Darius and Parysatis had two sons
 born to them, of whom the elder was Artaxerxes and the younger
 Cyrus . Now when
 Darius lay sick and suspected that the end of his life was near, he
 wished to have both his sons with him.

The elder, as it chanced, was with him already; but
 Cyrus he summoned from the province over
 which he had made him satrap, and he had also appointed him
 commander of all the forces that muster in the plain of
 Castolus. 
 Cyrus accordingly went up to his father,
 taking with him Tissaphernes as a friend and accompanied by three
 hundred Greek hoplites, under the command of Xenias of Parrhasia .

When Darius had died and Artaxerxes
 had become established as king, Tissaphernes falsely accused
 Cyrus to his brother of plotting against
 him. And Artaxerxes, believing the accusation, arrested
 Cyrus , with the intention of putting him to
 death; his mother, however, made intercession for him, and sent him
 back again to his province.

Now when Cyrus had thus returned, after his
 danger and disgrace, he set about planning that he might never again
 be in the power of his brother, but, if possible, might be king in
 his stead. He had, in the first place, the support of Parysatis, his
 mother, for she loved him better than the son who was king,
 Artaxerxes.

Again, when any of the King’s court came to visit him, he treated
 them all in such a way that when he sent them back they were more
 devoted to him than to the King. He also took care that the
 barbarians of his own province
 should be capable soldiers and should feel kindly toward him.

Lastly, as regards his Greek force, he proceeded to collect it with
 the utmost secrecy, so that he might take the King as completely
 unprepared as possible. It was in the
 following way, then, that he gathered this force: In the first
 place, he sent orders to the commanders of all the garrisons he had
 in the cities to enlist as many Peloponnesian soldiers of the best
 sort as they severally could, on the plea that Tissaphernes had
 designs upon their cities. For, in fact, the Ionian cities had
 originally belonged to Tissaphernes, by gift of the King, but at
 that time all of them except Miletus had revolted and gone over to
 Cyrus .

The people of Miletus 
 also were planning to do the very same thing, namely, to go over to
 Cyrus , but Tissaphernes, finding out about
 it in time, put some of them to death and banished others.
 Cyrus thereupon took the exiles under his
 protection, collected an army, and laid siege to Miletus both by land and by
 sea, and endeavoured to restore the exiles to their city; and this,
 again, made him another pretext for gathering an army.

Meanwhile he sent to the King and urged, on the ground that he was
 his brother, that these Ionian cities should be given to him instead
 of remaining under the rule of Tissaphernes, and his mother
 co-operated with him in this. The result was that the King failed to
 perceive the plot against himself, but believed that
 Cyrus was spending money on his troops
 because he was at war with Tissaphernes. Consequently he was not at
 all displeased at their being at war, the less so because
 Cyrus regularly remitted to the King the
 tribute which came in from the cities he chanced to have that
 belonged to Tissaphernes.

Still another army was being collected
 for him in the Chersonese 
 which is opposite Abydus , in the following manner: Clearchus 
 was a Lacedaemonian exile; Cyrus , making his
 acquaintance, came to admire him, and gave him ten thousand
 darics. And
 Clearchus, taking the gold, collected an army by means of this
 money, and using the Chersonese as a base of operations, proceeded to
 make war upon the Thracians who dwell beyond the Hellespont , thereby aiding the
 Greeks. Consequently,
 the Hellespontine cities of their own free will sent Clearchus
 contributions of money for the support of his troops. So it was that
 this army also was being secretly maintained for
 Cyrus .

Again, Aristippus the Thessalian
 chanced to be a friend of Cyrus , and since he
 was hard pressed by his political opponents at home, he came to
 Cyrus and asked him for three months’ pay
 for two thousand mercenaries, urging that in this way he should get
 the better of his opponents. And Cyrus gave him
 six months’ pay for four thousand, and requested him not to come to
 terms with his opponents until he had consulted with him. Thus the
 army in Thessaly , again,
 was being secretly maintained for him.

Furthermore,
 Cyrus directed Proxenus the Boeotian, who
 was a friend of his, to come to him with as many men as he could
 get, saying that he wished to undertake a campaign against the
 Pisidians, because, as he said, they were causing trouble to his
 province. He also directed Sophaenetus the Stymphalian and Socrates
 the Achaean, who were likewise friends of his, to come with as many
 men as they could get, saying that he intended to make war upon
 Tissaphernes with the aid of the Milesian exiles; and they proceeded
 to carry out his directions.

When he thought the time had come to
 begin his upward march, the pretext he offered was that he
 wished to drive the Pisidians out of his land entirely, and it was
 avowedly against them that he set about collecting both his
 barbarian and his Greek troops. At that time he also sent word to
 Clearchus to come to him with the entire army which he had, and to
 Aristippus to effect a reconciliation with his adversaries at home
 and send him the army which he had; and he sent word to Xenias the
 Arcadian, who commanded for him the mercenary force in the
 cities, to come
 with his troops, leaving behind only so many as were necessary to
 garrison the citadels.

He likewise summoned the troops which were besieging Miletus , and urged the
 Milesian exiles to take the field with him, promising them that, if
 he should successfully accomplish the object for which he was taking
 the field, he would not stop until he had restored them to their
 homes. And they gladly obeyed—for they trusted him—and presented
 themselves, under arms, at Sardis .

Xenias, then, arrived at Sardis with the troops from the
 cities, who were hoplites to the number of four thousand; Proxenus
 was there with hoplites to the number of fifteen hundred, and five
 hundred light-armed troops; Sophaenetus the Stymphalian with a
 thousand hoplites; Socrates the Achaean with about five hundred
 hoplites; and Pasion the Megarian arrived with three hundred
 hoplites and three hundred peltasts. The
 last-named, and Socrates also, belonged to the force that had been
 engaged in besieging Miletus . All these came to
 Cyrus at Sardis .

Meanwhile Tissaphernes had taken note
 of these proceedings and come to the conclusion that
 Cyru s’ preparations were too extensive to
 be against the Pisidians; he accordingly made his way to the King as
 quickly as he could, with about five hundred horsemen.

And when the King heard from Tissaphernes about
 Cyru s’ array, he set about making
 counter-preparations. Cyrus was now setting forth from
 Sardis with the
 troops I have mentioned; and he marched through Lydia three stages, a distance of twenty-two parasangs, to the Maeander river. The width of this river was two
 plethra, and there was a bridge over it made of
 seven boats.

After crossing the Maeander he marched through Phrygia one stage, a distance of
 eight parasangs, to Colossae , an inhabited city,
 prosperous and large. There he remained seven days; and Menon the Thessalian arrived, with a thousand
 hoplites and five hundred peltasts, consisting of Dolopians,
 Aenianians, and Olynthians.

Thence he marched three stages, twenty parasangs, to Celaenae, an
 inhabited city of Phrygia ,
 large and prosperous. There Cyrus had a palace
 and a large park full of wild animals, which he used to hunt on
 horseback whenever he wished to give himself and his horses
 exercise. Through the middle of this park flows the Maeander river;
 its sources are beneath the palace, and it flows through the city of
 Celaenae also.

There is likewise a palace of the Great King in
 Celaenae, strongly fortified and situated at the foot of the
 Acropolis over the sources of the Marsyas river; the Marsyas also
 flows through the city, and empties into the Maeander , and its width is
 twenty-five feet. It was here, according to the story, that Apollo
 flayed Marsyas, after having defeated him in a
 contest of musical skill; he hung up his skin in the cave from which
 the sources issue, and it is for this reason that the river is
 called Marsyas.

It was here also, report has it, that Xerxes, when he was on his
 retreat from Greece after
 losing the famous battle, built the palace just mentioned and likewise the
 citadel of Celaenae. Here Cyrus remained thirty
 days; and Clearchus, the Lacedaemonian exile, arrived, with a
 thousand hoplites, eight hundred Thracian peltasts, and two hundred
 Cretan bowmen. At the same time came also Sosis the Syracusan with
 three hundred hoplites and Agias the Arcadian with a thousand
 hoplites. And here Cyrus held a review and made
 an enumeration of the Greeks in the park, and they amounted all told
 to eleven thousand hoplites and about two thousand peltasts.

Thence he marched two stages, ten
 parasangs, to Peltae, an inhabited city. There he remained three
 days, during which time Xenias the Arcadian celebrated the
 Lycaean festival with sacrifice and
 held games; the prizes were golden strigils, and
 Cyrus himself was one of those who watched
 the games. Thence he marched two stages, twelve parasangs, to the
 inhabited city of Ceramon-agora, the last Phrygian city as one goes toward
 Mysia .

Thence he marched three stages, thirty parasangs, to
 Caystru-pedion, an inhabited city. There he remained five
 days. At this time he was owing the soldiers more than three months’
 pay, and they went again and again to his headquarters and demanded
 what was due them. He all the while expressed hopes, and was
 manifestly troubled; for it was not Cyru s’ way
 to withhold payment when he had money.

At this juncture arrived Epyaxa, the wife of Syennesis, the king of the Cilicians, coming to visit
 Cyrus , and the story was that she gave him
 a large sum of money; at any rate, Cyrus paid
 the troops at that time four months’ wages. The Cilician queen was
 attended by a body-guard of Cilicians and Aspendians; and people
 said that Cyrus had intimate relations with the
 queen.

Thence he marched two stages, ten
 parasangs, to the inhabited city of Thymbrium. There, alongside the
 road, was the so-called spring of Midas, the king of the Phrygians,
 at which Midas, according to the story, caught the satyr by mixing
 wine with the water of the spring.

Thence he marched two stages, ten parasangs, to Tyriaeum, an
 inhabited city. There he remained three days. And the Cilician
 queen, as the report ran, asked Cyrus to
 exhibit his army to her; such an exhibition was what he desired to
 make, and accordingly he held a review of the Greeks and the
 barbarians on the plain.

He ordered the Greeks to form their lines and take their positions
 just as they were accustomed to do for battle, each general
 marshalling his own men. So they formed the line four deep, Menon
 and his troops occupying the right wing, Clearchus and his troops
 the left, and the other generals the centre.

Cyrus inspected the barbarians first, and they
 marched past with their cavalry formed in troops and their infantry
 in companies; then he inspected the Greeks, driving past them in a
 chariot, the Cilician queen in a carriage. And the Greeks all had
 helmets of bronze, crimson tunics, and greaves, and carried their
 shields uncovered.

When he had driven past them all, he halted his chariot in front of
 the centre of the phalanx, and sending his interpreter Pigres to the
 generals of the Greeks, gave orders that the troops should advance
 arms and the phalanx move forward in a body. The generals
 transmitted these orders to the soldiers, and when the trumpet
 sounded, they advanced arms and charged. And then, as they went on
 faster and faster, at length with a shout the troops broke into a
 run of their own accord, in the direction of the camp.

As for the barbarians, they were terribly frightened; the Cilician
 queen took to flight in her carriage, and the people in the
 market left their wares behind and took
 to their heels; while the Greeks with a roar of laughter came up to
 their camp. Now the Cilician queen was filled with admiration at
 beholding the brilliant appearance and the order of the Greek army;
 and Cyrus was delighted to see the terror with
 which the Greeks inspired the barbarians.

Thence he marched three stages, twenty
 parasangs, to Iconium , the
 last city of Phrygia . There
 he remained three days. Thence he marched through Lycaonia five stages, thirty
 parasangs. This country he gave over to the Greeks to plunder, on
 the ground that it was hostile territory.

From there Cyrus sent the Cilician queen back to
 Cilicia by the shortest
 route, and he sent some of Menon’s troops to escort her, Menon
 himself commanding them. With the rest of the army
 Cyrus marched through Cappadocia four stages,
 twenty-five parasangs, to Dana , an inhabited city, large and prosperous.
 There they remained three days; and during that time
 Cyrus put to death a Persian named
 Megaphernes, who was a wearer of the royal purple, and another dignitary among his subordinates, on
 the charge that they were plotting against him.

From there they made ready to try to
 enter Cilicia . Now the
 entrance was by a wagon-road, exceedingly steep and impracticable
 for an army to pass if there was anybody to oppose it; and in fact,
 as report ran, Syennesis was upon the heights, guarding the
 entrance; therefore Cyrus remained for a day in
 the plain. On the following day, however, a messenger came with word
 that Syennesis had abandoned the heights, because he had learned
 that Menon’s army was already in Cilicia , on his own side of the mountains, and
 because, further, he was getting reports that triremes belonging to
 the Lacedaemonians and
 to Cyrus himself were sailing around from
 Ionia to Cilicia under the command of
 Tamos.

At any rate 
 Cyrus climbed the mountains without meeting any
 opposition, and saw the camp where the Cilicians had been keeping
 guard. Thence he descended to a large and beautiful plain,
 well-watered and full of trees of all sorts and vines; it produces
 an abundance of sesame, millet, panic, wheat, and barley, and it is
 surrounded on every side, from sea to sea, by a lofty and formidable
 range of mountains.

After descending he marched through this plain four stages,
 twenty-five parasangs, to Tarsus , a large and prosperous
 city of Cilicia , where the
 palace of Syennesis, the king of the Cilicians, was situated; and
 through the middle of the city flows a river named the Cydnus, two
 plethra in width.

The inhabitants of this city had abandoned it and fled, with
 Syennesis, to a stronghold upon the mountains—all of them, at least,
 except the tavern-keepers; and there remained also those who dwelt
 on the sea-coast, in Soli 
 and Issus .

Now Epyaxa, the wife of Syennesis, had
 reached Tarsus five days
 ahead of Cyrus , but in the course of her
 passage over the mountains to the plain two companies of Menon’s
 army had
 been lost. Some said that they had been cut to pieces by the
 Cilicians while engaged in a bit of plundering; another story was
 that they had been left behind, and, unable to find the rest of the
 army or the roads, had thus wandered about and perished; at any
 rate, they numbered a hundred hoplites.

And when the rest of Menon’s troops reached Tarsus , in their anger over the
 loss of their comrades they plundered thoroughly, not only the city,
 but also the palace that was in it. As for
 Cyrus , after he had marched into the city
 he more than once summoned Syennesis to his presence; but Syennesis
 said that he had never yet put himself in the hands of anyone who
 was more powerful than he was, and he would not now put himself in
 the hands of Cyrus until his wife had won him
 over and he had received pledges.

When the two men finally met one another, Syennesis gave
 Cyrus a large sum of money for his army,
 while Cyrus gave him gifts which are regarded
 at court as tokens of
 honour—a horse with a gold-mounted bridle, a gold necklace and
 bracelets, a gold dagger and a Persian robe—promising him, further,
 that his land should not be plundered any more and that they might
 take back the slaves that had been seized in case they should chance
 upon them anywhere.

Cyrus and his
 army remained here at Tarsus twenty days, for the soldiers refused to go
 any farther; for they suspected by this time that they were going
 against the King, and they said they had not been hired for that.
 Clearchus was the first to try to force his men to go on, but they
 pelted him and his pack-animals with stones as often as they began
 to go forward.

At that time Clearchus narrowly escaped being stoned to death; but
 afterwards, when he realized that he could not accomplish anything
 by force, he called a meeting of his own troops. And first he stood
 and wept for a long time, while his men watched him in wonder and
 were silent; then he spoke as follows:

Fellow-soldiers, do not wonder that I am
 distressed at the present situation. For
 Cyrus became my friend and not only
 honoured me, an exile from my fatherland, in various ways, but
 gave me ten thousand darics. And I, receiving this money, did
 not lay it up for my own personal use or squander it in
 pleasure, but I proceeded to expend it on you.

First I went to war with the
 Thracians, and for the sake of Greece I inflicted punishment upon them with
 your aid, driving them out of the Chersonese when they wanted to deprive the
 Greeks who dwelt there of their land. Then when
 Cyru s’ summons came, I took you with me
 and set out, in order that, if he had need of me, I might give
 him aid in return for the benefits I had received from
 him.

But you now do not wish to continue
 the march with me; so it seems that I must either desert you and
 continue to enjoy Cyru s’ friendship, or
 prove false to him and remain with you. Whether I shall be doing
 what is right, I know not, but at any rate I shall choose you
 and with you shall suffer whatever I must. And never shall any
 man say that I, after leading Greeks into the land of the
 barbarians, betrayed the Greeks and chose the friendship of the
 barbarians;

nay, since you do not care to obey
 me, I shall follow with you and suffer whatever I must. For I
 consider that you are to me both fatherland and friends and
 allies; with you I think I shall be honoured wherever I may be,
 bereft of you I do not think I shall be able either to aid a
 friend or to ward off a foe. Be sure, therefore, that wherever
 you go, I shall go also.

Such were his words. And the
 soldiers—not only his own men, but the rest also—when they heard
 that he said he would not go on to the King’s capital, commended
 him; and more than two thousand of the troops under Xenias and
 Pasion took their arms and their baggage train and encamped with
 Clearchus.

But Cyrus , perplexed and distressed by this
 situation, sent repeatedly for Clearchus. Clearchus refused to go to
 him, but without the knowledge of the soldiers he sent a messenger
 and told him not to be discouraged, because, he said, this matter
 would be settled in the right way. He directed
 Cyrus , however, to keep on sending for him,
 though he himself, he said, would refuse to go.

After this Clearchus gathered together
 his own soldiers, those who had come over to him, and any others who
 wanted to be present, and spoke as follows: Fellow-soldiers, it is clear that the relation of
 Cyrus to us is precisely the same as
 ours to him; that is, we are no longer his soldiers, since we
 decline to follow him, and likewise he is no longer our
 paymaster.

I know, however, that he considers
 himself wronged by us. Therefore, although he keeps sending for
 me, I decline to go, chiefly, it is true, from a feeling of
 shame, because I am conscious that I have proved utterly false
 to him, but, besides that, from fear that he may seize me and
 inflict punishment upon me for the wrongs he thinks he has
 suffered at my hands.

In my opinion, therefore, it is no
 time for us to be sleeping or unconcerned about ourselves; we
 should rather be considering what course we ought to follow
 under the present circumstances. And so long as we remain here
 we must consider, I think, how we can remain most safely; or,
 again, if we count it best to depart at once, how we are to
 depart most safely and how we shall secure provisions—for
 without provisions neither general nor private is of any
 use.

And remember that while this
 Cyrus is a valuable friend when he is
 your friend, he is a most dangerous foe when he is your enemy;
 furthermore, he has an armament—infantry and cavalry and
 fleet—which we all alike see and know about; for I take it that
 our camp is not very far away from him. It is time, then, to
 propose whatever plan any one of you deems best. With
 these words he ceased speaking.

Thereupon various speakers arose, some
 of their own accord to express the opinions they held, but others at
 the instigation of Clearchus to make clear the difficulty of either
 remaining or departing without the consent of
 Cyrus .

One man in particular, pretending to be in a hurry to proceed back to
 Greece with all speed,
 proposed that they should choose other generals as quickly as
 possible, in case Clearchus did not wish to lead them back;
 secondly, that they should buy provisions—the market was in the
 barbarian army!—and pack up their baggage; then, to go to
 Cyrus and ask for vessels to sail away in;
 and if he would not give them vessels, to ask him for a guide to
 lead them homeward through a country that was friendly; and if he
 would not give them a guide, either, to form in line of battle with
 all speed and likewise to send a force to occupy the mountain
 heights in advance, in order that neither Cyrus 
 nor the Cilicians should forestall them— and we
 have in our possession, he said, many
 of these Cilicians and much of their property that we have
 seized as plunder. Such were the words of this
 speaker.

After him Clearchus said merely this:
 Let no one among you speak of me as the man
 who is to hold this command, for I see many reasons why I should
 not do so; say rather that I shall obey to the best of my
 ability the man whom you choose, in order that you may know that
 I understand as well as any other person in the world how to be
 a subordinate also.

After he had spoken another man arose to point out the foolishness of
 the speaker who had urged them to ask for vessels, just as if
 Cyrus were going home again, and to point
 out also how foolish it was to ask for a guide from this man whose enterprise we are ruining. Indeed, if we
 propose to trust the guide that Cyrus gives
 us, what is to hinder us from directing
 Cyrus also to occupy the heights for us
 in advance?

For my part, I should hesitate to
 embark on the vessels that he might give us, for fear of his
 sinking us with his war-ships, and I should be afraid to follow
 the guide that he might give, for fear of his leading us to a
 place from which it will not be possible to escape; my choice
 would be, in going off without Cyru s’
 consent, to go off without his knowledge—and that is not
 possible.

Now in my own opinion the plans just
 proposed are nonsense; rather, I think we should send to
 Cyrus men of the proper sort, along
 with Clearchus, to ask him what use he wishes to make of us; and
 if his enterprise is like the sort of one in which he employed
 mercenaries before, I think that we also should follow
 him and not be more cowardly than those who went up with him on
 the former occasion;

if, however, his enterprise is found
 to be greater and more laborious and more dangerous than the
 former one, we ought to demand that he should either offer
 sufficient persuasion and lead us on with him, or
 yield to our persuasion and let us go home in friendship; for in
 this way, if we should follow him, we should follow as friends
 and zealous supporters, and if we should go back, we should go
 back in safety. I propose, further, that our representatives
 should report back to us whatever reply he may make, and that we
 after hearing it should deliberate about the matter.

This plan was adopted, and they chose
 representatives and sent them with Clearchus; and they proceeded to
 put to Cyrus the questions resolved upon by the
 army. He replied that he had heard that Abrocomas, a foe of his, was
 at the Euphrates river, twelve stages distant. It was against him,
 therefore, he said, that he desired to march. And if he were there,
 he wished to inflict due punishment upon him; but if he has fled, he continued, we
 will deliberate about the matter then and there.

Upon hearing this reply the deputies reported it to the soldiers, and
 they, while suspecting that Cyrus was leading
 them against the King, nevertheless thought it best to follow him.
 They asked, however, for more pay, and Cyrus 
 promised to give them all half as much again as they had been
 receiving before, namely, a daric and a half a month to each man
 instead of a daric; but as regards the suspicion that he was leading
 them against the King, no one heard it expressed even then—at any
 rate, not openly.

Thence he marched two stages, ten
 parasangs, to the Psarus river, the width of which was three
 plethra. From there he marched one stage, five parasangs, to the
 Pyramus river, the width of which was a stadium. From there he marched two stages, fifteen
 parasangs, to Issus , the
 last city in Cilicia , a
 place situated on the sea, and large and prosperous.

There they remained three days; and the ships from Peloponnesus arrived to meet
 Cyrus , thirty-five in number, with
 Pythagoras the Lacedaemonian as admiral in command of them. They had
 been guided from Ephesus to Issus by Tamos the Egyptian, who was at the head of
 another fleet of twenty-five ships belonging to
 Cyrus —these latter being the ships with
 which Tamos had besieged Miletus , at the time when it was friendly to
 Tissaphernes, and had
 supported Cyrus in his war upon
 Tissaphernes.

Cheirisophus the Lacedaemonian also arrived with this fleet, coming
 in response to Cyru s’ summons, together with seven
 hundred hoplites, over whom he continued to hold command in the army
 of Cyrus . And the ships lay at anchor alongside
 Cyru s’ tent. It was at Issus also that the Greek
 mercenaries who had been in the service of Abrocomas—four hundred
 hoplites—joined Cyrus , after deserting
 Abrocomas, and so bore a share in his expedition against the
 King.

Thence he marched one stage, five
 parasangs, to the Gates between Cilicia and Syria . These Gates consisted of two walls; the one
 on the hither, or Cilician, side was held by Syennesis and a
 garrison of Cilicians, while the one on the farther, the Syrian,
 side was reported to be guarded by a garrison of the King’s troops.
 And in the space between these walls flows a river named the Carsus,
 a plethrum in width. The entire distance from one wall to the other
 was three stadia; and it was not possible to effect a passage by
 force, for the pass was narrow, the walls reached down to the sea,
 and above the pass were precipitous rocks, while, besides, there
 were towers upon both the walls.

It was because of this pass that Cyrus had sent
 for the fleet, in order that he might disembark hoplites between and
 beyond the walls and thus overpower the enemy if they should be
 keeping guard at the Syrian Gates—and that was precisely what
 Cyrus supposed Abrocomas would do, for he
 had a large army. Abrocomas, however, did not do so, but as soon as
 he heard that Cyrus was in Cilicia , he turned about in his
 journey from Phoenicia and marched off to join the King, with an army,
 so the report ran, of three hundred thousand men.

Thence Cyrus 
 marched one stage, five parasangs, to Myriandus, a city on the sea
 coast, inhabited by Phoenicians; it was a trading place, and many
 merchant ships were lying at anchor there. There he remained seven
 days;

and Xenias the Arcadian and Pasion the Megarian embarked upon a ship,
 put on board their most valuable effects, and sailed away; they were
 moved to do this, as most people thought, by a feeling of jealous
 pride, because their soldiers had gone over to Clearchus with the intention of going back
 to Greece again instead of
 proceeding against the King, and Cyrus had
 allowed Clearchus to keep them. After they had disappeared, a report
 went round that Cyrus was pursuing them with
 warships; and while some people prayed that they might be captured,
 because, as they said, they were cowards, yet others felt pity for
 them if they should be caught.

Cyrus , however,
 called the generals together and said: Xenias
 and Pasion have deserted us. But let them, nevertheless, know
 full well that they have not escaped from me—either by stealth,
 for I know in what direction they have gone, or by speed, for I
 have men-of-war with which I can overtake their craft. But for
 my part, I swear by the gods that I shall not pursue them, nor
 shall anyone say about me that I use a man so long as he is with
 me and then, when he wants to leave me, seize him and maltreat
 him and despoil him of his possessions. Nay, let them go, with
 the knowledge that their behaviour toward us is worse than ours
 toward them. To be sure, I have their wives and children under
 guard in Tralles , but I shall not deprive them of
 these, either, for they shall receive them back because of their
 former excellence in my service.

Such were his words; as for the Greeks, even those who had been
 somewhat despondent in regard to the upward march, when they heard
 of the magnanimity of Cyrus they continued on
 their way with greater satisfaction and eagerness. After this Cyrus 
 marched four stages, twenty parasangs, to the Chalus river, which is
 a plethrum in width and full of large, tame fish; these fish the
 Syrians regarded as gods, and they would not allow anyone to harm
 them, or the doves, either. And the villages in which the troops encamped
 belonged to Parysatis, for they had been given her for
 girdle-money.

From there Cyrus marched five stages, thirty
 parasangs, to the sources of the Dardas river, the width of which is
 a plethrum. There was the palace of Belesys, the late ruler of
 Syria , and a very large
 and beautiful park containing all the products of the seasons. But
 Cyrus cut down the park and burned the
 palace.

Thence he marched three stages, fifteen parasangs, to the Euphrates
 river, the width of which was four stadia; and on the river was
 situated a large and prosperous city named Thapsacus . There he remained five
 days. And Cyrus summoned the generals of the
 Greeks and told them that the march was to be to Babylon , against the Great King;
 he directed them, accordingly, to explain this to the soldiers and
 try to persuade them to follow.

So the generals called an assembly and made this announcement; and
 the soldiers were angry with the generals, and said that they had
 known about this for a long time, but had been keeping it from the
 troops; furthermore, they refused to go on unless they were given
 money, as were the men who made the journey with
 Cyrus before, when he went to visit his father; they
 had received the donation, even though they marched, not to battle,
 but merely because Cyru s’ father summoned
 him.

All these things the generals reported back to
 Cyrus , and he promised that he would give
 every man five minas in silver when they reached Babylon and their pay in full
 until he brought the Greeks back to Ionia again. By these promises the
 greater part of the Greek army was persuaded. But as for Menon, before it was clear what the rest of
 the soldiers would do, that is, whether they would follow
 Cyrus or not, he gathered together his own
 troops apart from the others and spoke as follows:

Soldiers, if you will obey me, you will, without
 either danger or toil, be honoured by Cyrus 
 above and beyond the rest of the troops. What, then, do I direct
 you to do? At this moment Cyrus is begging
 the Greeks to follow him against the King; my own plan, then, is
 that you should cross the Euphrates river before it is clear
 what answer the rest of the Greeks will make to
 Cyrus .

For if they vote to follow him, it
 is you who will get the credit for that decision because you
 began the crossing, and Cyrus will not only
 feel grateful to you, regarding you as the most zealous in his
 cause, but he will return the favour—and he knows how to do that
 if any man does; on the other hand, if the rest vote not to
 follow him, we shall all go back together, but you, as the only
 ones who were obedient, are the men he will employ, not only for
 garrison duty, but for captaincies; and whatever else you
 may desire, I know that you, as friends of
 Cyrus , will secure from him.

Upon hearing these words the soldiers were persuaded, and made the
 crossing before the rest gave their answer. When
 Cyrus learned that they had crossed, he was
 delighted and sent Glus to the troops with this message: Soldiers, to-day I commend you; but I shall see to
 it that you also shall have cause to commend me, else count me
 no longer Cyrus .

So Menon’s troops cherished high hopes and prayed that he might be
 successful, while to Menon himself Cyrus was
 said to have sent magnificent gifts besides. After so doing
 Cyrus proceeded to cross the river, and the
 rest of the army followed him, to the last man. And in the crossing
 no one was wetted above the breast by the water.

The people of Thapsacus said
 that this river had never been passable on foot except at this time,
 but only by boats; and these Abrocomas had now burned, as he marched
 on ahead of Cyrus , in order to prevent him from
 crossing. It seemed, accordingly, that here was a divine
 intervention, and that the river had plainly retired before
 Cyrus because he was destined to be
 king.

Thence he marched through Syria nine stages, fifty
 parasangs, and they arrived at the Araxes river. There they found
 many villages full of grain and wine, and there they remained for
 three days and provisioned the army.

Thence he marched through Arabia , keeping the Euphrates on the right, five
 stages through desert country, thirty-five parasangs. In this region
 the ground was an unbroken plain, as level as the sea, and full of
 wormwood; and whatever else there was on the plain by way of shrub
 or reed, was always fragrant, like spices;

trees there were none, but wild animals of all sorts, vast numbers of
 wild asses and many ostriches, besides bustards and gazelles. These
 animals were sometimes chased by the horsemen. As for the asses,
 whenever one chased them, they would run on ahead and stop—for they
 ran much faster than the horses—and then, when the horses came near,
 they would do the same thing again, and it was impossible to catch
 them unless the horsemen posted themselves at intervals and hunted
 them in relays. The flesh of those that were captured was like
 venison, but more tender.

But no ostrich was captured by anyone, and any horseman who chased
 one speedily desisted; for it would distance him at once in its
 flight, not merely plying its feet, but hoisting its wings and using
 them like a sail. The bustards, on the other hand, can be caught if
 one is quick in starting them up, for they fly only a short
 distance, like partridges, and soon tire; and their flesh was
 delicious.

Marching on through this region they
 arrived at the Mascas river, which is a plethrum in width. There, in
 the desert, was a large city named Corsote, completely surrounded by
 the Mascas.

There they remained three days and provisioned the army. Thence
 Cyrus marched thirteen stages through
 desert country, ninety parasangs, keeping the Euphrates river on the
 right, and arrived at Pylae. In the course of these stages many of
 the baggage animals died of hunger, for there was no fodder and, in
 fact, no growing thing of any kind, but the land was absolutely
 bare; and the people who dwelt here made a living by quarrying
 mill-stones along the river banks, then fashioning them and taking
 them to Babylon , where they
 sold them and bought grain in exchange.

As for the troops, their supply of grain gave out, and it was not
 possible to buy any except in the Lydian 
 market attached to the barbarian army of
 Cyrus , at the price of four sigli for a
 capith of wheat flour or barley meal. The siglus is worth seven and
 one-half Attic obols, and the capith had the capacity of two Attic
 choenices. The soldiers
 therefore managed to subsist by eating meat.

And Cyrus sometimes made these stages through
 the desert very long, whenever he wanted to reach water or fresh
 fodder. Once in particular, when
 they came upon a narrow, muddy place which was hard for the wagons
 to get through, Cyrus halted with his train of
 nobles and dignitaries and ordered Glus and Pigres to take some of
 the barbarian troops and help to pull the wagons out.

But it seemed to him that they took their time with the work;
 accordingly, as if in anger, he directed the Persian nobles who
 accompanied him to take a hand in hurrying on the wagons. And then
 one might have beheld a sample of good discipline: they each threw
 off their purple cloaks where they chanced to be standing, and
 rushed, as a man would run to win a victory, down a most exceedingly
 steep hill, wearing their costly tunics and coloured trousers, some
 of them, indeed, with necklaces around their necks and bracelets on
 their arms; and leaping at once, with all this finery, into the mud,
 they lifted the wagons high and dry and brought them out more
 quickly than one would have thought possible.

In general, it was clear that Cyrus was in haste
 throughout the whole journey and was making no delays, except where
 he halted to procure provisions or for some other necessary purpose;
 his thought was that the faster he went, the more unprepared the
 King would be to fight with him, while, on the other hand, the
 slower he went, the greater would be the army that was gathering for
 the King. Furthermore, one who observed closely could see at a
 glance that while the King’s empire was strong in its extent of
 territory and number of inhabitants, it was weak by reason of the
 greatness of the distances and the scattered condition of its
 forces, in case one should be swift in making his attack upon
 it.

Across the Euphrates river in the
 course of these desert marches was a large and prosperous city named
 Charmande, and here the soldiers made purchases of provisions,
 crossing the river on rafts in the following way: they took skins
 which they had for tent covers, filled them with hay, and then
 brought the edges together and sewed them up, so that the water
 could not touch the hay; on these they would cross and get
 provisions—wine made from the date of the palm tree and bread made
 of millet, for this grain was very abundant in the country.

There one of Menon’s soldiers and one
 of Clearchus’ men had some dispute, and Clearchus, deciding that
 Menon’s man was in the wrong, gave him a flogging. The man then went
 to his own army and told about it, and when his comrades heard of
 the matter, they took it hard and were exceedingly angry with
 Clearchus.

On the same day Clearchus, after going to the place where they
 crossed the river and there inspecting the market, was riding back
 to his own tent through Menon’s army, having only a few men with
 him; and Cyrus had not yet arrived, but was
 still on the march toward the place; and one of Menon’s soldiers who
 was splitting wood threw his axe at Clearchus when he saw him riding
 through the camp. Now this man missed him, but another threw a stone
 at him, and still another, and then, after an outcry had been
 raised, many.

Clearchus escaped to his own army and at once called his troops to
 arms; he ordered his hoplites to remain where they were, resting
 their shields against their knees, while
 he himself with the Thracians 
 and the horsemen, of which he had in his army more than forty, most
 of them Thracians, advanced upon Menon’s troops; the result was that
 these and Menon himself were thoroughly frightened and ran to their
 arms, though there were some who stood stock-still, nonplussed by
 the situation.

But Proxenus—for he chanced to be now coming up, later than the
 others, with a battalion of hoplites following him—straightway led
 his troops into the space between the two parties, halted them under
 arms, and began to beg Clearchus not to proceed with his attack.
 Clearchus, however, was angry, because, when he had barely escaped
 being stoned to death, Proxenus was talking lightly of his
 grievance, and he ordered him to remove himself from between
 them.

At this moment Cyrus also came up and learned
 about the situation, and he immediately took his spears in his hands
 and, attended by such of his counsellors as were present, came
 riding into the intervening space and spoke as follows:

Clearchus, and Proxenus, and all you other
 Greeks who are here, you know not what you are doing. For as
 certainly as you come to fighting with one another, you may be
 sure that on this very day I shall be instantly cut to pieces
 and yourselves not long after me; for once let ill fortune
 overtake us, and all these barbarians whom you see will be more
 hostile to us than are those who stand with the King.

On hearing these words Clearchus came to his senses, and both parties
 ceased from their quarrel and returned to their quarters.

As they went on from there, they kept
 seeing tracks of horses and horses’ dung. To all appearances it was
 the trail of about two thousand horses, and the horsemen as they
 proceeded were burning up fodder and everything else that was of any
 use. At this time Orontas, a Persian, who was related to the King by
 birth and was reckoned among the best of the Persians in matters of
 war, devised a plot against Cyrus —in fact, he
 had made war upon him before this, but had become his friend
 again.

He now said to Cyrus that if he would give him a
 thousand horsemen, he would either ambush and kill these horsemen
 who were burning ahead of him, or he would capture many of them
 alive and put a stop to their burning as they advanced; and he would
 see to it that they should never be able to behold
 Cyru s’ army and get to the King with their
 report. When Cyrus heard this plan, it seemed
 to him to be an expedient one, and he directed Orontas to get a
 detachment from each one of the cavalry commanders.

Then Orontas, thinking that his horsemen were assured him, wrote a
 letter to the King saying that he would come to him with as many
 horsemen as he could get; and he urged the King to direct his own
 cavalry to receive him as a friend. The letter also contained
 reminders of his former friendship and fidelity. This letter he gave
 to a man whom he supposed to be faithful to him; but this man took
 it and gave it to Cyrus .

When Cyrus had read it, he had Orontas arrested,
 and summoned to his tent seven of the noblest Persians among his
 attendants, while he ordered the Greek generals to bring up hoplites
 and bid them station themselves under arms around his tent. And the
 generals obeyed the order, bringing with them about three thousand
 hoplites.

Clearchus was also invited into the
 tent as a counsellor, for both Cyrus and the
 other Persians regarded him as the man who was honoured above the
 rest of the Greeks. And when he came out, he reported to his friends
 how Orontas’ trial was conducted—for it was no secret.

He said that Cyrus began the conference in this
 way: My friends, I have invited you here in
 order that I may consult with you and then take such action in
 the case of Orontas here as is right in the sight of gods and
 men. This man was given me at first by my father, to be my
 subject; then, at the bidding, as he himself said, of my
 brother, this man levied war upon me, holding the citadel of
 Sardis , and I,
 by the war I waged against him, made him count it best to cease
 from warring upon me, and I received and gave the hand-clasp of
 friendship. Since that, he said, Orontas, have I done you any wrong?

No, Orontas answered.
 Cyrus went on questioning him: Did you not afterwards, although, as you yourself
 admit, you had suffered no wrong at my hands, desert me for the
 Mysians, and do all the harm you could to my territory? 
 Yes, said Orontas. Did you not, 
 Cyrus said, when once more
 you had learned the slightness of your own power, go to the
 altar of Artemis and say you were sorry, and did you not, after
 prevailing upon me to pardon you, again give me pledges and
 receive pledges from me? This also Orontas admitted.

What wrong, then, said
 Cyrus , have you
 suffered at my hands, that you now for the third time have been
 found plotting against me? When Orontas replied, None, 
 Cyrus asked him: Do you
 admit, then, that you have proved yourself a doer of wrong
 toward me? 
 I cannot choose but do so, said Orontas.
 Thereupon Cyrus asked again: Then could you henceforth prove yourself a foe to
 my brother and a faithful friend to me? 
 Even if I should do so
 Cyrus , he replied, you could never after this believe it of
 me.

Then Cyrus said to those who were present: Such have been this man’s deeds, such are now his
 words; and now, Clearchus, do you be the first of my counsellors
 to express the opinion you hold. And Clearchus said:
 My advice is to put this man out of the way
 as speedily as possible, so that we may no longer have to be on
 our guard against the fellow, but may be left free, so far as
 concerns him, to requite with benefits these willing
 servants.

In this opinion Clearchus said that the others also
 concurred. After this, he said, at
 the bidding of Cyrus , every man of them arose,
 even Orontas’ kinsmen, and took him by the girdle, as a sign that he
 was condemned to death; and then those to whom the duty was assigned
 led him out. And when the men who in former days were wont to do him
 homage saw him, they made their obeisance even then, although they
 knew that he was being led forth to death.

Now after he had been conducted into the tent of Artapates, the most
 faithful of Cyru s’ chamberlains, from that
 moment no man ever saw Orontas living or dead, nor could anyone say
 from actual knowledge how he was put to death,—it was all
 conjectures, of one sort and another; and no grave of his was ever
 seen.

From there Cyrus 
 marched through Babylonia 
 three stages, twelve parasangs. On the third stage he held a review
 of the Greeks and the barbarians on the plain at about midnight; for
 he thought that at the next dawn the King would come with his army
 to do battle; and he ordered Clearchus to act as commander of the
 right wing and Menon of the left, while he himself marshalled his
 own troops.

On the morning following the review, at daybreak, there came
 deserters from the great King and brought reports to
 Cyrus about his army. At this time Cyrus called together
 the generals and captains of the Greeks, and not only took counsel
 with them as to how he should fight the battle, but, for his own
 part, exhorted and encouraged them as follows:

Men of Greece , it is not because I have not barbarians
 enough that I have brought you hither to fight for me; but
 because I believe that you are braver and stronger than many
 barbarians, for this reason I took you also. Be sure, therefore,
 to be men worthy of the freedom you possess, upon the possession
 of which I congratulate you. For you may be certain that freedom
 is the thing I should choose in preference to all that I have
 and many times more.

And now, in order that you may know
 what sort of a contest it is into which you are going, I who do
 know will tell you. Our enemies have great numbers and they will
 come on with a great outcry; for the rest, however, if you can
 hold out against these things, I am ashamed, I assure you, to
 think what sorry fellows you will find the people of our country
 to be. But if you be men and if my undertaking turn out well, I
 shall make anyone among you who wishes to return home an object
 of envy to his friends at home upon his return, while I shall
 cause many of you, I imagine, to choose life with me in
 preference to life at home.

Hereupon Gaulites, a Samian exile who
 was there and was in the confidence of Cyrus ,
 said: And yet, Cyrus , there
 are those who say that your promises are big now because you are
 in such a critical situation—for the danger is upon you—but that
 if any good fortune befall, you will fail to remember them; and
 some say that even if you should remember and have the will, you
 would not have the means to make good all your
 promises.

Upon hearing these words Cyrus said: Well, gentlemen, my father’s realm extends toward
 the south to a region where men cannot dwell by reason of the
 heat, and to the north to a region where they cannot dwell by
 reason of the cold; and all that lies between these limits my
 brother’s friends rule as satraps.

Now if we win the victory, we must
 put our friends in control of these provinces. I fear,
 therefore, not that I shall not have enough to give to each of
 my friends, if success attends us, but that I shall not have
 enough friends to give to. And as for you men of Greece , I shall give each one
 of you a wreath of gold besides.

When they heard these words, the officers were far more eager
 themselves and carried the news away with them to the other Greeks.
 Then some of the others also sought Cyru s’
 presence, demanding to know what they should have, in case of
 victory; and he satisfied the expectations of every one of them
 before dismissing them.

Now all alike who conversed with him urged him not to take part in
 the fighting, but to station himself in their rear. Taking this
 opportunity Clearchus asked Cyrus a question
 like this: But do you think,
 Cyrus , that your brother will fight
 with you? 
 Yes, by Zeus, said
 Cyrus , if he is really
 a son of Darius and Parysatis and a brother of mine, I shall not
 win this realm without fighting for it.

At this time, when the troops were
 marshalled under arms, the number of the Greeks was found
 to be ten thousand four hundred hoplites, and two thousand five
 hundred peltasts, while the number of the
 barbarians under Cyrus was one hundred thousand
 and there were about twenty scythe-bearing chariots.

The enemy, it was reported, numbered one million two hundred
 thousand and had two hundred scythe-bearing chariots;
 besides, there was a troop of six thousand horsemen, under the
 command of Artagerses, which was stationed in front of the King
 himself.

And the King’s army had four commanders, each at the head of three
 hundred thousand men, namely, Abrocomas, Tissaphernes, Gobryas, and
 Arbaces. But of the forces just enumerated only nine hundred
 thousand, with one hundred and fifty scythe-bearing chariots, were
 present at the battle; for Abrocomas, marching from Phoenicia , arrived five days too
 late for the engagement.

Such were the reports brought to Cyrus by those
 who deserted from the Great King before the battle, and after the
 battle identical reports were made by the prisoners taken
 thereafter.

From there Cyrus 
 marched one stage, three parasangs, with his whole army, Greek and
 barbarian alike, drawn up in line of battle; for he supposed that on
 that day the King would come to an engagement; for about midway of
 this day’s march there was a deep trench, five fathoms in width and three fathoms in depth.

This trench extended up through the plain for a distance of twelve
 parasangs, reaching to the wall of Media, [Here
 also are the canals, which flow from the Tigris river; they are four
 in number, each a plethrum wide and exceedingly deep, and
 grain-carrying ships ply in them; they empty into the Euphrates and are a parsang apart,
 and there are bridges over them.] and alongside the Euphrates there was a narrow
 passage, not more than about twenty feet in width, between the river
 and the trench;

and the trench had been constructed
 by the Great King as a means of defence when he learned that
 Cyrus was marching against him. Accordingly
 Cyrus and his army went through by the
 passage just mentioned, and so found themselves on the inner side of
 the trench.

Now on that day the King did not offer battle, but tracks of both
 horses and men in retreat were to be seen in great numbers.

Then Cyrus summoned Silanus , his Ambraciot soothsayer, and gave him
 three thousand darics; for on the eleventh day before this, while
 sacrificing, he had told Cyrus that the King
 would not fight within ten days, and Cyrus had
 said: Then he will not fight at all, if he will
 not fight within ten days; however, if your prediction proves
 true, I promise you ten talents. So it was this money that he then
 paid over, the ten days having passed.

But since the King did not appear at the trench and try to prevent
 the passage of Cyru s’ army, both
 Cyrus and the rest concluded that he had
 given up the idea of fighting. Hence on the following day
 Cyrus proceeded more carelessly;

and on the third day he was making the march seated in his chariot
 and with only a small body of troops drawn up in line in front of
 him, while the greater part of the army was proceeding in disorder
 and many of the soldiers’ arms and accoutrements were being carried
 in wagons and on pack-animals.

It was now about full-market
 time and the stopping-place where
 Cyrus was intending to halt had been almost
 reached, when Pategyas, a trusty Persian of
 Cyru s’ staff, came into sight, riding at
 full speed, with his horse in a sweat, and at once shouted out to
 everyone he met, in the barbarian tongue and in Greek, that the King
 was approaching with a large army, all ready for battle.

Then ensued great confusion; for the thought of the Greeks, and of
 all the rest in fact, was that he would fall upon them immediately,
 while they were in disorder;

and Cyrus leaped down from his chariot, put on
 his breastplate, and then, mounting his horse, took his spears in
 his hands and passed the word to all the others to arm themselves
 and get into their places, every man of them.

Thereupon they proceeded in great haste to take their places,
 Clearchus occupying the right end of the Greek wing, close to the
 Euphrates river, Proxenus next to him, and the others beyond
 Proxenus, while Menon and his army took the left end of the Greek
 wing.

As for the barbarians, Paphlagonian horsemen to the number of a
 thousand took station beside Clearchus on the right wing, as did the
 Greek peltasts, on the left was Ariaeus, Cyru s’
 lieutenant, with the rest of the barbarian army,

and in the centre Cyrus and his horsemen, about
 six hundred in number. These troopers were armed with breastplates
 and thigh-pieces and, all of them except Cyrus ,
 with helmets— Cyrus , however, went into the
 battle with his head unprotected. [In fact, it is said of the
 Persians in general that they venture all the perils of war with
 their heads unprotected.]

And all their horses [with Cyrus ] had frontlets
 and breast-pieces; and the men carried, besides their other weapons,
 Greek sabres.

And now it was midday, and the enemy
 were not yet in sight; but when afternoon was coming on, there was
 seen a rising dust, which appeared at first like a white cloud, but
 some time later like a kind of blackness in the plain, extending
 over a great distance. As the enemy came nearer and nearer, there
 were presently flashes of bronze here and there, and spears and the
 hostile ranks began to come into sight.

There were horsemen in white cuirasses on the left wing of the enemy,
 under the command, it was reported, of Tissaphernes; next to them
 were troops with wicker shields and, farther on, hoplites with
 wooden shields which reached to their feet, these latter being
 Egyptians, people said; and then more horsemen and more bowmen. All
 these troops were marching in national divisions, each nation in a
 solid square.

In front of them were the so-called scythe-bearing chariots, at some
 distance from one another; and the scythes they carried reached out
 sideways from the axles and were also set under the chariot bodies,
 pointing towards the ground, so as to cut to pieces whatever they
 met; the intention, then, was that they should drive into the ranks
 of the Greeks and cut the troops to pieces.

As for the statement, however, which Cyrus made
 when he called the Greeks together and urged them to hold out
 against the shouting of the barbarians, he proved to be mistaken in
 this point; for they came on, not with shouting, but in the utmost
 silence and quietness, with equal step and slowly.

At this moment
 Cyrus rode along the line, attended only by
 Pigres, his interpreter, and three or four others, and shouted to
 Clearchus to lead his army against the enemy’s centre, for the
 reason that the King was stationed there; and
 if, he said, we are victorious there,
 our whole task is accomplished.

