Kitap 6
The Lampsacenes went astray in their counsels as to what the utterance meant which Croesus had threatened them with, saying he would devastate them like a pine tree, until at last one of the elders understood and said what it was: the pine is the only tree that once cut down never sends out any shoots; it is utterly destroyed. So out of fear of Croesus the Lampsacenes released Miltiades and let him go.
So he escaped by the intervention of Croesus, but he later died childless and left his rule and possessions to Stesagoras, the son of his half-brother Cimon. Since his death, the people of the Gelibolu Yarimadasi (peninsula), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, AsiaChersonese offer sacrifices to him as their founder in the customary manner, instituting a contest of horse races and gymnastics. No one from +Lapseki [26.7,40.366] (inhabited place), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Lampsacus is allowed to compete.
But in the war against the Lampsacenes Stesagoras too met his end and died childless; he was struck on the head with an axe in the town-hall by a man who pretended to be a deserter but in truth was an enemy and a man of violence.
Stesagoras met his end in this way. The sons of Pisistratus sent Miltiades, son of Cimon and brother of the dead Stesagoras, in a trireme to the Gelibolu Yarimadasi (peninsula), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, AsiaChersonese to take control of the country; they had already treated him well at Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens, feigning that they had not been accessory to the death of Cimon his father, which I will relate in another place.
Reaching the Gelibolu Yarimadasi (peninsula), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, AsiaChersonese, Miltiades kept himself within his house, professing thus to honor the memory of his brother Stesagoras. When the people of the Gelibolu Yarimadasi (peninsula), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, AsiaChersonese learned this, their ruling men gathered together from all the cities on every side, and came together in a group to show fellow-feeling with his mourning; but he put them in bonds. So Miltiades made himself master of the Gelibolu Yarimadasi (peninsula), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, AsiaChersonese; there he maintained a guard of five hundred men, and married Hegesipyle the daughter of Olorus, king of Thrace (region (general)), EuropeThrace.
But not long after this Miltiades son of Cimon had come to the Gelibolu Yarimadasi (peninsula), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, AsiaChersonese, greater difficulties than the present afflictions overtook him. He had been driven from the country three years before thisIn 493. τρίτῳ μὲν γάρ, κ.τ.λ. explains how it was that Miltiades had been till now absent from the Gelibolu Yarimadasi (peninsula), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, AsiaChersonese. by the Scythians. The nomadic Scythians, provoked by Darius, gathered themselves together and rode as far as the Gelibolu Yarimadasi (peninsula), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, AsiaChersonese.
Miltiades did not await their attack and fled from the Gelibolu Yarimadasi (peninsula), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, AsiaChersonese, until the Scythians departed and the Dolonci brought him back again. All this had happened three years before the matters that now engaged him.
But now, learning that the Phoenicians were in +Tenedos [26.05,39.8167] (Perseus) Tenedos, he sailed away to Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens with five triremes loaded with the possessions that he had nearby. He set out from Kardia [26.7333,40.5833] (Perseus)Cardia and crossed the Black Bay, and as he was sailing along the Gelibolu Yarimadasi (peninsula), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, AsiaChersonese the Phoenicians fell upon him with their ships.
Miltiades himself escaped with four of his ships to Imbros, but the fifth was pursued and overtaken by the Phoenicians. It happened that the captain of this ship was Metiochus, the eldest son of Miltiades by another wife, not the daughter of Olorus the Thracian.
The Phoenicians took this man captive with his ship; and when they heard that he was Miltiades' son, they brought him up to the king, thinking that this would be a very favorable service, because Miltiades had declared his opinion among the Ionians that they should obey the Scythians in their demand to break the bridge of boats and sail away to their homes.
But when the Phoenicians brought Miltiades' son Metiochus before him, Darius did him no harm but much good, giving him a house and possessions and a Persian wife, who bore him children who were reckoned as Persians. Miltiades made his way from Imbros to Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens.
In this year493. the Persians caused no further trouble for the Ionians, and at this same time certain things happened which greatly benefited the Ionians. Artaphrenes governor of Sardis [28.0167,38.475] (Perseus) Sardis summoned ambassadors from the cities and compelled the Ionians to make agreements among themselves that they would abide by the law and not rob and plunder each other.
