What follows is one of the most interesting parts of Herodotus. It
exhibits the most circumstantial detail of the expedition of Xerxes
against Greece, by a writer almost contemporary. It is also impressed
with the character of authenticity, for it was recited to a multitude of
Greeks assembled at Olympia, among whom doubtless there were many who had
fought both at Salamis and Platæa.[f]
When the news of the battle of Marathon was communicated to Darius,
he, who was before incensed against the Athenians, on account of their
invasion of Sardis, became still more exasperated, and more inclined to
invade Greece. He instantly therefore sent emissaries to the different
cities under his power, to provide a still greater number of transports,
horses, corn, and provisions. In the interval which this business
employed, Asia experienced three years of confusion; her most able men
being enrolled for the Greek expedition, and making preparation for
it. In the fourth, the Egyptians, who had been reduced by Cambyses,
revolted from the Persians: but this only induced Darius to accelerate
his preparations against both nations. At this juncture there arose a
violent dispute among the sons of Darius, concerning the succession to
the throne, the Persian customs forbidding the sovereign to undertake
any expedition without naming his heir. Darius had three sons before he
ascended the throne, by the daughter of Gobryas; he had four afterwards
by Atossa, daughter of Cyrus: Artabazanes was the eldest of the former,
Xerxes of the latter. Not being of the same mother, a dispute arose
between them; Artabazanes asserted his pretensions from being the eldest
of all his father’s sons, a claim which mankind in general consent to
acknowledge. Xerxes claimed the throne because he was the grandson of
Cyrus, to whom the Persians were indebted for their liberties.
Darius having declared Xerxes his heir, prepared to march; but in the
year which succeeded the Egyptian revolt, he died; having reigned
thirty-six years, without being able to gratify his resentment against
the Egyptians and Athenians who had opposed his power. On his death,
Xerxes immediately succeeded to the throne, and from the first, seemed
wholly inclined to the Egyptian rather than the Athenian War. But
Mardonius, who was his cousin, being the son of Gobryas, by a sister of
Darius, thus addressed him:
“I should think, Sir, that the Athenians, who have so grievously injured
the Persians, ought not to escape with impunity. I would nevertheless
have you execute what you immediately propose; but when you shall
have chastised the insolence of Egypt, resume the expedition against
Athens. Thus will your reputation be established, and others in future
be deterred from molesting your dominions.” What he said was further
enforced by representing the beauties of Europe, that it was exceedingly
fertile, abounded with all kinds of trees, and deserved to be possessed
by the king alone.
[Sidenote: [485-484 B.C.]]
Mardonius said this, being desirous of new enterprises, and ambitious of
the government of Greece. Xerxes at length acceded to his counsel, to
which he was also urged by other considerations. Some messengers came
from Thessaly on the part of the Aleuadæ, imploring the king to invade
Greece; to accomplish which, they used the most earnest endeavours.
These Aleuadæ were the princes of Thessaly: their solicitations were
strengthened by the Pisistratidæ, who had taken refuge at Susa, and
who to the arguments before adduced, added others. They had among them
Onomacritus, an Athenian, a famous priest, who sold the oracles of
Musæus; with him they had been reconciled previous to their arrival
at Susa. This man had been formerly banished from Athens by the son
of Pisistratus; for Lasus of Hermione had detected him in the fact of
introducing a pretended oracle, among the verses of Musæus, intimating
that the islands contiguous to Lemnos should be overwhelmed in the ocean.
Hipparchus for this expelled him, though he had been very intimate with
him before. He accompanied the Pisistratidæ to Susa, who always spoke of
him in terms highly honourable; upon which account, whenever he appeared
in the royal presence, he recited certain oracular verses. He omitted
whatever predicted anything unfortunate to the barbarians, selecting only
what promised them auspiciously; among other things he said the fates
decreed that a Persian should throw a bridge over the Hellespont.
Thus was the mind of Xerxes assailed by the predictions of the priest,
and the opinions of the Pisistratidæ. In the year which followed the
death of Darius, he determined on an expedition against Greece, but
commenced hostilities with those who had revolted from the Persians.
These being subdued, and the whole of Egypt more effectually reduced than
it had been by Darius, he confided the government of it to Achæmenes, his
own brother, son of Darius. Achæmenes was afterwards slain by Inarus, a
Libyan, the son of Psammetichus. After the subjection of Egypt, Xerxes
prepared to lead an army against Athens, but first of all he called an
assembly of the principal Persians, to hear their sentiments, and to
deliver, without reserve, his own. He addressed them to the following
purport:
“You will remember, O Persians, that I am not about to execute any new
project of my own; I only pursue the path which has been previously
marked out for me. I have learned from my ancestors, that ever since we
recovered this empire from the Medes, after the depression of Astyages by
Cyrus, we have never been in a state of inactivity. A deity is our guide,
and auspiciously conducts us to prosperity. It must be unnecessary for me
to relate the exploits of Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius, and the nations
they added to our empire. For my own part, ever since my accession to
the throne, it has been my careful endeavour not to reflect any disgrace
upon my forefathers, by suffering the Persian power to diminish. My
deliberations on this matter have presented me with a prospect full of
glory; they have pointed out to me a region not inferior to our own in
extent, and far exceeding it in fertility, which incitements are further
promoted by the expectation of honourable revenge; I have therefore
assembled you to explain what I intend:
“I have resolved, by throwing a bridge over the Hellespont, to lead
my forces through Europe into Greece, and to inflict vengeance on the
Athenians for the injuries offered to my father and Persia. You well know
that this war was intended by Darius, though death deprived him of the
means of vengeance. Considering what is due to him and to Persia, it is
my determination not to remit my exertions, till Athens shall be taken
and burned. The Athenians, unprovoked, first insulted me and my father;
under the conduct of Aristagoras of Miletus, our dependent and slave,
they attacked Sardis, and consumed with fire our groves and temples. What
they perpetrated against you, when, led by Datis and Artaphernes, you
penetrated into their country, you know by fatal experience. Such are my
inducements to proceed against them: but I have also additional motives.
“If we reduce these and their neighbours who inhabit the country of
Pelops the Phrygian, to our power, the Persian empire will be limited by
the heavens alone; the sun will illuminate no country contiguous to ours;
I shall overrun all Europe, and with your assistance possess unlimited
dominion. For if I am properly informed, there exists no race of men, nor
can any city or nation be found, which if these be reduced, can possibly
resist our arms: we shall thus subject, as well those who have, as those
who have not, injured us. I call therefore for your assistance, which I
shall thankfully accept and acknowledge; I trust that with cheerfulness
and activity you will all assemble at the place I shall appoint. To
him who shall appear with the greatest number of well-provided troops,
I will present those gifts which in our country are thought to confer
the highest honour. That I may not appear to dictate my own wishes in
an arbitrary manner, I commit the matter to your reflection, permitting
every one to deliver his sentiments with freedom.”
When Xerxes had finished, Mardonius made the following reply:
“Sir, you are not only the most illustrious of all the Persians who
have hitherto appeared, but you may securely defy the competition of
posterity. Among other things which you have advanced, alike excellent
and just, you are entitled to our particular admiration for not suffering
the people of Ionia, contemptible as they are, to insult us with
impunity. It would indeed be preposterous, if after reducing to our power
the Sacæ, the Indians, the Ethiopians, and the Assyrians, with many other
great and illustrious nations, not in revenge of injuries received, but
solely from the honourable desire of dominion, we should not inflict
vengeance on these Greeks who, without provocation, have molested us.
