History of the World/History of the World (Bureau Development, Inc.)(1992).BIN/dp/0184/01846.txt

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$Title{History Of Herodotus, The
Part III}
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$Date{1909}
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Title:       History Of Herodotus, The
Book:        Seventh Book, Entitled Polymnia
Author:      Herodotus
Date:        1909
Translation: Rawlinson, George

Part III

     37. And now when all was prepared - the bridges, and the works at Athos,
the breakwaters about the mouths of the cutting, which were made to hinder the
surf from blocking up the entrances, ^1 and the cutting itself; and when the
news came to Xerxes that this last was completely finished, - then at length
the host, having first wintered at Sardis, began its march towards Abydos,
fully equipped, on the first approach of spring.  At the moment of departure,
the sun suddenly quitted his seat in the heavens, and disappeared, though
there were no clouds in sight, but the sky was clear and serene.  Day was thus
turned into night; whereupon Xerxes, who saw and remarked the prodigy, was
seized with alarm, and sending at once for the Magians, inquired of them the
meaning of the portent.  They replied - "God is foreshowing to the Greeks the
destruction of their cities; for the sun foretells for them, and the moon for
us." So Xerxes, thus instructed, ^2 proceeded on his way with great gladness
of heart.

[Footnote 1: When these breakwaters were allowed to fall into decay, the two
ends of the canal would soon be silted up and disappear.]

[Footnote 2: The anecdote is probably apocryphal.]

     38. The army had begun its march, when Pythius the Lydian, affrighted at
the heavenly portent, and emboldened by his gifts, came to Xerxes and said -
"Grant me, O my lord!  a favour which is to thee a light matter, but to me of
vast account." Then Xerxes, who looked for nothing less than such a prayer as
Pythius in fact preferred, engaged to grant him whatever he wished, and
commanded him to tell his wish freely.  So Pythius, full of boldness, went on
to say -

    "O my lord!  thy servant has five sons; and it chances that all are called
upon to join thee in this march against Greece.  I beseech thee, have
compassion upon my years; and let one of my sons, the eldest, remain behind,
to be my prop and stay, and the guardian of my wealth.  Take with thee the
other four; and when thou hast done all that is in thy heart, mayest thou come
back in safety."

     39. But Xerxes was greatly angered, and replied to him: "Thou wretch!
darest thou speak to me of thy son, when I am myself on the march against
Greece, with sons, and brothers, and kinsfolk, and friends?  Thou, who art my
bond-slave, and art in duty bound to follow me with all thy household, not
excepting thy wife!  Know that man's spirit dwelleth in his ears, and when it
hears good things, straightway it fills all his body with delight; but no
sooner does it hear the contrary than it heaves and swells with passion.  As
when thou didst good deeds and madest good offers to me, thou wert not able to
boast of having outdone the king in bountifulness, so now when thou art
changed and grown impudent, thou shalt not receive all thy deserts, but less.
For thyself and four of thy five sons, the entertainment which I had of thee
shall gain protection; but as for him to whom thou clingest above the rest,
the forfeit of his life shall be thy punishment." Having thus spoken,
forthwith he commanded those to whom such tasks were assigned, to seek out the
eldest of the sons of Pythius, and having cut his body asunder, to place the
two halves, one on the right, the other on the left, of the great road, so
that the army might march out between them. ^1

[Footnote 1: Compare with this the similar story of Oeobazus (iv. 84). The
tales are important, as indicating the rigour with which personal service was
exacted among the Oriental nations, especially when the monarch was himself
going to the field.]

     40. Then the king's orders were obeyed; and the army marched out between
the two halves of the carcase.  First of all went the baggage-bearers, and the
sumpter-beasts, and then a vast crowd of many nations mingled together without
any intervals, ^2 amounting to more than one half of the army.  After these
troops an empty space was left, to separate between them and the king.  In
front of the king went first a thousand horsemen, picked men of the Persian
nation - then spearmen a thousand, likewise chosen troops, with their
spear-heads pointing towards the ground - next ten of the sacred horses called
Nisaean, all daintily caparisoned. (Now these horses are called Nisaean,
because they come from the Nisaean plain, a vast flat in Media, producing
horses of unusual size.) After the ten sacred horses came the holy chariot of
Jupiter, drawn by eight milk- white steeds, with the charioteer on foot behind
them holding the reins; for no mortal is ever allowed to mount into the car.
Next to this came Xerxes himself, riding in a chariot drawn by Nisaean horses,
with his charioteer, Patiramphes, the son of Otanes, a Persian, standing by
his side. ^3

[Footnote 2: It is plain from the whole narrative (infra, ch. 60-86, 210; ix.
31), that in the Persian army, as in the Greek, the contingents of the several
nations formed distinct and separate corps.]