He compelled them to do this, and he measured their lands by parasangs, which is the Persian name for a distance of thirty stadia, and ordered that each people should according to this measurement pay a tribute which has remained fixed as assessed by Artaphrenes ever since that time up to this day; the sum appointed was about the same as that which they had rendered before. This then kept them peaceable.
But at the beginning of spring492. the other generals were deposed by the king from their offices, and Mardonius son of Gobryas, a man young in years and recently married to Darius' daughter Artozostre, came down to the coast at the head of a very great army and fleet.
When Mardonius reached Cilicia [34.333,36.666] (region (general)), Turkey, AsiaCilicia at the head of this army, he himself embarked on shipboard and sailed with the rest of his ships, while other captains led the land army to the Canakkale Bogazi (strait), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Hellespont.
When Mardonius arrived in Ionia (region (general)), Europe Ionia in his voyage along the coast of Asia (continent)Asia, he did a thing which I here set down for the wonder of those Greeks who will not believe Otanes to have declared his opinion among the Seven that democracy was best for Iran [53,32] (nation), AsiaPersia: Hdt. 3.80 Mardonius deposed all the Ionian tyrants and set up democracies in their cities.
He did this and hurried to the Canakkale Bogazi (strait), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Hellespont. When a great multitude of ships and a great army were assembled, the Persians crossed the Canakkale Bogazi (strait), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Hellespont on shipboard and marched through Europe (continent)Europe, with +Eretria [23.8083,38.3917] (Perseus) Eretria and Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens as their goal.
This was the stated end of their expedition, but they intended to subdue as many of the Greek cities as they could. Their fleet subdued the Thasians, who did not so much as lift up their hands against it; their land army added the Macedonians to the slaves that they had already, for all the nations nearer to them than Macedonia (region (general)), EuropeMacedonia had been made subject to the Persians before this.
Crossing over from +Thasos [24.716,40.783] (deserted settlement), Thasos, Kavalla, Macedonia, Greece, Europe Thasos they travelled near the land as far as Acanthus, and putting out from there they tried to round +Mount Athos [24.316,40.166] (inhabited place), Pangaion Oros, Macedonia, Greece, Europe Athos. But a great and irresistible north wind fell upon them as they sailed past and dealt very roughly with them, driving many of their ships upon +Mount Athos [24.316,40.166] (inhabited place), Pangaion Oros, Macedonia, Greece, Europe Athos.
It is said that about three hundred ships were lost, and more than twenty thousand men. Since the coasts of +Mount Athos [24.316,40.166] (inhabited place), Pangaion Oros, Macedonia, Greece, Europe Athos abound in wild beasts, some men were carried off by beasts and so perished; others were dashed against the rocks; those who could not swim perished because of that, and still others by the cold.
Thus it fared with the fleet; as for Mardonius and his land army, while they were encamped in Macedonia (region (general)), EuropeMacedonia, the Brygi of Thrace (region (general)), EuropeThrace attacked them by night and killed many of them, wounding Mardonius himself. But not even these could escape being enslaved by the Persians; Mardonius did not depart from those lands before he had subjugated them.
After conquering them, he led his army away homewards, since the Brygi had dealt a heavy blow to his army and +Mount Athos [24.316,40.166] (inhabited place), Pangaion Oros, Macedonia, Greece, Europe Athos an even heavier blow to his fleet. This expedition after an inglorious adventure returned back to Asia (continent)Asia.
In the next year after this,491. Darius first sent a message bidding the Thasians, who were falsely reported by their neighbors to be planning rebellion, to destroy their walls and bring their ships to +Abdera [24.9667,40.9833] (Perseus) Abdera.
Since they had been besieged by Histiaeus of Miletus [27.3,37.5] (Perseus) Miletus and had great revenues, the Thasians had used their wealth to build ships of war and surround themselves with stronger walls.
Their revenue came from the mainland and from the mines. About eighty talents on average came in from the gold-mines of the “Dug Forest”,On the Thracian coast, opposite +Thasos [24.716,40.783] (deserted settlement), Thasos, Kavalla, Macedonia, Greece, Europe Thasos. and less from the mines of +Thasos [24.716,40.783] (deserted settlement), Thasos, Kavalla, Macedonia, Greece, Europe Thasos itself, yet so much that the Thasians, paying no tax on their crops, drew a yearly revenue from the mainland and the mines of two hundred talents on average, and three hundred when the revenue was greatest.