“There can be nothing to excite our alarm; no multitude of troops, no
extraordinary wealth; we have tried their mode of fighting, and know
their weakness. Their descendants, who under the names of Ionians,
Æolians, and Dorians, reside within our dominions, we first subdued,
and now govern. Their prowess I myself have known, when at the command
of your father I prosecuted a war against them. I penetrated Macedonia,
advanced almost to Athens, and found no enemy to encounter.
“Beside this, I am informed that in all their military undertakings, the
Greeks betray the extremest ignorance and folly. As soon as they commence
hostilities among themselves, their first care is to find a large and
beautiful plain,[20] where they appear and give battle: the consequence
is, that even the victors suffer severe loss; of the vanquished I say
nothing, for they are totally destroyed. As they use one common language,
they ought in policy to terminate all disputes by the mediation of
ambassadors, and above all things to avoid a war among themselves: or, if
this should prove unavoidable, they should mutually endeavour to find a
place of great natural strength, and then try the issue of a battle. By
pursuing as absurd a conduct as I have described, the Greeks suffered me
to advance as far as Macedonia without resistance. But who, Sir, shall
oppose you, at the head of the forces and the fleet of Asia? The Greeks,
I think, never can be so audacious. If however I should be deceived, and
they shall be so mad as to engage us, they will soon find to their cost
that in the art of war we are the first of mankind. Let us however adopt
various modes of proceeding, for perfection and success can only be the
result of frequent experiment.”
In this manner, Mardonius seconded the speech of Xerxes.
A total silence prevailed in the assembly, no one daring to oppose what
had been said; till at length Artabanus, son of Hystaspes, and uncle to
Xerxes, deriving confidence from his relationship, thus delivered his
sentiments: “Unless, O King, different sentiments be submitted to the
judgment, no alternative of choice remains, the one introduced is of
necessity adopted. The purity of gold cannot be ascertained by a single
specimen; it is known and approved by comparing it with others. It was
my advice to Darius, your father and my brother, that he should by no
means undertake an expedition against the Scythians, a people without
towns and cities. Allured by his hopes of subduing them, he disregarded
my admonitions; and proceeding to execute his purpose was obliged to
return, having lost numbers of his best troops. The men, O King, whom you
are preparing to attack, are far superior to the Scythians, and alike
formidable by land and sea. I deem it therefore my duty to forewarn you
of the dangers you will have to encounter.
“You say that, throwing a bridge over the Hellespont, you will lead
your forces through Europe into Greece; but it may possibly happen,
that either on land or by sea, or perhaps by both, you may sustain a
defeat, for our enemies are reported to be valiant. Of this indeed we
have had sufficient testimony; for if the Athenians by themselves routed
the numerous armies of Datis and Artaphernes, it proves that we are
not, either by land or sea, perfectly invincible. If, preparing their
fleet, they shall be victorious by sea, and afterwards sailing to the
Hellespont, shall destroy your bridge, we may dread all that is bad. I do
not argue in this respect from my own private conjecture; we can all of
us remember how very narrowly we escaped destruction, when your father,
throwing bridges over the Thracian Bosporus and the Ister, passed into
Scythia. The guard of this pass was entrusted to the Ionians, whom the
Scythians urged to break it down, by the most earnest importunity. If at
this period Histiæus of Miletus had not opposed the sentiments of the
rest, there would have been an end of the Persian name.
“It is painful to repeat, and afflicting to remember, that the safety of
our prince and his dominions depended on a single man. Listen therefore
to my advice, and where no necessity demands it, do not involve yourself
in danger. For the present, dismiss this meeting; revolve the matter more
seriously in your mind, and at a future and seasonable time make known
your determination. For my own part, I have found from experience, that
deliberation produces the happiest effects. In such a case, if the event
does not answer our wishes, we still merit the praise of discretion,
and fortune is alone to be blamed. He who is rash and inconsiderate,
although fortune may be kind, and anticipate his desires, is not the less
to be censured for temerity. You may have observed how the thunderbolt
of heaven chastises the insolence of the more enormous animals, whilst
it passes over without injury the weak and insignificant: before these
weapons of the gods you must have seen how the proudest palaces and the
loftiest trees fall and perish. The most conspicuous things are those
which are chiefly singled out as objects of the divine displeasure. From
the same principle it is that a mighty army is sometimes overthrown by
one that is contemptible: for the Deity in his anger sends his terrors
among them, and makes them perish in a manner unworthy of their former
glory. Perfect wisdom is the prerogative of Heaven alone, and every
measure undertaken with temerity is liable to be perplexed with error,
and punished by misfortune. Discreet caution, on the contrary, has many
and peculiar advantages, which if not apparent at the moment, reveal
themselves in time.
“Such, O King, is my advice; and little does it become you, O son of
Gobryas, to speak of the Greeks in a language foolish as well as false.
By calumniating Greece, you excite your sovereign to war, the great
object of all your zeal: but I entreat you to forbear. Calumny is a
restless vice, where it is indulged there are always two who offer
injury. The calumniator himself is injurious, because he traduces an
absent person; he is also injurious who suffers himself to be persuaded
without investigating the truth. The person traduced is doubly injured,
first by him who propagates, and secondly by him who receives the
calumny. If this war be a measure of necessity, let it be prosecuted; but
let the king remain at home with his subjects. Suffer the children of us
two to remain in his power, as the test of our different opinions; and
do you, Mardonius, conduct the war with whatever forces you shall think
expedient. If, agreeably to your representations, the designs of the
king shall be successful, let me and my children perish; but if what I
predict shall be accomplished, let your children die, and yourself too,
in case you shall return. If you refuse these conditions, and are still
resolved to lead an army into Greece, I do not hesitate to declare, that
all those who shall be left behind will hear that Mardonius, after having
involved the Persians in some conspicuous calamity, became a prey to dogs
and ravenous birds, in the territories either of Athens or Lacedæmon,
or probably during his march thither. Thus you will know, by fatal
experience, what those men are, against whom you endeavour to persuade
the king to prosecute a war.”
When Artabanus had finished, Xerxes thus angrily replied: “Artabanus,
you are my father’s brother, which alone prevents your receiving the
chastisement due to your foolish speech. This mark of ignominy shall
however adhere to you--as you are so dastardly and mean, you shall not
accompany me to Greece, but remain at home, the companion of our women.
Without your assistance, I shall proceed in the accomplishment of my
designs; for I should ill deserve to be esteemed the son of Darius, who
was the son of Hystaspes, and reckoned among his ancestors Arsames,
Ariaramnes, Teispes, Cyrus, Cambyses, Teispes, and Achæmenes, if I did
not gratify my revenge upon the Athenians. I am well assured, that if
we on our parts were tranquil, they would not be, but would invade and
ravage our country. This we may reasonably conclude from their burning
of Sardis, and their incursions into Asia. Neither party can therefore
recede; we must advance to the attack of the Greeks, or we must prepare
to sustain theirs; we must either submit to them, or they to us; in
enmities like these there can be no medium. Injured as we have been, it
becomes us to seek for revenge; for I am determined to know what evil
is to be dreaded from those whom Pelops the Phrygian, the slave of my
ancestors, so effectually subdued, that even to this day they, as well as
their country, are distinguished by his name.”
On the approach of evening the sentiments of Artabanus gave great
disquietude to Xerxes, and after more serious deliberation with himself
in the night, he found himself still less inclined to the Grecian war.
