Book 7
To Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens and Sparta Xerxes sent no heralds to demand earth, and this he did for the following reason. When Darius had previously sent men with this same purpose, those who made the request were cast at the one city into the PitInto which criminals condemned to death were thrown. and at the other into a well, and bidden to obtain their earth and water for the king from these locations.
What calamity befell the Athenians for dealing in this way with the heralds I cannot say, save that their land and their city were laid waste. I think, however, that there was another reason for this, and not the aforesaid.Possibly the burning of the temple at Sardis [28.0167,38.475] (Perseus) Sardis (Hdt. 5.102).
Be that as it may, the anger of Talthybius, Agamemnon's herald, fell upon the Lacedaemonians. At Sparta [22.4417,37.0667] (Perseus) Sparta there is a shrine of Talthybius and descendants of Talthybius called Talthybiadae, who have the special privilege of conducting all embassies from Sparta [22.4417,37.0667] (Perseus) Sparta.
Now there was a long period after the incident I have mentioned above during which the Spartans were unable to obtain good omens from sacrifice. The Lacedaemonians were grieved and dismayed by this and frequently called assemblies, making a proclamation inviting some Lacedaemonian to give his life for Sparta [22.4417,37.0667] (Perseus) Sparta. Then two Spartans of noble birth and great wealth, Sperthias son of Aneristus and Bulis son of Nicolaus, undertook of their own free will to make atonement to Xerxes for Darius' heralds who had been killed at Sparta [22.4417,37.0667] (Perseus) Sparta.
Thereupon the Spartans sent these men to Media for execution.
Worthy of admiration was these men's deed of daring, and so also were their sayings. On their way to Shush [48.333,32.2] (inhabited place), Khuzestan, Iran, AsiaSusa, they came to Hydarnes, a Persian, who was general of the coast of Asia (continent)Asia. He entertained and feasted them as his guests, and as they sat at his board, he asked:
“Lacedaemonians, why do you shun the king's friendship? You can judge from what you see of me and my condition how well the king can honor men of worth. So might it be with you if you would but put yourselves in the king's hands, being as you are of proven worth in his eyes, and every one of you might by his commission be a ruler of Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas.”
To this the Spartans answered: “Your advice to us, Hydarnes, is not completely sound; one half of it rests on knowledge, but the other on ignorance. You know well how to be a slave, but you, who have never tasted freedom, do not know whether it is sweet or not. Were you to taste of it, not with spears you would counsel us to fight for it, no, but with axes.”
This was their answer to Hydarnes. From there they came to Shush [48.333,32.2] (inhabited place), Khuzestan, Iran, AsiaSusa, into the king's presence, and when the guards commanded and would have compelled them to fall down and bow to the king, they said they would never do that. This they would refuse even if they were thrust down headlong, for it was not their custom, said they, to bow to mortal men, nor was that the purpose of their coming. Having averted that, they next said,
“The Lacedaemonians have sent us, O king of the Medes, in requital for the slaying of your heralds at Sparta [22.4417,37.0667] (Perseus) Sparta, to make atonement for their death,” and more to that effect. To this Xerxes, with great magnanimity, replied that he would not imitate the Lacedaemonians. “You,” said he, “made havoc of all human law by slaying heralds, but I will not do that for which I censure you, nor by putting you in turn to death will I set the Lacedaemonians free from this guilt.”
This conduct on the part of the Spartans succeeded for a time in allaying the anger of Talthybius, in spite of the fact that Sperthias and Bulis returned to Sparta [22.4417,37.0667] (Perseus) Sparta. Long after that, however, it rose up again in the war between the Peloponnesians and Athenians, as the Lacedaemonians say. That seems to me to be an indication of something divine.
It was just that the wrath of Talthybius descended on ambassadors, nor abated until it was satisfied. The venting of it, however, on the sons of those men who went up to the king to appease it, namely on Nicolas son of Bulis and Aneristus son of Sperthias (that Aneristus who landed a merchant ships crew at the Tirynthian settlement of Halia and took it), Halia was a port in +Nomos Argolidhos [22.833,37.666] (department), Peloponnese, Greece, Europe Argolis. The event took place probably between 461 and 450, when Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens and Argos [22.7333,37.6417] (Perseus) Argos were allied against Sparta [22.4417,37.0667] (Perseus) Sparta. makes it plain to me that this was the divine result of Talthybius' anger.
