This last proposal was met by loud cries and protestations against the
idea of going by land at all. So, perceiving their infatuation, he did
not put the question to the vote, but eventually persuaded the cities
voluntarily to construct roads by the suggestion, "If you get your
roads in good order, we shall all the sooner be gone." They further
got a fifty-oared galley from the Trapezuntines, and gave the command
of it to Dexippus, a Laconian, one of the perioeci (1). This man
altogether neglected to collect vessels on the offing, but slunk off
himself, and vanished, ship and all, out of Pontus. Later on, however,
he paid the penalty of his misdeeds. He became involved in some
meddling and making in Thrace at the court of Seuthes, and was put to
death by the Laconian Nicander. They also got a thirty-oared galley,
the command of which was entrusted to Polycrates, an Athenian, and 16
that officer brought into harbour to the camp all the vessels he could
lay his hands on. If these were laden, they took out the freights and
appointed guards to keep an eye on their preservation, whilst they
used the ships themselves for transport service on the coast. While
matters stood at this point, the Hellenes used to make forays with
varying success; sometimes they captured prey and sometimes they
failed. On one occasion Cleanetus led his own and another company
against a strong position, and was killed himself, with many others of
his party.
(1) A native of the country parts of Laconia.
II
The time came when it was no longer possible to capture provisions, 1
going and returning to the camp in one day. In consequence of this,
Xenophon took some guides from the Trapezuntines and led half the army
out against the Drilae, leaving the other half to guard the camp. That
was necessary, since the Colchians, who had been ousted from their
houses, were assembled thickly, and sat eyeing them from the heights
above; on the other hand the Trapezuntines, being friendly to the
native inhabitants, were not for leading the Hellenes to places where
it was easy to capture provisions. But against the Drilae, from whom
they personally suffered, they would lead them with enthusiasm, up
into mountainous and scarcely accessible fortresses, and against the
most warlike people of any in the Pontus.
But when the Hellenes had reached the uplands, the Drilae set fire to
all their fastnesses which they thought could be taken easily, and
beat a retreat; and except here and there a stray pig or bullock or
other animal which had escaped the fire there was nothing to capture;
but there was one fastness which served as their metropolis: into this
the different streams of people collected; round it ran a tremendously
deep ravine, and the approaches to the place were difficult. So the
light infantry ran forward five or six furlongs in advance of the
heavy infantry, and crossed the ravine; and seeing quantities of sheep
and other things, proceeded to attack the place. Close at their heels
followed a number of those who had set out on the foray armed with
spears, so that the storming party across the ravine amounted to more
than two thousand. But, finding that they could not take the place by 5
a coup-de-main, as there was a trench running round it, mounded up
some breadth, with a stockade on the top of the earthwork and a
close-packed row of wooden bastions, they made an attempt to run back,
but the enemy fell upon them from the rear. To get away by a sudden
rush was out of the question, since the descent from the fortress into
the ravine only admitted of moving in single file. Under the
circumstances they sent to Xenophon, who was in command of the heavy
infantry. The messenger came and delivered his message: "There is a
fastness choke full of all sorts of stores, but we cannot take it, it
is too strong; nor can we easily get away; the enemy rush out and
deliver battle, and the return is difficult."
On hearing this, Xenophon pushed forward his heavy infantry to the
edge of the ravine, and there ordered them to take up a position,
while he himself with the officers crossed over to determine whether
it were better to withdraw the party already across, or to bring over
the heavy infantry also, on the supposition that the fortress might be
taken. In favour of the latter opinion it was agreed that the retreat
must cost many lives, and the officers were further disposed to think,
they could take the place. Xenophon consented, relying on the victims,
for the seers had announced, that there would be a battle, but that
the result of the expedition would be good. So he sent the officers to
bring the heavy troops across, while he himself remained, having drawn
off all the light infantry and forbidden all sharp-shooting at long
range. As soon as the heavy infantry had arrived, he ordered each
captain to form his company, in whatever way he hoped to make it most
effective in the coming struggle. Side by side together they stood,
these captains, not for the first time to-day competitors for the
award of manly virtue. While they were thus employed, he--the
general--was engaged in passing down his order along the ranks of the
light infantry and archers respectively to march with the javelin on
its thong and the arrow to the string, ready at the word "shoot" to
discharge their missiles, while the light troops were to have their
wallets well stocked with slingstones; lastly, he despatched his 12
adjutants to see to the proper carrying out of these orders.