I myself have seen these mines; by far the most marvellous were those that were found by the Phoenicians who with +Thasos [24.716,40.783] (deserted settlement), Thasos, Kavalla, Macedonia, Greece, Europe Thasos colonized this island, which is now called after that Phoenician Thasos.
These Phoenician mines are between the place called Aenyra and Coenyra in +Thasos [24.716,40.783] (deserted settlement), Thasos, Kavalla, Macedonia, Greece, Europe Thasos, opposite +Samothrace (island), Nomos Evrou, Western Thrace, Greece, Europe Samothrace; they are in a great hill that has been dug up in the searching. So much for that. The Thasians at the king's command destroyed their walls and brought all their ships to +Abdera [24.9667,40.9833] (Perseus) Abdera.
Then Darius attempted to learn whether the Greeks intended to wage war against him or to surrender themselves. He sent heralds this way and that throughout Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas, bidding them demand a gift of earth and water for the king.
He despatched some to Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas, and he sent others to his own tributary cities of the coast, commanding that ships of war and transports for horses be built.
So the cities set about these preparations. The heralds who went to Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas received what the king's proclamation demanded from many of those dwelling on the mainland and from all the islanders to whom they came with the demand. Among the islanders who gave earth and water to Darius were the Aeginetans.
The Athenians immediately came down upon them for doing this, for they supposed the Aeginetans to have given the gift out of enmity for Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens, so they might join with the Persians in attacking the Athenians. Gladly laying hold of this pretext, they went to Sparta [22.4417,37.0667] (Perseus) Sparta and there accused the Aeginetans of acting to betray Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas.
Regarding this accusation, Cleomenes son of Anaxandrides, king of Sparta [22.4417,37.0667] (Perseus) Sparta, crossed over to +Aegina [23.433,37.75] (inhabited place), Aegina, Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Aegina intending to arrest the most culpable of its people.
But when he attempted to make the arrests, the Aeginetans opposed him, especially Crius son of Polycritus, who told him he would not take away any Aeginetan with impunity, for he had no authority from the Spartans for what he was doing; instead he had been bribed by the Athenians; otherwise he would have come to make the arrests with the other king. He said this because of a letter from Demaratus.
Driven from +Aegina [23.433,37.75] (inhabited place), Aegina, Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Aegina, Cleomenes asked Crius his name; and when Crius told him what it was, Cleomenes said to him, “Now is the time to put bronze on your horns, Mr. Ram, Κριός = ram. for great calamity will confront you.”
All this time Demaratus son of Ariston remained at Sparta [22.4417,37.0667] (Perseus) Sparta and spread evil reports of Cleomenes. This Demaratus was also king of Sparta [22.4417,37.0667] (Perseus) Sparta, but of the inferior house; not indeed inferior in any other regard (for they have a common ancestor), but the house of Eurysthenes has in some sort the greater honor by right of primogeniture.“The most probable origin of this anomaly” (the dual kingship) “is the fusion of two distinct communities whose chiefs shared the throne.” How and Wells, p. 82.
The Lacedaemonians say (but no poet agrees) that it was Aristodemus son of Aristomachus son of Cleodaeus son of Hyllus, and not his sons, who led them to that land which they now possess.
After no long time Aristodemus' wife, whose name was Argeia, bore him offspring; they say she was daughter of Autesion son of Tisamenus son of Thersander son of Polynices; she bore him twins; Aristodemus lived to see the children, then died of a sickness.
The Lacedaemonians of that day planned to follow their custom and make the eldest of the children king. But the children were identical in all respects, so the Lacedaemonians did not know which to choose; when they could not judge between them, or perhaps even before this, they asked the mother.
She said she knew no better than the Lacedaemonians which was the elder; she knew perfectly well, but she said this because she desired that by some means both might be made kings. The Lacedaemonians were at a loss, so they sent to Delphi [22.5167,38.4917] (Perseus) Delphi to inquire how they should deal with the matter.
The priestess bade them make both children kings but give greater honor to the elder. When the priestess gave this response, the Lacedaemonians knew no better than before how to discover the elder child, and a man of +Nomos Messinias [21.833,37.25] (department), Peloponnese, Greece, Europe Messenia, whose name was Panites, gave them advice: