The Story of the Persian War from Herodotus, Illustrated Edition (Yesterday's Classics) by Church Alfred J

Author:Church, Alfred J. [Church, Alfred J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History
ISBN: 9781599153308
Publisher: Yesterday's Classics
Published: 2010-11-08T17:02:37.234000+00:00

CHAPTER XII

Of the Army and the Ships of Xerxes, and of the First Fighting with the Greeks

KING XERXES brought with him from Asia twelve hundred and seven great ships; and in each ship there were two hundred rowers and thirty fighting men. Also he had of smaller ships, having fifty oars or under, three thousand, and in each of these, taking one with another, there were eighty men. Therefore the whole number of the men that served on the ships was five hundred and seventeen thousand and six hundred. Of foot soldiers there were seventeen hundred thousand, and of horsemen eighty thousand, and of Arabs riding on camels and of Libyans that fought from chariots twenty thousand. There were also one hundred and twenty ships of Greeks that dwelt in Thrace and in the islands thereof, and in these twenty and four thousand men. To these must be added foot soldiers of the Thracians, the Pæonians, the Macedonians, and others. And the sum of the whole was two million six hundred and forty-one thousand six hundred and ten. And of all this great host there was none fitter to be the ruler for beauty and great stature than King Xerxes himself. Of those that followed the camp, and of the crews of the provision ships and other vessels of transport, the number was more rather than less the number of the fighting men. As for the women that ground the corn, and others that came with the army, and the horses, and the beasts of burden, and the dogs, their number can not be told.

The fleet, departing from Therma, came to the country of Magnesia and there cast anchor. But ten of the swiftest ships sailed down the gulf of Therma straight to the island of Sciathos, which lies to the northward of Eubœa. Here were three ships of the Greeks, whereof one was from Athens, and one from Ægina, and one from Trœzen; these were looking out for the coming of the barbarians. And when they spied the ships of the barbarians they fled with all speed, and the barbarians pursued them, and overtook the ship of Trœzen. Then they took the most beautiful of the fighting men and sacrificed him at the prow of the ship, thinking that this was an omen of good to them, for the man was very beautiful, and was the first captive they had taken from the Greeks. Also his name was Leo, that is to say, Lion; and this was another cause for which they sacrificed him.

The ship of Ægina gave the Persians no small trouble, a certain Pytheas, who was a fighting man thereon, bearing himself very bravely. For when the ship was taken he did not cease to contend with the enemies, until he fell, being covered with wounds from head to foot. But the Persian soldiers, finding that he was not dead, but still breathed, made much of him, seeking to keep him alive. His wounds they dressed with

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