The Good Book_ A Secular Bible - A. C. Grayling [153]
13. The two armies fought together on the plain of Marathon for a length of time;
14. And in the mid battle, where the Persians themselves and the Sacae had their place, the barbarians were victorious,
15. And broke and pursued the Greeks into the inner country; but on the two wings the Athenians and Plataeans defeated the enemy.
16. Having done so, they allowed the routed barbarians to flee at their ease, and joining the two wings in one,
17. Fell upon those who had broken their own centre, and fought and conquered them. These likewise fled,
18. And now the Athenians pursued the runaways and cut them down, chasing them all the way to the shore, where they laid hold of the ships and called for fire.
19. It was in the struggle here that Callimachus the Polemarch died, after greatly distinguishing himself;
20. Stesilaus too, the son of Thrasilaus, one of the generals, was slain;
21. And Cynaegirus, the son of Euphorion, having seized on a vessel of the enemy’s by the ornament at the stern, had his hand cut off by the blow of an axe, and so perished;
22. As likewise did many other Athenians of note and name.
23. Nevertheless the Athenians captured seven of the vessels, while in the remainder the barbarians pushed off to sea,
24. And taking aboard their Eretrian prisoners from the island where they had left them, doubled Cape Sunium, hoping to reach Athens before the return of the Athenians.
25. The Alcmaeonidae were accused by their countrymen of suggesting this course to them;
26. They had, it was said, an understanding with the Persians, and made a signal to them, by raising a shield, after they were embarked in their ships.
27. The Persians accordingly sailed round Sunium. But the Athenians with all possible speed marched back to the defence of their city,
28. And succeeded in reaching Athens before the appearance of the barbarians, and encamped at Cynosarges.
29. The barbarian fleet arrived, and anchored off Phalerum, which was at that time the harbour of Athens;
30. But after resting awhile on their oars, seeing that the Athenian army had arrived before them, they departed and sailed away to Asia.
31. There fell in this battle of Marathon, on the side of the Persians, about six thousand four hundred men. The Athenians lost one hundred and ninety-two.
32. Shortly after the departure of the Persians, two thousand Spartans arrived at Athens, having marched as quickly as they could to join the fight.
33. So eager had they been that their march took three days only.
34. Though too late for the battle, they wished to see the Persians, and so went to the battlefield of Marathon to look on the slain.
35. After giving the Athenians praise for their achievement, they departed again for home.
Chapter 56
1. When news of the defeat at Marathon reached Darius, his anger against the Athenians grew even fiercer, and he became more eager than ever to conquer Greece.
2. Instantly he sent heralds throughout his empire to raise fresh levies at an even greater rate than before, with ships, horses, men and provisions in yet greater abundance.
3. For three years all Asia was in commotion, readying itself for war; the best and bravest were enrolled for service, and made preparations accordingly.
4. In the fourth year of preparations there was a revolt in Egypt.
5. Enraged, Darius resolved to send an army against Egypt as well as Greece, and chose to lead it himself.
6. Immediately a contention arose among his sons, because it was the tradition in Persia that if a king was about to go to war, he should appoint an heir.
7. Darius had three sons by his first wife, a daughter of Gobryas.
8. By Atossa the daughter of Cyrus he had four sons. Artabazanes was the eldest of the first brood, and Xerxes the eldest of the second.
9. Artabazanes claimed the inheritance as eldest of all the sons, while Xerxes pointed out that he was the grandson of Cyrus, first liberator of the Persians and founder of their royal house.
10. Before Darius had pronounced on the matter, it happened that the