Herodotus Tweets - Book 9

9.122 Artaÿctes' grampa once wanted the Persians to move to better land. If we do we'll be slaves Cyrus said: soft countries breed soft men.

9.121 The Athenians then sailed back to Greece, bringing the gear from the bridges with them. Nothing much happened the rest of that year.

9.120 Artaÿctes offered $ for their release but the Athenians refused. They nailed him to a plank near the shore & stoned his son to death.

9.119 Oeob. fled to Thrace. He was caught & sacrificed to a local god. The Greeks captured Artaÿctes & son and brought them back to Sestos.

9.118 Inside Sestos they were in dire straits, boiling leather for food. Oeobazus & Artaÿctes escaped over the wall. The rest surrendered.

9.117 The Athenians were still besieging Sestos in the fall. The rank and file wanted to go home then, but the generals insisted they stay.

9.116 The satrap Artaÿctes was there too. He'd tricked X. into giving him the sanctuary of Protesilaus. He defiled it by having sex there.

9.115 Lots of Persians were in Sestos, including Oeobazus. He had stored the gear from the bridges there.

9.114 The Grks sailed from Samos to Abydos & found X's bridges already broken. The Spartans went home. The Ath. stayed to besiege Sestos.

9.113 Masistes, fearing something bad, ran home & found his wife. He & his sons set off 2 raise a rebellion, but Xerxes had them all killed.

9.112 While they were talking, Amestris cut off her sister-in-law's breasts, nose, ears, lips, and tongue and sent her home.

9.111 Xerxes feared her intentions but gave her the woman. Then he bid Masistes to leave his wife & remarry. Masistes refused & stormed out.

9.110 Amestris, Xerxes' wife, found out A. had the robe but thought A's mother was behind it. On X’s birthday she asked for a gift: the mom.

9.109 X offered Artaÿnte any gift she wanted. She wanted the robe his wife had made him & refused anything else. Unhappy, he gave it to her.

9.108 Xerxes, in Sardis, had fallen 4 Masistes’ wife. But after his son married M.'s daughter Artaÿnte he wanted her instead. She obliged.

9.107 Some of the barbarians, not many, had fled to the heights of Mycale, among them Xerxes' bro Masistes. They made their way to Sardis.

9.106 Later, in Samos, the Greeks debated abandoning Ionia/resettling its ppl. The Ath refused. The Ionians joined the Grk alliance instead.

9.105 The best among the Greeks at Mycale were the Athenians, and the best Athenian was Hermolycus, who was a pancratiast [boxer/wrestler].

9.104 The Milesians, ordered to guard the mtn passes for the Persians, instead helped the Greeks. Thus Ionia revolted for the second time.

9.103 The Spartans now came up & joined the fight. The disarmed Samians & the other Ionians deserted the Persians and fought for the Greeks.

9.102 The Athenians fought 1st (as the Spartans were delayed by the terrain). Eventually all the barbarians but the Persians took to flight.

9.101 Not only were the battles at Plataea and Mycale on the same day, but they were also both fought close to sanctuaries of Demeter.

9.100 The Greeks advanced against the Persians. As they did a rumor spread among them--based on an omen--that the Greeks had won in Boeotia.

9.99 The Greeks landed & formed 4 battle. The Persians disarmed the Samians lest they revolt & they had the Milesians guard the mtn passes.

9.98 The Greeks followed the Persians to Mycale & found them deployed on shore. Leotychides sailed by & called out to the Ionians to desert.

9.97 The Persians drew their ships up on shore near a temple of Demeter and built a stockade, prepared either for a siege or for a victory.

9.96 The Greeks sailed to Samos & prepared to fight at sea. Wanting to avoid this, the Persians decided to beach their ships & build a fort.

9.95 So Deïphonus was this guy's son--supposedly. I've heard that he wasn't, though, and that he just pretended he was so he could get work.

9.94 He was given, per his suggestion, the two best estates in Apollonia, and from that day onward he also had a natural gift for prophecy.