And now the preparations were complete: the officers and lieutenants
and all others claiming to be peers of these, were drawn up in their
several places. With a glance each was able to command the rest in the
crescent-like disposition which the ground invited. Presently the
notes of the battle hymn arose, the clarion spoke, and with a
thrilling cry in honour of the warrior-god, commenced a rush of the
heavy infantry at full speed under cover of a storm of missiles,
lances, arrows, bullets, but most of all stones hurled from the hand
with ceaseless pelt, while there were some who brought firebrands to
bear. Overwhelmed by this crowd of missiles, the enemy left their
stockades and their bastion towers, which gave Agasias the Stymphalian
and Philoxenus of Pellene a chance not to be missed; laying aside
their heavy arms, up they went in bare tunics only, and one hauled
another up, and meantime another had mounted, and the place was taken,
as they thought. Then the peltasts and light troops rushed in and
began snatching what each man could. Xenophon the while, posted at the
gates, kept back as many of the hoplites as he could, for there were
other enemies now visible on certain strong citadel heights; and after
a lapse of no long time a shout arose within, and the men came running
back, some still clutching what they had seized; and presently here
and there a wounded man; and mighty was the jostling about the
portals. To the questions which were put to them the outpouring
fugitives repeated the same story: there was a citadel within and
enemies in crowds were making savage sallies and beating the fellows
inside.
At that Xenophon ordered Tolmides the herald to proclaim: "Enter all
who are minded to capture aught." In poured the surging multitude, and
the counter-current of persons elbowing their passage in prevailed
over the stream of those who issued forth, until they beat back and
cooped up the enemy within the citadel again. So outside the citadel
everything was sacked and pillaged by the Hellenes, and the heavy
infantry took up their position, some about the stockades, others 19
along the road leading up to the citadel. Xenophon and the officers
meantime considered the possibility of taking the citadel, for if so,
their safety was assured; but if otherwise, it would be very difficult
to get away. As the result of their deliberations they agreed that the
place was impregnable. Then they began making preparations for the
retreat. Each set of men proceeded to pull down the palisading which
faced themselves; further, they sent away all who were useless or who
had enough to do to carry their burdens, with the mass of the heavy
infantry accompanying them; the officers in each case leaving behind
men whom they could severally depend on.
But as soon as they began to retreat, out rushed upon them from within
a host of fellows, armed with wicker shields and lances, greaves and
Paphlagonian helmets. Others might be seen scaling the houses on this
side and that of the road leading into the citadel. Even pursuit in
the direction of the citadel was dangerous, since the enemy kept
hurling down on them great beams from above, so that to stop and to
make off were alike dangerous, and night approaching was full of
terrors. But in the midst of their fighting and their despair some god
gave them a means of safety. All of a sudden, by whatsoever hand
ignited, a flame shot up; it came from a house on the right hand, and
as this gradually fell in, the people from the other houses on the
right took to their heels and fled.
Xenophon, laying this lesson of fortune to heart, gave orders to set
fire to the left-hand houses also, which being of wood burned quickly,
with the result that the occupants of these also took to flight. The
men immediately at their front were the sole annoyance now, and these
were safe to fall upon them as they made their exit and in their
descent. Here then the word was passed for all who were out of range
to bring up logs of wood and pile them between themselves and the
enemy, and when there was enough of these they set them on fire; they
also fired the houses along the trench-work itself, so as to occupy
the attention of the enemy. Thus they got off, though with difficulty,
and escaped from the place by putting a fire between them and the 27
enemy; and the whole city was burnt down, houses, turrets, stockading,
and everything belonging to it except the citadel.
Next day the Hellenes were bent on getting back with the provisions;
but as they dreaded the descent to Trapezus, which was precipitous and
narrow, they laid a false ambuscade, and a Mysian, called after the
name of his nation (Mysus) (1), took ten of the Cretans and halted in
some thick brushy ground, where he made a feint of endeavouring to
escape the notice of the enemy. The glint of their light shields,
which were of brass, now and again gleamed through the brushwood. The
enemy, seeing it all through the thicket, were confirmed in their
fears of an ambuscade. But the army meanwhile was quietly making its
descent; and when it appeared that they had crept down far enough, the
signal was given to the Mysian to flee as fast as he could, and he,
springing up, fled with his men. The rest of the party, that is the
Cretans, saying, "We are caught if we race," left the road and plunged
into a wood, and tumbling and rolling down the gullies were saved. The
Mysian, fleeing along the road, kept crying for assistance, which they
sent him, and picked him up wounded. The party of rescue now beat a
retreat themselves with their face to the foe, exposed to a shower of
missiles, to which some of the Cretan bowmen responded with their
arrows. In this way they all reached the camp in safety.
(1) Lit. "{Musos} (Mysus), a Mysian by birth, and {Musos} (Mysus) by
name."
III
Now when Cheirisophus did not arrive, and the supply of ships was 1
insufficient, and to get provisions longer was impossible, they
resolved to depart. On board the vessels they embarked the sick, and
those above forty years of age, with the boys and women, and all the
baggage which the solders were not absolutely forced to take for their
own use. The two eldest generals, Philesius and Sophaenetus, were put
in charge, and so the party embarked, while the rest resumed their
march, for the road was now completely constructed. Continuing their
march that day and the next, on the third they reached Cerasus, a
Hellenic city on the sea, and a colony of Sinope, in the country of
the Colchians. Here they halted ten days, and there was a review and
numbering of the troops under arms, when there were found to be eight 3
thousand six hundred men. So many had escaped; the rest had perished
at the hands of the enemy, or by reason of the snow, or else disease.
