CHAPTER I.

CONQUESTS OF THE GENERALS OF DARIUS.

The Persians, left in Europe by Darius under the command of Megabazus, subdued the Perinthians first of the Hellespontines, who were unwilling to submit to Darius, and had been before roughly handled by the Pæonians. For an oracle had admonished the Pæonians to invade the Perinthians, and if the Perinthians, when encamped against them, should challenge them, shouting to them by name, then to attack, but if they should not shout out to them, not to attack. A threefold single combat took place between them according to a challenge; for they matched a man with a man, a horse with a horse, and a dog with a dog. The Perinthians, victorious in two of these combats, through excess of joy sang the Pæon, whereupon the Pæonians conjectured that this was the meaning of the oracle, and said among themselves: "Now surely the oracle must be accomplished; now it is our part to act." The Pæonians attacked the Perinthians as they were singing the Pæon, gained a complete victory, and left but few of them alive.

The nation of the Thracians is the greatest of all among men, except the Indians; and if they were governed by one man, or acted in concert, they would, in my opinion, be invincible, and by far the most powerful of all nations. But as this is impracticable, and it is impossible that they should ever be united, they are weak.

Beyond the Ister appears to be an interminable desert, and the only men that I am able to hear of as dwelling there are those called Sigynnæ, who wear the Medic dress; their horses are shaggy all over the body, to five fingers in depth of hair; they are small, flat-nosed, and unable to carry men; but when yoked to chariots are very fleet. They say that these people are a colony of Medes. How they can have been a colony of Medes I cannot comprehend; but any thing may happen in the course of time.

There is a curious people who inhabit Lake Prasias itself, who were not at all subdued by Megabazus;—they live upon the lake in dwellings erected upon planks fitted on lofty piles, which are driven in the middle of the lake, with a narrow entrance from the main land by a single bridge. These piles that support the planks all the citizens anciently placed there at the common charge; but afterward they established a law to the following effect: Whenever a man marries, for each wife he sinks three piles, bringing wood from a mountain called Orbelus: but every man has several wives. Each one has a hut on the planks, in which he dwells, with a trap-door closely fitted in the planks, and leading down to the lake. They tie the young children with a cord around the foot, for fear they should fall into the lake beneath. To their horses and beasts of burden they give fish for fodder; of which there is such an abundance, that you have simply to open your trap-door, let down an empty basket by a cord into the lake, when, after waiting a short time, you draw it up full of fish.

Megabazus, after conquering the Pæonians, arrived at the Hellespont, crossed over, and came to Sardis. In the meantime, Histiæus the Milesian was building a wall around the place, which, at his own request, he had received from Darius as a reward for his services in preserving the bridge: this place was near the river Strymon, and its name Myrcinus. Megabazus, upon learning what was being done by Histiæus, as soon as he reached Sardis said to Darius: "O king, what have you done, in allowing a crafty and subtle Greek to possess a city in Thrace, where there is an abundance of timber fit for building ships and plenty of wood for oars, and silver mines? A great multitude of Greeks and barbarians dwell around, who, when they have obtained him as a leader, will do whatever he may command, both by day and by night. Put a stop therefore to the proceedings of this man, that you may not be harassed by a domestic war; send for him in a gentle manner, and stop him: and when you have him in your power, take care that he never returns to the Greeks." Megabazus easily persuaded Darius, since he wisely foresaw what was to happen. So Darius sent a messenger to Myrcinus, who spoke as follows: "Histiæus, King Darius says thus: I find on consideration that there is no man better affected to me and my affairs than thyself; and this I have learnt, not by words, but actions; now, since I have great designs to put in execution, come to me by all means, that I may communicate them to thee." Histiæus, giving credit to these words, and at the time considering it a great honor to become a counsellor of the king, went to Sardis: when he arrived, Darius said, "Histiæus, I have sent for you on this occasion. As soon as I returned from Scythia, and you were out of my sight, I have wished for nothing so much as to see you and converse with you again; being persuaded that a friend who is both intelligent and well affected, is the most valuable of all possessions; both of which I am able to testify from my own knowledge concur in you, as regards my affairs. You have done well in coming, and I make you this offer: Think no more of Miletus, nor of the new-founded city in Thrace; but follow me to Susa, have the same that I have, and be the partner of my table and counsels." And Darius appointed Artaphernes, his brother by the same father, to be governor of Sardis, and departed for Susa, taking Histiæus with him. He first nominated Otanes to be general of the forces on the coast, whose father, Sisamnes, one of the royal judges, King Cambyses had put to death and flayed, because he had given an unjust judgment for a sum of money. He had his skin torn off, and cut into thongs, and extended it on the bench on which he used to sit, when he pronounced judgment; then Cambyses appointed as judge in the room of Sisamnes, whom he had slain and flayed, the son of Sisamnes, admonishing him to remember on what seat he sat to administer justice. This very Otanes, then, being now appointed successor to Megabazus in the command of the army, subdued the Byzantians and Chalcedonians, and took Antandros, which belongs to the territory of Troas, and Lamponium; and obtaining ships from the Lesbians, he took Lemnos and Imbrus, both of which were then inhabited by Pelasgians. The Lemnians fought valiantly, and defended themselves for some time, but were at length overcome; and over those who survived, the Persians set up Lycaretus as governor, the brother of Mæandrius, who had reigned in Samos. Otanes enslaved and subdued them all for various alleged reasons: some he charged with desertion to the Scythians; others he accused of having harassed Darius' army in their return home from the Scythians.