Having decided on the subject, he fell asleep, when, as the Persians
relate, the following vision appeared to him:--He dreamed that he saw
before him a man of unusual size and beauty, who thus addressed him: “Are
you then determined, O Persian, contrary to your former resolutions, not
to lead an army against Greece, although you have ordered your subjects
to prepare their forces? This change in your sentiments is absurd in
itself, and will certainly be censured by the world. Resume therefore,
and persist in what you had resolved by day.” Having said this, the
vision disappeared.
The impression made by the vision vanished with the morning. Xerxes a
second time convoked the former meeting, and again addressed them:
“Men of Persia,” said he, “you will forgive me, if my former sentiments
are changed. I am not yet arrived at the full maturity of my judgment;
and they who wish me to prosecute the measures which I before seemed to
approve, do not remit their importunities. When I first heard the opinion
of Artabanus, I yielded to the emotions of youth, and expressed myself
more petulantly than was becoming, to a man of his years. To prove that
I see my indiscretion, I am resolved to follow his advice. It is not my
intention to undertake an expedition against Greece; remain therefore in
tranquillity.”
The Persians hearing these sentiments, prostrated themselves with joy
before the king. On the following night the same phantom appeared a
second time to Xerxes in his sleep, and spake to him as follows: “Son
of Darius, disregarding my admonitions as of no weight or value, you
have publicly renounced all thoughts of war. Hear what I say: unless you
immediately undertake that which I recommend, the same short period of
time which has seen you great and powerful, shall behold you reduced and
abject.”
Terrified at the vision, the king leaped from his couch, and sent for
Artabanus. As soon as he approached, “Artabanus,” exclaimed Xerxes, “in
return for your salutary counsel, I reproached and insulted you; but as
soon as I became master of myself I endeavoured to prove my repentance by
adopting what you proposed. This however, whatever may be my wishes, I am
unable to do. As soon as my former determinations were changed, I beheld
in my sleep a vision, which first endeavoured to dissuade me, and has
this moment left me with threats. If what I have seen proceed from the
interference of some deity, who is solicitous that I should make war on
Greece, it will doubtless appear to you, and give you a similar mandate.
This will I think be the case, if you will assume my habit, and after
sitting on my throne retire to rest in my apartment.”
Artabanus was at first unwilling to comply, alleging that he was not
worthy to sit on the throne of the king. But being urged, he finally
acquiesced, after thus expressing his sentiments: “I am of opinion, O
King, that to think well, and to follow what is well-advised, is alike
commendable: both these qualities are yours; but the artifice of evil
counsellors misleads you. Thus, the ocean is of itself most useful to
mankind, but the stormy winds render it injurious, by disturbing its
natural surface. Your reproaches gave me less uneasiness than to see that
when two opinions were submitted to public deliberation, the one aiming
to restrain, the other to countenance the pride of Persia, you preferred
that which was full of danger to yourself and your country, rejecting the
wiser counsel, which pointed out the evil tendency of ambition. Now that
you have changed your resolution with respect to Greece, a phantom has
appeared, and, as you say, by some divine interposition, has forbidden
your present purpose of dismissing your forces. But, my son, I dispute
the divinity of this interposition, for of the fallacy of dreams I, who
am more experienced than yourself, can produce sufficient testimonies.
Dreams in general originate from those incidents which have most
occupied the thoughts during the day. Two days since, you will remember
that this expedition was the object of much warm discussion: but if this
vision be really sent from heaven, your reasoning upon it is just, and it
will certainly appear to me as it has done to you, expressing itself to a
similar effect; but it will not show itself to me dressed in your robes,
and reclining on your couch, sooner than if I were in my own habit and
my own apartment. No change of dress will induce the phantom, if it does
appear, to mistake me for you. If it shall hold me in contempt, it will
not appear to me, however I may be clothed. It unquestionably however
merits attention; its repeated appearance I myself must acknowledge to
be a proof of its divinity. If you are determined in your purpose, I am
ready to go to rest in your apartment: but till I see the phantom myself
I shall retain my former opinions.”
Artabanus, expecting to find the king’s dream of no importance, did as
he was ordered. He accordingly put on the robe of Xerxes, seated himself
on the royal throne, and afterward retired to the king’s apartment.
The same phantom which had disturbed Xerxes appeared to him,[21] and
thus addressed him: “Art thou the man who, pretending to watch over the
conduct of Xerxes, art endeavouring to restrain his designs against
Greece? Your perverseness shall be punished both now and in future;
and as for Xerxes himself, he has been forewarned of the evils he will
suffer, if disobedient to my will.”
Such were the threats which Artabanus heard from the spectre, which
at the same time made an effort to burn out his eyes with a hot iron.
Alarmed at his danger, Artabanus leaped from his couch, and uttering a
loud cry, went instantly to Xerxes. After relating his vision, he thus
spake to him: “Being a man, O King, of much experience, and having seen
the undertakings of the powerful foiled by the efforts of the weak, I
was unwilling that you should indulge the fervour of your age. Of the
ill effects of inordinate ambition, I had seen a fatal proof, in the
expedition which Cyrus undertook against the Massagetæ; I knew also what
became of the army of Cambyses in their attack of Ethiopia; and lastly, I
myself witnessed the misfortunes of Darius, in his hostilities with the
Scythians. The remembrance of these incidents induced me to believe that
if you continued a peaceful reign, you would beyond all men deserve the
character of happy: but as your present inclination seems directed by
some supernatural influence, and as the Greeks seem marked out by heaven
for destruction, I acknowledge that my sentiments are changed; do you
therefore make known to the Persians the extraordinary intimations you
have received, and direct your dependents to hasten the preparations you
had before commanded. Be careful, in what relates to yourself, to second
the intentions of the gods.”
The vision indeed had so powerfully impressed the minds of both, that as
soon as the morning appeared, Xerxes communicated his intentions to the
Persians; which Artabanus, in opposition to his former sentiments, now
openly and warmly approved.
[Sidenote: [484-480 B.C.]]
Whilst everything was making ready for his departure, Xerxes saw a third
vision. The magi to whom it was related were of opinion that it portended
to Xerxes unlimited and universal empire. The king conceived himself
to be crowned with the wreath of an olive tree, whose branches covered
all the earth, but that this wreath suddenly and totally disappeared.
After the above interpretation of the magi had been made known in the
national assembly of the Persians, the governors departed to their
several provinces, eager to execute the commands they had received, in
expectation of the promised reward. Xerxes was so anxious to complete his
levies that no part of the continent was left without being ransacked
for this purpose. After the reduction of Egypt, four entire years were
employed in assembling the army and collecting provisions; but in the
beginning of the fifth he began his march with an immense body of
forces.[b]
Darius was three years in preparing for an expedition against Greece;
in the fourth Egypt revolted, and in the following year Darius died;
this therefore was the fifth year after the battle of Marathon. Xerxes
employed four years in making preparations for the same purpose; in the
fifth he began his march, he advanced to Sardis, and there wintered; in
the beginning of the following spring he entered Greece. This therefore
was in the eleventh year after the battle of Marathon; which account
agrees with that given by Thucydides.[f]
Of all the military expeditions, the fame of which has come down to us,
this was far the greatest, much exceeding that which Darius undertook
against Scythia, as well as the incursion made by the Scythians, who,
pursuing the Cimmerians, entered Media, and made themselves entire
masters of almost all the higher parts of Asia; an incursion which
afforded Darius the pretence for his attack on Scythia. It surpasses also
the famous expedition of the sons of Atreus against Troy, as well as
that of the Mysians and Teucrians before the Trojan War. These nations,
passing over the Bosporus into Europe, reduced all the inhabitants of
Thrace, advancing to the Ionian Sea, and thence as far as the southern
part of the river Peneus.
