Polymnia   

the river Caicus and the land of Mysia. Beyond the Caius the road,
leaving Mount Cana upon the left, passed through the Atarnean plain,
to the city of Carina. Quitting this, the troops advanced across the
plain of Thebe, passing Adramyttium, and Antandrus, the Pelasgic city;
then, holding Mount Ida upon the left hand, it entered the Trojan
territory. On this march the Persians suffered some loss; for as
they bivouacked during the night at the foot of Ida, a storm of
thunder and lightning burst upon them, and killed no small number.
On reaching the Scamander, which was the first stream, of all that
they had crossed since they left Sardis, whose water failed them and
did not suffice to satisfy the thirst of men and cattle, Xerxes
ascended into the Pergamus of Priam, since he had a longing to
behold the place. When he had seen everything, and inquired into all
particulars, he made an offering of a thousand oxen to the Trojan
Minerva, while the Magians poured libations to the heroes who were
slain at Troy. The night after, a panic fell upon the camp: but in the
morning they set off with daylight, and skirting on the left hand
the towns Rhoeteum, Ophryneum, and Dardanus (which borders on Abydos),
on the right the Teucrians of Gergis, so reached Abydos.
Arrived here, Xerxes wished to look upon all his host; so as there
was a throne of white marble upon a hill near the city, which they
of Abydos had prepared beforehand, by the king's bidding, for his
especial use, Xerxes took his seat on it, and, gazing thence upon
the shore below, beheld at one view all his land forces and all his
ships. While thus employed, he felt a desire to behold a sailing-match
among his ships, which accordingly took place, and was won by the
Phoenicians of Sidon, much to the joy of Xerxes, who was delighted
alike with the race and with his army.
And now, as he looked and saw the whole Hellespont covered with
the vessels of his fleet, and all the shore and every plain about
Abydos as full as possible of men, Xerxes congratulated himself on his
good fortune; but after a little while he wept.
Then Artabanus, the king's uncle (the same who at the first so
freely spake his mind to the king, and advised him not to lead his
army against Greece), when he heard that Xerxes was in tears, went
to him, and said:-
"How different, sire, is what thou art now doing, from what thou
didst a little while ago! Then thou didst congratulate thyself; and
now, behold! thou weepest."
"There came upon me," replied he, "a sudden pity, when I thought
of the shortness of man's life, and considered that of all this
host, so numerous as it is, not one will be alive when a hundred years
are gone by."
"And yet there are sadder things in life than that," returned
the other. "Short as our time is, there is no man, whether it be
here among this multitude or elsewhere, who is so happy, as not to
have felt the wish- I will not say once, but full many a time- that he
were dead rather than alive. Calamities fall upon us; sicknesses vex
and harass us, and make life, short though it be, to appear long. So
death, through the wretchedness of our life, is a most sweet refuge to
our race: and God, who gives us the tastes that we enjoy of pleasant
times, is seen, in his very gift, to be envious."
"True," said Xerxes; "human life is even such as thou hast painted
it, O Artabanus! But for this very reason let us turn our thoughts
from it, and not dwell on what is so sad, when pleasant things are
in hand. Tell me rather, if the vision which we saw had not appeared
so plainly to thyself, wouldst thou have been still of the same mind
as formerly, and have continued to dissuade me from warring against
Greece, or wouldst thou at this time think differently? Come now, tell
me this honestly."
"O king!" replied the other, "may the dream which hath appeared to
us have such issue as we both desire! For my own part, I am still full
of fear, and have scarcely power to control myself, when I consider
all our dangers, and especially when I see that the two things which