At this time and place they divided the money accruing from the
captives sold, and a tithe selected for Apollo and Artemis of the
Ephesians was divided between the generals, each of whom took a
portion to guard for the gods, Neon the Asinaean (1) taking on behalf
of Cheirisophus.
(1) I.e. of Asine, perhaps the place named in Thuc. iv. 13, 54; vi. 93
situated on the western side of the Messenian bay. Strabo,
however, speaks of another Asine near Gytheum, but possibly means
Las. See Arnold's note to Thuc. iv. 13, and Smith's "Dict. Geog.
(s.v.)"
Out of the portion which fell to Xenophon he caused a dedicatory
offering to Apollo to be made and dedicated among the treasures of the
Athenians at Delphi (2). It was inscribed with his own name and that of
Proxenus, his friend, who was killed with Clearchus. The gift for
Artemis of the Ephesians was, in the first instance, left behind by
him in Asia at the time when he left that part of the world himself
with Agesilaus on the march into Boeotia (3). He left it behind in
charge of Megabyzus, the sacristan of the goddess, thinking that the
voyage on which he was starting was fraught with danger. In the event
of his coming out of it alive, he charged Megabyzus to restore to him
the deposit; but should any evil happen to him, then he was to cause
to be made and to dedicate on his behalf to Artemis, whatsoever thing
he thought would be pleasing to the goddess.
(2) Cf. Herod. i. 14; Strabo. ix. 420 for such private treasuries at
Delphi.
(3) I.e. in the year B.C. 394. The circumstances under which Agesilaus
was recalled from Asia, with the details of his march and the
battle of Coronea, are described by Xenophon in the fourth book of
the "Hellenica."
In the days of his banishment, when Xenophon was now established by
the Lacedaemonians as a colonist in Scillus (4), a place which lies on 7
the main road to Olympia, Megabyzus arrived on his way to Olympia as a
spectator to attend the games, and restored to him the deposit.
Xenophon took the money and bought for the goddess a plot of ground at
a point indicated to him by the oracle. The plot, it so happened, had
its own Selinus river flowing through it, just as at Ephesus the river
Selinus flows past the temple of Artemis, and in both streams fish and
mussels are to be found. On the estate at Scillus there is hunting and
shooting of all the beasts of the chase that are.
(4) Scillus, a town of Triphylia, a district of Elis. In B.C. 572 the
Eleians had razed Pisa and Scillus to the ground. But between B.C.
392 and 387 the Lacedaemonians, having previously (B.C. 400,
"Hell." III. ii. 30) compelled the Eleians to renounce their
supremacy over their dependent cities, colonised Scillus and
eventually gave it to Xenophon, then an exile from Athens.
Xenophon resided here from fifteen to twenty years, but was, it is
said, expelled from it by the Eleians soon after the battle of
Leuctra, in B.C. 371.--"Dict. Geog. (s.v.)" The site of the place,
and of Xenophon's temple, is supposed to be in the neighbourhood
of the modern village of Chrestena, or possibly nearer Mazi. To
reach Olympia, about 2 1/2 miles distant, one must cross the
Alpheus.
Here with the sacred money he built an altar and a temple, and ever
after, year by year, tithed the fruits of the land in their season and
did sacrifice to the goddess, while all the citizens and neighbours,
men and women, shared in the festival. The goddess herself provided
for the banqueters meat and loaves and wine and sweetmeats, with
portions of the victims sacrificed from the sacred pasture, as also of
those which were slain in the chase; for Xenophon's own lads, with the
lads of the other citizens, always made a hunting excursion against
the festival day, in which any grown men who liked might join. The
game was captured partly from the sacred district itself, partly from
Pholoe (5), pigs and gazelles and stags. The place lies on the direct
road from Lacedaemon to Olympia, about twenty furlongs from the temple
of Zeus in Olympia, and within the sacred enclosure there is
meadow-land and wood-covered hills, suited to the breeding of pigs and
goats and cattle and horses, so that even the sumpter animals of the
pilgrims passing to the feast fare sumptuously. The shrine is girdled
by a grove of cultivated trees, yielding dessert fruits in their
season. The temple itself is a facsimile on a small scale of the great
temple at Ephesus, and the image of the goddess is like the golden
statue at Ephesus, save only that it is made, not of gold, but of
cypress wood. Beside the temple stands a column bearing this
inscription:--THE PLACE IS SACRED TO ARTEMIS. HE WHO HOLDS IT AND
ENJOYS THE FRUITS OF IT IS BOUND TO SACRIFICE YEARLY A TITHE OF THE 13
PRODUCE. AND FROM THE RESIDUE THEREOF TO KEEP IN REPAIR THE SHRINE. IF
ANY MAN FAIL IN AUGHT OF THIS THE GODDESS HERSELF WILL LOOK TO IT THAT
THE MATTER SHALL NOT SLEEP.
