I am unable to speak against the oracles as not being true, nor wish to impugn the authority of those that speak clearly, when I look on such occurrences as the following: "When they shall bridge with ships the sacred shore of Diana with the golden sword, and sea-girt Cynosura, having with mad hope destroyed beautiful Athens, then divine Vengeance shall quench strong Presumption, son of Insolence, when thinking to subvert all things. For brass shall engage with brass, and Mars shall redden the sea with blood. Then the far-thundering son of Saturn and benign victory shall bring a day of freedom to Greece." Looking on such occurrences, and regarding Bacis, who spoke thus clearly, I neither dare myself say anything in contradiction to oracles, nor allow others to do so.

There was great altercation between the generals at Salamis: and they did not yet know that the barbarians had surrounded them with their ships; but they supposed that they were in the same place as they had seen them stationed in during the day. While the generals were disputing, Aristides, son of Lysimachus, crossed over from Ægina; he was an Athenian, but had been banished by ostracism: having heard of his manner of life, I consider him to have been the best and most upright man in Athens. This person, standing at the entrance of the council, called Themistocles out, who was not indeed his friend, but his most bitter enemy; yet, from the greatness of the impending danger, he forgot that, and called him, wishing to confer with him; for he had already heard that those from Peloponnesus were anxious to get the ships under way for the isthmus. When Themistocles came out to him, Aristides spoke as follows: "It is right that we should strive, both on other occasions, and particularly on this, which of us shall do the greatest service to our country. I assure you that to say little or much to the Peloponnesians about sailing hence is the same thing; for I, an eye-witness, tell you, now, even if they would, neither the Corinthians, nor Eurybiades himself, will be able to sail away; for we are on all sides inclosed by the enemy. Go in, therefore, and acquaint them with this." He answered as follows: "You both give very useful advice, and have brought good news; for you are come yourself as an eye-witness of what I wished should happen. Know, then, that what has been done by the Medes proceeds from me. For it was necessary, since the Greeks would not willingly come to an engagement, that they should be compelled to it against their will. But do you, since you come bringing good news, announce it to them

yourself, for if I tell them I shall appear to speak from my own invention, and shall not persuade them, as if the barbarians were doing no such thing. But do you go in, and inform them how the case is: and when you have informed them, if they are persuaded, so much the better; but if they attach no credit to what you say, it will be the same to us: for they can no longer escape by flight, if, as you say, we are surrounded on all sides." Aristides, going in, gave this account, saying that he came from Egina, and with difficulty sailed through unperceived by those that were stationed round; for that the whole Grecian fleet was surrounded by the ships of Xerxes. He advised them, therefore, to prepare themselves for their defence. And he, having said this, withdrew; a dispute, however, again arose, for the greater part of the generals gave no credit to the report. While they were still in doubt there arrived a trireme of Tenians that had deserted, which Panætius, son of Socimenes, commanded, and which brought an account of the whole truth. For that action the name of the Tenians was engraved on the tripod at Delphi, among those who had defeated the barbarians. With this ship that came over at Salamis, and with the Lemnian before, off Artemisium, the Grecian fleet was made up to the full number of three hundred and eighty ships; for before it wanted two of that number.

When the account given by the Tenians was credited by the Greeks, they prepared for an engagement. Day dawned, and when they had mustered the marines, Themistocles, above all the others, harangued them most eloquently. His speech was entirely taken up in contrasting better things with worse, exhorting them to choose the best of all those things which depended on the nature and condition of man. Having finished his speech, he ordered them to go on board their ships: they accordingly were going on board, when the trireme from Ægina, which had gone to fetch the acidæ, returned. Thereupon the Greeks got all their ships under way. When they were under way, the barbarians immediately fell upon them. Now all the other Greeks began to back water and made for the shore; but Aminias of Pallene, an Athenian, being carried onward, attacked a ship; and his ship becoming entangled with the other, and the crew not being able to clear, the rest thereupon coming to the assistance of Aminias, engaged. Thus the Athenians say the battle began; but the Æginetæ affirm that the ship which went to Egina to fetch the acidæ was the first to begin. This is also said, that a phantom of a woman appeared to them, and that on her

appearance she cheered them on, so that the whole fleet of the Greeks heard her, after she had first reproached them in these words, "Dastards, how long will you back water?" Opposite the Athenians the Phoenicians were drawn up, for they occupied the wing toward Eleusis and westward; opposite the Lacedæmonians, the Ionians occupied the wing toward the east and the Piræus. Of these some few behaved ill on purpose, in compliance with the injunctions of Themistocles; but most of them, not so. I am able to mention the names of several captains of triremes who took Grecian ships; but I shall make no use of them, except of Theomestor, son of Androdamas, and Phylacus, son of Histiæus, both Samians. I mention these two only for this reason, because Theomestor, on account of this exploit, was made tyrant of Samos by the appointment of the Persians; and Phylacus was inscribed as a benefactor of the king, and a large tract of land was given him. The benefactors of the king are called in the Persian language Orosange. Such was the case with regard to these men. The greater part of the ships were run down at Salamis; some being destroyed by the Athenians, others by the Æginetæ. For as the Greeks fought in good order, in line, but the barbarians were neither properly formed nor did anything with judgment, such an event as did happen was likely to occur. However, they were and proved themselves to be far braver on this day than off Euboea, every one exerting himself vigorously, and dreading Xerxes; for each thought that he himself was observed by the king.

