 Chapter 10 of Xerxes by Jacob Abbott. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain, recording by Dion Giants, Salt Lake City, Utah. The Burning of Athens, B.C. 480 When the officers of the Persian fleet had satisfied themselves with examining the battlefield at Thermopylae and had heard the narrations given by the soldiers of the terrible combats that had been fought with the desperate garrison, which had been stationed to defend the pass, they went back to their vessels and prepared to make sail to the southward in pursuit of the Greek fleet. The Greek fleet had gone to Salamis. The Persians in due time overtook them there, and a great naval conflict occurred, which is known in history as the Battle of Salamis, and was one of the most celebrated naval battles of ancient times. An account of this battle will form the subject of the next chapter. In this, we are to follow the operations of the army on the land. As the pass of Thermopylae was now in Xerxes' possession, the way was opened before him to all that portion of the Great Territory, which lay north of the Peloponnesus. Of course, before he could enter the peninsula itself, he must pass the Itzmus of Corinth, where he might, perhaps, encounter some concentrated resistance. North of the Itzmus, however, there was no place where the Greeks could make a stand. The country was all open, or rather, there were a thousand ways open through the various valleys and glens and along the banks of the rivers. All that was necessary was to procure guides and proceed. The Thessalians were very ready to furnish guides. They had submitted to Xerxes before the Battle of Thermopylae, and they considered themselves accordingly as his allies. They had, besides a special interest in conducting the Persian army on account of the hostile feelings which they entertained toward the people immediately south of the pass into whose territories Xerxes would first carry his ravages. This people were the Focians. Their country, as has already been stated, was separated from Thessaly by impassable mountains, except where the Straits of Thermopylae opened a passage, and through this pass, both nations had been continually making hostile incursions into the territory of the other for many years before the Persian invasion. The Thessalians had surrendered readily to the summons of Xerxes, while the Focians had determined to resist him and adhere to the cause of the Greeks in the struggle. They were suspected of having been influenced in a great measure in their determination to resist by the fact that the Thessalians had decided to surrender. They were resolved that they would not, on any account, be upon the same side with their ancient and inveterate foes. The hostility of the Thessalians to the Focians was equally implacable. At the last incursion which they had made into the Focian territory, they had been defeated by means of stratagems in a manner which tended greatly to vex and irritate them. There were two of these stratagems, which were both completely successful, and both of a very extraordinary character. The first was this. The Thessalians were in the Focian country in great force, and the Focians had found themselves utterly unable to expel them. Under these circumstances, a body of the Focians 600 in number one day whitened their faces, their arms and hands, their clothes, and all their weapons with chalk, and then at the dead of night, perhaps however, when the moon was shining, made an onset upon the camp of the enemy. The Thessalian sentinels were terrified and ran away, and the soldiers awakened from their slumbers by these unearthly looking troops, screamed with fright, and fled in all directions in utter confusion and dismay. A night attack is usually a dangerous attempt, even if the assaulting party is the strongest, as in the darkness and confusion which then prevail, the assailants cannot ordinarily distinguish friends from foes, and so are in great danger amid the tumult and obscurity of slaying one another. That difficulty was obviated in this case by the strange disguise which the Focians had assumed. They knew that all were Thessalians who were not whitened like themselves. The Thessalians were totally discomfited and dispersed by this encounter. The other stratagem was of a different character and was directed against a troop of cavalry. The Thessalian cavalry were renowned throughout the world, the broad plains extending through the heart of their country, contained excellent fields for training and exercising such troops, and the mountains which surrounded it furnished grassy slopes and verdant valleys that supplied excellent pastureage for the rearing of horses. The nation was very strong therefore in this species of force and many of the states and kingdoms of Greece when planning their means of internal defense and potentates and conquerors when going forth on great campaigns often considered their armies incomplete unless there was included in them a corps of Thessalian cavalry. A troop of this cavalry had invaded focus and the Focians conscious of their inability to resist them in open war contrived to entrap them in the following manner. They dug a long trench in the ground and then putting in baskets or casks sufficient nearly to fill the space they spread over the top a thin layer of soil. They then concealed all indications that the ground had been disturbed by spreading leaves over the surface. The trap being thus prepared they contrived to entice the Thessalians to the spot by a series of retreats and at length led them into the pitfall thus provided for them. The substructure of casks was strong enough to sustain the Focians who went over it as footmen but was too fragile to bear the weight of the mounted troops. The horses broke through and the squadron was thrown into such confusion by so unexpected a disaster that when the Focians turned and fell upon them they were easily overcome. These things had irritated and vexed the Thessalians very much. They were eager for revenge and they were very ready to guide the armies of Xerxes into the country of their enemies in order to obtain it. The troops advanced accordingly awakening everywhere as they came on the greatest consternation and terror among the inhabitants and producing on all sides scenes of indescribable anguish and suffering. They came into the valley of these Cephasis a beautiful river flowing through a delightful and fertile region which contained many cities and towns and was filled everywhere with an industrious rural population. Through this scene of peace and happiness and plenty the vast horde of invaders swept on with the destructive force of a tornado. They plundered the towns of everything which could be carried away and destroyed what they were compelled to leave behind them. There is a catalog of twelve cities in this valley which they burned. The inhabitants too were treated with the utmost cruelty. Some were seized and compelled to follow the army as slaves. Others were slain and others still were subjected to nameless cruelties and atrocities worse sometimes than death. Many of the women both mothers and maidens died in consequence of the brutal violence with which the soldiers treated them. The most remarkable of the transactions connected with Xerxes advance through the country of focus on his way to Athens were those connected with his attack upon Delphi. Delphi was a sacred town the seat of the oracle. It was in the vicinity of Mount Parnassus and of the Castilian spring places a very great renown in the Greek mythology. Parnassus was the name of a short mountainous range rather than of a single peak though the loftiest summit of the range was called Parnassus II. This summit is found by modern measurement to be about 8,000 feet high and it is covered with snow nearly all the year. When bare it consists only of a desolate range of rocks with mosses and a few alpine plants growing on the sheltered and sunny sides of them. From the top of Parnassus travelers who now visit it look down upon almost all of Greece as upon a map. The Gulf of Corinth is a silver lake at their feet and the plains of Thessaly are seen extending far and wide to the northward with Olympus, Helian and Osa blue and distant peaks bounding the view. Parnassus has in fact a double summit between the peaks of which a sort of ravine commences which as it extends down the mountain becomes a beautiful valley shaded with rows of trees and adorned with slopes of verter and banks of flowers. In a gland connected with this valley there is a fountain of water springing copiously from among the rocks in a grove of laurels. This fountain gives rise to a stream which after bounding over the rocks and meandering between mossy banks for a long distance down the mountain glens becomes a quiet lowland stream and flows gently through a fertile and undulating country to the sea. This fountain was the famous Castilian spring. It was as the ancient Greek legends said the favorite resort and residence of Apollo and the Muses and its waters became accordingly the symbol and the emblem of political inspiration. The city of Delphi was built upon the lower declivities of the Parnassian ranges and yet high above the surrounding country. It was built in the form of an amphitheater in a sort of lap in the hill where it stood with steep precipices descending to a great depth on either side. It was thus a position of difficult access and was considered almost impregnable in respect to its military strength. Besides its natural defenses it was considered as under the special protection of Apollo. Delphi was celebrated throughout the world in ancient times not only for the oracle itself but for the magnificence of the architectural structures the boundless profusion of the works of art and the immense value of the treasures which in process of time had been accumulated there. The various powers and potentates that had resorted to it to obtain the response of the oracle had brought rich presence or made costly contributions in some way to the service of the shrine. Some had built temples others had constructed porches or colonnades some had adorned the streets of the city with architectural embellishments others had caused statues to be erected and others had made splendid donations of vessels of gold and silver until at length the wealth and magnificence of Delphi was the wonder of the world all nations resorted to it some to see its splendors and others to obtain the council and direction of the oracle in emergencies of difficulty or danger in the time of Xerxes Delphi had been for several hundred years in the enjoyment of its fame as a place of divine inspiration it was said to have been originally discovered in the following manner some herdsmen on the mountains watching their flocks observed one day a number of goats