit round it and make
lamentation for all the evils of which he must fulfil the measure, now
that he is born, 301 enumerating the whole number of human ills; but
when a man is dead, they cover him up in the earth with sport and
rejoicing, saying at the same time from what great evils he has escaped
and is now in perfect bliss.
5. Those who dwell above the Crestonians do as follows:--each man has
many wives, and when any man of them is dead, a great competition takes
place among his wives, with much exertion on the part of their friends,
about the question of which of them was most loved by their husband; and
she who is preferred by the decision and so honoured, is first praised
by both men and women, then her throat is cut over the tomb by her
nearest of kin, and afterwards she is buried together with her husband;
and the others are exceedingly grieved at it, for this is counted as the
greatest reproach to them.
6. Of the other Thracians the custom is to sell their children to be
carried away out of the country; and over their maidens they do not keep
watch, but allow them to have commerce with whatever men they please,
but over their wives they keep very great watch; and they buy their
wives for great sums of money from their parents. To be pricked with
figures is accounted a mark of noble rank, and not to be so marked is a
sign of low birth. 4 Not to work is counted most honourable, and to be a
worker of the soil is above all things dishonourable: to live on war and
plunder is the most honourable thing.
7. These are their most remarkable customs; and of the gods they worship
only Ares and Dionysos and Artemis. Their kings, however, apart from the
rest of the people, worship Hermes more than all gods, and swear by him
alone; and they say that they are descended from Hermes.
8. The manner of burial for the rich among them is this:--for three days
they expose the corpse to view, and they slay all kinds of victims
and feast, having first made lamentation. Then they perform the burial
rites, either consuming the body with fire or covering it up in the
earth without burning; and afterwards when they have heaped up a mound
they celebrate games with every kind of contest, in which reasonably the
greatest prizes are assigned for single combat. 5 This is the manner of
burial among the Thracians.
9. Of the region lying further on towards the North of this country
no one can declare accurately who the men are who dwell in it; but the
parts which lie immediately beyond the Ister are known to be uninhabited
and vast in extent. The only men of whom I can hear who dwell beyond
the Ister are those who are said to be called Sigynnai, and who use the
Median fashion of dress. Their horses, it is said, have shaggy hair all
over their bodies, as much as five fingers long; and these are small and
flat-nosed and too weak to carry men, but when yoked in chariots they
are very high-spirited; therefore the natives of the country drive
chariots. The boundaries of this people extend, it is said, to the parts
near the Enetoi, who live on the Adriatic; and people say that they
are colonists from the Medes. In what way however these have come to
be colonists from the Medes I am not able for my part to conceive, but
everything is possible in the long course of ages. However that may be,
the Ligurians who dwell in the region inland above Massalia call traders
sigynnai, and the men of Cyprus give the same name to spears.
10. Now the Thracians say that the other side of the Ister is occupied
by bees, and that by reason of them it is not possible to pass through
and proceed further: but to me it seems that when they so speak, they
say that which is not probable; for these creatures are known to be
intolerant of cold, and to me it seems that the regions which go up
towards the pole are uninhabitable by reason of the cold climate. These
then are the tales reported about this country; and however that may
be, Megabazos was then making the coast-regions of it subject to the
Persians.
11. Meanwhile Dareios, so soon as he had crossed over the Hellespont and
come to Sardis, called to mind the service rendered to him by Histiaios
the Milesian and also the advice of the Mytilenian Coës, and having
sent for them to come to Sardis he offered them a choice of rewards.
Histiaios then, being despot of Miletos, did not make request for
any government in addition to that, but he asked for the district of
Myrkinos which belonged to the Edonians, desiring there to found a city.
Histiaios chose this for himself; but Coës, not being a despot but a man
of the people, asked to be made despot of Mitylene.
12. After the desires of both had been fulfilled, they betook themselves
to that which they had chosen: and at this same time it chanced that
Dareios saw a certain thing which made him desire to command Megabazos
to conquer the Paionians and remove them forcibly from Europe into Asia:
and the thing was this:--There were certain Paionians named Pigres and
Mantyas, who when Dareios had crossed over into Asia, came to Sardis,
because they desired themselves to have rule over the Paionians, and
with them they brought their sister, who was tall and comely. Then
having watched for a time when Dareios took his seat publicly in the
suburb of the Lydian city, they dressed up their sister in the best way
they could, and sent her to fetch water, having a water-jar upon her
head and leading a horse after her by a bridle round her arm, and at the
same time spinning flax. Now when the woman passed out of the city by
him, Dareios paid attention to the matter, for that which was done by
the woman was not of Persian nor yet of Lydian fashion, nor indeed
after the manner of any people of Asia. He sent therefore some of his
spearmen, bidding them watch what the woman would do with the horse.