[Sidenote: [483 B.C.]]
None of the expeditions already mentioned, nor indeed any other, may at
all be compared with this of Xerxes. It would be difficult to specify
any nation of Asia, which did not accompany the Persian monarch against
Greece, or any waters, except great rivers, which were not exhausted
by his armies. Some supplied ships, some a body of infantry, others of
horse; some provided transports for the cavalry and the troops; others
brought long ships to serve as bridges; many also brought vessels
laden with corn, all which preparations were made for three years, to
guard against a repetition of the calamities which the Persian fleet
had formerly sustained, in their attempts to double the promontory of
Mount Athos. The place of rendezvous for the triremes was at Elæus
of the Chersonesus, from whence detachments from the army were sent,
and by force of blows compelled to dig a passage through Mount Athos,
with orders to relieve each other at certain regular intervals. The
undertaking was assisted by those who inhabited the mountain, and the
conduct of the work was confided to Bubares, the son of Megabazus, and
Antachæus, son of Artæus, both of whom were Persians.[b]
This incident Richardson conceives to be utterly incredible. The
promontory was, as he justly remarks, no more than two hundred miles
from Athens, and yet Xerxes is said to have employed a number of men,
three years before his crossing the Hellespont, to separate it from the
continent, and make a canal for his shipping. Themistocles, also, who
from the time of the battle of Marathon had been incessantly alarming the
Athenians with another Persian invasion, never endeavoured to support his
opinion by any allusion to this canal, the very digging of which must
have filled all Greece with astonishment, and been the subject of every
public conversation. Pococke, who visited Mount Athos, also deems the
event highly improbable, and says that he could not perceive the smallest
vestige of any such undertaking.[f]
Bury thinks that the canal was actually dug, the reason being not that
which Herodotus later suggests, a mere desire for display, but an
obedience to the axiom of Persian strategy that the army and the fleet
should not lose touch with each other. But leaving the riddle unsolved,
as needs we must, let us proceed with the narrative, Herodotus acting as
guide.[a]
Athos is a large and noble mountain projecting into the sea, and
inhabited; where it terminates on the land side, it has the appearance of
a peninsula, and forms an isthmus of about twelve stadia in breadth: the
surface of this is interspersed with several small hills, reaching from
the Acanthian Sea to that of Torone, which is opposite. Where Mount Athos
terminates, stands a Grecian city, called Sane; in the interior parts,
betwixt Sane and the elevation of Athos, are situated the towns of Dium,
Olophyxus, Acrothoum, Thyssus, and Cleonæ, inhabited by Greeks. It was
the object of the Persians to detach these from the continent.
[Illustration: THE HELLESPONT]
They proceeded to dig in this manner: the barbarians marked out the
ground in the vicinity of Sane with a rope, assigning to each nation
their particular station; then sinking a deep trench, whilst they at the
bottom continued digging, the nearest to them handed the earth to others
standing immediately above them upon ladders; it was thus progressively
elevated, till it came to the summit, where they who stood received and
carried it away. The brink of the trench giving way, except in that part
where the Phœnicians were employed, occasioned a double labour; and this,
as the trench was no wider at top than at bottom, was unavoidable. But
in this, as in other instances, the Phœnicians discovered their superior
sagacity, for in the part allotted to them they commenced by making
the breadth of the trench twice as large as was necessary; and thus
proceeding in an inclined direction, they made their work at the bottom
of the prescribed dimensions. In this part was a meadow, which was their
public place for business and for commerce, and where a vast quantity of
corn was imported from Asia.[b]
Plutarch, in his treatise _De Ira cohibenda_, has preserved a ridiculous
letter, supposed to have been written by Xerxes to Mount Athos. It was
to this effect: “O thou miserable Athos, whose top now reaches to the
heavens, I give thee in charge not to throw any great stones in my
way, which may impede my work; if thou shalt do this, I will cut thee
in pieces and cast thee into the sea.” This threat to the mountain is
however at least as sensible as the chastisement inflicted upon the
Hellespont; so that if one anecdote be true, the other may also obtain
credit.[f]
The motive of Xerxes in this work was, as far as we are able to
conjecture, the vain desire of exhibiting his power, and of leaving
a monument to posterity. When with very little trouble he might have
transported his vessels over the isthmus, he chose rather to unite
the two seas by a canal, of sufficient diameter to admit two triremes
abreast. Those employed in this business were also ordered to throw
bridges over the river Strymon.
For these bridges Xerxes provided cordage made of the bark of the biblos,
and of white flax. The care of transporting provisions for the army was
committed jointly to the Egyptians and Phœnicians, that the troops, as
well as the beasts of burden, in this expedition to Greece, might not
suffer from famine. After examining into the nature of the country, he
directed stores to be deposited in every convenient situation, which were
supplied by transports and vessels of burden, from the different parts of
Asia. Of these, the greater number were carried to that part of Thrace
which is called the “White Coast”; others to Tyrodiza of the Perinthians;
the remainder were severally distributed at Doriscus, at Eion on the
banks of the Strymon, and in Macedonia.
[Sidenote: [483-480 B.C.]]
Whilst these things were carrying on, Xerxes, at the head of all his land
forces, left Critalla in Cappadocia, and marched towards Sardis: it was
at Critalla that all those troops were appointed to assemble who were
to attend the king by land; who the commander was, that received from
the king the promised gifts, on account of the number and goodness of
his troops, we are unable to decide, nor indeed can we say whether there
was any competition on the subject. Passing the river Halys, they came
to Phrygia, and continuing to advance, arrived at Celænæ, where are the
fountains of the Mæander, as well as those of another river of equal size
with the Mæander, called Catarrhactes, which rising in the public square
of Celænæ, empties itself into the Mæander. In the forum of this city is
suspended the skin of Marsyas, which the Phrygians say was placed there
after he had been flayed by Apollo.
In this city lived a man named Pythius, son of Atys, a native of Lydia,
who entertained Xerxes and all his army with great magnificence: he
further engaged to supply the king with money for the war. Xerxes was on
this induced to inquire of his Persian attendants who this Pythius was,
and what were the resources which enabled him to make these offers: “It
is the same,” they replied, “who presented your father Darius with a
plane-tree and a vine of gold, and who, next to yourself, is the richest
of mankind.”[22]
These last words filled Xerxes with astonishment; and he could not
refrain from asking Pythius himself the amount of his wealth: “Sir,”
he replied, “I conceal nothing from you, nor affect ignorance; but as
I am able I will fairly tell you.--As soon as I heard of your approach
to the Grecian sea, I was desirous of giving you money for the war; on
examining into the state of my affairs, I found that I was possessed of
two thousand talents of silver, and four millions, wanting only seven
thousand, of gold staters of Darius; all this I give you--my slaves and
my farms will be sufficient to maintain me.”
“My Lydian friend,” returned Xerxes, much delighted, “since I first left
Persia, you are the only person who has treated my army with hospitality,
or who, appearing in my presence, has voluntarily offered me a supply
for the war; you have done both; in acknowledgment for which I offer
you my friendship; you shall be my host, and I will give you the seven
thousand staters, which are wanting to make your sum of four millions
complete.--Retain, therefore, and enjoy your property; persevere in your
present mode of conduct, which will invariably operate to your happiness.”
Xerxes having performed what he promised, proceeded on his march; passing
by a Phrygian city, called Anava, and a lake from which salt is made,
he came to Colossæ. This also is a city of Phrygia, and of considerable
eminence; here the Lycus disappears, entering abruptly a chasm in
the earth, but at the distance of seven stadia it again emerges, and
continues its course to the Mæander. The Persian army, advancing from
Colossæ, came to Cydrara, a place on the confines of Phrygia and Lydia;
here a pillar had been erected by Crœsus, with an inscription defining
the boundaries of the two countries.