performing very strange and unaccountable antics among some crevices in the rocks and going to the place they found that a mysterious wind was issuing from the crevices which produced an extraordinary acceleration on all who breathed it everything extraordinary was thought in those days to be supernatural and divine and the fame of this discovery was spread everywhere the people supposing that the effect produced upon the men and animals by breathing the mysterious air was a divine inspiration a temple was built over the spot priests and priestesses were installed a city began to rise and in process of time Delphi became the most celebrated oracle in the world and as the vast treasures which had been accumulated there consisted mainly of gifts and offerings consecrated to a divine and sacred service they were all understood to be under divine protection they were defended it is true in part by the inaccessibility of the position of Delphi and by the artificial fortifications which had been added from time to time to increase the security but still more by the feeling which everywhere prevailed that any violence offered to such a shrine would be punished by the gods as sacrilege the account of the manner in which Xerxes was repulsed as related by the ancient historians is somewhat marvelous we however in this case as in all others transmit the story to our readers as the ancient historians give it to us the main body of the army pursued its way directly southward toward the city of Athens which was now the great object at which Xerxes aimed a large detachment however separating from the main body moved more to the westward toward Delphi their plan was to plunder the temples and the city and send the treasures to the king the Delphians on hearing this were seized with consternation they made application themselves to the oracle to know what they were to do in respect to the sacred treasures they could not defend them they said against such a host and they inquired whether they should bury them in the earth or attempt to remove them to some distant place of safety the oracle replied that they were to do nothing at all in respect to the sacred treasures the divinity it said was able to protect what was its own they on their part had only to provide for themselves their wives and their children on hearing this response the people dismissed all care in respect to the treasures of the temple and of the shrine and made arrangements for removing their families and their own effects to some place of safety toward the southward the military force of the city and a small number of the inhabitants alone remained when the persians began to draw near a prodigy occurred in the temple which seemed intended to warn the profane invaders away it seems that there was a suit of arms of a costly character doubtless and highly decorated with gold and gems the present probably of some grecian state or king which were hung in an inner and sacred apartment of the temple and which it was sacrilegious for any human hand to touch these arms were found on the day when the persians were approaching removed to the outward front of the temple the priest who first observed them was struck with amazement and awe he spread the intelligence among the soldiers and the people that remained and the circumstance awakened in them great animation and courage nor were the hopes of divine interposition which this wonder awakened disappointed in the end for as soon as the detachment of persians came near the hill on which delphi was situated loud thunder burst from the sky and a bolt descending upon the precipices near the town detached two enormous masses of rock which rolled down upon the ranks of the invaders the delphian soldiers taking advantage of the scene of panic and confusion which this awful visitation produced rushed down upon their enemies and completed their discomfort sure they were led on and assisted in this attack by the spirits of two ancient heroes who had been natives of the country and to whom two of the temples of delphi had been consecrated these spirits appeared in the form of tall and full armed warriors who led the attack and performed prodigies of strength and valor in the onset upon the persians and then when the battle was over disappeared as mysteriously as they came in the meantime the great body of the army of xerxes with the monarch at their head was advancing on Athens during his advance the city had been in a continual state of panic and confusion in the first place when the greek fleet had concluded to give up the contest in the artemisian channel before the battle of thermopylae and had passed around to sullamas the commanders in the city of Athens had given up the hope of making any effectual defense and had given orders that the inhabitants should save themselves by seeking a refuge wherever they could find it this enunciation of course filled the city with dismay and the preparations for a general flight opened everywhere scenes of terror and distress of which those who have never witnessed the evacuation of a city by its inhabitants can scarcely conceive the immediate object of the general terror was at this time the persian fleet for the greek fleet having determined to abandon the waters on that side of attica left the whole coast exposed and the persians might be expected at any hour to make a landing within a few miles of the city scarcely however had the impending of this danger been made known to the city before the tidings of one still more eminent reached it in the news that the pass of thermopylae had been carried and that in addition to the peril with which the athenians were threatened by the fleet on the side of the sea the whole persian army was coming down upon them by land this fresh alarm greatly increased of course the general consternation all the roads leading from the city toward the south and west were soon covered with parties of wretched fugitives exhibiting as they pressed forward weary and wayworn on their toilsome and almost hopeless flight every possible phase of misery destitution and despair the army fell back to the it's must intending to make a stand if possible there to defend the peloponesis the fugitives made the best of their way to the sea coast where they were received on board transport ships sent thither from the fleet and conveyed some to a jena some to sullamas and others to other points on the coast and islands to the south wherever the terrified exiles thought there was the best prospect of safety some however remained at athens there was a part of the population who believed that the phrase wooden walls used by the oracle referred not to the ships of the fleet but to the wooden palisade around the citadel they accordingly repaired and strengthened the palisade and established themselves in the fortress with a small garrison which undertook to defend it the citadel of athens or the acropolis as it was called was the richest and most splendid and magnificent fortress in the world it was built upon an oblong rocky hill the sides of which were perpendicular cliffs except at one end where alone the summit was accessible this summit presented an area of an oval form about a thousand feet in length and five hundred broad thus containing a space of about ten acres this area upon the summit and also the approaches at the western end were covered with the most grand imposing and costly architectural structures that then existed in the whole european world there were temples colonnades gateways stairways porticoes towers and walls which viewed as a whole presented a most magnificent spectacle that excited universal admiration and which when examined in detail awakened a greater degree of wonder still by the costliness of the materials the beauty and perfection of the workmanship and the richness and profusion of the decorations which were seen on every hand the number and variety of statues of bronze and of marble which had been erected in the various temples and upon the different platforms were very great there was one a statue of manurva which was executed by phidias the great athenian sculptor after the celebrated battle of marathon in the days of derrius which with its pedestal was 60 feet high it stood on the left of the grand entrance towering above the buildings in full view from the country below and leaning upon its long spear like a colossal sentinel on guard in the distance on the right from the same point of view the great temple called the parthenon was to be seen a temple which was in some respects the most celebrated in the world the ruins of these edifices remain to the present day standing in desolate and solitary grandeur on the rocky hill which they once so richly adorned when xerxes arrived at afens he found of course no difficulty in obtaining possession of the city itself since it had been deserted by its inhabitants and left defenseless the people that remained had all crowded into the citadel they had built the wooden palisade across the only approach by which it was possible to get near the gates and they had collected large stones on the tops of the rocks to roll down upon their assailants if they should attempt to ascend xerxes after ravaging and burning the town took up a position upon a hill opposite to the citadel and there he had engines constructed to throw enormous arrows on which toe that had been dipped in pitch was wound this combustible envelopment of the arrows was set on fire before the weapon was discharged and a shower of the burning missiles thus formed was directed toward the palisade the wooden walls were soon set on fire by them and totally consumed the access to the acropolis was however still difficult being by a steep aclivity of which it was very dangerous to ascend so long as the besiegers were ready to roll down rocks upon their assailants from above at last however after a long conflict and much slaughter xerxes succeeded enforcing his way into the citadel some of his troops contrived to find a path by which they could climb up to the walls here after a desperate combat with those who were stationed to guard the place they succeeded in gaining admission and then opened the gates to their comrades below the persian soldiers exasperated with the resistance which they had encountered slew the soldiers of the garrison perpetrated every imaginable violence on the wretched inhabitants who had fled their foreshelter and then plundered the citadel and set it on fire the heart of xerxes was filled with exultation and joy as he thus arrived at the attainment of what had been the chief and prominent object of his campaign to plunder and destroy the city of Athens had been the great pleasure that he had promised himself in all the mighty preparations that he had made this result was now realized and he dispatched a special messenger