Afterward, for the intermission from misfortune was not of long duration, evils arose a second time to the Ionians from Naxos and Miletus. For, on the one hand, Naxos surpassed all the islands in opulence; and on the other, Miletus, at the same time, had attained the summit of its prosperity, and was accounted the ornament of Ionia. Some of the opulent men, exiled from Naxos by the people, went to Miletus: the governor of Miletus happened to be Aristagoras, son of Molpagoras, son-in-law and cousin of Histiæus, whom Darius detained at Susa. These Naxians arrived at Miletus, entreated Aristagoras, if he could, by any means, to give them some assistance so that they might return to their own country. He, perceiving that if by his means they should return to their city, he might get the dominion of Naxos, used the friendship of Histiæus as a pretence, and addressed the following discourse to them: "I am not able of myself to furnish you with a force sufficient to reinstate you against the wishes of the Naxians, who are in possession of the city, for I hear that the Naxians have eight thousand heavy-armed men, and a considerable number of ships of war. Yet I will contrive some way, and use my best endeavors; my scheme is this: Artaphernes happens to be my friend; he is son of Hystaspes and brother of king Darius, and commands all the maritime parts of Asia, and has a large army and navy. This man, I am persuaded, will do whatever we desire." The Naxians urged Aristagoras to go about it in the best way he could, and bade him promise presents, and their expenses to the army, for they would repay it; having great expectation that when they should appear at Naxos the Naxians would do whatever they should order, as also would the other islanders; for of these Cyclades islands not one was as yet subject to Darius.

Accordingly Aristagoras journeyed to Sardis, and told Artaphernes, that Naxos was an island of no great extent, to be sure, but beautiful and fertile, and near Ionia, and in it was much wealth and many slaves. "Do send an army against this country, to reinstate those who have been banished; and if you do this, I have, in the first place, a large sum of money ready, in addition to the expenses of the expedition, for it is just that we who lead you on should supply that; and in the next, you will acquire for the king Naxos itself, and the islands dependent upon it, Paros, Andros, and the rest that are called Cyclades. Setting out from there you will easily attack Eubœa, a large and wealthy island, not less than Cyprus, and very easy to be taken. A hundred ships are sufficient to subdue them all." The reply was quickly given: "You propose things advantageous to the king's house, and advise every thing well, except the number of ships; instead of one hundred, two hundred shall be ready at the commencement of the spring. But it is necessary that the king himself should approve of the design." Aristagoras, wild with delight, went back to Miletus. And Artaphernes, finding that Darius himself approved of the plan, made ready two hundred triremes, and a very numerous body of Persians and other allies: and he appointed Megabates general, a Persian of the family of the Archimenidæ, his own and Darius' nephew, whose daughter, if the report be true, was afterward betrothed to Pausanias, son of Cleombrotus the Lacedæmonian, who aspired to become tyrant of Greece. Artaphernes, having appointed Megabates general, sent forward the army to Aristagoras.

