History of the World/History of the World (Bureau Development, Inc.)(1992).BIN/dp/0184/01847.txt

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

Part IV

     64. The Bactrians went to the war wearing a head-dress very like the
Median, but armed with bows of cane, after the custom of their country, and
with short spears.

     The Sacae, or Scyths, were clad in trousers, and had on their heads tall
stiff caps rising to a point.  They bore the bow of their country and the
dagger; besides which they carried the battle-axe, or sagaris.  They were in
truth Amyrgian ^5 Scythians, but the Persians called them Sacae, since that is
the name which they give to all Scythians. ^6 The Bactrians and the Sacae had
for leader Hystaspes, the son of Darius and of Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus.

[Footnote 5: According to Hellanicus, the word "Amyrgian" was strictly a
geographical title, Amyrgium being the name of the plain in which these
Scythians dwelt.]

[Footnote 6: "Saka" is the word used throughout the Persian inscriptions.]

     65. The Indians wore cotton dresses, and carried bows of cane, and arrows
also of cane with iron at the point.  Such was the equipment of the Indians,
and they marched under the command of Pharnazathres the son of Artabates.

     66. The Arians carried Median bows, but in other respects were equipped
like the Bactrians.  Their commander was Sisamnes the son of Hydarnes.

     The Parthians and Chorasmians, with the Sogdians, the Gandarians, and the
Dadicae, had the Bactrian equipment in all respects.  The Parthians and
Chorasmians were commanded by Artabazus the son of Pharnaces, the Sogdians by
Azanes the son of Artaeus, and the Gandarians and Dadicae by Artyphius the son
of Artabanus.

     67. The Caspians were clad in cloaks of skin, and carried the cane bow of
their country and the scymitar.  So equipped they went to the war; and they
had for commander Ariomardus the brother of Artyphius.

     The Sarangians had dyed garments which showed brightly, and buskins which
reached to the knee: they bore Median bows, and lances.  Their leader was
Pherendates, the son of Megabazus.

     The Pactyans wore cloaks of skin, and carried the bow of their country
and the dagger.  Their commander was Artyntes, the son of Ithamatres.

     68. The Utians, the Mycians, and the Paricanians were all equipped like
the Pactyans.  They had for leaders, Arsamenes, the son of Darius, who
commanded the Utians and Mycians; and Siromitres, the son of Ceobazus, who
commanded the Paricanians.

     69. The Arabians wore the zeira, ^1 or long cloak, fastened about them
with a girdle; and carried at their right side long bows, which when unstrung
bent backwards. ^2

[Footnote 1: The flowing dress or petticoat called zeira (zira), supported by
a girdle, is very similar to their present costume.]

[Footnote 2: Bows of this kind were not usual among either the Greeks or the
oriental nations.]

     The Ethiopians were clothed in the skins of leopards and lions, and had
long bows made of the stem of the palm-leaf, not less than four cubits in
length.  On these they laid short arrows made of reed, and armed at the tip,
not with iron, but with a piece of stone, ^3 sharpened to a point, of the kind
used in engraving seals.  They carried likewise spears, the head of which was
the sharpened horn of an antelope; and in addition they had knotted clubs.
When they went into battle they painted their bodies, half with chalk, and
half with vermilion.  The Arabians, ^1 and the Ethiopians who came from the
region above Egypt, were commanded by Arsames, the son of Darius and of
Artystone daughter of Cyrus.  This Artystone was the best-beloved of all the
wives of Darius; and it was she whose statue he caused to be made of gold
wrought with the hammer.  Her son Arsames commanded these two nations.

[Footnote 3: The stone used was an agate.]

[Footnote 1: The Arabians here spoken of, who served under the same commander
as the Ethiopians, were probably those of Africa, who occupied the tract
between the valley of the Nile and the Red Sea.]

     70. The eastern Ethiopians - for two nations of this name served in the
army - were marshalled with the Indians.  They differed in nothing from the
other Ethiopians, save in their language, and the character of their hair.
For the eastern Ethiopians have straight hair, while they of Libya are more
woolly-haired than any other people in the world.  Their equipment was in most
points like that of the Indians; but they wore upon their heads the scalps of
horses, with the ears and mane attached; the ears were made to stand upright,
and the mane served as a crest.  For shields this people made use of the skins
of cranes.