(5) Pholoe. This mountain (north of the Alpheus) is an offshoot of
Erymanthus, crossing the Pisatis from east to west, and separating
the waters of the Peneus and the Ladon from those of the Alpheus
--"Dict. Geog." (Elis).
IV
From Cerasus they continued the march, the same portion of the troops 1
being conveyed by sea as before, and the rest marching by land. When
they had reached the frontiers of the Mossynoecians (1) they sent to
him Timesitheus the Trapezuntine, who was the proxenos (2) of the
Mossynoecians, to inquire whether they were to pass through their
territory as friends or foes. They, trusting in their strongholds,
replied that they would not give them passage. It was then that
Timesitheus informed them that the Mossynoecians on the farther side
of the country were hostile to these members of the tribe; and it was
resolved to invite the former to make an alliance, if they wished it.
So Timesitheus was sent, and came back with their chiefs. On their
arrival there was a conference of the Mossynoecian chiefs and the
generals of the Hellenes, and Xenophon made a speech which Timesitheus
interpreted. He said: "Men of the Mossynoecians, our desire is to
reach Hellas in safety; and since we have no vessels we must needs go
by foot, but these people who, as we hear, are your enemies, prevent
us. Will you take us for your allies? Now is your chance to exact
vengeance for any wrong, which they at any time may have put upon you,
and for the future they will be your subjects; but if you send us
about our business, consider and ask yourselves from what quarter will
you ever again obtain so strong a force to help you?" To this the
chief of the Mossynoecians made answer:--that the proposal was in
accordance with their wishes and they welcomed the alliance. "Good,"
said Xenophon, "but to what use do you propose to put us, if we become
your allies? And what will you in turn be able to do to assist our
passage?" They replied: "We can make an incursion into this country
hostile to yourselves and us, from the opposite side, and also send 10
you ships and men to this place, who will aid you in fighting and
conduct you on the road."
(1) I.e. dwellers in mossyns, or wooden towers. See Herod. iii. 94;
vii. 78. Cf. also Strabo, xi. 41.
(2) Or, "consul."
On this understanding, they exchanged pledges and were gone. The next
day they returned, bringing three hundred canoes, each hollowed out of
a single trunk. There were three men in each, two of whom disembarked
and fell into rank, whilst the third remained. Then the one set took
the boats and sailed back again, whilst the other two-thirds who
remained marshalled themselves in the following way. They stood in
rows of about a hundred each, like the rows of dancers in a chorus,
standing vis-a-vis to one another, and all bearing wicker shields,
made of white oxhide, shaggy, and shaped like an ivy leaf; in the
right hand they brandished a javelin about six cubits long, with a
lance in front, and rounded like a ball at the butt end of the shaft.
Their bodies were clad in short frocks, scarcely reaching to the knees
and in texture closely resembling that of a linen bedclothes' bag; on
their heads they wore leathern helmets just like the Paphlagonian
helmet, with a tuft of hair in the middle, as like a tiara in shape as
possible. They carried moreover iron battle-axes. Then one of them
gave, as it were, the key-note and started, while the rest, taking up
the strain and the step, followed singing and marking time. Passing
through the various corps and heavy armed battalions of the Hellenes,
they marched straight against the enemy, to what appeared the most
assailable of his fortresses. It was situated in front of the city, or
mother city, as it is called, which latter contains the high citadel
of the Mossynoecians. This citadel was the real bone of contention,
the occupants at any time being acknowledged as the masters of all the
other Mossynoecians. The present holders (so it was explained) had no
right to its possession; for the sake of self-aggrandisement they had
seized what was really common property.
Some of the Hellenes followed the attacking party, not under the
orders of the generals, but for the sake of plunder. As they advanced,
the enemy for a while kept quiet; but as they got near the place, they 16
made a sortie and routed them, killing several of the barbarians as
well as some of the Hellenes who had gone up with them; and so pursued
them until they saw the Hellenes advancing to the rescue. Then they
turned round and made off, first cutting off the heads of the dead men
and flaunting them in the face of the Hellenes and of their own
private foes, dancing the while and singing in a measured strain. But
the Hellenes were much vexed to think that their foes had only been
rendered bolder, while the Hellenes who had formed part of the
expedition had turned tail and fled, in spite of their numbers; a
thing which had not happened previously during the whole expedition.
So Xenophon called a meeting of the Hellenes and spoke as follows:
"Soldiers, do not in any wise be cast down by what has happened, be
sure that good no less than evil will be the result; for to begin
with, you now know certainly that those who are going to guide us are
in very deed hostile to those with whom necessity drives us to
quarrel; and, in the next place, some of our own body, these Hellenes
who have made so light of orderly array and conjoint action with
ourselves, as though they must needs achieve in the company of
barbarians all they could with ourselves, have paid the penalty and
been taught a lesson, so that another time they will be less prone to
leave our ranks. But you must be prepared to show these friendly
barbarians that you are of a better sort, and prove to the enemy that
battle with the undisciplined is one thing, but with men like
yourselves another."
