X


Then the head of Cyrus and his right hand were severed from the body. 1
But the king and those about him pursued and fell upon the Cyreian
camp, and the troops of Ariaeus no longer stood their ground, but fled
through their own camp back to the halting-place of the night
before--a distance of four parasangs, it was said. So the king and
those with him fell to ravaging right and left, and amongst other
spoil he captured the Phocaean woman, who was a concubine of Cyrus,
witty and beautiful, if fame speaks correctly. The Milesian, who was
the younger, was also seized by some of the king's men; but, letting
go her outer garment, she made good her escape to the Hellenes, who
had been left among the camp followers on guard. These fell at once 3
into line and put to the sword many of the pillagers, though they lost
some men themselves; they stuck to the place and succeeded in saving
not only that lady, but all else, whether chattels or human beings,
wich lay within their reach.

At this point the king and the Hellenes were something like three
miles apart; the one set were pursuing their opponents just as if
their conquest had been general; the others were pillaging as merrily
as if their victory were already universal. But when the Hellenes
learnt that the king and his troops were in the baggage camp; and the
king, on his side, was informed by Tissaphernes that the Hellenes were
victorious in their quarter of the field, and had gone forward in
pursuit, the effect was instantaneous. The king massed his troops and
formed into line. Clearchus summoned Proxenus, who was next him, and
debated whether to send a detachment or to go in a body to the camp to
save it.

Meanwhile the king was seen again advancing, as it seemed, from the
rear; and the Hellenes, turning right about, prepared to receive his
attack then and there. But instead of advancing upon them at that
point, he drew off, following the line by which he had passed earlier
in the day, outside the left wing of his opponent, and so picked up in
his passage those who had deserted to the Hellenes during the battle,
as also Tissaphernes and his division. The latter had not fled in the
first shock of the encounter; he had charged parallel to the line of
the Euphrates into the Greek peltasts, and through them. But charge as
he might, he did not lay low a single man. On the contrary, the
Hellenes made a gap to let them through, hacking them with their
swords and hurling their javelins as they passed. Episthenes of
Amphipolis was in command of the peltasts, and he showed himself a
sensible man, it was said. Thus it was that Tissaphernes, having got
through haphazard, with rather the worst of it, failed to wheel round
and return the way he came, but reaching the camp of the Hellenes, 8
there fell in with the king; and falling into order again, the two
divisions advanced side by side.

When they were parallel with the (original) left wing of the Hellenes,
fear seized the latter lest they might take them in flank and enfold
them on both sides and cut them down. In this apprehension they
determined to extend their line and place the river on their rear. But
while they deliberated, the king passed by and ranged his troops in
line to meet them, in exactly the same position in which he had
advanced to offer battle at the commencemet of the engagement. The
Hellenes, now seeing them in close proximity and in battle order, once
again raised the paean and began the attack with still greater
enthusiasm than before: and once again the barbarians did not wait to
receive them, but took to flight, even at a greater distance than
before. The Hellenes pressed the pursuit until they reached a certain
village, where they halted, for above the village rose a mound, on
which the king and his party rallied and reformed; they had no
infantry any longer, but the crest was crowded with cavalry, so that
it was impossible to discover what was happening. They did see, they
said, the royal standard, a kind of golden eagle, with wings extended,
perched on a bar of wood and raised upon a lance.

But as soon as the Hellenes again moved onwards, the hostile cavalry
at once left the hillock--not in a body any longer, but in
fragments--some streaming from one side, some from another; and the
crest was gradually stripped of its occupants, till at last the
company was gone. Accordingly, Clearchus did not ascend the crest, but
posting his army at its base, he sent Lycius of Syracuse and another
to the summit, with orders to inspect the condition of things on the
other side, and to report results. Lycius galloped up and
investigated, bringing back news that they were fleeing might and
main. Almost at that instant the sun sank beneath the horizon. There
the Hellenes halted; they grounded arms and rested, marvelling the
while that Cyrus was not anywhere to be seen, and that no messenger
had come from him. For they were in complete ignorance of his death,
and conjectured that either he had gone off in pursuit, or had pushed
forward to occupy some point. Left to themselves, they now
deliberated, whether they should stay where they were and have the
baggage train brought up, or should return to camp. They resolved to
return, and about supper time reached the tents. Such was the
conclusion of this day.

They found the larger portion of their property pillaged, eatables and
drinkables alike, not excepting the wagons laden with corn and wine,
which Cyrus had prepared in case of some extreme need overtaking the
expedition, to divide among the Hellenes. There were four hundred of
these wagons, it was said, and these had now been ransacked by the
king and his men; so that the greater number of the Hellenes went
supperless, having already gone without their breakfasts, since the
king had appeared before the usual halt for breakfast. Accordingly, in
no better plight than this they passed the night.