Megabates, with Aristagoras, the Ionian forces, and the Naxians, sailed professedly for the Hellespont; but when he arrived at Chios, anchored at Caucasa, that he might cross over from there to Naxos by a north wind. However, it was fated that the Naxians were not to perish by this armament, as the following event occurred: As Megabates was going round the watches on board the ships, he found no one on guard on board a Myndian ship; indignant at this, he ordered his body-guards to find the captain of this ship, whose name was Scylax, and to bind him with his body half-way through the lower row-lock of the vessel, so that his head should be on the outside of the vessel, and his legs within. Some one told Aristagoras that Megabates had bound and disgraced his Myndian friend. He went therefore and interceded for him with the Persian, but, when he found he could obtain nothing, went himself and released him. Megabates, hearing of this, was very indignant, and enraged at Aristagoras, and told him so; "but," said Aristagoras, "what have you to do with these matters? Did not Artaphernes send you to obey me, and to sail wheresoever I should command?" Megabates, still more exasperated at this, as soon as night arrived, dispatched men in a ship to Naxos, to inform the Naxians of the impending danger. The Naxians, who had not a suspicion that this armament was coming against them, immediately carried every thing from the fields into the town, and, with plenty of food and drink, prepared to undergo a siege, so the Persians had to attack men well fortified, and after besieging them four months, consumed all the supplies they had brought with them, together with large sums furnished by Aristagoras, and wanting still more to carry on the siege, they were forced to build a fortress for the Naxian exiles, and retire to the continent unsuccessful.

Aristagoras was thus unable to fulfil his promise to Artaphernes; while at the same time the expenses of the expedition pressed heavily on him on account of the ill success of the army; and having incurred the ill will of Megabates to such an extent that he feared that he should be deprived of the government of Miletus, he meditated a revolt. It happened at the same time that a messenger with his head tattooed came from Susa from Histiæus, urging Aristagoras to revolt from the king. For Histiæus, being desirous to communicate to Aristagoras his wish for him to revolt, had no other means of signifying it with safety, because the roads were guarded; therefore, having shaved the head of the most trustworthy of his slaves, he marked it with a sharp iron, and waited till the hair had grown again, then sent him to Miletus without other instructions except that when he arrived at Miletus he should desire Aristagoras to shave off his hair and look upon his head: the punctures, as I have said before, signified a wish for him to revolt. Histiæus did this because he looked upon his detention at Susa as a great misfortune; while if a revolt should take place he had great hopes that he should be sent down to the coast; but if Miletus made no new attempt, he thought that he should never go there again. It was resolved to revolt, and messengers were sent to the force that had returned from Naxos, and which was at Myus, to seize the captains on board the ships. Aristagoras thus openly revolted, devising every thing he could against Darius. And first, in pretence, having laid aside the sovereignty, he established an equality in Miletus, in order that the Milesians might more readily join with him in the revolt. Afterward he effected the same throughout the rest of Ionia, expelling some of the tyrants; and he delivered up those whom he had taken from on board the ships that had sailed with him against Naxos, to the cities, in order to gratify the people, giving them up to the respective cities, from whence each came. The Mityleneans, as soon as they received Coes, led him out, and stoned him to death; but the Cymeans let their tyrant go; and in like manner most of the others let theirs go. Accordingly there was a suppression of tyrants throughout the cities. But Aristagoras enjoined them all to appoint magistrates in each of the cities, and went himself in a trireme as ambassador to Sparta, for it was necessary for him to procure some powerful alliance.