immediately to susa with the triumphant tidings end of chapter 10 chapter 11 of xerxes by jacob abbot this libravox recording is in the public domain recording by dion giants sultric city utah the battle of sullamas bc 480 sullamas is an island of a very irregular form lying in the seronian gulf north of agina and to the westward of athens what was called the port of athens was on the shore opposite to sullamas the city itself being situated on elevated land four or five miles back from the sea from this port to the bay on the southern side of sullamas where the greek fleet was lying it was only four or five miles more so that when xerxes burned the city the people on board the galleys in the fleet might easily see the smoke of the conflagration the itthmus of corinth was west of sullamas some 15 miles across the bay the army in retreating from athens toward the itthmus would have necessarily to pass around the bay in of course somewhat circuitous while the fleet in following them would pass in a direct line across it the geographical relations of these places a knowledge of which is necessary to a full understanding of the operations of the greek and persian forces will be distinctly seen by comparing the above description with the map placed at the commencement of the fifth chapter it had been the policy of the greeks to keep the fleet and army as much as possible together and thus during the time in which the troops were attempting a concentration at thermopylae the ships made their rendezvous in the artemisian strait or channel directly opposite to that point of the coast there they fought maintaining their position desperately day after day as long as leonidas and his spartans held their ground on the shore their sudden disappearance from those waters by which the persians had been so much surprised was caused by their having received intelligence that the pass had been carried and leonidas destroyed they knew then that athens would be the next point of resistance by the land forces they therefore fell back to solemnus or rather to the bay lying between solemnus and the athenean shore that being the nearest position that they could take to support the operations of the army in their attempts to defend the capital when however the tidings came to them that athens had fallen and that what remained of the army had retreated to the ithsmas the question at once arose whether the fleet should retreat to across the bay to the ithsmas shore with a view to cooperate more fully with the army in the new position which the latter had taken or whether it should remain where it was and defend itself as it best could against the persian squadrons which would soon be drying near the commanders of the fleet held a consultation to consider this question in this consultation the athenean and the Corinthian leaders took different views in fact they were very near coming into open collision such a difference of opinion considering the circumstances of the case was not at all surprising it might indeed have naturally been expected to arise from the relative situation of the two cities in respect to the danger which threatened them if the greek fleet were to withdraw from solemnus to the ithsmas it might be in a better position to defend Corinth but it would by such a movement be withdrawing from the athenean territories and abandoning what remained in Attica holy to the conqueror the athenians were therefore in favor of maintaining the position at solemnus while the Corinthians were disposed to retire to the shores of the ithsmas and cooperate with the army there the council was convened to deliberate on this subject before the news arrived of the actual fall of athens although in as much as the persians were advancing into Attica in immense numbers and there was no greek force left to defend the city they considered its fall as all but inevitable the tidings of the capture and destruction of athens came while the council was in session this seemed to determine the question the Corinthian commanders and those from the other Peloponnesian cities declared that it was perfectly absurd to remain any longer at solemnus in a vain attempt to defend a country already conquered the council was broken up in confusion each commander retiring to his own ship and the Peloponnesians resolving to withdraw on the following morning uribiades who it will be recollected was the commander in chief of all the greek fleet finding thus that it was impossible any longer to keep the ships together at solemnus since a part of them would at all events withdraw concluded to yield to the necessity of the case and to conduct the whole fleet to the ithsmas he issued his orders accordingly and the several commanders repaired to their respective ships to make the preparations it was night when the council was dismissed and the fleet was to move in the morning one of the most influential and distinguished of the athenaean officers was a general named the mysticleys very soon after he had returned to his ship from this council he was visited by another athenaean named mesophilus who uneasy and anxious in the momentous crisis had come in his boat in the darkness of the night to the mysticleys ship to converse with him on the plans of the morrow mesophilus asked the mysticleys what was the decision of the council to abandon solemnus said the mysticleys and retire to the ithsmas then said mesophilus we shall never have an opportunity to meet the enemy i am sure that if we leave this position the fleet will be wholly broken up and that each portion will go under its own commander to defend its own state or seek its own safety independently of the rest we shall never be able to concentrate our forces again the result will be the inevitable dissolution of the fleet as a combined and allied force in spite of all that uribiades or anyone else can do to prevent it mesophilus urged this danger with so much earnestness and eloquence as to make a very considerable impression on the mind of the mysticleys the mysticleys said nothing but his countenance indicated that he was very strongly inclined to adopt mesophilus's views mesophilus urged him to go immediately to uribiades and endeavor to induce him to obtain a reversal of the decision of the council the mysticleys without expressing either ascent or descent took his boat and ordered the oarsman to row him to the galley of uribiades mesophilus having so far accomplished his object went away the mysticleys came in his boat to the side of uribiades's galley he said that he wished to speak with the general on a subject of great importance uribiades when this was reported to him sent to invite the mysticleys to come on board the mysticleys did so and he urged upon the general the same arguments that mesophilus had pressed upon him namely that if the fleet were once to move from their actual position the different squadrons would inevitably separate and could never be assembled again he urged uribiades therefore very strenuously to call a new council with a view of reversing the decision that had been made to retire and of resolving instead to give battle to the persians at sulemus uribiades was persuaded and immediately took measures for convening the council again the summons sent around thus at midnight calling upon the principal officers of the fleet to repair again in haste to the commander's galley when they had only a short time before then dismissed from it produced great excitement the Corinthians who had been in favor of the plan of abandoning sulemus conjectured that the design might be to endeavor to reverse that decision and they came to the council determined to resist any such attempt if one should be made when the officers had arrived the mysticleys began immediately to open the discussion before in fact uribiades had stated why he had called them together a Corinthian officer interrupted and rebuked him for presuming to speak before his time the mysticleys retorted upon the Corinthian and continued his harangue he urged the council to review their former decision and to determine after all to remain at sulemus he however now used different arguments from those which he had employed when speaking to uribiades alone for to have directly charged the officers themselves with the design of which he had accused them to uribiades namely that of abandoning their allies and retiring with their respective ships each to his own coast in case the position at sulemus were to be given up would only incense them and arouse a hostility which would determine them against anything that he might propose he therefore urged the expediency of remaining at sulemus on other grounds sulemus was a much more advantageous position he said than the coast of the itzmus for a small fleet to occupy in awaiting an attack from a large one at sulemus they were defended in part by the projections of the land which protected their flanks and prevented their being assailed except in front and their front they might make a very narrow one at the itzmus on the contrary there was a long unburied and unsheltered coast with no salient points to give strength or protection to their position there they could not expect to derive serious advantage from any degree of cooperation with the army on the land which would be practical at the itzmus while their situation at sea there would be far more exposed and dangerous than where they then were besides many thousands of the people had fled to sulemus for refuge and protection and the fleet by leaving its present position would be guilty of basically abandoning them all to hopeless destruction without even making an effort to save them this last was in fact the great reason why the athenians were so unwilling to abandon sulemus the unhappy fugitives with which the island was thronged were their wives and children and they were extremely unwilling to go away and leave them to so cruel a fate as they knew would await them if the fleet were to be withdrawn the Corinthians on the other hand considered athens as already lost and it seemed madness to them to linger uselessly in the vicinity of the ruin which had been made while there were other states and cities in other quarters of Greece yet to be saved the Corinthian speaker who had rebuked Themistocles at first interrupted him again angrily before he finished his appeal you have no right to speak said he you have no longer a country when you cease to represent a power you have no right to take apart in our councils this cruel retort aroused in the mind of Themistocles a strong feeling of indignation and anger against the Corinthian he loaded his opponent in return with bitter reproaches and said in conclusion that as long as the athenians had 200 ships in the fleet they had still a country one two of sufficient importance to the general defense to give them a