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ship from the enemy, and he received the palm of valour. But night coming on, separated the combatants, who in this engagement fought with doubtful success. The Greeks returned to Artemisium, and the barbarians to Aphetæ, having fought with far different success than they expected. In this engagement Antidorus, a Lemnian, was the only one of the Greeks in the king's service who went over to the Grecians; and on that account the Athenians presented him with lands in Salamis.

12. When night came on, and it was now the middle of summer, heavy rain fell through the whole night, and violent thunder about Pelion; but the dead bodies and pieces of wreck were driven to Aphetæ, and got entangled round the prows of the ships, and impeded the blades of the oars. But the soldiers who were on board, when they heard the thunder, were seized with terror, expecting that they must certainly perish, into such calamities had they fallen. For before they had recovered breath, after the wreck and tempest that had occurred off Pelion, a fierce engagement followed; and after the engagement, impetuous rain and mighty torrents rushing into the sea, and violent thunder. Such was the night to them. 13. But to those who had been appointed to sail round Euboea, this same night proved so much the more wild, in that it fell upon them while they were in the open sea; and the end was grievous to them; for as they were sailing, the storm and rain overtook them when they were near the Coela of Euboea, and being driven by the wind, and not knowing where they were driven, they were dashed upon the rocks. All this was done by the deity, that the Persian might be brought to an equality with the Grecian, or at least not be greatly superior. Thus they perished near the Cœla of Eubœa. 14. The barbarians at Aphetæ, when to their great joy day dawned, kept their ships at rest, and were content, after they had suffered so much, to remain quiet for the present. But three and fifty Attic ships came to reinforce the Greeks; and both these by their arrival gave them additional courage, as did the news that came at the same time, that those of the barbarians who were sailing round Eubœa had all perished in the late storm; therefore having waited to the same hour, they set sail and attacked the Cilician ships, and

having destroyed them, as soon as it was night they sailed back to Artemisium.

15. On the third day the commanders of the barbarians, indignant at being insulted by so few ships, and fearing the displeasure of Xerxes, no longer waited for the Greeks to begin the battle; but encouraging one another, got under weigh about the middle of the day. It happened that these actions by sea and those by land at Thermopyla took place on the same days; and the whole struggle for those at sea was for the Euripus, as for those with Leonidas to guard the pass. The one party encouraging each other not to suffer the barbarians to enter Greece; and the other, to destroy the Grecian forces, and make themselves masters of the channel. 16. When the barbarians, having formed in line, sailed onwards, the Grecians remained still at Artemisium; but the barbarians, having drawn up their ships in the form of a crescent, encircled them as if they would take them; whereupon the Greeks sailed out to meet them, and engaged. In this battle they were nearly equal to one another; for the fleet of Xerxes, by reason of its magnitude and number, impeded itself, as the ships incommoded and ran foul of one another: however they continued to fight, and would not yield, for they were ashamed to be put to flight by a few ships. Accordingly many ships of the Grecians perished, and many men; and of the barbarians a much greater number both of ships and men. Having fought in this manner they separated from each other. 17. In this engagement the Egyptians signalized themselves among the forces of Xerxes; for they both achieved other great actions, and took five Grecian ships, with their crews. On the part of the Greeks, the Athenians signalized themselves on this day, and among the Athenians, Clinias, son of Alcibiades; who at his own expense joined the fleet with two hundred men, and a ship of his own.

18. When they had separated, each gladly hastened to their own stations: but the Grecians, when, having left the battle, they had withdrawn, were in possession of the dead and of the wrecks; yet having been severely handled, and especially the Athenians, the half of whose ships were disabled, they consulted about a retreat to the interior of Greece. 19. But Themistocles having considered with himself, that if the Ioni

ans and Carians could be detached from the barbarian, they would be able to overcome the rest; as the Euboeans were driving their cattle down to the shore, he there assembled the Grecian commanders together, and told them that he thought he had a contrivance, by which he hoped to draw off the best of the king's allies. This, then, he so far discovered to them, but in the present state of affairs he told them what they ought to do; every one should kill as many of the Euboean cattle as he thought fit; for it was better that their own army should have them than the enemy. He also advised them each to direct their own men to kindle fires; and promised that he would choose such a time for their departure, that they should all arrive safe in Greece. These things they were pleased to do; and forthwith, having kindled fires, they fell upon the cattle. 20. For the Euboeans, disregarding the oracles of Bacis as importing nothing, had neither carried out any thing to a place of safety, nor collected stores, as if war was approaching; and so had brought their affairs into a precarious state. The oracle of Bacis respecting them was as follows: "Beware of the barbarian-tongued, when he shall cast a byblus-yoke across the sea, remove the bleating goats from Euboea." As they paid no attention to these verses, in the calamities then present and those that were impending, they fell into the greatest distress. 21. They, then, were acting thus, and in that conjuncture the scout arrived from Trachis. For there was a scout stationed off Artemisium, Polyas of Anticyra, who had been ordered, (and he had a well-furnished boat ready,) if the fleet should be in difficulty, to make it known to those that were at Thermopyla; and in like manner Abronychus, son of Lysicles an Athenian, was with Leonidas, ready to carry the tidings to those at Artemisium in a triëconter, if any reverse should happen to the land-forces. This Abronychus then arriving, informed them of what had befallen Leonidas and his army; but they, when they heard it, no longer deferred their departure, but retired each in the order in which they were stationed, the Corinthians first, and the Athenians last.

