Book 7
After doing this, they stretched the cables from the land, twisting them taut with wooden windlasses; they did not as before keep the two kinds apart, but assigned for each bridge two cables of flax and four of papyrus.
All these had the same thickness and fine appearance, but the flaxen were heavier in proportion, for a cubit of them weighed a talent.About 80 lbs.
When the strait was thus bridged, they sawed logs of wood to a length equal to the breadth of the floating supports,i.e. the line of ships supporting the cables. and laid them in order on the taut cables; after placing them together they then made them fast. After doing this, they carried brushwood onto the bridge; when this was all laid in order they heaped earth on it and stamped it down; then they made a fence on either side, so that the beasts of burden and horses not be frightened by the sight of the sea below them.
When the bridges and the work at Mount Athos [24.316,40.166] (inhabited place), Pangaion Oros, Macedonia, Greece, EuropeAthos were ready, and both the dikes at the canal's entrances, built to prevent the surf from silting up the entrances of the dug passage, and the canal itself were reported to be now completely finished, the army then wintered. At the beginning of springProbably about the middle of April 480. the army made ready and set forth from Sardis [28.0167,38.475] (Perseus) Sardis to march to Abydus [26.416,40.2] (deserted settlement), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Abydos.
As it was setting out, the sun left his place in the heaven and was invisible, although the sky was without clouds and very clear, and the day turned into night. When Xerxes saw and took note of that, he was concerned and asked the Magi what the vision might signify.
They declared to him that the god was showing the Greeks the abandonment of their cities; for the sun (they said) was the prophet of the Greeks, as the moon was their own. Xerxes rejoiced exceedingly to hear that and continued on his march.
As Xerxes led his army away, Pythius the Lydian, frightened by the heavenly vision and encouraged by the gifts that he had received, came to Xerxes and said, “Master, I have a favor to ask that I desire of you, easy for you to grant and precious for me to receive.”
Xerxes supposed that Pythius would demand anything rather than what he did ask and answered that he would grant the request, bidding him declare what he desired. When Pythius heard this, he took courage and said: “Master, I have five sons, and all of them are constrained to march with you against Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas.
I pray you, O king, take pity on me in my advanced age, and release one of my sons, the eldest, from service, so that he may take care of me and of my possessions; take the four others with you, and may you return back with all your plans accomplished.”
Xerxes became very angry and thus replied: “Villain, you see me marching against Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas myself, and taking with me my sons and brothers and relations and friends; do you, my slave, who should have followed me with all your household and your very wife, speak to me of your son? Be well assured of this, that a man's spirit dwells in his ears; when it hears good words it fills the whole body with delight, but when it hears the opposite it swells with anger.
When you did me good service and promised more, you will never boast that you outdid your king in the matter of benefits; and now that you have turned aside to the way of shamelessness, you will receive a lesser requital than you merit. You and four of your sons are saved by your hospitality; but you shall be punished by the life of that one you most desire to keep.”
With that reply, he immediately ordered those who were assigned to do these things to find the eldest of Pythius sons and cut him in half, then to set one half of his body on the right side of the road and the other on the left, so that the army would pass between them.
This they did, and the army passed between. First went the baggage train and the beasts of burden, and after them a mixed army of all sorts of nations, not according to their divisions but all mingled together; when more than half had passed there was a space left, and these did not come near the king.
After that, first came a thousand horsemen, chosen out of all Persians; next, a thousand spearmen, picked men like the others, carrying their spears reversed; and after them ten horses of the breed called Nesaean, equipped most splendidly.
The horses are called Nesaean because there is in Media a wide plain of that name, where the great horses are bred.
Behind these ten horses was the place of the sacred chariot of Zeus,That is, of Ormuzd. drawn by eight white horses, with the charioteer following the horses on foot and holding the reins; for no mortal man may mount into that seat. After these came Xerxes himself in a chariot drawn by Nesaean horses; beside him was his charioteer, whose name was Patiramphes, the son of Otanes, a Persian.
In this way Xerxes rode out from Sardis [28.0167,38.475] (Perseus) Sardis; but whenever the thought took him he would alight from the chariot into a carriage. Behind him came a thousand spearmen of the best and noblest blood of Iran [53,32] (nation), AsiaPersia, carrying their spears in the customary manner; after them a thousand picked Persian horsemen, and after the horse ten thousand that were foot soldiers, chosen out of the rest of the Persians.
One thousand of these had golden pomegranates on their spear-shafts instead of a spike, and surrounded the rest; the nine thousand who were inside them had silver pomegranates. Those who held their spears reversed also carried golden pomegranates, and those following nearest to Xerxes had apples of gold. After the ten thousand came ten thousand Persian horsemen in array. After these there was a space of two stadia, and then the rest of the multitude followed all mixed together.
From Lydia [27.516,38.683] (region (general)), Turkey, Asia Lydia the army took its course to the river Bakir Cayi [27,38.916] (river), Turkey, AsiaCaicus and the land of +Mysia (region (general)), Turkey, Asia Mysia; leaving the Bakir Cayi [27,38.916] (river), Turkey, AsiaCaicus, they went through +Atarneus [26.95,39.05] (Perseus) Atarneus to the city of Carene, keeping the mountain of Khalkodonion (mountains), Nomos Larisis, Thessaly, Greece, EuropeCane Modern Khalkodonion (mountains), Nomos Larisis, Thessaly, Greece, EuropeKara Dagh. on the left. From there they journeyed over the plain of Thebe, passing the city of Adramytteum and the Pelasgian city of Antandrus.