They accordingly followed after her; and she having arrived at the river
watered the horse, and having watered him and filled her jar with the
water, she passed along by the same way, bearing the water upon her
head, leading the horse after her by a bridle round her arm, and at the
same time turning the spindle.
13. Then Dareios, marvelling both at that which he heard from those who
went to observe and also at that which he saw himself, bade them bring
her into his presence: and when she was brought, her brothers also came,
who had been watching these things at no great distance off. So then
when Dareios asked of what country she was, the young men said that they
were Paionians and that she was their sister; and he replied: "Who then
are these Paionians, and where upon the earth do they dwell?" and he
asked them also what they desired, that they had come to Sardis. They
declared to him that they had come to give themselves up to him, and
that Paionia was a country situated upon the river Strymon, and that
the Strymon was not far from the Hellespont, and finally that they were
colonists from the Teucrians of Troy. All these things severally they
told him; and he asked whether all the women of that land were as
industrious as their sister; and they very readily replied to this also,
saying that it was so, for it was with a view to that very thing that
they had been doing this.
14. Then Dareios wrote a letter to Megabazos, whom he had left to
command his army in Thrace, bidding him remove the Paionians from their
place of habitation and bring them to the king, both themselves and
their children and their wives. Then forthwith a horseman set forth to
ride in haste bearing the message to the Hellespont, and having passed
over to the other side he gave the paper to Megabazos. So he having
read it and having obtained guides from Thrace, set forth to march upon
Paionia:
15. and the Paionians, being informed that the Persians were coming
against them, gathered all their powers together and marched out in the
direction of the sea, supposing that the Persians when they invaded them
would make their attack on that side. The Paionians then were prepared,
as I say, to drive off the army of Megabazos when it came against them;
but the Persians hearing that the Paionians had gathered their powers
and were guarding the entrance which lay towards the sea, directed their
course with guides along the upper road; and passing unperceived by the
Paionians they fell upon their cities, which were left without men, and
finding them without defenders they easily took possession of them. The
Paionians when they heard that their cities were in the hands of the
enemy, at once dispersed, each tribe to its own place of abode, and
proceeded to deliver themselves up to the Persians. Thus then it
happened that these tribes of the Paionians, namely the Siropaionians,
6 the Paioplians and all up to the lake Prasias, were removed from their
place of habitation and brought to Asia;
16. but those who dwell about mount Pangaion, and about the Doberians
and Agrianians and Odomantians, 7 and about the lake Prasias itself,
were not conquered at all by Megabazos. He tried however to remove even
those who lived in the lake and who had their dwellings in the following
manner:--a platform fastened together and resting upon lofty piles stood
in the middle of the water of the lake, with a narrow approach to it
from the mainland by a single bridge. The piles which supported the
platform were no doubt originally set there by all the members of the
community working together, but since that time they continue to set
them by observance of this rule, that is to say, every man who marries
brings from the mountain called Orbelos three piles for each wife and
sets them as supports; and each man takes to himself many wives. And
they have their dwelling thus, that is each man has possession of a hut
upon the platform in which he lives and of a trap-door 8 leading through
the platform down to the lake: and their infant children they tie with
a rope by the foot, for fear that they should roll into the water. To
their horses and beasts of burden they give fish for fodder; and of fish
there is so great quantity that if a man open the trap-door and let down
an empty basket by a cord into the lake, after waiting quite a short
time he draws it up again full of fish. Of the fish there are two kinds,
and they call them paprax and tilon.
17. So then those of the Paionians who had been conquered were being
brought to Asia: and Megabazos meanwhile, after he had conquered the
Paionians, sent as envoys to Macedonia seven Persians, who after himself
were the men of most repute in the army. These were being sent to
Amyntas to demand of him earth and water for Dareios the king. Now from
lake Prasias there is a very short way into Macedonia; for first, quite
close to the lake, there is the mine from which after this time there
came in regularly a talent of silver every day to Alexander; and after
the mine, when you have passed over the mountain called Dysoron, you are
in Macedonia.
