THE PERSIAN WARS.--THE BATTLES OF THERMOPYLAE, SALAMIS, AND PLATAEA,
B.C. 480-479.
The defeat of the Persians at Marathon served only to increase the
resentment of Darius. He now resolved to collect the whole forces of
his empire, and to lead them in person against Athens. For three years
busy preparations were made throughout his vast dominions. In the
fourth year his attention was distracted by a revolt of the Egyptians;
and before he could reduce them to subjection he was surprised by
death, after a reign of 37 years (B.C. 485). Xerxes, the son and
successor of Darius, had received the education of an eastern despot,
and been surrounded with slaves from his cradle. In person he was the
tallest and handsomest man amidst the vast hosts which he led against
Greece; but there was nothing in his mind to correspond to this fair
exterior. His character was marked by faint-hearted timidity and
childish vanity. Xerxes had not inherited his father's animosity
against Greece; but he was surrounded by men who urged him to continue
the enterprise. Foremost among these was Mardonius, who was eager to
retrieve his reputation, and to obtain the conquered country as a
satrapy for himself after subduing Egypt (B.C. 484), Xerxes began to
make preparations for the invasion of Greece. For four years the din of
preparation sounded throughout Asia. Troops were collected from every
quarter of the Persian empire, and were ordered to assemble in
Cappadocia. As many as forty-six different nations composed the
land-force, of various complexions, languages, dresses, and arms.
Meantime Xerxes ordered a bridge to be thrown across the Hellespont,
that his army might march from Asia into Europe: and he likewise gave
directions that a canal should be cut through the isthmus of Mount
Athos, in order to avoid the necessity of doubling this dangerous
promontory, where the fleet of Mardonius had suffered shipwreck. The
making of this canal, which was about a mile and a half long employed a
number of men for three years.
In the spring of B.C. 480 Xerxes set out from Sardis with his vast
host. Upon reaching Abydos on the Hellespont the army crossed over to
Europe by the bridge of boats. Xerxes surveyed the scene from a marble
throne. His heart swelled within him at the sight of such a vast
assemblage of human beings; but his feelings of pride and pleasure soon
gave way to sadness, and he burst into tears at the reflection that in
a hundred years not one of them would be alive. Xerxes continued his
march through Europe along the coast of Thrace. Upon arriving at the
spacious plain of Doriscus, which is traversed by the river Hebrus, he
resolved to number his forces. He found that the whole armament, both
military and naval, consisted of 2,317,610 men. In his march from
Doriscus to Thermopylae he received a still further accession of
strength; and accordingly when he reached Thermopylae the land and sea
forces amounted to 2,641,610 fighting men. The attendants are said to
have been more in number than the fighting men; but if they were only
equal, the number of persons who accompanied Xerxes to Thermopylae
reaches the astounding figure of 5,283,220! The number is quite
incredible; but though the exact number of the invading army cannot be
determined, we may safely conclude, from all the circumstances of the
case, that it was the largest ever assembled at any period of history.
From Doriscus Xerxes his march along the coast through Thrace and
Macedonia. The principal cities through which he passed had to furnish
a day's meal for the immense host, and for this purpose had made
preparations many months before-hand. The cost of feeding such a
multitude brought many cities to the brink of ruin. At Acanthus his
fleet sailed through the isthmus of Athos and after doubling the
promontories of Sithonia and Pallene joined him at the city of Therma,
better known by its later name of Thessalonica. Thence he continued
his march through the southern part of Macedonia and Thessaly, meeting
with no opposition till he reached the celebrated pass of Thermopylae.
The mighty preparations of Xerxes had been no secret in Greece; and
during the preceding winter a congress of the Grecian states had been
summoned by the Spartans and Athenians to meet at the isthmus of
Corinth. But so great was the terror inspired by the countless hosts
of Xerxes that many of the Grecian states at once tendered their
submission to him, and others refused to take any part in the congress.
The only people, north of the isthmus of Corinth, who remained faithful
to the cause of Grecian liberty, were the Athenians and Phocians, and
the inhabitants of the small Boeotian towns of Plataea and Thespiae.
The other people in northern Greece were either partisans of the
Persians, like the Thebans, or were unwilling to make any great
sacrifices for the preservation of their independence. In
Peloponnesus, the powerful city of Argos and the Achaeans stood aloof.
From the more distant members of the Hellenic race no assistance was
obtained. Gelon, the ruler of Syracuse, offered to send a powerful
armament, provided the command of the allied forces was intrusted to
him; but the envoys did not venture to accept a proposal which would
have placed both Sparta and Athens under the control of a Sicilian
tyrant.