much better title to be heard in the common consultations than any Corinthian could presume to claim then turning to Eurybides again Themistocles implored him to remain at Salamis and to give battle to the Persians there as that was he said the only course by which any hope remained to them of the salvation of Greece he declared that the Athenian part of the fleet would never go to the Ismus if the others decided on going there they the Athenians would gather all the fugitives they could from the island of Salamis and from the coast of Attica and make the best of their way to Italy where there was a territory to which they had some claim and abandoning Greece forever they would found a new kingdom there Eurybides the commander-in-chief if he was not convinced by the arguments that Themistocles had offered was alarmed at his declaration that the Athenian ships would abandon the cause of the Greeks if the fleet abandoned Salamis he accordingly gave his voice very decidedly for remaining where they were the rest of the officers finally acquiesced in this decision and the council broke up the various members of it returning each to his own command it was now nearly morning the whole fleet had been necessarily during the night in a state of great excitement and suspense all anxious to learn the result of these deliberations the awe and solemnity which would of course pervade the minds of men at midnight while such momentous questions were pending were changed to an appalling sense of terror toward the dawn by an earthquake which then took place and which as is usually the case with such convulsions not only shook the land but was felt by vessels on the sea the men considered this phenomenon as a solemn warning from heaven and measures were immediately adopted for appeasing by certain special sacrifices and ceremonies the divine displeasure which the shock seemed to portend in the meantime the Persian fleet which we left it will be recollected in the channels between Yuboa and the mainland near to Thermopylae had advanced when they found that the Greeks had left those waters and following their enemies to the southward through the channel called the Euripus had doubled the promontory called Sunium which is the southern promontory of Attica and then moving northward again along the western coast of Attica had approached Falerum which was not far from Salamis Xerxes having concluded his operations at Athens advanced to the same point by land the final and complete success of the Persian expedition seemed now almost sure all the country north of the peninsula had fallen the great army had retreated to the Itzmus having been driven from every other post and its last forlorn hope of being able to resist the advance of its victorious enemies was depending there and the commanders of the Persian fleet having driven the Greek squadrons in this same manner from straight to straight and from sea to sea saw the discomfited galleys drawn up and apparently their last place of refuge in the bay of Salamis and only waiting to be captured and destroyed in a word everything seemed ready for the decisive and final blow and Xerxes summoned a grand council of war on board one of the vessels of the fleet as soon as he arrived at Falerum to decide upon the time and manner of striking it the convening of this council was arranged and the deliberations themselves conducted with great parade and ceremony the princess of the various nations represented in the army and in the fleet and the leading Persian officers and nobles were summoned to attend it it was held on board one of the principal galleys where great preparations had been made for receiving so august and assemblage a throne was provided for the king and seats for the various commanders according to their respective ranks and a conspicuous place was assigned to Artemisia the carrion queen who the reader will perhaps recollect was described as one of the prominent naval commanders in the account given of the great review at Doriscus mardonius appeared at the council as the king's representative and the conductor of the deliberations there being required according to the parliamentary etiquette of those days in such royal councils as these a sort of mediator to stand between the king and his counselors as if the monarch himself was on to sublime and elevation of dignity and grandeur to be directly addressed even by princes and nobles accordingly when the council was convened and the time arrived for opening the deliberations the king directed mardonius to call upon the commanders present one by one for their sentiments on the question whether it were advisable or not to attack the greek fleet at sullamas mardonius did so they all advised that the attack should be made urging several various considerations to enforce their opinions and all even sing a great deal of zeal and ardor in the cause and an impatient desire that the great final conflict should come on when however it came to our tomesias's turn to speak it appeared that she was of a different sentiment from the rest she commenced her speech with something like an apology for presuming to give the king her counsel she said that notwithstanding her sex she had performed her part with other commanders in the battles which had already occurred and that she was perhaps entitled accordingly in the consultations which were held to express her opinion say then to the king she continued addressing mardonius as all the others had done that my judgment is that we should not attack the greek fleet at sullamas but on the contrary that we should avoid a battle it seems to me that we have nothing to gain but should put a great deal at hazard by a general naval conflict at the present time the truth is that the Greeks always terrible as combatants are rendered desperate now by the straits to which they are reduced and the losses that they have sustained the seamen of our fleet are as inferior to them in strength and courage as women are to men i am sure that it will be a very dangerous thing to encounter them in their present chafed and irritated temper whatever others may think i myself should not dare to answer for the result besides situated as they are continued artemisia a battle is what they must most desire and of course it is adverse to our interest to accord it to them i have ascertained that they have but a small supply of food either in their fleet or upon the island of sullamas while they have besides their troops a great multitude of destitute and helpless fugitives to be fed if we simply leave them to themselves under the blockade in which our position here now places them they will soon be reduced to great distress or if we withdraw from them and proceed at once to the Peloponnesus to cooperate with the army there we shall avoid all the risk of a battle and i am sure that the Greek fleet will never dare to follow or to molest us the several members of the council listened to this unexpected address of artemisia with great attention and interest but with very different feelings she had many friends among the counselors and they were anxious and uneasy at hearing her speak in this manner for they knew very well that it was the king's decided intention that a battle should be fought and they feared that by this bold and strenuous opposition to it artemisia would incur the mighty monarch's displeasure there were others who were jealous of the influence which artemisia enjoyed and envious of the favor with which they knew that xerxes regarded her these men were secretly pleased to hear her uttering sentiments by which they confidently believed that she would excite the anger of the king and wholly lose her advantageous position both the hopes and the fears however entertained respectively by the queen's enemies and friends proved altogether groundless xerxes was not displeased on the contrary he applauded artemisia's ingenuity and eloquence in the highest terms though he said nevertheless that he would follow the advice of the other counselors he dismissed the assembly and gave orders to prepare for battle in the meantime a day or two had passed away and the greeks who had been originally very little inclined to acquiesce in the decision which uribiades had made under the influence of the mysticleys to remain at thulamus and give the persians battle became more and more dissatisfied and uneasy as the great crisis drew nigh in fact the discontent and disaffection which appeared in certain portions of the fleet became so decided and so open that the mysticleys feared that some of the commanders would actually revolt and go away with their squadrons in a body in defiance of the general decision to remain to prevent such a desertion as this he contrived the following very desperate stratagem he had a slave in his family named susannas who was an intelligent and educated man though a slave in fact he was the teacher of the mysticleys' children instances of this kind in which slaves were refined and cultivated men were not uncommon in ancient times as slaves were in many instances captives taken in war who before their captivity had occupied as high social positions as their masters the mysticleys determined to send susannas to the persian fleet with a message from him which should induce the persians themselves to take measures to prevent the dispersion of the greek fleet having given the slave therefore his secret instructions he put him into a boat when night came on with oarsmen who were directed to row him wherever he should require them to go the boat pushed off stealthily from the mysticleys' galley and taking care to keep clear of the greek ships which lay at anchor near them went southward toward the persian fleet when the boat reached the persian galleys susannas asked to see the commander and on being admitted to an interview with him he informed him that he came from the mysticleys who was the leader he said of the athenian portion of the greek fleet i am charged he added to say to you from the mysticleys that he considers the cause of the greeks as holy lost and he is now accordingly desirous himself of coming over to the persian side this however he cannot actually and openly do on account of the situation in which he is placed in respect to the rest of the fleet he has however sent me to inform you that the greek fleet is in a very disordered and helpless condition being distracted by the dissensions of the commanders and the general discouragement and despair of the men that some divisions are secretly intending to make their escape and that if you can prevent this by surrounding them or by taking such positions as to intercept any who may attempt to withdraw the whole squadron will inevitably fall into your hands having made this communication susannas went on board his boat again and returned to the greek fleet as