18. These Persians then, who had been sent to Amyntas, having arrived
came into the presence of Amyntas and proceeded to demand earth and
water for king Dareios. This he was willing to give, and also he invited
them to be his guests; and he prepared a magnificent dinner and received
the Persians with friendly hospitality. Then when dinner was over, the
Persians while drinking pledges to one another 9 said thus: "Macedonian
guest-friend, it is the custom among us Persians, when we set forth a
great dinner, then to bring in also our concubines and lawful wives to
sit beside us. Do thou then, since thou didst readily receive us and
dost now entertain us magnificently as thy guests, and since thou art
willing to give to king Dareios earth and water, consent to follow our
custom." To this Amyntas replied: "Persians, among us the custom is not
so, but that men should be separate from women. Since however ye being
our masters make this request in addition, this also shall be given
you." Having so said Amyntas proceeded to send for the women; and
when they came being summoned, they sat down in order opposite to the
Persians. Then the Persians, seeing women of comely form, spoke to
Amyntas and said that this which had been done was by no means well
devised; for it was better that the women should not come at all, than
that they should come and should not seat themselves by their side, but
sit opposite and be a pain to their eyes. So Amyntas being compelled
bade them sit by the side of the Persians; and when the women obeyed,
forthwith the Persians, being much intoxicated, began to touch their
breasts, and some no doubt also tried to kiss them.
19. Amyntas seeing this kept quiet, notwithstanding that he felt anger,
because he excessively feared the Persians; but Alexander the son
of Amyntas, who was present and saw this, being young and without
experience of calamity was not able to endure any longer; but being
impatient of it he said to Amyntas: "My father, do thou grant that
which thy age demands, and go away to rest, nor persevere longer in
the drinking; but I will remain here and give to our guests all that is
convenient." On this Amyntas, understanding that Alexander was intending
to do some violence, said: "My son, I think that I understand thy words,
as the heat of anger moves thee, namely that thou desirest to send me
away and then do some deed of violence: therefore I ask of thee not to
do violence to these men, that it may not be our ruin, but endure to see
that which is being done: as to my departure, however, in that I will do
as thou sayest."
20. When Amyntas after having made of him this request had departed,
Alexander said to the Persians: "With these women ye have perfect
freedom, guests, to have commerce with all, if ye so desire, or with as
many of them as ye will. About this matter ye shall be they who give the
word; but now, since already the hour is approaching for you to go to
bed and I see that ye have well drunk, let these women go away, if so it
is pleasing to you, to bathe themselves; and when they have bathed, then
receive them back into your company." Having so said, since the Persians
readily agreed, he dismissed the women, when they had gone out, to the
women's chambers; and Alexander himself equipped men equal in number to
the women and smooth-faced, in the dress of the women, and giving them
daggers he led them into the banqueting-room; and as he led them in, he
said thus to the Persians: "Persians, it seems to me that ye have been
entertained with a feast to which nothing was wanting; for other things,
as many as we had, and moreover such as we were able to find out and
furnish, are all supplied to you, and there is this especially besides,
which is the chief thing of all, that is, we give you freely in addition
our mothers and our sisters, in order that ye may perceive fully that
ye are honoured by us with that treatment which ye deserve, and also in
order that ye may report to the king who sent you that a man of Hellas,
ruler under him of the Macedonians, entertained you well at board and
bed." Having thus said Alexander caused a Macedonian man in the guise of
a woman to sit by each Persian, and they, when the Persians attempted to
lay hands on them, slew them.
21. So these perished by this fate, both they themselves and their
company of servants; for there came with them carriages and servants and
all the usual pomp of equipage, and this was all made away with at the
same time as they. Afterwards in no long time a great search was made by
the Persians for these men, and Alexander stopped them with cunning
by giving large sums of money and his own sister, whose name was
Gygaia;--by giving, I say, these things to Bubares a Persian, commander
of those who were searching for the men who had been killed, Alexander
stopped their search.
22. Thus the death of these Persians was kept concealed. And that these
descendants of Perdiccas are Hellenes, as they themselves say, I happen
to know myself, and not only so, but I will prove in the succeeding
history that they are Hellenes. 10 Moreover the Hellanodicai, who manage
the games at Olympia, decided that they were so: for when Alexander
wished to contend in the games and had descended for this purpose into
the arena, the Hellenes who were to run against him tried to exclude
him, saying that the contest was not for Barbarians to contend in but
for Hellenes: since however Alexander proved that he was of Argos,
he was judged to be a Hellene, and when he entered the contest of the
foot-race his lot came out with that of the first. 11
23. Thus then it happened with regard to these things: and at the same
time Megabazos had arrived at the Hellespont bringing with him the
Paionians; and thence after passing over the straits he came to Sardis.
Then, since Histiaios the Milesian was already engaged in fortifying
with a wall the place which he had asked and obtained from Dareios as a
reward for keeping safe the bridge of boats (this place being that
which is called Myrkinos, lying along the bank of the river Strymon),
Megabazos, having perceived that which was being done by Histiaios, as
soon as he came to Sardis bringing the Paionians, said thus to Dareios:
"O king, what a thing is this that thou hast done, granting permission
to a Hellene who is skilful and cunning to found a city in Thracia in
a place where there is forest for shipbuilding in abundance and great
quantity of wood for oars and mines of silver and great numbers both
of Hellenes and Barbarians living round, who when they have obtained
a leader will do that which he shall command them both by day and by
night. Therefore stop this man from doing so, that thou be not involved
in a domestic war: and stop him by sending for him in a courteous
manner; but when thou hast got him in thy hands, then cause that he
shall never again return to the land of the Hellenes."