[Footnote 3: The Persian monarchs fought from chariots down to the era of the
Macedonian conquest.]

     41. Thus rode forth Xerxes from Sardis - but he was accustomed every now
and then, when the fancy took him, to alight from his chariot and travel in a
litter.  Immediately behind the king there followed a body of a thousand
spearmen, the noblest and bravest of the Persians, holding their lances in the
usual manner ^1 - then came a thousand Persian horse, picked men - then ten
thousand, picked also after the rest, and serving on foot. ^2 Of these last
one thousand carried spears with golden pomegranates at their lower end
instead of spikes; and these encircled the other nine thousand, who bore on
their spears pomegranates of silver.  The spearmen too who pointed their
lances towards the ground had golden pomegranates; and the thousand Persians
who followed close after Xerxes had golden apples.  Behind the ten thousand
footmen came a body of Persian cavalry, likewise ten thousand; after which
there was again a void space for as much as two furlongs; and then the rest of
the army followed in a confused crowd.

[Footnote 1: That is, with the point upward.]

[Footnote 2: These were probably the Immortals, who are spoken of in ch. 83,
and are there said to have served on foot.]

     42. The march of the army, after leaving Lydia, was directed upon the
river Caicus and the land of Mysia.  Beyond the Caicus the road, leaving Mount
Cana upon the left, passed through the Atarnean plain, to the city of Carina.
Quitting this, the troops advanced across the plain of Thebe, ^3 passing
Adramyttium, and Antandrus, ^4 the Pelasgic city; then, holding Mount Ida upon
the left hand, ^5 it entered the Trojan territory.  On this march the Persians
suffered some loss; for as they bivouacked during the night at the foot of
Ida, a storm of thunder and lightning burst upon them, and killed no small
number.

[Footnote 3: The plain of Thebe was so called from an ancient town of that
name in the northern part of the plain, at the foot of Mount Ida.]

[Footnote 4: For the situation of Antandrus, vide supra, v. 26.]

[Footnote 5: The true Ida must have been left considerably to the right.]

     43. On reaching the Scamander, which was the first stream, of all that
they had crossed since they left Sardis, whose water failed them and did not
suffice to satisfy the thirst of men and cattle, ^6 Xerxes ascended into the
Pergamus of Priam, ^7 since he had a longing to behold the place.  When he had
seen everything, and inquired into all particulars, he made an offering of a
thousand oxen to the Trojan Minerva, while the Magians poured libations to the
heroes who were slain at Troy. The night after, a panic fell upon the camp:
but in the morning they set off with daylight, and skirting on the left hand
the towns Rhoeteum, Ophryneum, and Dardanus ^1 (which borders on Abydos), on
the right the Teucrians of Gergis, ^2 so reached Abydos. ^3

[Footnote 6: Though the Scamander of Herodotus (the modern Mendere) has a bed
from 200 to 300 feet broad, yet the stream in the dry season is reduced to a
slender brook not more than three feet deep.]

[Footnote 7: By the "Pergamus of Priam" is to be understood the acropolis of
New Ilium.]

[Footnote 1: These were all places of small importance on or near the coast.]

[Footnote 2: Supra, v. 122.]

[Footnote 3: The remains of Abydos lie a little north of the upper castle of
the Dardanelles [famous in poetry for the loves of Hero and Leander. -
E.H.B.]]