     71. The Libyans wore a dress of leather, and carried javelins made hard
in the fire.  They had for commander Massages, the son of Oarizus.

     72. The Paphlagonians went to the war with plaited helmets upon their
heads, and carrying small shields and spears of no great size.  They had also
javelins and daggers, and wore on their feet the buskin of their country,
which reached half way up the shank.  In the same fashion were equipped the
Ligyans, the Matienians, the Mariandynians, and the Syrians (or Cappadocians,
as they are called by the Persians).  The Paphlagonians and Matienians were
under the command of Dotus the son of Megasidrus; while the Mariandynians, the
Ligyans, and the Syrians had for leader Gobryas, the son of Darius and
Artystone.

     73. The dress of the Phrygians closely resembled the Paphlagonian, only
in a very few points differing from it.  According to the Macedonian account,
the Phrygians, during the time that they had their abode in Europe and dwelt
with them in Macedonia, bore the name of Brigians; but on their removal to
Asia they changed their designation at the same time with their
dwelling-place. ^2

[Footnote 2: The word "Bryges" in Macedonian would be identical with
"Phryges."]

     The Armenians, who are Phrygian colonists, were armed in the Phrygian
fashion.  Both nations were under the command of Artochmes, who was married to
one of the daughters of Darius.

     74. The Lydians were armed very nearly in the Grecian manner.  These
Lydians in ancient times were called Maeonians, but changed their name, and
took their present title from Lydus the son of Atys.

     The Mysians wore upon their heads a helmet made after the fashion of
their country, and carried a small buckler; they used as javelins staves with
one end hardened in the fire.  The Mysians are Lydian colonists, and from the
mountain-chain of Olympus, are called Olympieni.  Both the Lydians and the
Mysians were under the command of Artaphernes, the son of that Artaphernes
who, with Datis, made the landing at Marathon.

     75. The Thracians went to the war wearing the skins of foxes upon their
heads, and about their bodies tunics, over which was thrown a long cloak of
many colours. ^1 Their legs and feet were clad in buskins made from the skins
of fawns; and they had for arms javelins, with light targes, and short dirks.
This people, after crossing into Asia, took the name of Bithynians; ^2 before,
they had been called Strymonians, while they dwelt upon the Strymon; whence,
according to their own account, they had been driven out by the Mysians and
Teucrians. ^3 The commander of these Asiatic Thracians was Bassaces the son of
Artabanus.

[Footnote 1: The Thracians of Europe wore exactly the same costume.]

[Footnote 2: Supra, i. 28.]

[Footnote 3: Compare ch. 20 sub fin.]

     76. [The Chalybians ^4] had small shields made of the hide of the ox, and
carried each of them two spears such as are used in wolf-hunting. Brazen
helmets protected their heads; and above these they wore the ears and horns of
an ox fashioned in brass.  They had also crests on their helms; and their legs
were bound round with purple bands.  There is an oracle of Mars in the country
of this people.

[Footnote 4: There is a defect here in the text of Herodotus; the name of the
nation has been lost.]

     77. The Cabalians, who are Maeonians, but are called Lasonians, had the
same equipment as the Cilicians - an equipment which I shall describe when I
come in due course to the Cilician contingent. ^5

[Footnote 5: Infra, ch. 91.]

     The Milyans bore short spears, and had their garments fastened with
buckles.  Some of their number carried Lycian bows. ^1 They wore about their
heads skull-caps made of leather.  Badres the son of Hystanes led both nations
to battle.

[Footnote 1: That is, bows of cornel-wood.  Vide infra, ch. 92.]

     78. The Moschians wore helmets made of wood, and carried shields and
spears of a small size: their spear-heads, however, were long.  The Moschian
equipment was that likewise of the Tibarenians, the Macronians, and the
Mosynoecians. ^2 The leaders of these nations were the following: the
Moschians and Tibarenians were under the command of Ariomardus, who was the
son of Darius and of Parmys, daughter of Smerdis son of Cyrus; while the
Macronians and Mosynoecians had for leader Artayctes, the son of Cherasmis,
the governor of Sestos upon the Hellespont.