24. Thus saying Megabazos easily persuaded Dareios, who thought that he
was a true prophet of that which was likely to come to pass: and
upon that Dareios sent a messenger to Myrkinos and said as follows:
"Histiaios, king Dareios saith these things:--By taking thought I find
that there is no one more sincerely well disposed than thou art to me
and to my power; and this I know having learnt by deeds not words. Now
therefore, since I have it in my mind to accomplish great matters,
come hither to me by all means, that I may communicate them to thee."
Histiaios therefore, trusting to these sayings and at the same time
accounting it a great thing to become a counsellor of the king, came
to Sardis; and when he had come Dareios spoke to him as follows:
"Histiaios, I sent for thee for this reason, namely because when I had
returned from the Scythians and thou wert gone away out of the sight of
my eyes, never did I desire to see anything again within so short a time
as I desired then both to see thee and that thou shouldst come to speech
with me; since I perceived that the most valuable of all possessions is
a friend who is a man of understanding and also sincerely well-disposed,
both which qualities I know exist in thee, and I am able to bear witness
of them in regard to my affairs. Now therefore (for thou didst well in
that thou camest hither) this is that which I propose to thee:--leave
Miletos alone and also thy newly-founded city in Thracia, and coming
with me to Susa, have whatsoever things I have, eating at my table and
being my counseller."
25. Thus said Dareios, and having appointed Artaphrenes 12 his own
brother and the son of his father to be governor of Sardis, he marched
away to Susa taking with him Histiaios, after he had first named Otanes
to be commander of those who dwelt along the sea coasts. This man's
father Sisamnes, who had been made one of the Royal Judges, king
Cambyses slew, because he had judged a cause unjustly for money, and
flayed off all his skin: then after he had torn away the skin he cut
leathern thongs out of it and stretched them across the seat where
Sisamnes had been wont to sit to give judgment; and having stretched
them in the seat, Cambyses appointed the son of that Sisamnes whom he
had slain and flayed, to be judge instead of his father, enjoining him
to remember in what seat he was sitting to give judgment.
26. This Otanes then, who was made to sit in that seat, had now
become the successor of Megabazos in the command: and he conquered the
Byzantians and Calchedonians, and he conquered Antandros in the land
of Troas, and Lamponion; and having received ships from the Lesbians
he conquered Lemnos and Imbros, which were both at that time still
inhabited by Pelasgians.
27. Of these the Lemnians fought well, and defending themselves for a
long time were at length brought to ruin; 13 and over those of them
who survived the Persians set as governor Lycaretos the brother of that
Maiandrios who had been king of Samos. This Lycaretos ruled in Lemnos
till his death. And the cause of it 14 was this:--he continued to
reduce all to slavery and subdue them, accusing some of desertion to the
Scythians and others of doing damage to the army of Dareios as it was
coming back from Scythia.
28. Otanes then effected so much when he was made commander: and after
this for a short time there was an abatement 15 of evils; and then again
evils began a second time to fall upon the Ionians, arising from Naxos
and Miletos. For Naxos was superior to all the other islands in wealth,
and Miletos at the same time had just then come to the very height of
its prosperity and was the ornament 16 of Ionia; but before these events
for two generations of men it had been afflicted most violently by
faction until the Parians reformed it; for these the Milesians chose of
all the Hellenes to be reformers of their State.
29. Now the Parians thus reconciled their factions:--the best men of
them came to Miletos, and seeing that the Milesians were in a grievously
ruined state, they said that they desired to go over their land: and
while doing this and passing through the whole territory of Miletos,
whenever they saw in the desolation of the land any field that was well
cultivated, they wrote down the name of the owner of that field. Then
when they had passed through the whole land and had found but few of
such men, as soon as they returned to the city they called a general
gathering and appointed these men to manage the State, whose fields they
had found well cultivated; for they said that they thought these men
would take care of the public affairs as they had taken care of their
own: and the rest of the Milesians, who before had been divided by
factions, they commanded to be obedient to these men.
