During the invasion of Xerxes, all the Grecian cities in his passage
were subdued or felt the disastrous effects of his vengeance. The
Athenians, too proud to submit, and too weak to defend themselves alone
by land, sent to consult the oracle at Delphi. The god replied: “_It
is only within walls of wood the city will find safety_.” Themistocles
persuaded the people that Apollo ordered them to instantly quit their
city, and embark on board a good fleet, after having provided places of
security for their wives and children. In consequence of this advice,
they embarked, after having sent their aged, their women, and their
children, to Trozene, in the Peloponnesus. We cannot imagine a more
affecting spectacle than the departure of this fleet; the unfortunate
inhabitants kept their eyes, bathed in tears, fixed upon their
abandoned homes till distance or darkness rendered them invisible. The
very animals shared the common grief, running along the shore, and
seeming to call back their masters by their cries. It is said that a
dog belonging to Xantippus, the father of Pericles, threw himself into
the sea, and swam by the side of his vessel till it reached Salamis,
where it sunk exhausted upon the beach and died. This imaginative
people erected a monument to this faithful dog, called “The Grave of
the Dog.” In the mean time, the Persian army entered Athens, forced the
citadel, defended to the last by a small number of self-devoted men,
and reduced the superb city to ashes.