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II
II
But when the right moment seemed to him to have come, at which he 1
should begin his march into the interior, the pretext which he put
forward was his desire to expel the Pisidians utterly out of the
country; and he began collecting both his Asiatic and his Hellenic
armaments, avowedly against that people. From Sardis in each direction
his orders sped: to Clearchus, to join him there with the whole of his
army; to Aristippus, to come to terms with those at home, and to
despatch to him the troops in his employ; to Xenias the Arcadian, who
was acting as general-in-chief of the foreign troops in the cities, to
present himself with all the men available, excepting only those who
were actually needed to garrison the citadels. He next summoned the
troops at present engaged in the siege of Miletus, and called upon the
exiles to follow him on his intended expedition, promising them that
if he were successful in his object, he would not pause until he had
reinstated them in their native city. To this invitation they
hearkened gladly; they believed in him; and with their arms they
presented themselves at Sardis. So, too, Xenias arrived at Sardis with
the contingent from the cities, four thousand hoplites; Proxenus,
also, with fifteen hundred hoplites and five hundred light-armed
troops; Sophaenetus the Stymphalian, with one thousand hoplites;
Socrates the Achaean, with five hundred hoplites; while the Megarion
Pasion came with three hundred hoplites and three hundred peltasts[1].
This latter officer, as well as Socrates, belonged to the force
engaged against Miletus. These all joined him at Sardis.
[1] "Targeteers" armed with a light shield instead of the larger one
of the hoplite, or heavy infantry soldier. Iphicrates made great
use of this arm at a later date.
But Tissaphernes did not fail to note these proceedings. An equipment
so large pointed to something more than an invasion of Pisidia: so he
argued; and with what speed he might, he set off to the king, attended
by about five hundred horse. The king, on his side, had no sooner
heard from Tissaphernes of Cyrus's great armament, than he began to
make counter-preparations.
Thus Cyrus, with the troops which I have named, set out from Sardis,
and marched on and on through Lydia three stages, making
two-and-twenty parasangs[2], to the river Maeander. That river is two
hundred feet[3] broad, and was spanned by a bridge consisting of seven
boats. Crossing it, he marched through Phrygia a single stage, of
eight parasangs, to Colossae, an inhabited city[4], prosperous and 6
large. Here he remained seven days, and was joined by Menon the
Thessalian, who arrived with one thousand hoplites and five hundred
peltasts, Dolopes, Aenianes, and Olynthians. From this place he
marched three stages, twenty parasangs in all, to Celaenae, a populous
city of Phrygia, large and prosperous. Here Cyrus owned a palace and a
large park[5] full of wild beasts, which he used to hunt on horseback,
whenever he wished to give himself or his horses exercise. Through the
midst of the park flows the river Maeander, the sources of which are
within the palace buildings, and it flows through the city of
Celaenae. The great king also has a palace in Celaenae, a strong
place, on the sources of another river, the Marsyas, at the foot of
the acropolis. This river also flows through the city, discharging
itself into the Maeander, and is five-and-twenty feet broad. Here is
the place where Apollo is said to have flayed Marsyas, when he had
conquered him in the contest of skill. He hung up the skin of the
conquered man, in the cavern where the spring wells forth, and hence
the name of the river, Marsyas. It was on this site that Xerxes, as
tradition tells, built this very palace, as well as the citadel of
Celaenae itself, on his retreat from Hellas, after he had lost the
famous battle. Here Cyrus remained for thirty days, during which
Clearchus the Lacedaemonian arrived with one thousand hoplites and
eight hundred Thracian peltasts and two hundred Cretan archers. At the
same time, also, came Sosis the Syracusian with three thousand
hoplites, and Sophaenetus the Arcadian[6] with one thousand hoplites;
and here Cyrus held a review, and numbered his Hellenes in the park,
and found that they amounted in all to eleven thousand hoplites and
about two thousand peltasts.
[2] The Persian "farsang" = 30 stades, nearly 1 league, 3 1/2 statute
miles, though not of uniform value in all parts of Asia.
[3] "Two plethra": the plethron = about 101 English feet.
[4] Lit. "inhabited," many of the cities of Asia being then as now
deserted, but the suggestion is clearly at times "thickly
inhabited," "populous."
[5] Lit. "paradise," an oriental word = park or pleasure ground.
[6] Perhaps this should be Agias the Arcadian, as Mr. Macmichael
suggests. Sophaenetus has already been named above.
From this place he continued his march two stages--ten parasangs--to 10
the populous city of Peltae, where he remained three days; while
Xenias, the Arcadian, celebrated the Lycaea[7] with sacrifice, and
instituted games. The prizes were headbands of gold; and Cyrus himself
was a spectator of the contest. From this place the march was
continued two stages--twelve parasangs--to Ceramon-agora, a populous
city, the last on the confines of Mysia. Thence a march of three
stages--thirty parasangs--brought him to Caystru-pedion[8], a populous
city. Here Cyrus halted five days; and the soldiers, whose pay was now
more than three months in arrear, came several times to the palace
gates demanding their dues; while Cyrus put them off with fine words
and expectations, but could not conceal his vexation, for it was not
his fashion to stint payment, when he had the means. At this point
Epyaxa, the wife of Syennesis, the king of the Cilicians, arrived on a
visit to Cyrus; and it was said that Cyrus received a large gift of
money from the queen. At this date, at any rate, Cyrus gave the army
four months' pay. The queen was accompanied by a bodyguard of
Cilicians and Aspendians; and, if report speaks truly, Cyrus had
intimate relations with the queen.