[Footnote 2: These three nations had become independent of Persia by the time
of Xenophon.]

     79. The Mares wore on their heads the plaited helmet peculiar to their
country, and used small leathern bucklers, and javelins.

     The Colchians wore wooden helmets, and carried small shields of raw hide,
and short spears; besides which they had swords.  Both Mares and Colchians
were under the command of Pharandates, the son of Teaspes.

     The Alarodians and Saspirians were armed like the Colchians; their leader
was Masistes, the son of Siromitras.

     80. The Islanders who came from the Erythraean sea, where they inhabited
the islands to which the king sends those whom he banishes, wore a dress and
arms almost exactly like the Median.  Their leader was Mardontes the son of
Bagaeus, who the year after perished in the battle of Mycale, where he was one
of the captains.

     81. Such were the nations who fought upon the dry land, and made up the
infantry of the Persians.  And they were commanded by the captains who names
have been above recorded.  The marshalling and numbering of the troops had
been committed to them; and by them were appointed the captains over a
thousand, and the captains over ten thousand; but the leaders of ten men, or a
hundred, were named by the captains over ten thousand. There were other
officers also, who gave the orders to the various ranks and nations; but those
whom I have mentioned above were the commanders.

     82. Over these commanders themselves, and over the whole of the infantry,
there were set six generals, - namely, Mardonius, son of Gobryas;
Tritantaechmes, son of the Artabanus who gave his advice against the war with
Greece; Smerdomenes, son of Otanes - these two were the sons of Darius'
brothers, and thus were cousins of Xerxes - Masistes, son of Darius and
Atossa; Gergis, son of Arizus; and Megabyzus, son of Zopyrus.

     83. The whole of the infantry was under the command of these generals,
excepting the Ten Thousand.  The Ten Thousand, who were all Persians and all
picked men, were led by Hydarnes, the son of Hydarnes. They were called "the
Immortals," for the following reason.  If one of their body failed either by
the stroke of death or of disease, forthwith his place was filled up by
another man, so that their number was at no time either greater or less than
10,000.

     Of all the troops the Persians were adorned with the greatest
magnificence, and they were likewise the most valiant.  Besides their arms,
which have been already described, they glittered all over with gold, vast
quantities of which they wore about their persons. ^1 They were followed by
litters, wherein rode their concubines, and by a numerous train of attendants
handsomely dressed.  Camels and sumpter-beasts carried their provision, apart
from that of the other soldiers.

[Footnote 1: All accounts agree in representing the use of ornaments in pure
gold as common among the Persians.]

     84. All these various nations fight on horseback; they did not, however,
at this time all furnish horsemen, but only the following: -

     (i.) The Persians, who were armed in the same way as their own footmen,
excepting that some of them wore upon their heads devices fashioned with the
hammer in brass or steel.

     85. (ii.) The wandering tribe known by the name of Sagartians - a people
Persian in language, and in dress half Persian, half Pactyan, who furnished to
the army as many as eight thousand horse.  It is not the wont of this people
to carry arms, either of bronze or steel, except only a dirk; but they use
lassoes made of thongs plaited together, and trust to these whenever they go
to the wars.  Now the manner in which they fight is the following: when they
meet their enemy, straightway they discharge their lassoes, which end in a
noose; then, whatever the noose encircles, be it man or be it horse, they drag
towards them; and the foe, entangled in the toils, is forthwith slain. ^2 Such
is the manner in which this people fight; and now their horsemen were drawn up
with the Persians.

[Footnote 2: The use of the lasso was common in ancient times to many of the
nations of Western Asia.  It is seen in the Assyrian sculptures from the
palace of Asshur bani-pal.]

     86. (iii.) The Medes, and Cissians, who had the same equipment as their
foot-soldiers.

     (iv.) The Indians, equipped as their footmen, but some on horseback and
some in chariots, - the chariots drawn either by horses, or by wild asses.

     (v.) The Bactrians and Caspians, arrayed as their foot-soldiers.