secretly and stealthily as he came the persians immediately determined to resort to the measures which the mysticleys had recommended to prevent the escape of any part of the greek fleet there was a small island between sullamas and the coast of adica that is on the eastern side of sullamas called citalia which was in such a position as to command in a great measure the channel of water between sullamas and the mainland on this side the persians sent forward a detachment of galleys to take possession of this island in the night by this means they hoped to prevent the escape of any part of the greek squadron in that direction besides they foresaw that in the approaching battle the principal scene of the conflict must be in that vicinity and that consequently the island would become the great resort of the disabled ships and the wounded men since they would naturally seek refuge on the nearest land to preoccupy this ground therefore seemed an important step it would enable them when the terrible conflict should come on to drive back any wretched refugees who might attempt to escape from destruction by seeking the shore by taking possession of this island and stationing galleys in the vicinity of it all which was done secretly in the night the persians cut off all possibility of escape for the greeks in that direction at the same time they sent another considerable detachment of their fleet to the westward which was the direction toward the its mess ordering the galleys thus sent to station themselves in such a manner as to prevent any portion of the greek fleet from going around the island of sullamas and making their escape through the northwestern channel by this means the greek fleet was environed on every side hemmed in though they were not aware of it in such a way as to defeat any attempt which any division might make to retire from the scene the first intelligence which the greeks received of their being thus surrounded was from an athene in general named aristides who came one night from the island of ajina to the greek fleet making his way with great difficulty through the lines of persian galleys aristides had been in the political conflicts which had taken place in former years at athens the mystic leases great rival and enemy he had been defeated in the contests which had taken place and had been banished from athens he now however made his way through the enemy's lines incurring in doing it extreme difficulty and danger in order to inform his countrymen of their peril and to assist if possible in saving them when he reached the greek fleet the commanders were in council agitating in angry and incriminating debates the perpetually recurring question whether they should retire to the isthmus or remain where they were aristides called the mystic lease out of the council the mystic lease was very much surprised at seeing his ancient enemy thus unexpectedly appear aristides introduced the conversation by saying that he thought that at such a crisis they ought to lay aside every private animosity and only emulate each other in the efforts and sacrifices which they could respectively make to defend their country that he had accordingly come from ajina to join the fleet with a view of rendering any aid that it might be in his power to afford that it was now wholly useless to debate the question of retiring to the isthmus for such a movement was no longer possible the fleet is surrounded said he the persian galleys are stationed on every side it was with the utmost difficulty that i could make my way through the lines even if the whole assembly even uribiades himself were resolved on withdrawing to the isthmus the thing could not now be done return therefore and tell them this and say that to defend themselves where they are is the only alternative that now remains in reply to this communication the mystic lease said that nothing could give him greater pleasure than to learn what aristides had stated the movement which the persians have made he said was in consequence of a communication which i myself sent to them i sent it in order that some of our greeks who seem so very reluctant to fight might be compelled to do so but you must come yourself into the assembly he added and make your statement directly to the commanders they will not believe it if they hear it from me come in and state what you have seen aristides accordingly entered the assembly and informed the officers who were convened that to retire from their present position was no longer possible since the sea to the west was fully guarded by lines of persian ships which had been stationed there to intercept them he had just come in himself he said from ajina and had found great difficulty in passing through the lines though he had only a single small boat and was favored by the darkness of the night he was convinced that the greek fleet was entirely surrounded having said this aristides withdrew although he could come as a witness to give his testimony in respect to facts he was not entitled to take any part in the deliberations the assembly was thrown into a state of the greatest possible excitement by the intelligence which aristides had communicated instead of producing harmony among them it made the discord more violent and uncontrollable of those who had before wished to retire some were now enraged that they had not been allowed to do so while the opportunity remained others disbelieved aristides statements and were still eager to go while the rest confirmed in their previous determination to remain where they were rejoiced to find that retreat was no longer possible the debate was confused and violent it turned in a great measure on the degree of credibility to be attached to the account which aristides had given them many of the assembly wholly disbelieved it it was a stratagem they maintained contrived by the ethenean party and those who wished to remain in order to accomplish their end of keeping the fleet from changing its position the doubts however which the assembly felt in respect to the truth of aristides's tidings were soon dispelled by new and incontestable evidence for while the debate was going on it was announced that a large galley a trirem as it was called had come in from the persian fleet this galley proved to be a greek ship from the island of tenos one which xerxes in prosecution of his plan of compelling those portions of the grecian territories that he had conquered or that had surrendered to him to furnish forces to aid him in subduing the rest had pressed into his service the commander of this galley and willing to take part against his countrymen in the conflict had decided to desert the persian fleet by taking advantage of the night and to come over to the greeks the name of the commander of this trirem was peraceous he confirmed fully all that aristides had said he assured the greeks that they were completely surrounded and that nothing remained for them but to prepare where they were to meet the attack which would certainly be made upon them in the morning the arrival of this trirem was thus a very essential service to the greeks it put an end to their discordant debates and united them one and all in the work of making resolute preparations for action this vessel was also a very essential service in the conflict itself which ensued and the greeks were so grateful to peraceous and to his comrades for the adventurous courage which they displayed in coming over under such circumstances in such a night to espouse the cause and to share the dangers of their countrymen that after the battle they caused all their names to be engraved upon a sacred tripod made in the most costly manner for the purpose and then sent the tripod to be deposited at the oracle of delphi where it long remained a monument of this example of delian patriotism and fidelity as the morning approached the preparations were carried forward with ardor and energy on board both fleets for the great struggle which was to ensue plans were formed orders were given arms were examined and placed on the decks of the galleys where they would be most ready at hand the officers and soldiers gave mutual charges and instructions to each other in respect to the care of their friends and the disposal of their effects charges and instructions which each one undertook to execute for his friend in case he should survive him the commanders endeavored to animate and encourage their men by cheerful looks and by words of confidence and encouragement they who felt resolute and strong endeavored to inspire it the weak and irresolute while those who shrank from the approaching contest and dreaded the result of it concealed their fears and endeavored to appear impatient for the battle cirxies caused an elevated seat or throne to be prepared for himself on an eminence near the shore upon the mainland in order that he might be a personal witness of the battle he had a guard and other attendants around him among these were a number of scribes or secretaries who were prepared with writing materials to record the events which might take place as they occurred and especially to register the names of those whom cirxies should see distinguishing themselves by their courage or by their achievements he justly supposed that these arrangements the whole fleet being fully informed in regard to them would animate the several commanders with strong emulation and excite them to make redoubled exertions to perform their part well the record which was thus to be kept under the personal supervision of the sovereign was with a view to punishments to as well as to honors and rewards and it happened in many instances during the battle that ensued that commanders who after losing their ships escaped to the shore were brought up before cirxies throne and their expiated their fault or their misfortune whichever it might have been by being beheaded on the spot without mercy some of the officers thus executed were Greeks brutally slaughtered for not being successful in fighting by compulsion against their own countrymen as the dawn approached the mysticly's called together as many of the Athenian forces as it was possible to convene assembling them at a place upon the shore of solemnus where he could conveniently address them and there made a speech to them as was customary with the Greek commanders before going into battle he told them that in such contests as that in which they were about to engage the result depended not on the relative numbers of the combatants but on the resolution and activity which they displayed he reminded them of the instances in which small bodies of men firmly banded together by a strict discipline and animated by courage and energy had overthrown enemies whose numbers far exceeded their own the Persians were more numerous he admitted than they but still the Greeks