9.93 The next day the Greek seer Deïphonus sacrificed. His dad had been blinded for letting wolves kill 60 sacred sheep. He got reparations.

9.92 The men swore oaths of alliance & sailed away, but Leotychides had Hegesistratus sail with his own men because of the omen of his name.

9.91 L. asked one of the men his name. Learning it was Hegesistratus [leader of the army], he agreed to go, but had them 1st swear an oath.

9.90 The Persians lost at Mycale on the same day as Plataea. The Samians had sent men to Leotychides at Delos to urge him to sail to Ionia.

9.89 Meanwhile, Artabazus and his men made their way through Greece, Macedon, and Thrace (where many were killed), and crossed to Asia.

9.88 They came to terms. Attaginus escaped, though his children were captured. Pausanias released them but had the medizers executed.

9.87 Nineteen days into the siege Timagenidas told the Thebans he was willing to surrender himself. They approved and contacted Pausanias.

9.86 Ten days after the battle the Greeks besieged Thebes, demanding they surrender the medizers, particularly Timagenidas and Attaginus.

9.85 After they'd divided the spoils, the Greeks buried their dead, each people separately. Most buried all their dead in a single grave.

9.84 The day after the battle, someone--I haven't been able to find out who--stole Mardonius' corpse and reportedly buried it.

9.83 Long afterwards, the Plataeans would find gold & silver near the battlefield--also, weird skeletons, like that of a man 7.5 feet tall.

9.82 Seeing Mardonius' luxurious tent, Pausanias had M's cooks make the sort of meal they'd have made for him--a far cry from Spartan fare.

9.81 They dedicated 1/10 of the booty each to the gods at Delphi, Olympia, & the Isthmus. Paus. got 10 of everything. The rest was divided.

9.80 Pausanias ordered that the booty from the Persian camp and from the corpses be gathered. No one should take anything for themselves.

9.79 Pausanias told him that such an act was more fitting for barbarians than Greeks, and he should not make a suggestion like that again.

9.78 An Aeginetan suggested to Pausanias after the battle that he impale Mardonius' head on a stake like the Persians had done to Leonidas.

9.77 The Mantineans and Eleans arrived then and lamented being too late for the fight. They went home and banished their military leaders.

9.76 A woman who'd been captured and kept as a Persian's concubine sought out Pausanias and begged him to free her. He did what she asked.

9.75 At the Athenian siege of Aegina Sophanes killed Eurybates of Argos. He died in battle himself years later while serving as a general.

9.74 Some say Sophanes literally anchored himself in position during the battle. Others say there was an anchor depicted on his shield.

9.73 Among the Athenians, Sophanes of the deme Decelea particularly distinguished himself.

9.72 Callicrates, the most handsome of the Greeks, was shot with an arrow & killed while sitting at his post before the battle even began.

9.71 Of the barbarians, the Persians had the best infantry, and Mardonius was the best man. Of the Greeks, the Spartans excelled in courage.

9.70 The Greeks breached the walls of the Persians' fort & slaughtered the men inside. Only 3000 escaped. 159 Greeks died in this encounter.

9.69 The Greeks at the temple of Hera, hearing there'd been a battle, set out & were attacked by the Theban cavalry, who killed 600 of them.

9.68 The barbarians' success clearly depended on the Persians: when they ran everybody ran, tho the cavalry stayed & helped those who fled.

9.67 Meanwhile, of the medizing Greeks, the Thebans fought the Athenians most fiercely. Still, they were routed, and they fled to Thebes.

9.66 When he saw the Persians fleeing, Artabazus, who had opposed engaging the Greeks, led the 40,000 men under his command north to Phocis.

9.65 The Persians fled after the battle to their camp and the wooden fort they had built.

9.64 Thus Mardonius paid retribution for the death of Leonidas of Sparta, and Pausanias won the fairest victory of all those known to us.

9.63 The Persians near Mardonius pressed the Spartans hard, but when Mardonius and those around him fell, the rest were put to flight.

9.62 The Tegeans & Spartans attacked. The fight lasted for a long time. The Persians, lacking the Spartans' armor & skill, were destroyed.

