Calliope   

The Ninth Book, Entitled
CALLIOPE

Mardonius, when Alexander upon his return made known to him the
answer of the Athenians, forthwith broke up from Thessaly, and led his
army with all speed against Athens; forcing the several nations
through whose land he passed to furnish him with additional troops.
The chief men of Thessaly, far from repenting of the part which they
had taken in the war hitherto, urged on the Persians to the attack
more earnestly than ever. Thorax of Larissa in particular, who had
helped to escort Xerxes on his flight to Asia, now openly encouraged
Mardonius in his march upon Greece.
When the army reached Boeotia, the Thebans sought to induce
Mardonius to make a halt: "He would not," they told him, "find
anywhere a more convenient place in which to pitch his camp; and their
advice to him was, that he should go no further, but fix himself
there, and thence take measures to subdue all Greece without
striking a blow. If the Greeks, who had held together hitherto,
still continued united among themselves, it would be difficult for the
whole world to overcome them by force of arms. But if thou wilt do
as we advise," they went on to say, "thou mayest easily obtain the
direction of all their counsels. Send presents to the men of most
weight in the several states, and by so doing thou wilt sow division
among them. After that, it will be a light task, with the help of such
as side with thee, to bring under all thy adversaries."
Such was the advice of the Thebans: but Mardonius did not follow
it. A strong desire of taking Athens a second time possessed him, in
part arising from his inborn stubbornness, in part from a wish to
inform the king at Sardis, by fire-signals along the islands, that
he was master of the place. However, he did not on his arrival in
Attica find the Athenians in their country- they had again
withdrawn, some to their ships, but the greater part to Salamis- and
he only gained possession of a deserted town. It was ten months
after the taking of the city by the king that Mardonius came against
it for the second time.
Mardonius, being now in Athens, sent an envoy to Salamis, one
Murychides, a Hellespontine Greek, to offer the Athenians once more
the same terms which had been conveyed to them by Alexander. The
reason for his sending a second time, though he knew beforehand
their unfriendly feelings towards him, was,- that he hoped, when
they saw the whole land of Attica conquered and in his power, their
stubbornness would begin to give way. On this account, therefore, he
dispatched Murychides to Salamis.
Now, when Murychides came before the council, and delivered his
message, one of the councillors, named Lycidas, gave it as his
opinion- "that the best course would be, to admit the proposals
brought by Murychides, and lay them before the assembly of the
people." This he stated to be his opinion, perhaps because he had been
bribed by Mardonius, or it may be because that course really
appeared to him the most expedient. However, the Athenians- both those
in the council, and those who stood without, when they heard of the
advice- were full of wrath, and forthwith surrounded Lycidas, and
stoned him to death. As for Murychides, the Hellespontine Greek, him
they sent away unharmed. Now there was a stir in the island about
Lycidas, and the Athenian women learnt what had happened. Then each
exhorted her fellow, and one brought another to take part in the deed;
and they all flocked of their own accord to the house of Lycidas,
and stoned to death his wife and his children.
The circumstances under which the Athenians had sought refuge in
Salamis were the following. So long as any hope remained that a
Peloponnesian army would come to give them aid, they abode still in
Attica; but when it appeared that the allies were slack and slow to
move, while the invader was reported to be pressing forward and to
have already entered Boeotia, then they proceeded to remove their