As regards the rest, of some of them I am unable to say with certainty how each of the barbarians or Greeks fought; but with respect to Artemisia, the following incident occurred, by which she obtained still greater credit with the king: for when the king's forces were in great confusion, at that moment the ship of Artemisia was chased by an Attic ship, and she not being able to escape, for before her were other friendly ships, and her own happened to be nearest the enemy, she resolved to do that which succeeded in the attempt. For being pursued by the Athenian, she bore down upon a friendly ship, manned by Calyndians, and with Damasithymus himself, King of the Calyndians, on board; whether she had any quarrel with him while they were at the Hellespont I am unable to say, or whether she did it on purpose, or whether the ship of the Calyndians happened by chance to be in her way; however, she ran it down, and sunk it, and by good fortune gained a double advantage to herself. For the captain of the Attic ship, when he saw her bearing down on a ship of the bar

barians, concluding Artemisia's ship to be either a Grecian or one that had deserted from the enemy and was assisting them, turned aside and attacked others. In the first place this was the result to her, that she escaped and did not perish; and in the next, it fell out that she having done an injury, in consequence of it, became more in favour with Xerxes. For it is said that Xerxes, looking still on, observed her ship making the attack, and that some near him said, “Sire, do you see Artemisia, how well she fights, and has sunk one of the enemy's ships?" Whereupon he asked if it was in truth the exploit of Artemisia: they answered that they knew the ensign of her ship perfectly well; but they thought that it was an enemy that was sunk. For, as has been mentioned, other things turned out fortunately for her, and this in particular, that no one of the crew of the Calyndian ship was saved so as to accuse her. And it is related that Xerxes said in answer to their remarks, "My men have become women, and my women, men." They relate that Xerxes said this.

In this battle perished the admiral Ariabignes, son of Darius and brother of Xerxes, and many other illustrious men of the Persians and Medes, and the other allies; but only some few of the Greeks: for as they knew how to swim, they whose ships were destroyed, and who did not perish in actual conflict, swam safe to Salamis; whereas many of the barbarians, not knowing how to swim, perished in the sea. When the foremost ships were put to flight, then the greatest numbers were destroyed; for those who were stationed behind, endeavouring to pass on with their ships to the front, that they, too, might give the king some proof of their courage, fell foul of their own flying ships. The following event also occurred in this confusion: some Phoenicians, whose ships. were destroyed, going to the king, accused the Ionians that their ships had perished by their means, for that they had betrayed him. It, however, turned out that the Ionian captains were not put to death, but that those Phoenicians who accused them received the following reward: for while they were yet speaking, a Samothracian ship bore down on an Athenian ship; the Athenian was sunk, and an Eginetan ship coming up, sunk the ship of the Samothracians. But the Samothracians being javelin-men, by hurling their javelins, drove the marines from the ship that had sunk them, and boarded and got possession of it. This action saved the Ionians; for when Xerxes saw them perform so great an exploit, he turned round to the Phoenicians, as being above measure grieved, and ready to blame all, and ordered their heads to be

struck off, that they who had proved themselves cowards might no more accuse those who were braver. (For whenever Xerxes saw any one of his own men performing a gallant action in the sea-fight, being seated at the foot of the mountain opposite Salamis, which is called Ægaleos, he inquired the name of the person who did it, and his secretaries wrote down the family and country of the captain of the trireme.) Moreover, Ariaramnes, a Persian, who was a friend to the Ionians, and happened to be present, contributed to the ruin of the Phoenicians. They accordingly betook themselves to the Phoenicians.1

The barbarians being turned to flight, and sailing away toward Phalerus, the Æginetæ waylaying them in the strait, performed actions worthy of record. For the Athenians in the rout ran down both those ships that resisted and those that fled; and the Æginetæ, those that sailed away from the battle: so that when any escaped the Athenians, being borne violently on, they fell into the hands of the Æginetæ. At this time there happened to meet together the ship of Themistocles, giving chase to one of the enemy, and that of Polycritus, son of Crius, an Æginetan, bearing down upon a Sidonian ship, the same that had taken the Æginetan ship, which was keeping watch off Sciathus, and on board of which sailed Pytheas, son of Ischenous, whom, though covered with wounds, the Persians kept in the ship from admiration of his valour. The Sidonian ship that carried him about was taken with the Persians on board, so that Pytheas, by this means, returned safe to Ægina. But when Polycritus saw the Athenian ship, he knew it, seeing the admiral's ensign; and shouting to Themistocles, he railed at him, upbraiding him with the charge of Medism brought against the Æginetæ. Polycritus, accordingly, as he was attacking the ship, threw out these reproaches against Themistocles. But the barbarians, whose ships survived, fled and arrived at Phalerus, under the protection of the land forces.

In this engagement of the Greeks, the Æginetæ obtained the greatest renown; and next, the Athenians-of particular persons, Polycritus of Egina, and Athenians, Eumenes the Anagyrasian, with Aminias, a Pallenian, who gave chase to Artemisia; and if he had known that Artemisia sailed in that ship he would not have given over the pursuit till he had either taken her or been himself taken. For such had been the order given to the Athenian captains; and, besides, a reward of ten thousand drachmas was offered to whoever should 'That is, "the executioners put them to death."