Then they came into the territory of Troy [26.25,39.95] (deserted settlement), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, AsiaIlium, with Ida on their left. When they had halted for the night at the foot of Ida, a storm of thunder and lightning fell upon them, killing a great crowd of them there.
When the army had come to the river Scamander, which was the first river after the beginning of their march from Sardis [28.0167,38.475] (Perseus) Sardis that fell short of their needs and was not sufficient for the army and the cattle to drink—arriving at this river, Xerxes ascended to the citadel of Priam, having a desire to see it.
After he saw it and asked about everything there, he sacrificed a thousand cattle to Athena of Troy [26.25,39.95] (deserted settlement), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, AsiaIlium, and the Magi offered libations to the heroes. After they did this, a panic fell upon the camp in the night. When it was day they journeyed on from there, keeping on their left the cities of Rhoetium and Ophryneum and Dardanus, which borders Abydus [26.416,40.2] (deserted settlement), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Abydos,It was about nine miles from Abydus [26.416,40.2] (deserted settlement), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Abydos. and on their right the Teucrian Gergithae.
When they were at Abydus [26.416,40.2] (deserted settlement), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Abydos, Xerxes wanted to see the whole of his army. A lofty seat of white stone had been set up for him on a hillProbably what is called Mal-Tepe, on the promontory of Nagara. there for this very purpose, built by the people of Abydus [26.416,40.2] (deserted settlement), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Abydos at the king's command. There he sat and looked down on the seashore, viewing his army and his fleet; as he viewed them he desired to see the ships contend in a race. They did so, and the Phoenicians of Sidon [35.366,33.55] (inhabited place), Al-Janub, Lebanon, Asia Sidon won; Xerxes was pleased with the race and with his expedition.
When he saw the whole Canakkale Bogazi (strait), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Hellespont covered with ships, and all the shores and plains of Abydus [26.416,40.2] (deserted settlement), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Abydos full of men, Xerxes first declared himself blessed, and then wept.
His uncle Artabanus perceived this, he who in the beginning had spoken his mind freely and advised Xerxes not to march against Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas. Marking how Xerxes wept, he questioned him and said, “O king, what a distance there is between what you are doing now and a little while ago! After declaring yourself blessed you weep.”
Xerxes said, “I was moved to compassion when I considered the shortness of all human life, since of all this multitude of men not one will be alive a hundred years from now.”
Artabanus answered, “In one life we have deeper sorrows to bear than that. Short as our lives are, there is no human being either here or elsewhere so fortunate that it will not occur to him, often and not just once, to wish himself dead rather than alive. Misfortunes fall upon us and sicknesses trouble us, so that they make life, though short, seem long.
Life is so miserable a thing that death has become the most desirable refuge for humans; the god is found to be envious in this, giving us only a taste of the sweetness of living.”
Xerxes answered and said, “Artabanus, human life is such as you define it to be. Let us speak no more of that, nor remember evils in our present prosperous estate. But tell me this: if you had not seen the vision in your dream so clearly, would you still have held your former opinion and advised me not to march against Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas, or would you have changed your mind? Come, tell me this truly.”
Artabanus answered and said, “O king, may the vision that appeared in my dream bring such an end as we both desire! But I am even now full of fear and beside myself for many reasons, especially when I see that the two greatest things in the world are your greatest enemies.”
Xerxes made this response: “Are you possessed? What are these two things that you say are my greatest enemies? Is there some fault with the numbers of my land army? Does it seem that the Greek army will be many times greater than ours? Or do you think that our navy will fall short of theirs? Or that the fault is in both? If our power seems to you to lack anything in this regard, it would be best to muster another army as quickly as possible.”
Artabanus answered and said, “O king, there is no fault that any man of sound judgment could find either with this army or with the number of your ships; and if you gather more, those two things I speak of become even much more your enemies. These two are the land and the sea.
The sea has nowhere any harbor, as I conjecture, that will be able to receive this navy and save your ships if a storm arise. Yet there has to be not just one such harbor, but many of them all along the land you are sailing by.
Since there are no harbors able to receive you, understand that men are the subjects and not the rulers of their accidents. I have spoken of one of the two, and now I will tell you of the other.
The land is your enemy in this way: if nothing is going to stand in your way and hinder you, the land becomes more your enemy the further you advance, constantly unaware of what lies beyond; no man is ever satisfied with success.
So I say that if no one opposes you, the increase of your territory and the time passed in getting it will breed famine. The best man is one who is timid while making plans because he takes into account all that may happen to him, but is bold in action.”
Xerxes answered, “Artabanus, you define these matters reasonably. But do not fear everything, nor take account of all alike; If you wanted to take everything equally into account on every occasion that happens, you would never do anything; it is better to do everything boldly and suffer half of what you dread than to fear all chances and so never suffer anything.
But if you quarrel with whatever is said yet cannot put forth a secure position, you must be proved as wrong on your part as he who holds the contrary opinion. In this both are alike: how can someone who is only human know where there is security? I think it is impossible. Those who have the will to act most often win the rewards, not those who hesitate and take account of all chances.
You see what power Iran [53,32] (nation), AsiaPersia has attained. Now if those kings who came before me had held such opinions as yours, or if they had not held them but had had advisers like you, you would never have seen our fortunes at their present height; but as it is those kings ran the risks and advanced them to this height.
Great successes are not won except by great risks. So we will do as they did; we are travelling in the fairest season of the year, and we will return home the conquerors of all Europe (continent)Europe without suffering famine or any other harm anywhere. First, we carry ample provisions with us on our march; second, we will have the food of those whose land and nation we invade; for we are marching against men who are tillers of the soil, not nomads.”