The Good Book_ A Secular Bible - A. C. Grayling [202]
24. And the other Ionians likewise, beholding their example, revolted and attacked the Persians.
25. As for the Milesians, who had been ordered to watch the mountain paths,
26. Guided the flying Persians by wrong roads, which brought them into the presence of the enemy;
27. And at last they set upon them with their own hands, and showed themselves the hottest of their adversaries.
28. Ionia, therefore, on this day revolted a second time from Persia.
29. In this battle the Greeks who behaved with the greatest bravery were the Athenians;
30. And among them the palm was borne off by Hermolycus, son of Euthynus, a man accomplished in the Pancratium.
31. After the Athenians, the most distinguished on the Greek side were the Corinthians, Troezenians and Sicyonians.
32. The Greeks, when they had killed most of the barbarians, either in the battle or in the rout,
33. Set fire to the Persian ships and the rampart round them, first removing all the booty and carrying it down to the beach.
34. Besides other plunder they found many caskets of money.
Chapter 111
1. The Greeks then sailed to Samos, and there discussed what to do about the Ionians.
2. Ionia they proposed to abandon to the barbarians; and the question was, in what part of their own possessions in Greece they should settle the Ionian people.
3. For it seemed to them impossible that they should be ever on the watch to protect Ionia; but otherwise there could be no hope that the Ionians would escape the vengeance of the Persians.
4. The Peloponnesian leaders proposed that the seaport towns of those Greeks who had sided with Xerxes should be taken from them, and given to the Ionians.
5. The Athenians, on the other hand, were unwilling that any removal should take place, and disliked the Peloponnesians holding councils concerning their colonists.
6. So, as they set themselves against the change, the Peloponnesians yielded with a good will.
7. At this the Samians, Chians, Lesbians, and other islanders who had helped the Greeks at this time,
8. Were received into the league of the allies; and promised to be faithful and not desert the common cause.
9. After this the Greeks sailed to the Hellespont, where they meant to destroy the bridges, which they supposed still stood across the strait.
10. The barbarians who escaped from the battle – a scanty remnant – took refuge in the heights of Mycale, whence they made good their retreat to Sardis.
11. During the march to Sardis, Masistes, son of Darius and brother of Xerxes, who had been present at the disaster, had words with Artayntes, the general,
12. On whom he showered reproaches, and said there was no punishment he did not deserve to suffer for bringing such grievous hurt on the king’s house.
13. Artayntes bore the reproaches for a while, but at last he fell into a rage, and drew his scymitar to kill Masistes.
14. A certain Halicarnassian called Xenagoras, son of Praxilaus, who stood behind Artayntes at the time, seeing him do this,
15. Seized him and threw him to the ground; which gave time for Masistes’ guards to come to his aid.
16. By this conduct Xenagoras gained the favour not of Masistes only, but of Xerxes himself,
17. For he had saved the king’s brother from death; and he was rewarded by being appointed governor of Cilicia.
18. Except this, nothing happened on the road, and the remnant of the army safely reached Sardis.
19. At Sardis they found Xerxes, who had been there ever since he had fled to Asia after this defeat at Salamis.
Chapter 112
1. During the time that Xerxes abode at Sardis, he fell in love with the wife of his brother Masistes.
2. He sent her messages, but failed to win her consent; and he did not dare to use violence, out of regard to Masistes.
3. This the woman knew well enough, which is why she had the boldness to resist him.
4. So Xerxes, finding no other way, devised a marriage between his own son Darius and a daughter of this woman, thinking that he might