Clearchus, however, since he saw the compact body at the enemy’s
 centre and heard from Cyrus that the King was
 beyond his left wing (for the King was so superior in numbers that,
 although occupying the centre of his own line, he was beyond
 Cyru s’ left wing), was unwilling to draw
 the right wing away from the river, for fear that he might be turned
 on both flanks; and he told Cyrus , in reply,
 that he was taking care to make everything go well.

At this critical time the King’s army
 was advancing evenly, while the Greek force, still remaining in the
 same place, was forming its line from those who were still coming
 up. And Cyrus , riding along at some distance
 from his army, was taking a survey, looking in either direction,
 both at his enemies and his friends.

Then Xenophon, an Athenian,
 seeing him from the Greek army, approached so as to meet him and
 asked if he had any orders to give; and Cyrus 
 pulled up his horse and bade Xenophon tell everybody that the
 sacrificial victims and omens were all favourable.

While saying this he heard a noise running through the ranks, and
 asked what the noise was. Xenophon replied that the watchword was
 now passing along for the second time. And Cyrus wondered who had
 given it out, and asked what the watchword was. Xenophon replied
 Zeus Saviour and Victory.

And upon hearing this Cyrus said, Well, I accept it, and so let it be. After
 he had said these words he rode back to his own position. At length the opposing lines were not three
 or four stadia apart, and then the Greeks struck up the paean and
 began to advance against the enemy.

And when, as they proceeded, a part of the phalanx billowed out,
 those who were thus left behind began to run; at the same moment
 they all set up the sort of war-cry which they raise to
 Enyalius, and
 all alike began running. It is also reported that some of them
 clashed their shields against their spears, thereby frightening the
 enemy’s horses.

And before an arrow reached them, the barbarians broke and fled.
 Thereupon the Greeks pursued with all their might, but shouted
 meanwhile to one another not to run at a headlong pace, but to keep
 their ranks in the pursuit.

As for the enemy’s chariots, some of them plunged through the lines
 of their own troops, others, however, through the Greek lines, but
 without charioteers. And whenever the Greeks saw them coming, they
 would open a gap for their passage; one fellow, to be sure, was
 caught, like a befuddled man on a race-course, yet it was said that
 even he was not hurt in the least, nor, for that matter, did any
 other single man among the Greeks get any hurt whatever in this
 battle, save that some one on the left wing was reported to have
 been hit by an arrow.

When Cyrus saw
 that the Greeks were victorious over the division opposite them and
 were in pursuit, although he was pleased and was already being
 saluted with homage as King by his attendants, he nevertheless was
 not induced to join the pursuit, but, keeping in close formation the
 six hundred horsemen of his troop, he was watching to see what the
 King would do. For he knew that the King held the centre of the
 Persian army;

in fact, all the generals of the barbarians hold their own centre
 when they are in command, for they think that this is the safest
 position, namely, with their forces on either side of them, and also
 that if they want to pass along an order, the army will get it in
 half the time;

so in this instance the King held the centre of the army under his
 command, but still he found himself beyond the left wing of
 Cyrus . Since, then, there was no one in his
 front to give battle to him or to the troops drawn up before him, he
 proceeded to wheel round his line with the intention of encircling
 the enemy.

Thereupon Cyrus ,
 seized with fear lest he might get in the rear of the Greek troops
 and cut them to pieces, charged to meet him; and attacking with his
 six hundred, he was victorious over the forces stationed in front of
 the King and put to flight the six thousand, slaying with his own hand, it is said,
 their commander Artagerses.

But when they turned to flight, Cyru s’ six
 hundred, setting out in pursuit, became scattered also, and only a
 very few were left about him, chiefly his so-called table
 companions.

While attended by these only, he caught sight of the King and the
 compact body around him; and on the instant he lost control of
 himself and, with the cry I see the man, 
 rushed upon him and struck him in the breast and wounded him through
 his breastplate—as Ctesias 
 the physician says, adding also that he himself healed the
 wound.

While Cyrus was
 delivering his stroke, however, some one hit him a hard blow under
 the eye with a javelin; and then followed a struggle between the
 King and Cyrus and the attendants who supported
 each of them. The number that fell on the King’s side is stated by
 Ctesias, who was with him; on the other side,
 Cyrus himself was killed and eight of the
 noblest of his attendants lay dead upon him.

Of Artapates, the one among Cyru s’ chamberlains
 who was his most faithful follower, it is told that when he saw
 Cyrus fallen, he leaped down from his horse
 and threw his arms about him.

And one report is that the King ordered someone to slay him upon the
 body of Cyrus , while others say that he drew
 his dagger and slew himself with his own hand; for he had a dagger
 of gold, and he also wore a necklace and bracelets and all the other
 ornaments that the noblest Persians wear; for he had been honoured
 by Cyrus because of his affection and
 fidelity.

In this way, then,
 Cyrus came to his end, a man who was the
 most kingly and the most worthy to rule of all the Persians who have
 been born since Cyrus the Elder, as all agree
 who are reputed to have known Cyrus 
 intimately.

For firstly, while he was still a boy and was being educated with his
 brother and the other boys, he was regarded as the best of them all
 in all respects.

For all the sons of the noblest Persians are educated at the King’s
 court. There one may learn discretion and self-control in full
 measure, and nothing that is base can be either heard or seen.

The boys have before their eyes the spectacle of men honoured by the
 King and of others dishonoured; they likewise hear of them; and so
 from earliest boyhood they are learning how to rule and how to
 submit to rule.

Here, then, Cyrus was reputed to be, in the
 first place, the most modest of his fellows, and even more obedient
 to his elders than were his inferiors in rank; secondly, the most
 devoted to horses and the most skilful in managing horses; he was
 also adjudged the most eager to learn, and the most diligent in
 practising, military accomplishments, alike the use of the bow and
 of the javelin.

Then, when he was of suitable age, he was the fondest of hunting and,
 more than that, the fondest of incurring danger in his pursuit of
 wild animals. On one occasion, when a bear charged upon him, he did
 not take to flight, but grappled with her and was dragged from his
 horse; he received some injuries, the scars of which he retained,
 but in the end he killed the bear; and, furthermore, the man who was
 the first to come to his assistance he made an object of envy to
 many.

Again, when he was sent down 
 by his father to be satrap of Lydia , Greater Phrygia, and Cappadocia and was also appointed
 commander of all the troops whose duty it is to muster in the plain
 of Castolus, he showed, in the first place, that he counted it of
 the utmost importance, when he concluded a treaty or compact with
 anyone or made anyone any promise, under no circumstances to prove
 false to his word.

It was for this reason, then, that the cities trusted him and put
 themselves under his protection, and that individuals also trusted him; and if anyone
 had been an enemy, when Cyrus made a treaty
 with him he trusted that he would suffer no harm in violation of
 that treaty.

Consequently, when he came to hostilities with Tissaphernes, all the
 cities of their own accord chose Cyrus rather
 than Tissaphernes, with the exception of Miletus ; and the reason why the Milesians feared
 him was, that he would not prove false to the exiles from their
 city.

For he showed repeatedly, by deed as well as by word, that he would
 never abandon them when once he had come to be their friend, not
 even if they should become still fewer in number and should meet
 with still worse misfortune.

It was manifest also that whenever a
 man conferred any benefit upon Cyrus or did him
 any harm, he always strove to outdo him; in fact, some people used
 to report it as a prayer of his that he might live long enough to
 outdo both those who benefited and those who injured him, returning
 like for like.

Hence it was that he had a greater following than any other one man
 of our time of friends who eagerly desired to entrust to him both
 treasure and cities and their very bodies.

Yet, on the other hand, none could say that he permitted malefactors
 and wicked men to laugh at him; on the contrary, he was merciless to
 the last degree in punishing them, and one might often see along the
 travelled roads people who had lost feet or hands or eyes; thus in
 Cyru s’ province it became possible for
 either Greek or barbarian, provided he were guilty of no wrongdoing,
 to travel fearlessly wherever he wished, carrying with him whatever
 it was to his interest to have.

But it was the brave in war, as all
 agree, whom he honoured especially. For example, he was once at war
 with the Pisidians and Mysians and commanded in person an expedition
 into their territories; and whomsoever in his army he found willing
 to meet dangers, these men he would not only appoint as rulers of
 the territory he was subduing, but would honour thereafter with
 other gifts also.

Thus the brave were seen to be most prosperous, while cowards were
 deemed fit to be their slaves. Consequently
 Cyrus had men in great abundance who were
 willing to meet danger wherever they thought that he would observe
 them.

As for uprightness, if a man showed that he desired to distinguish
 himself in that quality, Cyrus considered it
 all important to enable such an one to live in greater opulence than
 those who were greedy of unjust gain.

Hence he not only had many and various functions performed for him
 with fidelity, but, in particular, he secured the services of an
 army worthy of the name. For generals and captains who came overseas
 to serve him for the sake of money judged that loyal obedience to
 Cyrus was worth more to them than their
 mere monthly pay.

Again, so surely as a man performed with credit any service that he
 assigned him, Cyrus never let his zeal go
 unrewarded. In consequence, he was said to have gained the very best
 supporters for every undertaking.

Furthermore, whenever he saw that a
 man was a skilful and just administrator, not only organizing well
 the country over which he ruled, but producing revenues, he would
 never deprive such a man of territory, but would always give him
 more besides. The result was that they toiled with pleasure and
 accumulated with confidence, and, more than that, no one would
 conceal from Cyrus the store which he had
 acquired; for it was clear that he did not envy those who were
 frankly and openly rich, but strove to make use of the possessions
 of such as tried to conceal their wealth.

As to friends, all agree that he
 showed himself pre-eminent in his attentions to all the friends that
 he made and found devoted to him and adjudged to be competent
 co-workers in whatever he might be wishing to accomplish.

For, just as the precise object for which he thought he needed
 friends himself was that he might have co-workers, so he tried on
 his own part to be a most vigorous co-worker with his friends to
 secure that which he found each one of them desired.

Again, he received more gifts, I presume, than any other one man, and
 for many reasons; and surely he of all men distributed gifts most
 generously among his friends, with an eye to the tastes of each one
 and to whatever particular need he noted in each case.

As for all the gifts which people sent him to wear upon his person,
 whether intended for war or merely for show, it is reported that he
 said of them that his own person could not be adorned with all these
 things, but that in his opinion friends nobly adorned were a man’s
 greatest ornament.

To be sure, the fact that he outdid his friends in the greatness of
 the benefits he conferred is nothing surprising, for the manifest
 reason that he had greater means than they; but that he surpassed
 them in solicitude and in eagerness to do favours, this in my
 opinion is more admirable.

For example, when Cyrus got some particularly
 good wine, he would often send the half-emptied jar to a friend with
 the message: Cyrus says that he has not
 chanced upon better wine than this for a long time; so he sends
 it to you, and asks you to drink it up today in company with the
 friends you love best.

So he would often send halves of geese and of loaves and so forth,
 instructing the bearer to add the message:
 Cyrus enjoyed this, and therefore
 wants you also to take a taste of it.

And wherever fodder was exceedingly scarce and he was able to get it
 for his own use because of the large number of his servants and
 because of his good planning, he would distribute this fodder among
 his friends and tell them to give it to the horses that carried
 their own bodies, that they might not be hungry while carrying his
 friends.

And whenever he was on the march and was likely to be seen by very
 many people, he would call his friends to him and engage them in
 earnest conversation, in order to show whom he honoured. Hence, as I
 at least conclude from what comes to my ears, no man, Greek or
 barbarian, has ever been loved by a greater number of people.

Here is a fact to confirm that conclusion: although
 Cyrus was a slave, no one deserted him to join the King, save that
 Orontas attempted to do so (and he, mark you, speedily found out
 that the man he imagined was faithful to him, was more devoted to
 Cyrus than to him); on the other hand, many
 went over from the King to Cyrus after the two
 had become enemies (these being, moreover, the men who were most
 highly regarded by the King), because they thought that if they were
 deserving, they would gain a worthier reward with
 Cyrus than with the King.

Furthermore, what happened to Cyrus at the end
 of his life is a strong indication that he was a true man himself
 and that he knew how to judge those who were faithful, devoted, and
 constant.

When he died, namely, all his bodyguard of friends and table
 companions died fighting in his defence, with the exception of
 Ariaeus; he, it chanced, was stationed on the left wing at the head
 of the cavalry, and when he learned that Cyrus 
 had fallen, he took to flight with the whole army that he
 commanded.

Then the head of
 Cyrus and his right hand were cut off. But
 the King, pursuing Ariaeus, burst into the camp of
 Cyrus ; and Ariaeus and his men no longer
 stood their ground, but fled through their own camp to the
 stopping-place from which they had set out that morning, a distance,
 it was said, of four parasangs.

So the King and his troops proceeded to secure plunder of various
 sorts in abundance, while in particular he captured the Phocaean
 woman, Cyru s’ concubine, who, by all accounts,
 was clever and beautiful.

The Milesian woman, however, the younger one, after being seized by
 the King’s men made her escape, lightly clad, to some Greeks who had
 chanced to be standing guard amid the baggage train and, forming
 themselves in line against the enemy, had killed many of the
 plunderers, although some of their own number had been killed also;
 nevertheless, they did not take to flight, but they saved this woman
 and, furthermore, whatever else came within their lines, whether
 persons or property, they saved all alike.

At this time the King and the Greeks
 were distant from one another about thirty stadia, the Greeks
 pursuing the troops in their front, in the belief that they were
 victorious over all the enemy, the King and his followers
 plundering, in the belief that they were all victorious already.

When, however, the Greeks learned that the King and his forces were
 in their baggage train, and the King, on the other hand, heard from
 Tissaphernes that the Greeks were victorious over the division
 opposite them and had gone on ahead in pursuit, then the King
 proceeded to gather his troops together and form them in line of
 battle, and Clearchus called Proxenus (for he was nearest him in the
 line) and took counsel with him as to whether they should send a
 detachment or go in full force to the camp, for the purpose of
 lending aid.

Meanwhile the Greeks saw the King advancing again, as it seemed, from
 their rear, and they accordingly countermarched and made ready to
 meet his attack in case he should advance in that direction ; the King, however, did not do so, but
 returned by the same route he had followed before, when he passed
 outside of Cyru s’ left wing, and in his return
 picked up not only those who had deserted to the Greeks during the
 battle, but also Tissaphernes and his troops.

For Tissaphernes had not taken to flight in the first encounter, but
 had charged along the river through the Greek peltasts ; he did not kill anyone in his
 passage, but the Greeks, after opening a gap for his men, proceeded
 to deal blows and throw javelins upon them as they went through. The
 commander of the Greek peltasts was Episthenes of Amphipolis , and it was said
 that he proved himself a sagacious man.

At any rate, after Tissaphernes had thus come off with the worst of
 it, he did not wheel round again, but went on to the camp of the
 Greeks and there fell in with the King; so it was that, after
 forming their lines once more, they were proceeding together.

When they were over against the left
 wing of the Greeks, the latter conceived the fear that they might
 advance against that wing and, by outflanking them on both sides,
 cut them to pieces; they thought it best, therefore, to draw the
 wing back and get the river in their rear.

But while they were taking counsel about this matter, the King had
 already changed his line of battle to the same form as theirs and
 brought it into position opposite them, just as when he had met them
 for battle the first time. And when the Greeks saw that the enemy were near
 them and in battle-order, they again struck up the paean and
 advanced to the attack much more eagerly than before;

and the barbarians once again failed to await the attack, but took to
 flight when at a greater distance from the Greeks than they were the
 first time.

The Greeks pursued as far as a certain village, and there they
 halted; for above the village was a hill, upon which the King and
 his followers rallied; and they were not now foot-soldiers, but the
 hill was covered with horsemen, so that the Greeks could not
 perceive what was going on. They did see, they said, the royal
 standard, a kind of golden eagle on a shield, raised aloft upon a
 pole.

But when at this point also the Greeks resumed their forward
 movement, the horsemen at once proceeded to leave the hill; they did
 not keep together, however, as they went, but scattered in different
 directions; so the hill became gradually cleared of the horsemen,
 till at last they were all gone.

Clearchus, accordingly, did not lead the army up the hill, but halted
 at its foot and sent Lycius the Syracusan and another man to the
 summit, directing them to observe what was beyond the hill and
 report back to him.

And Lycius, after riding up and looking, brought back word that the
 enemy were in headlong flight.

At about this time the sun set. Then
 the Greeks halted, grounded arms, and proceeded to rest themselves.
 At the same time they wondered that Cyrus was
 nowhere to be seen and that no one else had come to them from him;
 for they did not know that he was dead, but conjectured that he had
 either gone off in pursuit or pushed on to occupy some point.

So they took counsel for themselves as to whether they should remain
 where they were and bring the baggage train thither, or return to
 their camp. The decision was to return, and they reached their tents
 about supper-time.

Such was the conclusion of this day. They found most of their
 property pillaged, in particular whatever there was to eat or drink,
 and as for the wagons loaded with flour and wine which
 Cyrus had provided in order that, if ever
 serious need should overtake the army, he might have supplies to
 distribute among the Greeks (and there were four hundred of these
 wagons, it was said), these also the King and his men had now
 pillaged.

The result was that most of the Greeks had no dinner; and they had
 had no breakfast, either, for the King had appeared before the time
 when the army was to halt for breakfast. Thus it was, then that they
 got through this night.

[The preceding narrative has described how a
 Greek force was collected for Cyrus at the time
 when he was planning an expedition against his brother Artaxerxes,
 what events took place during the upward march, how the battle was
 fought, how Cyrus met his death, and how the
 Greeks returned to their camp and lay down to rest, supposing that
 they were victorious at all points and that
 Cyrus was alive.]

At daybreak the generals came
 together, and they wondered that Cyrus neither
 sent anyone else to tell them what to do nor appeared himself. They
 resolved, accordingly, to pack up what they had, arm themselves, and
 push forward until they should join forces with
 Cyrus .

When they were on the point of setting out, and just as the sun was
 rising, came Procles, the ruler of Teuthrania, a descendant of
 Damaratus, the Laconian, and with him Glus, the son of
 Tamos. They reported that Cyrus was dead, and
 that Ariaeus had fled and was now, along with the rest of the
 barbarians, at the stopping-place from which they had set out on the
 preceding day; further, he sent word that he and his troops were
 that day waiting for the Greeks, on the chance that they intended to
 join them, but on the next day, so Ariaeus said, he should set out
 on the return journey for Ionia , whence he had come.

The generals upon hearing this message, and the rest of the Greeks as
 they learned of it, were greatly distressed. Clearchus, however,
 said: Well, would that
 Cyrus were alive! but since he is dead,
 carry back word to Ariaeus that, for our part, we have defeated
 the King, that we have no enemy left, as you see, to fight with,
 and that if you had not come, we should now be marching against
 the King. And we promise Ariaeus that, if he will come here, we
 will set him upon the royal throne; for to those who are
 victorious in battle belongs also the right to rule.

With these words he sent back the messengers, sending with them
 Cheirisophus the Laconian and Menon the Thessalian; for this was
 Menon’s own wish, inasmuch as he was an intimate and guest-friend of
 Ariaeus.

So they went off, and Clearchus
 awaited their return; meanwhile the troops provided themselves with
 food as best they could, by slaughtering oxen and asses of the
 baggage train. As for fuel, they went forward a short distance from
 their line to the place where the battle was fought and used for
 that purpose not only the arrows, many in number, which the Greeks
 had compelled all who deserted from the King to throw away, but also
 the wicker shields and the wooden Egyptian shields; there were
 likewise many light shields and wagons that they could carry off,
 all of them abandoned. These various things, then, they used for
 fuel, and so boiled meat and lived on it for that day.

And now it was about full-market
 time, and
 heralds arrived from the King and Tissaphernes, all of them
 barbarians except one, a Greek named Phalinus, who, as it chanced,
 was with Tissaphernes and was held in honour by him; for this
 Phalinus professed to be an expert in tactics and the handling of
 heavy infantry.

When these heralds came up, they called for the leaders of the Greeks
 and said that the King, since victory had fallen to him and he had
 slain Cyrus , directed the Greeks to give up
 their arms, go to the King’s court, and seek for themselves whatever
 favour they might be able to get.

Such was the message of the King’s heralds. The Greeks received it
 with anger, but nevertheless Clearchus said as much as this, that it
 was not victors who gave up their arms; However, he continued, do you, my
 fellow generals, give these men whatever answer you can that is
 best and most honourable, and I will return immediately. 
 For one of his servants had summoned him to see the vital organs
 that had been taken out of a sacrificial victim, for Clearchus
 chanced to be engaged in sacrificing.

Then Cleanor the Arcadian, being the
 eldest of the generals, made answer that they would die sooner than
 give up their arms. And Proxenus the Theban said: For my part, Phalinus, I wonder whether the King
 is asking for our arms on the assumption that he is victorious,
 or simply as gifts, on the assumption that we are his friends.
 For if he asks for them as victor, why need he ask for them,
 instead of coming and taking them? But if he desires
 to get them by persuasion, let him set forth what the soldiers
 will receive in case they do him this favour.

In reply to this Phalinus said: The King believes
 that he is victor because he has slain
 Cyrus . For who is there now who is
 contending against him for his realm? Further, he believes that
 you also are his because he has you in the middle of his
 country, enclosed by impassable rivers, and because he can bring
 against you a multitude of men so great that you could not slay
 them even if he were to put them in your hands. Then
 Theopompus, an Athenian, said:

Phalinus, at this moment, as you see for
 yourself, we have no other possession save arms and valour. Now
 if we keep our arms, we imagine that we can make use of our
 valour also, but if we give them up, that we shall likewise be
 deprived of our lives. Do not suppose, therefore, that we shall
 give up to you the only possessions that we have; rather, with
 these we shall do battle against you for your possessions as
 well.

When he heard this, Phalinus laughed and said: Why, you talk like a philosopher, young man, and what you say
 is quite pretty; be sure, however, that you are a fool if you
 imagine that your valour could prove superior to the King’s
 might.

There were some others, so the story goes, who weakened a little, and
 said that, just as they had proved themselves faithful to
 Cyrus , so they might prove valuable to the
 King also if he should wish to become their friend; he might want to
 employ them for various purposes, perhaps for a campaign against
 Egypt , which they
 should be glad to assist him in subduing.

At this time Clearchus returned, and
 asked whether they had yet given an answer. And Phalinus broke in
 and said: These people, Clearchus, all say
 different things; but tell us what your own opinion
 is.

Clearchus replied: I myself, Phalinus, was glad
 to see you, and, I presume, all the rest were, too; for you are
 a Greek and so are we, whose numbers you can observe for
 yourself. Now since we are in such a situation, we ask you to
 advise us as to what we ought to do about the matter you
 mention.

Do you, then, in the sight of the
 gods, give us whatever advice you think is best and most
 honourable, advice which will bring you honour in future time
 when it is reported in this way: Once on a
 time Phalinus, when he was sent by the King to order the
 Greeks to surrender their arms, gave them, when they sought
 his counsel, the following advice. And you know that
 any advice you may give will certainly be reported in Greece .

Now Clearchus was making this crafty suggestion in the hope that the
 very man who was acting as the King’s ambassador might advise them
 not to give up their arms, and that thus the Greeks might be made
 more hopeful. But, contrary to his expectation, Phalinus also made a
 crafty turn, and said:

For my part, if you have one chance in ten
 thousand of saving yourselves by carrying on war against the
 King, I advise you not to give up your arms; but if you have no
 hope of deliverance without the King’s consent, I advise you to
 save yourselves in what way you can.

In reply to this Clearchus said: Well, that is
 what you say; but as our answer carry back this word, that in
 our view if we are to be friends of the King, we should be more
 valuable friends if we keep our arms than if we give them up to
 someone else, and if we are to wage war with him, we should wage
 war better if we keep our arms than if we give them up to
 someone else.

And Phalinus said: That answer, then, we will
 carry back; but the King bade us tell you this also, that if you
 remain where you are, you have a truce, if you advance or
 retire, war. Inform us, therefore, on this point as well: shall
 you remain and is there a truce, or shall I report from you that
 there is war?

Clearchus replied: Report, then, on this point
 that our view is precisely the same as the King’s. 
 What, then, is that? said Phalinus.
 Clearchus replied, If we remain, a truce, if we
 retire or advance, war.

And Phalinus asked again, Shall I report truce or
 war? And Clearchus again made the same reply, Truce if we remain, if we retire or advance,
 war. What he meant to do, however, he did not
 indicate.

So Phalinus and his companions
 departed. But the messengers from Ariaeus arrived—Procles and
 Cheirisophus only, for Menon stayed behind with Ariaeus; they
 reported that Ariaeus said there were many Persians of higher rank
 than himself and they would not tolerate his being king. But, the messengers continued, if you wish to make the return journey with him,
 he bids you come at once, during the night; otherwise, he says
 he will set out to-morrow morning.

And Clearchus said: Well, let it be this way: if
 we come, even as you propose; if we do not, follow whatever
 course you may think most advantageous to yourselves. But
 what he meant to do, he did not tell them, either.

After this, when the sun was already
 setting, he called together the generals and captains and spoke as
 follows: When I sacrificed, gentlemen, the omens
 did not result favourably for proceeding against the King. And
 with good reason, it proves, they were not favourable; for, as I
 now ascertain, between us and the King is the Tigris , a navigable river,
 which we could not cross without boats—and boats we have none.
 On the other hand, it is not possible for us to stay where we
 are, for we cannot get provisions; but the omens were extremely
 favourable for our going to join the friends of
 Cyrus .

This, then, is what you are to do:
 go away and dine on whatever you severally have; when the horn
 gives the signal for going to rest, pack up; when the second
 signal is given, load your baggage upon the beasts of burden;
 and at the third signal follow the van, keeping the beasts of
 burden on the side next to the river and the hoplites
 outside.

Upon hearing these words the generals and captains went away and
 proceeded to do as Clearchus had directed. And thenceforth he
 commanded and they obeyed, not that they had chosen him, but because
 they saw that he alone possessed the wisdom which a commander should
 have, while the rest were without experience.

[The length of the journey they had made
 from Ephesus , in
 Ionia , to the
 battlefield was ninety-three stages, five hundred and thirty-five
 parasangs, or sixteen thousand and fifty stadia; and the distance
 from the battlefield to Babylon was said to be three hundred and sixty
 stadia.]

Afterwards, when darkness had come on,
 Miltocythes the Thracian, with the horsemen under his command, forty
 in number, and about three hundred Thracian foot-soldiers, deserted
 to the King.

But Clearchus put himself at the head of the rest of the troops,
 following out the plan of his previous orders, and they followed;
 and they reached the first stopping-place, and there joined Ariaeus and his army,
 at about midnight. Then, while they halted under arms in line of
 battle, the generals and captains had a meeting with Ariaeus; and
 the two parties—the Greek officers, and Ariaeus together with the
 highest in rank of his followers—made oath that they would not
 betray each other and that they would be allies, while the
 barbarians took an additional pledge to lead the way without
 treachery.

These oaths they sealed by sacrificing a bull, a boar, and a ram over
 a shield, the Greeks dipping a sword in the blood and the barbarians
 a lance.

After the pledges had been given, Clearchus said: And now, Ariaeus, since you and we are to make the same
 journey, tell us what view you hold in regard to the route—shall
 we return by the same way we came, or do you think you have
 discovered another way that is better?

Ariaeus replied: If we should return by the way
 we came, we should perish utterly from starvation, for we now
 have no provisions whatever. For even on our way hither we were
 not able to get anything from the country during the last
 seventeen stages; and where there was anything, we consumed it
 entirely on our march through. Now, accordingly, we intend to
 take a route that is longer, to be sure, but one where we shall
 not lack provisions.

And we must make our first marches
 as long as we can, in order to separate ourselves as far as
 possible from the King’s army; for if we once get a two or three
 days’ journey away from the King, he will not then be able to
 overtake us. For he will not dare to pursue us with a small
 army, and with a large array he will not find it possible to
 march rapidly; and perhaps, furthermore, he will lack
 provisions. This, said he, is the
 view which I hold, for my part.

This plan of campaign meant nothing
 else than effecting an escape, either by stealth or by speed; but
 fortune planned better. For when day came, they set out on the
 march, keeping the sun on their right and calculating that at sunset
 they would reach villages in Babylonia—and in this they were not
 disappointed.

But while it was still afternoon they thought that they saw horsemen
 of the enemy; and such of the Greeks as chanced not to be in the
 lines proceeded to run to the lines, while Ariaeus, who was making
 the journey in a wagon because he was wounded, got down and put on
 his breastplate, and his attendants followed his example.

While they were arming themselves, however, the scouts who had been
 sent ahead returned with the report that it was not horsemen, but
 pack animals grazing. Straightway everybody realized that the King
 was encamping somewhere in the neighbourhood—in fact, smoke was seen
 in villages not far away.

Clearchus, however, would not advance
 against the enemy, for he knew that his troops were not only tired
 out, but without food, and, besides, it was already late; still, he
 would not turn aside, either, for he was taking care to avoid the
 appearance of flight, but leading the army straight ahead he
 encamped with the van at sunset in the nearest villages, from which
 the King’s army had plundered even the very timbers of the
 houses.

The van nevertheless encamped after a fashion, but the men who were
 further back, coming up in the dark, had to bivouac each as best
 they could, and they made a great uproar with calling one another,
 so that the enemy also heard it; the result was that the nearest of
 the enemy actually took to flight from their quarters.

This became clear on the following day, for not a pack animal was any
 more to be seen nor camp nor smoke anywhere near. Even the King, so
 it seems, was terrified by the approach of the army. He made this
 evident by what he did the next day.

However, as the night went on a panic fell upon the Greeks also, and
 there was confusion and din of the sort that may be expected when
 panic has seized an army.

Clearchus, however, directed Tolmides the Elean, who chanced to be
 with him as herald and was the best herald of his time, to make this
 proclamation, after he had ordered silence: The
 commanders give public notice that whoever informs on the man
 who let the ass loose among the arms shall receive a reward of a
 talent of silver.

When this proclamation had been made, the soldiers realized that
 their fears were groundless and their commanders safe. And at dawn
 Clearchus ordered the Greeks to get under arms in line of battle
 just as they were when the battle took place.

The fact which I just stated, that the
 King was terrified by the approach of the Greeks, was made clear by
 the following circumstance: although on the day before he had sent
 and ordered them to give up their arms, he now, at sunrise, sent
 heralds to negotiate a truce.

When these heralds reached the outposts, they asked for the
 commanders. And when the outposts reported, Clearchus, who chanced
 at the time to be inspecting the ranks, told the outposts to direct
 the heralds to wait till he should be at leisure.

Then after he had arranged the army so that it should present a fine
 appearance from every side as a compact phalanx, with no one to be
 seen outside the lines of the hoplites, he summoned the messengers;
 and he himself came forward with the best armed and best looking of
 his own troops and told the other generals to do likewise.

Once face to face with the messengers, he inquired what they wanted.
 They replied that they had come to negotiate for a truce, and were
 empowered to report the King’s proposals to the Greeks and the
 Greeks’ proposals to the King.

And Clearchus answered: Report to him, then, that
 we must have a battle first; for we have had no breakfast, and
 there is no man alive who will dare to talk to Greeks about a
 truce unless he provides them with a breakfast.

Upon hearing these words the messengers rode away, but were speedily
 back again, which made it evident that the King, or someone else who
 had been charged with carrying on these negotiations, was somewhere
 near. They stated that what the Greeks said seemed to the King
 reasonable, and that they had now brought guides with them who would
 lead the Greeks, in case a truce should be concluded, to a place
 where they could get provisions.

Thereupon Clearchus asked whether he was making a truce merely with
 the men who were coming and going, or whether the truce would bind
 the others also. Every man of them, they
 replied, until your message is carried to the
 King.

When they had said this, Clearchus had them retire and took counsel
 about the matter; and it was thought best to conclude the truce
 speedily, so that they could go and get the provisions without being
 molested.

And Clearchus said: I, too, agree with this view;
 nevertheless, I shall not so report at once, but I shall delay
 until the messengers get fearful of our deciding not to conclude
 the truce; to be sure, he said, I
 suppose that our own soldiers will also feel the same
 fear. When, accordingly, it seemed that the proper time
 had come, he reported that he accepted the truce, and directed them
 to lead the way immediately to the provisions.

They proceeded, then, to lead the way,
 but Clearchus, although he had made the truce, kept his army in line
 of battle on the march, and commanded the rearguard himself. And
 they kept coming upon trenches and canals, full of water, which
 could not be crossed without bridges. They made bridges of a kind,
 however, out of the palm trees which had fallen and others which
 they cut down themselves.

And here one could well observe how Clearchus commanded; he had his
 spear in his left hand and in his right a stick, and whenever he
 thought that anyone of the men assigned to this task was shirking,
 he would pick out the right man and deal him a blow, while at the
 same time he would get into the mud and lend a hand himself; the
 result was that everyone was ashamed not to match him in energy.

The men detailed to the work were all those up to thirty years of
 age, but the older men also took hold when they saw Clearchus in
 such energetic haste.

Now Clearchus was in a far greater hurry because he suspected that
 the trenches were not always full of water in this way, for it was
 not a proper time to be irrigating the plain; his suspicion was,
 then, that the King had let the water into the plain just in order
 that the Greeks might have before their eyes at the very start many
 things to make them fearful about their journey.

The march at length brought them to
 villages where the guides directed them to get provisions. In these
 villages was grain in abundance and palm wine and a sour drink made
 from the same by boiling.

As for the dates themselves of the palm, the sort that one can see in
 Greece were set apart
 for the servants, while those laid away for the masters were
 selected ones, remarkable for their beauty and size and with a
 colour altogether resembling that of amber; others, again, they
 would dry and store away for sweetmeats. These made a pleasant
 morsel also at a symposium, but were apt to cause headache.

Here also the soldiers ate for the first time the crown of the palm,
 and most of them were surprised not alone at its appearance, but at
 the peculiar nature of its flavour. This, too, however, was
 exceedingly apt to cause headache. And when the crown was removed
 from a palm, the whole tree would wither.

In these villages they remained three
 days; and there came to them, as messengers from the Great King,
 Tissaphernes and the brother of the King’s wife and three other
 Persians; and many slaves followed in their train. When the Greek
 generals met them, Tissaphernes, through an interpreter, began the
 speaking with the following words:

Men of Greece , in my own home I am a neighbour of
 yours, and when I saw plunged into many difficulties, I thought
 it would be a piece of good fortune if I could in any way gain
 permission from the King to take you back safe to Greece . For I fancy I should
 not go without thanks, both from you and from all Greece .

After reaching this conclusion I
 presented my request to the King, saying to him that it would be
 fair for him to do me a favour, because I was the first to
 report to him that Cyrus was marching
 against him, because along with my report I brought him aid
 also, and because I was the only man among those posted opposite
 the Greeks who did not take to flight, but, on the contrary, I
 charged through and joined forces with the King in your camp,
 where the King had arrived after slaying
 Cyrus and pursuing the barbarians of
 Cyru s’ army with the help of these men
 now present with me, men who are most faithful to the King. And
 he promised me that he would consider this request of
 mine,

but, meanwhile, he bade me come and
 ask you for what reason you took the field against him. Now I
 advise you to answer with moderation, that so it may be easier
 for me to obtain for you at his hands whatever good thing I may
 be able to obtain.

Hereupon the Greeks withdrew and
 proceeded to take counsel; then they gave their answer, Clearchus
 acting as spokesman: We neither gathered
 together with the intention of making war upon the King nor were
 we marching against the King, but Cyrus 
 kept finding many pretexts, as you also are well aware, in order
 that he might take you unprepared and bring us
 hither.

When, however, the time came when we
 saw that he was in danger, we felt ashamed in the sight of gods
 and men to desert him, seing that in former days we had been
 putting ourselves in the way of being benefited by
 him.

But since Cyrus 
 is dead, we are neither contending with the King for his realm
 nor is there any reason why we should desire to do harm to the
 King’s territory or wish to slay the King himself, but rather we
 should return to our homes, if no one should molest us. If,
 however, anyone seeks to injure us, we shall try with the help
 of the gods to retaliate. On the other hand, if anyone is kind
 enough to do us a service, we shall not, so far as we have the
 power, be outdone in doing a service to him.

So he spoke, and upon hearing his words Tissaphernes said: This message I shall carry to the King, and bring
 back his to you; and until I return, let the truce continue, and
 we will provide a market.

The next day he did not return, and
 the Greeks, consequently, were anxious; but on the third day he came
 and said that he had secured permission from the King to save the
 Greeks, although many opposed the plan, urging that it was not
 fitting for the King to allow those who had undertaken a campaign
 against him to escape.

In conclusion he said: And now you may receive
 pledges from us that in very truth the territory you pass
 through shall be friendly and that we will lead you back to
 Greece without
 treachery, providing you with a market; and wherever it is
 impossible to buy provisions, we will allow you to take them
 from the country.

And you, on your side, will have to
 swear to us that in very truth you will proceed as you would
 through a friendly country, doing no damage and taking food and
 drink from the country only when we do not provide a market, but
 that, if we do provide a market, you will obtain provisions by
 purchase.

This was resolved upon, and Tissaphernes and the brother of the
 King’s wife made oath and gave their right hands in pledge to the
 generals and captains of the Greeks, receiving the same also from
 the Greeks.

After this Tissaphernes said: Now I am going back
 to the King; but when I have accomplished what I desire, I shall
 return, fully equipped to conduct you back to Greece and to go home myself
 to my own province.

After this the Greeks and Ariaeus,
 encamped close by one another, waited for Tissaphernes more than
 twenty days. During this time Ariaeus’ brothers and other relatives
 came to him and certain Persians came to his followers, and they
 kept encouraging them and bringing pledges to some of them from the
 King that the King would bear them no ill-will because of their
 campaign with Cyrus against him or because of
 anything else in the past.

While these things were going on, it was evident that Ariaeus and his
 followers paid less regard to the Greeks; this, accordingly, was
 another reason why the greater part of the Greeks were not pleased
 with them, and they would go to Clearchus and the other generals and
 say:

Why are we lingering? Do we not understand that
 the King would like above everything else to destroy us, in
 order that the rest of the Greeks also may be afraid to march
 against the Great King? For the moment he is scheming to keep us
 here because his army is scattered, but when he has collected
 his forces again, there is no question but that he will attack
 us.

Or perhaps he is digging a trench or
 building a wall somewhere to cut us off and make our road
 impassable. For never, if he can help it, will he choose to let
 us go back to Greece 
 and report that we, few as we are, were victorious over the King
 at his very gates, and then laughed in his face and came home
 again.

To those who talked in this way Clearchus replied: I too have in mind all these things; but I reflect
 that if we go away now, it will seem that we are going away with
 hostile intent and are acting in violation of the truce. And
 then, in the first place, no one will provide us a market or a
 place from which we can get provisions; secondly, we shall have
 no one to guide us; again, the moment we take this course
 Ariaeus will instantly desert us; consequently we shall have not
 a friend left, for even those who were friends before will be
 our enemies.

Then remember the rivers—there may
 be others, for aught I know, that we must cross, but we know
 about the Euphrates at
 any rate, that it cannot possibly be crossed in the face of an
 enemy. Furthermore, in case fighting becomes necessary, we have
 no cavalry to help us, whereas the enemy’s cavalry are
 exceedingly numerous and exceedingly efficient; hence if we are
 victorious, whom could we kill ? And if we are defeated, not one of us can be
 saved.

For my part, therefore, I cannot see
 why the King, who has so many advantages on his side, should
 need, in case he is really eager to destroy us, to make oath and
 give pledge and forswear himself by the gods and make his good
 faith unfaithful in the eyes of Greeks and barbarians. 
 Such arguments Clearchus would present in abundance.

Meanwhile Tissaphernes returned with
 his own forces as if intending to go back home, and likewise
 Orontas with his
 forces; the latter was also taking home the King’s daughter as his
 wife.

Then they finally began the march, Tissaphernes taking the lead and
 providing a market; and Ariaeus with Cyru s’
 barbarian army kept with Tissaphernes and Orontas on the march and
 encamped with them.

The Greeks, however, viewing them all with suspicion, proceeded by
 themselves, with their own guides. And the two parties encamped in
 every case a parasang or more from one another, and kept guard each
 against the other, as though against enemies—a fact which at once
 occasioned suspicion.

Sometimes, moreover, when Greeks and barbarians were getting firewood
 from the same place or collecting fodder or other such things, they
 would come to blows with one another, and this also occasioned
 ill-will.

After travelling three stages they
 reached the so called wall of Media, and passed within it. It was
 built of baked bricks, laid in asphalt, and was twenty feet wide and
 a hundred feet high; its length was said to be twenty parasangs, and
 it is not far distant from Babylon .

From there they proceeded two stages, eight parasangs, crossing on
 their way two canals, one by a stationary bridge and the other by a
 bridge made of seven boats. These canals issued from the Tigris
 river, and from them, again, ditches had been cut that ran into the
 country, at first large, then smaller, and finally little channels,
 such as run to the millet fields in Greece . Then they
 reached the Tigris river,
 near which was a large and populous city named Sittace, fifteen
 stadia from the river.

The Greeks accordingly encamped beside this city, near a large and
 beautiful park, thickly covered with all sorts of trees, while the
 barbarians had crossed the Tigris before encamping, and were not within sight
 of the Greeks.

After the evening meal Proxenus and Xenophon chanced to be walking in
 front of the place where the arms were stacked, when a man came up
 and asked the outposts where he could see Proxenus or Clearchus—he
 did not ask for Menon, despite the fact that he came from Ariaeus,
 Menon’s friend.

And when Proxenus said I am the one you are
 looking for, the man made this statement: I was sent here by Ariaeus and Artaozus, who were
 faithful to Cyrus and are friendly to you;
 they bid you be on your guard lest the barbarians attack you
 during the night, for there is a large army in the neighbouring
 park.

They also bid you send a guard to
 the bridge over the Tigris river, because Tissaphernes intends to
 destroy it during the night, if he can, so that you may not
 cross, but may be cut off between the river and the
 canal.

Upon hearing these words they took him to Clearchus and repeated his
 message. And when Clearchus heard it, he was exceedingly agitated
 and full of fear.

A young man who was present, however,
 fell to thinking, and then said that the two stories, that they
 intended to attack and intended to destroy the bridge, were not
 consistent. For it is clear, he went on,
 that if they attack, they must either be
 victorious or be defeated. Now if they are victorious, why
 should they need to destroy the bridge? For even if there were
 many bridges, we should have no place to which we could flee and
 save ourselves.

But if it is we who are victorious,
 with the bridge destroyed they will have no place to which they
 can flee. And, furthermore, though there are troops in abundance
 on the other side, no one will be able to come to their aid with
 the bridge destroyed.

After hearing these words Clearchus
 asked the messenger about how extensive the territory between the
 Tigris and the canal
 was. He replied that it was a large tract, and that there were
 villages and many large towns in it.

Then it was perceived that the barbarians had sent the man with a
 false message out of fear that the Greeks might destroy the bridge
 and establish themselves permanently on the island, with the Tigris
 for a defence on one side and the canal on the other; in that case,
 they thought, the Greeks might get provisions from the territory
 between the river and the canal, since it was extensive and fertile
 and there were men in it to cultivate it; and furthermore, the spot
 might also become a place of refuge for anyone who might desire to
 do harm to the King.

After this the Greeks went to rest,
 yet they did, nevertheless, send a guard to the bridge; and no one
 attacked the army from any quarter, nor did anyone of the enemy, so
 the men on guard reported, come to the bridge.

When dawn came, they proceeded to cross the bridge, which was made of
 thirty-seven boats, as guardedly as possible; for they had reports
 from some of the Greeks who were with Tissaphernes that the enemy
 would attack them while they were crossing. But these reports were
 false. To be sure, in the course of their passage Glus did appear,
 with some others, watching to see if they were crossing the river,
 but once he had seen, he went riding off.

From the Tigris they marched four
 stages, twenty parasangs, to the Physcus river, which was a plethrum
 in width and had a bridge over it. There was situated a large city
 named Opis, near which the Greeks met the bastard brother of
 Cyrus and Artaxerxes, who was leading a
 large army from Susa and
 Ecbatana to the
 support, as he said, of the King; and he halted his own army and
 watched the Greeks as they passed by.

Clearchus led them two abreast, and halted now and then in his march;
 and whatever the length of time for which he halted the van of the
 army, just so long a time the halt would necessarily last through
 the entire army; the result was that even to the Greeks themselves
 their army seemed to be very large, and the Persian was astounded as
 he watched them.

From there they marched through Media, six desert stages, thirty
 parasangs, to the villages of Parysatis, the mother of
 Cyrus and the King. And Tissaphernes, by
 way of insulting Cyrus , gave
 over these villages—save only the slaves they contained—to the
 Greeks to plunder. In them there was grain in abundance and cattle
 and other property.

From there they marched four desert stages, twenty parasangs, keeping
 the Tigris river on the left. Across the river on the first stage
 was situated a large and prosperous city named Caenae, from which
 the barbarians brought over loaves, cheeses and wine, crossing upon
 rafts made of skins.

After this they reached the Zapatas
 river, which was four plethra in width. There they remained three
 days. During this time suspicions were rife, it is true, but no plot
 came openly to light.

Clearchus resolved, therefore, to have a meeting with Tissaphernes
 and put a stop to these suspicions, if he possibly could, before
 hostilities resulted from them; so he sent a messenger to say that
 he desired to meet him.

And Tissaphernes readily bade him come. When they had met, Clearchus spoke as follows: I know, to be sure, Tissaphernes, that both of us have taken
 oaths and given pledges not to injure one another; yet I see
 that you are on your guard against us as though we were enemies,
 and we, observing this, are keeping guard on our
 side.

But since, upon inquiry, I am unable
 to ascertain that you are trying to do us harm, and am perfectly
 sure that we, for our part, are not even thinking of any such
 thing against you, I resolved to have an interview with you, so
 that, if possible, we might dispel this mutual
 distrust.

For I know that there have been
 cases before now—some of them the result of slander, others of
 mere suspicion—where men who have become fearful of one another
 and wished to strike before they were struck, have done
 irreparable harm to people who were neither intending nor, for
 that matter, desiring to do anything of the sort to
 them.

In the belief, then, that such
 misunderstandings are best settled by conference, I have come
 here, and I wish to point out to you that you are mistaken in
 distrusting us.

For, first and chiefly, our oaths,
 sworn by the gods, stand in the way of our being enemies of one
 another; and the man who is conscious that he has disregarded
 such oaths, I for my part should never account happy. For in war
 with the gods I know not either by what swiftness of foot or to
 what place of refuge one could make his escape, or into what
 darkness he could steal away, or how he could withdraw himself
 to a secure fortress. For all things in all places are subject
 to the gods, and all alike the gods hold in their
 control.

Touching the gods, then, and our oaths I am thus minded, and to
 the keeping of the gods we consigned the friendship which we
 covenanted; but as for things human, I believe that at this time
 you are to us the greatest good we possess.

For, with you, every road is easy
 for us to traverse, every river is passable, supplies are not
 lacking; without you, all our road is through darkness—for none
 of it do we know—every river is hard to pass, every crowd
 excites our fears, and most fearful of all is solitude—for it is
 crowded full of want.

And if we should, in fact, be seized
 with madness and slay you, should we not certainly, after
 slaying our benefactor, be engaged in contest with the King, a
 fresh and most powerful opponent? Again,
 how great and bright are the hopes of which I should rob myself
 if I attempted to do you any harm, I will relate to
 you.

I set my heart upon having
 Cyrus for my friend because I thought
 that he was the best able of all the men of his time to benefit
 whom he pleased; but now I see that it is you who possess
 Cyru s’ power and territory, while
 retaining your own besides, and that the power of the King,
 which Cyrus found hostile, is for you a
 support.

Since this is so, who is so mad as
 not to desire to be your friend? And now for the other side,—for I will go on to tell you the
 grounds upon which I base the hope that you will likewise desire
 to be our friend.

I know that the Mysians are
 troublesome to you, and I believe that with the force I have I
 could make them your submissive servants; I know that the
 Pisidians also trouble you, and I hear that there are likewise
 many other tribes of the same sort; I could put a stop, I think,
 to their being a continual annoyance to your prosperity. As for
 the Egyptians, with whom I learn that you are especially angry,
 I do not see what force you could better employ to aid you in
 chastising them than the force which I now have.

Again, take those who dwell around
 you: if you chose to be a friend to any, you could be the
 greatest possible friend, while if any were to annoy you, you
 could play the part of master over them in case you had us for
 supporters, for we should serve you, not merely for the sake of
 pay, but also out of the gratitude that we should feel, and
 rightly feel, toward you, the man who had saved us.