Accordingly they halted, as they were, that day. Next day they
sacrificed and finding the victims favourable, they breakfasted,
formed the companies into columns, and with their barbarians arranged
in similar order on their left, began their march. Between the
companies were the archers only slightly retired behind the front of
the heavy infantry, on account of the enemy's active light troops, who
ran down and kept up volleys of stones. These were held in check by
the archers and peltasts; and steadily step by step the mass marched
on, first to the position from which the barbarians and those with
them had been driven two days back, and where the enemy were now drawn 23
up to meet them. Thus it came to pass that the barbarians first
grappled with the peltasts and maintained the battle until the heavy
infantry were close, when they turned and fled. The peltasts followed
without delay, and pursued them right up to their city, while the
heavy troops in unbroken order followed. As soon as they were up at
the houses of the capital, there and then the enemy, collecting all
together in one strong body, fought valiantly, and hurled their
javelins, or else clenched their long stout spears, almost too heavy
for a man to wield, and did their best to ward off the attack at close
quarters.
But when the Hellenes, instead of giving way, kept massing together
more thickly, the barbarians fled from this place also, and in a body
deserted the fortress. Their king, who sat in his wooden tower or
mossyn, built on the citadel (there he sits and there they maintain
him, all at the common cost, and guard him narrowly), refused to come
forth, as did also those in the fortress first taken, and so were
burnt to a cinder where they were, their mossyns, themselves, and all.
The Hellenes, pillaging and ransacking these places, discovered in the
different houses treasures and magazines of loaves, pile upon pile,
"the ancestral stores," as the Mossynoecians told them; but the new
corn was laid up apart with the straw-stalk and ear together, and this
was for the most part spelt. Slices of dolphin were another discovery,
in narrow-necked jars, all properly salted and pickled; and there was
blubber of dolphin in vessels, which the Mossynoecians used precisely
as the Hellenes use oil. Then there were large stores of nuts on the
upper floor, the broad kind without a division (3). This was also a
chief article of food with them--boiled nuts and baked loaves. Wine
was also discovered. This, from its rough, dry quality, tasted sharp
when drunk pure, but mixed with water was sweet and fragrant.
(3) I.e. "chestnuts."
The Hellenes breakfasted and then started forward on their march,
having first delivered the stronghold to their allies among the
Mossynoecians. As for the other strongholds belonging to tribes allied
with their foes, which they passed en route, the most accessible were
either deserted by their inhabitants or gave in their adhesion 30
voluntarily. The following description will apply to the majority of
them: the cities were on an average ten miles apart, some more, some
less; but so elevated is the country and intersected by such deep
clefts that if they chose to shout across to one another, their cries
would be heard from one city to another. When, in the course of their
march, they came upon a friendly population, these would entertain
them with exhibitions of fatted children belonging to the wealthy
classes, fed up on boiled chestnuts until they were as white as white
can be, of skin plump and delicate, and very nearly as broad as they
were long, with their backs variegated and their breasts tattooed with
patterns of all sorts of flowers. They sought after the women in the
Hellenic army, and would fain have laid with them openly in broad
daylight, for that was their custom. The whole community, male and
female alike, were fair-complexioned and white-skinned.
It was agreed that this was the most barbaric and outlandish people
that they had passed through on the whole expedition, and the furthest
removed from the Hellenic customs, doing in a crowd precisely what
other people would prefer to do in solitude, and when alone behaving
exactly as others would behave in company, talking to themselves and
laughing at their own expense, standing still and then again capering
about, wherever they might chance to be, without rhyme or reason, as
if their sole business were to show off to the rest of the world.
V
Through this country, friendly or hostile as the chance might be, the 1
Hellenes marched, eight stages in all, and reached the Chalybes. These
were a people few in number, and subject to the Mossynoecians. Their
livelihood was for the most part derived from mining and forging iron.
Thence they came to the Tibarenians. The country of the Tibarenians
was far more level, and their fortresses lay on the seaboard and were
less strong, whether by art or nature. The generals wanted to attack
these places, so that the army might get some pickings, and they would
not accept the gifts of hospitality which came in from the 2
Tibarenians, but bidding them wait till they had taken counsel, they
proceeded to offer sacrifice. After several abortive attempts, the
seers at last pronounced an opinion that the gods in no wise
countenanced war. Then they accepted the gifts of hospitality, and
marching through what was now recognised as a friendly country, in two
days reached Cotyora, a Hellenic city, and a colony of Sinope, albeit
situated in the territory of the Tibarenians (1).
(1) The MSS. here read, "Up to this point the expedition was conducted
on land, and the distance traversed on foot from the battle-field
near Babylon down to Cotyora amounted to one hundred and
twenty-two stages--that is to say, six hundred and twenty
parasangs, or eighteen thousand stades, or if measured in time, an
eight months' march." The words are probably the note of some
editor or commentator, though it is quite likely that the author
himself may have gone through such calculations and even have
inserted them as a note to his text.