would conquer them if they faithfully obeyed their orders and acted strictly and perseveringly in concert according to the plans formed by the commanders and displayed the usual courage and resolution of Greeks he was sure of victory as soon as the mysticly's had finished his speech he ordered his men to embark and the fleet immediately afterward formed itself in battle array notwithstanding the strictness of the order and discipline which generally prevailed in Greek armaments of every kind there was great excitement and much confusion in the fleet while making all these preparations and this excitement and confusion increased continually as the morning advanced and the hour for the conflict drew nigh the passing of boats to and fro the dashing of the oars the clanger of the weapons the vociferations of orders by the officers and of responses by the men mingled with each other in dreadful turmoil while all the time the vast squadrons were advancing toward each other each party of combatants eager to begin the contest in fact so full of wild excitement was the scene that at length the battle was found to be raging on every side while no one knew or could remember how it began some said that a ship which had been sent away a short time before to a Gina to obtain suckers was returning that morning and that she commenced the action as she came through the Persian lines others said the Greek squadron advanced as soon as they could see and attacked the Persians and there were some whose imaginations were so much excited by the scene that they saw a female form portrayed among the dim mists of the morning that urged the Greeks onward by beckonings and calls they heard her voice they said crying to them come on come on this is no time to linger on your oars however this may be the battle was soon furiously raging on every part of the Bay of Salamis exhibiting a widespread scene of conflict fury rage despair and death such as had been then seldom witnessed in any naval conflict and such as human eyes can now never look upon again in modern warfare the smoke of the guns soon draws an impenetrable veil over the scene of horror and the perpetual thunder of the artillery overpowers the general din in a modern battle therefore none of the real horrors of the conflict can either be heard or seen by any spectator placed beyond the immediate scene of it the sights and the sounds are alike buried and concealed beneath the smoke and the noise of the cannon aiding there were however no such causes in this case to obstruct the observations which Xerxes was making from his throne on the shore the air was calm the sky serene the water was smooth and the atmosphere was as transparent and clear at the end of the battle as at the beginning Xerxes could discern every ship and follow it with his eyes in all its motions he could see who advanced and who retreated out of the hundreds of separate conflicts he could choose anyone and watch the progress of it from the commencement to the termination he could see the combats on the decks the falling of repulsed assailants into the water the weapons broken the wounded carried away and swimmers struggling like insects on the smooth surface of the sea he could see the wrecks too which were drifted upon the shores and the captured galleys which after those who defended them had been vanquished some killed others thrown overboard and others made prisoners were slowly towed away by the victors to a place of safety there was one incident which occurred in this scene as Xerxes looked down upon it from the eminence where he sat which greatly interested and excited him though he was deceived in respect to the true nature of it the incident was one of Artemisia's stratagems it must be premised in relating the story that Artemisia was not without enemies among the officers of the Persian fleet many of them were envious of the high distinction which she enjoyed and jealous of the attention which she received from the king and of the influence which she possessed over him this feeling showed itself very distinctly at the grand council when she gave her advice in connection with that of the other commanders to the king among the most decided of her enemies was a certain captain named Damocithymus Artemisia had had a special quarrel with him while the fleet was coming through the hell's pond which though settled for the time left the minds of both parties in a state of great hostility toward each other it happened in the course of the battle that the ship which Artemisia personally commanded and that of Damocithymus were engaged together with other Persian vessels in the same part of the bay and at a time when the ardor and confusion of the conflict was at its height the galley of Artemisia and some others that were in company with hers became separated from the rest perhaps by the two eager pursuit of an enemy and as other Greek ships came up suddenly to the assistance of their comrades the Persian vessels found themselves in great danger and began to retreat followed by their enemies we speak of the retreating galleys as Persian because they were on the Persian side in the contest though it happened that they were really ships from Greek nations which Xerxes had bribed or forced into his service the Greeks knew them to be enemies by the Persian flag which they bore in the retreat and while the ships were more or less mingled together in the confusion Artemisia perceived that the Persian galley nearest her was that of Damocithymus she immediately caused her own Persian flag to be pulled down and resorting to such other artifices as might tend to make her vessel appear to be a Greek galley she began to act as if she were one of the pursuers instead of one of the pursued she bore down upon the ship of Damocithymus saying to her crew that to attack and sink that ship was the only way to save their own lives they accordingly attacked it with the utmost fury the Athenian ships which were near seeing Artemisia's galley thus engaged supposed that it was one of their own and pressed on leaving the vessel of Damocithymus at Artemisia's mercy it was such mercy as would be expected of a woman who would volunteer to take command of a squadron of ships of war and go forth on an active campaign to fight for her life among such ferocious tigers as Greek soldiers always were considering it all an excursion of pleasure Artemisia killed Damocithymus and all of his crew and sunk his ship and then the crisis of danger being passed she made good her retreat back to the Persian lines she probably felt no special animosity against the crew of this ill-fated vessel but she thought it most prudent to leave no man alive to tell the story Xerxes watched this transaction from his place on the hill with extreme interest and pleasure he saw the vessel of Artemisia bearing down upon the other which last he supposed of course from Artemisia's attacking it was a vessel of the enemy the only subject of doubt was whether the attacking ship was really that of Artemisia the officers who stood about Xerxes at the time that the transaction occurred assured him that it was they knew it well by certain peculiarities in its construction Xerxes then watched the progress of the contest with the most eager interest and when he saw the result of it he praised Artemisia in the highest terms saying that the men in his fleet behaved like women while the only woman in it behaved like a man thus Artemisia's exploit operated like a double stratagem both the Greeks and the Persians were deceived and she gained an advantage by both the deceptions she saved her life by leading the Greeks to believe that her galley was their friend and she gained great glory and renown among the Persians by making them believe that the vessel which she sunk was that of an enemy though these and some of the other scenes and incidents which Xerxes witnessed as he looked down upon the battle gave him pleasure yet the curiosity and interest with which he surveyed the opening of the contest were gradually changed to impatience vexation and rage as he saw in its progress that the Greeks were everywhere gaining the victory notwithstanding the discord and animosity which had reigned among the commanders in their councils and debates the men were united resolute and firm when the time arrived for action and they fought with such desperate courage and activity and at the same time with so much coolness circumspection and discipline that the Persian lines were before many hours everywhere compelled to give way a striking example of the indomitable and efficient resolution which on such occasions always characterized the Greeks was shown in the conduct of Aristides the reader will recollect that the Persians on the night before the battle had taken possession of the island of Cetalia which was near the center of the scene of contest for the double purpose of enabling themselves to use it as a place of refuge and retreat during the battle and of preventing their enemies from doing so now Aristides had no command he had been expelled from Athens by the influence of Themistocles and his other enemies he had come across from a Gina to the fleet at Salamis alone to give his countrymen information of the dispositions which the Persians had made for surrounding them when the battle began he had been left it seems on the shore of Salamis as spectator there was a small body of troops left there also as a guard to the shore in the course of the combat when Aristides found that the services of this guard were no longer likely to be required where they were he placed himself at the head of them obtained possession of boats or a galley transported the men across the channel landed them on the island of Cetalia conquered the post and killed every man that the Persians had stationed there when the day was spent and the evening came on it was found that the result of the battle was a Greek victory and yet it was not a victory so decisive as to compel the Persians wholly to retire vast numbers of the Persian ships were destroyed but still so many remained that when at night they drew back from the scene of the conflict toward their anchorage ground at Philarum the Greeks were very willing to leave them unmolested there the Greeks in fact had full employment on the following day in reassembling the scattered remnants of their own fleet repairing the damages that they had sustained taking care of their wounded men and in a word attending to the thousand urgent and pressing exigencies always arising in the service of a fleet after a battle even when it has been victorious in the contest they did not know in exactly what condition the Persian fleet had been left nor how far there might be danger of a renewal of the conflict on the following day they devoted all their time and attention therefore to strengthening