On entering Lydia from Phrygia they came to a place where two roads met,
the one on the left leading to Caria, the other on the right to Sardis:
to those who go by the latter it is necessary to cross the Mæander, and
to pass Callatebus, a city where honey is made of the tamarisk and wheat.
Xerxes here found a plane tree, so very beautiful, that he adorned it
with chains of gold, and assigned the guard of it to one of the immortal
band; the next day he came to the principal city of the Lydians.
When arrived at Sardis, his first step was to send heralds into Greece,
demanding earth and water, and commanding that preparations should be
made to entertain him. He did not, however, send either to Athens or
Lacedæmon: his motive for repeating the demand to the other cities, was
the expectation that they who had before refused earth and water to
Darius would, from their alarm at his approach, send it now; this he
wished positively to know.
XERXES BRIDGES THE HELLESPONT
[Sidenote: [481 B.C.]]
Whilst he was preparing to go to Abydos, numbers were employed in
throwing a bridge over the Hellespont, from Asia to Europe; betwixt
Sestos and Madytus, in the Chersonesus of the Hellespont, the coast
toward the sea from Abydos is rough and woody. After this period, and at
no remote interval of time, Xanthippus, son of Ariphron, and commander of
the Athenians, in this place took Antayctes, a Persian, and governor of
Sestos, prisoner; he was crucified alive: he had formerly carried some
females to the temple of Protesilaus in Elæus, and perpetrated what is
detestable.
They on whom the office was imposed proceeded in the work of the bridge,
commencing at the side next Abydos. The Phœnicians used a cordage made of
linen, the Egyptians the bark of the biblos: from Abydos to the opposite
continent is a space of seven stadia. The bridge was no sooner completed,
than a great tempest arose, which tore in pieces and destroyed the whole
of their labour.
When Xerxes heard of what had happened, he was so enraged, that he
ordered three hundred lashes to be inflicted on the Hellespont, and a
pair of fetters to be thrown into the sea. We are told that he even
sent some executioners to brand the Hellespont with marks of ignominy;
but it is certain, that he ordered those who inflicted the lashes to
use these barbarous and mad expressions: “Thou ungracious water, thy
master condemns thee to this punishment for having injured him without
provocation. Xerxes the king will pass over thee, whether thou consentest
or not: just is it that no man honours thee with sacrifice, for thou art
insidious, and of an ungrateful flavour.” After thus treating the sea,
the king commanded those who presided over the construction of the bridge
to be beheaded.
These commands were executed by those on whom that unpleasing office
was conferred. A bridge was then constructed by a different set of
architects, who performed it in the following manner: they connected
together ships of different kinds, some long vessels of fifty oars,
others three-banked galleys, to the number of three hundred and sixty on
the side towards the Euxine Sea, and three hundred and thirteen on that
of the Hellespont.[23]
When these vessels were firmly connected to each other, they were secured
on each side by anchors of great length; on the upper side, because of
the winds which set in from the Euxine; on the lower, toward the Ægean
Sea, on account of the south and southeast winds. They left however
openings in three places, sufficient to afford a passage for light
vessels, which might have occasion to sail into the Euxine or from it:
having performed this, they extended cables from the shore, stretching
them upon large capstans of wood; for this purpose they did not employ
a number of separate cables, but united two of white flax with four of
biblos. These were alike in thickness, and apparently so in goodness, but
those of flax were in proportion much the more solid, weighing not less
than a talent to every cubit. When the pass was thus secured, they sawed
out rafters of wood, making their length equal to the space required for
the bridge; these they laid in order across upon the extended cables, and
then bound them fast together. They next brought unwrought wood, which
they placed very regularly upon the rafters; over all they threw earth,
which they raised to a proper height, and finished all by a fence on each
side, that the horses and other beasts of burden might not be terrified
by looking down upon the sea.
[Sidenote: [481-480 B.C.]]
The bridges were at length completed, and the work at Mount Athos
finished: to prevent the canal at this last place being choked up by
the flow of the tides, deep trenches were sunk at its mouth. The army
had wintered at Sardis, but on receiving intelligence of the above,
they marched at the commencement of the spring for Abydos. At the
moment of their departure, the sun, which before gave his full light,
in a bright unclouded atmosphere, withdrew his beams, and the darkest
night succeeded. Xerxes, alarmed at this incident, consulted the magi
upon what it might portend. They replied, that the protection of
Heaven was withdrawn from the Greeks; the sun, they observed, was the
tutelar divinity of Greece, as the moon was of Persia. The answer was
so satisfactory to Xerxes, that he proceeded with increased alacrity.
During the march, Pythius the Lydian, who was much intimidated by the
prodigy which had appeared, went to the king; deriving confidence from
the liberality he had shown and received, he thus addressed him: “Sir, I
entreat a favour no less trifling to you, than important to myself.”
Xerxes, not imagining what he was about to ask, promised to grant it, and
desired to know what he would have. Pythius on this became still more
bold: “Sir,” he returned, “I have five sons, who are all with you in this
Grecian expedition; I would entreat you to pity my age, and dispense
with the presence of the eldest. Take with you the four others, but
leave one to manage my affairs; so may you return in safety, after the
accomplishment of your wishes.”
Xerxes, in great indignation, made this reply: “Infamous man! you see
me embark my all in this Grecian war; myself, my children, my brothers,
my domestics, and my friends, how dare you then presume to mention your
son, you who are my slave, and whose duty it is to accompany me on this
occasion, with all your family, and even your wife? Remember this, the
spirit of a man resides in his ears; when he hears what is agreeable
to him, the pleasure diffuses itself over all his body; but when the
contrary happens, he is anxious and uneasy. If your former conduct was
good, and your promises yet better, you still cannot boast of having
surpassed the king in liberality. Although your present behaviour is base
and insolent, you shall be punished less severely than you deserve: your
former hospitality preserves yourself and four of your children; the
fifth, whom you most regard, shall pay the penalty of your crime.”
As soon as he had finished, the king commanded the proper officers to
find the eldest son of Pythius, and divide his body in two; he then
ordered one part of the body thrown on the right side of the road, the
other on the left, whilst the army continued their march betwixt them.
HOW THE HOST MARCHED
[Sidenote: [480 B.C.]]
The march was conducted in the following order: first of all went those
who had the care of the baggage; they were followed by a promiscuous body
of strangers of all nations, without any regularity, but to the amount of
more than half the army; after these was a considerable interval, for
these did not join the troops where the king was; next came a thousand
horse, the flower of the Persian army, who were followed by the same
number of spear-men, in like manner selected, trailing their pikes upon
the ground; behind these were ten sacred horses called Nisæan, with very
superb trappings (they take their name from a certain district in Media,
called Nisæus, remarkable for producing horses of an extraordinary size);
the sacred car of Jupiter was next in the procession, it was drawn by
eight white horses, behind which, on foot, was the charioteer, with the
reins in his hands, for no mortal is permitted to sit in this car; then
came Xerxes himself, in a chariot drawn by Nisæan horses; by his side sat
his charioteer, whose name was Patiramphes, son of Otanes the Persian.