     44. Arrived here, Xerxes wished to look upon all his host; so as there
was a throne of white marble upon a hill near the city, which they of Abydos
had prepared beforehand, by the king's bidding, for his especial use, Xerxes
took his seat on it, and, gazing thence upon the shore below, beheld at one
view all his land forces and all his ships.  While thus employed, he felt a
desire to behold a sailing-match among his ships, which accordingly took
place, and was won by the Phoenicians of Sidon, much to the joy of Xerxes, who
was delighted alike with the race and with his army.

     45. And now, as he looked and saw the whole Hellespont covered with the
vessels of his fleet, and all the shore and every plain about Abydos as full
as possible of men, Xerxes congratulated himself on his good fortune; but
after a little while he wept.

     46. Then Artabanus, the king's uncle (the same who at the first so freely
spake his mind to the king, and advised him not to lead his army against
Greece), when he heard that Xerxes was in tears, went to him, and said -

     "How different, sire, is what thou art now doing, from what thou didst a
little while ago!  Then thou didst congratulate thyself; and now, behold!
thou weepest."

     "There came upon me," replied he, "a sudden pity, when I thought of the
shortness of man's life, and considered that of all this host, so numerous as
it is, not one will be alive when a hundred years are gone by."

     "And yet there are sadder things in life than that," returned the other.
"Short as our time is, there is no man, whether it be here among this
multitude or elsewhere, who is so happy, as not to have felt the wish - I will
not say once, but full many a time - that he were dead rather than alive.
Calamities fall upon us; sicknesses vex and harass us, and make life, short
though it be, to appear long.  So death, through the wretchedness of our life,
is a most sweet refuge to our race: and God, who gives us the tastes that we
enjoy of pleasant times, is seen, in his very gift, to be envious."

     47. "True," said Xerxes; "human life is even such as thou hast painted
it, O Artabanus!  But for this very reason let us turn our thoughts from it,
and not dwell on what is so sad, when pleasant things are in hand.  Tell me
rather, if the vision which we saw had not appeared so plainly to thyself,
wouldst thou have been still of the same mind as formerly, and have continued
to dissuade me from warring against Greece, or wouldst thou at this time think
differently?  Come now, tell me this honestly."

     "O king!" replied the other, "may the dream which hath appeared to us
have such issue as we both desire!  For my own part, I am still full of fear,
and have scarcely power to control myself, when I consider all our dangers,
and especially when I see that the two things which are of most consequence
are alike opposed to thee."

     48. "Thou strange man!" said Xerxes in reply - "what, I pray thee, are
the two things thou speakest of?  Does my land army seem to thee too small in
number, and will the Greeks, thinkest thou, bring into the field a more
numerous host?  Or is it our fleet which thou deemest weaker than theirs?  Or
art thou fearful on both accounts?  If in thy judgment we fall short in either
respect, it were easy to bring together with all speed another armament."

     49. "O king!" said Artabanus, "it is not possible that a man of
understanding should find fault with the size of thy army or the number of thy
ships.  The more thou addest to these, the more hostile will those two things,
whereof I spake, become.  Those two things are the land and the sea.  In all
the wide sea there is not, I imagine, anywhere a harbour large enough to
receive thy vessels, in case a storm arise, and afford them a sure protection.
And yet thou wilt want, not one such harbour only, but many in succession,
along the entire coast by which thou art about to make thy advance.  In
default then of such harbours, it is well to bear in mind that chances rule
men, and not men chances.  Such is the first of the two dangers; and now I
will speak to thee of the second.  The land will also be thine enemy; for if
no one resists thy advance, as thou proceedest further and further, insensibly
allured onwards (for who is ever sated with success?), thou wilt find it more
and more hostile.  I mean this, that, should nothing else withstand thee, yet
the mere distance, becoming greater as time goes on, will at last produce a
famine. Methinks it is best for men, when they take counsel, to be timorous,
and imagine all possible calamities, but when the time for action comes, then
to deal boldly."