30. The Parians then had thus reformed the Milesians; but at the time of
which I speak evils began to come to Ionia from these States 17 in the
following manner:--From Naxos certain men of the wealthier class 18 were
driven into exile by the people, and having gone into exile they
arrived at Miletos. Now of Miletos it happened that Aristagoras son
of Molpagoras was ruler in charge, being both a son-in-law and also a
cousin of Histiaios the son of Lysagoras, whom Dareios was keeping at
Susa: for Histiaios was despot of Miletos, and it happened that he was
at Susa at this time when the Naxians came, who had been in former
times guest-friends of Histiaios. So when the Naxians arrived, they made
request of Aristagoras, to see if perchance he would supply them with
a force, and so they might return from exile to their own land: and he,
thinking that if by his means they should return to their own State, he
would be ruler of Naxos, but at the same time making a pretext of the
guest-friendship of Histiaios, made proposal to them thus: "I am not
able to engage that I can supply you with sufficient force to bring you
back from exile against the will of those Naxians who have control
of the State; for I hear that the Naxians have an army which is eight
thousand shields strong and many ships of war: but I will use every
endeavour to devise a means; and my plan is this:--it chances that
Artaphrenes is my friend: now Artaphrenes, ye must know, 1801 is a son
of Hystaspes and brother of Dareios the king; and he is ruler of all the
people of the sea-coasts in Asia, with a great army and many ships. This
man then I think will do whatsoever we shall request of him." Hearing
this the Naxians gave over the matter to Aristagoras to manage as
best he could, and they bade him promise gifts and the expenses of
the expedition, saying that they would pay them; for they had full
expectation that when they should appear at Naxos, the Naxians would do
all their bidding, and likewise also the other islanders. For of these
islands, that is the Cyclades, not one was as yet subject to Dareios.
31. Aristagoras accordingly having arrived at Sardis, said to
Artaphrenes that Naxos was an island not indeed large in size, but fair
nevertheless and of fertile soil, as well as near to Ionia, and that
there was in it much wealth and many slaves: "Do thou therefore send an
expedition against this land, and restore it to those who are now exiles
from it: and if thou shalt do this, first I have ready for thee large
sums of money apart from the expenses incurred for the expedition (which
it is fair that we who conduct it should supply), and next thou wilt
gain for the king not only Naxos itself but also the islands which are
dependent upon it, Paros and Andros and the others which are called
Cyclades; and setting out from these thou wilt easily attack Euboea, an
island which is large and wealthy, as large indeed as Cyprus, and very
easy to conquer. To subdue all these a hundred ships are sufficient."
He made answer in these words: "Thou makest thyself a reporter of good
things to the house of the king; and in all these things thou advisest
well, except as to the number of the ships: for instead of one hundred
there shall be prepared for thee two hundred by the beginning of the
spring. And it is right that the king himself also should join in
approving this matter."
32. So Aristagoras hearing this went back to Miletos greatly rejoiced;
and Artaphrenes meanwhile, when he had sent to Susa and communicated
that which was said by Aristagoras, and Dareios himself also had joined
in approving it, made ready two hundred triremes and a very great
multitude both of Persians and their allies, and appointed to be
commander of these Megabates a Persian, one of the Achaimenidai and a
cousin to himself and to Dareios, to whose daughter afterwards Pausanias
the son of Cleombrotus the Lacedaemonian (at least if the story be true)
betrothed himself, having formed a desire to become a despot of Hellas.
Having appointed Megabates, I say, to be commander, Artaphrenes sent
away the armament to Aristagoras.
33. So when Megabates had taken force together with the Naxians, he
sailed with the pretence of going to the Hellespont; but when he came
to Chios, he directed his ships to Caucasa, in order that he might from
thence pass them over to Naxos with a North Wind. Then, since it was
not fated that the Naxians should be destroyed by this expedition, there
happened an event which I shall narrate. As Megabates was going round to
visit the guards set in the several ships, it chanced that in a ship
of Myndos there was no one on guard; and he being very angry bade his
spearmen find out the commander of the ship, whose name was Skylax, and
bind him in an oar-hole of his ship in such a manner 19 that his head
should be outside and his body within. When Skylax was thus bound, some
one reported to Aristagoras that Megabates had bound his guest-friend
of Myndos and was doing to him shameful outrage. He accordingly came and
asked the Persian for his release, and as he did not obtain anything
of that which he requested, he went himself and let him loose. Being
informed of this Megabates was exceedingly angry and broke out in rage
against Aristagoras; and he replied: "What hast thou to do with
these matters? Did not Artaphrenes send thee to obey me, and to sail
whithersoever I should order? Why dost thou meddle with things which
concern thee not?" Thus said Aristagoras; and the other being enraged at
this, when night came on sent men in a ship to Naxos to declare to the
Naxians all the danger that threatened them.