For my part, as I consider all these
 things the idea of your distrusting us seems to me so
 astonishing that I should be very glad indeed to hear the name
 of the man who is so clever a talker that his talk could
 persuade you that we were cherishing designs against you. 
 Thus much Clearchus said, and Tissaphernes replied as follows:

It is a pleasure to me, Clearchus, to hear your
 sensible words; for if, holding these views, you should devise
 any ill against me, you would at the same time, I think, be
 showing ill-will toward yourself also. And now, in order that
 you may learn that you likewise are mistaken in distrusting
 either the King or myself, take your turn in
 listening.

If we were, in fact, desirous of
 destroying you, does it seem to you that we have not cavalry in
 abundance and infantry and military equipment, whereby we should
 be able to harm you without being in any danger of suffering
 harm ourselves?

Or do you think that we should not
 have places suitable for attacking you? Do you not behold these
 vast plains, which even now, although they are friendly, it is
 costing you a deal of labour to traverse? and these great
 mountains you have to pass, which we can occupy in advance and
 render impassable for you? and have we not these great rivers,
 at which we can parcel out whatever number of you we may choose
 to fight with—some, in fact, which you could not cross at all
 unless we carried you over?

And if we were worsted at all these
 points, nevertheless it is certain that fire can worst crops; by
 burning them up we could bring famine into the field against
 you, and you could not fight against that, however brave you
 might be.

Since, then, we have so many ways of
 making war upon you, no one of them dangerous to us, why, in
 such a case, should we choose out of them all that one way which
 alone is impious in the sight of the gods and shameful in the
 sight of men?

For it is those who are utterly
 without ways and means, who are bound by necessity, and who are
 rascals in any case, that are willing to accomplish an object by
 perjury to the gods and unfaithfulness to men. As for us,
 Clearchus, we are not so unreasoning or foolish.

But
 why, one might ask, when it was possible for us to destroy you,
 did we not proceed to do so? The reason for this, be well
 assured, was my eager desire to prove myself trustworthy to the
 Greeks, so that with the same mercenary force which
 Cyrus led up from the coast in the
 faith of wages paid, I might go back to the coast in the
 security of benefits conferred.

And as for all the ways in which you
 are of use to me, you also have mentioned some of them, but it
 is I who know the most important: the King alone may wear
 upright the tiara that is upon the head, but another, too, with
 your help, might easily so wear the one that is upon the
 heart.

In these things that he said
 Tissaphernes seemed to Clearchus to be speaking the truth; and
 Clearchus said: Then do not those who are
 endeavouring by false charges to make us enemies, when we have
 such grounds for friendship, deserve to suffer the uttermost
 penalty?

Yes, said Tissaphernes, and for my part, if you generals and captains care
 to come to me, I will give you, publicly, the names of those who
 tell me that you are plotting against me and the army under my
 command.

And I, said Clearchus, will bring them all, and in my turn will make
 known to you whence come the reports that I hear about
 you.

After this conversation Tissaphernes
 showed all kindness, inviting Clearchus at that time to stay with
 him and making him his guest at dinner. On the following day, when
 Clearchus returned to the Greek camp, he not only made it clear that
 he imagined he was on very friendly terms with Tissaphernes and
 reported the words which he had used, but he said that those whom
 Tissaphernes had invited must go to him, and that whoever among the
 Greeks should be convicted of making false charges ought to be
 punished, as traitors and foes to the Greeks.

Now Clearchus suspected that the author of these slanders was Menon,
 for he was aware that Menon had not only had meetings with
 Tissaphernes, in company with Ariaeus, but was also organizing
 opposition to his own leadership and plotting against him, with the
 intention of winning over to himself the entire army and thereby
 securing the friendship of Tissaphernes.

Clearchus desired, however, to have the entire army devoted to him
 and to put the refractory out of the way. As for the soldiers, some
 of them made objections to Clearchus’ proposal, urging that the
 captains and generals should not all go and that they should not
 trust Tissaphernes.

But Clearchus vehemently insisted, until he secured an agreement that
 five generals should go and twenty captains; and about two hundred
 of the soldiers also followed along, with the intention of going to
 market.

When they reached Tissaphernes’ doors,
 the generals were invited in—Proxenus the Boeotian, Menon the
 Thessalian, Agias the Arcadian, Clearchus the Laconian, and
 Socrates the
 Achaean—while the captains waited at the doors.

Not long afterward, at the same signal, those within were seized and
 those outside were cut down. After this some of the barbarian
 horsemen rode about over the plain and killed every Greek they met,
 whether slave or freeman.

And the Greeks wondered at this riding about, as they saw it from
 their camp, and were puzzled to know what the horsemen were doing,
 until Nicarchus the Arcadian reached the camp in flight, wounded in
 his belly and holding his bowels in his hands, and told all that had
 happened.

Thereupon the Greeks, one and all, ran to their arms, panic-stricken
 and believing that the enemy would come at once against the
 camp.

Not all of them came, however, but
 Ariaeus, Artaozus, and Mithradates, who had been most faithful
 friends of Cyrus , did come; and the interpreter
 of the Greeks said that with them he also saw and recognized
 Tissaphernes’ brother; furthermore, they were followed by other
 Persians, armed with breastplates, to the number of three
 hundred.

As soon as this party had come near, they directed whatever Greek
 general or captain there might be to come forward, in order that
 they might deliver a message from the King.

After this two generals went forth from the Greek lines under guard,
 Cleanor the Orchomenian and Sophaenetus the Stymphalian, and with
 them Xenophon the Athenian, who wished to learn the fate of
 Proxenus; Cheirisophus, however, chanced to be away in a village in
 company with others who were getting provisions.

And when the Greeks got within hearing distance, Ariaeus said: Clearchus, men of Greece , inasmuch as he was shown to be
 perjuring himself and violating the truce, has received his
 deserts and is dead, but Proxenus and Menon, because they gave
 information about his plotting, are held in high honour. For
 yourselves, the King demands your arms; for he says that they
 belong to him, since they belonged to
 Cyrus , his slave.

To this the Greeks replied as follows, Cleanor the Orchomenian acting
 as spokesman: Ariaeus, you basest of men, and
 all you others who were friends of Cyrus ,
 are you not ashamed, either before gods or men, that, after
 giving us your oaths to count the same people friends and foes
 as we did, you have betrayed us, joining hands with
 Tissaphernes, that most godless and villainous man, and that you
 have not only destroyed the very men to whom you were then
 making oath, but have betrayed the rest of us and are come with
 our enemies against us?

And Ariaeus said: But it was shown that long ago
 Clearchus was plotting against Tissaphernes and Orontas and all
 of us who are with them. Upon this Xenophon spoke as
 follows:

Well, then, if Clearchus was really
 transgressing the truce in violation of his oaths, he has his
 deserts, for it is right that perjurers should perish; but as
 for Proxenus and Menon, since they are your benefactors and our
 generals, send them hither, for it is clear that, being friends
 of both parties, they will endeavour to give both you and
 ourselves the best advice.

To this the barbarians made no answer, but, after talking for a long
 time with one another, they departed.

The generals, then, after being thus
 seized, were taken to the King and put to death by being beheaded.
 One of them, Clearchus, by common consent of all who were personally
 acquainted with him, seemed to have shown himself a man who was both
 fitted for war and fond of war to the last degree.

For, in the first place, as long as the Lacedaemonians were at war
 with the Athenians, he bore his part with them; then, as soon as
 peace had come, he persuaded his state that the Thracians were
 injuring the Greek, and, after gaining
 his point as best he could from the ephors, set sail with the intention of
 making war upon the Thracians who dwelt beyond the Chersonese and Perinthus.

When, however, the ephors changed their minds for some reason or
 other and, after he had already gone, tried to turn him back from
 the Isthmus of Corinth ,
 at that point he declined to render further obedience, but went
 sailing off to the Hellespont .

As a result he was condemned to death by the authorities at
 Sparta on the ground
 of disobedience to orders. Being now an exile he came to
 Cyrus , and the arguments whereby he
 persuaded Cyrus as recorded elsewhere; at any rate, Cyrus 
 gave him ten thousand darics,

and he, upon receiving this money, did not turn his thoughts to
 comfortable idleness, but used it to collect an army and proceeded
 to make war upon the Thracians. He defeated them in battle and from
 that time on plundered them in every way, and he kept up the war
 until Cyrus wanted his army; then he returned,
 still for the purpose of making war, this time in company with
 Cyrus .

Now such conduct as this, in my
 opinion, reveals a man fond of war. When he may enjoy peace without
 dishonour or harm, he chooses war; when he may live in idleness, he
 prefers toil, provided it be the toil of war; when he may keep his
 money without risk, he elects to diminish it by carrying on war. As
 for Clearchus, just as one spends upon a loved one or upon any other
 pleasure, so he wanted to spend upon war—

such a lover he was of war. On the other hand, he seemed to be fitted
 for war in that he was fond of danger, ready by day or night to lead
 his troops against the enemy, and self-possessed amid terrors, as
 all who were with him on all occasions agreed.

He was likewise said to be fitted for command, so far as that was
 possible for a man of such a disposition as his was. For example, he
 was competent, if ever a man was, in devising ways by which his army
 might get provisions and in procuring them, and he was competent
 also to impress it upon those who were with him that Clearchus must
 be obeyed.

This result he accomplished by being severe; for he was gloomy in
 appearance and harsh in voice, and he used to punish severely,
 sometimes in anger, so that on occasion he would be sorry
 afterwards.

Yet he also punished on principle, for he believed there was no good
 in an army that went without punishment; in fact, he used to say, it
 was reported, that a soldier must fear his commander more than the
 enemy if he were to perform guard duty or keep his hands from
 friends or without making excuses advance against the enemy.

In the midst of dangers, therefore, the troops were ready to obey him
 implicitly and would choose no other to command them; for they said
 that at such times his gloominess appeared to be brightness, and his
 severity seemed to be resolution against the enemy, so that it
 appeared to betoken safety and to be no longer severity.

But when they had got past the danger and could go off to serve under
 another commander, many would desert him; for there was no
 attractiveness about him, but he was always severe and rough, so
 that the soldiers had the same feeling toward him that boys have
 toward a schoolmaster.

For this reason, also, he never had men following him out of
 friendship and good-will, but such as were under him because they
 had been put in his hands by a government or by their own need or
 were under the compulsion of any other necessity, yielded him
 implicit obedience.

And as soon as they began in his service to overcome the enemy, from
 that moment there were weighty reasons which made his soldiers
 efficient; for they had the feeling of confidence in the face of the
 enemy, and their fear of punishment at his hands kept them in a fine
 state of discipline.

Such he was as a commander, but being commanded by others was not
 especially to his liking, so people said. He was about fifty years
 old at the time of his death.

Proxenus the Boeotian cherished from
 his earliest youth an eager desire to become a man capable of
 dealing with great affairs, and because of this desire he paid money
 to Gorgias of Leontini.

After having studied under him and reaching the conclusion that he
 had now become competent to rule and, through friendship with the
 foremost men of his day, to hold his own in conferring benefits, he
 embarked upon this enterprise with Cyrus ,
 expecting to gain therefrom a famous name, great power, and abundant
 wealth;

but while vehemently desiring these great ends, he nevertheless made
 it evident also that he would not care to gain any one of them
 unjustly; rather, he thought that he must secure them justly and
 honourably, or not at all.

As a leader, he was qualified to command gentlemen, but he was not
 capable of inspiring his soldiers with either respect for himself or
 fear; on the contrary, he really stood in greater awe of his men
 than they, whom he commanded, did of him, and it was manifest that
 he was more afraid of incurring the hatred of his soldiers than they
 were of disobeying him.

His idea was that, for a man to be and to be thought fit to command,
 it was enough that he should praise the one who did right and
 withhold praise from the one who did wrong. Consequently all among
 his associates who were gentlemen were attached to him, but the
 unprincipled would plot against him in the thought that he was easy
 to deal with. At the time of his death he was about thirty years
 old.

Menon the Thessalian was manifestly
 eager for enormous wealth—eager for command in order to get more
 wealth and eager for honour in order to increase his gains; and he
 desired to be a friend to the men who possessed greatest power in
 order that he might commit unjust deeds without suffering the
 penalty.

Again, for the accomplishment of the objects upon which his heart was
 set, he imagined that the shortest route was by way of perjury and
 falsehood and deception, while he counted straightforwardness and
 truth the same thing as folly.

Affection he clearly felt for nobody, and if he said that he was a
 friend to anyone, it would become plain that this man was the one he
 was plotting against. He would never ridicule an enemy, but he
 always gave the impression in conversation of ridiculing all his
 associates.

Neither would he devise schemes against his enemies’ property, for he
 saw difficulty in getting hold of the possessions of people who were
 on their guard; but he thought he was the only one who knew that it
 was easiest to get hold of the property of friends—just because it
 was unguarded.

Again, all whom he found to be perjurers and wrongdoers he would
 fear, regarding them as well armed, while those who were pious and
 practised truth he would try to make use of, regarding them as
 weaklings.

And just as a man prides himself upon piety, truthfulness, and
 justice, so Menon prided himself upon ability to deceive, the
 fabrication of lies, and the mocking of friends; but the man who was
 not a rascal he always thought of as belonging to the uneducated.
 Again, if he were attempting to be first in the friendship of
 anybody, he thought that slandering those who were already first was
 the proper way of gaining this end.

As for making his soldiers obedient, he managed that by bearing a
 share in their wrongdoing. He expected, indeed, to gain honour and
 attention by showing that he had the ability and would have the
 readiness to do the most wrongs; and he set it down as a kindness,
 whenever anyone broke off with him, that he had not, while still on
 terms with such a one, destroyed him.

To be sure, in matters that are
 doubtful one may be mistaken about him, but the facts which
 everybody knows are the following. From Aristippus he secured, while still in the
 bloom of youth, an appointment as general of his mercenaries; with
 Ariaeus, who was a barbarian, he became extremely intimate for the
 reason that Ariaeus was fond of beautiful youths; and, lastly, he
 himself, while still beardless, had a bearded favourite named
 Tharypas.

Now when his fellow-generals were put to death for joining
 Cyrus in his expedition against the King,
 he, who had done the same thing, was not so treated, but it was
 after the execution of the other generals that the King visited the
 punishment of death upon him; and he was not, like Clearchus and the
 rest of the generals, beheaded—a manner of death which is counted
 speediest—but, report says, was tortured alive for a year and so met
 the death of a scoundrel.

Agias the Arcadian and
 Socrates the Achaean
 were the two others who were put to death. No one ever laughed at
 these men as weaklings in war or found fault with them in the matter
 of friendship. They were both about thirty-five years of age.

[The preceding narrative has described all that
 the Greeks did in the course of the upward march with
 Cyrus until the time of the battle, and all
 that took place after the death of Cyrus while
 the Greeks were on the way back with Tissaphernes during the period
 of the truce.]

After the generals had been seized and
 such of the captains and soldiers as accompanied them had been
 killed, the Greeks were naturally in great perplexity, reflecting
 that they were at the King’s gates, that round about them on every
 side were many hostile tribes and cities, that no one would provide
 them a market any longer, that they were distant from Greece not less than ten thousand
 stadia, that they had no guide to show them the way, that they were
 cut off by impassable rivers which flowed across the homeward route,
 that the barbarians who had made the upward march with
 Cyrus had also betrayed them, and that they
 were left alone, without even a single horseman to support them, so
 that it was quite clear that if they should be victorious, they
 could not kill anyone, while if they should be defeated, not one of them
 would be left alive.

Full of these reflections and despondent as they were, but few of
 them tasted food at evening, few kindled a fire, and many did not
 come that night to their quarters, but lay down wherever they each
 chanced to be, unable to sleep for grief and longing for their
 native states and parents, their wives and children, whom they
 thought they should never see again. Such was the state of mind in
 which they all lay down to rest.

There was a man in the army named
 Xenophon, an Athenian, who was neither general nor captain nor
 private, but had accompanied the expedition because Proxenus, an old
 friend of his, had sent him at his home an invitation to go with
 him; Proxenus had also promised him that, if he would go, he would
 make him a friend of Cyrus , whom he himself
 regarded, so he said, as worth more to him than was his native
 state.

After reading Proxenus’ letter Xenophon conferred with
 Socrates , the Athenian,
 about the proposed journey; and
 Socrates , suspecting
 that his becoming a friend of Cyrus might be a
 cause for accusation against Xenophon on the part of the Athenian
 government, for the reason that Cyrus was
 thought to have given the Lacedaemonians zealous aid in their war
 against Athens , 
 advised Xenophon to go to Delphi and consult the god in regard to this
 journey.

So Xenophon went and asked Apollo to what one of the gods he should
 sacrifice and pray in order best and most successfully to perform
 the journey which he had in mind and, after meeting with good
 fortune, to return home in safety; and Apollo in his response told
 him to what gods he must sacrifice.

When Xenophon came back from Delphi , he reported the oracle to Socrates; and
 upon hearing about it Socrates found fault with him because he did
 not first put the question whether it were better for him to go or
 stay, but decided for himself that he was to go and then asked the
 god as to the best way of going. However, 
 he added, since you did put the question in that
 way, you must do all that the god directed.

Xenophon, accordingly, after offering
 the sacrifices to the gods that Apollo’s oracle prescribed, set
 sail, overtook Proxenus and Cyrus at Sardis as they were on the
 point of beginning the upward march, and was introduced to
 Cyrus .

And not only did Proxenus urge him to stay with them, but
 Cyrus also joined in this request, adding
 that as soon as the campaign came to an end, he would send Xenophon
 home at once; and the report was that the campaign was against the
 Pisidians.

It was in this way, then, that Xenophon came to go on the expedition,
 quite deceived about its purpose—not, however, by Proxenus, for he
 did not know that the attack was directed against the King, nor did
 anyone else among the Greeks with the exception of Clearchus; but by
 the time they reached Cilicia , it seemed clear to everybody that the
 expedition was really against the King. Then, although the Greeks
 were fearful of the journey and unwilling to go on, most of them
 did, nevertheless, out of shame before one another and before
 Cyrus , continue the march. And Xenophon was
 one of this number.

Now when the time of perplexity came,
 he was distressed as well as everybody else and was unable to sleep;
 but, getting at length a little sleep, he had a dream. It seemed to
 him that there was a clap of thunder and a bolt fell on his father’s
 house, setting the whole house ablaze.

He awoke at once in great fear, and judged the dream in one way an
 auspicious one, because in the midst of hardships and perils he had
 seemed to behold a great light from Zeus; but looking at it in
 another way he was fearful, since the dream came, as he thought,
 from Zeus the King and the fire appeared to blaze all about, lest he
 might not be able to escape out of the King’s country, but might be shut in
 on all sides by various difficulties.

Now what it really means to have such a dream one may learn from the
 events which followed the dream—and they were these: Firstly, on the
 moment of his awakening the thought occurred to him: Why do I lie here? The night is wearing on, and at
 daybreak it is likely that the enemy will be upon us. And if we
 fall into the King’s hands, what is there to prevent our living
 to behold all the most grievous sights and to experience all the
 most dreadful sufferings, and then being put to death with
 insult?

As for defending ourselves, however,
 no one is making preparations or taking thought for that, but we
 lie here just as if it were possible for us to enjoy our ease.
 What about myself, then? From what state am I expecting the
 general to come who is to perform these duties? And what age
 must I myself wait to attain? For surely I shall never be any
 older, if this day I give myself up to the enemy.

Then he arose and, as a first step,
 called together the captains of Proxenus. When they had gathered, he
 said: Gentlemen, I am unable either to sleep, as
 I presume you are also, or to lie still any longer, when I see
 in what straits we now are.

For the enemy manifestly did not
 begin open war upon us until the moment when they believed that
 their own preparations had been adequately made; but on our side
 no one is planning any counter-measures at all to ensure our
 making the best possible fight.

And yet if we submit and fall into
 the King’s hands, what do we imagine our fate is to be? Even in
 the case of his own brother, and, yet more, when he was already
 dead, this man cut off his head and his hand and impaled them;
 as for ourselves, then, who have no one to intercede for
 us, 
 and who took the field against him with the intention of making
 him a slave rather than a king and of killing him if we could,
 what fate may we expect to suffer?

Will he not do his utmost to inflict
 upon us the most outrageous tortures, and thus make all mankind
 afraid ever to undertake an expedition against him? We, then,
 must make every effort not to fall into his power.

For
 my part, so long as the truce lasted I never ceased
 commiserating ourselves and congratulating the King and his
 followers; for I saw plainly what a great amount of fine land
 they possessed, what an abundance of provisions, what quantities
 of servants, cattle, gold, and apparel;

but whenever I took thought of the
 situation of our own soldiers, I saw that we had no share in
 these good things, except we bought them, I knew there were but
 few of us who still had money wherewith to buy, and I knew that
 our oaths restrained us from getting provisions in any other way
 than by purchase. Hence, with these considerations in mind, I
 used sometimes to fear the truce more than I now fear
 war.

But seeing that their own act has
 put an end to the truce, the end has likewise come, in my
 opinion, both of their arrogance and of our embarrassment. For
 now all these good things are offered as prizes for whichever of
 the two parties shall prove to be the braver men; and the judges
 of the contest are the gods, who, in all likelihood, will be on
 our side.

For our enemies have sworn falsely
 by them, while we, with abundant possessions before our eyes,
 have steadfastly kept our hands therefrom because of our oaths
 by the gods; hence we, I think, can go into the contest with far
 greater confidence than can our enemies.

Besides, we have bodies more capable
 than theirs of bearing cold and heat and toil, and we likewise,
 by the blessing of the gods, have better souls; and these men
 are more liable than we to be wounded and killed, if the gods
 again, as on that former day, grant us victory.

And
 now, since it may be that others also have these same thoughts
 in mind, let us not, in the name of the gods, wait for others to
 come to us and summon us to the noblest deeds, but let us take
 the lead ourselves and arouse the rest to valour. Show
 yourselves the best of the captains, and more worthy to be
 generals than the generals themselves.

As for me, if you choose to set out
 upon this course, I am ready to follow you; but if you assign me
 the leadership, I do not plead my youth as an excuse; rather, I
 believe I am in the very prime of my power to ward off dangers
 from my own head.

Such were Xenophon’s words; and upon
 hearing what he said the officers bade him take the lead, all of
 them except a man named Apollonides, who spoke in the Boeotian
 dialect. This man maintained that anyone who said he could gain
 safety in any other way than by winning the King’s consent through
 persuasion, if possible, was talking nonsense; and at the same time
 he began to recite the difficulties of their situation. Xenophon,
 however, interrupted him in the midst of his talk, and said:

You amazing fellow, you have eyes but still do
 not perceive, and you have ears but still do not remember. You
 were present, surely, with the rest of these officers at the
 time when the King, after the death of
 Cyrus and in his elation over that
 event, sent and ordered us to give up our arms.

But when, instead of giving them up,
 we equipped ourselves with them, and went and encamped beside
 him, what means did he leave untried—sending ambassadors,
 begging for a truce, offering us provisions—until in the end he
 obtained a truce?

When, however, our generals and
 captains, following precisely the plan that you are now urging,
 went unarmed to a conference with them, relying upon the truce,
 what happened in that case? are they not at this moment being
 beaten, tortured, insulted, unable even to die, hapless men that
 they are, even though they earnestly long, I imagine, for death?
 And do you, knowing all these things, say that they are talking
 nonsense who urge self-defence, and do you propose that we
 should again go and try persuasion?

In my opinion, gentlemen, we should
 not simply refuse to admit this fellow to companionship with us,
 but should deprive him of his captaincy, lay packs on his back,
 and treat him as that sort of a creature. For the fellow is a
 disgrace both to his native state and to the whole of Greece , since, being a Greek,
 he is still a man of this kind.

Then Agasias, a Stymphalian, broke in
 and said: For that matter, this fellow has
 nothing to do either with Boeotia or with any part of Greece at all, for I have
 noticed that he has both his ears bored, like a
 Lydian’s.

In fact, it was so. He, therefore, was driven away, but the others
 proceeded to visit the various divisions of the army. Wherever a general was left alive,
 they would invite him to join them; where the general was gone, they
 invited the lieutenant-general; or, again, where only a captain was
 left, the captain.

When all had come together, they seated themselves at the front of
 the encampment, and the generals and captains thus assembled
 amounted in number to about one hundred. By this time it was nearly
 midnight.

Then Hieronymus the Elean, who was the eldest of Proxenus’ captains,
 began to speak as follows: Generals and
 captains, we have deemed it best, in view of the present
 situation, both to come together ourselves and to invite you to
 join us, in order that we may devise whatever good counsel we
 can. Repeat now, Xenophon, he added, just what you said to us.

Thereupon Xenophon spoke as follows:
 We all understand thus much, that the King
 and Tissaphernes have seized as many as they could of our
 number, and that they are manifestly plotting against the rest
 of us, to destroy us if they can. It is for us, then, in my
 opinion, to make every effort that we may never fall into the
 power of the barbarians, but that they may rather fall into our
 power.

Be sure, therefore, that you, who
 have now come together in such numbers, have the grandest of
 opportunities. For all our soldiers here are looking to you; if
 they see that you are faint-hearted, all of them will be
 cowards; but if you not only show that you are making
 preparations yourselves against the enemy, but call upon the
 rest to do likewise, be well assured that they will follow you
 and will try to imitate you.

But perhaps it is really proper that
 you should somewhat excel them. For you are generals, you are
 lieutenant-generals and captains; while peace lasted, you had
 the advantage of them alike in pay and in standing; now,
 therefore, when a state of war exists, it is right to expect
 that you should be superior to the common soldiers, and that you
 should plan for them and toil for them whenever there be
 need.

And
 now, firstly, I think you would do the army a great service if
 you should see to it that generals and captains are appointed as
 speedily as possible to take the places of those who are lost.
 For without leaders nothing fine or useful can be accomplished
 in any field, to put it broadly, and certainly not in warfare.
 For discipline, it seems, keeps men in safety, while the lack of
 it has brought many ere now to destruction.

Secondly, when you have appointed
 all the leaders that are necessary, I think you would perform a
 very opportune act if you should gather together the rest of the
 soldiers also and try to encourage them.

For, as matters stand now, perhaps
 you have observed for yourselves in what dejection they came to
 their quarters and in what dejection they proceeded to their
 picket duty; and so long as they are in this state, I know not
 what use one could make of them, if there should be need of them
 either by night or by day.

If, however, we can turn the current
 of their minds, so that they shall be thinking, not merely of
 what they are to suffer, but likewise of what they are going to
 do, they will be far more cheerful.

For you understand, I am sure, that
 it is neither numbers nor strength which wins victories in war;
 but whichever of the two sides it be whose troops, by the
 blessing of the gods, advance to the attack with stouter hearts,
 against those troops their adversaries generally refuse to
 stand.

And in my own experience, gentlemen,
 I have observed this other fact, that those who are anxious in
 war to save their lives in any way they can, are the very men
 who usually meet with a base and shameful death; while those who
 have recognized that death is the common and inevitable portion
 of all mankind and therefore strive to meet death nobly, are
 precisely those who are somehow more likely to reach old age and
 who enjoy a happier existence while they do live.

We, then, taking to heart this
 lesson, so suited to the crisis which now confronts us, must be
 brave men ourselves and call forth bravery in our
 fellows.

With these words Xenophon ceased speaking. After him Cheirisophus said: Hitherto, Xenophon, I have known you only to the extent of
 having heard that you were an Athenian, but now I commend you
 both for your words and your deeds, and I should be glad if we
 had very many of your sort; for it would be a blessing to the
 entire army.

And now, gentlemen, he went
 on, let us not delay; withdraw and choose your
 commanders at once, you who need them, and after making your
 choices come to the middle of the camp and bring with you the
 men you have selected; then we will call a meeting there of all
 the troops. And let us make sure, he added, that Tolmides, the herald, is present.

With these words he got up at once, that there might be no delay in
 carrying out the needful measures. Thereupon the commanders were
 chosen, Timasion the Dardanian in place of Clearchus, Xanthicles the
 Achaean in place of Socrates, Cleanor the Arcadian in place of
 Agias, Philesius the Achaean in place of Menon, and Xenophon the
 Athenian in place of Proxenus.

When these elections had been
 completed, and as day was just about beginning to break, the
 commanders met in the middle of the camp; and they resolved to
 station outposts and then call an assembly of the soldiers. As soon
 as they had come together, Cheirisophus the Lacedaemonian arose
 first and spoke as follows:

Fellow-soldiers, painful indeed is our present
 situation, seeing that we are robbed of such generals and
 captains and soldiers, and, besides, that Ariaeus and his men,
 who were formerly our allies, have betrayed us;

nevertheless, we must quit ourselves
 like brave men as well as may be in these circumstances, and
 must not yield, but rather try to save ourselves by glorious
 victory if we can; otherwise, let us at least die a glorious
 death, and never fall into the hands of our enemies alive. For
 in that case I think we should meet the sort of sufferings that
 I pray the gods may visit upon our foes.

Then Cleanor the Orchomenian arose and
 spoke as follows: Come, fellow-soldiers, you see
 the perjury and impiety of the King; you see likewise the
 faithlessness of Tissaphernes. It was Tissaphernes who said that he was a neighbour of
 Greece and that he
 would do his utmost to save us; it was none other than he who
 gave us his oaths to confirm these words; and then he,
 Tissaphernes, the very man who had given such pledges, was the
 very man who deceived and seized our generals. More than that,
 he did not even reverence Zeus, the god of hospitality; instead,
 he entertained Clearchus at his own table and then made that very act the
 means of deceiving and destroying the generals.

Ariaeus, too, whom we were ready to
 make king, with
 whom we exchanged pledges not
 to betray one another, even he, showing neither fear of the gods
 nor honour for the memory of Cyrus dead,
 although he was most highly honoured by
 Cyrus living, has now gone over to the
 bitterest foes of that same Cyrus , and is
 trying to work harm to us, the friends of
 Cyrus .

Well, may these men be duly punished
 by the gods; we, however, seeing their deeds, must never again
 be deceived by them, but must fight as stoutly as we can and
 meet whatever fortune the gods may please to send.

Hereupon Xenophon arose, arrayed for
 war in his finest dress. For he thought that if the gods should
 grant victory, the finest raiment was suited to victory; and if it
 should be his fate to die, it was proper, he thought, that inasmuch
 as he had accounted his office worthy of the most beautiful attire,
 in this attire he should meet his death. He began his speech as
 follows:

The perjury and faithlessness of the barbarians
 has been spoken of by Cleanor and is understood, I imagine, by
 the rest of you. If, then, it is our desire to be again on terms
 of friendship with them, we must needs feel great despondency
 when we see the fate of our generals, who trustingly put
 themselves in their hands; but if our intention is to rely upon
 our arms, and not only to inflict punishment upon them for their
 past deeds, but henceforth to wage implacable war with them, we
 have—the gods willing—many fair hopes of deliverance.

As he was saying this a man
 sneezed, and when the soldiers heard
 it, they all with one impulse made obeisance to the god; and Xenophon said, I move, gentlemen, since at the moment when we
 were talking about deliverance an omen from Zeus the Saviour was
 revealed to us, that we make a vow to sacrifice to that god
 thank-offerings for deliverance as soon as we reach a friendly
 land; and that we add a further vow to make sacrifices, to the
 extent of our ability, to the other gods also. All who are in
 favour of this motion, he said, will
 raise their hands. And every man in the assembly raised
 his hand. Thereupon they made their vows and struck up the paean.
 These ceremonies duly performed, Xenophon began again with these
 words:

I was saying that we have many fair hopes of
 deliverance. For, in the first place, we are standing true to
 the oaths we took in the name of the gods, while our enemies
 have perjured themselves and, in violation of their oaths, have
 broken the truce. This being so, it is fair to assume that the
 gods are their foes and our allies—and the gods are able
 speedily to make the strong weak and, when they so will, easily
 to deliver the weak, even though they be in dire
 perils.

Secondly, I would remind you of the
 perils of our own forefathers, to show you not only that it is
 your right to be brave men, but that brave men are delivered,
 with the help of the gods, even out of most dreadful dangers.
 For when the Persians and their followers came with a vast array
 to blot Athens out
 of existence, the Athenians dared, unaided, to withstand them,
 and won the victory.

And while they had vowed to Artemis
 that for every man they might slay of the enemy they would
 sacrifice a goat to the goddess, they were unable to find goats
 enough; so they resolved to
 offer five hundred every year, and this sacrifice they are
 paying even to this day.

Again, when Xerxes at a later time
 gathered together that countless host and came against
 Greece , then too
 our forefathers were victorious, both by land and by sea, over the
 forefathers of our enemies. As tokens of these victories we may,
 indeed, still behold the trophies, but the strongest witness to
 them is the freedom of the states in which you were born and
 bred; for to no human creature do you pay homage as master, but
 to the gods alone.

It is from such ancestors, then,
 that you are sprung. Now I am far
 from intending to say that you disgrace them; in fact, not many
 days ago you set yourselves in array against these descendants
 of those ancient Persians and were victorious, with the aid of
 the gods, over many times your own numbers.

And then, mark you, it was in
 Cyru s’ contest for the throne that you
 proved yourselves brave men; but now, when the struggle is for
 your own safety, it is surely fitting that you should be far
 braver and more zealous.

Furthermore, you ought now to be
 more confident in facing the enemy. For then you were
 unacquainted with them, you saw that their numbers were beyond
 counting, and you nevertheless dared, with all the spirit of
 your fathers, to charge upon them; but now, when you have
 already made actual trial of them and find that they have no
 desire, even though they are many times your number, to await
 your attack, what reason can remain for your being afraid of
 them?

Again, do not suppose that you are the worse off because the
 followers of Ariaeus, who were formerly marshalled with us, have
 now deserted us. For they are even greater cowards than the men
 we defeated; at any rate they took to flight before them, leaving us to
 shift for ourselves. And when we find men who are ready to set
 the example of flight, it is far better to see them drawn up
 with the enemy than on our own side.

But
 if anyone of you is despondent because we are without horsemen
 while the enemy have plenty at hand, let him reflect that your
 ten thousand horsemen are nothing more than ten thousand men;
 for nobody ever lost his life in battle from the bite or kick of
 a horse, but it is the men who do whatever is done in
 battles.

Moreover, we are on a far surer
 foundation than your horsemen: they are hanging on their horses’
 backs, afraid not only of us, but also of falling off; while we,
 standing upon the ground, shall strike with far greater force if
 anyone comes upon us and shall be far more likely to hit
 whomsoever we aim at. In one point alone your horsemen have the
 advantage—flight is safer for them than it is for us.

Suppose, however, that you do not
 lack confidence about the fighting, but are troubled because you
 are no longer to have Tissaphernes to guide you or the King to
 provide a market. If this be the case, I ask you to consider
 whether it is better to have Tissaphernes for a guide, the man
 who is manifestly plotting against us, or such people as we may
 ourselves capture and may order to serve as guides, men who will
 know that if they make any mistake in aught that concerns us,
 they will be making a mistake in that which concerns their own
 lives and limbs.

And as for provisions, is it the
 better plan to buy from the market which these barbarians have
 provided—small measures for large prices, when we have no money
 left, either—or to appropriate for ourselves, in case we are
 victorious, and to use as large a measure as each one of us
 pleases?

But
 in these points, let us say, you realize that our present
 situation is better; you believe, however, that the rivers are a
 difficulty, and you think you were immensely deceived when you
 crossed them; then consider whether this is not
 really a surpassingly foolish thing that the barbarians have
 done. For all rivers, even though they be impassable
 at a distance from their sources, become passable, without even
 wetting your knees, as you approach toward the
 sources.

But
 assume that the rivers will not afford us a crossing and that we
 shall find no one to guide us; even in that case we ought not to
 be despondent. For we know that the Mysians, whom we should not
 admit to be better men than ourselves, inhabit many large and
 prosperous cities in the King’s territory, we know that the same
 is true of the Pisidians, and as for the Lycaonians we even saw with our own eyes that
 they had seized the strongholds in the plains and were reaping
 for themselves the lands of these Persians;

so, in our case, my own view would
 be that we ought not yet to let it be seen that we have set out
 for home; we ought, rather, to be making our arrangements as if
 we intended to settle here. For I know that to the Mysians the
 King would not only give plenty of guides, but plenty of
 hostages, to guarantee a safe conduct for them out of his
 country; in fact, he would build a road for them, even if they
 wanted to take their departure in four-horse chariots. And I
 know that he would be thrice glad to do the same for us, if he
 saw that we were preparing to stay here.

I really fear, however, that if we
 once learn to live in idleness and luxury, and to consort with
 the tall and beautiful women and maidens of these Medes and
 Persians, we may, like the lotus-eaters, forget our homeward
 way.

Therefore, I think it is right and
 proper that our first endeavour should be to return to our
 kindred and friends in Greece , and to point out to the Greeks that it
 is by their own choice that they are poor; for they could bring
 here the people who are now living a hard life at home, and
 could see them in the enjoyment of riches. It is really a plain fact, gentlemen, that all these
 good things belong to those who have the strength to possess
 them;

but I must go on to another point,
 how we can march most safely and, if we have to fight, can fight
 to the best advantage. In the first place, then, Xenophon
 proceeded, I think we should burn up the wagons
 which we have, so that our cattle may not be our captains, but
 we can take whatever route may be best for the army. Secondly,
 we should burn up our tents also; for these, again, are a bother
 to carry, and no help at all either for fighting or for
 obtaining provisions.

Furthermore, let us abandon all our
 other superfluous baggage, keeping only such articles as we use
 for war, or in eating and drinking, in order that we may have
 the largest possible number of men under arms and the least
 number carrying baggage. For when men are conquered, you are
 aware that all their possessions become the property of others;
 but if we are victorious, we may regard the enemy as our
 pack-bearers.

It
 remains for me to mention the one matter which I believe is
 really of the greatest importance. You observe that our enemies
 did not muster up courage to begin hostilities against us until
 they had seized our generals; for they believed that so long as
 we had our commanders and were obedient to them, we were able to
 worst them in war, but when they had got possession of our
 commanders, they believed that the want of leadership and of
 discipline would be the ruin of us.

Therefore our present commanders
 must show themselves far more vigilant than their predecessors,
 and the men in the ranks must be far more orderly and more
 obedient to their commanders now than they used to
 be.

We must pass a vote that, in case
 anyone is disobedient, whoever of you may be at hand at the time
 shall join with the officer in punishing him; in this way the
 enemy will find themselves mightily deceived; for to-day they
 will behold, not one Clearchus, 
 but ten thousand, who will not suffer anybody to be a bad
 soldier.

But it is time now to be acting
 instead of talking; for perhaps the enemy will soon be at hand.
 Whoever, then, thinks that these proposals are good should
 ratify them with all speed, that they may be carried out in
 action. But if any other plan is thought better than mine, let
 anyone, even though he be a private soldier, feel free to
 present it; for the safety of all is the need of all.

After this Cheirisophus said: We shall be able to consider presently whether we
 need to do anything else besides what Xenophon proposes, but on
 the proposals which he has already made I think it is best for
 us to vote as speedily as possible. Whoever is in favour of
 these measures, let him raise his hand.

They all raised their hands. Then
 Xenophon arose once more and said: Give ear,
 gentlemen, to the further proposals I have to present. It is
 clear that we must make our way to a place where we can get
 provisions; and I hear that there are fine villages at a
 distance of not more than twenty stadia.

We should not be surprised, then, if
 the enemy—after the fashion of cowardly dogs that chase
 passers-by and bite them, if they can, but run away from anyone
 who chases them—if the enemy in the same way should follow at
 our heels as we retire.

Hence it will be safer, perhaps, for
 us to march with the hoplites formed into a hollow square, so
 that the baggage train and the great crowd of camp followers may
 be in a safer place. If, then, it should be settled at once who
 are to lead the square and marshal the van, who are to be on
 either flank, and who to guard the rear, we should not need to
 be taking counsel at the time when the enemy comes upon us, but
 we should find our men at once in their places ready for
 action.

Now if anyone sees another plan
 which is better, let us follow that plan; but if not, I propose
 that Cheirisophus take the lead, especially since he is a
 Lacedaemonian, that the two oldest generals have charge of the
 two flanks, and that, for the present, we who are the youngest,
 Timasion and I, command the rear.

And for the future, as we make trial
 of this formation we can adopt whatever course may seem from
 time to time to be best. If anyone sees a better plan, let him
 present it. No one having any opposing view to express,
 Xenophon said: Whoever is in favour of these
 measures, let him raise his hand. The motion was
 carried.

And now, he continued, we must go back and put into execution what has
 been resolved upon. And whoever among you desires to see his
 friends again, let him remember to show himself a brave man; for
 in no other way can he accomplish this desire. Again, whoever is
 desirous of saving his life, let him strive for victory; for it
 is the victors that slay and the defeated that are slain. Or if
 anyone longs for wealth, let him also strive to conquer; for
 conquerors not only keep their own possessions, but gain the
 possessions of the conquered.

After these words of Xenophon’s the
 assembly arose, and all went back to camp and proceeded to burn the
 wagons and the tents. As for the superfluous articles of baggage,
 whatever anybody needed they shared with one another, but the rest
 they threw into the fire. When they had done all this, they set
 about preparing breakfast; and while they were so engaged,
 Mithradates 
 approached with about thirty horsemen, summoned the Greek generals
 within earshot, and spoke as follows:

Men of Greece , I was faithful to
 Cyrus , as you know for yourselves, and
 I am now friendly to you; indeed, I am tarrying here in great
 fear. Therefore if I should see that you were taking salutary
 measures, I should join you and bring all my retainers with me.
 Tell me, then, what you have in mind, in the assurance that I am
 your friend and well-wisher, and am desirous of making the
 journey in company with you.

The generals held council and voted to return the following answer,
 Cheirisophus acting as spokesman: It is our
 resolve, in case no one hinders our homeward march, to proceed
 through the country doing the least possible damage, but if
 anyone tries to prevent us from making the journey, to fight it
 out with him to the best of our power.

Thereupon Mithradates undertook to show that there was no possibility
 of their effecting a safe return unless the King so pleased. Then it
 became clear to the Greeks that his mission was a treacherous one;
 indeed, one of Tissaphernes’ relatives had followed along, to see
 that he kept faith.

The generals consequently decided that it was best to pass a decree
 that there should be no negotiations with the enemy in this war so
 long as they should be in the enemy’s country. For the barbarians
 kept coming and trying to corrupt the soldiers; in the case of one
 captain, Nicarchus the Arcadian, they actually succeeded, and he
 decamped during the night, taking with him about twenty men.

After this they took breakfast,
 crossed the Zapatas river,
 and set out on the march in the formation decided upon, with the baggage animals and the
 camp followers in the middle of the square. They had not proceeded
 far when Mithradates appeared again, accompanied by about two
 hundred horsemen and by bowmen and slingers—exceedingly active and
 nimble troops—to the number of four hundred.

He approached the Greeks as if he were a friend, but when his party
 had got close at hand, on a sudden some of them, horse and foot
 alike, began shooting with their bows and others with slings, and
 they inflicted wounds. And the Greek rearguard, while suffering
 severely, could not retaliate at all; for the Cretan bowmen not only had a shorter range than
 the Persians, but besides, since they had no armour, they were shut
 in within the lines of the hoplites; and the Greek javelin-men could
 not throw far enough to reach the enemy’s slingers.

Xenophon consequently decided that they must pursue the Persians, and
 this they did, with such of the hoplites and peltasts as were
 guarding the rear with him; but in their pursuit they failed to
 catch a single man of the enemy.

For the Greeks had no horsemen, and their foot-soldiers were not able
 to overtake the enemy’s foot-soldiers—since the latter had a long
 start in their flight—within a short distance; and a long pursuit,
 far away from the main Greek army, was not possible.

Again, the barbarian horsemen even while they were in flight would
 inflict wounds by shooting behind them from their horses; and
 whatever distance the Greeks might at any time cover in their
 pursuit, all that distance they were obliged to fall back
 fighting.

The result was that during the whole day they travelled not more than
 twenty-five stadia. They did arrive, however, towards evening at the
 villages. Here again
 there was despondency. And Cheirisophus and the eldest of the
 generals found fault with Xenophon for leaving the main body of the
 army to undertake a pursuit, and thus endangering himself without
 being able, for all that, to do the enemy any harm.

When Xenophon heard their words, he replied that they were right in
 finding fault with him, and that the outcome bore witness of itself
 for their view. But, he continued, I was compelled to pursue when I saw that by
 keeping our places we were suffering severely and were still
 unable to strike a blow ourselves.

As to what happened, however, when
 we did pursue, you are quite right: we were no better able to
 inflict harm upon the enemy, and it was only with the utmost
 difficulty that we effected our own withdrawal.

Let us thank the gods, therefore,
 that they came, not with a large force, but with a handful, so
 that without doing us any great damage they have revealed our
 needs.

For at present the enemy can shoot
 arrows and sling stones so far that neither our Cretan bowmen
 nor our javelin-men can reach them in reply; and when we pursue
 them, a long chase, away from our main body, is out of the
 question, and in a short chase no foot-soldier, even if he is
 swift, can overtake another foot-soldier who has a bow-shot the
 start of him.

Hence, if we should propose to put
 an end to the possibility of their harming us on our march, we
 need slingers ourselves at once, and horsemen also. Now I am
 told that there are Rhodians in our army, that most of them understand the
 use of the sling, and that their missile carries no less than
 twice as far as those from the Persian slings.

For the latter have only a short
 range because the stones that are used in them are as large as
 the hand can hold; the Rhodians, however, are versed also in the
 art of slinging leaden bullets.

If, therefore, we should ascertain
 who among them possess slings, and should not only pay these
 people for their slings, but likewise pay anyone who is willing
 to plait new ones, and if, furthermore, we should devise some
 sort of exemption for the man who will volunteer to serve as a
 slinger at his appointed post, it may be that men will come
 forward who will be capable of helping us.

Again, I observe that there are
 horses in the army—a few at my own quarters, others that made
 part of Clearchus’ troop and were left behind, and many others that have been
 taken from the enemy and are used as pack-animals. If, then, we
 should pick out all these horses, replacing them with mules, and
 should equip them for cavalry, it may be that this cavalry also
 will cause some annoyance to the enemy when they are in
 flight.

These proposals also were adopted, and in the course of that night a
 company of two hundred slingers was organized, while on the
 following day horses and horsemen to the number of fifty were
 examined and accepted, and jerkins and cuirasses were provided for
 them; and Lycius, the son of Polystratus, an Athenian, was put in
 command of the troop.

That day they remained quiet, but the
 next morning they set forth, after rising earlier than usual; for
 there was a gorge they had to cross, and they were afraid that the
 enemy might attack them as they were crossing.

It was only after they had crossed it, however, that Mithradates
 appeared again, accompanied by a thousand horsemen and about four
 thousand bowmen and slingers. For these were the numbers he had
 requested from Tissaphernes, and these numbers he had obtained upon
 his promise that, if such a force were given him, he would deliver
 the Greeks into Tissaphernes’ hands; for he had come to despise
 them, seeing that in his earlier attack with a small force he had
 done a great deal of harm, as he thought, without suffering any loss
 himself.

When, accordingly, the Greeks were across the gorge and about eight
 stadia beyond it, Mithradates also proceeded to make the crossing
 with his troops. Now orders had already been given to such of the
 Greek peltasts and hoplites as were to pursue the enemy, and the
 horsemen had been directed to be bold in urging the pursuit, in the
 assurance that an adequate force would follow at their heels.

As soon, then, as Mithradates had caught up, so that his sling-stones
 and arrows were just beginning to reach their marks, the trumpet
 gave its signal to the Greeks, and on the instant the foot-soldiers
 who were under orders rushed upon the enemy and the horsemen
 charged; and the enemy did not await their attack, but fled towards
 the gorge.

In this pursuit the barbarians had many of their infantry killed,
 while of their cavalry no less than eighteen were taken alive in the
 gorge. And the Greek troops, unbidden save by their own impulse,
 disfigured the bodies of the dead, in order that the sight of them
 might inspire the utmost terror in the enemy.

After faring thus badly the enemy
 departed, while the Greeks continued their march unmolested through
 the remainder of the day and arrived at the Tigris river.

Here was a large deserted city ; its name was Larisa , and it was
 inhabited in ancient times by the Medes. Its wall was twenty-five
 feet in breadth and a hundred in height, and the whole circuit of
 the wall was two parasangs. It was built of clay bricks, and rested
 upon a stone foundation twenty feet high.

This city was besieged by the king of the Persians at
 the time when the Persians were seeking to wrest from the Medes
 their empire, but he could in no way capture it. A cloud, however,
 overspread the sun and hid it from sight until the inhabitants
 abandoned their city; and thus it was taken.

Near by this city was a pyramid of stone, a plethrum in breadth and
 two plethra in height; and upon this pyramid were many barbarians
 who had fled away from the neighbouring villages.