9.61 The Athenians were eager to help but were then attacked themselves by the medizing Greeks. The Spartans & Tegeans were on their own.

9.60 The Spartans, under attack by the Persian cavalry, sent a messenger to the Athenians asking them to send help.

9.59 The barbarians crossed the Asopus in pursuit, heading toward the Spartans & Tegeans. The Athenians hadn't met up w/the Spartans yet.

9.58 When Mardonius found out the Spartans had withdrawn, he mocked their cowardice and ordered his men to pursue them.

9.57 A. hadn't thought they'd actually desert him. Finally he withdrew & caught up w/the other Spartans. Then the Persian cavalry attacked.

9.56 In the morning Pausanias withdrew, leaving Amompharetus & his men behind. The Athenians withdrew as well, but by a different route.

9.55 The herald found Pausanias arguing w/Amomph. Pausanias told the herald the Athenians shd join his troops and follow the Spartans’ lead.

9.54 Meanwhile, the Athenians sent a herald to see if the Spartans really intended to retreat, and to ask Pausanias what they should do.

9.53 Pausanias gave orders for the Spartans to retreat to the agreed upon place, but 1 regimental commander, Amompharetus, refused to obey.

9.52 They were harassed by cavalry all day. That night they withdrew, but most fled to the wrong place, the temple of Hera outside Plataea.

9.51 They decided to withdraw that night to a place nearer Plataea w/abundant water. Then they'd send men to recover their baggage train.

9.50 The Greeks met to discuss their problems: continual attacks from the Persian cavalry; dwindling provisions; and now no water.

9.49 The herald told M the Spartans had ignored him. M sent out his cavalry. They wrecked the spring from which the Greeks were getting H2O.

9.48 Mardonius sent a herald to mock the Spartans for trying to abandon the right wing. He challenged them to fight the Persians alone.

9.47 They switched wings at dawn. Mardonius saw & moved the Persians to his left wing. The Greeks then changed back & the Persians did too.

9.46 The Athenians told Pausanias. He suggested they move to the right wing, opp. the Persians, since they'd fought Persians b4 at Marathon.

9.45 He told them Mardonius planned to attack in the A.M. and they should only share this info w/Pausanias. He ID'd himself, then rode off.

9.44 That night, while most were asleep, Alexander, the king of Macedon, rode into the Athenians' camp and asked to see their generals.

9.43 Mardonius was actually wrong about this oracle referring to the Persians, but I know of other oracles that did have to do with them.

9.42 Mardonius summoned his commanders and told them they wouldn't be plundering Delphi: an oracle prophesied their destruction if they did.

9.41 After 10 days of inactivity Mardonius met w/advisors. They wanted to win Greece w/bribes. He wanted to ignore the sacrifices & attack.

9.40 Nothing more happened for 2 days, as neither side wanted to initiate battle. But the Persian cavalry did continually harass the Greeks.

9.39 Mardonius sent his cavalry to the passes. They captured 500 pack animals that were bringing in food & killed many of the animals & men.

9.38 Meanwhile, someone advised Mardonius to block the passes over Cithaeron to cut off the Greeks who were streaming in to join the fight.

9.37 Mardonius too was told to stay on the defensive by his seer, Hegesistratus, a Greek who'd once cut off his own foot to escape chains.

9.36 The sacrificial omens showed that the Greeks wd fare well if they stayed on the defensive & didn't cross the Asopus to begin the fight.

9.35 Tisamenus & his bro were the only people who ever became Spartan citizens. T. helped the Spartans win 5 contests: the 1st was Plataea.

9.34 (Tisamenus got the Spartans to give his bro citizenship in the same way Melampus won a share of the Argive kingship for his brother.)

9.33 The next day both sides made sacrifices. Tisamenus, who'd been given Spartan citizenship (w/his bro), performed them for the Greeks.

9.32 Mardonius had 300,000 barbarians under his command & some number of Greeks--I'd guess 50,000. This is not counting the cavalry.