34. For the Naxians were not at all expecting that this expedition
would be against them: but when they were informed of it, forthwith
they brought within the wall the property which was in the fields, and
provided for themselves food and drink as for a siege, and strengthened
their wall. 20 These then were making preparations as for war to come
upon them; and the others meanwhile having passed their ships over from
Chios to Naxos, found them well defended when they made their attack,
and besieged them for four months. Then when the money which the
Persians had brought with them had all been consumed by them, and not
only that, but Aristagoras himself had spent much in addition, and
the siege demanded ever more and more, they built walls for the Naxian
exiles and departed to the mainland again with ill success.
35. And so Aristagoras was not able to fulfil his promise to
Artaphrenes; and at the same time he was hard pressed by the demand made
to him for the expenses of the expedition, and had fears because of
the ill success of the armament and because he had become an enemy of
Megabates; and he supposed that he would be deprived of his rule over
Miletos. Having all these various fears he began to make plans of
revolt: for it happened also that just at this time the man who had been
marked upon the head had come from Histiaios who was at Susa, signifying
that Aristagoras should revolt from the king. For Histiaios, desiring
to signify to Aristagoras that he should revolt, was not able to do it
safely in any other way, because the roads were guarded, but shaved off
the hair of the most faithful of his slaves, and having marked his head
by pricking it, waited till the hair had grown again; and as soon as it
was grown, he sent him away to Miletos, giving him no other charge but
this, namely that when he should have arrived at Miletos he should bid
Aristagoras shave his hair and look at his head: and the marks, as I
have said before, signified revolt. This thing Histiaios was doing,
because he was greatly vexed by being detained at Susa. He had
great hopes then that if a revolt occurred he would be let go to
the sea-coast; but if no change was made at Miletos 2001 he had no
expectation of ever returning thither again.
36. Accordingly Histiaios with this intention was sending the messenger;
and it chanced that all these things happened to Aristagoras together at
the same time. He took counsel therefore with his partisans, declaring
to them both his own opinion and the message from Histiaios; and while
all the rest expressed an opinion to the same effect, urging him namely
to make revolt, Hecataios the historian urged first that they should not
undertake war with the king of the Persians, enumerating all the nations
over whom Dareios was ruler, and his power: and when he did not succeed
in persuading him, he counselled next that they should manage to make
themselves masters of the sea. Now this, he continued, could not come
to pass in any other way, so far as he could see, for he knew that the
force of the Milesians was weak, but if the treasures should be taken
21 which were in the temple at Branchidai, which Croesus the Lydian
dedicated as offerings, he had great hopes that they might become
masters of the sea; and by this means they would not only themselves
have wealth at their disposal, but the enemy would not be able to carry
the things off as plunder. Now these treasures were of great value, as
I have shown in the first part of the history. 22 This opinion did not
prevail; but nevertheless it was resolved to make revolt, and that one
of them should sail to Myus, to make the force which had returned from
Naxos and was then there, and endeavour to seize the commanders who
sailed in the ships.
37. So Iatragoras was sent for this purpose and seized by craft Oliatos
the son of Ibanollis of Mylasa, and Histiaios the son of Tymnes of
Termera, and Coës the son of Erxander, to whom Dareios had given
Mytilene as a gift, and Aristagoras the son of Heracleides of Kyme, and
many others; and then Aristagoras openly made revolt and devised all
that he could to the hurt of Dareios. And first he pretended to resign
the despotic power and give to Miletos equality, 23 in order that
the Milesians might be willing to revolt with him: then afterwards he
proceeded to do this same thing in the rest of Ionia also; and some of
the despots he drove out, but those whom he had taken from the ships
which had sailed with him to Naxis, these he surrendered, because he
desired to do a pleasure to their cities, delivering them over severally
to that city from which each one came.
38. Now the men of Mitylene, so soon as they received Coës into their
hands, brought him out and stoned him to death; but the men of Kyme let
their despot go, and so also most of the others let them go. Thus then
the despots were deposed in the various cities; and Aristagoras the
Milesian, after having deposed the despots, bade each people appoint
commanders in their several cities, and then himself set forth as an
envoy to Lacedemon; for in truth it was necessary that he should find
out some powerful alliance.
39. Now at Sparta Anaxandrides the son of Leon was no longer surviving
as king, but had brought his life to an end; and Cleomenes the son of
Anaxandrides was holding the royal power, not having obtained it by
merit but by right of birth. For Anaxandrides had to wife his own
sister's daughter and she was by him much beloved, but no children were
born to him by her. This being so, the Ephors summoned him before them
and said: "If thou dost not for thyself take thought in time, yet we
cannot suffer this to happen, that the race of Eurysthenes should become
extinct. Do thou therefore put away from thee the wife whom thou now
hast, since, as thou knowest, she bears thee no children, and marry
another: and in doing so thou wilt please the Spartans." He made answer
saying that he would do neither of these two things, and that they did
not give him honourable counsel, in that they advised him to send away
the wife whom he had, though she had done him no wrong, and to take to
his house another; and in short he would not follow their advice.