     50. Whereto Xerxes answered - "There is reason, O Artabanus!  in
everything which thou hast said; but I pray thee, fear not all things alike,
nor count up every risk.  For if in each matter that comes before us thou wilt
look to all possible chances, never wilt thou achieve anything.  Far better is
it to have a stout heart always, and suffer one's share of evils, than to be
ever fearing what may happen, and never incur a mischance.  Moreover, if thou
wilt oppose whatever is said by others, without thyself showing us the sure
course which we ought to take, thou art as likely to lead us into failure as
they who advise differently; for thou art but on a par with them.  And as for
that sure course, how canst thou show it us when thou art but a man?  I do not
believe thou canst. Success for the most part attends those who act boldly,
not those who weigh everything, and are slack to venture.  Thou seest to how
great a height the power of Persia has now reached - never would it have grown
to this point if they who sate upon the throne before me had been like-minded
with thee, or even, though not like-minded, had listened to councillors of
such a spirit.  'Twas by brave ventures that they extended their sway; for
great empires can only be conquered by great risks.  We follow then the
example of our fathers in making this march; and we set forward at the best
season of the year; so, when we have brought Europe under us, we shall return,
without suffering from want or experiencing any other calamity.  For while on
the one hand we carry vast stores of provisions with us, on the other we shall
have the grain of all the countries and nations that we attack; since our
march is not directed against a pastoral people, but against men who are
tillers of the ground."

     51. Then said Artabanus - "If, sire, thou art determined that we shall
not fear anything, at least hearken to a counsel which I wish to offer; for
when the matters in hand are so many, one cannot but have much to say.  Thou
knowest that Cyrus the son of Cambyses reduced and made tributary to the
Persians all the race of the Ionians, except only those of Attica. ^1 Now my
advice is, that thou on no account lead forth these men against their fathers;
^2 since we are well able to overcome them without such aid.  Their choice, if
we take them with us to the war, lies between showing themselves the most
wicked of men by helping to enslave their fatherland, or the most righteous by
joining in the struggle to keep it free.  If then they choose the side of
injustice, they will do us but scant good; while if they determine to act
justly, they may greatly injure our host.  Lay thou to heart the old proverb,
which says truly, 'The beginning and end of a matter are not always seen at
once.'"

[Footnote 1: This, of course, was not true; but the Persians might not
unnaturally be supposed ignorant of all the Ionians of Europe except the
Athenians.]

[Footnote 2: Vida infra, viii. 22, where Themistocles makes use of the same
argument.]

     52. "Artabanus," answered Xerxes, "there is nothing in all that thou hast
said, wherein thou art so wholly wrong as in this, that thou suspectest the
faith of the Ionians.  Have they not given us the surest proof of their
attachment, - a proof which thou didst thyself witness, and likewise all those
who fought with Darius against the Scythians?  When it lay wholly with them to
save or to destroy the entire Persian army, they dealt by us honourably and
with good faith, and did us no hurt at all. Besides, they will leave behind
them in our country their wives, their children, and their properties - can it
then be conceived that they will attempt rebellion?  Have no fear, therefore,
on this score; but keep a brave heart and uphold my house and empire.  To
thee, and thee only, do I intrust my sovereignty."

     53. After Xerxes had thus spoken, and had sent Artabanus away to return
to Susa, he summoned before him all the Persians of most repute, and when they
appeared, addressed them in these words: -

     "Persians, I have brought you together because I wished to exhort you to
behave bravely, and not to sully with disgrace the former achievements of the
Persian people, which are very great and famous.  Rather let us one and all,
singly and jointly, exert ourselves to the uttermost; for the matter wherein
we are engaged concerns the common weal.  Strain every nerve, then, I beseech
you, in this war.  Brave warriors are the men we march against, if report says
true; and such that, if we conquer them, there is not a people in all the
world which will venture thereafter to withstand our arms.  And now let us
offer prayers to the gods ^1 who watch over the welfare of Persia, and then
cross the channel."

[Footnote 1: Ormuzd is spoken of throughout the Inscriptions as "the chief of
the gods." [See chap. on "Persian Religion," in Menzies' Hist. of Religion. -
E. H. B.]]

     54. All that day the preparations for the passage continued; and on the
morrow they burnt all kinds of spices upon the bridges, and strewed the way
with myrtle-boughs, while they waited anxiously for the sun, which they hoped
to see as he rose.  And now the sun appeared; and Xerxes took a golden goblet
and poured from it a libation into the sea, praying the while with his face
turned to the sun, "that no misfortune might befall him such as to hinder his
conquest of Europe, until he had penetrated to its uttermost boundaries."
After he had prayed, he cast the golden cup into the Hellespont, and with it a
golden bowl, and a Persian sword of the kind which they call acinaces. ^1 I
cannot say for certain whether it was as an offering to the sun-god that he
threw these things into the deep, or whether he had repented of having
scourged the Hellespont, and thought by his gifts to make amends to the sea
for what he had done.