22. Themistocles, having selected the best sailing ships of the Athenians, went to the places where there was water fit for drinking, and engraved upon the stones inscriptions, which the Ionians, upon arriving next day at Artemisium,

read. The inscriptions were to this effect: "Men of Ionia, you do wrong in fighting against your fathers, and helping to enslave Greece: rather, therefore, come over to us; or, if you cannot do that, withdraw your forces from the contest, and entreat the Carians to do the same. But if neither of these things is possible, and you are bound by too strong a necessity to revolt, yet in action, when we are engaged, behave ill on purpose, remembering that you are descended from us, and that the enmity of the barbarian against us originally sprung from you." Themistocles, in my opinion, wrote this with two objects in view; that either, if the inscriptions escaped the notice of the king, he might induce the Ionians to change sides and come over to them; or, if they were reported to him, and made a subject of accusation before Xerxes, they might make the Ionians suspected, and cause them to be excluded from the sea-fights. 23. Themistocles left this inscription, and immediately afterwards a certain Histiæan came to the barbarians in a boat, announcing the flight of the Greeks from Artemisium; but they, through distrust, kept the man who brought the news under guard, and despatched some swift vessels to reconnoitre. When they reported the truth as it was, the whole fleet, as soon as the sun's rays were spread, sailed in a body to Artemisium; and having waited in that place until mid-day, they then sailed to Histiæa, and on their arrival possessed themselves of the city of the Histiæans, and ravaged all the maritime villages of the Ellopian district, in the territory of Histiæotis.

24. Whilst they were on this coast, Xerxes, having made preparations with respect to the dead, sent a herald to the fleet. And he made the following previous preparations. Of those of his own army, who were slain at Thermopylæ, and they were about twenty thousand, of these having left about one thousand, the remainder, having caused pits to be dug, he buried, throwing leaves over them and heaping up earth, that they might not be seen by those who should come from the fleet. When the herald crossed over to Histiæa, having convened a meeting of the whole encampment, he spoke as follows: "Allies, king Xerxes permits any of you who please, to leave his post and come and see how he fights against those senseless men, who hoped to overcome the king's power." 25. After he had made this announcement, nothing was more

scarce than boats, so many were anxious to behold the sight; and having crossed over, they went through and viewed the dead; and all thought that those that lay there were all Lacedæmonians and Thespians, though they also saw the Helots: however Xerxes did not deceive those who had crossed over by what he had done with respect to his own dead, for indeed it was ridiculous; of the one party a thousand dead were seen lying; but the others lay all heaped up together, to the number of four thousand. This day they spent in the view, and on the next they returned to Histiæa, to their ships, and those with Xerxes set out on their march. 26. Some few deserters came to them from Arcadia, in want of subsistence, and wished to be actively employed: taking these men into the king's presence, the Persians inquired concerning the Greeks, what they were doing. One in particular it was who asked them this question. They answered, that they were celebrating the Olympic games, and viewing gymnastic combats and horseraces. He then asked, what was the reward proposed to them, for which they contended. They mentioned the crown of olive that is given. Upon which Tritantæchmes, son of Artabanus, having uttered a noble sentiment, incurred the charge of cowardice from the king: for having heard that the prize was a crown, and not riches, he could not remain silent, but spoke as follows before all: "Heavens, Mardonius, against what kind of men have you brought us to fight, who contend not for wealth, but for glory!" This, then, was said by him.

27. In the mean time, and when the defeat had occurred at Thermopyla, the Thessalians immediately sent a herald to the Phocians, as they had always1 entertained a grudge against them, and particularly since their last defeat. For not many

years before this expedition of the king, the Thessalians themselves and their allies, having invaded the territories of the Phocians with all their forces, had been worsted by the Phocians and roughly handled. For when the Phocians had been shut up in Mount Parnassus, having with them the Elean prophet Tellias, this Tellias thereupon devised the following stratagem for them. Having smeared over with chalk six hundred of the bravest Phocians, both the men themselves and their armour, he attacked the Thessalians by night, having ordered them to kill every man they should see not covered See B. VII. chap. 176.

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