From this place they marched one
 stage, six parasangs, to a great stronghold, deserted and lying in
 ruins. The name of this city was Mespila, and it was once
 inhabited by the Medes. The foundation of its wall was made of
 polished stone full of shells, and was fifty feet in breadth and
 fifty in height.

Upon this foundation was built a wall of brick, fifty feet in breadth
 and a hundred in height; and the circuit of the wall was six
 parasangs. Here, as the story goes, Medea, the king’s wife, took refuge at the time when the Medes were
 deprived of their empire by the Persians.

To this city also the king of the Persians laid siege, but he was
 unable to capture it either by length of siege or by storm; Zeus,
 however, terrified the inhabitants with thunder, and thus the city
 was taken.

From this place they marched one
 stage, four parasangs. In the course of this stage Tissaphernes made
 his appearance, having under his command the cavalry which he had
 himself brought with him, the
 troops of Orontas, who was
 married to the King’s daughter, the barbarians whom
 Cyrus had brought with him on his upward
 march, and those with whom the King’s brother had come to the aid of
 the King ;
 besides these contingents Tissaphernes had all the troops that the
 King had given him; the result was, that his army appeared
 exceedingly large.

When he got near the Greeks, he stationed some of his battalions in
 their rear and moved others into position on their flanks; then,
 although he could not muster up the courage to close with them and
 had no desire to risk a decisive battle, he ordered his men to
 discharge their slings and let fly their arrows.

But when the Rhodian slingers and the bowmen, posted at intervals
 here and there, sent back an answering volley, and not a man among
 them missed his mark (for even if he had been very eager to do so,
 it would not have been easy), then
 Tissaphernes withdrew out of range with all speed, and the other
 battalions followed his example.

For the rest of the day the one army
 continued its march and the other its pursuit. And the barbarians
 were no longer able
 to do any harm by their skirmishing at long range; for the Rhodian
 slingers carried farther with their missiles than the Persians,
 farther even than the Persian bowmen.

The Persian bows are also large, and consequently the
 Cretans could make good use of all the arrows that fell into their
 hands; in fact, they were continually using the enemy’s arrows, and
 practised themselves in long-range work by shooting them into the
 air. In the villages, furthermore, the
 Greeks found gut in abundance and lead for the use of their
 slingers.

As for that day’s doings, when the Greeks came upon some villages and
 proceeded to encamp, the barbarians withdrew, having had the worst
 of it in the skirmishing. The following day the Greeks remained
 quiet and collected supplies, for there was an abundance of corn in
 the villages. On the day thereafter they continued their march
 through the plain, and Tissaphernes hung upon their rear and kept up
 the skirmishing.

Then it was that the Greeks found out
 that a square is a poor formation when an enemy is following. For if
 the wings draw together, either because a road is unusually narrow
 or because mountains or a bridge make it necessary, it is inevitable
 that the hoplites should be squeezed out of line and should march
 with difficulty, inasmuch as they are crowded together and are
 likewise in confusion; the result is that, being in disorder, they
 are of little service.

Furthermore, when the wings draw apart again, those who were lately
 squeezed out are inevitably scattered, the space between the wings
 is left unoccupied, and the men affected are out of spirits when an
 enemy is close behind them. Again, as often as the army had to pass
 over a bridge or make any other crossing, every man would hurry, in
 the desire to be the first one across, and that gave the enemy a
 fine chance to make an attack.

When the generals came to realize these difficulties, they formed six
 companies of a hundred men each and put a captain at the head of
 each company, adding also platoon and squad commanders. Then in
 case the wings drew together on the march, these companies would drop back, so as not to
 interfere with the wings, and for the time being would move along
 behind the wings;

and when the flanks of the square drew apart again, they would fill
 up the space between the wings, by companies in case this space was
 rather narrow, by platoons in case it was broader, or, if it was
 very broad, by squads —the idea being, to have the gap filled up
 in any event.

Again, if the army had to make some crossing or to pass over a
 bridge, there was no confusion, but each company crossed over in its
 turn; and if any help was needed in any part of the army, these
 troops would make their way to the spot. In this fashion the Greeks
 proceeded four stages.

In the course of the fifth stage they
 caught sight of a palace of some sort, with many villages round
 about it, and they observed that the road to this place passed over
 high hills, which stretched down from the mountain at whose foot the
 villages were situated. And the Greeks were well pleased to see the
 hills, as was natural considering that the enemy’s force was
 cavalry;

when, however, in their march out of the plain they had mounted to
 the top of the first hill, and were descending it, so as to ascend
 the next, at this moment the barbarians came upon them and down from
 the hilltop discharged their missiles and sling-stones and arrows,
 fighting under the lash.

They not only inflicted many wounds, but they got the better of the
 Greek light troops and shut them up within the lines of the
 hoplites, so that these troops, being mingled with the
 non-combatants, were entirely useless throughout that day, slingers
 and bowmen alike.

And when the Greeks, hard-pressed as they were, undertook to pursue
 the attacking force, they reached the hilltop but slowly, being
 heavy troops, while the enemy sprang quickly out of reach;

and every time they returned from a pursuit to join the main army,
 they suffered again in the same way. On the second
 hill the same experiences were repeated, and hence after ascending
 the third hill they decided not to stir the troops from its crest
 until they had led up a force of peltasts from the right flank of
 the square to a position on the mountain.

As soon as this force had got above the hostile troops that were
 hanging upon the Greek rear, the latter desisted from attacking the
 Greek army in its descent, for fear that they might be cut off and
 find themselves enclosed on both sides by their foes.

In this way the Greeks continued their march for the remainder of the
 day, the one division by the road leading over the hills while the
 other followed a parallel course along the mountain slope, and so
 arrived at the villages. There they appointed eight surgeons, for
 the wounded were many.

In these villages they remained for
 three days, not only for the sake of the wounded, but likewise
 because they had provisions in abundance—flour, wine, and great
 stores of barley that had been collected for horses, all these
 supplies having been gathered together by the acting satrap of the
 district.

On the fourth day they proceeded to descend into the plain. But when
 Tissaphernes and his command overtook them, necessity taught them to
 encamp in the first village they caught sight of, and not to
 continue the plan of marching and fighting at the same time; for a
 large number of the Greeks were hors de combat, not only the
 wounded, but also those who were carrying them and the men who took
 in charge the arms of these carriers.

When they had encamped, and the barbarians, approaching toward the
 village, essayed to attack them at long range, the Greeks had much
 the better of it; for to occupy a position and therefrom ward off an
 attack was a very different thing from being on the march and
 fighting with the enemy as they followed after.

As soon as it came to be late in the
 afternoon, it was time for the enemy to withdraw. For in no instance
 did the barbarians encamp at a distance of less than sixty stadia
 from the Greek camp, out of fear that the Greeks might attack them
 during the night.

For a Persian army at night is a sorry thing. Their horses are
 tethered, and usually hobbled also to prevent their running away if
 they get loose from the tether, and hence in case of any alarm a
 Persian has to put saddle-cloth and bridle on his horse, and then
 has also to put on his own breastplate and mount his horse—and all
 these things are difficult at night and in the midst of confusion.
 It was for this reason that the Persians encamped at a considerable
 distance from the Greeks.

When the Greeks became aware that they
 were desirous of withdrawing and were passing the word along, the
 order to pack up luggage was proclaimed to the Greek troops within
 hearing of the enemy. For a time the barbarians delayed their
 setting out, but when it began to grow late, they went off; for they
 thought it did not pay to be on the march and arriving at their camp
 in the night.

When the Greeks saw at length that they were manifestly departing,
 they broke camp and took the road themselves, and accomplished a
 march of no less than sixty stadia. Thus the two armies got so far
 apart that on the next day the enemy did not appear, nor yet on the
 third; on the fourth day, however, after pushing forward by night
 the barbarians occupied a high position on the right of the road by
 which the Greeks were to pass, a spur of the mountain, namely, along
 the base of which ran the route leading down into the plain.

As soon as Cheirisophus observed that
 the spur was already occupied, he summoned Xenophon from the rear,
 directing him to come to the front and bring the peltasts with
 him.

Xenophon, however, would not bring the peltasts, for he could see
 Tissaphernes and his whole army coming into view; but he
 rode forward himself and asked, Why are you
 summoning me? Cheirisophus replied, It is perfectly evident; the hill overhanging our downward road
 has been occupied, and there is no getting by unless we dislodge
 these people.

Why did you not bring the
 peltasts? Xenophon answered that he had not thought it
 best to leave the rear unprotected when hostile troops were coming
 into sight. Well, at any rate, said
 Cheirisophus, it is high time to be thinking how
 we are to drive these fellows from the height.

Then Xenophon observed that the summit of the mountain was close
 above their own army and that from this summit there was a way of
 approach to the hill where the enemy were; and he said, Our best plan, Cheirisophus, is to drive with all
 speed for the mountain top; for if we once get possession of
 that, those men above our road will not be able to hold their
 position. If you choose, then, stay in command of the army, and
 I will go; or, if you prefer, you make for the mountain top, and
 I will stay here.

Well, said Cheirisophus, I leave it to you to choose whichever part you
 wish. Then Xenophon, with the remark that he was the
 younger, elected to go, but he urged Cheirisophus to send with him
 some troops from the front; for it would have been too long a
 journey to bring up men from the rear.

Cheirisophus accordingly sent with him the peltasts at the front,
 replacing them with those that were inside the square; he also
 ordered the three hundred picked men under his own
 command at the front of the square to join Xenophon’s force.

Then they set out with all possible
 speed. But no sooner had the enemy upon the hill observed their dash
 for the summit of the mountain than they also set off, to race with
 the Greeks for this summit.

Then there was a deal of shouting from the Greek army as they urged
 on their friends, and just as much shouting from Tissaphernes’
 troops to urge on their men.

And Xenophon, riding along the lines upon his horse, cheered his
 troops forward: My good men, he said,
 believe that now you are racing for
 Greece , racing this
 very hour back to your wives and children, a little toil for
 this one moment and no more fighting for the rest of our
 journey.

But Soteridas the Sicyonian said: We are not on
 an equality, Xenophon; you are riding on horseback, while I am
 desperately tired with carrying my shield.

When Xenophon heard that, he leaped down from his horse and pushed
 Soteridas out of his place in the line, then took his shield away
 from him and marched on with it as fast as he could; he had on also,
 as it happened, his cavalry breastplate, and the result was that he
 was heavily burdened. And he urged the men in front of him to keep
 going, while he told those who were behind to pass along by him, for
 he found it hard to keep up.

The rest of the soldiers, however, struck and pelted and abused
 Soteridas until they forced him to take back his shield and march
 on. Then Xenophon remounted, and as long as riding was possible, led
 the way on horseback, but when the ground became too difficult, he
 left his horse behind and hurried forward on foot. And they reached
 the summit before the enemy.

Then it was that the barbarians turned
 about and fled, every man for himself, while the Greeks held
 possession of the summit. As for the troops under Tissaphernes and
 Ariaeus, they turned off by another road and were gone; and the army
 under Cheirisophus descended into the plain and proceeded to encamp in a
 village stored with abundant supplies. There were likewise many
 other villages richly stored with supplies in this plain on the
 banks of the Tigris .

When it came to be late in the day, all of a sudden the enemy
 appeared in the plain and cut to pieces some of the Greeks who were
 scattered about there in quest of plunder; in fact, many herds of
 cattle had been captured while they were being taken across to the
 other side of the river.

Then Tissaphernes and his followers attempted to burn the villages;
 and some of the Greeks got exceedingly despondent, out of
 apprehension that they would not have a place from which to get
 provisions in case the enemy should succeed in this attempt.

Meanwhile Cheirisophus and his men, who had gone to the rescue of the
 plunderers, were returning; and when Xenophon had come down from the
 mountain, he rode along the lines upon falling in with the Greeks of
 the rescuing party and said:

Do you observe, men of Greece , that they admit the
 country is now ours? For while they stipulated when they made
 the treaty that there should be no burning of the King’s
 territory, now they are doing that very thing themselves, as
 though the land were another’s. At any rate, if they leave
 supplies anywhere for their own use, they shall behold us also
 proceeding to that spot.

But, Cheirisophus, he went
 on, it seems to me that we ought to sally forth
 against these incendiaries, like men defending their own
 country. 
 Well, it doesn’t seem so to me, said
 Cheirisophus; rather, let us set about burning
 ourselves, and then they will stop the sooner.

When they had come to their quarters,
 the troops were busy about provisions, but the generals and captains
 gathered in council. And here there was great despondency. For on
 one side of them were exceedingly high mountains and on the other
 side a river so deep that not even their spears reached above water
 when they tried its depth.

In the midst of their perplexity a Rhodian came to them and said:
 I stand ready, gentlemen, to set you across
 the river, four thousand hoplites at a time, if you will provide
 me with the means that I require and give me a talent for
 pay.

Upon being asked what his requirements were, he replied: I shall need two thousand skins. I see plenty of
 sheep and goats and cattle and asses; take off their skins and
 blow them up, and they would easily provide the means of
 crossing.

I shall want also the girths which
 you use on the beasts of burden; with these I shall tie the
 skins to one another and also moor each skin by fastening stones
 to the girths and letting them down into the water like anchors;
 then I shall carry the line of skins across the river, make it
 fast at both ends, and pile on brushwood and earth.

As for your not sinking, then, you
 may be sure in an instant on that point, for every skin will
 keep two men from sinking;

and as regards slipping, the
 brushwood and the earth will prevent that. After hearing
 these words the generals thought that while the idea was a clever
 one, the execution of it was impossible. For there were people on
 the other side of the river to thwart it, a large force of horsemen,
 namely, who at the very outset would prevent the first comers from
 carrying out any part of the plan.

Under these circumstances they marched
 all the next day in the reverse direction, going back to the
 unburned villages, after burning the one from which they withdrew.
 The result was that, instead of making an attack, the enemy merely
 gazed at the Greeks, and appeared to be wondering where in the world
 they would turn and what they had in mind.

At the close of the day, while the rest of the army went after
 provisions, the generals held another meeting, at which they brought
 together the prisoners that had been taken and enquired of them
 about each district of all the surrounding country.

The prisoners said that the region to the south lay on the road
 towards Babylon and Media,
 the identical province they had just passed through; that the road
 to the eastward led to Susa 
 and Ecbatana , where the
 King is said to spend his summers; across the river and on to the
 west was the way to Lydia 
 and Ionia ; while the route
 through the mountains and northward led to the country of the
 Carduchians.

These Carduchians, they said, dwelt up among the mountains, were a
 warlike people, and were not subjects of the King; in fact, a royal
 army of one hundred and twenty thousand men had once invaded them,
 and, by reason of the ruggedness of the country, not a man of all
 that number came back. Still, whenever they made a treaty with the
 satrap in the plain, some of the people of the plain did have
 dealings with the Carduchians and some of the Carduchians with
 them.

After listening to these statements
 from the men who claimed to know the way in every direction, the
 generals caused them to withdraw, without giving them the least clue
 as to the direction in which they proposed to march. The opinion of
 the generals however, was that they must make their way through the
 mountains into the country of the Carduchians; for the prisoners
 said that after passing through this country they would come to
 Armenia , the large and
 prosperous province of which Orontas was ruler; and from there, they
 said, it was easy to go in any direction one chose.

Thereupon the generals offered sacrifice, so that they could begin
 the march at the moment they thought best —for they feared that the pass
 over the mountains might be occupied in advance; and they issued
 orders that when the troops had dined, every man should pack up his
 belongings and go to rest, and then fall into line as soon as the
 word of command was given.

[The preceding narrative has described all that
 took place on the upward march until the time of the battle, all
 that happened after the battle during the truce concluded by the
 King and the Greeks who had made the upward march in company with
 Cyrus , and likewise the whole course of the
 warfare carried on against the Greeks after the King and
 Tissaphernes had broken the truce, when the Persian army was hanging
 upon the Greek rear.

When the Greeks finally reached a point where the Tigris river was
 quite impassable by reason of its depth and width, and where there
 was no passage-way alongside the river, since the Carduchian
 mountains hung sheer and close above it, the generals were forced to
 the conclusion that they must make their way through the
 mountains.

For they heard from the prisoners who were taken that once they had
 passed through the Carduchian mountains and reached Armenia , they could there cross
 the headwaters of the Tigris river, if they so desired, or, if they
 preferred, could go round them. They were also informed that the
 headwaters of the Euphrates 
 were not far from those of the Tigris ,—and such is indeed the case.

Now they conducted their invasion of the country of the Carduchians
 in the following way, since they were seeking not only to escape
 observation, but at the same time to reach the heights before the
 enemy could take possession of them.]

When it was about the last watch, and
 enough of the night remained to allow them to cross the plain in the
 dark, at that time they arose upon the word of command and set out
 on their march; and they reached the mountain at daybreak.

Here Cheirisophus, with his own division and all the light-armed
 troops, led the van, while Xenophon followed behind with the
 hoplites of the rearguard, but without any light troops at all; for
 there seemed to be no danger of any pursuit from behind while they
 were proceeding uphill.

And Cheirisophus reached the summit of the pass before any of the
 enemy perceived him; then he led on slowly, and each division of the
 army as it passed over the summit followed along to the villages
 which lay in the hollows and nooks of the mountains.

Then it was that the Carduchians abandoned their houses and fled to
 the mountains with their wives and children. As for provisions,
 there was an abundance for the Greeks to take, and the houses were
 also supplied with bronze vessels in great numbers; the Greeks,
 however, did not carry off any of these, and did not pursue the
 people themselves, refraining from harshness on the chance that the
 Carduchians might perhaps be willing to let them pass through their
 country in friendship, seeing that they also were enemies of the
 King;

but they did take whatever they chanced upon in the way of
 provisions, for that was necessary. The Carduchians, however, would
 neither listen when they called to them nor give any other sign of
 friendliness.

And when the rearguard of the Greeks was descending from the summit
 of the pass to the villages—and by this time it was dark, for on
 account of the road being narrow their ascent and descent lasted
 through the entire day—at this moment some of the Carduchians
 gathered together and attacked the hindmost Greeks; and they killed
 some and wounded others severely with stones and arrows, though they
 were themselves but few in number; for the Greek army had come upon
 them unexpectedly.

If, however, a larger number of them had gathered together at that
 time, a great part of the army would have been in danger of being
 destroyed. Thus the Greeks bivouacked for that night in the
 villages, while the Carduchians kindled many fires round about upon
 the mountains and kept shouting to one another.

At daybreak the generals and captains
 of the Greeks came together and resolved to keep with them on the
 march only the indispensable and most powerful baggage animals and
 to leave the rest behind; likewise, to let go all the newly-taken
 captives that were in the army, to the last man.

For the baggage animals and the captives, numerous as they were, made
 the march slow, and the large number of men who had charge of them
 were thus taken out of the fighting line; besides, with so many
 people to feed it was necessary to procure and to carry twice the
 amount of provisions. This decision once reached, they published the
 order to carry it into effect.

When they had breakfasted and were
 setting out upon the march, the generals quietly stationed men in
 the defile and proceeded to take away from the troops such of the
 things specified as had not been given up if they found any; and the
 soldiers submitted, except in cases where a man had smuggled through
 a handsome boy or woman, for example, that he had set his heart
 upon. So they went on for that day, now fighting a little and now
 resting.

On the next day there was a heavy storm, but they had to continue
 their march, for they had not an adequate supply of provisions; and
 Cheirisophus led the way while Xenophon commanded the rearguard.

Here the enemy began a vigorous attack, and in the narrow places on
 the road came close up to discharge their bows and slings. The
 result was that the Greeks were forced to give chase and then fall
 back, and hence made but slow progress; and time after time, when
 the enemy pressed them hard, Xenophon would send word to
 Cheirisophus to wait a little.

Now while Cheirisophus was accustomed to wait whenever such word was
 given, on this occasion he did not do so, but led on rapidly and
 passed back the order to keep up with him. It was evident,
 therefore, that something was the matter, but there was no time to
 go forward and find out the reason for his haste; consequently the
 progress of the rearguard became more like a flight than a
 march.

Then it was that a brave man was killed, Leonymus the Laconian, who
 was pierced in the side by an arrow that went through his shield and
 cuirass; also Basias the Arcadian, who was shot clean through the
 head.

As soon as they reached a halting
 place, Xenophon went straight to Cheirisophus, just as he was, and
 proceeded to reproach him for not waiting, but compelling them to
 flee and fight at the same time; and now, 
 he went on, two fine, brave fellows have lost
 their lives, and we were not able to pick up their bodies or
 bury them.

Cheirisophus’ reply was, Take a look, said
 he, at the mountains, and observe how impassable
 all of them are. The only road is the one there, which you see,
 a steep one, too, and on that you can see the great crowd of
 people who have taken possession of it and are guarding our way
 out.

That’s the reason why I was hurrying
 and why I would not wait for you, for I hoped to reach the pass
 and occupy it before they did. The guides that we have say there
 is no other road.

And Xenophon answered, Well, I also have two men.
 For at the time when the enemy were giving us trouble, we set an
 ambush. It allowed us, for one thing, to catch our breath; but,
 besides, we killed a number of them, and we took especial pains
 to get some prisoners for this very purpose, of being able to
 employ as guides men who know the country.

They brought up the two men at once
 and questioned them separately as to whether they knew any other
 road besides the one that was in plain sight. The first man said he
 did not, despite all the numerous threats that were made to him; and
 since he would give no information, he was slaughtered before the
 eyes of the second one.

The latter now said that the reason why this first man had maintained
 that he did not know any other road, was because he chanced to have
 a daughter living in that neighbourhood with a husband to whom he
 had given her; but as for himself, he said that he would lead the
 Greeks by a road that could be traversed even by baggage
 animals.

Upon being asked whether there was any point on it which was
 difficult to pass, he replied that there was a height which they
 could not possibly pass unless they should seize it beforehand.

Thereupon it was decided to call
 together the captains, both of peltasts and hoplites, to set forth
 to them the existing situation, and to ask if there was any one
 among them who would like to prove himself a brave man and to
 undertake this expedition as a volunteer.

Volunteers came forward, from the hoplites Aristonymus of Methydrium and Agasias of
 Stymphalus, while in rivalry with them Callimachus of Parrhasia said that he was ready
 to make the expedition and take with him volunteers from the entire
 army; for I know, he continued, that many of the young men will follow if I am in
 the lead.

Then they asked whether any one among the captains of light troops
 wanted to join in the march. The volunteer was Aristeas of Chios,
 who on many occasions proved himself valuable to the army for such
 services.

It was now late afternoon, and they
 ordered the volunteers to take a snatch of food and set out. They
 also bound the guide and turned him over to the volunteers, and made
 an agreement with them that in case they should capture the height,
 they were to guard it through the night and give a signal at
 daybreak with the trumpet; then those on the height were to proceed
 against the Carduchians who were holding the visible way out, while the main army was to come
 to their support, pushing forward as fast as it could.

This agreement concluded, the volunteers, about two thousand in
 number, set out on their march; and there was a heavy downpour of
 rain; at the same time Xenophon with the rearguard began advancing
 toward the visible way out, in order that the enemy might be giving
 their attention to that road and that the party taking the roundabout
 route might, so far as possible, escape observation.

But as soon as the troops of the rearguard were at a gorge which they
 had to cross before marching up the steep hill, at that moment the
 barbarians began to roll down round stones large enough for a
 wagon-load, with larger and smaller ones also; they came down with a
 crash upon the rocks below and the fragments of them flew in all
 directions, so that it was quite impossible even to approach the
 ascending road.

Then some of the captains, unable to proceed by this route, would try
 another, and they kept this up until darkness came on. It was not
 until they imagined that their withdrawal would be unobserved that
 they went back to dinner—and it chanced that they had had no
 breakfast either. The enemy, however, never stopped rolling down
 their stones all through the night, as one could judge from the
 noise.

Meanwhile the party with the guide,
 proceeding by a roundabout route, found the guards sitting around a fire, and after killing some of
 them and chasing away the others they remained at the post
 themselves, supposing that they held the height.

In fact, they were not holding it, for it was a round hill above them
 and past it ran this narrow road upon which the guards had been
 sitting. Nevertheless, from the place they did hold there was a way
 of approach to the spot, upon the visible road, where
 the main body of the enemy were stationed.

At this place, then, they passed the night, and when day was
 beginning to break, they took up their march silently in battle
 array against the enemy; for there was a mist, and consequently they
 got close up to them without being observed. When they did catch
 sight of one another, the trumpet sounded and the
 Greeks raised the battle cry and rushed upon the enemy. And the
 Carduchians did not meet their attack, but abandoned the road and
 took to flight; only a few of them, however, were killed, for they
 were agile fellows.

Meanwhile Cheirisophus and his command, hearing the trumpet, charged
 immediately up the visible road; and some of the other generals made
 their way without following any road from the points where they
 severally chanced to be and, clambering up as best they could,
 pulled one another up with their spears;

and it was they who were first to join the troops that had already
 gained possession of the place. But
 Xenophon with half the rearguard set out by the same route which the
 party with the guide had followed, because this was the easiest
 route for the baggage animals; and behind the baggage animals he
 posted the other half of the rearguard.

As they proceeded they came upon a hill above the road which had been
 seized by the enemy, and found themselves compelled either to
 dislodge them or be completely separated from the rest of the
 Greeks; and while, so far as the troops themselves were concerned,
 they might have taken the same route that the rest 
 followed, the baggage animals could not get through by any other
 road than this one by
 which Xenophon was proceeding.

Then and there, accordingly, with words of cheer to one another, they
 charged upon the hill with their companies in column, not
 surrounding it, but leaving the enemy a way of retreat in case they
 chose to use it.

For a while, as the Greeks were climbing up by whatever way they
 severally could, the barbarians discharged arrows and other missiles
 upon them; they did not let them get near, however, but took to
 flight and abandoned the place. No sooner had the Greeks passed by
 this hill, than they saw a second one ahead similarly occupied by
 the enemy, and decided to proceed against this one in its turn.

Xenophon, however, becoming apprehensive lest, if he should leave
 unoccupied the hill he had just captured, the enemy might take
 possession of it again and attack the baggage train as it passed
 (and the train stretched out a long way because of the narrowness of
 the road it was following), left three captains upon the hill,
 Cephisodorus, son of Cephisophon, an Athenian, Amphicrates, son of
 Amphidemus, also an Athenian, and Archagoras, an Argive exile; while
 he himself with the rest of the troops proceeded against the second
 hill, which they captured in the same fashion as the first.

There still remained a third round
 hill, far the
 steepest of them all, the one that rose above the guard post, by the
 fire, which had been captured during the night by the
 volunteers.

But when the Greeks got near this hill, the barbarians abandoned it
 without striking a blow, so that everybody was filled with surprise
 and imagined that they had quit the place out of fear that they
 might be surrounded and blockaded. As it proved, however, they had
 seen, looking down from their height, what was going on farther
 back, and were all setting out to attack the Greek rearguard.

Meanwhile Xenophon proceeded to climb the abandoned height with his
 youngest troops, ordering the rest to move on slowly in order that
 the hindmost companies might catch up; then they were to advance
 along the road and halt under arms on the plateau at the top of the pass.

At this time Archagoras the Argive
 came up in flight and reported that the Greeks had been dislodged
 from the first hill, that Cephisodorus and Amphicrates had
 been killed, and likewise all the rest except such as had leaped
 down the rocks and reached the rearguard.

After accomplishing this achievement the barbarians came to a hill
 opposite the round hill, and Xenophon, through an interpreter, held a
 colloquy with them in regard to a truce and asked them to give back
 the bodies of the Greek dead.

They replied that they would give them back on condition that the
 Greeks should not burn their houses. To this Xenophon agreed. But
 while the rest of the army was passing by and they were engaged in
 this conference, all the enemy from that neighbourhood had streamed
 together to the spot;

and as soon as Xenophon and his men began to descend from the round
 hill, in order to join the rest of the Greeks at the place where
 they were halted under arms, the enemy took this opportunity to rush
 upon them in great force and with a great deal of uproar. When they
 had reached the crest of the hill from which Xenophon was
 descending, they proceeded to roll down stones. They broke one man’s
 leg, and Xenophon found himself deserted by the servant who was
 carrying his shield;

but Eurylochus of Lusi , a
 hoplite, ran up to him and, keeping his shield held out in front of
 them both, fell back with him; and the rest also made good their
 retreat to the main array.

Then the entire Greek army united, and
 the troops took up quarters there in many fine houses and in the
 midst of abundant supplies; for the inhabitants had wine in such
 quantities that they kept it in cemented cisterns.

Meanwhile Xenophon and Cheirisophus effected an arrangement by which
 they recovered the bodies of their dead and gave back the guide; and
 they rendered to the dead, so far as their means permitted, all the
 usual honours that are paid to brave men.

On the next day they continued their
 march without a guide, while the enemy, by fighting and by seizing
 positions in advance wherever the road was narrow, tried to prevent
 their passage.

Accordingly, whenever they blocked the march of the van, Xenophon
 would push forward from the rear to the mountains and break the
 blockade of the road for the van by trying to get higher than those
 who were halting it,

and whenever they attacked the rear, Cheirisophus would sally forth
 and, by trying to get higher than the obstructing force, would break
 the blockade of the passage-way for the rear; in this way they
 continually aided one another and took zealous care for one
 another.

There were times, indeed, when the barbarians caused a great deal of
 trouble even to the troops who had climbed to a higher position,
 when they were coming down again; for their men were so agile that
 even if they took to flight from close at hand, they could escape;
 for they had nothing to carry except bows and slings.

As bowmen they were most excellent; they had bows nearly three cubits
 long and their arrows were more than two cubits, and when they shot,
 they would draw their strings by pressing with the left foot against
 the lower end of the bow; and their arrows would go straight through
 shields and breastplates. 
 Whenever they got hold of them, the Greeks would use these arrows as
 javelins, fitting them with thongs. In these regions the Cretans
 made themselves exceedingly useful. They were commanded by a Cretan
 named Stratocles.

For that day again they found quarters in the
 villages that lie above the plain bordering the Centrites river,
 which is about two plethra in width and separates Armenia and the country of the
 Carduchians. There the Greeks took breath, glad to behold a plain;
 for the river was distant six or seven stadia from the mountains of
 the Carduchians.

At the time, then, they went into their quarters very happily, for
 they had provisions and likewise many recollections of the hardships
 that were now past. For during all the seven days of their march
 through the land of the Carduchians they were continually fighting,
 and they suffered more evils than all which they had suffered taken
 together at the hands of the King and Tissaphernes. In the feeling,
 therefore, that they were rid of these troubles they lay down
 happily to rest.

At daybreak, however, they caught
 sight of horsemen at a place across the river, fully armed and ready
 to dispute their passage, and likewise foot-soldiers drawn up in
 line of battle upon the bluffs above the horsemen, to prevent their
 pushing up into Armenia .

All these were the troops of Orontas and
 Artuchas, and consisted of Armenians, Mardians, and
 Chaldaean mercenaries. The Chaldaeans were said to be an independent
 and valiant people; they had as weapons long wicker shields and
 lances.

Now the bluffs just mentioned, upon which these troops were drawn up,
 were distant three or four plethra from the river, and there was
 only one road to be seen that led up them, apparently an artificial
 road; so at this point the Greeks undertook to cross the
 river.

When they made the attempt, however, the water proved to be more than
 breast deep and the river bed was rough with large, slippery stones;
 furthermore, they could not carry their shields in the water, for if
 they tried that, the current would snatch them away, while if a man
 carried them on his head, his body was left unprotected against
 arrows and other missiles; so they turned back and went into camp
 there by the side of the river.

Meanwhile, at the point where they had themselves spent the previous
 night, on the mountain side, they could see the Carduchians gathered
 together under arms in great numbers. Then it was that deep
 despondency fell upon the Greeks, as they saw before them a river
 difficult to cross, beyond it troops that would obstruct their
 crossing, and behind them the Carduchians, ready to fall upon their
 rear when they tried to cross.

That day and night, accordingly, they
 remained there, in great perplexity. But Xenophon had a dream; he
 thought that he was bound in fetters, but that the fetters fell off
 from him of their own accord, so that he was released and could take
 as long steps as he pleased. When dawn came, he
 went to Cheirisophus, told him he had hopes that all would be well,
 and related to him his dream.

Cheirisophus was pleased, and as soon as day began to break, all the
 generals were at hand and proceeded to offer sacrifices. And with
 the very first victim the omens were favourable. Then the generals
 and captains withdrew from the sacrifice and gave orders to the
 troops to get their breakfasts.

While Xenophon was breakfasting, two
 young men came running up to him; for all knew that they might go to
 him whether he was breakfasting or dining, and that if he were
 asleep, they might awaken him and tell him whatever they might have
 to tell that concerned the war.

In the present case the young men reported that they had happened to
 be gathering dry sticks for the purpose of making a fire, and that
 while so occupied they had descried across the river, among some
 rocks that reached down to the very edge of the river, an old man
 and a woman and some little girls putting away what looked like bags
 of clothes in a cavernous rock.

When they saw this proceeding, they said, they made up their minds
 that it was safe for them to cross, for this was a place that was
 not accesible to the enemy’s cavalry. They accordingly stripped,
 keeping only their daggers, and started across naked, supposing that
 they would have to swim; but they went on and got across without
 wetting themselves up to the middle; once on the other side, they
 took the clothes and came back again.

Upon hearing this report Xenopohon
 immediately proceeded to pour a libation himself, and directed his
 attendants to fill a cup for the young men and to pray to the gods
 who had revealed the dream and the ford, to bring to fulfilment the
 other blessings also. The libation accomplished, he at
 once led the young men to Cheirisophus, and they repeated their
 story to him.

And upon hearing it Cheirisophus also made libation. Thereafter they
 gave orders to the troops to pack up their baggage, while they
 themselves called together the generals and took counsel as to how
 they might best effect a crossing so as to defeat the enemy in front
 without suffering any harm from those in their rear.

The decision was, that Cheirisophus should take the lead with half
 the army and attempt a crossing, that the other half with Xenophon
 should stay behind for a while, and that the baggage animals and
 camp followers should cross between the two divisions.

When these arrangements had been
 satisfactorily made, they set out, the young men leading the way and
 keeping the river on the left; and the distance to the ford was
 about four stadia.

As they proceeded, the squadrons of the enemy’s cavalry kept along
 opposite to them. When they reached the ford, they halted under
 arms, and Cheirisophus put a wreath upon his head, threw off his cloak, and took
 up his arms, giving orders to all the others to do the same; he also
 directed the captains to lead their companies in column, part of
 them upon his left and the rest upon his right. Meanwhile the
 soothsayers were offering sacrifice to the river,

and the enemy were shooting arrows and discharging slings,

but not yet reaching their mark; and when the sacrifices proved
 favourable, all the soldiers struck up the paean and raised the war
 shout, while the women, everyone of them, joined their cries with
 the shouting of the men—for there were a large number of women in
 the camp.

Then Cheirisophus and his division
 proceeded into the river; but Xenophon took the nimblest troops of
 the rearguard and began running back at full speed to the ford that was opposite the road
 which led out into the Armenian mountains, pretending that he meant
 to cross at that point and thus cut off the
 horsemen who were by the side of the river.

The enemy thereupon, when they saw Cheirisophus and his division
 crossing the river without difficulty and likewise saw Xenophon and
 his men running back, were seized with fear that they might be cut
 off, and they fled at full speed to reach the road which led up from
 the river. This road once gained, they hastened on upward in the
 direction of the mountain.

Then Lycius, who commanded the squadron of Greek cavalry, and
 Aeschines, commander of the battalion of peltasts that was with
 Cheirisophus, upon seeing the enemy in full flight set off in
 pursuit, while the rest of the Greek troops shouted to them not to
 fall behind, but to follow the fugitives right up to the
 mountain.

As for Cheirisophus, after getting across he chose not to pursue the
 hostile cavalry, but immediately pushed up over the bluffs that
 reached down to the river against the infantry on top of them. And these
 troops, seeing their own cavalry in flight and hoplites advancing
 upon them, abandoned the heights above the river.

Xenophon no sooner saw that all was
 going well on the other side than he started back with all speed to
 join the troops that were crossing, for by this time the Carduchians
 could be seen descending into the plain with the manifest intention
 of attacking the hindmost.

Meanwhile Cheirisophus was in possession of the bluffs, and Lycius,
 venturing a pursuit with his small squadron, 
 had captured the straggling portion of the enemy’s baggage train,
 and with it fine apparel and drinking cups.

And now, with the Greek baggage train and the camp followers in the
 very act of crossing, Xenophon wheeled his troops so that they took
 a position facing the Carduchians, and gave orders to the captains
 that each man of them should form his own company by squads, moving each
 squad by the left into line of battle; then the captains and squad
 leaders were to face toward the Carduchians and station file closers
 on the side next to the river.

But as soon as the Carduchians saw the rearguard stripped of the
 crowd of camp followers and looking now like a small body, they
 advanced to the attack all the more rapidly, singing a kind of
 songs. As for Cheirisophus, since everything was safe on his side,
 he sent back to Xenophon the peltasts, slingers, and bowmen, and
 directed them to do whatever Xenophon might order.

But when he saw them beginning to cross, Xenophon sent a messenger
 and directed them to stay where they were, on the bank of the river,
 without crossing; at the moment, however, when his own men should
 begin to cross, they were to enter the river opposite them, on this
 side and that, as though they were going to cross it, the javelin
 men with hand on the thong and the bowmen with arrow on the string;
 but they were not to proceed far into the river.

The orders he gave to his own men were, that when sling-stones
 reached them and shields rang, they were to strike up the paean and
 charge upon the enemy, and when the enemy turned to flight and the
 trumpeter on the river-bank sounded the charge, they were to
 face about to the right, the file closers were to take the lead, and
 all of them were to run and cross as fast as they could with every
 man keeping his proper place in the line, so that they should not
 interfere with one another; and he that got to the other side first
 would be the best man.

Now the Carduchians, seeing that those
 who were left were by this time few in number (for many even of
 those detailed to stay had gone off to look after pack animals or
 baggage or women, as the case might be), at that moment proceeded to
 press upon them boldly and began to sling stones and shoot
 arrows.

Then the Greeks struck up the paean and charged at them on the run,
 and they did not meet the attack; for while they were equipped well
 enough for attack and retreat in the mountains, their equipment was
 not adequate for hand-to-hand fighting.

At that instant the Greek trumpeter sounded his signal; and while the
 enemy began to flee much faster than before, the Greeks turned about
 and set out on their own flight through the river at top speed.

Some few of the enemy, perceiving this movement, ran back to the
 river and wounded a few Greeks with arrows, but most of them, even
 when the Greeks were on the other side, could still be seen
 continuing their flight.

But the troops that came to meet Xenophon, behaving like men and
 advancing farther than they should have gone, crossed back again in
 the rear of Xenophon’s command; and some of them also were
 wounded.

When they had accomplished the
 crossing, they formed in line of battle about midday and marched
 through Armenia , over
 entirely level country and gently sloping hills, not less than five
 parasangs; for there were no villages near the river because of the
 wars between the Armenians and Carduchians.

The village which they finally reached was a large one and had a
 palace for the satrap, while most of the houses were surmounted by
 turrets; and provisions were plentiful.

From there they marched two stages, ten parasangs, until they passed
 the headwaters of the Tigris river. From there they marched three
 stages, fifteen parasangs, to the Teleboas river. This was a
 beautiful river, though not a large one, and there were many
 villages about it.

This region was called Western Armenia . Its lieutenant-governor was Tiribazus, who had proved himself a friend
 to the King and, so often as he was present, was the only man
 permitted to help the King mount his horse.

He rode up to the Greeks with a body of horsemen, and sending forward
 an interpreter, said that he wished to confer with their commanders.
 The generals decided to hear what he had to say, and, after
 approaching within hearing distance, they asked him what he
 wanted.

He replied that he wished to conclude a treaty with these conditions,
 that he on his side would not harm the Greeks, and that they should
 not burn the houses, but might take all the provisions they needed.
 This proposition was accepted by the generals, and they concluded a
 treaty on these terms.

From there they marched three stages,
 fifteen parasangs, through level country, Tiribazus and his command
 following along at a distance of about ten stadia from them; and
 they reached a palace with many villages round about it full of
 provisions in abundance.

While they were in camp there, there was a heavy fall of snow 
 during the night, and in the morning they decided to quarter the
 several divisions of the army, with their commanders, in the
 different villages; for there was no enemy within sight, and the
 plan seemed to be a safe one by reason of the great quantity of
 snow.

There they had all possible good things in the way of
 supplies—animals for sacrifice, grain, old wines with a fine
 bouquet, dried grapes, and beans of all sorts. But some men who
 straggled away from their quarters reported that they saw in the
 night the gleam of a great many fires.

The generals accordingly decided that it was unsafe to have their
 divisions in separate quarters, and that they must bring all the
 troops together again; so they came together, especially as the
 storm seemed to be clearing up.

But there came such a tremendous fall of snow while they were
 bivouacked there that it completely covered both the arms and the
 men as they slept, besides hampering the baggage animals; and
 everybody was very reluctant to get up, for as the men lay there the
 snow that had fallen upon them—in case it did not slip off—was a
 source of warmth.

But once Xenophon had mustered the courage to get up without his
 cloak and set about splitting wood, another man also speedily got
 up, took the axe away from him, and went on with the splitting.
 Thereupon still others got up and proceeded to build fires and
 anoint themselves;

for they found ointment there in abundance which they used in place
 of olive oil—made of pork fat, sesame, bitter almonds, or
 turpentine. They found also a fragrant oil made out of these same
 ingredients.

After this it was deemed necessary to
 distribute the troops again to quarters in the houses of the several
 villages. Then followed plenty of joyful shouting as the men went
 back to their houses and provisions, and all those who just before
 had wantonly burned the houses they were leaving, paid the penalty
 by getting poor quarters.

After this they sent Democrates of Temnus with a body of troops
 during the night to the mountains where the stragglers said they had
 seen the fires; for this Democrates enjoyed the reputation of having
 made accurate reports in many previous cases of the same sort,
 describing what were facts as facts and what were fictions as
 fictions.

Upon his return he stated that he had not seen the fires; he had
 captured, however, and brought back with him a man with a Persian
 bow and quiver and a battleaxe of the same sort that Amazons
 carry.

When this man was asked from what country he came, he said he was a
 Persian and was on his way from the camp of Tiribazus to get
 provisions. They asked him how large Tiribazus’ army was and for
 what purpose it had been gathered.

He replied that it was Tiribazus with his own forces and Chalybian
 and Taochian mercenaries, and that he had made his preparations with
 the idea of taking a position upon the mountain pass, in the defile
 through which ran the only road, and there attacking the Greeks.

When the generals heard these
 statements, they resolved to bring the troops together into a camp;
 then, after leaving a garrison and Sophaenetus the Stymphalian as
 general in command of those who stayed behind, they set out at once,
 with the captured man as guide.

As soon as they had begun to cross the mountains, the peltasts,
 pushing on ahead and descrying the enemy’s camp, did not wait for
 the hoplites, but raised a shout and charged upon the camp.

When the barbarians heard the uproar, they did not wait to offer
 resistance, but took to flight; nevertheless, some of them were
 killed, about twenty horses were captured, and likewise Tiribazus’
 tent, with silver-footed couches in it, and drinking cups, and
 people who said they were his bakers and his cup-bearers.

As soon as the generals of the hoplites learned of these results,
 they deemed it best to go back as speedily as possible to their own
 camp, lest some attack might be made upon those they had left
 behind. So they immediately sounded the recall with the trumpet and
 set out on the return journey, arriving at their camp on the same
 day.

On the next day it seemed that they
 must continue their march with all speed, before the hostile army
 could be gathered together again and take possession of the narrow
 passes. They accordingly packed up and set out at once, marching
 through deep snow with a large number of guides; and before the day
 ended they crossed over the summit at which Tiribazus was intending
 to attack them and went into camp.

From there they marched three stages through desert country, fifteen
 parasangs, to the Euphrates river, and crossed it, wetting
 themselves up to the navel;

and report was that the sources of the river were not far
 distant. From there they marched
 over a plain and through deep snow three stages, thirteen parasangs.
 The third stage proved a hard one, with the north wind, which blew
 full in their faces, absolutely blasting everything and freezing the
 men.

Then it was that one of the soothsayers bade them offer sacrifice to
 the wind, and sacrifice was offered; and it seemed quite clear to
 everybody that the violence of the wind abated. But the depth of the
 snow was a fathom, so that many of the baggage animals and slaves
 perished, and about thirty of the soldiers.

They got through that night by keeping up fires, for there was wood
 in abundance at the halting-place; those who came up late, however,
 had none, and consequently the men who had arrived early and were
 keeping a fire would not allow the late comers to get near it unless
 they gave them a share of their wheat or anything else they had that
 was edible.

So then they shared with one another what they severally possessed.
 Now where the fire was kindled the snow melted, and the result was
 great holes clear down to the ground; and there, of course, one
 could measure the depth of the snow.

From there they marched all the
 following day through snow, and many of the men fell ill with
 hunger-faintness. And Xenophon, with the rear-guard, as he came upon
 the men who were falling by the way, did not know what the trouble
 was.

But as soon as a person who was acquainted with the disease had told
 him that they manifestly had hunger-faintness, and if they were
 given something to eat would be able to get up, he went around among
 the baggage animals, and wherever he saw anything that was edible,
 he would distribute it among the sick men, or send hither and
 thither people who had the strength to run along the lines, to give
 it to them.

And when they had eaten something, they would get up and continue the
 march. As the army went on,
 Cheirisophus reached a village about dusk, and found at the spring
 outside the wall women and girls who had come from the village to
 fetch water.

They asked the Greeks who they were, and the interpreter replied in
 Persian that they were on their way from the King to the satrap. The
 women answered that he was not there, but about a parasang away.
 Then, inasmuch as it was late, the Greeks accompanied the
 water-carriers within the wall to visit the village chief.

So it was that Cheirisophus and all the troops who could muster
 strength enough to reach the village, went into quarters there, but
 such of the others as were unable to complete the journey spent the
 night in the open without food or fire; and in this way some of the
 soldiers perished.

Meanwhile they were being followed by
 the enemy, some of whom had banded together and were seizing such of
 the pack animals as lacked the strength to go on, and fighting over
 them with one another. Some of the soldiers likewise were falling
 behind—those whose eyes had been blinded by the snow, or whose toes
 had rotted off by reason of the cold.

It was a protection to the eyes against the snow if a man marched
 with something black in front of them, and a protection to the feet
 if one kept moving and never quiet, and if he took off his shoes for
 the night;

but in all cases where men slept with their shoes on, the straps sunk
 into their flesh and the shoes froze on their feet; for what they
 were wearing, since their old shoes had given out, were brogues made
 of freshly flayed ox-hides.

It was under compulsion of such
 difficulties that some of the soldiers were falling behind; and
 espying a spot that was dark because the snow just there had
 disappeared, they surmised that it had melted; and in fact it had
 melted, on account of a spring which was near by, steaming in a
 dell; here they turned aside and sat down, refusing to go any
 farther.

But when Xenophon with some of the rearguard observed them, he begged
 them by all manner of means not to be left behind, telling them that
 a large body of the enemy had gathered and were pursuing, and
 finally he became angry. They told him, however, to kill them, for
 they could not go on.

In this situation it seemed to be best to frighten the pursuing
 enemy, if they could, in order to prevent their falling upon the
 sick men. It was dark by this time, and the enemy were coming on
 with a great uproar, quarrelling over the booty they had.

Then the men of the rearguard, since they were sound and well,
 started up and charged upon the enemy, while the invalids raised as
 big a shout as they could and clashed their shields against their
 spears. And the enemy, seized with fear, threw themselves down over
 the snow into the dell, and not a sound was heard from them
 afterwards.

Thereupon Xenophon and his men, after
 telling the invalids that on the next day people would come back
 after them, continued their march, but before they had gone four
 stadia they came upon their comrades lying down in the road upon the
 snow, wrapped up in their cloaks, and without so much as a single
 guard posted. They tried to get them up, but the men said that the
 troops in front would not make way for them.

Xenophon accordingly passed along and, sending forward the strongest
 of the peltasts, directed them to see what the hindrance was. They
 reported back that the whole army was resting in this way.

Thereupon Xenophon also and his party bivouacked where they were,
 without a fire and without dinner, after stationing such guards as
 they could. When it came toward morning, Xenophon sent the youngest
 of his troops to the sick men with orders to make them get up and
 force them to proceed.

Meanwhile Cheirisophus sent some of
 the troops quartered in the village to find out how the people at
 the rear were faring. Xenophon’s party were glad enough to see them,
 and turned over the invalids to them to carry on to the camp, while
 they themselves continued their journey, and before completing
 twenty stadia reached the village where Cheirisophus was
 quartered.

When all had come together, the generals decided that it was safe for
 the different divisions of the army to take up quarters in the
 several villages. Cheirisophus accordingly remained where he was,
 while the other generals distributed by lot the villages within
 sight, and all set off with their respective commands.