     (vi.) The Libyans, equipped as their foot-soldiers, like the rest; but
all riding in chariots. ^1

[Footnote 1: Supra, iv. 170 and 189.]

     (vii.) The Caspeirians and Paricanians, equipped as their foot- soldiers.

     (viii.) The Arabians, in the same array as their footmen, but all riding
on camels, not inferior in fleetness to horses. ^2

[Footnote 2: The speed of the dromedary being equal to that of a horse is an
error; it scarcely exceeds nine miles an hour.  The camel answers to the
cart-horse, the dromedary to the saddle-horse.  Each has one hump; the
Bactrian camel has two.  It is singular that the camel is not represented in
the Egyptian sculptures.  An instance occurs only of late time.  But this does
not prove its non-existence in Egypt, as it was there in the age of Abraham.]

     87. These nations, and these only, furnished horse to the army: and the
number of the horse was eighty thousand, without counting camels or chariots.
All were marshalled in squadrons, excepting the Arabians; who were placed
last, to avoid frightening the horses, which cannot endure the sight of the
camel. ^3

[Footnote 3: Supra, i. 80.]

     88. The horse was commanded by Armamithras and Tithaeus, sons of Datis.
The other commander, Pharnuches, who was to have been their colleague, had
been left sick at Sardis; since at the moment that he was leaving the city, a
sad mischance befell him: - a dog ran under the feet of the horse upon which
he was mounted; and the horse, not seeing it coming, was startled, and,
rearing bolt upright, threw his rider.  After this fall Pharnuches spat blood,
and fell into a consumption.  As for the horse, he was treated at once as
Pharnuches ordered: the attendants took him to the spot where he had thrown
his master, and there cut off his four legs at the hough.  Thus Pharnuches
lost his command.

     89. The triremes amounted in all to twelve hundred and seven; and were
furnished by the following nations: -

     (i.) The Phoenicians, with the Syrians of Palestine, furnished three
hundred vessels, the crews of which were thus accoutred: upon their heads they
wore helmets made nearly in the Grecian manner; about their bodies they had
breastplates of linen; ^1 they carried shields without rims; ^2 and were armed
with javelins.  This nation, according to their own account, dwelt anciently
upon the Erythraean sea, but, crossing thence, fixed themselves on the
sea-coast of Syria, where they still inhabit. This part of Syria, and all the
region extending from hence to Egypt, is known by the name of Palestine. ^3

[Footnote 1: For a description of these corselets, see Book ii. ch. 182.]

[Footnote 2: This was the characteristic of the pelta, or light targe.  It
consisted of a framework of wood or wickerwork, over which was stretched a
covering of raw hide or leather.]

[Footnote 3: The name Palestine is beyond a doubt the Greek form of the Hebrew
Philistia.]

     (ii.) The Egyptians furnished two hundred ships.  Their crews had plaited
helmets upon their heads, and bore concave shields with rims of unusual size.
They were armed with spears suited for a sea-fight, and with huge pole-axes.
The greater part of them wore breastplates; and all had long cutlasses.

     90. (iii.) The Cyprians furnished a hundred and fifty ships, and were
equipped in the following fashion.  Their kings had turbans bound about their
heads, while the people wore tunics; in other respects they were clad like the
Greeks.  They are of various races; some are sprung from Athens and Salamis,
some from Arcadia, some from Cythnus, ^4 some from Phoenicia, and a portion,
according to their own account, from Ethiopia.

[Footnote 4: Cythnus was one of the Cyclades.]

     91. (iv.) The Cilicians furnished a hundred ships.  The crews wore upon
their heads the helmet of their country, and carried instead of shields light
targes made of raw hide; they were clad in woollen tunics, and were each armed
with two javelins, and a sword closely resembling the cutlass of the
Egyptians.  This people bore anciently the name of Hypachaeans, ^5 but took
their present title from Cilix, the son of Agenor, a Phoenician.

[Footnote 5: The Cilicians were undoubtedly a kindred race to the
Phoenicians.]

     (v.) The Pamphylians furnished thirty ships, the crews of which were
armed exactly as the Greeks.  This nation is descended from those who on the
return from Troy were dispersed with Amphilochus and Calchas.