Aristagoras arrived at Sparta, when Cleomenes held the government; and he went to confer with him, as the Lacedæmonians say, carrying a bronze tablet, on which was engraved the circumference of the whole earth, the whole sea, and all rivers. "Wonder not, Cleomenes," said Aristagoras, "at my eagerness in coming here, for it is a great sorrow to us that the children of Ionians should be slaves instead of free, and above all others it is a disgrace to you, inasmuch as you are at the head of Greece. I adjure you by the Grecian gods, rescue the Ionians, who are of your own blood, from servitude. It is easy for you to effect this, for the barbarians are not valiant; whereas you, in matters relating to war, have attained to the utmost height of glory; their mode of fighting is, with bows and short spears, and they engage in battle wearing loose trousers, and turbans on their heads, so that they are easy to be overcome. Besides, there are treasures belonging to those who inhabit that continent, such as are not possessed by all other nations together; gold, silver, bronze, variegated garments, beasts of burden, and slaves; all these you may have if you will. They live adjoining one another as I will show you. Next to these Ionians are the Lydians, who inhabit a fertile country, and abound in silver." As he said this he showed the map of the earth, which he had brought with him, engraved on a tablet. "Next to the Lydians," proceeded Aristagoras, "are these Phrygians to the eastward, who are the richest in cattle and in corn of all with whom I am acquainted. Next to the Phrygians are the Cappadocians, whom we call Syrians; and bordering on them, the Cilicians, extending to this sea in which the island of Cyprus is situated; they pay an annual tribute of five hundred talents to the king. Next to the Cilicians are these Armenians, who also abound in cattle; and next to the Armenians are the Metienians, who occupy this country; and next them this territory of Cissia, in which Susa is situated, on this river Choaspes, and here the great king resides, and here are his treasures of wealth. If you take this city, you may boldly contend with Jupiter in wealth. As it is, you carry on war for a country of small extent, and not very fertile, and of narrow limits, with the Messenians, who are your equals in valor, and with the Arcadians and Argives, who have nothing akin to gold or silver, the desire of which induces men to hazard their lives in battle. But when an opportunity is offered to conquer all Asia with ease, will you prefer any thing else?" "Milesian friend," said Cleomenes, "I defer to give you an answer until the third day." They met at the appointed time and place, and Cleomenes asked Aristagoras, how many days' journey it was from the sea of the Ionians to the king. Aristagoras, though he was cunning in other things, and had deceived him with much address, made a slip in this; for he should not have told the real fact, if he wished to draw the Spartans into Asia; whereas he told him frankly that it was a three months' journey up there. Cutting short the rest of the description which Aristagoras was proceeding to give of the journey, Cleomenes said: "My friend, from Miletus, depart from Sparta before sunset; for you speak no agreeable language to the Lacedæmonians, in wishing to lead them a three months' journey from the sea;" and Cleomenes went home. Aristagoras, nothing daunted, taking an olive-branch in his hand, went to the house of Cleomenes, entered in, as a suppliant, and besought Cleomenes to listen to him. The latter's little child, a daughter, whose name was Gorgo, stood by him; she happened to be his only child, and was about eight or nine years of age. Cleomenes bade him say what he wished, and not mind the presence of the little girl. Thereupon Aristagoras promised him ten talents, if he would do as he desired; and as Cleomenes refused, Aristagoras went on increasing his offers, until he promised fifty talents, when little Gorgo cried out, "Papa, this stranger will corrupt you, if you don't quickly depart." Cleomenes, pleased with the advice of the child, retired to another apartment; and Aristagoras was forced to leave Sparta altogether, without ever getting another opportunity to give further particulars of the route to the city of the great king.

With respect to this road, the case is as follows: There are royal stations all along, and excellent inns, and the whole road is through an inhabited and safe country. There are twenty stations extending through Lydia and Phrygia, and the distance is ninety-four parasangs and a half. After Phrygia, the river Halys is met with, at which there are gates, which it is absolutely necessary to pass through, and thus to cross the river; there is also a considerable fort on it. When you cross over into Cappadocia, and traverse that country to the borders of Cilicia, there are eight and twenty stations, and one hundred and four parasangs; and on the borders of these people, you go through two gates, and pass by two forts. When you have gone through these and made the journey through Cilicia, there are three stations, and fifteen parasangs and a half. The boundary of Cilicia and Armenia is a river that is crossed in boats, called the Euphrates. In Armenia there are fifteen stations for resting-places, and fifty-six parasangs and a half; there is also a fort at the stations. Four rivers that are crossed in boats flow through this country, which it is absolutely necessary to ferry over. First, the Tigris; then the second and third have the same name, though they are not the same river, nor flow from the same source. For the first mentioned of these flows from the Armenians, and the latter from the Matienians. The fourth river is called the Gyndes, which Cyrus once distributed into three hundred and sixty channels. As you enter from Armenia into the country of Matiene, there are four stations; and from thence as you proceed to the Cissian territory there are eleven stations, and forty-two parasangs and a half, to the river Choaspes, which also must be crossed in boats; on this Susa is built. All these stations amount to one hundred and eleven,[21] as you go up from Sardis to Susa. Now if the royal road has been correctly measured in parasangs, and if the parasang is equal to thirty stades, as indeed it is, from Sardis to the royal palace, called Memnonia, is a distance of thirteen thousand five hundred stades, the parasangs being four hundred and fifty; and by those who travel one hundred and fifty stades every day, just ninety days are spent on the journey. So Aristagoras spoke correctly when he stated the distance to Susa.