Here they halted forty-five days, during which they first of all
sacrificed to the gods, and instituted processions, each set of the
Hellenes according to their several tribes, with gymnastic contests.
Provisions they got in meanwhile, partly from Paphlagonia, partly from
the estates of the Cotyorites, for the latter would neither provide
them a market nor receive their sick within their walls.
Meanwhile ambassadors arrived from Sinope, full of fears, not only for
the Cotyorites and their city, which belonged to Sinope, and brought
in tribute, but also for the territory which, as they had heard, was
being pillaged. Accordingly they came to the camp and made a speech.
Hecatonymus, who was reported to be a clever orator, acted as their
spokesman: "Soldiers," he said, "the city of the Sinopeans has sent us
to offer you, as Hellenes, our compliments and congratulations on your
victories over the barbarians; and next, to express our joyful
satisfaction that you have surmounted all those terrible sufferings of
which we have heard, and have reached this place in safety. As
Hellenes we claim to receive at your hands, as fellow-Hellenes,
kindness and not harm. We have certainly not ourselves set you an
example heretofore of evil treatment. Now the Cotyorites are our
colonists. It was we who gave them this country to dwell in, having 10
taken it from the barbarians; for which reason also they, with the men
of Cerasus and Trapezus, pay us an appointed tribute. So that,
whatever mischief you inflict on the men of Cotyora, the city of
Sinope takes as personal to herself. At the present time we hear that
you have made forcible entry into their city, some of you, and are
quartered in the houses, besides taking forcibly from the Cotyorite
estates whatever you need, by hook and by crook. Now against these
things we enter protest. If you mean to go on so doing, you will drive
us to make friends with Corylas and the Paphlagonians, or any one else
we can find."
To meet these charges Xenophon, on behalf of the soldiers, rose and
said: "As to ourselves, men of Sinope, having got so far, we are well
content to have saved our bodies and our arms. Indeed it was
impossible at one and the same moment to keep our enemies at bay and
to despoil them of their goods and chattels. And now, since we have
reached Hellenic cities, how has it fared with us? At Trapezus they
gave us a market, and we paid for our provisions at a fair market
price. In return for the honour they did us, and the gifts of
hospitality they gave the army, we requited them with honour. Where
the barbarian was friendly to them, we stayed our hands from injury;
or under their escort, we did damage to their enemies to the utmost of
our power. Ask them, what sort of people they found us. They are here,
some of them, to answer for themselves. Their fellow-citizens and the
state of Trapezus, for friendship's sake, have sent them with us to
act as our guides.
"But wherever we come, be it foreign or Hellenic soil, and find no
market for provisions, we are wont to help ourselves, not out of
insolence but from necessity. There have been tribes like the
Carduchians, the Taochians, the Chaldaeans, which, albeit they were
not subject to the great king, yet were no less formidable than
independent. These we had to bring over by our arms. The necessity of
getting provisions forced us; since they refused to offer us a market.
Whereas some other folk, like the Macrones, in spite of their being
barbarians, we regarded as our friends, simply because they did
provide us with the best market in their power, and we took no single 18
thing of theirs by force. But, to come to these Cotyorites, whom you
claim to be your people, if we have taken aught from them, they have
themselves to blame, for they did not deal with us as friends, but
shut their gates in our faces. They would neither welcome us within
nor furnish us with a market without. The only justification they
alleged was that your governor (2) had authorised this conduct.
(2) Lit. "harmost". The term, denoting properly a governor of the
islands and foreign cities sent out by the Lacedaemonians during
their supremacy, came, it would seem, to be adopted by other Greek
communities under somewhat similar circumstances. Cotyora receives
a harmost from her mother-city, Sinope. For the Greek colonies
here mentioned, see Kiepert's "Man. Anct. Geog." (Engl. tr., Mr.
G. A. Macmillan), p. 63.
"As to your assertion," he continued, turning to Hecatonymus, "that we
have got in by force and have taken up quarters, this is what we did.
We requested them to receive our sick and wounded under cover; and
when they refused to open their gates, we walked in where the place
itself invited us. All the violence we have committed amounts to this,
that our sick folk are quartered under cover, paying for their
expenses, and we keep a sentry at the gates, so that our sick and
wounded may not lie at the mercy of your governor, but we may have it
in our power to remove them whenever we like. The rest of us, you
observe, are camping under the canopy of heaven, in regular rank and
file, and we are ready to requite kindness with kindness, but to repel
evil vigorously. And as for your threat," he said, once again turning
to the spokesman, "that you will, if it suits you, make alliance with
Corylas and the Paphlagonians to attack us, for our part, we have no
objection to fighting both sets of you, if so be we must; we have
already fought others many times more numerous than you. Besides, 'if
it suits us,' as you put it, to make the Paphlagonian our friend
(report says that he has a hankering after your city and some other
places on the seaboard), we can enhance the value of our friendship by
helping to win for him what he covets."