Then it was that Polycrates, an Athenian captain, asked to be
 detached from his division; and with an active group of men he ran
 to the village which had fallen to Xenophon’s lot and there took
 possession of all the villagers, the village chief included,
 seventeen colts which were being reared for tribute to the King, and
 the village chief’s daughter, who had been married eight days
 before; her husband, however, was off hunting hares, and was not
 taken in the village.

The houses here were underground, with
 a mouth like that of a well, but spacious below; and while entrances
 were tunnelled down for the beasts of burden, the human inhabitants
 descended by a ladder. In the houses were goats, sheep, cattle, fowls,
 and their young; and all the animals were reared and took their
 fodder there in the houses.

Here were also wheat, barley, and beans, and barleywine in large
 bowls. Floating on the top of this drink were the barley-grains and
 in it were straws, some larger and others smaller, without
 joints;

and when one was thirsty, he had to take these straws into his mouth
 and suck. It was an extremely strong drink unless one diluted it
 with water, and extremely good when one was used to it.

Xenophon made the chief man of this
 village his guest at dinner and bade him be of good cheer, telling
 him that he should not be deprived of his children, and that before
 they went away they would fill his house with provisions by way of
 reward in case he should prove to have given the army good guidance
 until they should reach another tribe.

He promised to do this, and in a spirit of kindliness told them where
 there was wine buried. For that night, then, all Xenophon’s
 soldiers, in this village where they were thus separately quartered,
 went to bed amid an abundance of everything, keeping the village
 chief under guard and his children all together within sight.

On the next day Xenophon took the
 village chief and set out to visit Cheirisophus; whenever he passed
 a village, he would turn aside to visit the troops quartered there,
 and everywhere he found them faring sumptuously and in fine spirits;
 there was no place from which the men would let them go until they
 had served them a luncheon,

and no place where they did not serve on the same table lamb, kid,
 pork, veal, and poultry, together with many loaves of bread, some of
 wheat and some of barley.

And whenever a man wanted out of good fellowship to drink another’s
 health, he would draw him to the bowl, and then one had to stoop
 over and drink from it, sucking like an ox. To the village chief
 they offered the privilege of taking whatever he wanted. He declined
 for the most part to accept anything, but whenever he caught sight
 of one of his kinsmen, he would always take the man to his side.

Again, when they reached Cheirisophus, they found his troops also
 feasting in their quarters, crowned with wreaths of hay and served
 by Armenian boys in their strange, foreign dress; and they were
 showing the boys what to do by signs, as if they were deaf and
 dumb.

As soon as Cheirisophus and Xenophon
 had exchanged warm greetings, they together asked the village chief,
 through their Persian-speaking interpreter, what this land was. He
 replied that it was Armenia. They asked him again for whom the
 horses were being reared. He answered, as tribute for the King; and
 he said that the neighbouring country was that of the Chalybians,
 and told them where the road was.

Then Xenophon took the village chief back for the time to his own
 household, and gave him a horse that he had got when it was rather
 old, to fatten up and sacrifice, for he understood that it was
 sacred to the Sun-god. He did this out of fear that the horse might
 die, for it had been injured by the journey; and he took for himself
 one of the colts and gave his captains also a colt apiece.

The horses of this region were smaller than the Persian horses, but
 very much more spirited. It was here also that the village chief
 instructed them about wrapping small bags round the feet of their
 horses and beasts of burden when they were going through the snow;
 for without these bags the animals would sink in up to their
 bellies.

When seven days had passed, Xenophon
 gave over the village chief to Cheirisophus to act as guide, leaving
 his family behind with the exception of his son, who was just coming
 into the prime of youth; this son he gave into the keeping of
 Pleisthenes of Amphipolis , in order that the father, if he should
 serve them well as guide, might take him also back with him. Then,
 after putting into his house as large a quantity of supplies as they
 could, 
 they broke camp and set out upon the march.

The village chief, who was not bound, guided their way through the snow; but
 by the time they were on the third stage Cheirisophus got angry with
 him for not leading them to villages. He replied that there were
 none in this region.

Then Cheirisophus struck him, but neglected to bind him. The result
 was that he stole away during the night, leaving his son behind. And
 this was the only cause of difference between Cheirisophus and
 Xenophon during the course of the march, this ill-treatment of the
 guide and carelessness in not guarding him. Pleisthenes, however,
 fell in love with the boy, took him home with him, and found him
 absolutely faithful.

After this they marched seven stages
 at the rate of five parasangs a day to the Phasis river, which was a
 plethrum in width.

From there they marched two stages, ten parasangs; and on the pass
 leading over to the plain they encountered a body of Chalybians,
 Taochians, and Phasians.

As soon as Cheirisophus caught sight of the enemy on the pass, he
 halted, while still at a distance of about thirty stadia, in order
 not to get near the enemy while his troops were marching in column;
 and he gave orders to the other officers also to move along their
 companies so as to bring the army into line of battle.

When the rearguard had come up, he called generals and captains
 together and spoke as follows: The enemy, as you
 see, are in possession of the pass over the mountain, and it is
 time for us to take counsel as to how we can best make our
 fight.

My own view is, that we should give
 orders to the soldiers to get their breakfast while we ourselves
 consider whether it is best to attempt to cross over the
 mountain today or to-morrow.

My opinion is, said Cleanor, that as soon as we have breakfasted, we should arm
 ourselves and advance upon these men with all the strength we
 have. For if we waste this day, not only will the enemy who are
 now looking at us become bolder, but others, in greater numbers,
 when these are once emboldened, are likely to join
 them.

After Cleanor had spoken, Xenophon
 said: And I think this way: if it is necessary
 for us to fight, our preparation should have this end in view,
 to make the strongest possible fight; but if we wish to effect a
 passage in the easiest way we can, then, in my opinion, our
 consideration should be on this point, how we may sustain the
 fewest wounds and sacrifice the fewest lives.

Now this mountain—or the part of it
 that we see—extends over more than sixty stadia, but as for men
 to guard it against us, none are to be seen anywhere except on
 the road above; it is far better, therefore, to turn to the
 unoccupied part of the mountain and try either to steal a
 position by eluding the enemy’s observation or to seize it by
 getting ahead of them, in whatever way we can, rather than to
 fight against strong places and men prepared.

For it is far easier to march uphill
 without fighting than over level ground with enemies on this
 side and that; one can see what is in front of him more easily
 by night if he is not fighting than by day if he is fighting;
 and the rough road is more comfortable to men who are going over
 it without fighting than the smooth road to men who are being
 pelted on the head.

And as for stealing a position, that
 does not seem to me impossible, for we can go during the night
 so as not to be seen, and we can get far enough away from the
 enemy so as not to be heard. I do think, however, that if we
 should make a feint of attacking here, we should find the rest
 of the mountain all the more deserted, for the enemy would be
 more likely to remain in a body where they are.

But why should I be the man to make
 suggestions about stealing? For, as I hear, Cheirisophus, you
 Lacedaemonians, at least those among you who belong to the
 peers, practise stealing even from
 childhood, and count it not disgraceful but honourable to steal
 anything that the law does not prevent you from
 taking.

And in order that you may steal with
 all possible skill and may try not to be caught at it, it is the
 law of your land that, if you are caught stealing, you are
 flogged. Now, therefore, is just the time for you to display
 your training, and to take care that we do not get caught
 stealing any of the mountain, so that we shall not get a
 beating.

Well, for all that, said Cheirisophus,
 I hear on my side that you Athenians are
 terribly clever at stealing the public funds, even though it is
 terribly dangerous for the stealer, and, in fact, that your best
 people do it most, at least if they really are your best who are
 deemed worthy to rule; hence it is time for you also to be
 displaying your training.

Well, said Xenophon, I am ready to set out with the rearguard, as soon as we have
 dined, to seize possession of the mountain. And I have guides,
 too; for the light troops set an ambush and captured some of the
 stealing rascals who are following us. From these fellows I also
 learn that the mountain is not impassable, but is pastured with
 goats and cattle; therefore if we once get possession of any
 part of the mountain, our pack animals also will find it
 passable.

And I hope that the enemy will
 remove themselves from our way as soon as they see us on a level
 with them upon the heights; for they are not willing now to come
 down and meet us on our level.

Then Cheirisophus said: But why should you be the
 one to go, and leave your post with the rearguard? Send others
 rather, unless some good men offer themselves as
 volunteers.

At that, Aristonymus of Methydrium , commanding hoplites, came forward, and
 Aristeas the Chian with light troops, and Nicomachus the Oetaean
 with light troops; and they made an agreement that as soon as they
 were in possession of the heights, they would kindle a number of
 fires.

This agreement concluded, they proceeded to take breakfast; and
 immediately after breakfast Cheirisophus led the whole army forward
 about ten stadia toward the enemy, in order to make them quite
 certain that he was going to advance upon them by this road.

After they had had dinner and night
 had come on, the men appointed to the task set forward and gained
 possession of the mountain, while the remainder of the troops rested
 where they were. And when the enemy perceived that the mountain was
 occupied, they staid stayed awake and kept many fires burning through the
 night.

As soon as day came Cheirisophus offered sacrifice and led the army
 forward along the road, while the party that had seized the
 mountain, advanced along the heights.

As for the enemy, the majority remained at the pass over the
 mountain, but a part of them went to meet the detachment on the
 heights. Now before the two main bodies got near one another, those
 upon the heights came to close combat, and the Greeks were
 victorious and began their pursuit.

Meanwhile the main body of the Greeks was moving upward from the
 plain, the peltasts charging at a run upon the enemy’s battleline
 and Cheirisophus following at a quick-step with the hoplites.

But the enemy on the road no sooner saw their detachment on the
 heights being defeated than they took to flight; and while not many
 of them were killed, a great number of wicker shields were captured,
 which the Greeks rendered useless by slashing them with their
 sabres.

When they had climbed to the top of the pass, after offering
 sacrifice and setting up a trophy they descended into the plain on
 the farther side, and reached villages full of many good things.

After this they marched into the
 country of the Taochians five stages, thirty parasangs; and their
 provisions were running low, for the Taochians dwelt in strongholds,
 and in these strongholds they kept all their provisions stored
 away.

Now when the Greeks arrived at one of them which contained no town
 nor houses, but was only a place where men and women and a great
 number of cattle were gathered, Cheirisophus proceeded to attack
 this stronghold as soon as he reached it; and when his first
 battalion grew weary, another advanced to the attack, and yet
 another; for it was not possible for them to surround the place in
 continuous line, because its sides were precipitous.

The moment Xenophon came up with the
 rearguard, consisting of both peltasts and hoplites, Cheirisophus
 said to him: You have come in the nick of time;
 for the place must be captured; for the army has no provisions
 unless we capture this place.

Then they took counsel together, and when Xenophon asked what it was
 that prevented their effecting an entrance, Cheirisophus replied:
 There is this one way of approach which you
 see, but when one tries to go along by this way, they roll down
 stones from this overhanging rock; and whoever gets caught, is
 served in this fashion —and with the words he pointed out
 men with their legs and ribs crushed.

But suppose they use up their stones, 
 said Xenophon, there is nothing then, is there,
 to hinder one’s passing? For surely there is nothing we can see
 on the other side except a few men yonder, and only two or three
 of them are armed.

Furthermore, as you can see for
 yourself, the distance we must traverse under attack is about a
 plethrum and a half. Now as much as a plethrum of that distance
 is covered with tall, scattered pine trees, and if men should
 stand behind them, what harm could they suffer either from the
 flying stones or the rolling ones? The remaining space, then,
 amounts to about half a plethrum, and that we must cross on the
 run at a moment when the stones stop coming.

But, said Cheirisophus, the very moment we begin to push out toward the
 trees, the stones fly in quantities. 
 Precisely the thing we want, said
 Xenophon, for they will use up their stones the
 sooner. But let us make our way to a spot from which we shall
 have only a short distance to run across, in case we can do
 that, and an easy retreat, in case we choose to come
 back.

Thereupon Cheirisophus and Xenophon
 set forth, and with them Callimachus of Parrhasia , a captain; for he was the officer of the
 day in command of the captains of the rearguard; and the other
 captains remained in a place of safety. Following this lead about
 seventy men got out under shelter of the trees, not all together,
 but one by one, each protecting himself as best he could.

But Agasias of Stymphalus and Aristonymus of Methydrium, who were
 likewise captains of the rearguard, and others also, took places
 outside the cover of the trees, for not more than the one
 company could stand among them with safety.

At that moment Callimachus hit upon a scheme: he would run forward
 two or three steps from the particular tree he was under and, when
 the stones began to fly, would draw back without any trouble; and at
 every one of his dashes more than ten cart-loads of stones would be
 used up.

But when Agasias saw what Callimachus was doing, with the whole army
 for spectators, he became fearful that the other would be the first
 to make the run across to the stronghold; so without asking
 Aristonymus or Eurylochus of Lusi (though the former was close by and both were
 his friends) or any one else to join him, he dashed forward himself
 and proceeded to go past everybody.

Callimachus, however, when he saw him going by, seized the rim of his
 shield; and at that moment Aristonymus of Methydrium ran past both of
 them, and upon his heels Eurylochus of Lusi . For all these four were rivals in valour and
 continually striving with one another; and in thus contending they
 captured the stronghold, for once they had rushed in not a stone
 came down from above.

Then came a dreadful spectacle: the
 women threw their little children down from the rocks and then threw
 themselves down after them, and the men did likewise. In the midst
 of this scene Aeneas of Stymphalus, a captain, catching sight of a
 man, who was wearing a fine robe, running to cast himself down,
 seized hold of him in order to stop him;

but the man dragged Aeneas along after him, and both went flying down
 the cliffs and were killed. In this stronghold only a very few human
 beings were captured, but they secured cattle and asses in large
 numbers and sheep.

From there they marched through the
 land of the Chalybians seven stages, fifty parasangs. These were the
 most valiant of all the peoples they passed through, and would come
 to hand-to-hand encounter. They had corselets of linen reaching down
 to the groin, with a thick fringe of plaited cords instead of
 flaps.

They had greaves also and helmets, and at the girdle a knife about as
 long as a Laconian dagger, with which they would slaughter whomever
 they might be able to vanquish; then they would cut off their heads
 and carry them along on their march, and they would sing and dance
 whenever they were likely to be seen by the enemy. They carried also
 a spear about five cubits long, with a point at only one end.

These people would stay within their towns, and when the Greeks had
 passed by, they would follow them, always ready to fight. Their
 dwellings were in strongholds, and therein they had stored away all
 their provisions; hence the Greeks could get nothing in this
 country, but they subsisted on the cattle they had taken from the
 Taochians.

Leaving this land, the Greeks arrived at the Harpasus river, which
 was four plethra in width. From there they marched through the
 territory of the Scythinians four stages, twenty parasangs, over a
 level plain, and they arrived at some villages, and there remained
 for three days and collected provisions.

From there they journeyed four stages,
 twenty parasangs, to a large and prosperous inhabited city which was
 called Gymnias. From this city the ruler of the land sent the Greeks
 a guide, in order to lead them through territory that was hostile to
 his own.

When the guide came, he said that he would lead them within five days
 to a place from which they could see the sea; if he failed to do so, he
 was ready to accept death. Thus taking the lead, as soon as he had
 brought them into the hostile territory, he kept urging them to
 spread abroad fire and ruin, thereby making it clear that it was
 with this end in view that he had come, and not out of good-will
 toward the Greeks.

On the fifth day they did in fact reach the mountain; its name was Theches. Now as soon as the
 vanguard got to the top of the mountain, a great shout went up.

And when Xenophon and the rearguard heard it, they imagined that
 other enemies were attacking in front; for enemies were following
 behind them from the district that was in flames, and the rearguard
 had killed some of them and captured others by setting an ambush,
 and had also taken about twenty wicker shields covered with raw,
 shaggy ox-hides.

But as the shout kept getting louder and nearer, as the successive
 ranks that came up all began to run at full speed toward the ranks
 ahead that were one after another joining in the shout, and as the
 shout kept growing far louder as the number of men grew steadily
 greater, it became quite clear to Xenophon that here was something
 of unusual importance;

so he mounted a horse, took with him Lycius and the cavalry, and
 pushed ahead to lend aid; and in a moment they heard the soldiers
 shouting, The Sea! The Sea! and passing
 the word along. Then all the troops of the rearguard likewise broke
 into a run, and the pack animals began racing ahead and the
 horses.

And when all had reached the summit, then indeed they fell to
 embracing one another, and generals and captains as well, with tears
 in their eyes. And on a sudden, at the bidding of some one or other,
 the soldiers began to bring stones and to build a great cairn.

Thereon they placed as offerings a quantity of raw ox-hides and
 walking-sticks and the captured wicker shields; and the guide not
 only cut these shields to pieces himself, but urged the others to do
 so.

After this the Greeks dismissed the guide with gifts from the common
 stock—a horse, a silver cup, a Persian dress, and ten darics; but
 what he particularly asked the men for was their rings, and he got a
 considerable number of them. Then he showed them a village to encamp
 in and the road they were to follow to the country of the
 Macronians, and, as soon as evening came, took his departure.

From there the Greeks marched through
 the country of the Macronians three stages, ten parasangs. On the
 first of these days they reached the river which separated the
 territory of the Macronians from that of the Scythinians.

There they had on the right, above them, an exceedingly difficult bit
 of ground, and on the left another river, into which the boundary
 stream that they had to cross emptied. Now this stream was fringed
 with trees, not large ones, but of thick growth, and when the Greeks
 came up, they began felling them in their haste to get out of the
 place as speedily as possible.

But the Macronians, armed with wicker shields and lances and hair
 tunics, were drawn up in line of battle opposite the place where the
 Greeks must cross, and they were cheering one another on and
 throwing stones, which fell into the stream; for they never reached
 the Greeks or did them any harm.

At this moment one of the peltasts
 came up to Xenophon, a man who said that he had been a slave at
 Athens , with word
 that he knew the language of these people; I
 think, he went on, that this is my
 native country, and if there is nothing to hinder, I should like
 to have a talk with them.

Well, there is nothing to hinder, said
 Xenophon; so talk with them, and learn, to begin
 with, who they are. In reply to his inquiry they said,
 Macronians. 
 Well, then, said Xenophon, ask them why they are arrayed against us and want
 to be our enemies.

They replied, Because you are coming against our
 land. The generals directed the man to say, We have not come to do you any harm whatever, but
 we have been at war with the King and are on our way back to
 Greece , and we want
 to reach the sea.

The Macronians asked whether they would give pledges to this effect.
 They replied that they were ready both to give and to receive
 pledges. Thereupon the Macronians gave the Greeks a barbarian lance
 and the Greeks gave them a Greek lance, for the Macronians said that
 these were pledges; and both sides called the gods to witness.

After this exchange of pledges the
 Macronians at once began to help the Greeks cut down the trees and
 to build the road in order to get them across, mingling freely with
 the Greeks; and they supplied as good a market as they could, and conducted the
 Greeks on their way for three days, until they brought them to the
 boundaries of the Colchians.

At this place was a great mountain, and upon this mountain the
 Colchians were drawn up in line of battle. At first the Greeks
 formed an opposing line of battle, with the intention of advancing
 in this way upon the mountain, but afterwards the generals decided
 to gather together and take counsel as to how they could best make
 the contest.

Xenophon accordingly said that in his
 opinion they should give up the line of battle and form the
 companies in column. 
 For the line, he continued, will be broken up at once; for we shall find the
 mountain hard to traverse at some points and easy at others; and
 the immediate result will be discouragement, when men who are
 formed in line of battle see the line broken up.

Furthermore, if we advance upon them
 formed in a line many ranks deep, the enemy will outflank us,
 and will use their outflanking wing for whatever purpose they
 please; on the other hand, if we are formed in a line a few
 ranks deep, it would be nothing surprising if our line should be
 cut through by a multitude both of missiles and men falling upon
 us in a mass; and if this happens at any point, it will be bad
 for the whole line.

But it seems to me we should form
 the companies in column and, by leaving spaces between them,
 cover enough ground so that the outermost companies should get
 beyond the enemy’s wings; in this way not only shall we outflank
 the enemy’s line, but advancing in column our best men will be
 in the van of the attack, and wherever it is good going, there
 each captain will lead forward his men.

And it will not be easy for the
 enemy to push into the space between the columns when there are
 companies on this side and that, and not any easier for him to
 cut through a company that is advancing in column. Again, if any
 one of the companies is hard pressed, its neighbour will come to
 its aid; and if one single company can somehow climb to the
 summit, not a man of the enemy will stand any longer.

This plan was decided upon, and they
 proceeded to form the companies in column. And as Xenophon was going
 back from the right wing to the left, he said to the troops: Soldiers, these men yonder whom you see are the only ones who
 still stand in the way of our being forthwith at the place we
 have long been striving to reach; if we possibly can, we must
 simply eat these fellows raw.

When the officers had got to their
 several positions and had formed their companies in column, the
 result was about eighty companies of hoplites with each company
 numbering close upon one hundred; the peltasts and the bowmen, on the other hand,
 they formed in three divisions, one beyond the left wing of the
 hoplites, the second beyond the right, and the third in the centre,
 each division numbering about six hundred men.

After this the generals passed along the order to offer prayer, and
 when they had prayed and sung the paean they set forth. Now
 Cheirisophus and Xenophon 
 and the peltasts with them got beyond the wings of the enemy’s line
 in their advance;

and when the enemy saw this, they ran out, some to the right and
 others to the left, to confront them, with the result that their
 line was pulled apart and a large portion of it in the centre was
 left deserted.

Then the peltasts of the Arcadian division, who were commanded by
 Aeschines the Acarnanian, getting the idea that the enemy were in
 flight, set up a shout and began to run; and they were the first to
 reach the summit of the mountain, while following close after them
 came the Arcadian division of hoplites, under the command of Cleanor
 of Orchomenus .

As for the enemy, once the peltasts began to run they no longer stood
 their ground, but betook themselves hither and thither in
 flight. After accomplishing the
 ascent the Greeks took up quarters in numerous villages, which
 contained provisions in abundance.

Now for the most part there was nothing here which they really found
 strange; but the swarms of bees in the neighbourhood were numerous,
 and the soldiers who ate of the honey all went off their heads, and
 suffered from vomiting and diarrhoea, and not one of them could
 stand up, but those who had eaten a little were like people
 exceedingly drunk, while those who had eaten a great deal seemed
 like crazy, or even, in some cases, dying men.

So they lay there in great numbers as though the army had suffered a
 defeat, and great despondency prevailed. On the next day, however,
 no one had died, and at approximately the same hour as they had
 eaten the honey they began to come to their senses; and on the third
 or fourth day they got up, as if from a drugging.

From there they marched two stages,
 seven parasangs, and reached the sea at Trapezus , an
 inhabited Greek city on the Euxine
 Sea , a colony of the Sinopeans in the territory of
 Colchis . There they
 remained about thirty days in the villages of the Colchians, and
 from these as a base plundered Colchis .

And the Trapezuntians supplied a market for the army, received the
 Greeks kindly, and gave them oxen, barley-meal, and wine as gifts of
 hospitality.

They likewise took part in negotiations with the Greeks in behalf of
 the near-by Colchians, who dwelt for the most part on the plain, and
 from these people also the Greeks received hospitable gifts of
 oxen.

After this they made ready the
 sacrifice which they had vowed; 
 and a sufficient number of oxen had come to them so that they could
 pay their thank-offerings to Zeus for deliverance, to Heracles for
 guidance, and to the other gods according as they had vowed. They
 instituted also athletic games on the mountain side, just where they
 were encamped; and they chose Dracontius, a Spartan, who had been
 exiled from home as a boy because he had accidentally killed another
 boy with the stroke of a dagger, to look out for a race-course and
 to act as manager of the games.

When, accordingly, the sacrifice had been completed, they turned over
 the hides to Dracontius and bade him lead the way to
 the place he had fixed upon for his race-course. He pointed out the
 precise spot where they chanced to be standing, and said, This hill is superb for running, wherever you
 please. 
 How, then, they said, can men wrestle on ground so hard and overgrown as this
 is? And he replied, The one that is
 thrown will get hurt a bit more.

The events were, a stadium race for boys, most of them belonging to
 the captives, a long race, in which more than
 sixty Cretans took part, wrestling, boxing, and the pancratium; and it made a fine spectacle; for there were a
 great many entries and, inasmuch as the comrades of the contestants
 were looking on, there was a great deal of rivalry.

There were horseraces also, and the riders had to drive their horses
 down the steep slope, turn them around on the shore, and bring them
 back again to the altar. And on the way down most of
 the horses rolled over and over, while on the way up, against the
 exceedingly steep incline, they found it hard to keep on at a walk;
 so there was much shouting and laughter and cheering.

[The preceding narrative has described all that
 the Greeks did on their upward march with Cyrus 
 and on their journey to the shore of the Euxine Sea , how they arrived at
 the Greek city of Trapezus , and how they paid the thankofferings for
 deliverance which they had vowed to sacrifice at the place where
 they should first reach a friendly land.]

After this they gathered together and
 proceeded to take counsel in regard to the remainder of their
 journey; and the first man to get up was Leon of Thurii, who spoke
 as follows: Well, I, for my part,
 gentlemen, he said, am tired by this
 time of packing up and walking and running and carrying my arms
 and being in line and standing guard and fighting, and what I
 long for now is to be rid of these toils, since we have the sea,
 and to sail the rest of the way, and so reach Greece stretched out on my
 back, like Odysseus.

Upon hearing these words the soldiers shouted out that he was quite
 right; and another man said the same thing, and in fact all who rose
 to speak. Then Cheirisophus got up and spoke as follows:

I have a friend Anaxibius, gentlemen, and he
 happens also to be Admiral. So if you will send me to him, I presume I can
 bring back with me ships of war and merchant vessels to carry
 us; for yourselves, if you really wish to go by sea, wait until
 I return; and I shall return speedily. When they heard
 this, the soldiers were delighted, and voted that Cheirisophus
 should set sail with all speed.

After him Xenophon rose and spoke as
 follows: Cheirisophus, then, is setting off
 after ships, and we are to stay here; I am going to speak,
 therefore, of all the things that it seems to me proper for us
 to be doing while we wait.

In the first place, we must obtain
 provisions from hostile territory, for we neither have an
 adequate market, nor have we, with some few exceptions, the
 means wherewith to buy; but the territory is hostile, and hence
 there is danger that many of you will perish if you set out
 after provisions carelessly and unguardedly.

Rather, it seems to me that you
 ought to get your provisions in foraging parties and not roam
 about at random, in order that you may be kept safe, and that we
 generals ought to have charge of this matter. This
 proposal was adopted.

Listen, then, to this further point. Some of you
 are to journey forth after plunder. Now I think it is best for
 the man who is going out to inform us of the fact and to tell us
 also whither he is going, in order that we may know the number
 of men who are going out and the number who are staying behind;
 then we can help, if need be, in making preparations, and if
 there be occasion to go to any one’s assistance, we shall know
 whither we are to go with such assistance, and if a man who is
 without experience is making an attempt in any quarter, we can
 advise him by trying to ascertain the strength of those against
 whom he may be going. This proposal also was adopted.

Then, he said, consider this matter also. Our enemies have leisure for
 plundering and they are plotting against us—quite properly,
 seeing that we have appropriated what was theirs; and they are
 posted up above us. So it seems to me that we ought to have
 guards around our camp; supposing, then, that we take turns in
 standing guard and keeping watch, the enemy would be less able
 to harry us.

Here
 is still another point to note. If we knew beyond doubt that
 Cheirisophus would bring back with him an adequate number of
 ships, there would be no need of what I am about to say; but
 since in fact that is uncertain, I think we should try to do our
 part by procuring ships here also. For if he does bring enough,
 then with those at hand here we shall have a more abundant
 supply to sail in, while if he does not, we shall use those
 which we have here.

Now I see ships sailing past
 frequently, and if we can get the Trapezuntians to give us
 men-of-war and so bring these ships into port and keep them
 under guard, unshipping their rudders meanwhile, until we get
 enough to carry us, perhaps we should not lack such means of
 transport as we need. This proposal also was adopted.

Again, he said, do
 you not think it reasonable that we should maintain from our
 common fund the sailors we thus bring into port for as long a
 time as they may be waiting for our sakes, and that we should
 agree upon a price for our passage, so that in conferring a
 benefit upon us they may also benefit themselves? This
 proposal also was adopted.

Now it seems to me, he continued, 
 that if perchance this plan also shall fail
 to provide us with enough ships, we must turn to the roads,
 which we hear are difficult to travel, and direct the cities
 that are situated along the sea to repair them; for they
 will obey, not only from fear, but also from the desire to
 be rid of us.

At this the soldiers set up a shout,
 saying that they did not want to go by land. And Xenophon, realizing
 their foolishness, did not put any proposal regarding this matter to
 vote, but persuaded the cities to repair the roads voluntarily,
 urging that they would be rid of the army the more quickly if the
 roads should be made easy to travel.

Furthermore, they got a fifty-oared warship from the Trapezuntians,
 and put it under the command of Dexippus, a Laconian perioecus. This fellow, however, paying no heed to the
 duty of collecting vessels, slipped away with his man-of-war and
 left the Euxine. He did indeed get his deserts afterwards; for while
 engaged in some intrigue at the court of Seuthes in Thrace he was killed by Nicander
 the Laconian.

They also got a thirty-oared galley, and put it under the command of
 Polycrates the Athenian, who brought in to the camp all the merchant
 vessels that he captured. And they would unload the cargoes, in case
 the ships had any, and put them under guard, in order to keep these
 safe and to use the vessels themselves for transport service.

While these things were going on, the Greeks were making forays in
 quest of booty, and while some parties would secure it, others did
 not. And in one case, when Cleaenetus led forth his own company and
 another against a difficult stronghold, the commander himself was
 killed and many of his men besides.

The time came when it was no longer
 possible to obtain provisions and return to the camp on the same
 day. Then Xenophon took some Trapezuntians for guides and led forth
 half the army to the country of the Drilae, leaving the other half
 behind to guard the camp—because the Colchians, since they had been
 driven out of their houses, were now gathered together in one great
 body and had taken a position on the heights above the camp.

For the Trapezuntians would not lead the Greeks to districts from
 which provisions could be secured easily, because they were friendly
 to the people of those districts; but they were eager to lead them
 into the territory of the Drilae, at whose hands they were
 continually suffering losses, though their country was mountainous
 and difficult to traverse and its inhabitants the most warlike of
 all that dwell upon the Euxine.

When the Greeks had reached the
 highlands, the Drilae set fire to such of their strongholds as
 seemed to them easy to capture, and fell back; and the Greeks could
 secure nothing except an occasional pig or ox or other animal that
 had escaped the fire. There was one stronghold, however, which was
 their metropolis, and into this they had all streamed. Around it was
 an exceedingly deep ravine, and the approaches to the place were
 difficult.

Now the peltasts, who had run five or six stadia ahead of the
 hoplites, crossed this ravine and, seeing quantities of sheep and
 other property, essayed an attack upon the stronghold; in their
 train there followed a considerable number of spearmen who had set
 out after provisions, so that the party that crossed the ravine
 amounted to more than a thousand men.

But when they found themselves unable with all their fighting to
 capture the place (for there was a wide trench around it, backed by
 a rampart, and upon the rampart palisades had been set and wooden
 towers constructed at frequent intervals), their next move was to
 try to withdraw; and then the enemy pressed hard upon them.

To get away by running proved impossible, inasmuch as the descent
 from the stronghold to the ravine only allowed them to go in single
 file, and they accordingly sent a messenger to Xenophon, who was at
 the head of the hoplites. The messenger came and reported:

There is a stronghold full of all kinds of
 stores. We cannot capture it, for it is strong; and we cannot
 easily get away, for the defenders rush out and attack us, and
 the road that leads back is a difficult one.

Upon hearing this message Xenophon led
 on to the ravine, ordered the hoplites to halt there under arms, and
 himself crossed over with the captains and looked about to see
 whether it was better to withdraw the troops that had already
 crossed, or to lead over the hoplites also, on the presumption that
 the stronghold could be captured.

The withdrawal, it seemed clear, could not be accomplished without
 the loss of many lives, while the capture of the place, in the
 opinion of the captains, was feasible, and Xenophon fell in with
 their opinion, in reliance upon his sacrifices; for the seers had
 declared that while there would be fighting to do, the issue of the
 expedition would be fortunate.

Accordingly he sent the captains to bring over the hoplites, while he
 himself remained on the further side, having drawn back the entire
 body of peltasts and forbidding any one to shoot at long range.

Upon the arrival of the hoplites he ordered each of the captains to
 form his company in the way he thought it would fight most
 effectively; for near one another were the captains who had all the
 time been vieing with one another in valour.

This order they proceeded to carry out, and meanwhile Xenophon passed
 word to all the peltasts to advance with hand on the thong, so that
 they could discharge their javelins when the signal should be given,
 to the bowmen to have their arrows upon the string, ready to shoot
 upon the signal, and to the slingers to have their bags full of
 stones; and he despatched the proper persons to look after all these
 things.

When all preparations had been made
 and the captains, lieutenants, and those among the men who claimed
 to be not inferior to them in bravery were all grouped together in
 the line and, moreover, watching one another (for the
 line was crescent-shaped, to conform with the position they were
 attacking),

then they struck up the paean and the trumpet sounded, and then, at
 the same moment, they raised the war cry to Enyalius, the hoplites
 charged forward on the run, and the missiles began to fly all
 together—spears, arrows, sling-stones, and very many stones thrown
 by hand, while some of the men employed firebrands also.

By reason of the quantity of the missiles the enemy abandoned both
 their ramparts and their towers, so that Agasias the Stymphalian,
 putting aside his arms and clad only in his tunic, climbed up, then
 pulled up another man, and meanwhile another had made the climb, so
 that the capture of the stronghold was accomplished, as it
 seemed.

Thereupon the peltasts and the light
 troops rushed in and proceeded to snatch whatever plunder they
 severally could; but Xenophon, taking his stand at the gates, kept
 out as many as he could of the hoplites, for the reason that other
 enemies were coming into view upon certain strong heights.

After no long interval a shout arose within and men came pouring
 forth in flight, some carrying with them what they had seized, then
 soon a number of men that were wounded; and there was a deal of
 pushing about the gates. When those who were tumbling out were
 questioned, they said that there was a citadel within, that the
 enemy were numerous, and that they had sallied forth and were
 dealing blows upon the men inside.

Then Xenophon ordered Tolmides the herald to proclaim that whoever
 wanted to get any plunder should go in. At that many proceeded to
 rush into the gates, and the crowd that was pushing in overcame the
 crowd that was tumbling out and shut up the enemy again in their
 citadel.

So everything outside the citadel was seized and carried off by the
 Greeks, and the hoplites took up their position, some about the
 ramparts, others along the road leading up to the citadel.

Meanwhile Xenophon and the captains were looking to see whether it
 was possible to capture the citadel, for in that case their safety
 was secured, while otherwise they thought it would be very difficult
 to effect their withdrawal; but the upshot of their consideration
 was, that the place was quite impregnable.

Then they made preparations for the
 withdrawal: they tore down the palisades, each division taking those
 on its own front, and sent off the men who were unfit for service or
 were carrying burdens, and likewise the greater part of the
 hoplites, the captains keeping behind only those troops that they
 each relied upon.

But the moment they began to retire, there rushed out upon them from
 within a great crowd of men armed with wicker shields, spears,
 greaves, and Paphlagonian helmets, while others set about climbing
 to the tops of the houses that were on either side of the road
 leading up to the citadel.

The result was that even a pursuit in the direction of the gates that
 led into the citadel was unsafe; for they would hurl down great logs
 from above, so that it was difficult either to remain or to retire.
 And the approach of night was also a cause for fear.

In the midst of their fighting and
 perplexity some god gave to the Greeks a means of salvation. For of
 a sudden one of the houses on the right, set on fire by somebody or
 other, broke into a blaze; and as it began to fall in, there began a
 general flight from the other houses on the right side of the
 road.

The moment Xenophon grasped this lesson which chance had given him,
 he gave orders to set fire to the houses on the left also, which
 were of wood and so fell to burning very quickly. The result was
 that the people in these houses likewise took to flight.

It was only the enemy in their front who were now left to trouble the
 Greeks and manifestly intended to attack them as they passed out and
 down the hill. At this stage Xenophon sent out orders that all who
 chanced to be out of range of the missiles should set about bringing
 up logs and put them in the open space between their own forces and
 the enemy. As soon as enough logs had been collected, they set fire
 to them; and meanwhile they set fire also to the houses which were
 close along the palisade, so that the enemy’s attention might be
 occupied with these.

It was in this way that they effected, with difficulty, their
 withdrawal from the stronghold, by putting fire between themselves
 and the enemy. And the whole city was burned down, houses, towers,
 palisades, and everything else except the citadel.

On the next day the Greeks were for
 returning to camp with their provisions. But inasmuch as they feared
 the descent to Trapezus (for the way was steep and narrow), they
 laid a sham ambuscade:

a man of Mysia, who likewise bore the name of Mysus, took ten of the Cretans,
 stayed behind in a bit of undergrowth, and pretended to be trying to
 keep out of sight of the enemy; but their shields, which were of
 bronze, would now and then gleam through the bushes.

So the enemy, catching glimpses of these proceedings, were fearful
 that it was an ambuscade; and meanwhile the Greek army was making
 its descent. When it seemed that they had got down far enough, a
 signal was given to the Mysian to flee at the top of his speed, and
 he and his companions arose and took to flight.

The Cretans of the party (finding, as they said, that they were like
 to be overtaken in the running) plunged out of the road into the
 woods, and by tumbling down through the ravines made their
 escape,

but the Mysian held to the road in his flight and kept shouting for
 help; and they did go to his aid, and picked him up wounded. Then
 the rescuers in their turn proceeded to retreat, faces to the front,
 while the enemy kept throwing missiles at them and some of the
 Cretans replied with their arrows. In this way they all reached the
 camp safe and sound.

And now, seeing that Cheirisophus was
 not returned that
 they had not an adequate number of ships, and that it was no longer possible
 to get provisions, they resolved to depart by land. On board the
 ships they embarked the sick, those who were more than forty years
 of age, the women and children, and all the baggage which they did
 not need to keep with them. They put aboard also Philesius and
 Sophaenetus, the eldest of the generals, and bade them take charge
 of the enterprise;

then the rest took up the march, the road having been already
 constructed. 
 And on the third day of their journey they reached Cerasus , a Greek city on the sea,
 being a colony planted by the Sinopeans in the territory of
 Colchis .

There they remained ten days; and the troops were reviewed under arms
 and numbered, and there proved to be eight thousand six hundred
 men. So many were left alive. The rest had perished
 at the hands of the enemy or in the snow, a few also by disease.

There, also, they divided the money
 received from the sale of the booty. And the tithe, which they set
 apart for Apollo and for Artemis of the Ephesians, was distributed
 among the generals, each taking his portion to keep safely for the
 gods; and the portion that fell to Cheirisophus was given to Neon
 the Asinaean.

As for Xenophon, he caused a votive offering to be made out of
 Apollo’s share of his portion and dedicated it in the treasury of
 the Athenians at Delphi ,
 inscribing upon it his own name and that of Proxenus, who was killed
 with Clearchus; for
 Proxenus was his friend.

The share which belonged to Artemis of the Ephesians he left behind,
 at the time when he was returning from Asia with Agesilaus to take part in the campaign
 against Boeotia , in charge of Megabyzus, the
 sacristan of Artemis, for the reason that his own journey seemed
 likely to be a dangerous one; and his instructions were that in case
 he should escape with his life, the money was to be returned to him,
 but in case any ill should befall him, Megabyzus was to cause to be
 made and dedicated to Artemis whatever offering he thought would
 please the goddess.

In the time of Xenophon’s exile and
 while he was living at Scillus, near Olympia , where he had been
 established as a colonist by the Lacedaemonians, Megabyzus came to
 Olympia to attend
 the games and returned to him his deposit. Upon receiving it
 Xenophon bought a plot of ground for the goddess in a place which
 Apollo’s oracle appointed.

As it chanced, there flowed through the plot a river named Selinus ; and at Ephesus likewise a Selinus
 river flows past the temple of Artemis. In both streams, moreover,
 there are fish and mussels, while in the plot at Scillus there is
 hunting of all manner of beasts of the chase.

Here Xenophon built an altar and a temple with the sacred money, and
 from that time forth he would every year take the tithe of the
 products of the land in their season and offer sacrifice to the
 goddess, all the citizens and the men and women of the neighbourhood
 taking part in the festival. And the goddess would provide for the
 banqueters barley meal and loaves of bread, wine and sweetmeats, and
 a portion of the sacrificial victims from the sacred herd as well as
 of the victims taken in the chase.

For Xenophon’s sons and the sons of the other citizens used to have a
 hunting expedition at the time of the festival, and any grown men
 who so wished would join them; and they captured their game partly
 from the sacred precinct itself and partly from Mount Pholoe—boars
 and gazelles and stags.

The place is situated on the road
 which leads from Lacedaemon 
 to Olympia , and is
 about twenty stadia from the temple of Zeus at Olympia . Within the sacred
 precinct there is meadowland and treecovered hills, suited for the
 rearing of swine, goats, cattle and horses, so that even the draught
 animals which bring people to the festival have their feast
 also.

Immediately surrounding the temple is a grove of cultivated trees,
 producing all sorts of dessert fruits in their season. The temple
 itself is like the one at Ephesus , although small as compared with great, and
 the image of the goddess, although cypress wood as compared with
 gold, is like the Ephesian image.

Beside the temple stands a tablet with this inscription: The place is sacred to Artemis. He who holds it
 and enjoys its fruits must offer the tithe every year in
 sacrifice, and from the remainder must keep the temple in
 repair. If any one leaves these things undone, the goddess will
 look to it.

Leaving Cerasus , the people who had thus far been conveyed
 by sea went on
 as before, while the rest continued their journey by land.

When they reached the boundary of the Mossynoecians, they sent to them Timesitheus the
 Trapezuntian, who was official representative of the Mossynoecians
 at Trapezus ,
 and asked whether in marching through their country they were to
 regard it as friendly or hostile. The Mossynoecians replied that
 they would not permit them to pass through;

for they trusted in their strongholds. Then Timesitheus told the
 Greeks that the Mossynoecians who dwelt farther on were hostile to
 these people, and it was decided to summon them and see whether they
 wanted to conclude an alliance; so Timesitheus was sent to them, and
 brought back with him their chiefs.

When they arrived, these chiefs of the Mossynoecians and the generals
 of the Greeks met together;

and Xenophon spoke as follows, Timesitheus acting as interpreter:
 Mossynoecians, we desire to make our way to
 Greece in safety by
 land, for we have no ships; but these people, who, as we hear,
 are your enemies, are trying to block our passage.

If you wish, therefore, it is within
 your power to secure us as allies, to exact vengeance for any
 wrong these people have ever done you, and to make them
 henceforth your subjects.

But if you dismiss us with a
 refusal, where, bethink you, could you ever again secure so
 large a force to help fight your battles?

To these words the chief of the Mossynoecians replied that they
 desired this arrangement and accepted the alliance.

Well, then, said Xenophon, what use will you want to make of us if we become
 your allies, and what assistance will you, in your turn, be able
 to render us in the matter of our passage through this
 territory?

They replied: We are able to invade this land of
 your enemies and ours from the opposite side, and to send to you
 here not only ships, but men who will aid you in the fighting
 and will guide you on your way.

After confirming this agreement by
 giving and receiving pledges they departed. The next day they
 returned, bringing with them three hundred canoes, each made out of
 a single log and each containing three men, two of whom disembarked
 and fell into line under arms, while the third remained in the
 canoe.

Then the second group took their canoes and sailed back again, and
 those who stayed behind marshalled themselves in the following way.
 They took position in lines of about a hundred each, like choral
 dancers ranged opposite one another, all of them with wicker shields
 covered with white, shaggy ox-hide and like an ivy leaf in shape,
 and each man holding in his right hand a lance about six cubits
 long, with a spearhead at one end and a round ball at the butt end of the
 shaft.

They wore short tunics which did not reach their knees and were as
 thick as a linen bag for bedclothes, and upon their heads leathern
 helmets just such as the Paphlagonian helmets, with a tuft in the
 middle very like a tiara in shape; and they had also iron
 battle-axes.

After they had formed their lines one of them led off, and the rest
 after him, every man of them, fell into a rhythmic march and song,
 and passing through the battalions and through the quarters of the
 Greeks they went straight on against the enemy, toward a stronghold
 which seemed to be especially assailable.

It was situated in front of the city which is called by them
 Metropolis and contains the chief citadel of the Mossynoecians. In
 fact, it was for the possession of this citadel that the war was
 going on; for those who at any time held it were deemed to be
 masters of all the other Mossynoecians, and they said that the
 present occupants did not hold it by right, but that it was common
 property and they had seized it in order to gain a selfish
 advantage.

The attacking party was followed by
 some of the Greeks, not under orders from their generals, but
 seeking plunder. As they approached, the enemy for a time kept
 quiet; but when they had got near the stronghold, they sallied forth
 and put them to flight, killing a considerable number of the
 barbarians and some of the Greeks who had gone up the hill with
 them, and pursuing the rest until they saw the Greeks coming to the
 rescue;

then they turned and fell back, and after cutting off the heads of
 the dead men displayed them to the Greeks and to their own enemies,
 at the same time dancing to a kind of strain which they sang.

And the Greeks were exceedingly angry, not only because the enemy had
 been made bolder, but because the Greeks who went to the attack with
 the barbarians had taken to flight, though in very considerable
 numbers—a thing which they had never done before in the course of
 the expedition.

Then Xenophon called the Greeks
 together and said: Fellow-soldiers, do not by
 any means lose heart on account of what has happened; for be
 sure that a good thing also has happened, no less important than
 the evil thing.

In the first place, you know that
 those who are to guide us are really enemies to the people whose
 enemies we also are compelled to be; secondly, and touching our
 own men, those among them who took little thought of the battle
 formation we use and got the idea that they could accomplish the
 same results in company with the barbarians as they could with
 us, have paid the penalty,—another time they will be less likely
 to leave our ordered lines.

But you must make ready to prove to
 our friends among the barbarians that you are better men than
 they, and to show the enemy that they are not going to fight
 against the same sort of men now as the disorderly mass they met
 before.

It was thus that the Greeks spent that
 day; but on the next, after obtaining favourable omens from their
 sacrifices, they took breakfast, formed the companies in column, and
 began the march, with the barbarians in the same formation posted on
 the left, the bowmen distributed in the spaces between the
 companies, and the van of the hoplites a little farther back.

For the enemy had some nimble troops who kept running down the hill
 and pelting the Greeks with stones, and these fellows were held back
 by the bowmen and peltasts. The rest of the Greek army, proceeding
 at a walk, advanced first against the stronghold from which the
 barbarians and those with them had been put to flight on the
 preceding day; for it was there that the enemy were now drawn up to
 oppose them.

The barbarians did, indeed, meet the attack of the peltasts and
 engaged them in battle, but when the hoplites got near them, they
 turned to flight. The peltasts at once made after them and pursued
 them up the hill to the city, while the hoplites followed along,
 still keeping their lines.

When they were at the top and near the houses of Metropolis, at that
 moment all the troops of the enemy massed together and did battle;
 they hurled their lances, and with other spears which they had, so
 thick and long that a man could only carry them with difficulty,
 tried to defend themselves in hand to hand fighting.

As the Greeks, however, refused to give way, but kept pushing on to
 close quarters, the barbarians took to flight from that point also,
 every man of them abandoning the fortress. Their king in his wooden
 tower built upon the citadel, whom all the people jointly maintain
 and guard in his abiding place there, refused to come forth, as did
 also the commander of the stronghold which
 had been captured earlier, so they were burned up where they were,
 along with their towers.

In plundering the strongholds the
 Greeks found in the houses ancestral stores, as the Mossynoecians
 described them, of heaped up loaves, while the new corn was laid
 away with the straw, the most of it being spelt.

They also found slices of dolphin salted away in jars, and in other
 vessels dolphin blubber, which the Mossynoecians used in the same
 way as the Greeks use olive oil;

and on the upper floors of the houses there were large quantities of
 flat nuts, without any divisions. Out of these nuts, by boiling them and baking
 them into loaves, they made the bread which they used most. The
 Greeks also found wine, which by reason of its harshness appeared to
 be sharp when taken unmixed, but mixed with water was fragrant and
 delicious.

When they had breakfasted there, the
 Greeks took up their onward march, after handing over the fortress
 to the Mossynoecians who had helped them in the fighting. As for the
 other strongholds which they passed by, belonging to those who sided
 with the enemy, the most accessible were in some cases abandoned by
 their occupants, in other cases surrendered voluntarily.