Such was the order in which Xerxes departed from Sardis; but as often as
occasion required, he left his chariot for a common carriage. A thousand
of the first and noblest Persians attended his person, bearing their
spears according to the custom of their country; and a thousand horse,
selected like the former, immediately succeeded. A body of ten thousand
chosen infantry came next; a thousand of these had at the extremity of
their spears a pomegranate of gold, the remaining nine thousand, whom
the former enclosed, had in the same manner pomegranates of silver. They
who preceded Xerxes, and trailed their spears, had their arms decorated
with gold: they who followed him had, as we have described, golden
pomegranates: these ten thousand foot were followed by an equal number
of Persian cavalry; at an interval of about two furlongs, followed a
numerous, irregular, and promiscuous multitude.
From Lydia the army continued its march along the banks of the Caicus,
to Mysia, and leaving Mount Canæ on the left, proceeded through Atarnis
to the city Carina. Moving hence over the plains of Thebe, and passing
by Adramyttium and Antandros, a Pelasgian city, they left Mount Ida to
the left, and entered the district of Ilium. In the very first night
which they passed under Ida, a furious storm of thunder and lightning
arose, which destroyed numbers of the troops. From hence they advanced
to the Scamander; this river first of all, after their departure from
Sardis, failed in supplying them with a quantity of water sufficient for
their troops and beasts of burden. On his arrival at this river, Xerxes
ascended the citadel of Priam, desirous of examining the place. Having
surveyed it attentively, and satisfied himself concerning it, he ordered
a thousand oxen to be sacrificed to the Trojan Minerva, at the same time
the magi directed libations to be offered to the manes of the heroes;
when this was done, a panic spread itself in the night through the army.
At the dawn of morning they moved forwards, leaving to the left the towns
of Rhœteum, Ophryneum, and Dardanus, which last is very near Abydos: the
Gergithæ and Teucri were to their right.
On their arrival at Abydos, Xerxes desired to take a survey of all his
army: the inhabitants had, at his previous desire, constructed for him,
on an eminence, a seat of white marble; upon this he sat, and directing
his eyes to the shore, beheld at one view, his land and sea forces. He
next wished to see a naval combat; one was accordingly exhibited before
him, in which the Phœnicians of Sidon were victorious. The view of
this contest, as well as of the number of his forces, delighted Xerxes
exceedingly.
When the king beheld all the Hellespont crowded with ships, and all the
shore, with the plains of Abydos, covered with his troops, he at first
congratulated himself as happy, but he afterward burst into tears.
Artabanus, the uncle of Xerxes, who with so much freedom had at first
opposed the expedition against Greece, observed the king’s emotion: “How
different, Sir,” said he, addressing him, “is your present behaviour,
from what it was a few minutes since! you then esteemed yourself happy,
you now are dissolved in tears.”
“My reflection,” answered Xerxes, “on the transitory period of human
life, excited my compassion for this vast multitude, not one of whom
will complete the term of an hundred years! But tell me, has the vision
which you saw impressed full conviction on your mind, or do your former
sentiments incline you to dissuade me from this Grecian war?--speak
without reserve.”
“May the vision, O King,” replied Artabanus, “which we have mutually
seen, succeed to both our wishes! For my own part I am still so full of
apprehensions, as not at all to be master of myself: after reflecting
seriously on the subject, I discern two important things, exceedingly
hostile to your views.”
“What, my good friend, can these two things possibly be?” replied Xerxes;
“do you think unfavourably of our land army, as not being sufficiently
numerous? Do you imagine the Greeks will be able to collect one more
powerful? Can you conceive our fleet inferior to that of our enemies?--or
do both these considerations together distress you? If our force does not
seem to you sufficiently effective, reinforcements may soon be provided.”
“No one, Sir,” answered Artabanus, “in his proper senses, could object
either to your army, or to the multitude of your fleet: should you
increase their number, the more hostile would the two things be of which
I speak; I allude to the land and the sea. In case of any sudden tempest,
you will find no harbour, as I conjecture, sufficiently capacious or
convenient for the protection of your fleet; no one port would answer
this purpose, you must have the whole extent of the continent; your being
without a resource of this kind, should induce you to remember that
fortune commands men, and not men fortune. This is one of the calamities
which threaten you; I will now explain the other. The land is also your
enemy; your meeting with no resistance will render it more so, as you
will be thus seduced imperceptibly to advance; it is the nature of man,
never to be satisfied with success: thus, having no enemy to encounter
every moment of time, and addition to your progress, will be gradually
introductive of famine. He, therefore, who is truly wise, will as
carefully deliberate about the possible event of things, as he will be
bold and intrepid in action.”
Xerxes made this reply: “What you allege, Artabanus, is certainly
reasonable; but you should not so much give way to fear, as to see
everything in the worst point of view: if in consulting upon any
matter we were to be influenced by the consideration of every possible
contingency, we should execute nothing. It is better to submit to half
of the evil which may be the result of any measure, than to remain in
inactivity from the fear of what may eventually occur. You are sensible
to what a height the power of Persia has arrived, which would never
have been the case, if my predecessors had either been biassed by such
sentiments as yours, or listened to such advisers: it was their contempt
of danger which promoted their country’s glory, for great exploits are
always attended with proportionable danger. We, therefore, emulous of
their reputation, have selected the best season of the year for our
enterprise; and having effectually conquered Europe, we shall return
without experience of famine or any other calamity: we have with us
abundance of provisions, and the nations among which we arrive will
supply us with corn, for they against whom we advance are not shepherds,
but husbandmen.”
“Since, Sir,” returned Artabanus, “you will suffer no mention to be made
of fear, at least listen to my advice: where a number of things are to
be discussed, prolixity is unavoidable. Cyrus, son of Cambyses, made
all Ionia tributary to Persia, Athens excepted; do not, therefore, I
entreat you, lead these men against those from whom they are immediately
descended: without the Ionians, we are more than a sufficient match for
our opponents. They must either be most base, by assisting to reduce the
principal city of their country; or, by contributing to its freedom, will
do what is most just. If they shall prove the former, they can render us
no material service; if the latter, they may bring destruction on your
army. Remember, therefore, the truth of the ancient proverb, When we
commence a thing we cannot always tell how it will end.”
“Artabanus,” interrupted Xerxes, “your suspicions of the fidelity of the
Ionians must be false and injurious; we have had sufficient testimony
of their constancy, as you yourself must be convinced, as well as all
those who served under Darius against the Scythians. It was in their
power to save or to destroy all the forces of Persia, but they preserved
their faith, their honour, and their gratitude; add to this, they have
left their wives, their children, and their wealth, in our dominions,
and therefore dare not meditate anything against us. Indulge, therefore,
no apprehensions, but cheerfully watch over my family and preserve my
authority: to you, I commit the exercise of my power.”
Xerxes after this interview dismissed Artabanus to Susa, and a second
time called an assembly of the most illustrious Persians. As soon as
they were met, he thus addressed them: “My motive, Persians, for thus
convoking you, is to entreat you to behave like men, and not dishonour
the many great exploits of our ancestors: let us individually and
collectively exert ourselves. We are engaged in a common cause; and I the
rather call upon you to display your valour, because I understand we are
advancing against a warlike people, whom if we overcome, no one will in
future dare oppose us. Let us, therefore, proceed, having first implored
the aid of the gods of Persia.”
On the same day they prepared to pass the bridge: the next morning,
whilst they waited for the rising of the sun, they burned on the bridge
all manner of perfumes, and strewed the way with branches of myrtle. When
the sun appeared, Xerxes poured into the sea a libation from a golden
vessel, and then addressing the sun, he implored him to avert from the
Persians every calamity, till they should totally have vanquished Europe,
arriving at its extremest limits.