The desertion of the cause of Grecian independence by so many of the
Greeks did not shake the resolution of Sparta and of Athens. The
Athenians, especially, set a noble example of an enlarged patriotism.
They became reconciled to the AEginetans, and thus gained for the
common cause the powerful navy of their rival. They readily granted to
the Spartans the supreme command of the forces by sea as well as by
land, although they furnished two-thirds of the vessels of the entire
fleet. Their illustrious citizen Themistocles was the soul of the
congress. He sought to enkindle in the other Greeks some portion of
the ardour and energy which he had succeeded in breathing into the
Athenians.
The Greeks determined to make a stand at the pass of Thermopylae, which
forms the entrance from northern into southern Greece. This pass lies
between Mount OEta and the sea. It is about a mile in length. At each
of its extremities the mountains approach so near the sea as to leave
barely room for the passage of a single carriage. The northern, or, to
speak more properly, the western Gate, was close to the town of
Anthela, where the Amphictyonic council held its autumnal meetings;
while the southern, or the eastern Gate, was near the Locrian town of
Alpeni. These narrow entrances were called Pylae, or the Gates. The
space between the gates was wider and more open, and was distinguished
by its hot springs, from which the pass derived the name of
Thermopylae, or the "Hot-Gates." The island of Euboea is here
separated from the mainland by a narrow strait, which in one part is
only two miles and a half in breadth; and accordingly it is easy, by
defending this part of the sea with a fleet, to prevent an enemy from
landing troops at the southern end of the pass.
The Grecian fleet, under the command of the Spartan Eurybiades, took up
its station off that portion of the northern coast of Euboea which
faces Magnesia and the entrance to the Thessalian gulf and which was
called Artemisium, from a neighbouring temple of Artemis (Diana). It
was, however, only a small land-force that was sent to the defence of
Thermopylae. When the arrival of Xerxes at Therma became known, the
Greeks were upon the point of celebrating the Olympic games, and the
festival of the Carnean Apollo, which was observed with great solemnity
at Sparta and in other Doric states. The Peloponnesians therefore sent
forward only 300 Spartans and 3000 hoplites from other Peloponnesian
states, under the command of the Spartan king Leonidas, a force which
they thought would be sufficient to maintain the pass till the
festivals were over. In his march northwards Leonidas received
additions from the Thespians, Phocians, and Locrians, so that he had
under his command at Thermopylae about 7000 men.
Meanwhile Xerxes had arrived within sight of Thermopylae. He had heard
that a handful of desperate men, commanded by a Spartan, had determined
to dispute his passage, but he refused to believe the news. He was
still more astonished when a horseman, whom he had sent to reconnoitre,
brought back word that he had seen several Spartans outside the wall in
front of the pass, some amusing themselves with gymnastic exercises,
and others combing their long hair. In great perplexity, he sent for
the exiled Spartan king Demaratus, who had accompanied him from Persia,
and asked him the meaning of such madness. Demaratus replied, that the
Spartans would defend the pass to the death, and that it was their
practice to dress their heads with peculiar care when they were going
to battle. Later writers relate that Xerxes sent to them to deliver up
their arms. Leonidas desired him "to come and take them." One of the
Spartans being told that "the Persian host was so prodigious that their
arrows would conceal the sun:"--"So much the better" (he replied), "we
shall then fight in the shade."
At length, upon the fifth day, Xerxes ordered a chosen body of Medes to
advance against the presumptuous foes and bring them into his presence.
But their superior numbers were of no avail in such a narrow space, and
they were kept at bay by the long spears and steady ranks of the
Greeks. After the combat had lasted a long time with heavy loss to the
Medes, Xerxes ordered his ten thousand "Immortals," the flower of the
Persian army, to advance. But they were as unsuccessful as the Medes.
Xerxes beheld the repulse of his troops from a lofty throne which had
been provided for him, and was seen to leap thrice from his seat in an
agony of fear or rage.