40. Upon this the Ephors and the Senators deliberated together and
proposed to Anaxandrides as follows: "Since then we perceive that thou
art firmly attached to the wife whom thou now hast, consent to do this,
and set not thyself against it, lest the Spartans take some counsel
about thee other than might be wished. We do not ask of thee the putting
away of the wife whom thou hast; but do thou give to her all that
thou givest now and at the same time take to thy house another wife in
addition to this one, to bear thee children." When they spoke to him
after this manner, Anaxandrides consented, having two wives, a thing
which was not by any means after the Spartan fashion.
41. Then when no long time had elapsed, the wife who had come in
afterwards bore this Cleomenes of whom we spoke; and just when she was
bringing to the light an heir to the kingdom of the Spartans, the former
wife, who had during the time before been childless, then by some means
conceived, chancing to do so just at that time: and though she was in
truth with child, the kinsfolk of the wife who had come in afterwards,
when they heard of it cried out against her and said that she was making
a vain boast, and that she meant to pass off another child as her own.
Since then they made a great show of indignation, as the time was fast
drawing near, the Ephors being incredulous sat round and watched the
woman during the birth of her child: and she bore Dorieos and then
straightway conceived Leonidas and after him at once Cleombrotos,--nay,
some even say that Cleombrotos and Leonidas were twins. The wife however
who had born Cleomenes and had come in after the first wife, being
the daughter of Primetades the son of Demarmenos, did not bear a child
again.
42. Now Cleomenes, it is said, was not quite in his right senses but on
the verge of madness, 24 while Dorieos was of all his equals in age
the first, and felt assured that he would obtain the kingdom by merit.
Seeing then that he had this opinion, when Anaxandrides died and the
Lacedemonians followed the usual custom established the eldest, namely
Cleomenes, upon the throne, Dorieos being indignant and not thinking it
fit that he should be a subject of Cleomenes, asked the Spartans to give
him a company of followers and led them out to found a colony, without
either inquiring of the Oracle at Delphi to what land he should go to
make a settlement, or doing any of the things which are usually
done; but being vexed he sailed away with his ships to Libya, and the
Theraians were his guides thither. Then having come to Kinyps 25 he made
a settlement in the fairest spot of all Libya, along the banks of the
river; but afterwards in the third year he was driven out from thence
by the Macai and the Libyans 26 and the Carthaginians, and returned to
Peloponnesus.
43. Then Antichares a man of Eleon gave him counsel out of the oracles
of Laïos to make a settlement at Heracleia 27 in Sicily, saying that the
whole land of Eryx belonged to the Heracleidai, since Heracles himself
had won it: and hearing this he went forthwith to Delphi to inquire of
the Oracle whether he would be able to conquer the land to which he was
setting forth; and the Pythian prophetess replied to him that he would
conquer it. Dorieos therefore took with him the armament which he
conducted before to Libya, and voyaged along the coast of Italy. 28
44. Now at this time, the men of Sybaris say that they and their king
Telys were about to make an expedition against Croton, and the men of
Croton being exceedingly alarmed asked Dorieos to help them and obtained
their request. So Dorieos joined them in an expedition against Sybaris
and helped them to conquer Sybaris. This is what the men of Sybaris say
of the doings of Dorieos and his followers; but those of Croton say that
no stranger helped them in the war against the Sybarites except Callias
alone, a diviner of Elis and one of the descendants of Iamos, and he in
the following manner:--he ran away, they say, from Telys the despot of
the Sybarites, when the sacrifices did not prove favourable, as he was
sacrificing for the expedition against Croton, and so he came to them.
45. Such, I say, are the tales which these tell, and they severally
produce as evidence of them the following facts:--the Sybarites point
to a sacred enclosure and temple by the side of the dried-up bed of
the Crathis, 29 which they say that Dorieos, after he had joined in the
capture of the city, set up to Athene surnamed "of the Crathis"; and
besides they consider the death of Dorieos himself to be a very strong
evidence, thinking that he perished because he acted contrary to the
oracle which was given to him; for if he had not done anything by the
way but had continued to do that for which he was sent, he would have
conquered the land of Eryx and having conquered it would have become
possessor of it, and he and his army would not have perished. On the
other hand the men of Croton declare that many things were granted in
the territory of Croton as special gifts to Callias the Eleisan, of
which the descendants of Callias were still in possession down to my
time, and that nothing was granted to Dorieos or the descendants of
Dorieos: but if Dorieos had in fact helped them in the way with Sybaris,
many times as much, they say, would have been given to him as to
Callias. These then are the evidences which the two sides produce, and
we may assent to whichever of them we think credible.
