rion, whose brother was Eschylus the poet, was slain at this time; for, laying hold of the stern ornament of one of the ships of the Persians, he had his hand cut off by the blow of an axe; and there perished with him other Athenians also of note and name. Nevertheless the Athenians took seven of the ships at this time. With the rest the barbarians pushed off from the shore, and having taken up the prisoners from Eretria from the island whereon they had left them, they sailed round the promontory of Sunium, hoping that they should come to the city before that the army of the Athenians should be able to return thither. In this matter the house of the sons of Alcmæon were accused by their fellow countrymen, who said that they had held up a shield for a signal to the Persians; and that it had been covenanted that they should do so, that the Persians might take the city unawares and empty of men. So the Persians sailed round Cape Sunium; and the Athenians marched with all the speed that they could that they might defend the city; and when they were come they encamped in the precinct of Hercules, that is at Cynosargæ; and it so chanced that they came from the precinct of Hercules that is in Marathon. For a while the ships of the barbarians lay off Phalerum, which was in those days the port of Athens, but in no long time sailed back to Asia.

In this battle that was fought in Marathon there were slain of the barbarians six thousand and four

hundred or thereabout, and of the Athenians one hundred and ninety and two. In the battle also there happened this marvel. A man of Athens, Epizelus by name, the son of Couphagoras, fighting in the press, and bearing himself bravely, was of a sudden smitten with blindness, and this without being wounded anywhere in the body or stricken at all. And he was blind for the remainder of his days. Now the story which this man told about the matter was this. "I saw," he said, "a man of great stature fully armed stand over against me, and he had a great beard that covered his whole shield. Me indeed he passed by, but the man that stood next to me he smote and slew."

When Datis was on his way to Asia, being at Myconos, he saw a vision in his sleep. What this vision was no man knows; but this is certain that so soon as the day dawned he caused a search to be made in all the ships; and in a certain Phoenician ship he found an image of Apollo that was covered with gold, and would know whence it had been brought. And when he knew from what temple it had been taken, he sailed with his own ship to Delos. And he put the image in the temple and laid a command upon the men of Delos-for they had by this time come back to their island-that they should carry back the image to the Delian temple of the Thebans. (This temple stands on the seashore over against Chalcis). When he had given these commands

Datis departed, but the men of Delos neglected to do as he had said; but twenty years after the Thebans, having been warned by an oracle, fetched it themselves.

When Datis and Artaphernes were come to Asia they took the people of Eretria whom they had carried away captive and brought them up to Susa, to King Darius. Now King Darius had before this been greatly enraged against the people of Eretria, holding that they had done him wrong without provocation; but when he saw them thus brought before him and in his power, he did them no harm, but settled them in a station of his own in the land of the Cissia. This station was called Ardericca, and it is distant from Susa twenty and six miles or thereabout. Five miles from this Ardericca is a great well whence they got three things, to wit, bitumen, salt, and oil. Here then King Darius settled the people of Eretria, and here they remained many years afterward still speaking their own language.

When the full moon was past there came to Athens two thousand Lacedæmonians, having marched with all speed, so that they came to Athens on the third day after they had set out from Sparta. These, though they had come too late for the battle, much desired to see the Persians that had been slain. So they went to Marathon, and when they had seen them and had greatly praised the Athenians, they departed to their own home.

XERXES MAKES WAR ON THE GREEKS

WHEN King Darius heard tidings of the battle

at Marathon his wrath, which was already hot against the Athenians by reason of their doings at Sardis, waxed yet more fierce, so that he was more earnest than ever to make war against Greece. And straightway he sent messengers to all the cities in his dominions, bidding them gather together soldiersand of these many more than he had commanded before-and with these, ships and horsemen and food and vessels of transport. And for the space of three years after these commands had been given, all Asia was in an uproar, seeing that the bravest of her children were being chosen to march against the Greeks, and were making ready to go. But in the fourth year the Egyptians, who had been enslaved by Cambyses, revolted. Then was Darius more zealous than before to march both against the Athenians and the Egyptians. But while he was making ready so to do, there came a great disputing among his sons who should be King after him; for the law of the Persians is that the King declares who shall reign after him before he goes to the war. Now Darius had had three sons born to him by his wife, the daughter of Gobryas; and these were born before that he was made King: and after that he was made King he had

four others born to him of Atossa, that was the daughter of Cyrus. Of the first three Artabazanes was the eldest, and of the four Xerxes. These disputed among themselves, and Artabazanes claimed the kingdom because he was the eldest of all, and because it was the custom over all the world that the eldest should have the pre-eminence; but Xerxes claimed it because his mother was daughter to Cyrus, and it was Cyrus that had established the kingdom of the Persians. Now while Darius doubted about the matter, there came up to Susa Demaratus the son of Ariston. The same had been deprived of his kingdom in Sparta and had fled from the city. When this man knew what it was that the sons of Darius disputed about, he came forward, according to report, and gave counsel to Xerxes that over and above the words that he had said he should say also this, that he had been born when Darius was already King and had dominion over all the Persians, but that Darius was a subject only when Artabazanes was born. "And indeed at Sparta," said Demaratus, "the law is this, that if a king have children that are born before he be made King, and also a child that is born after, then he that is born after is preferred." Of these words of Demaratus Xerxes made such use that King Darius declared that he should be King in his room. But in the year after it so befell that while he was preparing to make war both against the Greeks and against the Egyptians, King Darius died,