On the following day the attack was renewed, but with no better
success: and Xerxes was beginning to despair of forcing his way
through the pass, when a Malian, of the name of Ephialtes, betrayed to
the Persian king that there was an unfrequented path across Mount OEta,
ascending on the northern side of the mountain and descending on the
southern side near the termination of the pass. Overjoyed at this
discovery, a strong detachment of Persians was ordered to follow the
traitor. Meantime Leonidas and his troops had received ample notice of
the impending danger. During the night deserters from the enemy had
brought him the news; and their intelligence was confirmed by his own
scouts on the hills. His resolution was at once taken. As a Spartan
he was bound to conquer or to die in the post assigned to him; and he
was the more ready to sacrifice his life, since an oracle had declared
that either Sparta itself or a Spartan king must perish by the Persian
arms. His three hundred comrades were fully equal to the same heroism
which actuated their King; and the seven hundred Thespians resolved to
share the fate of this gallant band. He allowed the rest of the allies
to retire, with the exception of four hundred Boeotians, whom he
retained as hostages. Xerxes delayed his attack till the middle of the
day, when it was expected that the detachment sent across the mountain
would arrive at the rear of the pass. But Leonidas and his comrades,
only anxious to sell their lives as dearly as possible, did not wait to
receive the attack of the Persians, but advanced into the open space in
front of the pass, and charged the enemy with desperate valour.
Numbers of the Persians were slain; many were driven into the
neighbouring sea; and others again were trampled to death by the vast
hosts behind them. As long as the Greeks could maintain their ranks
they repelled every attack; but when their spears were broken, and they
had only their swords left, the enemy began to press in between them.
Leonidas was one of the first that fell, and around his body the battle
raged fiercer than ever. The Persians made the greatest efforts to
obtain possession of it; but four times they were driven back by the
Greeks with great slaughter. At length, thinned in numbers, and
exhausted by fatigue and wounds, this noble band retired within the
pass, and seated themselves on a hillock. Meanwhile the Persian
detachment, which had been sent across the mountains, began to enter
the pass from the south. The Spartan heroes were now surrounded on
every side, overwhelmed with a shower of missiles, and killed to a man.
On the hillock, where the Greeks made their last stand, a marble lion
was set up in honour of Leonidas. Another monument, erected near the
spot, contained the memorable inscription:--
"Go, tell the Spartans, thou that passest by,
That here obedient to their laws we lie."
While Leonidas had been fighting at Thermopylae, the Greek fleet had
also been engaged with the Persians at Artemisium. The Persian fleet
set sail from the gulf of Therma, and arrived in one day at almost the
southern corner of Magnesia. In this position they were overtaken by a
sudden hurricane, which blew upon the shore with irresistible fury.
For three days and three nights the tempest raged without intermission;
and when calm at length returned, the shore was seen strewed for many
miles with wrecks and corpses. At least four hundred ships of war were
destroyed, together with a countless number of transports, stores, and
treasures. The Greek fleet had been seized with a panic terror at the
approach of the Persians, and retreated to Chalcis in the narrowest
part of the Euboean straits; but upon hearing of the disaster of the
Persian fleet, they took courage, and sailed back with the utmost speed
to their former station at Artemisium. Being now encouraged to attack
the enemy, they gained some success. On the following night another
terrific storm burst upon the Persians. All night long it blew upon
the Thessalian coast at Aphetae, where the Persian ships were
stationed, thus causing little inconvenience to the Greeks upon the
opposite shore. Notwithstanding these losses, the Persian fleet still
had a vast superiority of numbers, and determined to offer battle to
the Greeks. Quitting the Thessalian coast, they sailed towards
Artemisium in the form of a crescent. The Greeks kept near the shore,
to prevent the Persians from bringing their whole fleet into action.
The battle raged furiously the whole day, and each side fought with
determined valour. Both parties suffered severely; and though the
Persians lost a greater number of ships and men, yet so many of the
Greek vessels were disabled that they found it would be impossible to
renew the combat. Under these circumstances the Greek commanders saw
that it would be necessary to retreat; and their determination was
hastened by the news which they now received, that Leonidas and his
companions had fallen, and that Xerxes was master of the pass of
Thermopylae. Having sailed through the Euboean strait, the fleet
doubled the promontory of Sunium, and did not stop till it reached the
island of Salamis.
Meanwhile the Peloponnesians had abandoned Attica and the adjoining
states to their fate, whilst they strained every nerve to secure
themselves by fortifying the isthmus of Corinth. The Athenians,
relying upon the march of a Peloponnesian army into Boeotia, had taken
no measures for the security of their families and property, and beheld
with terror and dismay the barbarian host in full march towards their
city. In six days it was calculated Xerxes would be at Athens--a short
space to remove the population of a whole city: but fear and necessity
work wonders. Before the six days had elapsed, all who were willing to
abandon their homes had been safely transported, some to AEgina, and
others to Troezen in Peloponnesus; but many could not be induced to
proceed farther than Salamis. It was necessary for Themistocles to use
all his art and all his eloquence on this occasion. The oracle at
Delphi had told the Athenians that "the divine Salamis would make women
childless,"--yet, "when all was lost, a wooden wall should still
shelter the Athenians." Themistocles told his countrymen that these
words clearly indicated a fleet and a naval victory as the only means
of safety. Some however gave to the words another meaning; and a few,
especially among the aged and the poor, resolved to shut themselves up
in the Acropolis, and to fortify its accessible or western front with
barricades of timber.