The greater part of these places were of the following description:
 The towns were eighty stadia distant from one another, some more,
 and some less; but the inhabitants could hear one another shouting
 from one town to the next, such heights and valleys there were in
 the country.

And when the Greeks, as they proceeded, were among the friendly
 Mossynoecians, they would exhibit to them fattened children of the
 wealthy inhabitants, who had been nourished on boiled nuts and were
 soft and white to an extraordinary degree, and pretty nearly equal
 in length and breadth, with their backs adorned with many colours
 and their fore parts all tattooed with flower patterns.

These Mossynoecians wanted also to have intercourse openly with the
 women who accompanied the Greeks, for that was their own fashion.
 And all of them were white, the men and the women alike.

They were set down by the Greeks who served through the expedition,
 as the most uncivilized people whose country they traversed, the
 furthest removed from Greek customs. For they habitually did in
 public the things that other people would do only in private, and
 when they were alone they would behave just as if they were in the
 company of others, talking to themselves, laughing at themselves,
 and dancing in whatever spot they chanced to be, as though they were
 giving an exhibition to others.

Through this country, both the hostile
 and the friendly portions of it, the Greeks marched eight stages,
 reaching then the land of the Chalybians. 
 These people were few in number and subject to the Mossynoecians,
 and most of them gained their livelihood from working in iron.

Next they reached the country of the Tibarenians, which was much more
 level and had fortresses upon the seacoast that were less strong.
 The generals were desirous of attacking these fortresses, so as to
 get a little something for the army, and accordingly they would not
 accept the gifts of hospitality which came from the Tibarenians,
 but, directing them to wait until they should take counsel,
 proceeded to offer sacrifices.

After many victims had been sacrificed all the seers finally declared
 the opinion that the gods in no wise permitted war. So then the
 generals accepted the gifts of hospitality, and proceeding as
 through a friendly country for two days, they arrived at Cotyora , a Greek city and a colony
 of the Sinopeans, situated in the territory of the Tibarenians.

[As far as this point the army
 travelled by land. The length in distance of the downward journey,
 from the battlefield near Babylon to Cotyora , was one hundred and twenty-two stages, six
 hundred and twenty parasangs, or eighteen thousand, six hundred
 stadia; and in time, eight months.]

There they remained forty-five days. During this time they first of
 all sacrificed to the gods, and all the several groups of the
 Greeks, nation by nation, instituted festal processions and athletic
 contests.

As for provisions, they got them partly from Paphlagonia and partly from the
 estates of the Cotyorites; for the latter would not provide them
 with a market, nor would they receive their sick within the walls of
 the city.

Meanwhile ambassadors came from
 Sinope, full of fears not only for the city of the Cotyorites (for
 it belonged to them and its inhabitants paid them tribute), but also
 for its territory, because they heard it was being laid waste. And
 coming to the Greek camp they spoke as follows, Hecatonymus, who was
 regarded as a clever orator, being their spokesman:

Soldiers, he said, the city of the Sinopeans has sent us, first, to applaud you as
 Greeks who stand victors over barbarians, and, secondly, to
 congratulate you that you have made your way through many
 dreadful troubles, as we have heard, in safety to this
 place.

Now we claim, being ourselves
 Greeks, to receive from you, who are Greeks also, good treatment
 and no ill; for we, on our side, have never set the example by
 doing you any manner of harm.

These Cotyorites are our colonists,
 and it was we who gave over to them this land, after we had
 taken it away from barbarians; therefore they pay us a stated
 tribute, as do the people of Cerasus and Trapezus ; hence
 whatever harm you may do to these Cotyorites, the city of the
 Sinopeans regards as done to itself.

At present we hear, firstly, that
 you have made your way into the city by force, some of you, and
 are quartered in the houses, and, secondly, that you are taking
 from the estates by force whatever you may need without asking
 leave.

Now these things we do not deem
 proper; and if you continue to do them, you force us to make
 friends with Corylas and the Paphlagonians and
 whomever else we can.

In reply to these words Xenophon, on
 behalf of the soldiers, rose and said: For
 ourselves, men of Sinope, we have come back well content to have
 saved our bodies and our arms; for it was not possible at one
 and the same time to gather plunder and to fight with the
 enemy.

As to our doings now, since we have
 reached Greek cities, we got our provisions in Trapezus by
 purchase, for the Trapezuntians provided us a market, and in
 return for the honours they bestowed upon us and the gifts of
 hospitality they gave the army, we paid them like honours; if
 any of the barbarians were their friends, we kept our hands off
 them, while upon their enemies, against whom they would
 themselves lead us, we wrought all the harm we could.

Ask them what sort of people they
 found us to be; for the men are here present whom the city of
 Trapezus , out of friendship, sent with us as
 guides.

On the other hand, wherever we come,
 whether it be to a barbarian or to a Greek land, and have no
 market at which to buy, we take provisions, not out of
 wantonness, but from necessity.

The Carduchians, for example, and
 the Taochians and Chaldaeans were not subjects of the King and
 were exceedingly formidable, yet, even so, we made enemies of
 them because of this necessity of taking provisions, inasmuch as
 they would not provide a market.

The Macronians, however, provided us
 as good a market as they could, and we therefore regarded them
 as friends, barbarians though they were, and took by force not a
 thing that belonged to them.

As
 for the Cotyorites, whom you claim as yours, if we have taken
 anything that belonged to them, they are themselves to blame;
 for they did not behave toward us as friends, but shut their
 gates and would neither admit us within nor send a market
 without; and they alleged that the governor set over them by you
 was responsible for this conduct.

In regard to your statement about
 people making their way into the city by force and being
 quartered there, we asked them to receive our sick into their
 houses; but when they refused to open their gates, we went in at
 a point where the place of itself received us; and we have done
 no deed of force save only that our sick are quartered in the
 houses, paying their own expenses, and that we are guarding the
 gates, in order that our sick may not be in the power of your
 governor, but that it may be in our power to get them back when
 we so wish.

The rest of us, as you see, are
 quartered in the open in our regular formation, all ready, in
 case one does us a kindness, to return the like, or if it is an
 injury, to return that.

As to
 the threat you uttered, that if you thought best you would
 enlist Corylas and the Paphlagonians as allies against us, we on
 our side are quite ready to make war with you both if it be
 necessary; for we have made war ere now with others who were
 many times your numbers. But if we think best to make a friend
 of the Paphlagonian—

and we hear that he has a desire for
 your city and strongholds on the coast—we shall try to prove
 ourselves his friends by aiding him to accomplish his
 desires.

Hereupon Hecatonymus’
 fellow-ambassadors made it very clear that they were angry with him
 for the words he had spoken, and one of them took the floor and said
 that they had not come to make war, but to show that they were
 friends. And if you come, he continued,
 to the city of the Sinopeans, we shall
 receive you there with gifts of hospitality, and now we shall
 direct the people of this city to give you what they can; for we
 see that all you say is true.

After this the Cotyorites sent gifts of hospitality, and the generals
 of the Greeks entertained the ambassadors of the Sinopeans, and they
 had a great deal of friendly conversation with one another on
 general matters, while in particular they made such inquiries as
 each party wished in regard to the rest of the journey.

Such was the end of that day. On the
 next the generals called an assembly of the soldiers, and they
 decided to invite the Sinopeans to join them in deliberating about
 the rest of their journey. For if they should have to proceed by
 land, it seemed that the Sinopeans would be useful to them, by
 virtue of their acquaintance with Paphlagonia ; and if they were to go by sea, there
 was still need, they thought, of the Sinopeans, inasmuch as they
 were the only people who could provide ships enough for the
 army.

They accordingly invited the ambassadors in and proceeded to take
 counsel with them, asking them, as Greeks dealing with Greeks, to
 make a beginning of their kindly reception by showing friendliness
 and offering the best advice.

Then Hecatonymus rose and, in the
 first place, defended himself in the matter of his remark that they
 would make a friend of the Paphlagonian, by saying that he did not
 mean that his own people would make war upon the Greeks, but rather
 that despite the opportunity they had to be friends of the
 barbarians they would choose the Greeks instead. But when they told
 him to proceed to give some advice, he began with a prayer to the
 gods as follows:

If I should give the advice which in my judgment
 is best, may many blessings come to me; otherwise, the opposite.
 For what men term acred counsel seems verily to be my
 portion; since to-day if I be found to have given good counsel,
 there will be many to praise me, but if it be ill, there will be
 many among you to curse me.

Now I know that we shall have far
 more trouble if you are conveyed by sea, for upon us will fall
 the duty of providing the ships; while if you journey by land,
 upon you will fall the task of doing the fighting.

Nevertheless, I must say what I
 believe; for I am acquainted with both the country of the
 Paphlagonians and their power. Their country possesses these two
 things, the fairest plains and the loftiest
 mountains.

And, in the first place, I know at
 once where you must make your entry: there is no place save
 where the peaks of the mountains rise high on either side of the
 road; holding these peaks a mere handful of men could command
 the pass, and if they are so held, not all the men in the world
 could effect a passage. All this I could even point out if you
 should care to send some one to the spot with me.

Secondly, I know that they have
 plains and a cavalry which the barbarians themselves regard as
 superior to the whole of the King’s cavalry. Indeed, only now
 these Paphlagonians have failed to present themselves when the
 King summoned them, for their ruler is too proud to
 obey.

If
 you should, after all, find yourselves able not only to seize
 the mountains, whether by stealth or by anticipating the enemy,
 but also on the plain to conquer in battle both their cavalry
 and their more than one hundred and twenty thousand infantry,
 you will come to the rivers. First is the Thermodon, three
 plethra in width, which I fancy would be difficult to cross,
 especially with great numbers of the enemy in front and great
 numbers following behind; second, the Iris, likewise three
 plethra wide; third, the Halys, not less than two stadia in
 width, which you could not cross without boats—and who will
 there be to supply you with boats?—and similarly impassable is
 the Parthenius also, to which you would come if you should get
 across the Halys.

For
 my part, therefore, I believe that this journey is not merely
 difficult for you, but a thing of utter impossibility. If you go
 by sea, however, you can coast along from here to Sinope , and from Sinope to
 Heracleia; and from Heracleia on there is no difficulty either
 by land or by water, for there are ships in abundance at
 Heracleia.

When he had thus spoken, some of his
 hearers were suspicious that he spoke as he did out of friendship
 for Corylas, for he was his official representative at Sinope;
 others imagined that he even had the idea of obtaining gifts on
 account of this advice; while still others suspected that the real
 purpose of his speech was to prevent the Greeks from going by land
 and so doing some harm to the territory of the Sinopeans. At any
 rate, however, the Greeks voted to make the journey by sea.

After this Xenophon said: Men of Sinope, my
 troops have chosen the route which you advise; but the matter
 stands in this way: if there are to be ships enough so that not
 so much as one man will be left behind here, we shall set sail;
 but if the plan should be to let some of us stay behind and
 others sail, we shall not set foot on the ships.

For we know that wherever we hold
 the upper hand, we should be able both to keep ourselves safe
 and to obtain provisions; but let us once get caught where we
 are weaker than the enemy, and it is perfectly clear that we
 shall be in the position of slaves. Upon hearing these
 words the Sinopeans told them to send ambassadors.

And they sent Callimachus the Arcadian, Ariston the Athenian, and
 Samolas the Achaean. These men accordingly set out.

At this time, as Xenophon’s eyes
 rested upon a great body of Greek hoplites, and likewise upon a
 great body of peltasts, bowmen, slingers, and horsemen also, all of
 them now exceedingly efficient through constant service and all
 there in Pontus , where so large
 a force could not have been gathered by any slight outlay of money,
 it seemed to him that it was a fine thing to gain additional
 territory and power for Greece by founding a city.

It would become a great city, he thought, as he reckoned up their own
 numbers and the peoples who dwelt around the Euxine. And with a view
 to this project, before speaking about it to any of the soldiers, he
 offered sacrifices, summoning for that purpose Silanus the Ambraciot, who had
 been the soothsayer of Cyrus .

Silanus , however, fearing
 that this thing might come to pass and that the army might settle
 down somewhere, carried forth to the troops a report that Xenophon
 wanted them to settle down, so that he could found a city and win
 for himself a name and power.

As for Silanus , his own
 desire was to reach Greece 
 as quickly as possible; for the three thousand darics, which he had
 received from Cyrus at the time when he
 sacrificed for him and had told the truth about the ten days, he had brought safely
 through.

When the soldiers heard this report,
 some of them thought it was best to settle down, but the majority
 thought otherwise. And Timasion the Dardanian and Thorax the
 Boeotian said to some Heracleot and Sinopean merchants who were
 there, that if they did not provide pay for the troops so that they
 would have provisions for the voyage from Cotyora , there would be danger of
 that great force remaining in Pontus . For Xenophon, 
 they went on, wishes and is urging that as soon
 as the ships come, we should then say all of a sudden to the
 army:

Soldiers, now
 we see that you are without means either to supply
 yourselves with provisions on the homeward voyage, or to do
 anything for your people at home when you have got back
 there; but if you wish to pick out some spot in the country
 that lies round about the Euxine and put to shore wherever
 you may wish—he who so desires to go back home and he who so
 desires to stay behind—here are your ships, so that you
 could make a sudden attack at whatever point you may
 wish.

Upon hearing this statement the
 merchants carried it back to their cities; and along with them
 Timasion the Dardanian sent Eurymachus the Dardanian and Thorax the
 Boeotian to tell the same story. When the Sinopeans and Heracleots
 heard it, they sent to Timasion and urged him to take in charge, for
 a fee, the matter of getting the army to sail away.

He received this proposal gladly, and when the soldiers were gathered
 in assembly addressed them as follows: You ought
 not, soldiers, to set your thoughts on remaining here, nor to
 esteem anything more highly than Greece . But I hear that certain people are
 offering sacrifices over this matter, with not so much as a word
 to you.

Now I promise, in case you set sail
 from here, to provide you with pay from the first of the month
 at the rate of a Cyzicene per month to each man; and I
 will take you to Troas ,
 the place from which I am an exile, and my city will be at your
 service; for they will receive me willingly.

Then I myself will lead you to
 places from which you will get an abundance of wealth. I am
 acquainted with Aeolis ,
 Phrygia , Troas , and the entire province
 of Pharnabazus, partly because I come from
 that region, and partly because I have campaigned there with
 Clearchus and Dercylidas.

Next rose Thorax the Boeotian, who was
 at odds with Xenophon over the generalship of the army, and said
 that once they got out of the Euxine they would have the Chersonese , a fair and prosperous
 country, where any one who so desired might dwell, while any who did
 not desire to do this, might return home. It was ridiculous, he
 said, when there was plenty of fertile land in Greece , to be hunting for it in
 the domain of the barbarians.

And until you reach that spot, he
 continued, I also, like Timasion, promise you
 regular pay. All this he said with full knowledge of what
 the Heracleots and the Sinopeans were promising Timasion for getting
 the army to sail away. Xenophon meanwhile was silent.

Then Philesius and Lycon the Achaeans
 rose and said that it was outrageous for Xenophon to be privately
 urging people to settle down and sacrificing with a view to that
 plan, while publicly saying not a word about the matter. Thus
 Xenophon was compelled to rise and speak as follows:

I offer, soldiers, as you see, all the
 sacrifices I can both on your behalf and my own in order that I
 may perchance say and think and do such things as will be
 fairest and best both for you and me. And in the present case I
 was sacrificing for guidance on this point only, whether it was
 better to begin to speak before you and to act regarding this
 project, or not to touch the matter at all.

Now Silanus , the soothsayer, answered me in respect
 to the main issue that the omens were favourable (for he knew
 well enough that I was not unacquainted with divination, from
 being always present at the sacrifices); but he said that there
 appeared in the omens a kind of fraud and plot against me,
 manifestly because he knew that he was himself plotting to
 traduce me before you. For he spread abroad the report that I
 was intending to do these things at once, without getting your
 consent.

Now if I saw that you were without
 resources, I should be looking about for a plan by which you
 might get possession of a city, with the provision that
 afterwards he who chose might sail back home at once, while he
 who did not wish to go at once might return after he had
 accumulated enough to bestow a little something upon his people
 at home.

But since, in fact, I see that the
 Heracleots and Sinopeans are sending you the ships in which to
 sail away, and that men are promising you pay from the first of
 the month, it seems to me it is a fine thing to be carried
 safely where we want to go and at the same time to receive pay
 for our preservation; therefore I renounce that other project
 for myself, and I say, to all those who have come to me and
 expressed the view that it ought to be carried out, that they
 also should renounce it.

For I
 hold this opinion: standing together and in force, as you are
 now, I think you will be held in honour and will have
 provisions, for in strength lies the opportunity to wrest away
 the possessions of the weaker; but let yourselves get separated
 and your force broken up into small parts, and you would neither
 be able to obtain food to live on nor would you come off
 unharmed.

I think, therefore, just as you do,
 that we should set out for Greece , and that if it does come to pass that
 any man is caught deserting before the entire army is in a place
 of safety, he should be brought to trial as a wrong-doer. And
 whoever is of this opinion, he continued, let him raise his hand. Up went every
 hand.

Silanus , however, began shouting, and attempted to
 say that it was fair for any one who so chose to leave the army. But
 the soldiers would not allow him to speak, and they threatened him
 that as surely as they caught him running away, they would inflict
 due punishment upon him.

After that, when the Heracleots learned that it had been voted to
 sail away, and that Xenophon himself had put the question to vote,
 they did send the ships, but in the matter of the money they had
 promised to Timasion and Thorax they turned out to be deceivers.

Consequently the men who had promised the pay were panic-stricken,
 and stood in fear of the army. They therefore took with them the
 other generals to whom they had communicated their earlier
 doings—namely, all the generals except Neon the Asinaean, who was
 acting as lieutenant for Cheirisophus because Cheirisophus had not
 yet returned—and came to Xenophon, with the message that they had
 changed their minds and thought it was best to sail to the
 Phasis , inasmuch as
 there were ships at hand, and seize the land of the Phasians.

Their king, as it chanced, was a grandson of Aeetes. Xenophon replied
 that he would not say a word to the army about this plan; but, he went on, gather
 the men together and speak to them yourselves, if you
 wish. Then Timasion the Dardanian declared it as his
 opinion that they should not hold an assembly, but that each general
 should first endeavour to persuade his own captains. So they went
 away and set about doing this.

The soldiers, accordingly, learned by
 inquiry that this plan was being agitated. And Neon said that
 Xenophon had won over the other generals and was intending to
 deceive the soldiers and lead them back to the Phasis .

Upon hearing these words the soldiers were exceedingly angry;
 meetings were held, groups of them collected, and it was greatly to
 be feared that they would do the sort of things they had done to the
 heralds of the Colchians and the market clerks.

When Xenophon became aware of the situation, he decided to call an
 assembly of the men as speedily as possible and not to allow them to
 gather of their own accord; so he directed the herald to call an
 assembly.

And as soon as the soldiers heard the herald, they rushed together
 with the utmost readiness. Then Xenophon, without mentioning against
 the generals the matter of their visit to him, spoke as follows:

I hear, soldiers, that some one is bringing a
 charge against me, namely, that I am going to deceive you and
 lead you to the Phasis .
 In the name of the gods, then, give ear to my words, and if it
 appears that I am guilty of wrong, I ought not to leave this
 spot without paying the penalty; but if it appears to you that
 my accusers are guilty of wrong, they ought to be dealt with in
 such manner as they deserve.

You doubtless know, he
 continued, where the sun rises and where it
 sets; likewise, that if a man is to go to Greece , he must journey toward
 the west, while if he wishes to go to the lands of the
 barbarians, he must travel in the opposite direction, that is,
 toward the east. Now is there any one who could deceive you in
 this matter, by maintaining that the place where the sun rises
 is the one where it sets and the place where it sets is the one
 where it rises?

Again, you surely know this also,
 that the north wind carries one out of the Euxine to Greece , while the south wind
 carries you within, to the Phasis—indeed, the saying is, When the north wind doth blow, fair voyaging
 to Greece . In
 this matter, again, is it possible that any one could deceive
 you into embarking when the south wind is blowing?

But I am going to put you aboard,
 you may say, when it is calm. Well, I shall be sailing on one
 ship, you on a hundred at least. How, then, could I either force
 you to voyage along with me if you did not choose, or deceive
 you into following my lead?

But suppose you have been deceived
 and bewitched by me and we have come to the Phasis ; we accordingly
 disembark upon the shore; you will perceive, likely enough, that
 you are not in Greece ;
 and I, who have done the deceiving, will be one lone man, while
 you, the deceived, will be close to ten thousand, with arms in
 your hands. Then how could a man bring down punishment upon
 himself more surely than by planning in that way for himself and
 for you?

Nay,
 these are the stories of foolish men, jealous of me because I
 enjoy honour at your hands. And yet they should not in fairness
 feel such jealousy; for whom among them do I hinder either from
 saying any good word he can before you, or from fighting if he
 will in your behalf and his own, or from being watchful in his
 care for your safety? Well, then, do I stand in any one’s way
 when you are choosing commanders? I yield, let him be commander;
 only let it be shown that he renders you good
 service.

For my part, however, what I have
 said on these points seems to me sufficient; but if any one
 among you imagines either that he could be deceived himself by
 such tales, or could deceive another by these tales, let him
 speak and explain.

And when you have had enough of
 this, do not go away until you have heard what manner of evil I
 see beginning to show itself in the army; for if it comes upon
 us and proves to be as serious as it now shows signs of being,
 it is time for us to be taking counsel for ourselves, in order
 that we may not stand revealed as most wicked and base men, both
 in the sight of gods and mankind, of friends and
 enemies.

Upon hearing these words the soldiers
 fell to wondering what the thing was, and they bade Xenophon go on.
 So he began again: You know, perhaps, that in
 the mountains there were barbarian strongholds, friendly to the
 Cerasuntians, from which people would come down and sell you
 cattle and other things which they had, and also, I believe,
 some of you went to the nearest of these strongholds and did
 some buying and came back again.

Clearetus the captain, learning that
 this place was not only small, but also unguarded, for the
 reason that its inhabitants deemed themselves friendly, set
 forth against them by night with the idea of plundering the
 place, and without a word to any one of us.

It was his intention, in case he
 should capture this stronghold, not to come back again to the
 army, but to embark on a vessel upon which his messmates chanced
 to be sailing along the coast, to put aboard whatever plunder he
 might secure, and sailing out of the Euxine to go away. Indeed,
 as I now learn, his messmates on the vessel had concluded an
 agreement with him to this effect.

He accordingly summoned all the men
 he could persuade, and set out at their head to march against
 the stronghold. While he was still on the march, however, the
 break of day surprised him, and the people of the place gathered
 together and, by throwing missiles and dealing blows from strong
 positions, killed Clearetus and a good many of his followers,
 although some of them did make their way back to Cerasus .

All this happened on the day when we
 were setting forth to come hither by land; and some of those who
 were going by sea were still at Cerasus , not having as yet set sail. After this, as the Cerasuntians say,
 there arrived at Cerasus three of the inhabitants of the
 stronghold, all elderly men, desiring to come before our general
 assembly.

But since they did not find us, they
 addressed themselves to the Cerasuntians, saying that they
 wondered why we had seen fit to make an attack upon them. When,
 however, the Cerasuntians replied, so their statement ran, that
 it was not by public authority that the affair took place, the
 envoys were pleased, and were intending to sail hither in order
 to tell us what had happened, and to urge that we should
 ourselves take and bury the bodies of our dead.

Now it chanced that some of the
 Greeks who had escaped were still at Cerasus ; and when they learned
 whither the barbarians were going, they committed the
 shamelessness of not only attacking them with stones themselves,
 but urging others to do the same. And the men were killed, these
 three, who were ambassadors—stoned to death.

When
 this had taken place, the Cerasuntians came to us and told us of
 the affair; and we generals, upon hearing the story, were
 distressed at what had happened, and we proceeded to take
 counsel with the Cerasuntians as to how the bodies of the Greek
 dead might be buried.

While we were in session outside the
 camp, we suddenly heard a great uproar and shouts of Strike! strike! pelt! pelt! and in a
 moment we saw a crowd of men rushing toward us with stones in
 their hands and others picking up stones.

And the Cerasuntians, having
 witnessed, mark you, the affair in their own city, were
 naturally terrified, and hurried back toward their ships. For
 that matter, by Zeus, there were some of our own number who were
 terrified.

I went up to the men, however, and
 asked what the trouble was. Some of them did not know at all,
 but nevertheless they had stones in their hands. When I did come
 upon a man who knew, he told me that the market-clerks were
 treating the army most outrageously.

At this moment some one saw the
 market-clerk, Zelarchus, retreating toward the sea, and set up a
 shout; and when the rest heard it, they rushed upon him as
 though a wild boar or a stag had been sighted.

And now the Cerasuntians, seeing
 this rush in their neighbourhood and believing it was
 undoubtedly directed against themselves, took to running in
 their flight and threw themselves into the sea. Some of our own
 men also plunged in with them, and any who did not chance to
 know how to swim were drowned.

Now what think you about these
 Cerasuntians? They had done no wrong, but they were afraid that
 a kind of madness, such as attacks dogs, had seized upon
 us. Now if these doings are to
 go on in this way, observe what the situation of your army will
 be.

You, the general body, will not have
 it in your power either to undertake war upon whom you please or
 to bring war to an end, but any individual who wishes will be
 leading an army to gain any end he may desire. And if people
 come to you as ambassadors, desiring peace or anything else, any
 who choose will kill them and prevent you from hearing the words
 of those who come to confer with you.

Furthermore, the men whom you as a
 body may choose for commanders will be of no account, but
 whoever may choose himself general and will raise the cry `Pelt, pelt, that man will have the
 power to slay either commander or private, any one of you he
 pleases, without a trial, provided—as indeed it came about in
 the present case—there are people who will obey him.

Consider the sort of things these
 self-chosen generals have actually accomplished for you. Take
 Zelarchus, the market-clerk: supposing he has done you wrong, he
 has sailed off without paying you the penalty; supposing he is
 not guilty, he has fled from the army out of fear that he might
 be slain unjustly and without a trial.

Take those who stoned to death the
 ambassadors: they have accomplished this result, that you alone
 of all the Greeks cannot go to Cerasus safely unless you arrive there with a
 strong force; and as for the dead whom previously the very men
 who killed them proposed burying, the result accomplished is,
 that now it is not safe to pick up their bodies even for one who
 carries a herald’s staff. For who will care to go as herald when
 he has the blood of heralds upon his hands? So we requested the
 Cerasuntians to bury them.

Now
 if these things are right, do you so resolve, in order that,
 with the understanding that such deeds are to be done, a man may
 establish his own private guard and may endeavour to hold
 possession of the strong places overhanging him on the right
 when he encamps.

If, however, you think that such
 deeds are those of wild beasts and not of human beings, look
 about for some means of stopping them; otherwise, how, in the
 name of Zeus, shall we offer glad sacrifices to the gods when we
 are doing impious deeds, or how shall we fight with enemies if
 we are slaying one another?

And what friendly city will receive
 us when it sees so great lawlessness amongst us? Who will dare
 to supply us a market if in matters of the greatest import we
 show ourselves guilty of such offences? And in that land where we are always fancying
 that we shall obtain praise from every one, who will praise us
 if we are men of this sort? For we ourselves, I am quite sure,
 should say that people who perform such deeds are
 scoundrels.

Hereupon all rose and proposed that
 the men who began this affair should be duly punished, and that
 henceforth no one should be again permitted to make a beginning of
 lawlessness; but if any should so begin, they were to be put on
 trial for their lives; and the generals were to bring all offenders
 to trial, and trials were likewise to be held in the matter of any
 other offences which any one had committed since the time when
 Cyrus was killed; and they appointed the
 captains to serve as a jury.

Further, upon the recommendation of Xenophon, and by the advice of
 the soothsayers, it was resolved to purify the army. So the rites of
 purification were performed.

It was likewise resolved that the
 generals should undergo an inquiry with reference to their past
 conduct. When they presented their statements, Philesius and
 Xanthicles were condemned, for their careless guarding of the
 merchantmen’s cargoes, to
 pay the loss incurred, namely, twenty minas, and Sophaenetus, for
 neglect of duty in the office to which he had been chosen, was fined
 ten minas. Accusations were also made
 against Xenophon by certain men who claimed that he had beaten them,
 and so brought the charge of wanton assault.

Xenophon bade the first man who spoke to state where it was that he
 had struck him. He replied, In the place where
 we were perishing with cold and there was an enormous amount of
 snow.

And Xenophon said, Well, really, with weather of
 the sort you describe and provisions used up and no chance even
 to get a smell of wine, when many of us were becoming exhausted
 with hardships and the enemy were at our heels, if at such a
 time as that I wantonly abused you, I admit that I am more
 wanton even than the ass, which, because of its wantonness, so
 the saying runs, is not subject to fatigue. Nevertheless, do
 tell us, he said, for what reason you
 were struck.

Did I ask you for something, and
 then strike you because you would not give it to me? Did I
 demand something back? Was it in a fight over a favourite? Was
 it an act of drunken violence?

When the man replied that it was none of these things, Xenophon asked
 him if he was a hoplite. He said no. Was he a peltast, then? No, not
 that either, he said, but he had been detailed by his messmates,
 although he was a free man, to drive a mule.

At that Xenophon recognized him, and asked: Are
 you the fellow who carried the sick man? 
 Yes, by Zeus, he replied, for you forced me to do so; and you scattered my
 messmates’ baggage all about.

Why, the scattering, said Xenophon, was after this fashion: I distributed it among
 others to carry and directed them to bring it back to me, and
 when I got it back, I returned the whole of it to you intact
 when you, for your part, had shown me the sick man. But listen,
 all of you, he continued, and hear
 how the affair happened; for the story is worth
 hearing.

A man
 was being left behind because he was unable to keep going any
 longer. I was acquainted with the man only so far as to know
 that he was one of our number, and I forced you, sir, to carry
 him in order that he might not perish; for, as I remember, the
 enemy were following after us. To that the fellow
 agreed.

Well, Xenophon continued, after I had sent you on ahead, I overtook you
 again, as I came along with the rearguard, and found you digging
 a hole to bury the man in, and I stopped and commended
 you.

But when, as we were standing by,
 the man drew up his leg, all of us cried out, The man is alive ; and you said, Let him be alive just as much as he pleases,
 I, for my part, am not going to carry him. Then I
 struck you; your story is true; for it looked to me as if you
 knew that he was alive.

Well, what of that, the fellow said;
 didn’t he die all the same after I had shown
 him to you? 
 Why, said Xenophon, all of us are likewise going to die; but should we on that
 account be buried alive?

As for this fellow, everybody cried
 out that Xenophon had given him fewer blows than he deserved. Then
 he directed the rest to state the reason why each one of them had
 been struck.

When they failed to rise, he went on himself: I
 admit, soldiers, that I have indeed struck men for neglect of
 discipline, the men who were content to be kept safe by you who
 marched in due order and fought wherever there was need, while
 they themselves would leave the ranks and run on ahead in the
 desire to secure plunder and to enjoy an advantage over you. For
 if all of us had behaved in this way, all of us alike would have
 perished.

Again, when a man behaved like a
 weakling and refused to get up, preferring to leave himself a
 prey to the enemy, I did indeed strike him and use violence to
 compel him to go on. For once during the severe weather I myself
 remained seated for quite a long time, waiting for some people
 who were packing up, and I discovered that it was hard work to
 get up and stretch my legs.

Having tested the matter, then, in
 my own case, I used after that to drive on any other man whom I
 might see sitting down and shirking; for getting into motion and
 acting like a man produced a certain amount of warmth and
 suppleness, while sitting and keeping quiet tended, as I saw, to
 make the blood freeze and the toes rot off, just the misfortunes
 which many people suffered, as you know for
 yourselves.

In still another case, the man,
 perhaps, who fell behind somewhere out of indolence and
 prevented both you in the van and us in the rear from going on,
 I struck such a one with the fist in order that the enemy might
 not strike him with the lance.

Indeed, that is the reason why these
 people, having been saved, now have it in their power to obtain
 satisfaction for whatever they suffered unjustly at my hands.
 But if they had fallen into the hands of the enemy, what
 suffering would they have experienced so great that they would
 now be asking to obtain satisfaction for it?

My defence, he continued,
 is simple: if it was for his good that I
 punished any one, I think I should render the sort of account
 that parents render to sons and teachers to pupils; for that
 matter, surgeons also burn and cut patients for their
 good;

but if you believe it was out of
 wantonness that I did these things, take note that now, by the
 blessing of the gods, I am more confident than I was then and
 that I am bolder now than then and drink more wine, but
 nevertheless I strike no man—for the reason that I see you are
 in calm waters.

But when it is stormy weather and a
 high sea is running, do you not observe that even for a mere nod
 the lookout gets angry with the people at the prow and the
 helmsman angry with the people at the stern? For in such a
 situation even small blunders are enough to ruin
 everything.

But you rendered judgment yourselves
 that I was justified in striking those men; for you stood by,
 with swords, not ballots, in your hands, and it was within your
 power to come to their aid if you chose; but, by Zeus, you would
 neither give those people aid nor would you join with me in
 striking such as violated discipline.

Consequently you gave the bad among
 them freedom to act wantonly by thus letting them
 alone. For I think, if you
 care to look into the matter, you will find it is the very same
 men who were then most cowardly that are now most
 wanton.

At any rate, Boiscus the boxer, of
 Thessaly , then
 fought hard to escape carrying his shield, on the plea that he
 was tired, but now, as I hear, he has already stripped off the
 clothes of many Cotyorites.

If you are wise, therefore, you will
 do to this fellow the opposite of what people do to dogs; for
 dogs that are savage are tied up by day and let loose by night,
 but this fellow, if you are wise, you will tie up by night and
 let loose by day.

But
 really, he continued, I am surprised
 that if ever I incurred the ill-will of any one among you, you
 remember that and are not silent about it, while if I protected
 any one from the cold, or warded off an enemy from him, or
 helped to provide something for him when he was sick or in want,
 these acts, on the other hand, are not remembered by anybody;
 nor, again, if I praised a man for a deed well done, or honoured
 according to my ability a man who was brave, do you remember any
 of these things.

Yet surely it is more honourable and
 fair, more righteous and gracious to remember good deeds than
 evil. Then people began
 getting up and recalling past incidents, and in the end all was
 pleasant.

After this, while they delayed at
 Cotyora , some of the
 men lived by purchasing from the market and others by pillaging the
 territory of Paphlagonia .
 The Paphlagonians, however, were extremely clever in kidnapping the
 stragglers, and at night time they tried to inflict harm upon such
 of the Greeks as were quartered at some distance from the rest;
 consequently they and the Greeks were in a very hostile mood toward
 one another.

Then Corylas, who chanced at the time to be ruler of Paphlagonia , sent ambassadors to
 the Greeks, with horses and fine raiment, bearing word that Corylas
 was ready to do the Greeks no wrong and to suffer no wrong at their
 hands.

The generals replied that they would take counsel with the army on
 this matter, but meanwhile they received the ambassadors as their
 guests at dinner, inviting in also such of the other men in the army
 as seemed to them best entitled to an invitation.

By sacrificing some of the cattle they had captured and also other
 animals they provided an adequate feast, and they dined reclining
 upon couches and drank from cups made of horn which they found in
 the country.

After they had made libations and sung
 the paean, two Thracians rose up first and began a dance in full
 armour to the music of a flute, leaping high and lightly and using
 their sabres; finally, one struck the other, as everybody thought,
 and the second man fell, in a rather skilful way.

And the Paphlagonians set up a cry. Then the first man despoiled the
 other of his arms and marched out singing the Sitalcas, while
 other Thracians carried off the fallen dancer, as though he were
 dead; in fact, he had not been hurt at all.

After this some Aenianians and Magnesians arose and danced under arms
 the so-called carpaea.

The manner of the dance was this: a man is sowing and driving a yoke
 of oxen, his arms laid at one side, and he turns about frequently as
 one in fear; a robber approaches; as soon as the sower sees him
 coming, he snatches up his arms, goes to meet him, and fights with
 him to save his oxen. The two men do all this in rhythm to the music
 of the flute. Finally, the robber binds the man and drives off the
 oxen; or sometimes the master of the oxen binds the robber, and then
 he yokes him alongside the oxen, his hands tied behind him, and
 drives off.

After this a Mysian came in carrying a light shield in each hand, and
 at one moment in his dance he would go through a pantomime as though
 two men were arrayed against him, again he would use his shields as
 though against one antagonist, and again he would whirl and throw
 somersaults while holding the shields in his hands, so that the
 spectacle was a fine one.

Lastly, he danced the Persian dance, clashing his shields together
 and crouching down and then rising up again; and all this he did,
 keeping time to the music of the flute.

After him the Mantineans and some of the other Arcadians arose,
 arrayed in the finest arms and accoutrements they could command, and
 marched in time to the accompaniment of a flute playing the martial
 rhythm and sang the paean and danced, just as the Arcadians do in
 their festal processions in honour of the gods. And the
 Paphlagonians, as they looked on, thought it most strange that all
 the dances were under arms.

Thereupon the Mysian, seeing how astounded they were, persuaded one
 of the Arcadians who had a dancing girl to let him bring her in,
 after dressing her up in the finest way he could and giving her a
 light shield.

And she danced the Pyrrhic with grace. Then there was great applause, and
 the Paphlagonians asked whether women also fought by their side. And
 the Greeks replied that these women were precisely the ones who put
 the King to flight from his camp. Such was the end of that
 evening.

On the next day they introduced the
 ambassadors to the army, and the soldiers passed a resolution to do
 the Paphlagonians no wrong and to suffer no wrong at their hands.
 After this the ambassadors departed, and the Greeks, inasmuch as it
 seemed that vessels enough were at hand, embarked and sailed for a
 day and a night with a fair wind, keeping Paphlagonia on the left.

On the second day they reached Sinope, and came to anchor at Harmene,
 in the territory of Sinope. The Sinopeans dwell, indeed, in
 Paphlagonia , but are
 colonists of the Milesians. And they sent to the Greeks, as gifts of
 hospitality, three thousand medimni of barley meal
 and fifteen hundred jars of wine.

Here Cheirisophus also came, with a man-of-war. And the
 soldiers expected that he had brought them something; in fact,
 however, he brought nothing, save the report that the admiral
 Anaxibius and the others commended them, and that Anaxibius promised
 that if they got outside the Euxine, they should have regular
 pay.

Here at Harmene the troops remained for five days. By this time, since it seemed that they were
 getting near Greece , the
 question came into their minds more than before how they might reach
 home with a little something in hand.

They came to the conclusion, therefore, that if they should choose
 one commander, that one man would be able to handle the army better,
 whether by night or day, than a number of commanders—that if there
 should be need of concealment, he would be better able to keep
 matters secret, or again, if there should be need of getting ahead
 of an adversary, he would be less likely to be too late; for,
 thought the soldiers, there would be no need of conferences of
 generals with one another, but the plan resolved upon by the one man
 would be carried through, whereas in the past the generals had acted
 in all matters in accordance with a majority vote.

As they thought over these things they
 turned to Xenophon; the captains came to him and said that this was
 the opinion of the army, and each one of them, with manifestations
 of good will, urged him to undertake the command.

As for Xenophon, he was inclined on some accounts to accept the
 command, for he thought that if he did so the greater would be the
 honour he would enjoy among his friends and the greater his name
 when it should reach his city, while, furthermore, it might chance
 that he could be the means of accomplishing some good thing for the
 army.

Such considerations, then, roused in him an earnest desire to become
 sole commander. On the other hand, when he reflected that no man can
 see clearly how the future will turn out and that for this reason
 there was danger that he might even lose the reputation he had
 already won, he was doubtful.

Quite unable as he was to decide the
 question, it seemed best to him to consult the gods; and he
 accordingly brought two victims to the altar and proceeded to offer
 sacrifice to King Zeus, the very god that the oracle at Delphi had prescribed for
 him; and
 it was likewise from this god, as he believed, that the dream came which he had at the time
 when he took the first steps toward assuming a share in the charge
 of the army.

Moreover, he recalled that when he was setting out from Ephesus to be introduced to
 Cyrus , 
 an eagle screamed upon his right; it was sitting, however, and the
 soothsayer who was conducting him said that while the omen was one
 suited to the great rather than to an ordinary person, and while it
 betokened glory, it nevertheless portended suffering, for the reason
 that other birds are most apt to attack the eagle when it is
 sitting; still, he said, the omen did not betoken gain, for it is
 rather while the eagle is on the wing that it gets its food.

So it was, then, that Xenophon made sacrifice, and the god signified
 to him quite clearly that he should neither strive for the command
 nor accept it in case he should be chosen. Such was the issue of
 this matter.

Then the army came together, and all
 the speakers urged that a single commander be chosen; when this had
 been resolved upon, they proceeded to nominate Xenophon. And when it
 seemed clear that they would elect him as soon as the question
 should be put to vote, he arose and spoke as follows:

I am happy,
 soldiers, since I am a human being, to be honoured by you, and I
 am grateful also, and I pray that the gods may grant me
 opportunity to be the means of bringing you some benefit; still,
 I think that for me to be preferred by you as commander when a
 Lacedaemonian is at hand, is not expedient for you,—for you
 would be less likely on this account to obtain any favour you
 might desire from the Lacedaemonians—and for myself, on the
 other hand, I believe it is not altogether safe.

For I see that the Lacedaemonians
 did not cease waging war upon my native state until they had
 made all her citizens acknowledge that the Lacedaemonians were
 their leaders also.

But just as soon as this
 acknowledgment had been made, they straightway ceased waging war
 and no longer continued to besiege the city. Now if I, being
 aware of these things, should seem to be trying to make their
 authority null and void wherever I could, I suspect that I might
 very speedily be brought back to reason on that
 point.

As to your own thought, that there
 would be less factiousness with one commander than with many, be
 well assured that if you choose another, you will not find me
 acting factiously,—for I believe that when a man engaged in war
 factiously opposes a commander, that man is factiously opposing
 his own safety; but if you choose me, I should not be surprised
 if you should find some one else feeling angry both with you and
 with myself.

When he had thus spoken, a much larger
 number of people arose, saying that he ought to be commander. And
 Agasias the Stymphalian said that it was ridiculous if the situation
 was as Xenophon described it. Will the
 Lacedaemonians also be angry, he said, if guests at dinner come together and fail to
 choose a Lacedaemonian as master of the feast? For if the matter
 stands in that way, we are not free even to be captains, it
 would seem, because we are Arcadians. Thereupon the
 soldiers raised a shout, saying that Agasias was quite right.

Then Xenophon, seeing that something
 more was needed, came forward and spoke again: Well, soldiers, he said, that you
 may understand the matter fully I swear to you by all the gods
 and goddesses that in very truth, so soon as I became aware of
 your intention, I offered sacrifices to learn whether it was
 best for you to entrust to me this command and for me to
 undertake it; and the gods gave me such signs in the sacrifices
 that even a layman could perceive that I must withhold myself
 from accepting the sole command.

Under these circumstances, then, they
 chose Cheirisophus. And after being chosen Cheirisophus came forward
 and spoke as follows: Well, soldiers, be sure of
 this, that I also should not have acted factiously if you had
 chosen another; as for Xenophon, however, he continued,
 you did him a kindness by not choosing him;
 for even now Dexippus 
 has already been falsely accusing him, as far as he could, to
 Anaxibius, even though I tried hard to silence him. He said he
 believed that Xenophon would rather share the command of
 Clearchus’ army with Timasion, a Dardanian, than with himself, a
 Laconian.

However, Cheirisophus went
 on, since you have chosen me, I shall endeavour
 to render you whatever service I can. And do you make your
 preparations to put to sea to-morrow if it be sailing weather.
 The voyage will be to Heracleia; every one of us, therefore,
 must try to come to land there; and we shall take counsel about
 our further doings when we have arrived there.

On the next day they set sail from
 Sinope and voyaged for two days with a fair wind along the coast.
 And coursing along, [they saw
 Jason’s Cape, where the Argo is said to have come to anchor, and the
 mouths of the rivers, first the Thermodon, then the Iris, third the
 Halys, and after that the Parthenius; and after they had passed this
 river]they arrived at Heracleia, a Greek city and a colony of the
 Megarians, situated in the territory of the Mariandynians.

And they came to anchor alongside the Acherusian Chersonese, where
 Heracles is said to have descended to Hades after the dog Cerberus,
 at a spot where they now show the marks of his descent, reaching to
 a depth of more than two stadia.

Here the Heracleots sent to the Greeks, as gifts of hospitality,
 three thousand medimni of barley meal, two thousand jars of wine,
 twenty cattle, and a hundred sheep. And in this place there flows
 through the plain a river named the Lycus, about two plethra in
 width.

Then the soldiers gathered together
 and proceeded to take counsel about the remainder of the journey,
 that is, whether they had better go on from the Euxine by land or by
 sea. And Lycon the Achaean rose and said: I am
 astonished, soldiers, that the generals do not endeavour to
 supply us with money to buy provisions; for our gifts of
 hospitality will not make three days’ rations for the army; and
 there is no place, said he, from
 which we can procure provisions before beginning our journey. I
 move, therefore, that we demand of the Heracleots not less than
 three thousand Cyzicenes —

another man said, not less than ten thousand— and
 that we choose ambassadors this very moment, while we are in
 session here, send them to the city, hear whatever report they
 may bring back, and take counsel in the light of
 that.

Thereupon they went to nominating ambassadors, first Cheirisophus,
 because he had been chosen commander, and some nominated Xenophon
 also. Both men, however, offered vigorous resistance; for both held
 the same view—that they ought not to coerce a friendly city of
 Greeks into giving what they did not offer of their own accord.

As these two seemed disinclined to act, they sent Lycon the Achaean,
 Callimachus the Parrhasian, and Agasias the Stymphalian. These men
 went and put before the Heracleots the resolutions adopted by the
 army; and Lycon, so the report ran, even added threats, in case they
 should refuse compliance.

After hearing the ambassadors, the Heracleots said that they would
 consider the matter; and immediately they set about gathering their
 property from the country and moved the market within the walls;
 meanwhile the gates had been closed and arms were to be seen upon
 the walls.

Thereupon those who had brought about
 this agitation accused the generals of spoiling their undertaking;
 and the Arcadians and Achaeans proceeded to band themselves
 together, under the leadership particularly of Callimachus the
 Parrhasian and Lycon the Achaean.

Their words were to this effect, that it was shameful that
 Peloponnesians should be under the command of an Athenian and a
 Lacedaemonian who contributed no troops to the army, and that the
 hardships should fall to themselves and the gains to others, all
 despite the fact that the preservation of the army was their
 achievement; for it was, they said, the Arcadians and Achaeans who
 had achieved this result, and the rest of the army amounted to
 nothing (in truth more than half the army did consist of Arcadians
 and Achaeans);

if they were wise, therefore, they would band together by themselves,
 choose generals from their own number, make the journey by
 themselves, and try to get a little good out of it.

This course was resolved upon, and whatever Arcadians or Achaeans
 there were with Cheirisophus and Xenophon left these commanders and
 joined forces, and they chose ten generals from their own number,
 decreeing that these ten were to do whatever might be decided upon
 by vote of the majority. So it was that the supreme command of
 Cheirisophus came to an end then and there, on the sixth or seventh
 day from the day of his election.

Xenophon, however, was desirous of
 making the journey in company with Cheirisophus, believing that this
 was a safer plan than for each of them to proceed independently; but
 Neon urged him to go by himself, for he had
 heard from Cheirisophus that Cleander, the Lacedaemonian governor at
 Byzantium , had
 said he was coming to Calpe Harbour with triremes;

it was Neon’s purpose, then, that no one else should get a share in
 this opportunity, but that he himself and Cheirisophus and their
 soldiers should sail away upon the triremes, and this was the reason
 for his advice to Xenophon. As for Cheirisophus, he was so
 despondent over what had happened and, besides, felt such hatred
 toward the army for its action, that he allowed Neon to do whatever
 he chose.

For a time, indeed, Xenophon did try to get clear of the army and
 sail away home; but when he sacrificed to Heracles the Leader,
 consulting him as to whether it was better and more proper for him
 to continue the journey with such of the soldiers as had remained
 with him, or to be rid of them, the god indicated to him by the
 sacrifices that he should stay with them.

Thus the army was split into three parts: first, the Arcadians and
 Achaeans, more than four thousand in number, all hoplites; secondly,
 Cheirisophus’ troops, to the number of fourteen hundred hoplites and
 seven hundred peltasts, the latter being Clearchus’ Thracians; and
 thirdly, Xenophon’s force, numbering seventeen hundred hoplites and
 three hundred peltasts; Xenophon alone, however, had horsemen, to
 the number of about forty.