Xerxes then threw the cup into the Hellespont, together with a golden
goblet, and a Persian scimitar. We are not able to determine whether the
king, by throwing these things into the Hellespont, intended to make an
offering to the sun, or whether he wished thus to make compensation to
the sea, for having formerly chastised it.
When this was done, all the infantry and the horse were made to pass
over that part of the bridge which was toward the Euxine; over that to
the Ægean, went the servants of the camp, and the beasts of burden. They
were preceded by ten thousand Persians, having garlands on their heads;
and these were followed by a promiscuous multitude of all nations--these
passed on the first day. The first who went over the next day were the
knights, and they who trailed their spears; these also had garlands on
their heads: next came the sacred horses, and the sacred car; afterwards
Xerxes himself, who was followed by a body of spear-men, and a thousand
horse. The remainder of the army closed the procession, and at the same
time the fleet moved to the opposite shore: it is said that the king
himself was the last who passed the bridge.
As soon as Xerxes had set foot in Europe, he saw his troops driven over
the bridge by the force of blows; and seven whole days and as many
nights were consumed in the passage of his army. [Later authorities than
Herodotus say that the crossing took two days and that the term seven
days and nights was based first on the greatly exaggerated estimate of
Xerxes’ host, and secondly on the peculiar sanctity of the number seven.]
When Xerxes had passed the Hellespont, an inhabitant of the country
is said to have exclaimed: “Why, O Jupiter, under the appearance of a
Persian, and for the name of Jupiter taking that of Xerxes, art thou come
to distract and persecute Greece? or why bring so vast a multitude, when
able to accomplish thy purpose without them?”
When all were gone over, and were proceeding on their march, a wonderful
prodigy appeared, which, though disregarded by Xerxes, had an obvious
meaning--a mare brought forth a hare[24]: from this it might have
been inferred, that Xerxes, who had led an army into Greece with much
ostentation and insolence, should be involved in personal danger, and
compelled to return with dishonour. Whilst yet at Sardis, he had seen
another prodigy--a mule produced a young one, which had the marks of both
sexes those of the male being beneath.
Neither of these incidents made any impression on his mind, and he
continued to advance with his army by land, whilst his fleet, passing
beyond the Hellespont, coasted along the shore in an opposite direction.
The latter sailed toward the west, to the promontory of Sarpedon, where
they were commanded to remain; the former proceeded eastward through the
Chersonesus, having on their right the tomb of Helle, the daughter of
Athamas; on their left the city of Cardia. Moving onward, through the
midst of a city called Agora, they turned aside to the Gulf of Melas,
and a river of the same name, the waters of which were not sufficient
for the troops. Having passed this river, which gives its name to the
above-mentioned gulf, they directed their march westward, and passing
Ænos, a city of Æolis, and the lake Stentoris, they came to Doriscus.
Doriscus is on the coast, and is a spacious plain of Thrace, through
which the great river Hebrus flows. Here was a royal fort called
Doriscus, in which Darius, in his expedition against Scythia, had placed
a Persian garrison. This appearing a proper place for the purpose,
Xerxes gave orders to have his army here marshalled and numbered. The
fleet being all arrived off the shore near Doriscus, their officers
arranged them in order near where Sale, a Samothracian town, and Zone are
situated. At the extremity of this shore is the celebrated promontory
of Serrhium, which formerly belonged to the Ciconians. The crews having
brought their vessels to shore, enjoyed an interval of repose, whilst
Xerxes was drawing up his troops on the plain of Doriscus.[b]
THE SIZE OF XERXES’ ARMY
A curious instance of extreme critical scepticism is the opinion of
the English lexicographer, Charles Richardson: “I remain still in
doubt,” says he, “whether any such expedition was ever undertaken by
the paramount sovereign of Persia. Disguised in name by some Greek
corruption, Xerxes may possibly have been a feudatory prince or viceroy
of the western districts; and that an invasion of Greece may have
possibly taken place under this prince, I shall readily believe, but
upon a scale I must also believe infinitely narrower than the least
exaggerated description of the Greek historians.”
In Herodotus the reputed followers of Xerxes amount to 5,283,220;
Isocrates, in his _Panathenaicos_, estimates the land army in round
numbers at five million. And with them Plutarch in general agrees; but
such myriads appeared to Diodorus, Pliny, Ælianus, and other later
writers, so much stretched beyond all belief, that they at once cut off
about four-fifths, to bring them within the line of possibility. Yet what
is this, but a singular and very unauthorised liberty in one of the most
consequential points of the expedition? What circumstance in the whole
narration is more explicit in Herodotus, or by its frequent repetition,
not in figures, but in words at length, seems less liable to the mistake
of copiers?
Upon this subject, Larcher[d], who probably had never seen Richardson’s
book, writes as follows:
“This immense army astonishes the imagination, but still is not
incredible. All the people dependent on Persia were slaves; they were
compelled to march, without distinction of birth or profession. Extreme
youth or advanced age were probably the only reasons which excused them
from bearing arms. The only reasonable objection to be made to this
recital of Herodotus is that which Voltaire has omitted to make--where
were provisions to be had for so numerous an army? But Herodotus has
anticipated this objection: ‘We have with us,’ says Xerxes, ‘abundance
of provisions, and all the nations among which we shall come, not being
shepherds, but husbandmen, we shall find corn in their country, which we
shall appropriate to our own use.’ Subsequent writers have, it is true,
differed from Herodotus, and diminished the number of the army of Xerxes;
but Herodotus, who was in some measure a contemporary, and who recited
his history to Greeks assembled at Olympia, where were many who fought at
Salamis and Platæa, is more deserving of credit than later historians.”
The truth perhaps may lie betwixt the two different opinions of
Richardson and Larcher. It is not likely, as there were many exiles from
Greece at the court of Persia, that Xerxes should be ignorant of the
numbers and resources of Greece. To lead there so many millions seems at
first sight not only unnecessary but preposterous. Admitting that so vast
an army had marched against Greece, no one of common-sense would have
thought of making an attack by the way of Thermopylæ, where the passage
must have been so tedious, and any resistance, as so few in proportion
could possibly be brought to act, might be made almost on equal terms:
whilst, on the contrary, to make a descent, they had the whole range of
coast before them. With respect to provisions, the difficulty appears
still greater, and almost insurmountable. We cannot think, with Larcher,
that the numbers recorded by Herodotus are consistent with probability.
Rennell[e] says, that the Persians may be compared, in respect to the
rest of the army of Xerxes, with the Europeans in a British army in
India, composed chiefly of sepoys and native troops.
Probably Xerxes had not many more actual soldiers than the Greeks; the
rest were desultory hordes fit only for plunder, and four-fifths of the
whole were followers of the camp with rice, provisions, etc. The army
that marched under Lord Cornwallis at the siege of Seringapatam, in the
first campaign, consisted of twenty thousand troops, but the followers
were more than one hundred thousand. This is the case in all Eastern
countries.[f]
But let us hear what Herodotus has to say concerning the size of Xerxes’
horde, for after all the modern critics have only his account as a basis:
We are not able to specify what number of men each nation supplied,
as no one has recorded it. The whole amount of the land forces was
seventeen hundred thousand. Their mode of ascertaining the number was
this: they drew up in one place a body of ten thousand men; making these
stand together as compactly as possible, they drew a circle round them.
Dismissing these, they enclosed the circle with a wall breast high; into
this they introduced another and another ten thousand, till they thus
obtained the precise number of the whole. They afterwards ranged each
nation apart.