On his march towards Athens, Xerxes sent a detachment of his army to
take and plunder Delphi. But this attempt proved unsuccessful. The
god of the most renowned oracle of the Grecian world vindicated at once
the majesty of his sanctuary and the truth of his predictions. As the
Persians climbed the rugged path at the foot of Mount Parnassus,
leading up to the shrine, thunder was heard to roll, and two crags,
suddenly detaching themselves from the mountain, rolled down upon the
Persians, and spread dismay and destruction in their ranks, Seized with
a sudden panic, they turned and fled, pursued, as they said, by two
warriors of superhuman size and prowess, who had assisted the Delphians
in defending their temple.
On arriving before Athens, Xerxes found the Acropolis occupied by a
handful of desperate citizens, who made a brave resistance; but they
were overpowered and put to the sword. The temples and houses on the
Acropolis were pillaged and burnt; and Xerxes thus became undisputed
master of Athens.
About the same time the Persian fleet arrived in the bay of Phalerum.
Its strength is not accurately known, but it must have exceeded 1000
vessels. The combined Grecian fleet at Salamis consisted of 366 ships,
of which 200 were Athenian.
At this critical juncture dissension reigned in the Grecian fleet. In
the council of war which had been summoned by Eurybiades the Spartan
commander, Themistocles urged the assembled chiefs to remain at
Salamis, and give battle to the Persians in the narrow straits, where
the superior numbers of the Persians would be of less consequence. The
Peloponnesian commanders, on the other hand, were anxious that the
fleet should be removed to the isthmus of Corinth, and thus be put in
communication with their land-forces. The council came to a vote in
favour of retreat; but Themistocles prevailed upon Eurybiades to
convene another assembly upon the following day. When the council met,
the Peloponnesian commanders loudly expressed their dissatisfaction at
seeing a debate re-opened which they had deemed concluded. Adimantus,
the Corinthian admiral broke out into open rebukes and menaces.
"Themistocles," he exclaimed, "those who rise at the public games
before the signal are whipped." "True," replied Themistocles; "but
they who lag behind it never win a crown." Another incident in this
discussion has been immortalized by Plutarch. Eurybiades, incensed by
the language of Themistocles, lifted up his stick to strike him,
whereupon the Athenian exclaimed, "Strike, but hear me!" Themistocles
repeated his arguments and entreaties; and at length threatened that he
and the Athenians would sail away to Italy and there found a new city,
if the Peloponnesians still determined to retreat. Eurybiades now gave
way and issued orders for the fleet to remain and fight at Salamis; but
the Peloponnesians obeyed the order with reluctance. A third council
was summoned and Themistocles, perceiving that the decision of the
assembly would be against him, determined to effect his object by
stratagem. He secretly despatched a trusty slave with a message to
Xerxes, representing the dissensions which prevailed in the Grecian
fleet, and how easy a matter it would be to surround and vanquish an
armament both small and disunited. Xerxes readily adopted the
suggestion, and ordered his captains to close up the straits of Salamis
at both ends during the night. On the council assembling in the
morning, Aristides arrived with the news that the Grecian fleet was
completely surrounded by that of the Persians, and that retreat was no
longer possible. As the veil of night rolled gradually away, the
Persian fleet was discovered stretching as far as the eye could reach
along the coast of Attica. The Grecian fleet, being concentrated in
the harbour of Salamis, was thus surrounded by the Persians. Xerxes
had caused a lofty throne to be erected upon one of the projecting
declivities of Mount AEgaleos, opposite the harbour of Salamis, whence
he could survey the combat, and stimulate by his presence the courage
of his men.
As a battle was now inevitable the Grecian commanders lost no time in
making preparations for the encounter. The Greek seamen embarked with
alacrity, encouraging one another to deliver their country, their
wives, and children, and the temples of their gods, from the grasp of
the barbarians. History has preserved to us but few details of the
engagement. The Persian fleet, with the exception of some of the Ionic
contingents, fought with courage. But the very numbers on which they
so confidently relied, proved one of the chief causes of their defeat.