Thereupon the ambassadors showed very plainly their annoyance with
Hecatonymus, on account of the style of his remarks, and one of them
stept forward to explain that their intention in coming was not at all
to raise a war, but on the contrary to demonstrate their friendliness. 24
"And if you come to Sinope itself," the speaker continued, "we will
welcome you there with gifts of hospitality. Meanwhile we will enjoin
upon the citizens of this place to give you what they can; for we can
see that every word of what you say is true." Thereupon the Cotyorites
sent gifts of hospitality, and the generals of the Hellenes
entertained the ambassadors of the Sinopeans. Many and friendly were
the topics of conversation; freely flowed the talk on things in
general; and, in particular, both parties were able to make inquiries
and satisfy their curiosity concerning the remaining portion of the
march.
VI
Such was the conclusion of that day. On the following day the generals 1
summoned an assembly of the soldiers, when it was resolved to invite
the men of Sinope, and to take advice with them touching the remainder
of the journey. In the event of their having to continue it on foot,
the Sinopeans through their acquaintance with Paphlagonia would be
useful to them; while, if they had to go by sea, the services of the
same people would be at a premium; for who but they could furnish
ships sufficient for the army? Accordingly, they summoned their
ambassadors, and took counsel with them, begging them, on the strength
of the sacred ties which bind Hellenes to Hellenes, to inaugurate the
good reception they had spoken of, by present kindliness and their
best advice.
Hecatonymus rose and wished at once to offer an apology with regard to
what he had said about the possibility of making friends with the
Paphlagonians. "The words were not intended," he said, "to convey a
threat, as though they were minded to go to war with the Hellenes, but
as meaning rather: albeit we have it in our power to be friendly with
the barbarians, we will choose the Hellenes." Then, being urged to aid
them by some advice, with a pious ejaculation, he commenced: "If I
bestow upon you the best counsel I am able, God grant that blessings
in abundance may descend on me; but if the contrary, may evil betide 4
me! 'Sacred counsel (1),' as the saying goes--well, sirs, if ever the
saying held, it should hold I think to-day; when, if I be proved to
have given you good counsel, I shall not lack panegyrists, or if evil,
your imprecations will be many-tongued.
(1) Cf. Plato, "Theages," 122.
"As to trouble, I am quite aware, we shall have much more trouble if
you are conveyed by sea, for we must provide the vessels; whereas, if
you go by land, all the fighting will evolve on you. Still, let come
what may, it behoves me to state my views. I have an intimate
acquaintance with the country of the Paphlagonians and their power.
The country possesses the two features of hill and vale, that is to
say, the fairest plains and the highest mountains. To begin with the
mountains, I know the exact point at which you must make your entry.
It is precisely where the horns of a mountain tower over both sides of
the road. Let the merest handful of men occupy these and they can hold
the pass with ease; for when that is done not all the enemies in the
world could effect a passage. I could point out the whole with my
finger, if you like to send any one with me to the scene.
"So much for the mountain barrier. But the next thing I know is that
there are plains and a cavalry which the barbarians themselves hold to
be superior to the entire cavalry of the great king. Why, only the
other day these people refused to present themselves to the summons of
the king; their chief is too proud for that.
"But now, supposing you were able to seize the mountain barrier, by
stealth, or expedition, before the enemy could stop you; supposing
further, you were able to win an engagement in the plain against not
only their cavalry but their more than one hundred and twenty thousand
infantry--you will only find yourself face to face with rivers, a
series of them. First the Thermodon, three hundred feet broad, which I
take it will be difficult to pass, especially with a host of foes in
front and another following behind. Next comes the Iris river, three
hundred feet broad; and thirdly, the Halys, at least two furlongs
broad, which you could not possibly cross without vessels, and who is
going to supply you with vessels? In the same way too the Parthenius 9
is impassable, which you will reach if you cross the Halys. For my
part, then, I consider the land-journey, I will not say difficult, but
absolutely impossible for you. Whereas if you go by sea, you can coast
along from here to Sinope, and from Sinope to Heraclea. From Heraclea
onwards there is no difficulty, whether by land or by sea; for there
are plenty of vessels at Heraclea."
After he had finished his remarks, some of his hearers thought they
detected a certain bias in them. He would not have spoken so, but for
his friendship with Corylas, whose official representative he was.
Others guessed he had an itching palm, and that he was hoping to
receive a present for his "sacred advice." Others again suspected that
his object was to prevent their going by foot and doing some mischief
to the country of the Sinopeans. However that might be, the Hellenes
voted in favour of continuing the journey by sea. After this Xenophon
said: "Sinopeans, the army has chosen that method of procedure which
you advise, and thus the matter stands. If there are sure to be
vessels enough to make it impossible for a single man to be left
behind, go by sea we will; but if part of us are to be left while part
go by sea, we will not set foot on board the vessels. One fact we
plainly recognise, strength is everything to us. So long as we have
the mastery, we shall be able to protect ourselves and get provisions;
but if we are once caught at the mercy of our foes, it is plain, we
shall be reduced to slavery." On hearing this the ambassadors bade
them send an embassy, which they did, to wit, Callimachus the
Arcadian, and Ariston the Athenian, and Samolas the Achaean.