The Arcadians, managing to obtain
 ships from the Heracleots, set sail first, with the intention of
 making an unexpected descent upon the Bithynians and thus securing
 the greatest possible amount of booty; and they disembarked at Calpe
 Harbour, about midway of the Thracian coast.

But Cheirisophus went by land from the very beginning of his journey
 from the city of the Heracleots, travelling across country; when,
 however, he had entered Thrace , he proceeded along the coast, for the
 reason that he was ill.

Xenophon, finally, took ships, disembarked at the boundaries
 separating Thrace and the
 territory of Heracleia, and pursued his way through the back
 country.

The fortunes of the several divisions
 were as follows. The Arcadians after disembarking by night at
 Calpe Harbour proceeded
 to the first villages, about thirty stadia from the sea.

When daylight came, each general led his own company against a
 village, except that where a village seemed unusually large, the
 generals combined two companies for the attack upon it.

They also fixed upon a hill as the place where all the troops were
 afterwards to gather; and since their onset was unexpected, they
 took many captives and were in a fair way to secure a large number
 of sheep.

The Thracians who escaped them, however, began to gather—and many had
 escaped, inasmuch as they were light troops as against hoplites,
 from the very hands of the Arcadians. When they had come together in
 a body, they first attacked the company under Smicres, one of the
 Arcadian generals, as it was already withdrawing to the appointed
 place with a great quantity of booty.

For a while the Greeks fought as they marched, but at the crossing of
 a gorge the Thracians put them to rout, and they killed not only
 Smicres himself, but the rest of the company to a man; in another of
 the companies belonging to the ten generals, the one commanded by
 Hegesander, they left only eight men alive, Hegesander himself being
 one of them.

The other companies succeeded in
 getting together, some of them with difficulty, other without any
 difficulty; but the Thracians, having gained this success, kept
 shouting to one another and collecting their forces energetically
 during the night. At daybreak they proceeded to form their lines all
 round the hill where the Greeks were encamping, their troops
 consisting of horsemen in large numbers and peltasts, while still
 more were continually streaming together;

and they made attacks upon the hoplites without danger to themselves,
 inasmuch as the Greeks had neither bowman nor javelin-thrower nor
 horseman; so they would come running or riding up and throw their
 javelins, and when the Greeks charged upon them, they would easily
 get away;

and different parties kept attacking at different points. Hence on
 the one side many were being wounded, on the other side not a man;
 the result was, that the Greeks were not able to stir from the spot,
 and at last the Thracians were even cutting them off from their
 water supply.

When their embarrassment became serious, they opened negotiations for
 a truce; and on every other point an agreement had been reached, but
 the Thracians refused to give the hostages which the Greeks
 demanded, and in this particular there was a hitch. Such, then, was
 the situation of the Arcadians.

As to Cheirisophus, he pursued his
 march in safety along the coast and arrived at Calpe
 Harbour. Xenophon, lastly, was
 proceeding through the back country when his horsemen, riding on in
 advance, chanced upon some old men who were journeying somewhere or
 other. When they were brought to Xenophon, he asked them whether
 they had heard of another army anywhere, a Greek army.

And they told him all that had happened, adding that at present the
 Greeks were being besieged upon a hill, with the Thracians in full
 force completely surrounding them. Then Xenophon kept these men
 under strict guard, in order that they might serve as guides
 wherever he might need to go; and after stationing watchers he
 called the troops together and spoke as follows:

Fellow soldiers, some of the Arcadians have been
 killed and the remainder of them are being besieged upon a
 certain hill. Now it is my own belief that if they are to
 perish, there is no salvation for us either, the enemy being so
 numerous and made so confident by their success.

Therefore it is best for us to go to
 the rescue of these men with all speed, so that if they are
 still alive, we may have their aid in the fighting, instead of
 being left alone and alone facing the danger.

For there is no place to which we can
 ourselves steal away from here; for to go back to
 Heracleia, he said, is a long
 journey, and it is a long journey through to Chrysopolis, and
 meanwhile the enemy are close at hand; to Calpe Harbour, where
 we presume Cheirisophus is, in case he has come through safely,
 is the shortest distance. But firstly, mark you, having arrived
 there we have neither ships wherein to sail away nor provisions
 for so much as a single day if we remain in the
 place;

and secondly, it is worse to have
 the blockaded force destroyed and take our chances in company
 with Cheirisophus’ troops only, than to have these men saved and
 then unite all our forces and together strive for deliverance.
 We must set forth, then, prepared in our minds for either
 meeting to-day a glorious death or accomplishing a most noble
 deed in saving so many Greeks.

And it may be that the god is
 guiding events in this way, he who wills that those who talked
 boastfully, as though possessed of superior wisdom, should be
 brought low, and that we, who always begin with the gods, should be set in a place of higher honour
 than those boasters. And now you must keep in line and on the
 alert, so that you can carry out the orders that are
 given.

For the present, then, let us go
 forward as far as may seem consistent with our time for dining,
 and then encamp; and so long as we are on the march, let
 Timasion with the cavalry ride on in advance, keeping us in
 sight, and spy out what is ahead, in order that nothing may
 escape our attention.

With these words he proceeded to lead
 the way. Furthermore, he sent out on the flanks and to the
 neighbouring heights some of the more active of the light-armed
 troops in order that they might signal to the army in case they
 should sight anything anywhere from any point of observation; and he
 directed them to burn everything they found that could be
 burned.

So the horsemen, scattering as widely as was proper, went to burning,
 the peltasts, making their way along the heights abreast of the main
 army, burned all they saw which was combustible, and the main army
 likewise burned anything they found that had been passed over; the
 result was, that the whole country seemed to be ablaze and the army
 seemed to be a large one.

When the time had come, they ascended a hill and encamped; from there
 they could see the campfires of the enemy, distant about forty
 stadia, and they kindled as many fires themselves as they could.

Immediately after they had dined, however, the order was given to
 extinguish every one of the fires. Then, after stationing guards,
 they slept the night through; and at daybreak they offered prayer to
 the gods, formed their lines for battle, and set forth at the
 fastest possible pace.

And Timasion and the horsemen, riding on ahead with the guides, found
 themselves without knowing it upon the hill where the Greeks had
 been besieged. They could see no army, however, either friendly or
 hostile (and this fact they reported back to Xenophon and the main
 body), but only some wretched old men and women and a few sheep and
 cattle that had been left behind.

At first they could only wonder what the thing was that had happened,
 but afterwards they managed to find out from the people who had been
 left behind that the Thracians had disappeared immediately after
 nightfall, and the Greeks also, they said, had gone; but whither,
 they did not know.

Upon hearing this report Xenophon and
 his men packed up, as soon as they had breakfasted, and set forth,
 wishing as speedily as possible to join their comrades at Calpe
 Harbour. As they proceeded, they could see the track of the
 Arcadians and Achaeans along the road leading towards Calpe. When
 the two detachments came together, the men were delighted to see one
 another, and greeted one another like brothers.

And the Arcadians inquired of Xenophon’s troops why they had put out
 their fires; for we imagined at first, 
 they said, when we could no longer see your
 fires, that you meant to come against the enemy during the
 night; and the enemy likewise, so at least it seemed to us,
 feared this, and on that account departed; for it was at about
 that time that they went away.

But when you failed to arrive,
 although the requisite time had passed, we supposed that you had
 learned of our situation and, seized with fear, had stealthily
 made off toward the sea; and we thought it best not to be left
 behind. That was the reason, then, why we also proceeded
 hither.

During that day they bivouacked where
 they were, upon the beach by the harbour. Now this place which is
 called Calpe Harbour is situated in Thrace -in-Asia; and this portion of Thrace begins
 at the mouth of the Euxine and extends as far as Heracleia, being on
 the right as one sails into the Euxine.

It is a long day’s journey for a trireme to row from Byzantium to Heracleia, and
 between the two places there is no other city, either friendly or
 Greek, only Bithynian Thracians; and they are said to abuse
 outrageously any Greeks they may find shipwrecked or may capture in
 any other way.

As for Calpe Harbour, it lies midway of the voyage between Heracleia
 and Byzantium and is
 a bit of land jutting out into the sea, the part of it which extends
 seaward being a precipitous mass of rock, not less than twenty
 fathoms high at its lowest point, and the isthmus which connects
 this head with the mainland being about four plethra in width; and
 the space to the seaward of the isthmus is large enough for ten
 thousand people to dwell in.

At the very foot of the rock there is a harbour whose beach faces
 toward the west, and an abundantly flowing spring of fresh water
 close to the shore of the sea and commanded by the headland. There
 is also a great deal of timber of various sorts, but an especially
 large amount of fine ship-timber, on the very shore of the sea.

The ridge extends back into the interior for about twenty stadia, and
 this stretch is deep-soiled and free from stones, while the land
 bordering the coast is thickly covered for a distance of more than
 twenty stadia with an abundance of heavy timber of all sorts.

The rest of the region is fair and extensive, and contains many
 inhabited villages; for the land produces barley, wheat, beans of
 all kinds, millet and sesame, a sufficient quantity of figs, an
 abundance of grapes which yield a good sweet wine, and in fact
 everything except olives.

Such was the country thereabouts. The
 men took up quarters on the beach by the sea, refusing to encamp on
 the spot which might become a city; indeed, the fact of their coming
 to this place at all seemed to them the result of scheming on the
 part of some people who wished to found a city.

For most of the soldiers had sailed away from Greece to undertake this service
 for pay, not because their means were scanty, but because they knew
 by report of the noble character of Cyrus ; some
 brought other men with them, some had even spent money of their own
 on the enterprise, while still another class had abandoned fathers
 and mothers, or had left children behind with the idea of getting
 money to bring back to them, all because they heard that the other
 people who served with Cyrus enjoyed abundant
 good fortune. Being men of this sort, therefore, they longed to
 return in safety to Greece .

On the day after the reunion of the
 three divisions Xenophon offered sacrifice with a view to an
 expedition; for it was necessary to go out after provisions and,
 besides, he intended to bury the Arcadian dead. When the sacrifices
 proved favourable, the Arcadians also followed with the rest, and they buried the greater
 part of the dead just where they each had fallen; for they had
 already lain unburied five days, and it was not now possible to
 carry away the bodies; some that lay upon the roads, however, they
 did gather together and honour with as fine a burial as their means
 allowed, while for those they could not find, they erected a great
 cenotaph, and placed wreaths upon it.

After doing all this they returned to their camp, and then took
 dinner and went to bed. On the following day all the soldiers held a
 meeting, the chief movers in the matter being Agasias the
 Stymphalian, a captain, Hieronymus the Elean, also a captain, and
 some others from among the eldest of the Arcadians.

They passed a resolution that if any man from this time forth should
 suggest dividing the army, he should be punished with death, and
 further, that the army should return to the same organization which
 formerly obtained, and that the former generals should resume
 command. Now by this time Cheirisophus had died, from the effects of
 a medicine which he took for a fever; and his command passed to Neon the
 Asinaean.

After this Xenophon rose and said:
 Fellow soldiers, our journey, it seems, must
 be made by land, for we have no ships; and we must set out at
 once, for we have no provisions if we remain here. We,
 then, he continued, will sacrifice,
 and you must prepare yourselves to fight if ever you did; for
 the enemy have renewed their courage.

Thereupon the generals proceeded to sacrifice, the soothsayer who was
 present being Arexion the Arcadian; for Silanus the Ambraciot had by
 this time stolen away, 
 on a vessel which he hired at Heracleia. When they sacrificed,
 however, with a view to their departure, the victims would not prove
 favourable,

and they accordingly ceased their offerings for that day. Now some
 people had the effrontery to say that Xenophon, in his desire to
 found a city at this spot, had induced the soothsayer to declare
 that the sacrifices were not favourable for departure.

Consequently he made public proclamation that on the morrow any one
 who so chose might be present at the sacrifice, and if a man were a
 soothsayer, he sent him word to be at hand to participate in the
 inspection of the victims; so he made the offering in the immediate
 presence of many witnesses.

But though he sacrificed a second and a third time with a view to
 departure, the victims would not prove favourable. At that the
 soldiers were angry, for the provisions they brought with them had
 given out and there was not yet any market at hand.

Therefore they held a meeting and
 Xenophon addressed them again. Soldiers, 
 he said, as for setting out upon our journey,
 the sacrifices, as you see, do not yet prove favourable for
 that; but I am aware that you are in need of provisions; hence
 it seems to me that we must sacrifice in regard to this latter
 point alone. Then some one rose and said:

There appears to be good reason why our
 sacrifices are not favourable; for as I heard from a man who
 chanced to arrive here yesterday on a ship, Cleander, the
 Lacedaemonian governor at Byzantium , is to come here with merchant
 vessels and men-of-war.

At that news all deemed it best to stay, but it was still necessary
 to go out after provisions. With this object in view Xenophon again
 sacrificed, going as far as three offerings, and the victims
 continued unfavourable. By this time people were even coming to
 Xenophon’s tent and declaring that they had no provisions, but he
 said that he would not lead forth unless the sacrifices turned out
 favourable.

On the next day he undertook to
 sacrifice again, and pretty nearly the entire army—for it was a
 matter of concern to every man—gathered about the place of
 sacrifice; but the victims had given out. Then the generals, while
 refusing to lead the men forth, called them together in
 assembly;

and Xenophon said: It may be that the enemy are
 gathered together and that we must fight; if, then, we should
 leave our baggage in the strong place and set out prepared for battle, perhaps our
 sacrifices would be successful.

Upon hearing this, however, the soldiers cried out that it was not at
 all necessary to enter the place, but, rather, to offer sacrifice
 with all speed. Now they no longer had any sheep, but they bought a
 bullock that was yoked to a wagon and proceeded to sacrifice; and
 Xenophon requested Cleanor the Arcadian to give special attention to
 see if there was anything auspicious in this offering. But not even
 so did the omens prove favourable.

Now Neon was general in place of
 Cheirisophus, and when he saw in what a terrible condition the
 soldiers were from want, he was desirous of doing them a kindness;
 so having found a certain Heracleot who claimed to know of villages
 near at hand from which it was possible to get provisions, he made
 proclamation that all who so wished were to go after provisions and
 that he would be their leader. There set out accordingly, with
 poles, wine-skins, bags, and other vessels, about two
 thousand men.

But when they had reached the villages and were scattering here and
 there for the purpose of securing plunder, they were attacked first
 of all by the horsemen of Pharnabazus; for they had come to the aid of the
 Bithynians, desiring in company with the Bithynians to prevent the
 Greeks, if they could, from entering Phrygia ; these horsemen killed no fewer than five
 hundred of the soldiers, the rest fleeing for refuge to the
 heights.

After this one of the men who escaped brought back word to the camp
 of what had happened. And Xenophon, inasmuch as the sacrifices had
 not proved favourable on that day, took a bullock that was yoked to
 a wagon,—for there were no other sacrificial animals,—offered it up,
 and set out to the rescue, as did all the rest who were under thirty
 years of age, to the last man.

And they picked up the survivors and returned to the camp. By this
 time it was about sunset, and the Greeks were making preparations
 for dinner in a state of great despondency when suddenly through the
 thickets some of the Bithynians burst upon the outposts, killing
 some of them and pursuing the rest up to the camp.

An outcry was raised, and all the Greeks ran to their arms; still, it
 did not seem safe to undertake a pursuit or to move the camp during
 the night, seeing that the region was thickly overgrown; so they
 spent the night under arms, keeping plenty of sentinels on
 watch.

In this way they got through the
 night, but at daybreak the generals led the way to the strong place
 and the men followed, taking up their arms and baggage. Before
 breakfast time came, they proceeded to dig a trench across the way
 of approach to the place, and they backed it along its
 entire length with a palisade, leaving three gates. And now a vessel
 arrived from Heracleia, bringing barley meal, sacrificial victims,
 and wine.

Xenophon arose early and sacrificed
 with a view to an expedition, and with the first offering the omens
 turned out favourable. Furthermore, just as the rites were nearing
 the end, the soothsayer, Arexion the Parrhasian, caught sight of an
 eagle in an auspicious quarter, and bade Xenophon lead on.

So they crossed the trench and grounded arms; then they made
 proclamation that after taking breakfast the troops were to march
 out under arms, while the camp-followers and captives were to be
 left behind where they were.

All the rest, then, proceeded to set forth, save only Neon; for it
 seemed best to leave him behind to keep guard over what was in the
 camp. But when his captains and soldiers began to abandon him, being
 ashamed not to follow along when the others were setting out, the
 generals left behind at the camp everybody who was over forty-five
 years of age. So these remained
 and the rest took up the march.

Before they had gone fifteen stadia they began to meet with dead
 bodies; and marching on until they had brought the rear of their
 column to a point opposite the first bodies which appeared, they
 proceeded to bury all that the column covered.

As soon as they had buried this first group, they marched forward and
 again brought the rear of the column into line with the first of the
 bodies which lay farther on, and then in the same way they buried
 all that the army covered. When, however, they had reached the road
 leading out of the villages, where the dead lay thick, they gathered
 them all together for burial.

It was now past midday, and, still
 leading the army forward, they were engaged in getting provisions
 outside the villages—anything there was to be seen within the limits
 of their line—when suddenly they caught sight of the enemy passing
 over some hills which lay opposite them, his force consisting of
 horsemen in large numbers and foot soldiers, all in battle
 formation; in fact, it was Spithridates and Rhathines, who had been
 sent out with their army by Pharnabazus.

As soon as the enemy sighted the Greeks, they came to a halt, at a
 distance from the Greeks of about fifteen stadia. Hereupon Arexion,
 the soothsayer of the Greeks, immediately offered sacrifice, and at
 the first victim the omens proved favourable. Then Xenophon
 said:

It seems to me, fellow generals, that we should
 station reserve companies behind our phalanx, so that we may
 have men to come to the aid of the phalanx if aid is needed at
 any point, and that the enemy, after they have fallen into
 disorder, may come upon troops that are in good order and
 fresh. All shared this opinion.

Well, then, said Xenophon, do you lead on toward our adversaries, in order
 that we may not be standing still now that we have been seen by
 the enemy and have seen them; and I will come along after
 arranging the hindmost companies in the way you have decided
 upon.

So while the others led on quietly, he detached the three hindmost
 battalions, consisting of two hundred men each, and turned the first
 one to the right with orders to follow after the phalanx at a
 distance of about a plethrum; this battalion was commanded by
 Samolas the Achaean; the second battalion he posted at the centre,
 to follow on in the same way; this one was under the command of
 Pyrrhias the Arcadian; and the last one he stationed upon the left,
 Phrasias the Athenian being in command of it.

Now when, as they advanced, the men
 who were in the lead reached a large ravine, difficult to pass, they
 halted, in doubt as to whether they ought to cross the ravine; and
 they passed along word for generals and captains to come up to the
 front.

Then Xenophon, wondering what it was that was holding up the march
 and speedily hearing the summons, rode forward in all haste. As soon
 as the officers had come together, Sophaenetus, who was the eldest
 of the generals, said that it was not a question worth considering
 whether they ought to cross such a ravine as that.

Xenophon rejoined, with much
 earnestness: Well, gentlemen, you know that I
 have never yet introduced you to any danger that was a matter of
 choice; for as I see the situation, you do not stand in need of
 reputation for bravery, but of a safe return.

But the conditions at this moment
 are these: there is no possibility of our getting away from here
 without a battle; for if we do not advance upon the enemy
 ourselves, they will follow us when we undertake to retire and
 fall upon us.

Consider, then, whether it is better
 to go forward against these men with arms advanced, or with arms
 reversed to behold the enemy coming upon us from behind.

Yet you know that to retire before
 an enemy does not beseem any man of honour, while to be in
 pursuit creates courage even in cowards. For my part, at any
 rate, I should rather advance to the attack with half as many
 men than to retreat with twice as many. And as to those troops
 yonder, I know that if we advance upon them, you do not
 yourselves expect them to await our attack, while if we retire,
 we all know that they will have the courage to pursue
 us.

Again, to cross a difficult ravine
 and get it in your rear when you are about to fight, is not that
 an opportunity really worth seizing? For it is to the enemy that
 I should myself wish to have all roads seem easy—for their
 retreat; as for ourselves, we ought to learn from the very
 ground before us that there is no safety for us except in
 victory.

I do wonder, however, that any one
 regards this particular ravine as more dreadful than the rest of
 the country we have just marched through. For how is that plain
 to be recrossed unless we are victorious over the enemy’s
 horsemen? how the mountains which we have passed through, if
 such a throng of peltasts are to be following at our
 heels?

Again, if we do reach the sea in
 safety, what a great ravine, one may say, is the Euxine! where
 we have neither ships to take us away nor food to subsist upon
 if we remain, while the sooner we reach there, the sooner we
 shall have to be off again in quest of provisions.

Well, then, it is better to fight
 to-day, with our breakfast already eaten, than to-morrow
 breakfastless. Gentlemen, our sacrificial victims were
 favourable, the bird-omens auspicious, the omens of the
 sacrifice most favourable; let us advance upon the enemy. These
 fellows, now that they have seen us at all, must not again get a
 pleasant dinner or encamp wherever they please.

After that the captains bade him lead
 on, and no one spoke in opposition. So he led the way, after giving
 orders that every man should cross at whatever point along the
 ravine he chanced to be; for it seemed that in this way the army
 would get together on the further side more quickly than if they
 defiled along the bridge which was over the ravine.

When they had crossed, he went along the lines and said: Soldiers, remember how many battles you have won,
 with the help of the gods, by coming to close quarters, remember
 what a fate they suffer who flee from the enemy, and bethink you
 of this, that we are at the doors of Greece .

Follow Heracles the Leader and
 summon one another on, calling each man by name. It will surely
 be sweet, through some manly and noble thing which one may say
 or do to-day, to keep himself in remembrance among those whom he
 wishes to remember him.

Thus he spoke as he rode along, while
 at the same time he began to lead the troops on slowly in line of
 battle; and after they had got the peltasts into position on either
 flank, they took up the march against the enemy. The orders had been
 to keep their spears on the right shoulder until a signal should be
 given with the trumpet; then, lowering them for the attack, to
 follow on slowly, nobody to break into a run. And now the watchword
 was passed along, Zeus Saviour, Heracles
 Leader. Meanwhile the enemy were standing their ground,
 thinking that the position they held was a good one.

When the Greeks were drawing near, the peltasts raised the battle-cry
 and proceeded to charge upon the enemy without waiting for any
 order; and the enemy rushed forward to meet them, both the horsemen
 and the mass of the Bithynians, and they put the peltasts to
 rout.

But when the phalanx of the hoplites kept moving on to meet them,
 marching rapidly, and at the same time the trumpet sounded, and they
 struck up the paean and after that raised the battle-cry, and at the
 same moment couched their spears, then the enemy no longer awaited
 the attack, but took to flight.

Timasion and the cavalry pursued, and killed as many as they could,
 considering their own small numbers. Now the left wing of the enemy,
 opposite which the Greek cavalry were stationed, was dispersed at
 once, but the right, since it was not vigorously pursued, got
 together upon a hill.

As soon as the Greeks saw that they were standing their ground there,
 they deemed it the easiest and safest course to charge upon them
 immediately. They accordingly struck up the paean and moved upon
 them at once; and they stood no longer. Thereupon the peltasts
 pursued until the right wing was dispersed; but few of the enemy,
 however, were killed, for his cavalry, numerous as they were,
 inspired fear.

But when the Greeks saw the cavalry of Pharnabazus standing with
 ranks still unbroken, and the Bithynian horsemen gathering together
 to join this force and looking down from a hill at what was going
 on, although they were tired they nevertheless thought that they
 must make as stout an attack as they could upon these troops also,
 so that they should not be able to regain courage and get rested.
 Accordingly, they formed their lines and set forth.

Thereupon the enemy’s horsemen fled down the slope just as if they
 were being pursued by horsemen; for a ravine was waiting to receive them,
 although the Greeks were not aware of the fact and hence turned
 aside from their pursuit before reaching it; for it was now late in
 the day.

So after returning to the spot where the first encounter took place
 and erecting a trophy, they set out on their way back to the sea at
 about sunset; and the distance to the camp was about sixty
 stadia.

After this the enemy occupied
 themselves with their own concerns, especially removing their slaves
 and property to the remotest point they could; meanwhile the Greeks
 were waiting for Cleander and the triremes and ships which were,
 presumably, coming, but every day they set forth with their baggage
 animals and slaves and fearlessly carried off wheat and barley,
 wine, beans, millet, and figs; for the country had all manner of
 good things, except olive oil.

Whenever the army remained in camp and rested, individuals were
 permitted to go out after plunder, and in that case kept what they
 got; but whenever the entire army set out, if an individual went off
 by himself and got anything, it was decreed to be public
 property.

And by this time there was an abundance of everything, for market
 products came in from the Greek cities on all sides, and people
 coasting past were glad to put in, since they heard that a city was
 being founded and that there was a harbour.

Even the hostile peoples who dwelt near by began now to send envoys
 to Xenophon—for they heard that he was the man who was making a city
 of the place—to ask what they must do in order to be his friends;
 and Xenophon would always show these envoys to the soldiers.

Meanwhile Cleander arrived with two
 triremes, but not a single merchant ship. It so chanced that the
 army was out foraging when he arrived, while certain individuals had
 gone in quest of plunder to a different place in the mountains and
 had secured a large number of sheep; so fearing that they might be
 deprived of them, they told their
 story to Dexippus, the man who slipped away from Trapezus with the
 fifty-oared warship, and
 urged him to save their sheep for them, with the understanding that
 he was to get some of the sheep himself and give the rest back to
 them.

So he immediately proceeded to drive away the soldiers who were
 standing about and declaring that the animals were public property,
 and then he went and told Cleander that they were attempting
 robbery. Cleander directed him to bring the robber before him.

So he seized a man and tried to take him to Cleander, but Agasias,
 happening to meet them, rescued the man, for he was one of his
 company. Then the other soldiers who were at hand set to work to
 stone Dexippus, calling him The traitor. And
 many of the sailors from the triremes got frightened and began to
 flee toward the sea, and Cleander also fled.

Xenophon, however, and the other generals tried to hold them back,
 and told Cleander that nothing was the matter, but that the
 resolution of the army was the reason for this incident taking
 place.

But Cleander, goaded on by Dexippus and angered on his own account
 also because he had been frightened, declared that he would sail
 away and issue a proclamation forbidding any city to receive them,
 on the ground that they were enemies. And at this time the
 Lacedaemonians held
 the hegemony over all the Greeks.

Upon this the affair seemed to the Greeks a bad business, and they
 begged Cleander not to carry out his intention. He replied that no
 other course would be taken unless they should deliver up the man
 who began the stoning and the one who rescued Dexippus’
 prisoner.

Now Agasias, whom he thus demanded, had been a friend of Xenophon’s
 all through—which was the very reason why Dexippus was slandering
 him. After that the commanders,
 perplexed as they were, called a meeting of the army; and while some
 of them made light of Cleander, Xenophon thought that it was no
 trifling matter, and he arose and said:

Fellow soldiers, it seems to me it is no
 trifling matter if Cleander is to go away with such an intention
 toward us as he has expressed. For the Greek cities are close
 by, the Lacedaemonians stand as the leaders of Greece , and they are able,
 nay, any single Lacedaemonian is able, to accomplish in the
 cities whatever he pleases.

Hence if this man shall begin by
 shutting us out of Byzantium , and then shall send word to the
 other governors not to receive us into their cities, on the
 ground that we are disobedient to the Lacedaemonians and
 lawless, and if, further, this report about us shall reach
 Anaxibius, the Lacedaemonian admiral, it will be
 difficult for us either to remain or to sail away; for at
 present the Lacedaemonians are supreme both on land and
 sea.

Now the rest of us must not be kept
 away from Greece for
 the sake of one or two men, but we must obey whatever order the
 Lacedaemonians may give us; for the cities from which we come
 likewise obey them.

For my own part, therefore,—for I
 hear that Dexippus is saying to Cleander that Agasias would not
 have done what he did if I had not given him the order,—for my
 own part, I say, I relieve both you and Agasias of the
 accusation if Agasias himself shall say that I was in any way
 responsible for this occurrence, and I pass judgment against
 myself, if I have taken the lead in stone-throwing or any other
 sort of violence, that I deserve to suffer the uttermost
 penalty, and I shall submit to the penalty.

And I maintain also that if he holds
 any one else responsible, that man ought to put himself in
 Cleander’s hands for trial; for in that way you would stand
 relieved of the accusation. But as matters are now, it will be
 hard if we who expected to obtain both praise and honour in
 Greece , shall find
 instead that we are not even on an equality with the rest of the
 Greeks, but are shut out from their cities.

After this Agasias rose and said:
 Soldiers, I swear by the gods and goddesses
 that in very truth neither Xenophon nor any one else among you
 directed me to rescue the man; but when I saw a good man of my
 own company being led off by Dexippus, the one who betrayed you,
 as you know for yourselves, it seemed to me an outrage; and I
 rescued him, I admit it.

Now do not you deliver me up; but I
 will myself, as Xenophon proposes, put myself in Cleander’s
 hands, so that he may try me and do with me whatever he may
 choose; do not for this cause make war upon the Lacedaemonians,
 but rather accomplish a safe return, each of you to the place
 where he wishes to go. I beg you, however, to choose some of
 your own number and send them with me to Cleander, so that if I
 pass over anything, they may speak, and act too, on my
 behalf.

Thereupon the army empowered him to
 choose whomever he wished and take them with him, and he chose the
 generals. After this Agasias set off to Cleander, and with him the
 generals and the man he had rescued.

And the generals said: We have been sent to you,
 Cleander, by the army, and they ask you, in case you accuse them
 all, to bring them to trial yourself and deal with them as you
 please; or in case you accuse some one individual, or two or
 more, they demand of these men that they put themselves in your
 hands for trial. Therefore if you have any charge against any
 one of us, we are now here before you; if you have any charge
 against any one else, tell us; for no one who is ready to yield
 obedience to us will fail to present himself before
 you.

After this Agasias came forward and said: I am
 the person, Cleander, who rescued this man here from Dexippus
 when he was leading him off, and who gave the order to strike
 Dexippus.

For I know that this soldier here is
 a good man, and I know also that Dexippus was chosen by the army
 to be commander of the fifty-oared warship which we begged for
 and obtained from the Trapezuntians on the understanding that
 with it we were to collect vessels whereon we might return in
 safety, and that this Dexippus slipped away from us, and
 betrayed the soldiers in whose company he had gained
 deliverance.

So we have robbed the Trapezuntians
 of their warship and are rascals in their estimation, all on
 account of this Dexippus; indeed, we have lost our very lives,
 so far as lay in this fellow’s power; for he heard, just as we
 did, that it was impossible, returning by land, to cross the
 rivers and reach Greece 
 in safety.

It was from that sort of a fellow,
 then, that I rescued his prisoner. Had it been you who were
 leading him off, or any one of your men, and not one of our
 runaways, be well assured that I should have done nothing of
 this kind. And believe that if you now put me to death, you are
 putting to death a good man for the sake of a coward and a
 scoundrel.

Upon hearing these words Cleander said
 that he had no commendation for Dexippus if he had behaved in this
 way, but that he nevertheless thought that even if Dexippus were an
 utter scoundrel, he ought not to have suffered violence; rather, he continued, he should first have had a trial, just as you are yourselves
 asking in the present case, and should then have received his
 punishment.

For the moment, therefore, go away,
 leaving this man here with me, and when I issue the order, be
 present for the trial. And I bring no charge either against the
 army or any other person now that this man himself admits that
 he rescued the prisoner.

Then the one who had been rescued said: For
 myself, Cleander, in case you really imagine that I was being
 led off for some wrong doing, I neither struck nor stoned
 anybody, but merely said that the sheep were public property.
 For a resolution had been passed by the soldiers that if any one
 should do any plundering on his own account when the entire army
 went out, what he secured was to be public property.

That was what I said, and thereupon
 this fellow seized me and proceeded to lead me off, in order
 that nobody might utter a word, but that he might save the booty
 for the plunderers in violation of the ordinance—and get his own
 share out of it. In reply to this Cleander said: Well, since that is your statement, stay behind,
 so that we can take up your case also.

After that Cleander and his party
 proceeded to breakfast; and Xenophon called a meeting of the army
 and advised the sending of a delegation to Cleander to intercede for
 the men.

Thereupon the troops resolved to send the generals and captains,
 Dracontius the Spartan, and such others as seemed fitted for the
 mission, and to request Cleander by all means to release the two
 men.

So Xenophon came before him and said: You have
 the men, Cleander, and the army has submitted to you and allowed
 you to do what you pleased both with these men and with their
 entire body. But now they beg and entreat you to give them the
 two men, and not to put them to death; for many are the labours
 these two have performed for the army in the past.

Should they obtain this favour at
 your hands, they promise you in return that, if you wish to be
 their leader and if the gods are propitious, they will show you
 not only that they are orderly, but that they are able, with the
 help of the gods, while yielding obedience to their commander,
 to feel no fear of the enemy.

They make this further request of
 you, that when you have joined them and assumed command of them,
 you make trial both of Dexippus and of the rest of them to see
 how the two sorts of men compare, and then give to each his
 deserts.

Upon hearing these words Cleander replied: Well,
 by the twin gods, my answer
 to you all will be speedy indeed. I give you the two men and I
 will myself join you, and if the gods so grant, I will lead you
 to Greece . These words
 of yours are decidedly the opposite of what I have been hearing
 about you from some people, namely, that you were trying to make
 the army disloyal to the Lacedaemonians.

After this they thanked him and
 departed, taking the two men with them; and Cleander undertook
 sacrifices with a view to the journey and associated amicably with
 Xenophon, so that the two men struck up a friendship. Furthermore,
 when Cleander came to see for himself that the troops carried out
 their orders with good discipline, he was more than ever eager to
 become their commander.

When, however, although he continued his sacrifices over three days,
 the victims would not prove favourable, he called a meeting of the
 generals and said: The victims do not prove
 favourable to me as the man to lead you onward; but it is not
 for you to be despondent on that account, since to you, as it
 seems, is given the office of delivering these soldiers. To the
 road, then! And we shall give you, when you have reached your
 journey’s end, as splendid a reception as we can.

Thereupon the soldiers voted to
 present to him the sheep that were public property, and he accepted
 them, but gave them back again to the troops. Then he sailed away.
 And the soldiers, after selling the corn they had gathered together
 and the other booty they had secured, set out on their march through
 the country of the Bithynians.

But when in following the direct road they failed to find any booty,
 to enable them to reach friendly territory with a little something
 in hand, they resolved to turn about and take the opposite direction
 for one day and night. By so doing they secured slaves and sheep in
 abundance; and on the sixth day they arrived at Chrysopolis, in
 Calchedonia, where they remained for seven days, selling their
 spoils.

[The preceding narrative has described all that
 the Greeks did on their upward march with Cyrus 
 until the time of the battle, all that took place after the death of
 Cyrus on their journey to the Euxine Sea , and the whole course
 of their doings while they were travelling on, by land and water,
 from the Euxine, until they got beyond its mouth, arriving at
 Chrysopolis, in Asia .]

After this Pharnabazus, in fear that
 the Greek army might carry on a campaign against his own land, sent
 to Anaxibius, the admiral, who chanced to be at Byzantium , and asked him to
 carry the army across out of
 Asia , promising to do
 everything for him that might be needful.

Anaxibius accordingly summoned the generals and captains to
 Byzantium , and
 gave them promises that if they crossed over, the soldiers would
 have regular pay.

The rest of the officers replied that they would consider the matter
 and report back to him, but Xenophon told him that he intended to
 part company with the army at once, and wanted to sail home.
 Anaxibius, however, bade him cross over with the others, and leave
 them only after that. Xenophon said, therefore, that he would do
 so.

And now Seuthes the Thracian sent
 Medosades to Xenophon and urged him to help him to bring the army
 across, adding that if he did render such assistance, he would not
 be sorry for it.

Xenophon replied: Why, the army is going to cross
 over; so far as that is concerned, let not Seuthes pay anything
 either to me or to any one else; but as soon as it has crossed,
 when I myself am to leave the army, let him deal with those who
 stay on and are in authority, in any way that may seem to him
 safe.

After this all the soldiers crossed
 over to Byzantium .
 And Anaxibius would not give them pay, but made proclamation that
 the troops were to take their arms and their baggage and go forth
 from the city, saying that he was going to send them back home and
 at the same time to make an enumeration of them. At that the
 soldiers were angry, for they had no money with which to procure
 provisions for the journey, and they set about packing up with
 reluctance.

Xenophon meanwhile, since he had become a friend of Cleander, the
 governor, called to take leave of him, saying that he was to sail
 home at once. And Cleander said to him: Do not
 do so; if you do, said he, you will
 be blamed, for even now certain people are laying it to your
 charge that the army is slow about moving away.

Xenophon replied: Why, I am not responsible for
 that; it is rather that the soldiers lack food supplies and on
 that account are depressed about their going away.

Nevertheless, said Cleander, I advise you to go forth from the city as though
 you were planning to make the journey with them, and to leave
 them only when the army has got outside. 
 Well, then, said Xenophon, we will go to Anaxibius and negotiate about this
 matter. So they went and put the question before him.

His orders were, that Xenophon was to follow the course proposed and
 that the troops were to pack up and leave the city with all speed;
 and he further declared that any one who was not present for the
 review and the enumeration would have himself to blame for the
 consequences.

After that the army proceeded to march
 forth from the city, the generals at the head and then the rest. And
 now the entire body with the exception of a few men were outside,
 and Eteonicus was standing by the gates ready, as soon as
 the last man got out, to close the gates and thrust in the
 crossbar.

Then Anaxibius called together the generals and captains and said:
 Get your provisions from the Thracian
 villages; there is an abundance there of barley and wheat and
 other supplies; when you have got them, proceed to the
 Chersonese , and
 there Cyniscus will take
 you into his pay.

And some of the soldiers, overhearing these words, or perhaps one of
 the captains, proceeded to spread the report of them through the
 army. Meanwhile the generals were inquiring about Seuthes, whether
 he was hostile or friendly, and whether they were to march by way of
 the Sacred Mountain or go round through the middle of Thrace .

While they were talking over these matters, the soldiers caught up
 their arms and rushed at full speed toward the gates, intending to
 get back inside the city wall. But when Eteonicus and his men saw
 the hoplites running towards them, they shut the gates and thrust in
 the bar.

The soldiers, however, set to hammering at the gates, and said that
 they were most unjustly treated in being cast out and left at the
 mercy of the enemy; and they declared that they would break through
 the gates if the keepers did not open them of their own accord.

Meanwhile others ran down to the shore, made their way along the
 break-water, and thus scaled the wall and got into the city, while
 still others, who chanced to be within the walls, seeing what was
 going on at the gates, cut through the bar with their axes and threw
 the gates open, whereupon the rest rushed in.

When Xenophon saw what was taking
 place, being seized with fear lest the army might fall to plundering
 and irreparable harm might be done to the city, to himself, and to
 the soldiers, he ran and plunged within the gates along with the
 rest of the throng.

As for the Byzantines, no sooner did they see the army bursting in by
 force than they fled from the market-place, some to their boats and
 others to their homes, while all who chanced to be indoors ran out,
 and some took to launching the ships-of-war in order to seek safety
 in them—all alike imagining that they were lost and the city
 captured.

Eteonicus made his escape to the citadel. Anaxibius ran down to the
 shore, sailed round in a fishing boat to the citadel, and
 immediately summoned the garrison from Calchedon; for the force in
 the citadel did not seem adequate to bring the Greek troops under
 control.

As soon as the soldiers saw Xenophon,
 many of them rushed towards him and said: Now is your
 opportunity, Xenophon, to prove yourself a man. You have a city,
 you have triremes, you have money, you have this great number of
 men. Now, should you so wish, you would render us a service and
 we should make you great.

He replied, desiring to quiet them down: Your
 advice is certainly good, and I shall do as you say; but if this
 is what you long for, ground your arms in line of battle with
 all speed. Then he proceeded to pass along this order
 himself and bade the others send it on—to ground their arms in
 battle line.

The men acted as their own marshals, and within a short time the
 hoplites had fallen into line eight deep and the peltasts had got
 into position on either wing.

The place where they were, indeed, is a most excellent one for
 drawing out a line of troops, being the so-called Thracian Square,
 which is free of houses and level. As soon as their arms were
 grounded and they had quieted down, Xenophon called the troops
 together and spoke as follows:

That you are angry, fellow soldiers, and believe
 you are outrageously treated in being so deceived, I do not
 wonder. But if we indulge our anger, by taking vengeance for
 this deception upon the Lacedaemonians who are here and by
 sacking the city which is in no way to blame, consider the
 results that will follow.

We shall be declared to be at war
 with the Lacedaemonians and their allies. And what sort of a war
 that would prove to be one may at least conjecture by having
 seen and by recalling to mind the events which have quite lately
 taken place.

We Athenians, remember, entered upon
 our war against the Lacedaemonians and their allies with no
 fewer than three hundred triremes, some afloat and others in the
 dockyards, with an abundance of treasure already at hand in our
 city, and with a yearly revenue, accruing at home or coming in
 from our foreign possessions, of not less than a thousand
 talents; we ruled over all the islands, we possessed many cities
 in Asia , in Europe we possessed among many
 others this very city of Byzantium also, where we now are,—and we were
 vanquished, in the way that all of you remember.

What fate, then, may you and I
 expect to suffer now, when the Lacedaemonians still have their
 old allies, when the Athenians and all who at that time were
 allied with them have been added to the number, when
 Tissaphernes and all the rest of the barbarians on the coast are
 hostile to us, and most hostile of all the King himself, up in
 the interior, the man whom we came to deprive of his empire, and
 to kill if we could? With all these banded together against us,
 is there any man so witless as to suppose that we should come
 off victorious?

In the name of the gods let us not
 be mad, nor let us perish disgracefully as enemies both to our
 native states and to our own friends and kinsmen. For all of
 them are in the cities which will take the field against us, and
 will do so justly if we, after refraining from the seizure of
 any barbarian city, conquerors though we were, are to take the
 first Greek city we have come to and pillage that.

For my part, therefore, I pray that
 sooner than live to behold this deed wrought by you, I may be
 laid ten thousand fathoms underground. And to you my advice is,
 that being Greeks you endeavour to obtain your just rights by
 obedience to the leaders of the Greeks. If you are unable to
 accomplish this, we must not at any rate, even though wronged,
 be deprived of our return to Greece .

And now it is my opinion that we
 should send messengers to Anaxibius and say to him: We have not made our way into the city to do
 any violence, but to obtain some good thing from you if we
 can, or if that is not possible, at least to show that we go
 forth, not because we are deceived, but because we are
 obedient.

This course was resolved upon, and
 they sent Hieronymus the Elean, Eurylochus the Arcadian, and
 Philesius the Achaean to bear this message. So they departed to
 perform their mission.

While the soldiers were still in
 session Coeratadas the Theban came in, a man who was going up and
 down Greece , not in exile,
 but because he was afflicted with a desire to be a general, and he
 was offering his services to any city or people that might be
 wanting a general; so at this time he came to the troops and said
 that he was ready to lead them to the Delta, as it is called, of Thrace , where they could get
 plenty of good things; and until they should reach there, he said he
 would supply them with food and drink in abundance.

When the soldiers heard this proposal and the word that came back at
 the same time from Anaxibius—his reply was, that if they were
 obedient they would not be sorry for it, but that he would report
 the matter to his government at home and would himself devise
 whatever good counsel he could in their case—

they thereupon accepted Coeratadas as general and withdrew outside
 the walls. And Coeratadas made an agreement with them that he would
 join the army on the next day with sacrificial victims and a
 soothsayer, as well as food and drink for the troops.

Meanwhile, as soon as they had gone forth from the city, Anaxibius
 closed the gates and made proclamation that any soldier who might be
 caught inside the city would be sold as a slave.

On the next day Coeratadas arrived with his sacrificial victims and
 his soothsayer, and there followed him twenty men loaded with
 barley-meal, another twenty with wine, three with olives, another
 man with as big a load of garlic as he could carry, and another with
 onions. After setting down all these things, as though for
 distribution, he proceeded to sacrifice.

And now Xenophon sent for Cleander and
 urged him to make arrangements so that he could enter within the
 wall and thus sail homeward from Byzantium .

When Cleander returned, he said that it was only with very great
 difficulty that he had accomplished the arrangement; for Anaxibius
 said it was not well to have the soldiers close by the wall and
 Xenophon within it; the Byzantines, moreover, were in a factious
 state and hostile to one another. Nevertheless, Cleander continued, he
 bade you come in if you are intending to sail away with
 him.

Xenophon accordingly took his leave of the soldiers and went back
 within the wall in company with Cleander. As for Coeratadas, on the
 first day he could not get good omens from his sacrifices nor did he
 serve out any rations at all to the troops; on the following day the
 victims were standing beside the altar and Coeratadas had on his
 chaplet, ready for the sacrifice, when Timasion the Dardanian, Neon
 the Asinaean, and Cleanor the Orchomenian came up and told him not
 to make the offering, for he was not to be leader of the army unless
 he should give them provisions.

So he ordered rations to be served out. When it proved, however, that
 his supply fell far short of amounting to a day’s food for each of
 the soldiers, he took his victims and went away, renouncing his
 generalship.

There now remained in command of the
 army Neon the Asinaean, Phryniscus the Achaean, Philesius the
 Achaean, Xanthicles the Achaean, and Timasion the Dardanian, and
 they proceeded to some villages of the Thracians which were near
 Byzantium and
 there encamped.

Now the generals were at variance in their views: Cleanor and
 Phryniscus wanted to lead the army to Seuthes, for he had been
 trying to persuade them to this course and had given one of them a
 horse and the other a woman; Neon wanted to go to the Chersonese , thinking that if the troops should
 fall under the control of the Lacedaemonians, he would be leader of
 the entire army; and Timasion was eager to cross back again to
 Asia , for he thought
 that in this way he could accomplish his return home. As for the
 troops, to return home was what they also desired.

As time wore on, however, many of the soldiers either sold their arms
 up and down the country and set sail for home in any way they could,
 or else mingled with the people of the neighbouring Greek
 cities.

And Anaxibius was glad to hear the news that the army was breaking
 up; for the thought that if this process went on, Pharnabazus would
 be very greatly pleased.

While Anaxibius was on his homeward
 voyage from Byzantium , he was met at Cyzicus by Aristarchus,
 Cleander’s successor as governor of Byzantium ; and it was
 reported that his own successor as admiral, Polus, had by this time
 all but reached the Hellespont .

Anaxibius, then, charged Aristarchus to sell as slaves all the
 soldiers of Cyru s’ army that he might find left
 behind at Byzantium .
 As for Cleander, he had not sold one of them, but had even been
 caring for their sick out of pity and compelling the Byzantines to
 receive them in their houses; but the moment Aristarchus arrived he
 sold no fewer than four hundred.

When Anaxibius had coasted along to Parium, he sent to Pharnabazus,
 according to the terms of their agreement. As soon as Pharnabazus learned,
 however, that Aristarchus had come to Byzantium as governor and
 that Anaxibius was no longer admiral, he paid no heed to Anaxibius,
 but set about making the same arrangement with Aristarchus in regard
 to Cyru s’ army as he had had with
 Anaxibius.

Thereupon Anaxibius summoned
 Xenophon and urged him by all
 manner of means to set sail as quickly as possible and join the
 army, and not only to keep it together, but likewise to collect the
 greatest number he could of those who had become scattered from the
 main body, and then, after leading the entire force along the coast
 to Perinthus, to take it across to Asia with all speed; he also gave
 him a thirty-oared warship and a letter, and sent with him a man who
 was to order the Perinthians to furnish Xenophon with horses and
 speed him on his way to the army as rapidly as possible. So Xenophon
 sailed across to Perinthus and then made his way to the army;

and the soldiers received him with pleasure, and were glad to follow
 his lead at once, with the idea of crossing over from Thrace to Asia .

Meanwhile Seuthes, upon hearing of
 Xenophon’s arrival, sent Medosades to him again by sea, and begged
 him to bring the army to him, offering any promise whereby he
 imagined he could persuade him. Xenophon replied that it was not
 possible for anything of this sort to come to pass, and upon
 receiving this answer Medosades departed.

As for the Greeks, when they reached Perinthus, Neon with about eight
 hundred men parted company with the others and took up a separate
 camp; but all the rest of the army were together in the same place,
 beside the wall of the Perinthians.

After this Xenophon proceeded to
 negotiate for ships, in order that they might cross over with all
 possible speed. But meantime Aristarchus, the governor at Byzantium , arrived with two
 triremes and, having been persuaded to this course by Pharnabazus,
 not only forbade the shipmasters to carry the army across, but came
 to the camp and told the soldiers not to pass over into Asia .