Too crowded either to advance or to retreat, their oars broken or
impeded by collision with one another, their fleet lay like an inert
and lifeless mass upon the water, and fell an easy prey to the Greeks.
A single incident will illustrate the terror and confusion which
reigned among the Persians. Artemisia, queen of Halicarnassus in
Caria, distinguished herself in it by deeds of daring bravery. At
length she turned and fled, pursued by an Athenian galley. Full in her
course lay the vessel of a Carian prince. Instead of avoiding, she
struck and sunk it, sending her countryman and all his crew to the
bottom. The captain of the Athenian galley, believing from this act
that she was a deserter from the Persian cause, suffered her to escape.
Xerxes, who from his lofty throne beheld the feat of the Halicarnassian
queen, but who imagined that the sunken ship belonged to the Greeks,
was filled with admiration at her courage, and exclaimed--"My men are
become women, my women men!"
Two hundred of the Persian ships were destroyed and sunk when night put
an end to the engagement. But notwithstanding this loss the fleet was
still formidable by its numbers. The Greeks themselves did not regard
the victory as decisive, and prepared to renew the combat. But the
pusillanimity of Xerxes relieved them from all further anxiety. He
became alarmed for his own personal safety; and his whole care was now
centred on securing his retreat by land. The best troops were
disembarked from the ships, and marched towards the Hellespont, in
order to secure the bridge, whilst the fleet itself was ordered to make
for Asia. These dispositions of Xerxes were prompted by Mardonius. He
represented to his master that the defeat, after all, was but slight;
that having attained one of the great objects of the expedition by the
capture of Athens, he might now retire with honour, and even with
glory; and that for the rest he (Mardonius) would undertake to complete
the conquest of Greece with 300,000 men. While the Persian fleet
sailed towards Asia, Xerxes set out on his homeward march. In Thessaly
Mardonius selected the 300,000 men with whom he proposed to conclude
the war; but as autumn was now approaching, he resolved to postpone all
further operations till the spring.
After forty-five days' march from Attica, Xerxes again reached the
shores of the Hellespont, with a force greatly diminished by famine and
pestilence. On the Hellespont he found his fleet, but the bridge had
been washed away by storms. Landed on the shores of Asia, the Persian
army at length obtained abundance of provisions, and contracted new
maladies by the sudden change from privation to excess. Thus
terminated this mighty but unsuccessful expedition.
Greece owed its salvation to one man--Themistocles, This was virtually
admitted by the leaders of the other Grecian states, when they
assembled to assign the prizes of wisdom and conduct. Upon the altar of
Poseidon, at the isthmus of Corinth, each chief deposited a ticket
inscribed with two names, of those whom he considered entitled to the
first and second prizes. But in this adjudication vanity and self-love
defeated their own objects. Each commander had put down his own name
for the first prize; for the second, a great majority preponderated in
favour of Themistocles. From the Spartans, also, Themistocles received
the honours due to his merit. A crown of olive was conferred upon him,
together with one of the most splendid chariots which the city could
produce.
On the very same day on which the Persians were defeated at Salamis the
Sicilian Greeks also obtained a victory over the Carthaginians. There
is reason to believe that the invasion of Sicily by the Carthaginians
was concerted with Xerxes, and that the simultaneous attach on two
distinct Grecian peoples, by two immense armaments, was not merely the
result of chance. Gelon, the powerful ruler of Syracuse, defeated
Hamilcar, the Carthaginian general, with the loss it is said of 150,000
men.
In the spring of B.C. 479 Mardonius prepared to open the campaign. He
was not without hopes of inducing the Athenians to join the Persian
alliance, and he despatched Alexander, king of Macedon, to conciliate
the Athenians, now partially re-established in their dilapidated city.
His offers on the part of the Persians were of the most seductive kind;
but the Athenians dismissed him with a positive refusal, whilst to the
Lacedaemonians they protested that no temptations, however great,
should ever induce them to desert the common cause of Greece and
freedom. In return for this disinterested conduct all they asked was
that a Peloponnesian army should be sent into Boeotia for the defence
of the Attic frontier: a request which the Spartan envoys promised to
fulfil. No sooner, however, had they returned into their own country
than this promise was completely forgotten.