their defenses and reorganizing the fleet so as to be ready in case a new assault should be made upon them but Circis had no intention of any new attack the loss of this battle gave a final blow to his expectations of being able to carry his conquests in Greece any further he too like the Greeks employed his men in industrious and vigorous efforts to repair the damages which had been done and to reassemble and reorganize that portion of the fleet which had not been destroyed while however his men were doing this he was himself revolving in his mind mootily and despairingly plans not for new conflicts but for the safest and speediest way of making his own personal escape from the dangers around him back to his home in Suza in the meantime the surface of the sea far and wide in every direction was covered with the wrecks and remnants and fragments strewed over it by the battle dismantled hulks masses of entangled spars and rigging broken ores weapons of every description and the swollen and ghastly bodies of the dead floated on the rolling swell of the sea wherever the winds or the currents carried them at length many of these mournful memorials of the strife found their way across the whole breadth of the Mediterranean and were driven up upon the beach on the coast of Africa at a barbarous country called Coleus the savages dragged the fragments up out of the sand to use as fuel for their fires pleased with their unexpected acquisitions but wholly ignorant of course of the nature of the dreadful tragedy to which their coming was due the circumstance however explained to the Greeks an ancient prophecy which had been uttered long before in Athens and which the interpreters of such mysteries had never been able to understand the prophecy was this the Colean dames on afric's shores shall roast their food with persian ores end of chapter 11 chapter 12 of Xerxes by Jacob Abbott this lipovox recording is in the public domain recording by Dion Gynes select city utah the return of Xerxes to persia bc 480 mardonius it will be recollected was the commander in chief of the forces of Xerxes and thus next to Xerxes himself he was the officer highest in rank of all those who attended the expedition he was in fact a sort of prime minister on whom the responsibility for almost all the measures for the government and conduct of the expedition had been thrown men in such positions while they may expect the highest rewards and honors from their sovereign in case of success have always reason to apprehend the worst of consequences to themselves in case of failure the night after the battle of solemnus accordingly mardonius was in great fear he did not distrust the future success of the expedition if it were allowed to go on but knowing the character of such despots as those who ruled great nations in that age of the world he was well aware that he might reasonably expect at any moment the appearance of officers sent from Xerxes to cut off his head his anxiety was increased by observing that Xerxes seemed very much depressed and very restless and uneasy after the battle as if he were revolving in his mind some extraordinary design he presently thought that he perceived indications that the king was planning a retreat mardonius after much hesitation concluded to speak to him and endeavor to dispel his anxieties and fears and lead him to take a more favorable view of the prospects of the expedition he accordingly accosted him on the subject somewhat as follows it is true said he that we were not as successful in the combat yesterday as we desire to be but this reverse as well as all the preceding disasters that we have met with is after all of comparatively little moment your majesty has gone steadily on accomplishing most triumphantly all the substantial objects aimed at in undertaking the expedition your troops have advanced successfully by land against all opposition with them you have traversed Thrace, Macedon, and Thessaly you have fought your way against the most desperate resistance through the pass of Thermopylae you have overrun all northern Greece you have burned Athens thus far from there being any uncertainty or doubt in respect to the success of the expedition we see that all the great objects which you proposed by it are already accomplished the fleet it is true has now suffered extensive damage but we must remember that it is upon the army not upon the fleet that our hopes and expectations mainly depend the army is safe and it cannot be possible that the Greeks can hereafter bring any force into the field by which it can be seriously endangered by these and similar sentiments Mardonius endeavored to revive and restore the failing courage and resolution of the king he found however that he met with very partial success Xerxes was silent thoughtful and oppressed apparently with a sense of anxious concern Mardonius finally proposed that even if the king should think it best to return himself to Sousa he should not abandon the enterprise of subduing Greece but that he should leave a portion of the army under his Mardonius's charge and he would undertake he said to complete the work which had been so successfully begun 300 000 men he was convinced would be sufficient for the purpose this suggestion seems to have made a favorable impression on the mind of Xerxes he was disposed in fact to be pleased with any plan provided it opened the way for his own escape from the dangers in which he imagined that he was entangled he said that he would consult some of the other commanders upon the subject he did so and then before coming to a final decision he determined to confer with Artemisia he remembered that she had counseled him not to attack the Greeks at Sulemus and as the result had proved that counsel to be eminently wise he felt the greater confidence in asking her judgment again he accordingly sent for Artemisia and directing all the officers as well as his own attendance to retire he held a private consultation with her in respect to his plans Mardonius proposes said he that the expedition should on no account be abandoned in consequence of this disaster for he says that the fleet is a very unimportant part of our force and that the army still remains unharmed he proposes that if I should decide myself to return to Persia I should leave 300 000 men with him and he undertakes if I will do so to complete with them the subjugation of Greece tell me what you think of this plan you evened so much suggestivity in foreseeing the result of this engagement at Sulemus that I particularly wish to know your opinion Artemisia after pausing a little to reflect upon the subject saying as she hesitated that it was rather difficult to decide under the extraordinary circumstances in which they were placed what it really was best to do came at length to the conclusion that it would be wisest for the king to accede to Mardonius's proposal since he offers of his own accord to remain and undertake to complete the subjugation of Greece you can very safely to yourself allow him to make the experiment the great object which was announced as the one which you had chiefly in view in the invasion of Greece was the burning of Athens this is already accomplished you have done therefore what you undertook to do and can consequently now return yourself without dishonor if Mardonius succeeds in his attempt the glory of it will redound to you his victories will be considered as only the successful completion of what you began on the other hand if he fails the disgrace of failure will be his alone and the injury will be confined to his destruction in any event your person your interests and your honor are safe and if Mardonius is willing to take the responsibility and incur the danger involved in the plan that he proposes I would give him the opportunity Xerxes adopted the view of the subject which Artemisia thus presented with the utmost readiness and pleasure that advice is always very welcome which makes the course that we had previously decided upon as the most agreeable seem the most wise Xerxes immediately determined on returning to Persia himself and leaving Mardonius to complete the conquest in carrying out this design he concluded to march to the northward by land accompanied by the large portion of his army and by all his principal officers until he reached the health pond then he was to give up to Mardonius the command of such troops as should be selected to remain in Greece and crossing the health pond return himself to Persia with the remainder if as is generally the case it is a panic that causes a flight a flight in its turn always increases a panic it happened in accordance with this general law that as soon as the thoughts of Xerxes were once turned toward an escape from Greece his fears increased and his mind became more and more the prey of a restless uneasiness and anxiety lest he should not be able to affect his escape he feared that the bridge of boats would have been broken down and then how would he be able to cross the health pond to prevent the Greek fleet from proceeding to the northward and thus intercepting his passage by destroying the bridge he determined to conceal as long as possible his own departure accordingly while he was making the most efficient and rapid arrangements on the land for abandoning the whole region he brought up his fleet by sea and began to build by means of the ships a floating bridge from the mainland to the island of Solomonus as if he were intent only on advancing he continued this work all day postponing his intended retreat until the night should come in order to conceal his movements in the course of the day he placed all his family and family relatives on board of Artemisia's ship under the charge of a tried and faithful domestic Artemisia was to convey them as rapidly as possible to Ephesus a strong city in Asia Minor where Xerxes supposed that they would be safe in the night the fleet in obedience to the orders which Xerxes had given them abandoned their bridge and all their other undertakings and set sail they were to make the best of their way to the health pond and post themselves there to defend the bridge of boats until Xerxes should arrive on the following morning accordingly when the sun rose the Greeks found to their utter astonishment that their enemies were gone a scene of the greatest animation and excitement on board the Greek fleet at once ensued the commanders resolved on an immediate pursuit the seamen hoisted their sails raised their anchors and manned their oars and the whole squadron was soon in rapid motion the fleet went as far as to the island of Andros looking eagerly all around the horizon in every direction as they advanced but no signs of the fugitives were to be seen the ships then drew up to the shore and the commanders were convened in an assembly summoned by