The Good Book_ A Secular Bible - A. C. Grayling [181]
17. They laid the blame of the disaster on Mardonius; and their grief on the occasion was less on account of the damage done to their ships, than anxiety about the king’s safety.
18. Their fears did not cease until Xerxes himself, by his arrival, put an end to them.
19. Now Mardonius saw that as he had been the one to urge Xerxes to conquer Greece, he would be blamed for the failure of the expedition.
20. So he said to Xerxes, ‘Master, our fate does not hang on a few planks lost at sea, but on our great army of infantry and cavalry.
21. ‘The Greeks will never prevail against them. Let us attack the Peloponnese; or if you are resolved to return to Persia,
22. ‘Let me have 300,000 of the better troops, and I will subdue the Peloponnese in your name,
23. ‘And bring you the heads of the Spartan chiefs and the chiefs of the other nations there, putting them all beneath your sway.’
24. Xerxes was delighted by these words, and called the other chief Persians to consult about Mardonius’ proposal.
25. The person he especially asked was Artemisia, who had proved herself a wise counsellor and knew what it was best to do.
26. Artemisia said, ‘As your affairs now stand, it seems to me you would do better to return home.
27. ‘As for Mardonius, if he prefers to remain, and undertakes to do as he has said, give him the troops he desires.
28. ‘If he succeeds, yours is the conquest; for your slaves will have accomplished it.
29. ‘If, on the other hand, he fails, we suffer no great loss, so long as you are safe, and your house in no danger.
30. ‘The Greeks, while you live and your house flourishes, must be prepared to fight many battles for their freedom;
31. ‘Whereas if Mardonius falls, it matters nothing; the Greeks will have gained a poor triumph: merely a victory over one of your slaves!
32. ‘Remember also, you go home having gained the purpose of your expedition; for you have burnt Athens!’
33. This advice of Artemisia pleased Xerxes well; for she had exactly uttered his own thoughts.
Chapter 85
1. As a mark of distinction Xerxes entrusted to Artemisia the conveyance of his natural sons to Ephesus.
2. He sent with them one of his chief eunuchs, a man named Hermotimus, a Pedasian, whose responsibility it was to tutor these sons.
3. This Hermotimus took a cruel vengeance on one who had done him an injury.
4. As a youth he had been made a prisoner of war, and when his captors sold him, he was bought by a certain Panionius, a native of Chios, who made his living by a very nefarious traffic.
5. Whenever he could get any boys of unusual beauty, Panionius made them eunuchs, and taking them to Sardis or Ephesus sold them for high prices.
6. For the barbarians value eunuchs more than others, since they regard them as more trustworthy.
7. Many were the slaves that Panionius, who made his living by this practice, had thus created; and among them was Hermotimus.
8. However, Hermotimus was not without luck, for after a while he was sent from Sardis, together with other gifts, as a present to the king.
9. Nor was it long before he came to be esteemed by Xerxes more highly than all his other eunuchs.
10. Now, when the king was on his way to Athens with the Persian army, and paused for a time at Sardis, Hermotimus made a journey on business into Mysia;
11. And there, in a district which is called Atarneus but belongs to Chios, he happened to fall in with Panionius.
12. Recognising him at once, he entered into friendly talk with him, describing the numerous blessings he had enjoyed because Panionius had made him a eunuch,
13. And promised him all manner of favours in return, if he would bring his household to Sardis and live there.
14. Panionius was overjoyed, and, accepting the offer, came and brought his wife and children with him.
15. Then Hermotimus, when he had got Panionius and all his family into his power, addressed him as follows:
16. ‘You, who get a living by viler deeds than anyone else in the world, what wrong did I or any of mine do to you or yours, that you made me the nothing I now