     92. (vi.) The Lycians furnished fifty ships.  Their crews wore greaves
and breastplates, while for arms they had bows of cornel wood, reed arrows
without feathers, and javelins.  Their outer garment was the skin of a goat,
which hung from their shoulders; their head-dress a hat encircled with plumes;
and besides their other weapons they carried daggers and falchions.  This
people came from Crete, and were once called Termilae; they got the name which
they now bear from Lycus, the son of Pandion, an Athenian. ^1

[Footnote 1: Vide supra, i. 173.]

     93. (vii.) The Dorians of Asia furnished thirty ships.  They were armed
in the Grecian fashion, inasmuch as their forefathers came from the
Peloponnese.

     (viii.) The Carians furnished seventy ships, and were equipped like the
Greeks, but carried, in addition, falchions and daggers.  What name the
Carians bore anciently was declared in the first part of this History. ^2
[Footnote 2: Supra, i. 171.  We may conclude from this passage that Herodotus
regarded his work as divided into certain definite portions; though of course
we are not entitled to identify these with the divisions which have come down
to us.]

     94. (ix.) The Ionians furnished a hundred ships, and were armed like the
Greeks.  Now these Ionians, during the time that they dwelt in the Peloponnese
and inhabited the land now called Achaea (which was before the arrival of
Danaus and Xuthus in the Peloponnese), were called, according to the Greek
account, Aegialean Pelasgi, or "Pelasgi of the Sea-shore;" ^3 but afterwards,
from Ion the son of Xuthus, they were called Ionians.

[Footnote 3: See Book i. ch. 145, and Book v. ch. 68.  The supposed date of
the Ionic migration was about B.C. 1050.  Danaus, Xuthus, and Ion seem to be
purely mythological personages.]

     95. The Islanders furnished seventeen ships, and wore arms like the
Greeks.  They too were a Pelasgian race, who in later times took the name of
Ionians for the same reason as those who inhabited the twelve cities founded
from Athens. ^4

[Footnote 4: That is, they received colonies from Athens.]

     The Aeolians furnished sixty ships, and were equipped in the Grecian
fashion.  They too were anciently called Pelasgians, as the Greeks declare.

     Hellespontians from the Pontus, ^5 who are colonists of the Ionians and
Dorians, furnished a hundred ships, the crews of which wore the Grecian
armour.  This did not include the Abydenians, who stayed in their own country,
because the king had assigned them the special duty of guarding the bridges.

[Footnote 5: Herodotus includes in this expression the inhabitants of the
Greek cities on both sides of the Hellespont, the Propontis, and the
Bosphorus.]

     96. On board of every ship was a band of soldiers, Persians, Medes, or
Sacans.  The Phoenician ships were the best sailers in the fleet, and the
Sidonian the best among the Phoenicians.  The contingent of each nation,
whether to the fleet or to the land army, had at its head a native leader; but
the names of these leaders I shall not mention, as it is not necessary for the
course of my History.  For the leaders of some nations were not worthy to have
their names recorded; and besides, there were in each nation as many leaders
as there were cities.  And it was not really as commanders that they
accompanied the army, but as mere slaves, like the rest of the host.  For I
have already mentioned the Persian generals who had the actual command, and
were at the head of the several nations which composed the army.

     97. The fleet was commanded by the following - Ariabignes, the son of
Darius, Prexaspes, the son of Aspathines, Megabazus, the son of Megabates, and
Achaemenes, the son of Darius.  Ariabignes, who was the child of Darius by a
daughter of Gobryas, was leader of the Ionian and Carian ships; Achaemenes,
who was own brother to Xerxes, of the Egyptian; ^1 the rest of the fleet was
commanded by the other two.  Besides the triremes, there was an assemblage of
thirty-oared and fifty-oared galleys, of cercuri, ^2 and transports for
conveying horses, amounting in all to three thousand.

[Footnote 1: Achaemenes was satrap of Egypt (supra, ch. 7).]

[Footnote 2: Cercuri were light boats of unusual length.]