Eurybiades on the land for consultation a debate ensued in which the eternal enmity and dissension between the Athenian and Polyponnesian Greeks broke out anew there was however now some reason for the disagreement the Athenian cause was already ruined their capital had been burned their country ravaged and their wives and children driven forth to exile and misery nothing remained now for them but hopes of revenge they were eager therefore to press on and overtake the Persian galleys in their flight or if this could not be done to reach the hell's pot before Xerxes should arrive there and intercept his passage by destroying the bridge this was the policy which the mystically advocated Eurybiades on the other hand and the Polyponnesian commanders urged the expediency of not driving the Persians to desperation by harassing them too closely on their retreat they were formidable enemies after all and if they were now disposed to retire and leave the country it was the true policy of the Greeks to allow them to do so to destroy the bridge of boats would only be to take effectual measures for keeping the past among them the mysticly's was outvoted it was determined best to allow the Persian forces to retire the mysticly's when he found that his councils were overruled resorted to another of the audacious stratagems that marked his career which was to send a second pretended message of friendship to the Persian king he employed the same succinus on this occasion that he had sent before into the Persian fleet on the eve of the battle of Solimus a galley was given to succinus with a select crew of faithful men they were all put under the most solemn oaths never to divulge to any person under any circumstances the nature and object of their commission with this company succinus left the fleet secretly in the night and went to the coast of Attica landing here he left the galley with the crew in charge of it upon the shore and with one or two select attendants he made his way to the persian camp and desired an interview with the king on being admitted to an audience he said to Xerxes that he had been sent to him by the mysticly's whom he represented as altogether the most prominent man among the greek commanders to say that the greeks had resolved on pressing forward to the helspond to intercept him on his return but that he the mysticly's had dissuaded them from it under the influence of the same friendship for Xerxes which had led him to send a friendly communication to the persians before the late battle that in consequence of the arguments and persuasions of the mysticly's the greek squadrons would remain where they then were on the southern coast leaving Xerxes to retire without molestation all this was false but the mysticly's thought it would serve his purpose well to make the statement for in case he should at any future time in following the ordinary fate of the bravest and most successful greek generals be obliged to fly in exile from his country to save his life it might be important for him to have a good understanding beforehand with the king of persia though a good understanding founded on pretensions so hypocritical and empty as these would seem to be worthy of very little reliance in fact for a greek general discomfited in the councils of his own nation to turn to the persian king with such prompt and cool assurance for the purpose of gaining his friendship by tendering falsehoods so bare and professions so hollow was an instance of audacious treachery so original and lofty as to be almost sublime Xerxes pressed on with the utmost diligence toward the north the country had been ravaged and exhausted by his march through it in coming down and now in returning he found infinite difficulty in obtaining supplies of food and water for his army 45 days were consumed in getting back to the hell's pond during all this time the privations and sufferings of the troops increased every day the soldiers were spent with fatigue exhausted with hunger and harassed with incessant apprehensions of attacks from their enemies thousands of the sick and wounded that attempted at first to follow the army gave out by degrees as the columns moved on some were left at the encampments others lay down by the roadsides in the midst of the day's march wherever their wanting strength finally failed them and everywhere broken chariots dead and dying beasts of burden and the bodies of soldiers that lay neglected where they fell encumbered and choked the way in a word all the roads leading toward the northern provinces exhibited in full perfection those awful scenes which usually mark the track of a great army retreating from an invasion the men were at length reduced to extreme distress for food they ate the roots and stems of the urbage and finally stripped the very bark from the trees and devoured it in the vain hope that it might afford some nutriment to reinforce the vital principle for a little time at least in the dreadful struggle which it was waging within them there are certain forms of pestilential disease which in cases like this always set in to hasten the work which famine alone would be too slow in performing accordingly as was to have been expected camp fevers choleras and other corrupt and infectious melodies broke out with great violence as the army advanced along the northern shores of the agian sea and as every victim to these dreadful and hopeless disorders helped by his own dissolution to taint the air for all the rest the wretched crowd was in the end reduced to the last extreme of misery and terror at length xerxes with a miserable remnant of his troops arrived at apodos on the shores of the health pond he found the bridge broken down the winds and storms had demolished what the Greeks had determined to spare the immense structure which it had cost so much toil and time to rear had wholly disappeared leaving no traces of its existence except the wrecks which lay here and there half buried in the sand along the shore there were some small boats at hand and xerxes embarking in one of them with a few attendants in the others and leaving the exhausted and wretched remnant of his army behind was rode across the strait and landed at last safely again on the asiatic shores the place of his landing was cestos from cestos he went to sardis and from sardis he proceeded in a short time to susa mardonius was left in Greece mardonius was a general of great military experience and skill and when left to himself he found no great difficulty in reorganizing the army and in putting it again in an efficient condition he was not able however to accomplish the undertaking which he had engaged to perform after various adventures prosperous and adverse which it would be foreign to our purpose here to detail he was at last defeated in a great battle and killed on the field the persian army was now obliged to give up the contest and was expelled from Greece finally and forever when xerxes reached susa he felt overjoyed to find himself once more safe as he thought in his own palaces he looked back upon the hardships exposures and perils through which he had passed and thankful for having so narrowly escaped from them he determined to encounter no such hazards again he had had enough of ambition and glory he was now going to devote himself to ease and pleasure such a man would not naturally be expected to be very scrupulous in respect to the means of enjoyment or to the character of the companions whom he would select to share his pleasures and the life of the king soon presented one continual scene of dissipation revelry and vice he gave himself up to such prolonged carousels that one night was sometimes protracted through the following day into another the administration of his government was left holy to his ministers and every personal duty was neglected that he might give himself to the most abandoned and profligate indulgence of his appetites and passions he had three sons who might be considered as errors to his throne Darius, Histospus and Artexerxes Histospus was absent in a neighboring province the others were at home he had also a very prominent officer in his court whose name Artebanus was the same with that of the uncle who had so strongly attempted to dissuade him from undertaking the conquest of Greece Artebanus the uncle disappears finally from view at the time when Xerxes dismissed him to return to Sousa at the first crossing of the hell's pond this second Artebanus was the captain of the king's bodyguard and consequently the common executioner of the despots decrees being thus established in his palace surrounded by his family and protected by Artebanus and his guard the monarch felt that all his toils and dangers were over and that there was nothing now before him but a life of ease of pleasure and of safety instead of this he was in fact in the most imminent danger Artebanus was already plotting his destruction one day in the midst of one of his carousels he became angry with his oldest son Darius for some cause and gave Artebanus an order to kill him Artebanus neglected to obey this order the king had been excited with wine when he gave it and Artebanus supposed that all recollection of the command would pass away from his mind with the excitement that occasioned it the king did not however so readily forget the next day he demanded why his order had not been obeyed Artebanus now began to fear for his own safety and he determined to proceed at once to the execution of a plan which he had long been revolving of destroying the whole of Xerxes family and placing himself on the throne in their stead he contrived to bring the king's chamberlain into his schemes and with the connivance and aid of this officer he went at night into the king's bed chamber and murdered the monarch in his sleep leaving the bloody weapon with which the deed had been perpetrated by the side of the victim Artebanus went immediately into the bed chamber of Artexerxes the youngest son and waking him suddenly he told him with tones of voice and looks expressive of great excitement and alarm that his father had been killed and that it was his brother Darius that had killed him his motive is continued Artebanus to obtain the throne and to make the more sure of an undisturbed possession of it he is intending to murder you next rise therefore and defend your life Artexerxes was aroused to a sudden and uncontrollable paroxysm of anger at this intelligence he seized his weapon and rushed into the apartment of his innocent brother and slew him on the spot other summary assassinations of a similar kind followed in this complicated tragedy among the victims Artebanus and all his adherents were slain and at length Artexerxes took quiet possession of the throne and reigned in his father's stead end of chapter 12 and of Xerxes the makers of history by Jacob Abbott