[Footnote 1: The Persian acinaces was a short sword, not a scymitar.  It was
straight, not curved.]

     55. When, however, his offerings were made, the army began to cross; and
the foot-soldiers, with the horsemen, passed over by one of the bridges - that
(namely) which lay towards the Euxine - while the sumpter- beasts and the
camp-followers passed by the other, which looked on the Egean.  Foremost went
the Ten Thousand Persians, all wearing garlands upon their heads; and after
them a mixed multitude of many nations.  These crossed upon the first day.

     On the next day the horsemen began the passage; and with them went the
soldiers who carried their spears with the point downwards, garlanded, like
the Ten Thousand; - then came the sacred horses and the sacred chariot; next
Xerxes with his lancers and the thousand horse; then the rest of the army.  At
the same time the ships sailed over to the opposite shore.  According,
however, to another account which I have heard, the king crossed the last.

     56. As soon as Xerxes had reached the European side, he stood to
contemplate his army as they crossed under the lash.  And the crossing
continued during seven days and seven nights, without rest or pause.  'Tis
said that here, after Xerxes had made the passage, a Hellespontian exclaimed -

     "Why, O Jove, dost thou, in the likeness of a Persian man, and with the
name of Xerxes instead of thine own, lead the whole race of mankind to the
destruction of Greece?  It would have been as easy for thee to destroy it
without their aid!"

     57. When the whole army had crossed, and the troops were now upon their
march, a strange prodigy appeared to them, whereof the king made no account,
though its meaning was not difficult to conjecture.  Now the prodigy was this:
- a mare brought forth a hare.  Hereby it was shown plainly enough, that
Xerxes would lead forth his host against Greece with mighty pomp and
splendour, but, in order to reach again the spot from which he set out, would
have to run for his life.  There had also been another portent, while Xerxes
was still at Sardis - a mule dropped a foal, neither male nor female; but this
likewise was disregarded.

     58. So Xerxes, despising the omens, marched forwards; and his land army
accompanied him.  But the fleet held an opposite course, and, sailing to the
mouth of the Hellespont, made its way along the shore.  Thus the fleet
proceeded westward, making for Cape Sarpedon, ^1 where the orders were that it
should await the coming up of the troops; but the land army marched eastward
along the Chersonese, leaving on the right the tomb of Helle, the daughter of
Athamas, and on the left the city of Cardia. Having passed through the town
which is called Agora, they skirted the shores of the Gulf of Melas, and then
crossed the river Melas, whence the gulf takes its name, the waters of which
they found too scanty to supply the host.  From this point their march was to
the west; and after passing Aenos, ^2 an Aeolian settlement, and likewise Lake
Stentoris, ^3 they came to Doriscus.

[Footnote 1: The modern Cape Gremea.]

[Footnote 2: Aenos retains its name almost unchanged in the modern Enos (lat.
40 Degrees 45', long. 26 Degrees 4').]

[Footnote 3: Herodotus appears to intend the vast lake or marsh on the left
bank of the Hebrus (Maritza), near its mouth, which is one of the most
remarkable features of this district.]

     59. The name Doriscus is given to a beach and a vast plain upon the coast
of Thrace, through the middle of which flows the strong stream of the Hebrus.
Here was the royal fort which is likewise called Doriscus, where Darius had
maintained a Persian garrison ever since the time when he attacked the
Scythians.  This place seemed to Xerxes a convenient spot for reviewing and
numbering his soldiers; which things accordingly he proceeded to do.  The
sea-captains, who had brought the fleet to Doriscus, were ordered to take the
vessels to the beach adjoining, where Sale stands, a city of the
Samothracians, and Zone, another city.  The beach extends to Serrheum, ^4 the
well-known promontory; the whole district in former times was inhabited by the
Ciconians. ^5 Here then the captains were to bring their ships, and to haul
them ashore for refitting, while Xerxes at Doriscus was employed in numbering
the soldiers.