The generals in chief of all the infantry were Mardonius, son of Gobryas;
Tritantæchmes, son of Artabanus, who had given his opinion against the
Grecian war; and Smerdomenes, son of Otanes, which last two were sons of
two brothers of Darius, the uncles of Xerxes. To the above may be added
Masistes, son of Darius by Atossa; Gergis, son of Arinus; and Megabyzus,
son of Zopyrus.
These were the commanders of all the infantry, except of the ten thousand
chosen Persians, who were led by Hydarnes, son of Hydarnes. These were
called the Immortal Band, and for this reason, if any of them died in
battle, or by any disease, his place was immediately supplied. They were
thus never more nor less than ten thousand. The Persians surpassed all
the rest of the army, not only in magnificence but valour; they were
also remarkable for the quantity of gold which adorned them: they had
with them carriages for their women, and a vast number of attendants
splendidly provided. They had also camels and beasts of burden to carry
their provisions, beside those for the common occasions of the army. The
Persian horse, except a small number, whose casques were ornamented with
brass and iron, were habited like the infantry.
There appeared of the Sagartii a body of eight thousand horse. These
people lead a pastoral life, were originally of Persian descent, and used
the Persian language: their dress is something betwixt the Persian and
the Pactyan; they have no offensive weapons, either of iron or brass,
except their daggers: their principal dependence in action is upon cords
made of twisted leather, which they use in this manner: when they engage
an enemy they throw out these cords, having a noose at the extremity;
if they entangle in them either horse or man, they without difficulty
put them to death. These forces were embodied with the Persians. The
cavalry of the Medes, and also of the Cissians, are accoutred like their
infantry. The Indian horse likewise were armed like their foot; but
beside led horses they had chariots of war, drawn by horses and wild
asses. The armour of the Bactrian and Caspian horse and foot were alike.
This was also the case with the Africans, only it is to be observed that
these last all fought from chariots. The Paricanian horse were also
equipped like their foot, as were the Arabians, all of whom had camels,
by no means inferior to the horse in swiftness.
These were the cavalry, who formed a body of eighty thousand, exclusive
of camels and chariots. They were drawn up in regular order, and the
Arabians were disposed in the rear, that the horses might not be
terrified, as a horse cannot endure a camel. Harmamithres and Tithæus,
the sons of Datis, commanded the cavalry; they had shared this command
with Pharnuches, but he had been left at Sardis indisposed. As the troops
were marching from Sardis he met with an unfortunate accident: a dog ran
under the feet of his horse, which being terrified reared up and threw
his rider. Pharnuches was in consequence seized with a vomiting of blood,
which finally terminated in a consumption. His servants, in compliance
with the orders of their master, led the horse to the place where the
accident happened, and there cut off his legs at the knees. Thus was
Pharnuches deprived of his command.[b]
We give the account of the Persian fleet as stated by Herodotus, that the
reader may compare it with that which follows of Diodorus Siculus:
Phœnicians 300
Egyptians 200
Cyprians 150
Cilicians 100
Pamphylians 30
Lycians 50
Dorians 30
Carians 70
Ionians 100
Islanders 17
Æolians 60
People of the Hellespont 100
----
1207
----
According to Diodorus Siculus,
Dorians 40
Æolians 40
Ionians 100
Hellespontians 80
Islanders 50
Egyptians 200
Phœnicians 300
Cilicians 80
Carians 80
Pamphylians 40
Lycians 40
Cyprians 150
----
1200[f]
----
The commanders-in-chief of the sea forces were Ariabignes, son of Darius,
Prexaspes, son of Aspathines, and Megabazus, son of Megabates, together
with Achæmenes, another son of Darius. The other leaders we forbear to
specify, it not appearing necessary; but it is impossible not to speak,
and with admiration, of Artemisia, who, though a female, served in this
Grecian expedition. On the death of her husband she enjoyed the supreme
authority, for her son was not yet grown up, and her great spirit and
vigour of mind alone induced her to exert herself on this occasion. She
was the daughter of Lygdamis, by her father’s side of Halicarnassus,
by her mother of Cretan descent. She had the conduct of those of
Halicarnassus, Cos, Nisyros, and Calynda. She furnished five ships, which
next to those of the Sidonians, were the best in the fleet. She was
also distinguished among all the allies for the salutary counsels which
she gave the king. Such were the maritime forces.[b] Leaving this vast
armament on its prosperous course towards Greece, let us see what has
been happening meanwhile in that busy little nation.
FOOTNOTES
[20] [The Romans, in attacking an enemy, so disposed their army, as to
be able to rally three different times. This has been thought by many
as the great secret of the Roman discipline; because fortune must have
failed their efforts three different times before they could be possibly
defeated. The Greeks drew up their forces in one extended line, and
therefore depended upon the effect of the first charge.[f]]
[21] [Larcher[d] reasonably supposes that this was a plot of Mardonius
to impose on Xerxes; and that some person, dressed and disguised for the
purpose, acted the part of the ghost.]
[22] [Many wonderful anecdotes are related of the riches of individuals
in more ancient times; among which this does not seem to be the least
marvellous. The sum of which Pythius is said to have been possessed
amounted to five millions and a half of sterling money [$27,500,000];
this is according to the estimate of Prideaux; that given by Montfaucon
differs essentially. “The denii,” says this last writer, “weighed eight
modern louis-d’ors; therefore Pythius possessed thirty-two millions of
louis-d’ors” [£25,600,000, $128,000,000].
Montfaucon, relating the story of Pythius, adds these reflections:
“‘A man might in those days safely be rich, provided he obtained his
riches honestly; and how great must have been the circulation in
commerce, if a private man could amass so prodigious a sum!’ The wealth
which the Roman Crassus possessed was not much inferior; when he had
consecrated a tenth of his property to Hercules, and at ten thousand
tables feasted all the people of Rome, beside giving as much corn to
every citizen as was sufficient to last him three months, he found
himself still possessed of seventy-one hundred Roman talents, equivalent
to a million and a half of our money. The gold which Solomon employed in
overlaying the sanctum sanctorum of the Temple, which was no more than
thirty feet square and thirty feet high, amounted to four millions three
hundred and twenty thousand pounds sterling. The gold which he had in
one year from Ophir was equal to three millions two hundred and forty
thousand pounds.”[f]]
[23] [It seems a matter of certainty that Herodotus’ numbers must be
erroneous. Vessels placed transversely must reach to a much greater
extent than the same number placed side by side; yet here the greater
number of ships is stated to have been on the side where they were
arranged transversely, that is, across the channel, with their broadsides
to the stream. What the true numbers were it is vain to conjecture, it is
sufficient to have pointed out that the present must be wrong.[f]
Since the Hellespont, in the neighbourhood of Abydos, has a very
considerable bend in its course, first running northward from Abydos
towards Sestos, and then taking a pretty sharp turn to the eastward, may
it not have been, that the two lines of ships were disposed on different
sides of the angle just mentioned, by which it might truly be said, that
the ships in one line presented their heads to the Euxine, the other
their sides, although the heads of both were presented to the current?
The different numbers in the two lines certainly indicate different
breadths of the strait, which can only be accounted for by their being at
some distance from each other: for it cannot be supposed that the line
was placed obliquely across the strait.
The cables extended from each shore appear to have been for the sole
purpose of supporting the bridgeways. The ships were kept in their places
by anchors ahead and astern; by the lateral pressure of each other, and
by side-fastening.[e]]
[24] [This story will probably excite a smile from the English reader,
whom it will remind of Mary Tofts and her rabbits.--BELOE.]
[Illustration: GREEK RINGS]
[Illustration]