     98. Next to the commanders, the following were the most renowned of those
who sailed aboard the fleet: - Tetramnestus, the son of Anysus, the Sidonian;
Mapen, the son of Sirom, ^3 the Tyrian; Merbal, ^4 the son of Agbal, the
Aradian; Syennesis, the son of Oromedon, the Cilician; Cyberniscus, the son of
Sicas, the Lycian; Gorgus, the son of Chersis, ^5 and Timonax, the son of
Timagoras, the Cyprians; and Histiaeus, the son of Timnes, ^6 Pigres, the son
of Seldomus, and Damasithymus, the son of Candaules, the Carians.

[Footnote 3: Sirom is probably the same name with Hiram.]

[Footnote 4: Merbal seems to be the Carthaginian Maharbal.]

[Footnote 5: Supra, v. 104.]

[Footnote 6: Histiaeus was king of Termera (supra, v. 37).]

     99. Of the other lower officers I shall make no mention, since no
necessity is laid on me; but I must speak of a certain leader named Artemisia,
^7 whose participation in the attack upon Greece, notwithstanding that she was
a woman, moves my special wonder.  She had obtained the sovereign power after
the death of her husband; and, though she had now a son grown up, yet her
brave spirit and manly daring sent her forth to the war, when no need required
her to adventure.  Her name, as I said, was Artemisia, and she was the
daughter of Lygdamis; by race she was on his side a Halicarnassian, though by
her mother a Cretan.  She ruled over the Halicarnassians, the men of Cos, of
Nisyrus, and of Calydna; and the five triremes which she furnished to the
Persians were, next to the Sidonian, the most famous ships in the fleet.  She
likewise gave to Xerxes sounder counsel than any of his other allies.  Now the
cities over which I have mentioned that she bore sway, were one and all
Dorian; for the Halicarnassians were colonists from Troezen, ^1 while the
remainder were from Epidaurus. ^2 Thus much concerning the sea-force.

[Footnote 7: The special notice taken of Artemisia is undoubtedly due in part
to her having been queen of Halicarnassus, the native place of the historian.]

[Footnote 1: Troezen was situated on the eastern coast of the Peloponnese.]

[Footnote 2: Epidaurus was situated on the same coast with Troezen, but higher
up, and close upon the sea-shore.]

     100. Now when the numbering and marshalling of the host was ended, Xerxes
conceived a wish to go himself throughout the forces, and with his own eyes
behold everything.  Accordingly he traversed the ranks seated in his chariot,
and, going from nation to nation, made manifold inquiries, while his scribes
wrote down the answers; till at last he had passed from end to end of the
whole land army, both the horsemen and likewise the foot.  This done, he
exchanged his chariot for a Sidonian galley, and, seated beneath a golden
awning, sailed along the prows of all his vessels (the vessels having now been
hauled down and launched into the sea), while he made inquiries again, as he
had done when he reviewed the land-force, and caused the answers to be
recorded by his scribes.  The captains took their ships to the distance of
about four hundred feet from the shore, and there lay to, with their vessels
in a single row, the prows facing the land, and with the fighting-men upon the
decks accoutred as if for war, while the king sailed along in the open space
between the ships and the shore, and so reviewed the fleet.

     101. Now after Xerxes had sailed down the whole line and was gone ashore,
he sent for Demaratus the son of Ariston, who had accompanied him in his march
upon Greece, and bespake him thus: -

     "Demaratus, it is my pleasure at this time to ask thee certain things
which I wish to know.  Thou art a Greek, and, as I hear from the other Greeks
with whom I converse, no less than from thine own lips, thou art a native of a
city which is not the meanest or the weakest in their land. Tell me,
therefore, what thinkest thou?  Will the Greeks lift a hand against us?  Mine
own judgment is, that even if all the Greeks and all the barbarians of the
West were gathered together in one place, they would not be able to abide my
onset, not being really of one mind.  But I would fain know what thou thinkest
hereon."

     Thus Xerxes questioned; and the other replied in his turn, - "O king! is
it thy will that I give thee a true answer, or dost thou wish for a pleasant
one?"

     Then the king bade him speak the plain truth, and promised that he would
not on that account hold him in less favour than heretofore.