These two had been sent by the Lacedaemonians as ambassadors to Asia (continent)Asia, and betrayed by the Thracian king Sitalces son of Tereus and Nymphodorus son of Pytheas of +Abdera [24.9667,40.9833] (Perseus) Abdera, they were made captive at +Tekirdag [27.516,40.983] (inhabited place), Tekirdag, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Bisanthe on the Canakkale Bogazi (strait), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Hellespont, and carried away to Attica [23.5,38.83] (department), Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Attica, where the Athenians put them, and with them Aristeas son of Adimantus, a Corinthian, to death.In 430; cp. Thuc. 2.67. This happened many years after the king's expedition, and I return now to the course of my history.
The professed intent of the king's march was to attack Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens, but in truth all Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas was his aim. This the Greeks had long since learned, but not all of them regarded the matter alike.
Those of them who had paid the tribute of earth and water to the Persian were of good courage, thinking that the foreigner would do them no harm, but they who had refused tribute were afraid, since there were not enough ships in Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas to do battle with their invader; furthermore, the greater part of them had no stomach for grappling with the war, but were making haste to side with the Persian.
Here I am forced to declare an opinion which will be displeasing to most, but I will not refrain from saying what seems to me to be true.
Had the Athenians been panic-struck by the threatened peril and left their own country, or had they not indeed left it but remained and surrendered themselves to Xerxes, none would have attempted to withstand the king by sea. What would have happened on land if no one had resisted the king by sea is easy enough to determine.
Although the Peloponnesians had built not one but many walls across the Isthmus for their defense,Cp. Hdt. 1.181, where the wall of Babylon [44.4,32.55] (deserted settlement), Babil, Iraq, AsiaBabylon is called a θώρηξ. they would nevertheless have been deserted by their allies (these having no choice or free will in the matter, but seeing their cities taken one by one by the foreign fleet), until at last they would have stood alone. They would then have put up quite a fight and perished nobly.
Such would have been their fate. Perhaps, however, when they saw the rest of Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas siding with the enemy, they would have made terms with Xerxes. In either case Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas would have been subdued by the Persians, for I cannot see what advantage could accrue from the walls built across the isthmus, while the king was master of the seas.
As it is, to say that the Athenians were the saviors of Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas is to hit the truth. It was the Athenians who held the balance; whichever side they joined was sure to prevail. choosing that Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeGreece should preserve her freedom, the Athenians roused to battle the other Greek states which had not yet gone over to the Persians and, after the gods, were responsible for driving the king off.
Nor were they moved to desert Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas by the threatening oracles which came from Delphi [22.5167,38.4917] (Perseus) Delphi and sorely dismayed them, but they stood firm and had the courage to meet the invader of their country.
The Athenians had sent messages to Delphi [22.5167,38.4917] (Perseus) Delphi asking that an oracle be given them, and when they had performed all due rites at the temple and sat down in the inner hall, the priestess, whose name was Aristonice, gave them this answer:
Wretches, why do you linger here? Rather flee from your houses and city, Flee to the ends of the earth from the circle embattled of Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens! The head will not remain in its place, nor in the body, Nor the feet beneath, nor the hands, nor the parts between; But all is ruined, for fire and the headlong god of war speeding in a Syrian chariot will bring you low.
Many a fortress too, not yours alone, will he shatter; Many a shrine of the gods will he give to the flame for devouring; Sweating for fear they stand, and quaking for dread of the enemy, Running with gore are their roofs, foreseeing the stress of their sorrow; Therefore I bid you depart from the sanctuary. Have courage to lighten your evil.Lit. spread courage over your evils. But most commentators translate “steep your souls in woe.”
When the Athenian messengers heard that, they were very greatly dismayed, and gave themselves up for lost by reason of the evil foretold. Then Timon son of Androbulus, as notable a man as any Delphian, advised them to take boughs of supplication and in the guise of suppliants, approach the oracle a second time.
The Athenians did exactly this; “Lord,” they said, “regard mercifully these suppliant boughs which we bring to you, and give us some better answer concerning our country. Otherwise we will not depart from your temple, but remain here until we die.” Thereupon the priestess gave them this second oracle:
Vainly does Pallas strive to appease great Zeus of +Olympus (mountain), Nomos Larisis, Thessaly, Greece, Europe Olympus; Words of entreaty are vain, and so too cunning counsels of wisdom. Nevertheless I will speak to you again of strength adamantine. All will be taken and lost that the sacred border of Cecrops Holds in keeping today, and the dales divine of Cithaeron; Yet a wood-built wall will by Zeus all-seeing be granted To the Trito-born, a stronghold for you and your children.