46. Now there sailed with Dorieos others also of the Spartans, to be
joint-founders with him of the colony, namely Thessalos and Paraibates
and Keleas and Euryleon; and these when they had reached Sicily with all
their armament, were slain, being defeated in battle by the Phenicians
and the men of Egesta; and Euryleon only of the joint-founders survived
this disaster. This man then having collected the survivors of the
expedition, took possession of Minoa the colony of Selinus, and he
helped to free the men of Selinus from their despot Peithagoras.
Afterwards, when he had deposed him, he laid hands himself upon the
despotism in Selinus and became sole ruler there, though but for a short
time; for the men of Selinus rose in revolt against him and slew
him, notwithstanding that he had fled for refuge to the altar of Zeus
Agoraios. 30
47. There had accompanied Dorieos also and died with him Philip the
son of Butakides, a man of Croton, who having betrothed himself to the
daughter of Telys the Sybarite, became an exile from Croton; and then
being disappointed of this marriage he sailed away to Kyrene, whence
he set forth and accompanied Dorieos with a trireme of his own, himself
supplying the expenses of the crew. Now this man had been a victor at
the Olympic games, and he was the most beautiful of the Hellenes who
lived in his time; and on account of his beauty he obtained from the
men of Egesta that which none else ever obtained from them, for they
established a hero-temple over his tomb, and they propitiate him still
with sacrifices.
48. In this manner Dorieos ended his life: but if he had endured to be a
subject of Cleomenes and had remained in Sparta, he would have been king
of Lacedemon; for Cleomenes reigned no very long time, and died leaving
no son to succeed him but a daughter only, whose name was Gorgo.
49. However, Aristagoras the despot of Miletos arrived at Sparta while
Cleomenes was reigning: and accordingly with him he came to speech,
having, as the Lacedemonians say, a tablet of bronze, on which was
engraved a map 31 of the whole Earth, with all the sea and all the
rivers. And when he came to speech with Cleomenes he said to him as
follows: "Marvel not, Cleomenes, at my earnestness in coming hither, for
the case is this.--That the sons of the Ionians should be slaves instead
of free is a reproach and a grief most of all indeed to ourselves, but
of all others most to you, inasmuch as ye are the leaders of Hellas. Now
therefore I entreat you by the gods of Hellas to rescue from slavery the
Ionians, who are your own kinsmen: and ye may easily achieve this, for
the Barbarians are not valiant in fight, whereas ye have attained to the
highest point of valour in that which relates to war: and their fighting
is of this fashion, namely with bows and arrows and a short spear, and
they go into battle wearing trousers and with caps 32 on their heads.
Thus they are easily conquered. Then again they who occupy that
continent have good things in such quantity as not all the other nations
of the world together possess; first gold, then silver and bronze and
embroidered garments and beasts of burden and slaves; all which ye might
have for yourselves, if ye so desired. And the nations moreover dwell
in such order one after the other as I shall declare:--the Ionians here;
and next to them the Lydians, who not only dwell in a fertile land, but
are also exceedingly rich in gold and silver," 33--and as he said this
he pointed to the map of the Earth, which he carried with him engraved
upon the tablet,--"and here next to the Lydians," continued Aristagoras,
"are the Eastern Phrygians, who have both the greatest number of sheep
and cattle 34 of any people that I know, and also the most abundant
crops. Next to the Phrygians are the Cappadokians, whom we call Syrians;
and bordering upon them are the Kilikians, coming down to this 35 sea,
in which lies the island of Cyprus here; and these pay five hundred
talents to the king for their yearly tribute. Next to these Kilikians
are the Armenians, whom thou mayest see here, and these also have great
numbers of sheep and cattle. Next to the Armenians are the Matienians
occupying this country here; and next to them is the land of Kissia
here, in which land by the banks of this river Choaspes is situated that
city of Susa where the great king has his residence, and where the money
is laid up in treasuries. After ye have taken this city ye may then with
good courage enter into a contest with Zeus in the matter of wealth.
Nay, but can it be that ye feel yourselves bound to take upon you the
risk of 36 battles against Messenians and Arcadians and Argives, who are
equally matched against you, for the sake of land which is not much in
extent nor very fertile, and for confines which are but small, though
these peoples have neither gold nor silver at all, for the sake of which
desire incites one to fight and to die,--can this be, I say, and will
ye choose some other way now, when it is possible for you easily to have
the rule over all Asia?" Aristagoras spoke thus, and Cleomenes answered
him saying: "Guest-friend from Miletos, I defer my answer to thee until
the day after to-morrow." 37