Polymnia   

Hellespontian exclaimed-
"Why, O Jove, dost thou, in the likeness of a Persian man, and
with the name of Xerxes instead of thine own, lead the whole race of
mankind to the destruction of Greece? It would have been as easy for
thee to destroy it without their aid!"
When the whole army had crossed, and the troops were now upon
their march, a strange prodigy appeared to them, whereof the king made
no account, though its meaning was not difficult to conjecture. Now
the prodigy was this:- a mare brought forth a hare. Hereby it was
shown plainly enough, that Xerxes would lead forth his host against
Greece with mighty pomp and splendour, but, in order to reach again
the spot from which he set out, would have to run for his life.
There had also been another portent, while Xerxes was still at Sardis-
a mule dropped a foal, neither male nor female; but this likewise
was disregarded.
So Xerxes, despising the omens, marched forwards; and his land
army accompanied him. But the fleet held an opposite course, and,
sailing to the mouth of the Hellespont, made its way along the
shore. Thus the fleet proceeded westward, making for Cape Sarpedon,
where the orders were that it should await the coming up of the
troops; but the land army marched eastward along the Chersonese,
leaving on the right the tomb of Helle, the daughter of Athamas, and
on the left the city of Cardia. Having passed through the town which
is called Agora, they skirted the shores of the Gulf of Melas, and
then crossed the river Melas, whence the gulf takes its name, the
waters of which they found too scanty to supply the host. From this
point their march was to the west; and after passing Aenos, an Aeolian
settlement, and likewise Lake Stentoris, they came to Doriscus.
The name Doriscus is given to a beach and a vast plain upon the
coast of Thrace, through the middle of which flows the strong stream
of the Hebrus. Here was the royal fort which is likewise called
Doriscus, where Darius had maintained a Persian garrison ever since
the time when he attacked the Scythians. This place seemed to Xerxes a
convenient spot for reviewing and numbering his soldiers; which things
accordingly he proceeded to do. The sea-captains, who had brought
the fleet to Doriscus, were ordered to take the vessels to the beach
adjoining, where Sale stands, a city of the Samothracians, and Zone,
another city. The beach extends to Serrheum, the well-known
promontory; the whole district in former times was inhabited by the
Ciconians. Here then the captains were to bring their ships, and to
haul them ashore for refitting, while Xerxes at Doriscus was
employed in numbering the soldiers.
What the exact number of the troops of each nation was I cannot
say with certainty- for it is not mentioned by any one- but the
whole land army together was found to amount to one million seven
hundred thousand men. The manner in which the numbering took place was
the following. A body of ten thousand men was brought to a certain
place, and the men were made to stand as close together as possible;
after which a circle was drawn around them, and the men were let go:
then where the circle had been, a fence was built about the height
of a man's middle; and the enclosure was filled continually with fresh
troops, till the whole army had in this way been numbered. When the
numbering was over, the troops were drawn up according to their
several nations.
Now these were the nations that took part in this expedition.
The Persians, who wore on their heads the soft hat called the tiara,
and about their bodies, tunics with sleeves of divers colours,
having iron scales upon them like the scales of a fish. Their legs
were protected by trousers; and they bore wicker shields for bucklers;
their quivers hanging at their backs, and their arms being a short
spear, a bow of uncommon size, and arrows of reed. They had likewise
daggers suspended from their girdles along their right thighs. Otanes,
the father of Xerxes' wife, Amestris, was their leader. This people
was known to the Greeks in ancient times by the name of Cephenians;