[7] The Lycaea, an Arcadian festival in honour of Zeus {Arcaios}, akin
to the Roman Lupercalia, which was originally a shepherd festival,
the introduction of which the Romans ascribe to the Arcadian
Evander.
[8] Lit. "plain of the Cayster," like Ceramon-agora, "the market of
the Ceramians" above, the name of a town.
From this place he marched two stages--ten parasangs--to Thymbrium, a
populous city. Here, by the side of the road, is the spring of Midas,
the king of Phrygia, as it is called, where Midas, as the story goes,
caught the satyr by drugging the spring with wine. From this place he
marched two stages--ten parasangs--to Tyriaeum, a populous city. Here
he halted three days; and the Cilician queen, according to the popular
account, begged Cyrus to exhibit his armament for her amusement. The
latter being only too glad to make such an exhibition, held a review
of the Hellenes and barbarians in the plain. He ordered the Hellenes
to draw up their lines and post themselves in their customary battle
order, each general marshalling his own battalion. Accordingly they
drew up four-deep. The right was held by Menon and those with him; the 15
left by Clearchus and his men; the centre by the remaining generals
with theirs. Cyrus first inspected the barbarians, who marched past in
troops of horses and companies of infantry. He then inspected the
Hellenes; driving past them in his chariot, with the queen in her
carriage. And they all had brass helmets and purple tunics, and
greaves, and their shields uncovered[9].
[9] I.e. ready for action, c.f. "bayonets fixed".
After he had driven past the whole body, he drew up his chariot in
front of the centre of the battle-line, and sent his interpreter
Pigres to the generals of the Hellenes, with orders to present arms
and to advance along the whole line. This order was repeated by the
generals to their men; and at the sound of the bugle, with shields
forward and spears in rest, they advanced to meet the enemy. The pace
quickened, and with a shout the soldiers spontaneously fell into a
run, making in the direction of the camp. Great was the panic of the
barbarians. The Cilician queen in her carriage turned and fled; the
sutlers in the marketing place left their wares and took to their
heels; and the Hellenes meanwhile came into camp with a roar of
laughter. What astounded the queen was the brilliancy and order of the
armament; but Cyrus was pleased to see the terror inspired by the
Hellenes in the hearts of the Asiatics.
From this place he marched on three stages--twenty parasangs--to
Iconium, the last city of Phrygia, where he remained three days.
Thence he marched through Lycaonia five stages--thirty parasangs. This
was hostile country, and he gave it over to the Hellenes to pillage.
At this point Cyrus sent back the Cilician queen to her own country by
the quickest route; and to escort her he sent the soldiers of Menon,
and Menon himself. With the rest of the troops he continued his march
through Cappadocia four stages--twenty-five parasangs--to Dana, a
populous city, large and flourishing. Here they halted three days,
within which interval Cyrus put to death, on a charge of conspiracy, a
Persian nobleman named Megaphernes, a wearer of the royal purple; and
along with him another high dignitary among his subordinate
commanders.
From this place they endeavoured to force a passage into Cilicia. Now 21
the entrance was by an exceedingly steep cart-road, impracticable for
an army in face of a resisting force; and report said that Syennesis
was on the summit of the pass guarding the approach. Accordingly they
halted a day in the plain; but next day came a messenger informing
them that Syenesis had left the pass; doubtless, after perceiving that
Menon's army was already in Cilicia on his own side of the mountains;
and he had further been informed that ships of war, belonging to the
Lacedaemonians and to Cyrus himself, with Tamos on board as admiral,
were sailing round from Ionia to Cilicia. Whatever the reason might
be, Cyrus made his way up into the hills without let or hindrance, and
came in sight of the tents where the Cilicians were on guard. From
that point he descended gradually into a large and beautiful plain
country, well watered, and thickly covered with trees of all sorts and
vines. This plain produces sesame plentifully, as also panic and
millet and barley and wheat; and it is shut in on all sides by a steep
and lofty wall of mountains from sea to sea. Descending through this
plain country, he advanced four stages--twenty-five parasangs--to
Tarsus, a large and prosperous city of Cilicia. Here stood the palace
of Syennesis, the king of the country; and through the middle of the
city flows a river called the Cydnus, two hundred feet broad. They
found that the city had been deserted by its inhabitants, who had
betaken themselves, with Syennesis, to a strong place on the hills.
All had gone, except the tavern-keepers. The sea-board inhabitants of
Soli and Issi also remained. Now Epyaxa, Syennesis's queen, had
reached Tarsus five days in advance of Cyrus. During their passage
over the mountains into the plain, two companies of Menon's army were
lost. Some said they had been cut down by the Cilicians, while engaged
on some pillaging affair; another account was that they had been left
behind, and being unable to overtake the main body, or discover the
route, had gone astray and perished. However it was, they numbered one
hundred hoplites; and when the rest arrived, being in a fury at the
destruction of their fellow soldiers, they vented their spleen by
pillaging the city of Tarsus and the palace to boot. Now when Cyrus
had marched into the city, he sent for Syennesis to come to him; but 26
the latter replied that he had never yet put himself into the hands of
any one who was his superior, nor was he willing to accede to the
proposal of Cyrus now; until, in the end, his wife persuaded him, and
he accepted pledges of good faith. After this they met, and Syennesis
gave Cyrus large sums in aid of his army; while Cyrus presented him
with the customary royal gifts--to wit, a horse with a gold bit, a
necklace of gold, a gold bracelet, and a gold scimitar, a Persian
dress, and lastly, the exemption of his territory from further
pillage, with the privilege of taking back the slaves that had been
seized, wherever they might chance to come upon them.