Await not the host of horse and foot coming from Asia (continent)Asia, Nor be still, but turn your back and withdraw from the foe. Truly a day will come when you will meet him face to face. Divine Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis, you will bring death to women's sons When the corn is scattered, or the harvest gathered in.
This answer seemed to be and really was more merciful than the first, and the envoys, writing it down, departed for Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens. When the messengers had left Delphi [22.5167,38.4917] (Perseus) Delphi and laid the oracle before the people, there was much inquiry concerning its meaning, and among the many opinions which were uttered, two contrary ones were especially worthy of note. Some of the elder men said that the gods answer signified that the acropolis should be saved, for in old time the acropolis of Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens had been fenced by a thorn hedge,
which, by their interpretation, was the wooden wall. But others supposed that the god was referring to their ships, and they were for doing nothing but equipping these. Those who believed their ships to be the wooden wall were disabled by the two last verses of the oracle: Divine Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis, you will bring death to women's sons When the corn is scattered, or the harvest gathered in.
These verses confounded the opinion of those who said that their ships were the wooden wall, for the readers of oracles took the verses to mean that they should offer battle by sea near Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis and be there overthrown.
Now there was a certain Athenian, by name and title Themistocles son of Neocles, who had lately risen to be among their chief men. He claimed that the readers of oracles had incorrectly interpreted the whole of the oracle and reasoned that if the verse really pertained to the Athenians, it would have been formulated in less mild language, calling Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis “cruel” rather than “divine ” seeing that its inhabitants were to perish.
Correctly understood, the gods' oracle was spoken not of the Athenians but of their enemies, and his advice was that they should believe their ships to be the wooden wall and so make ready to fight by sea.
When Themistocles put forward this interpretation, the Athenians judged him to be a better counsellor than the readers of oracles, who would have had them prepare for no sea fight, and, in short, offer no resistance at all, but leave Attica [23.5,38.83] (department), Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Attica and settle in some other country.
The advice of Themistocles had prevailed on a previous occasion. The revenues from the mines at +Lavrion [24.5,37.716] (inhabited place), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Laurium Silver, lead, and perhaps copper mines in Attica [23.5,38.83] (department), Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Attica, from which the state drew an annual revenue. Apparently when this exceeded the usual amount the general public received a largess. Even if the population numbered 30,000 (cp. Hdt. 5.97) ten drachmae per head would be only 50 talents; far too small a sum for the building of 200 ships; Herodotus cannot mean more than that the +Lavrion [24.5,37.716] (inhabited place), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Laurium money was a contribution towards a ship-building fund. had brought great wealth into the Athenians' treasury, and when each man was to receive ten drachmae for his share, Themistocles persuaded the Athenians to make no such division but to use the money to build two hundred ships for the war, that is, for the war with +Aegina [23.433,37.75] (inhabited place), Aegina, Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Aegina.
This was in fact the war the outbreak of which saved Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas by compelling the Athenians to become seamen. The ships were not used for the purpose for which they were built, but later came to serve Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas in her need. These ships, then, had been made and were already there for the Athenians' service, and now they had to build yet others.
In their debate after the giving of the oracle they accordingly resolved that they would put their trust in the god and meet the foreign invader of Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas with the whole power of their fleet, ships and men, and with all other Greeks who were so minded.
These oracles, then, had been given to the Athenians. All the Greeks who were concerned about the general welfare of Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas met in conference and exchanged guarantees. They resolved in debate to make an end of all their feuds and wars against each other, whatever the cause from which they arose; among others that were in course at that time, the greatest was the war between the Athenians and the Aeginetans.
Presently, learning that Xerxes was at Sardis [28.0167,38.475] (Perseus) Sardis with his army, they planned to send men into Asia (continent)Asia to spy out the king's doings and to despatch messengers, some to Argos [22.7333,37.6417] (Perseus) Argos, who should make the Argives their brothers in arms against the Persian, some to Gelon son of Dinomenes in Sicily [14,37.5] (region), Italy, Europe Sicily, some to +Corfu [19.916,39.633] (inhabited place), Corfu, Kerkira, Ionian Islands, Greece, Europe Corcyra, praying aid for Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas, and some to +Crete [25,35.166] (region), Greece, Europe Crete. This they did in the hope that since the danger threatened all Greeks alike, all of Greek blood might unite and work jointly for one common end. Now the power of Gelon was said to be very great, surpassing by far any power in Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas.
Being so resolved and having composed their quarrels, they first sent three men as spies into Asia (continent)Asia. These came to Sardis [28.0167,38.475] (Perseus) Sardis and took note of the king's army. They were discovered, however, and after examination by the generals of the land army, they were led away for execution.