When Mardonius was informed that the Athenians had rejected his
proposal, he immediately marched against Athens, accompanied by all his
Grecian allies; and in May or June, B.C. 479, about ten months after
the retreat of Xerxes, the Persians again occupied that city. With
feelings of bitter indignation against their faithless allies, the
Athenians saw themselves once more compelled to remove to Salamis.
Mardonius took advantage of his situation to endeavour once more to win
them to his alliance. Through a Hellespontine Greek, the same
favourable conditions were again offered to them, but were again
refused. One voice alone, that of the senator Lycidas, broke the
unanimity of the assembly. But his opposition cost him his life. He
and his family were stoned to death by the excited populace. In this
desperate condition the Athenians sent ambassadors to the Spartans to
remonstrate against their breach of faith, and to intimate that
necessity might at length compel them to listen to the proposals of the
enemy. The Spartans became alarmed. That very night 5000 citizens,
each attended by seven Helots, were despatched to the frontiers; and
these were shortly followed by 5000 Lacedaemonian Perioeci, each
attended by one light-armed Helot. Never before had the Spartans sent
so large a force into the field. Their example was followed by other
Peloponnesian cities; and the Athenian envoys returned to Salamis with
the joyful news that a large army was preparing to march against the
enemy, under the command of Pausanias, who acted as regent for the
infant son of Leonidas.
Mardonius, on learning the approach of the Lacedaemonians, abandoned
Attica and crossed into Boeotia. He finally took up a position on the
left bank of the Asopus, and not far from the town of Plataea. Here he
caused a camp to be constructed of ten furlongs square, and fortified
with barricades and towers. Meanwhile the Grecian army continued to
receive reinforcements from the different states, and by the time it
reached Boeotia, it formed a grand total of about 110,000 men. After
several days' manoeuvring a general battle took place near Plataea.
The light-armed undisciplined Persians, whose bodies were unprotected
by armour, maintained a very unequal combat against the serried ranks,
the long spears, and the mailed bodies of the Spartan phalanx.
Mardonius, at the head of his body-guard of 1000 picked men, and
conspicuous by his white charger, was among the foremost in the fight,
till struck down by the hand of a Spartan. The fall of their general
was the signal for flight to the Persians, already wearied and
disheartened by the fruitless contest; nor did they once stop till they
lad again crossed the Asopus and reached their fortified camp. The
glory of having defeated the Persians at Plataea rests with the
Lacedaemonians, since the Athenians were engaged in another part of the
field with the Thebans. After repulsing the Thebans, the Athenians
joined the Lacedaemonians, who had pursued the Persians as far as their
fortified camp. Upon the arrival of the Athenians the barricades were
stormed and carried, after a gallant resistance on the part of the
Persians. The camp became a scene of the most horrible carnage. The
Persian loss was immense, while that of the Greeks seems not to have
exceeded 1300 or 1400 men.
It remained to bury the dead and divide the booty, and so great was the
task that ten days were consumed in it. The booty was ample and
magnificent. Gold and silver coined, as well as in plate and trinkets,
rich vests and carpets, ornamented arms, horses, camels--in a word, all
the magnificence of Eastern luxury. The failure of the Persian
expedition was completed by the destruction of their naval armament.
Laotychides, the Spartan admiral, having sailed across the AEgean,
found the Persian fleet at Mycale a promontory of Asia Minor near
Miletus. Their former reverses seem completely to have discouraged the
Persians from hazarding another naval engagement. The ships were
hauled ashore and surrounded with a rampart, whilst an army of 60,000
Persians lined the coast for their defence. The Greeks landed on the
very day on which the battle of Plataea was fought. A supernatural
presentiment of that decisive victory, conveyed by a herald's staff
which floated over the AEgean from the shores of Greece, is said to
have pervaded the Grecian ranks at Mycale as they marched to the
attack. The Persians did not long resist: they turned their backs and
fled to their fortifications, pursued by the Greeks, who entered them
almost simultaneously. A large number of the Persians perished; and
the victory was rendered still more decisive by the burning of the
fleet.
The Grecian fleet now sailed towards the Hellespont with the view of
destroying the bridge; but hearing that it no longer existed,
Leotychides departed homewards with the Peloponnesian vessels.
Xanthippus however, the Athenian commander, seized the opportunity to
recover from the Persians the Thracian Chersonese, which had long been
an Athenian possession; and proceeded to blockade Sestos, the key of
the strait. This city surrendered in the autumn, after a protracted
siege, whereupon the Athenians returned home, carrying with them the
cables of the bridge across the Hellespont, which were afterwards
preserved in the Acropolis as a trophy.