[Footnote 4: Serrheum is undoubtedly Cape Makri.  It lay east of Mesambria.]

[Footnote 5: The Ciconians were among the most celebrated of the early
Thracian tribes.  Homer represents them as inhabiting this same tract at the
time of the Trojan war (Odyss. ix. 39-59).]

     60. What the exact number of the troops of each nation was I cannot say
with certainty - for it is not mentioned by any one - but the whole land army
together was found to amount to one million seven hundred thousand men.  The
manner in which the numbering took place was the following.  A body of ten
thousand men was brought to a certain place, and the men were made to stand as
close together as possible; after which a circle was drawn around them, and
the men were let go: then where the circle had been, a fence was built about
the height of a man's middle; and the enclosure was filled continually with
fresh troops, till the whole army had in this way been numbered.  When the
numbering was over, the troops were drawn up according to their several
nations.

     61. Now these were the nations that took part in this expedition. The
Persians, who wore on their heads the soft hat called the tiara, and about
their bodies, tunics with sleeves, of divers colours, having iron scales upon
them like the scales of a fish.  Their legs were protected by trousers; and
they bore wicker shields for bucklers; their quivers hanging at their backs,
and their arms being a short spear, a bow of uncommon size, and arrows of
reed.  They had likewise daggers suspended from their girdles along their
right thighs.  Otanes, the father of Xerxes' wife, Amestris, was their leader.
This people was known to the Greeks in ancient times by the name of
Cephenians; but they called themselves and were called by their neighbours,
Artaeans.  It was not till Perseus, the son of Jove and Danae, visited Cepheus
the son of Belus, and, marrying his daughter Andromeda, had by her a son
called Perses (whom he left behind him in the country because Cepheus had no
male offspring), that the nation took from this Perses the name of Persians.
^1

[Footnote 1: Vide infra, ch. 150.]

     62. The Medes had exactly the same equipment as the Persians; and indeed
the dress common to both is not so much Persian as Median. ^2 They had for
commander Tigranes, of the race of the Achaemenids.  These Medes were called
anciently by all people Arians; but when Medea, the Colchian, came to them
from Athens, they changed their name.  Such is the account which they
themselves give.

[Footnote 2: Compare Book i. ch. 135. where the adoption by the Persians of
the ordinary Median costume is mentioned.  It appears by this passage that
they likewise adopted their military equipment.]

     The Cissians were equipped in the Persian fashion, except in one respect:
- they wore on their heads, instead of hats, fillets. ^1 Anaphes, the son of
Otanes, commanded them.

[Footnote 1: The fillets, which was worn also by the Cyprian princes in the
fleet of Xerxes (infra, ch. 90), and by the Babylonians as part of their
ordinary costume (supra, i. 195), was regarded both by Greeks and Romans as a
token of effeminacy.  It is generally thought to have been a sort of turban.]

     The Hyrcanians were likewise armed in the same way as the Persians. Their
leader was Megapanus, the same who was afterwards satrap of Babylon.

     63. The Assyrians went to the war with helmets upon their heads made of
brass, and plaited in a strange fashion which it is not easy to describe.
They carried shields, lances, and daggers very like the Egyptian; but in
addition, they had wooden clubs knotted with iron, and linen corselets. ^2
This people, whom the Greeks call Syrians, are called Assyrians by the
barbarians. ^3 The Chaldaeans ^4 served in their ranks, and they had for
commander Otaspes, the son of Artachaeus.

[Footnote 2: This description agrees tolerably, but not quite exactly, with
the costume seen in the sculptures.  The difference is not surprising, as the
latest sculptures are at the least two centuries earlier than the time of
Xerxes.]

[Footnote 3: "Syrian" and "Assyrian" are in reality two entirely different
words.  "Syrian is nothing but a variant of "Tyrian."]

[Footnote 4: Herodotus seems here to use the word "Chaldaean" in an ethnic
sense, and to designate, not the priest-caste of his first Book (chs. 181-
183), but the inhabitants of lower Babylonia.]