So these set off, but meanwhile a thought shaped itself in the mind of
Xenophon, as there before his eyes lay that vast army of Hellene
hoplites, and that other array of peltasts, archers, and slingers,
with cavalry to boot, and all in a state of thorough efficiency from
long practice, hardened veterans, and all collected in Pontus, where
to raise so large a force would cost a mint of money. Then the idea
dawned upon him: how noble an opportunity to acquire new territory and 15
power for Hellas, by the founding of a colony--a city of no mean size,
moreover, said he to himself, as he reckoned up their own numbers--and
besides themselves a population planted on the shores of Pontus.
Thereupon he summoned Silanus the Ambraciot, the soothsayer of Cyrus
above mentioned, and before breathing a syllable to any of the
soldiers, he consulted the victims by sacrifice.
But Silanus, in apprehension lest these ideas might embody themselves,
and the army be permanently halted at some point or other, set a tale
going among the men, to the effect that Xenophon was minded to detain
the army and found a city in order to win himself a name and acquire
power, Silanus himself being minded to reach Hellas with all possible
speed, for the simple reason that he had still got the three thousand
darics presented to him by Cyrus on the occasion of the sacrifice when
he hit the truth so happily about the ten days. Silanus's story was
variously received, some few of the soldiers thinking it would be an
excellent thing to stay in that country; but the majority were
strongly averse. The next incident was that Timasion the Dardanian,
with Thorax the Boeotian, addressed themselves to some Heracleot and
Sinopean traders who had come to Cotyora, and told them that if they
did not find means to furnish the army with pay sufficient to keep
them in provisions on the homeward voyage, all that great force would
most likely settle down permanently in Pontus. "Xenophon has a pet
idea," they continued, "which he urges upon us. We are to wait until
the ships come, and then we are suddenly to turn round to the army and
say: 'Soldiers, we now see the straits we are in, unable to keep
ourselves in provisions on the return voyage, or to make our friends
at home a little present at the end of our journey. But if you like to
select some place on the inhabited seaboard of the Black Sea which may
take your fancy and there put in, this is open to you to do. Those who
like to go home, go; those who care to stay here, stay. You have got 20
vessels now, so that you can make a sudden pounce upon any point you
choose.'"
The merchants went off with this tale and reported it to every city
they came to in turn, nor did they go alone, but Timasion the
Dardanian sent a fellow-citizen of his own, Eurymachus, with the
Boeotian Thorax, to repeat the same story. So when it reached the ears
of the men of Sinope and the Heracleots, they sent to Timasion and
pressed him to accept of a gratuity, in return for which he was to
arrange for the departure of the troops. Timasion was only too glad to
hear this, and he took the opportunity when the soldiers were convened
in meeting to make the following remarks: "Soldiers," he said, "do not
set your thoughts on staying here; let Hellas, and Hellas only, be the
object of your affection, for I am told that certain persons have been
sacrificing on this very question, without saying a word to you. Now I
can promise you, if you once leave these waters, to furnish you with
regular monthly pay, dating from the first of the month, at the rate
of one cyzicene (2) a head per month. I will bring you to the Troad,
from which part I am an exile, and my own state is at your service.
They will receive me with open arms. I will be your guide personally,
and I will take you to places where you will get plenty of money. I
know every corner of the Aeolid, and Phrygia, and the Troad, and
indeed the whole satrapy of Pharnabazus, partly because it is my
birthplace, partly from campaigns in that region with Clearchus and
Dercylidas (3)."
(2) A cyzicene stater = twenty-eight silver drachmae of Attic money
B.C. 335, in the time of Demosthenes; but, like the daric, this
gold coin would fluctuate in value relatively to silver. It
contained more grains of gold than the daric.
(3) Of Dercylidas we hear more in the "Hellenica." In B.C. 411 he was
harmost at Abydos; in B.C. 399 he superseded Thimbron in Asia
Minor; and was himself superseded by Agesilaus in B.C. 396.
No sooner had he ceased than up got Thorax the Boeotian. This was a
man who had a standing battle with Xenophon about the generalship of
the army. What he said was that, if they once got fairly out of the
Euxine, there was the Chersonese, a beautiful and prosperous country,
where they could settle or not, as they chose. Those who liked could
stay; and those who liked could return to their homes; how ridiculous 25
then, when there was so much territory in Hellas and to spare, to be
poking about (4) in the land of the barbarian. "But until you find
yourselves there," he added, "I, no less than Timasion, can guarantee
you regular pay." This he said, knowing what promises had been made
Timasion by the men of Heraclea and Sinope to induce them to set sail.
(4) The word {masteuein} occurs above, and again below, and in other
writings of our author. It is probably Ionic or old Attic, and occurs in poetry. |
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