9.31 The barbarians now formed in battle order near the Asopus: the Persians opposite the Spartans; the Boeotians et al. opp. the Athenians.

9.30 There were also 1800 Thespians present, though they had no armor. All together, then, the Greeks had 110,000 at Plataea.

9.29 There were 38,700 hoplites gathered at Plataea and 69,500 lightly armed troops.

9.28 The Greeks took up their positions: the Spartans on the right, Athenians on the left & all the other Greeks by divisions in the middle.

9.27 The Athenians argued for the left wing next, citing inter alia their victory over the Persians at Marathon. The Athenians won the day.

9.26 The Tegeans and Athenians fought over who would hold the army's left wing. (The Spartans were on the right.) The Tegeans spoke first.

9.25 Meanwhile, the Greeks paraded Masistius' corpse around on a wagon. They then moved their camp to a place where there was more water.

9.24 The Persians mourned Masistius, shaving their heads and their horses' manes and their other animals. Their lamentations filled Boeotia.

9.23 The 300, being worsted by the cavalry, summoned reinforcements. Together they beat the Persians, who withdrew w/o retrieving the body.

9.22 There was another battle during which Masistius was killed. When the Persians realized he was dead they attacked to recover the corpse.

9.21 The Megarians were especially hard pressed by the cavalry. 300 Athenians volunteered to help them. They were commanded by Olympiodorus.

9.20 Mardonius sent his cavalry against the Greeks. The cavalry, under the command of Masistius, attacked the Greeks in waves.

9.19 The Persians encamped along the Asopus River. The Greeks advanced into Boeotia & encamped opposite them in the foothills of Cithaeron.

9.18 They encircled the Phocians & attacked but as quickly withdrew. It's not clear why. Mardonius later told them they needn't be afraid.

9.17 The Phocians medized under compulsion & joined the Persians in Boeotia late. The Persian cavalry advanced against them as if to attack.

9.16 Thersander of Orchomenus told me this: a Persian he met at the dinner told him he expected very few Persians to survive the war.

9.15 M. then retreated to Thebes, where his men built a fort. Meanwhile, a man named Attaginus hosted a dinner for M. & 50 Persian grandees.

9.14 M. turned toward Megara when he heard the enemy was there. His cavalry overran the country--the farthest west the Persians ever got.

9.13 Mardonius had been waiting for the Athenians to come to terms. When he heard the news, he burned Athens & withdrew toward Thebes.

9.12 The messengers left for the Isthmus. Meanwhile, the Argives sent a runner to Mardonius in Attica to tell him of the Spartans' approach.

9.11 The next day the Athenian messengers said they were leaving & that Athens would medize. The ephors surprised them w/news of their army.

9.10 Secretly, that very night, the Spartans sent off an army of 5000 Spartiates under the command of the regent Pausanias and Euryanax.

9.9 Finally a Tegean man pointed out that, w/o Athens, Sparta would be vulnerable to invasion by sea however many walls crossed the Isthmus.

9.8 The Spartans continually postponed responding to the Athenians, for 10 days in all, while they feverishly worked on the Isthmus wall.

9.7 (The wall across the Isthmus was still under construction.) Athens' messengers addressed Sparta's ephors & asked them to send help ASAP.

9.6 The Athenians had crossed to Salamis when Mardonius was in Boeotia, and they complained to the Spartans as they hadn't yet sent an army.

9.5 M's messenger spoke to Athens' councilors, one of whom suggested they consider the matter. The Athenians stoned him & his fam. to death.

9.4 While in Athens, Mardonius sent a messenger to the Athenians at Salamis to offer an alliance on the same terms he'd offered before.

9.3 But Mardonius yearned to take Athens a 2nd time. When he did, he found it deserted. This was 9 months after he'd first taken the city.

9.2 When he got to Boeotia the Thebans suggested he make Thebes his base & that he take Greece w/o a fight by bribing various Greek leaders.

9.1 When Mardonius received the Athenians’ response from Alexander, he set out against Athens from Thessaly, drafting more men en route.