Xenophon replied, Anaxibius so ordered, and sent
 me here for that purpose. And Aristarchus retorted, Anaxibius, mark you, is no longer admiral, and I
 am governor here; if I catch any one of you on the sea, I will
 sink him. With these words he departed within the walls
 of Perinthus. On the next day he sent for the generals and captains
 of the army.

When they were already near the wall, some one brought word to
 Xenophon that if he went in he would be seized, and would either
 meet some ill fate then and there or else be delivered over to
 Pharnabazus. Upon hearing this he sent the rest on ahead, telling
 them that he was desirous himself of offering a certain
 sacrifice.

Then he went back and sacrificed to learn whether the gods permitted
 of his endeavouring to take the army to Seuthes. For he saw that it
 was not safe for them to try to cross over to Asia when the man who intended to
 prevent their passage possessed triremes; on the other hand, it was
 not his desire that the army should go to the Chersonese and find itself shut up
 and in sore need of everything in a place where it would be
 necessary to obey the resident governor and where the army would not
 obtain anything in the way of provisions.

While Xenophon was occupied with his
 sacrificing, the generals and captains returned from their visit to
 Aristarchus with word that he directed them to go away for the
 present, but to come back during the afternoon; at that report the
 design against Xenophon seemed to be even more manifest.

Since, therefore, the sacrifices appeared to be favourable,
 portending that he and the army might go to Seuthes in safety,
 Xenophon took Polycrates, the Athenian captain, and from each of the
 generals except Neon a man in whom each had confidence, and set off
 by night to visit Seuthes’ army, sixty stadia away.

When they had got near it, he came upon watch-fires with no one about
 them. And at first he supposed that Seuthes had shifted his camp to
 some other place; but when he became aware of a general uproar and
 heard Seuthes’ followers signalling to one another, he comprehended
 that the reason Seuthes had his watch-fires kindled in front of the
 pickets was in order that the pickets might remain unseen, in the
 darkness as they were, so that no one could tell either how many
 they were or where they were, while on the other hand people who
 were approaching could not escape notice, but would be visible in
 the light of the fires.

When he did see pickets, he sent
 forward the interpreter he chanced to have and bade them tell
 Seuthes that Xenophon had come and desired to meet with him. They
 asked whether he was an Athenian from the army.

And when Xenophon made reply that he was the man, they leaped up and
 hastened off; and a little afterwards about two hundred peltasts
 appeared, took Xenophon and his party, and proceeded to conduct them
 to Seuthes.

He was in a tower and well guarded, and all around the tower were
 horses ready bridled; for out of fear he gave his horses their
 fodder by day, and by night kept them ready bridled to guard himself
 with.

For there was a story that in time gone by Teres, an ancestor of
 Seuthes, being in this region with a large army, lost many of his
 troops and was robbed of his baggage train at the hands of the
 people of this neighbourhood; they were the Thynians, and were said
 to be the most warlike of all men, especially by night.

When the Greek party had drawn near,
 Seuthes directed Xenophon to come in, with any two men he might
 choose to bring with him. As soon as they were inside, they first
 greeted one another and drank healths after the Thracian fashion in
 horns of wine; and Seuthes had Medosades present also, the same man
 who went everywhere as his envoy.

After that Xenophon began the speaking: You sent
 to me, Seuthes, first at Calchedon, this man Medosades, with the
 request that I make every effort on your behalf to bring the
 army across from Asia ,
 and with the promise that if I should do this, you would treat
 me well—as Medosades here declared.

After saying this, he asked Medosades whether this statement of the
 matter was a true one. He replied that it was. Medosades here came to me a second time after I had crossed
 over from Parium to rejoin the army, and promised that if I
 should bring the army to you, you would not only treat me in all
 ways as a friend and a brother, but in particular would give me
 the places on the seacoast of which you hold
 possession.

Hereupon he again asked Medosades whether this was what he said, and
 he again agreed that it was. Come, now, 
 Xenophon went on, tell Seuthes what answer I
 made you that first time at Calchedon.

You answered that the army was going to cross
 over to Byzantium 
 and there was no need, so far as that was concerned, of paying
 anything to you or any one else; you also stated that when you
 had got across, you were yourself to leave the army; and it
 turned out just as you said.

What then did I say, Xenophon asked,
 at the time when you came to me near
 Selymbria ? 
 You said that the project was not possible, but
 that you were going to Perinthus and intended to cross over from
 there to Asia .

Well, then, said Xenophon, at this moment I am here myself, along with
 Phryniscus here, one of the generals, and Polycrates yonder, one
 of the captains, and outside are representatives of the other
 generals except Neon the Laconian, in each case the man most
 trusted by each general.

If you wish, therefore, to have the
 transaction better safeguarded, call them in also. Go and say to
 them, Polycrates, that I direct them to leave their arms behind,
 and do you yourself leave your sabre out there before coming
 back again.

Upon hearing these words Seuthes said
 that he should not distrust any one who was an Athenian; for he
 knew, he said, that the Athenians were kinsmen of his, and he believed they
 were loyal friends. After this, when those who were to be present
 had come in, Xenophon began by asking Seuthes what use he wanted to
 make of the army.

Then Seuthes spoke as follows: Maesades was my
 father, and his realm embraced the Melanditae, the Thynians, and
 the Tranipsae. Now when the affairs of the Odrysians fell into a
 bad state, my father was driven out of this country, and
 thereafter sickened and died, while I, the son, was brought up
 as an orphan at the court of Medocus, the present
 king.

When I became a young man, however,
 I could not endure to live with my eyes turned toward another’s
 table; so I sat myself down on the same seat with Medocus as a
 suppliant and besought him to give me as many men as he could,
 in order that I might inflict whatever harm I could upon those
 who drove us out, and might live without turning my eyes toward
 his table.

Thereupon he gave me the men and the
 horses that you will see for yourselves as soon as day has come.
 And now I live with them, plundering my own ancestral land. But
 if you should join me, I think that with the aid of the gods I
 could easily recover my realm. It is this that I
 want.

What, then, said Xenophon, should you be able, in case we came, to give to
 the rank and file, to the captains, and to the generals? Tell
 us, so that these men here may carry back word.

And Seuthes promised to give to each soldier a Cyzicene, to the captains twice as much, and to the
 generals four times as much; furthermore, as much land as they might
 wish, yokes of oxen, and a fortified place upon the seacoast.

But, said Xenophon, if we make this attempt and do not succeed, because of some
 intimidation on the part of the Lacedaemonians, will you receive
 into your country any one who may wish to leave the army and
 come to you?

And he replied: Nay, more than that, I will make
 you my brothers, table-companions, sharers to the uttermost in
 all that we may find ourselves able to acquire. And to you,
 Xenophon, I will also give my daughter, and if you have a
 daughter, I will buy her after the Thracian fashion; and I will
 give you for a residence Bisanthe , the very fairest of all the places I
 have upon the seacoast.

After hearing these words and giving
 and receiving pledges they rode away, and before daybreak they
 arrived at the camp and made their report, each one to those who had
 sent him.

When day came, Aristarchus again summoned the generals; but they
 resolved to disregard the summons of Aristarchus and instead to call
 a meeting of the army. And all the troops gathered except Neon’s
 men, who were encamped about ten stadia away.

When they had gathered, Xenophon arose and spoke as follows: Soldiers, as for sailing across to the place where
 we wish to go, Aristarchus with his triremes prevents our doing
 that; the result is, that it is not safe for us to embark upon
 boats; but this same Aristarchus directs us to force our way to
 the Chersonese , through
 the Sacred Mountain ; and if we make ourselves masters of the
 mountain and get to the Chersonese , he says that he will not sell you
 any more, as he did at Byzantium , that you will not be cheated any
 more but will receive pay, and that he will not shut his eyes
 any more, as he does now, to your being in want of
 provisions.

So much for what Aristarchus says;
 but Seuthes says that if you come to him, he will treat you
 well. Now, therefore, make up your minds whether you will
 consider this question here and now or after you have set forth
 in quest of provisions.

My own opinion is, seeing that here
 we neither have money with which to buy nor are permitted to
 take anything without money, that we ought to set forth to the
 villages from which we are permitted to take, since their
 inhabitants are weaker than ourselves, and that there, possessed
 of provisions and hearing what the service is that one wants us
 for, we should choose whatever course may seem best to
 us.

Whoever, he said, holds this opinion, let him raise his hand. 
 Every hand was raised. Go away, then, 
 Xenophon continued, and pack up, and when the
 word is given, follow the van.

After this Xenophon led the way and
 the troops followed. Neon, indeed, and messengers from Aristarchus
 tried to persuade them to turn back, but they would not listen to
 them. When they had advanced as much as thirty stadia, Seuthes met
 them. And Xenophon, catching sight of him, bade him ride up to the
 troops, in order that he might tell him within hearing of the
 greatest possible number what they had decided upon as
 advantageous.

When he had come up, Xenophon said: We are on our
 way to a place where the army will be able to get food; there we
 shall listen both to you and to the Laconian’s messengers,
 and make whatever choice may seem to be best. If, then, you will
 guide us to a spot where there are provisions in greatest
 abundance, we shall think we are being hospitably entertained by
 you.

And Seuthes replied: Why, I know a large number of villages,
 close together and containing all sorts of provisions, that are
 just far enough away from us so that, when you have covered the
 distance, you would enjoy your breakfast.

Lead on, then, said Xenophon. When they
 had reached the villages, in the afternoon, noon, the soldiers
 gathered together and Seuthes spoke as follows: I ask you, soldiers, to take the field with me, and I promise
 to give to you who are in the ranks a Cyzicene and to the
 captains and generals the customary pay; besides this, I shall
 honour the man who deserves it. Food and drink you will obtain,
 just as to-day, by taking from the country; but whatever may be
 captured I shall expect to retain for myself, so that by selling
 it I may provide you your pay.

All that flees and hides we shall
 ourselves be able to pursue and seek out; but if any one offers
 resistance, with your help we shall try to subdue
 him.

Xenophon asked, And how far from the seacoast shall you expect
 the army to follow you? He replied, Nowhere more than a seven days’ journey, and in many places
 less.

After this the opportunity to speak
 was offered to any one who desired it; and many spoke to the same
 effect, saying that Seuthes’ proposals were most valuable; for the
 season was winter, and it was impossible to sail back home, if that
 was what one wished, and impossible also to get along in a friendly
 country if they had to maintain themselves by purchasing; on the
 other hand, to spend their time and get their maintenance in a
 hostile country was a safer proceeding in Seuthes’ company than if
 they were alone. And if, above and beyond such important advantages,
 they were also to receive pay, they counted it a godsend.

After that Xenophon said: If any one holds a
 contrary opinion, let him speak; if not, I will put this
 question to vote. And as no one spoke in opposition, he
 put the matter to vote, and this plan was decided upon. So he told
 Seuthes at once that they would take service with him.

After this the troops went into camp
 by divisions, but the generals and captains were invited to dinner
 by Seuthes in a village he was occupying near by.

When they had reached his doors and were about to go in to dinner,
 there stood a certain Heracleides, of Maroneia ; this fellow
 came up to each single one of the guests who, as he imagined, were
 able to make a present to Seuthes, first of all to some people of
 Parium who had come to arrange a
 friendship with Medocus, the king of the Odrysians, and brought
 gifts with them for him and his wife; to them Heracleides said that
 Medocus was a twelve days’ journey inland from the sea, while
 Seuthes, now that he had got this army, would be master upon the
 coast.

He, therefore, Heracleides went on, being your neighbour, will be best able to do you
 good or harm. Hence if you are wise, you will present to him
 whatever you bring with you; and it will be better for you than
 if you make your gifts to Medocus, who dwells far away. 
 It was in this way that he tried to persuade these people.

Next he came up to Timasion the Dardanian,—for he heard that he had
 some Persian drinking cups and carpets,—and said that it was
 customary when Seuthes invited people to dinner, for those who were
 thus invited to give him presents. And, 
 he continued, in case this Seuthes becomes a
 great man in this region, he will be able either to restore you
 to your home or to make you rich here. Such
 were the solicitations he used as he went to one man after
 another.

He came up to Xenophon also, and said to him: You
 are a citizen of a very great state and your name is a very
 great one with Seuthes; perhaps you will expect to obtain
 fortresses in this land, as others among your countrymen have
 done, and
 territory; it is proper, therefore, for you to honour Seuthes in
 the most magnificent way.

It is out of good-will to you that I
 give this advice for I am quite sure that the greater the gifts
 you bestow upon this man, the greater the favours that you will
 receive at his hands. Upon hearing this Xenophon was
 dismayed; for he had come across from Parium with nothing but a boy
 and money enough for his travelling expenses.

When they had come in for the
 dinner—the noblest of the Thracians who were present, the generals
 and the captains of the Greeks, and whatever embassy from any state
 was there—the dinner was served with the guests seated in a circle;
 then three-legged tables were brought in for the whole company;
 these were full of meat, cut up into pieces, and there were great
 loaves of leavened bread fastened with skewers to the pieces of
 meat.

In general the tables were placed opposite the strangers in each
 case; for the Thracians had a custom which Seuthes now took the lead
 in practising,—he would pick up the loaves which lay beside him,
 break them into small pieces, and throw the pieces to whomever he
 pleased, following the same fashion with the meat also, and leaving
 himself only enough for a mere taste.

Then the others also who had tables placed opposite them, set about
 doing the same thing. But a certain Arcadian named Arystas, a
 terrible eater, would have none of this throwing about, but took in
 his hand a loaf as big as a three-quart measure, put some pieces of
 meat upon his knees, and proceeded to dine.

They carried round horns of wine, and all took them; but Arystas,
 when the cupbearer came and brought him his horn, said to the man,
 after observing that Xenophon had finished his dinner, Give it to him; for he’s already at leisure, but
 I’m not as yet.

When Seuthes heard the sound of his voice, he asked the cupbearer
 what he was saying. And the cupbearer, who understood Greek, told
 him. So then there was an outburst of laughter.

When the drinking was well under way,
 there came in a Thracian with a white horse, and taking a full horn
 he said: I drink your health, Seuthes, and
 present to you this horse; on his back pursuing you shall catch
 whomever you choose, and retreating you shall not fear the
 enemy.

Another brought in a boy and presented him in the same way, with a
 health to Seuthes, while another presented clothes for his wife.
 Timasion also drank his health and presented to him a silver bowl
 and a carpet worth ten minas.

Then one Gnesippus, an Athenian, arose and said that it was an
 ancient and most excellent custom that those who had possessions
 should give to the king for honour’s sake, and that to those who had
 nought the king should give, so that, he
 continued, I too may be able to bestow gifts
 upon you and do you honour.

As for Xenophon, he was at a loss to know what he should do; for he
 chanced, as one held in honour, to be seated on the stool nearest to
 Seuthes. And Heracleides directed the cupbearer to proffer him the
 horn. Then Xenophon, who already as it happened had been drinking a
 little, arose courageously after taking the horn and said:

And I, Seuthes, give you myself and these my
 comrades to be your faithful friends; and not one of them do I
 give against his will, but all are even more desirous than I of
 being your friends.

And now they are here, asking you
 for nothing more, but rather putting themselves in your hands
 and willing to endure toil and danger on your behalf. With them,
 if the gods so will, you will acquire great territory,
 recovering all that belonged to your fathers and gaining yet
 more, and you will acquire many horses, and many men and fair
 women; and these things you will not need to take as plunder,
 but my comrades of their own accord shall bring them before you
 as gifts.

Up rose Seuthes, drained the horn with Xenophon, and joined him in
 sprinkling the last drops. After this there came in
 musicians blowing upon horns such as they use in giving signals, and
 playing upon trumpets of raw ox-hide not only measured notes, but
 music like that of a harp.

And Seuthes himself got up, raised a war-cry, and sprang aside very
 nimbly, as though avoiding a missile. There entered also a company
 of buffoons.

When the sun was about setting, the
 Greeks arose and said that it was time to post sentinels and give
 out the watchword. They also urged Seuthes to issue an order that
 none of the Thracians were to enter the Greek camp by night; for, they said, our
 enemies are Thracians and our friends are
 yourselves.

As the Greeks were setting forth, Seuthes arose with them, not in the
 least like a drunken man. And after coming out he called the
 generals aside by themselves and said: Gentlemen, our enemies do not yet know of our alliance;
 therefore if we go against them before they have got on guard
 against being captured or have made preparations to defend
 themselves, we should most surely get both captives and
 property.

The generals agreed in approving this plan, and bade him lead on. And
 he said: Get yourselves ready and wait; and when
 the proper time comes, I will return to you and, picking up my
 peltasts and yourselves, will lead the way with my
 horsemen.

And Xenophon said: Well, now, consider this
 point, whether, if we are to make a night march, the Greek
 practice is not the better: in our marches by day, you know,
 that part of the army takes the lead which is suited to the
 nature of the ground in each case, whether it be hoplites or
 peltasts or cavalry; but by night it is the practice of the
 Greeks that the slowest arm should lead the way;

for thus the various parts of the
 army are least likely to become separated, and men are least
 likely to drop away from one another without knowing it; and it
 often happens that scattered divisions fall in with one another
 and in their ignorance inflict and suffer harm.

Then Seuthes replied: You are right, and I will
 adopt your practice. I will give you guides from among the oldest men, who know
 the country best, and I myself will bring up the rear with my
 horsemen; for I can speedily reach the front if need be. 
 Then they gave out Athena as the watchword, on
 account of their kinship. After
 this conference they went to rest.

When it was about midnight, Seuthes
 was at hand with his horsemen armed with breast-plates and his
 peltasts equipped with their arms. And as soon as he had given over
 their guides to the Greeks, the hoplites took the lead, the peltasts
 followed, and the horsemen brought up the rear.

When day came, Seuthes rode along to the front and expressed his
 approval of the Greek practice. For many times, he said, while
 marching by night with even a small force he himself, along with his
 cavalry, had got separated from his infantry; but now, he continued, we find
 ourselves at daybreak all together, just as we should be. But do
 you wait where you are and take a rest, and I will return after
 I have looked around a little. With these words he rode
 off along a mountain side, following a kind of road.

When he had reached a place where there was deep snow, he looked
 about to see whether there were human footprints, either leading
 onward or back. As soon as he saw that the road was untrodden, he
 quickly returned and said:

All will be well, gentlemen, if god will; for we
 shall fall upon these people before they know it. Now I will
 lead the way with the cavalry, so that if we catch sight of any
 one, he may not slip through our fingers and give word to the
 enemy; and do you follow after me, and in case you get left
 behind, keep to the trail of the horses. Once we have crossed
 over the mountains, we shall come to many prosperous
 villages.

By the time it was midday he was
 already upon the heights, and catching sight of the villages below
 he came riding up to the hoplites and said: Now
 I am going to let the horsemen charge down to the plain on the
 run, and to send the peltasts against the villages. Do you,
 then, follow as fast as you can, so that if any resistance is
 offered, you may meet it.

Upon hearing these words Xenophon dismounted from his horse. And
 Seuthes asked: Why do you dismount, for there is
 need of haste? 
 I know, Xenophon replied, that I am not the only one you need; and the
 hoplites will run faster and more cheerfully if I also am on
 foot leading the way.

After this Seuthes went off, and with him Timasion at the head of
 about forty horsemen of the Greeks. Then Xenophon gave orders that
 the active men up to thirty years of age should move up from their
 several companies to the front. So he himself ran along with them,
 while Cleanor led the rest.

When they had reached the villages, Seuthes with about thirty
 horsemen rode up to him and said: Here’s the
 very thing, Xenophon, that you were saying; these fellows are caught, but unhappily my
 horsemen have gone off unsupported, scattering in their pursuit,
 and I fear that the enemy may get together somewhere in a body
 and work some harm. On the other hand, some of us also must
 remain in the villages, for they are full of people.

Well, Xenophon replied, I myself with the troops I have will seize the
 heights, and do you direct Cleanor to extend his line through
 the plain alongside the villages. When they had done
 these things, there were gathered together captives to the number of
 a thousand, two thousand cattle, and ten thousand smaller animals
 besides. Then they bivouacked where they were.

On the following day, after Seuthes
 had burned up the villages completely and left not a single house,
 in order that he might inspire the rest of his enemies also with
 fear of the sort of fate they would suffer if they did not yield him
 obedience, he went back again.

Then he dispatched Heracleides to Perinthus to sell the booty, so
 that he might get money to pay the soldiers with; while he himself
 and the Greeks encamped on the plain of the Thynians, the
 inhabitants abandoning their homes and fleeing to the mountains.

There was deep snow on the plain, and it was so cold that the water
 which they carried in for dinner and the wine in the jars would
 freeze, and many of the Greeks had their noses and ears
 frost-bitten.

Then it became clear why the Thracians wear fox-skin caps on their
 heads and over their ears, and tunics not merely about their chests,
 but also round their thighs, and why, when on horseback, they wear
 long cloaks reaching to their feet instead of mantles.

And now Seuthes allowed some of his captives to go off to the
 mountains with word that if the Thynians did not come down to the
 plain to live and did not yield him obedience, he would burn up
 their villages also and their corn, and they would perish with
 hunger. Thereupon the women, children, and older men did come down,
 but the younger men bivouacked in the villages under the
 mountain.

And Seuthes, upon learning of this, ordered Xenophon to take the
 youngest of the hoplites and follow him. So they arose during the
 night, and at daybreak reached the villages. Now most of the
 villagers made their escape, for the mountain was close at hand; but
 all that he did capture, Seuthes shot down unsparingly.

There was a certain Episthenes of
 Olynthus who was a lover of boys, and upon seeing a handsome boy,
 just in the bloom of youth and carrying a light shield, on the point
 of being put to death, he ran up to Xenophon and besought him to
 come to the rescue of a handsome lad.

So Xenophon went to Seuthes and begged him not to kill the boy,
 telling him of Episthenes’ turn of mind, how he had once assembled a
 battalion with an eye to nothing else save the question whether a
 man was handsome, and that with this battalion he proved himself a
 brave man.

And Seuthes asked: Would you even be willing,
 Episthenes, to die for this boy’s sake? Then Episthenes
 stretched out his neck and said, Strike, if the
 lad bids you and will be grateful.

Seuthes asked the boy whether he should strike Episthenes in his
 stead. The boy forbade it, and besought him not to slay either.
 Thereupon Episthenes threw his arms around the boy and said: It is time, Seuthes, for you to fight it out with
 me for this boy; for I shall not give him up.

And Seuthes laughed and let the matter go. He resolved, however, to
 establish a camp where they were, in order that the people on the
 mountain should not be supplied with food from these villages,
 either. 
 So he himself went quietly down the mountain and encamped upon the
 plain, while Xenophon with his picked men took quarters in the
 uppermost village below the summit and the rest of the Greeks close
 by, among the so-called mountain 
 Thracians.

Not many days had passed after this
 when the Thracians on the mountain came down and entered into
 negotiations with Seuthes in regard to a truce and hostages. And
 Xenophon came and told Seuthes that his men were in bad quarters and
 the enemy were close at hand; he would be better pleased, he said,
 to bivouac in the open in a strong position than to be in the houses
 and run the risk of being destroyed. But Seuthes bade him have no
 fear and showed him hostages that had come from the enemy.

Meanwhile some of the people on the mountain came down and actually
 requested Xenophon himself to help them obtain the truce. He agreed
 to do so, told them to have no fear, and gave them his word that
 they would suffer no harm if they were obedient to Seuthes. But
 they, as it proved, were talking about this matter merely in order
 to spy out the situation.

All this happened during the day, but
 in the night that followed the Thynians issued from the mountain and
 made an attack. And the master of each separate house acted as guide
 to that house; for in the darkness it would have been difficult to
 find the houses in these villages in any other way; for each house
 was surrounded by a paling, made of great stakes, to keep in the
 cattle.

When they had reached the doors of a particular house, some would
 throw in javelins, others would lay on with their clubs, which they
 carried, so it was said, to knock off the heads of hostile spears,
 and still others would be setting the house on fire, meanwhile
 calling Xenophon by name and bidding him come out and be killed, or
 else, they said, he would be burned up then and there.

And now fire was already showing through the roof, and Xenophon and
 his men inside the house had equipped themselves with breastplates
 and were furnished with shields and swords and helmets, when
 Silanus the Macistian,
 a lad of about eighteen years, gave a signal with the trumpet; and
 on the instant they leaped forth with swords drawn, and so did the
 Greeks from the other houses.

Then the Thracians took to flight, swinging their shields around
 behind them, as was their custom; and some of them who tried to jump
 over the palings were captured hanging in the air, with their
 shields caught in the stakes, while others missed the ways that led
 out and were killed; and the Greeks continued the pursuit till they
 were outside the village.

Some of the Thynians, however, turned about in the darkness and
 hurled javelins at men who were running along past a burning house,
 throwing out of the darkness toward the light; and they wounded
 Hieronymus the Epitalian, a captain, and Theogenes the Locrian, also
 a captain; no one, however, was killed, but some men had clothes and
 baggage burned up.

Meanwhile, Seuthes came to their aid with seven horsemen of his front
 line and his Thracian trumpeter. And from the instant he learned of
 the trouble, through all the time that he was hurrying to the
 rescue, every moment his horn was kept sounding; the result was,
 that this also helped to inspire fear in the enemy. When he did
 arrive, he clasped their hands and said that he had supposed he
 should find many of them slain.

After this Xenophon asked Seuthes to
 give over the hostages to him and to join him on an expedition to
 the mountain, if he so pleased; otherwise, to let him go by
 himself.

On the next day, accordingly, Seuthes gave over the hostages—men
 already elderly and the most powerful, so it was said, of the
 mountaineers—and came himself with his troops. Now by this time
 Seuthes had a force quite three times as large as before; for many
 of the Odrysians, hearing what success Seuthes was enjoying, came
 down from the upper country to take service with him.

And when the Thynians saw from their mountain masses of hoplites,
 masses of peltasts, and troops of horsemen, they descended and
 besought him to grant them a truce, agreeing to do anything and
 everything and urging him to receive pledges.

Thereupon Seuthes summoned Xenophon, disclosed to him the proposals
 they were making, and said that he should not grant them a truce if
 Xenophon wanted to punish them for their attack.

And Xenophon said: Why, for my part I think I
 have abundant satisfaction as it is, if these people are to be
 slaves instead of free men. He added, however, that he
 advised Seuthes to take as hostages in the future those who were
 most capable of doing harm and to leave the old men at home. Thus it
 was that all the people in this region surrendered.

And now they crossed over to the
 country of the Thracians above Byzantium , in the so-called Delta; this was beyond the domain
 of Maesades, being the land of Teres the Odrysian.

There Heracleides presented himself, with the proceeds from the sale
 of the booty. And Seuthes, leading forth three pairs of mules—for
 there were no more than three—and the yokes of oxen besides, called
 Xenophon and bade him take for himself and then distribute the rest
 among the generals and captains.

Xenophon replied: Well, for my part I am content
 to get something at a later time; give rather to these generals
 and captains who have followed with me.

So one of the mule teams was given to Timasion the Dardanian, one to
 Cleanor the Orchomenian, and one to Phryniscus the Achaean, while
 the yokes of oxen were distributed among the captains. Seuthes also
 paid over the wages of the troops, but for twenty days only of the
 month that had now passed; for Heracleides said that he had not
 obtained any more than that from his sale.

Xenophon was angered at this, and said to him with an oath: It seems to me, Heracleides, that you are not
 caring for Seuthes’ interest as you should; for if you were, you
 would have brought back with you our wages in full, even if you
 had to borrow something, in case you could not do it in any
 other way, or to sell your own clothes.

This made Heracleides not only angry,
 but fearful that he might be banished from the favour of Seuthes,
 and from that day he slandered Xenophon before Seuthes to the best
 of his ability.

As for the soldiers, they held Xenophon to blame for their not having
 received their pay; and Seuthes, on the other hand, was angry with
 him because he was insistent in demanding their pay for the
 soldiers.

Hitherto, he had continually been mentioning the fact that upon his
 return to the coast he was going to give Xenophon Bisanthe and Ganos
 and Neonteichos ,
 but from this time he did not allude to a single one of these places
 again. For Heracleides had put in this slanderous suggestion with
 the rest, that it was not safe to be giving over fortresses to a man
 who had a force of troops.

Hereupon Xenophon began to consider
 what it was best to do about continuing the march still farther
 inland; Heracleides, on the other hand, took the rest of the
 generals in to visit Seuthes and bade them say that they could lead
 the army just as well as Xenophon, while at the same time he
 promised them that within a few days they would have their pay in
 full for two months and urged them to continue the campaign with
 Seuthes.

And Timasion said: Well, so far as I am
 concerned, I shall undertake no campaign without Xenophon even
 if there is going to be five months’ pay. And Phryniscus
 and Cleanor agreed with Timasion.

Thereupon Seuthes fell to abusing Heracleides because he had not
 invited Xenophon in also. The upshot of this was, that they invited
 Xenophon by himself. And he, comprehending the rascality of
 Heracleides, in wanting to make him an object of suspicion to the
 other generals, brought with him when he came all the generals and
 the captains.

When all of them had been prevailed upon, they continued the march
 with Seuthes, and, keeping the Pontus upon the right through the country of the
 millet-eating Thracians, as they are called, arrived at Salmydessus.
 Here many vessels sailing to the Pontus run aground and are wrecked; for there are
 shoals that extend far and wide.

And the Thracians who dwell on this coast have boundary stones set up
 and each group of them plunder the ships that are wrecked within
 their own limits; but in earlier days, before they fixed the
 boundaries, it was said that in the course of their plundering many
 of them used to be killed by one another.

Here there were found great numbers of beds and boxes, quantities of
 written books, and an abundance of all the other articles that
 shipowners carry in wooden chests. After subduing the country in
 this neighbourhood they set out upon their return.

By that time Seuthes had an army larger than the Greek army; for more
 and still more of the Odrysians had come down from the interior, and
 the peoples that from time to time were reduced to obedience would
 join in the campaign. And they went into camp on the plain above
 Selymbria , at a
 distance of about thirty stadia from the coast.

As for pay, there was none to be seen as yet; and not only did the
 soldiers entertain very hard feelings toward Xenophon, but Seuthes
 no longer felt kindly toward him, and whenever Xenophon came and
 wanted to have a meeting with him, it would straightway be found
 that he had engagements in abundance.

At this time, when nearly two months
 had already passed, Charminus the Laconian and Polynicus arrived on
 a mission from Thibron: they said that the Lacedaemonians had
 resolved to undertake a campaign against Tissaphernes, that Thibron
 had set sail to wage the war, and that he wanted this army; also
 that he said the pay would be a daric per month for every man, twice
 as much for the captains, and four times as much for the
 generals.

When the Lacedaemonians arrived,
 Heracleides learned on the instant that they had come to get the
 army, and told Seuthes that a most fortunate thing had happened:
 The Lacedaemonians want the army, and you no
 longer want it; by giving up the army you will be doing them a
 favour, while, on your side, the troops will not go on demanding
 their pay from you, but will soon be quitting the
 country.

Upon hearing these words Seuthes directed him to introduce the
 envoys; and when they told him that they had come after the army, he
 replied that he would deliver it up and that he desired to be their
 friend and ally; he also invited them to dinner, and entertained
 them magnificently. Xenophon, however, he did not invite, nor any
 one of the other generals.

When the Lacedaemonians asked what sort of a man Xenophon was, he
 replied that he was not a bad fellow on the whole, but he was a
 friend of the soldiers, and on that account things went the worse
 for him. And they said: He plays the demagogue,
 you mean, with the men? 
 Exactly that, said Heracleides.

Well, said they, he
 won’t go so far, will he, as to oppose us in the matter of
 taking away the army? 
 Why, said Heracleides, if you gather the men together and promise them
 their pay, they will hurry after you, paying scant heed to
 him.

How, then, they said, could we get them together? 
 To-morrow morning, Heracleides replied,
 we will take you to them; and I know, 
 he continued, that as soon as they catch sight
 of you, they will hurry together with all eagerness. So
 ended this day.

The next day Seuthes and Heracleides
 conducted the Laconians to the army, and the troops gathered
 together. And the two Laconians said: The
 Lacedaemonians have resolved to make war upon Tissaphernes, the
 man who wronged you; so if you will come with us, you will
 punish your enemy and, besides, each one of you will receive a
 daric a month, each captain twofold, and each general
 fourfold.

The soldiers were delighted to hear these words, and straightway one
 of the Arcadians got up to accuse Xenophon. Now Seuthes also was
 present, for he wanted to know what would be done, and was standing
 within hearing distance along with an interpreter,

although he could really understand for himself most of what was said
 in Greek. Thereupon this Arcadian said: For our
 part, Lacedaemonians, we should have been with you a long time
 ago if Xenophon had not talked us over and led us off to this
 region, where we have never ceased campaigning, by night or day,
 through an awful winter, while he gets the fruits of our toils;
 for Seuthes has enriched him personally while he defrauds us of
 our pay;

so for myself, if I could see this
 fellow stoned to death as punishment for having dragged us about
 as he has done, I should consider that I had my pay and should
 feel no anger over the toils I have endured. After this
 speaker another arose and talked in the same way, and then another.
 After that Xenophon spoke as follows:

Well, it is true,
 after all, that a human being must expect anything and
 everything, seeing that I now find myself blamed by you in a
 matter where I am conscious—at least, in my own opinion—of
 having shown the utmost zeal in your behalf. I turned back after
 I had already set out for home, not—Heaven knows it was
 not—because I learned that you were prospering, but rather
 because I heard that you were in difficulties; and I turned back
 to help you in any way I could.

When I had arrived, although Seuthes
 here sent many messengers to me and made me many promises if
 only I would persuade you to come to him, I did not try to do
 that, as you know for yourselves. Instead, I led you to a place
 from which I thought you could most speedily cross over to
 Asia ; for I
 believed that this course was the best one for you and I knew it
 was the one you desired.

But when Aristarchus came with his
 triremes and prevented our sailing across, at that moment—and
 surely it was exactly the proper step—I gathered you together so
 that we might consider what we should better do.

So you with your own ears heard
 Aristarchus direct you to march to the Chersonese and you heard
 Seuthes urge you to take the field with him, and then every man
 of you spoke in favour of going with Seuthes and every man of
 you voted to do so. What wrong, therefore, did I do in that
 matter, when I led you to the place where you had all decided to
 go?

I come now to the time when Seuthes
 began to play false with you in the matter of your pay: if I am
 his supporter in that, it would be just for you to blame me and
 hate me; but if the truth is that I, who before that was the
 most friendly to him of us all, am now most of all at variance
 with him, how can it be just in this case that, when I sided
 with you rather than with Seuthes, I should be blamed by you
 about the things in which I am at variance with him?

But
 it is possible, you might say, that I really have received from
 Seuthes the money that belongs to you, and am only tricking
 you. Then this at least is
 clear: if Seuthes was in fact paying anything to me, he surely
 was not paying it with the understanding that he was both to
 lose whatever he gave me and at the same time was to pay other
 sums to you, but rather, I presume, if he was giving me
 anything, he was giving it with this understanding, that by
 giving a smaller sum to me he was to escape paying over the
 larger to you.

Now if you imagine that this is the
 case, it is within your power upon the instant to make this
 transaction a vain one for us both by exacting your money from
 him. For it is clear that, if I have received anything from
 Seuthes, he will demand it back from me, and, moreover, he will
 demand it back with justice if I am failing to fulfil to him the
 undertaking for which I was accepting his gifts.

>But it is far from being true, in
 my opinion, that I have received what belongs to you; for I
 swear to you by all the gods and goddesses that I have not even
 received what Seuthes promised to me for my own services; he is
 present here himself, and as he listens he knows as well as I do
 whether I am swearing falsely;

furthermore, to make your wonder the
 greater, I swear besides that I have not even received what the
 other generals have received—nay, not even so much as some of
 the captains.

And
 why, then, did I follow this course? I supposed, soldiers, that
 the more I helped this man to bear the poverty in which he then
 was, the more I should make him my friend when he should have
 gained power. But in fact I no sooner see him enjoying
 prosperity than I recognize his true character.

One might say, Are you not ashamed of being so stupidly deceived? I
 certainly should be ashamed, by Zeus, if I had been deceived by
 one who was an enemy; but for one who is a friend, to deceived
 seems to me more shameful than to be deceived.

For if there is such a thing as
 precaution toward friends, I know that we took every precaution
 not to afford this man a just pretext for not paying us what he
 had promised; for we neither did this man any wrong, nor did we
 mismanage his affairs, nor yet did we shrink like cowards from
 any service to which he summoned us.

But,
 you might say, sureties ought to have been taken at the time, so
 that he could not have deceived us even if he had wanted to do
 so. In reply to that, listen to words which I never should have
 spoken in this man’s presence if you had not seemed to me
 utterly senseless—or at least exceedingly thankless toward
 me.

Recollect in what sort of troubles
 you then found yourselves, troubles out of which I delivered you
 when I brought you to Seuthes. Did you not go to Perinthus, and
 did not Aristarchus the Lacedaemonian forbid your entering and
 shut the gates against you? So you encamped outside, under the
 sky, though it was midwinter, and you got your provisions by
 purchase at a market, though scanty were the supplies you saw
 offered for sale and scanty the means you had with which to
 buy;

yet you were compelled to remain
 upon the Thracian coast, for over against you lay triremes that
 prevented your crossing to Asia ; and remaining there, you were of
 necessity in a hostile country, where there were many horsemen
 opposed to you and many peltasts;

as for ourselves, we had a force of
 hoplites to be sure, with which, in case we went in a body
 against the villages, we might perhaps have been able to obtain
 food, though by no means an abundant supply, but any force with
 which we could have pursued and captured either slaves or cattle
 we had not; for I had found no division either of
 cavalry or of peltasts in existence any longer among
 you.

Now
 when you were in such straits, if I had obtained for you,
 without demanding into the bargain any pay whatsoever, simply an
 alliance with Seuthes, who possessed both the cavalry and the
 peltasts that you were in need of, would you have thought that I
 had carried through a bad plan on your behalf?

For you remember, I imagine, that
 when you had joined forces with these troops, you not only found
 food in greater abundance in the villages, for the reason that
 the Thracians were compelled to flee in greater haste, but you
 also got a larger share of cattle and captives.

In fact, we never saw the face of an
 enemy again after the cavalry had joined us, whereas up to that
 time the enemy had been following boldly at our heels with
 horsemen and peltasts and had prevented us from scattering in
 any direction in small parties and thus securing a greater
 abundance of provisions.

And if, then, the man who aided in
 providing you this security did not give you, besides, very
 generous pay for your security, is that such a dreadful
 misfortune? and do you think that on that account you cannot
 possibly let me go alive?

As
 matters stand now, what is your situation in departing from
 here? Have you not passed the winter amid an abundance of
 provisions, and, whatever you have received from Seuthes, is it
 not really so much clear gain? For it was the enemy’s
 possessions that you have been consuming. And while enjoying
 such fortune, you have not had to see any of your number slain
 nor have you lost any men alive.

And if any glorious deed was earlier
 performed by you against the barbarians in Asia , have you not at the same
 time kept that secure and likewise gained other glory besides in
 the present, by vanquishing, in addition, the Thracians in
 Europe against whom
 you took the field? For my part, I assert that for the very acts
 on account of which you now feel angry toward me, you should, in
 all justice, feel grateful to the gods, counting them as
 blessings.

So
 much, then, for your situation. And now, in the name of the
 gods, come, and consider how the case stands with me. At the
 time when I first set out to return home, I possessed, as I
 departed, abundant praise in your eyes, and I also possessed,
 through you, fair fame in the eyes of the Greeks at large. And I
 was trusted by the Lacedaemonians, for otherwise they would not
 have sent me back to you again.

Now, on the other hand, I am going
 away traduced by you before the Lacedaemonians and hated on your
 account by Seuthes, the man through whom I hoped to secure, by
 rendering him good service with your help, a fair place of
 refuge for myself and my children, in case children should ever
 be born to me.

And you, for whose sake I have
 incurred most hatred, and the hatred of men far stronger than I
 am, for whose sake I have not even to this moment ceased
 striving to accomplish whatever good I may, hold such an opinion
 of me as this!

You
 hold me in your power, then, and not as a captive that you have
 taken in flight or as a runaway slave; and if you do what you
 are proposing, be sure that you will have slain a man who has
 passed many sleepless nights for your sake, who has endured many
 toils and dangers with you, both in his turn and out of his
 turn, who has also, by the graciousness of the gods, set up with
 you many trophies of victory over the barbarians, and who, in
 order to prevent your becoming enemies to any one among the
 Greeks, has exerted himself to the very utmost of his power in
 opposition to you.

In fact, you are now free to journey
 in security whithersoever you may choose, whether by land or by
 sea. And you, at the moment when such abundant freedom reveals
 itself to you, when you are sailing to the very place where you
 have long been eager to go and the mightiest are suing for your
 aid, when pay is within sight and the Lacedaemonians, who are
 deemed the most powerful leaders, have come to lead you—do you,
 I say, think that now is the proper time to put me to death with
 all speed?

It was not so, surely, in the days
 when we were in straits, O you who remember better than all
 other men; nay, then you called me father, 
 and you promised to keep me for ever in memory as a benefactor!
 Not by any means, however, are these men, who have now come
 after you, wanting in judgment; therefore, I imagine, they also
 think none the better of you for behaving in this manner towards
 me. With these words he ceased speaking.

Then Charminus the Lacedaemonian arose
 and said: No, by the twin gods; I, at any rate,
 think you are unjust in being angry with this man; for I can
 bear witness for him myself. When I and Polynicus asked Seuthes
 about Xenophon, to learn what sort of a man he was, Seuthes had
 no fault to find with him save that, as he said, he was too great a friend of the soldiers, and on
 that account, he added, things went the worse for him, both so
 far as we the Lacedaemonians were concerned and on his own
 account.

After him Eurylochus of Lusi rose and said: Yes, and I
 believe, men of Lacedaemon , that you ought to assume leadership
 over us in this enterprise first of all, in exacting our pay
 from Seuthes whether he will or no, and that you should not take
 us away till that is done.

And Polycrates the Athenian said, at the instigation of Xenophon:
 Look you, fellow soldiers, I see Heracleides
 also present here, the man who took in charge the property which
 we had won by our toil, and then sold it, and did not pay over
 the proceeds either to Seuthes or to us, but stole the money,
 and is keeping it for himself. If we are wise, therefore, we
 shall lay hold of him; for this fellow, said he, is no Thracian, but a Greek, and yet he is
 wronging Greeks.

Upon hearing these words Heracleides
 was exceedingly terrified; and going up to Seuthes, he said: And if we are wise, we shall go away from here and
 get out of the power of these fellows. So they mounted
 their horses and went riding off to their own camp.

And after that Seuthes sent Abrozelmes, his interpreter, to Xenophon
 and urged him to stay behind with him with a force of a thousand
 hoplites, promising that he would deliver over to him not only the
 fortresses upon the coast, but also the other things which he had
 promised. He likewise said, making a great secret of it, that he had
 heard from Polynicus that if Xenophon should fall into the hands of
 the Lacedaemonians, he would certainly be put to death by
 Thibron.

Many other people also sent Xenophon this message, saying that he had
 been traduced and would better be on his guard. And he, hearing
 these reports, took two victims and proceeded to offer sacrifice to
 Zeus the King, to learn whether it was better and more profitable
 for him to remain with Seuthes on the conditions that Seuthes
 proposed, or to depart with the army. The god directed him to
 depart.

After that Seuthes encamped at a
 greater distance away, while the Greeks took up quarters in villages
 from which they could secure provisions in greatest abundance before
 their journey to the coast. Now these villages had been given by
 Seuthes to Medosades.

When, therefore, Medosades saw that the supplies in the villages were
 being used up by the Greeks, he was angry; and taking with him an
 Odrysian who was exceedingly powerful, from among those who had come
 down from the interior, and
 likewise about thirty horsemen, he came and summoned Xenophon forth
 from the Greek camp. So Xenophon took certain of the captains as
 well as others who were fit men for the purpose, and came to meet
 him.

Then Medosades said: You Greeks are committing a
 wrong, Xenophon, in plundering our villages. Therefore we give
 you public warning, I on behalf of Seuthes, and this man who has
 come from Medocus, who is king in the interior, to depart from
 the country; and if you fail to depart, we shall not leave you a
 free hand, but in case you continue to do harm to our territory,
 we shall defend ourselves against you as against
 enemies.

Upon hearing these words Xenophon
 said: As for you, when you say such things as
 these it is painful even to give you an answer; yet for the sake
 of this young man I will speak, that he may know what sort of
 people you are and what we are.

For we, he went on, before we became friends of yours, marched
 whithersoever we chose through this country, plundering where we
 wished and burning where we wished;

and whenever you came to us as
 envoy, you used then to bivouac with us without fear of any
 enemy; your people, on the other hand, never came into this
 country, or if at any time you did come, you would bivouac as in
 the land of men stronger than yourselves, keeping your horses
 all bridled.

But after you had once become
 friends of ours and now through us, with the aid of the gods,
 enjoy possession of this land, you seek to drive us forth, out
 of this very land that you received from us, who held it by
 right of strength; for as you know yourself, the enemy were not
 able to drive us out.

And yet, so far from deeming it
 proper to speed us on our way after bestowing gifts upon us and
 doing us kindnesses in return for the benefits you have received
 at our hands, you will not, so far as you have the power to
 prevent it, allow us at the moment of our departure even to
 bivouac in the country.

And in uttering these words you are
 not ashamed either before the gods or before this Odrysian, who
 now sees you possessed of riches, whereas before you became our
 friend you got your living, as you said yourself, from
 pillaging.

But really, why do you, he
 added, address these words to me? For I am no
 longer in command, but rather the Lacedaemonians; and it was to
 them that you yourselves delivered over the army to be led away,
 and that, you most ill-mannered of men, without so much as
 inviting me to be present, so that even as I had incurred their
 hatred at the time when I led the army to you, so I might now
 win their favour by giving it back.

When the Odrysian heard this, he said:
 As for me, Medosades, I sink beneath the
 earth for shame at this which I hear. If I had understood the
 matter before, I should not even have accompanied you; and now I
 am going back. For Medocus, the king, would never commend me if
 I should drive forth his benefactors.

With these words he mounted his horse and rode away, and with him
 went the horsemen also, except four or five. But Medosades, still
 distressed by the plundering of the country, urged Xenophon to
 summon the two Lacedaemonians.

And Xenophon, taking with him the best men he had, went to Charminus
 and Polynicus and said that Medosades was summoning them in order to
 give them the same warning as he had already given him,—to depart
 from the country.

I should think, therefore, he continued,
 that you might recover for the army the pay
 that is due if you should say that the army has requested you to
 aid them in exacting their pay from Seuthes whether he will or
 no, and that the troops say that they would follow you eagerly
 in case they should obtain it; also, that their words seem to
 you just, and that you promised them not to depart until the
 soldiers should obtain their rights.

When they had heard him, the Laconians
 replied that they would make such statements, adding others as
 forceful as they could make them; and straightway they set forth,
 taking with them all the important men of the army. Upon their
 arrival Charminus said: If you have anything to
 say to us, Medosades, say it; if not, we have something to say
 to you.

And Medosades replied, very submissively: I say,
 and Seuthes also says the same, that we ask that those who have
 become friends of ours should not suffer harm at your hands; for
 whatever harm you may do to them, you are then and there doing
 to us; for they are ours.

As for ourselves, then, said the
 Laconians, we shall depart whenever the men who
 obtained these possessions for you, have received their pay;
 failing that, we intend here and now to lend them our assistance
 and to punish the men who, in violation of their oaths, have
 done them wrong. And if you belong to that number, it is with
 you that we shall begin in obtaining their rights.

Then Xenophon said: Would you be willing,
 Medosades, to leave the question to these people (for you were
 saying that they are your friends) in whose country we are, to
 vote, one way or the other, whether it is proper for you or
 ourselves to depart from their country?

Medosades said No to that; but he urged,
 as his preference, that the two Laconians should go to Seuthes
 themselves about the pay, and said that he thought they might
 persuade Seuthes; or if they would not consent to go, he asked them
 to send Xenophon along with himself, and promised to support him.
 And he begged them not to burn the villages.

Thereupon they sent Xenophon, and with
 him the men who seemed to be fittest. When he had come, he said to
 Seuthes:

I am here, Seuthes, not to present any demand,
 but to show you, if I can, that you were wrong in getting angry
 with me because in the name of the soldiers I zealously demanded
 from you what you had promised them; for I believed that it was
 no less to your advantage to pay them than it was to theirs to
 get their pay.

For, in the first place, I know that
 next to the gods it was these men who set you in a conspicuous
 position, since they made you king over a large territory and
 many people; hence it is not possible for you to escape notice,
 whether you perform an honourable deed or a base one.

Now it seemed to me an important
 thing that a man in such a place should not be thought to have
 dismissed benefactors without gratitude, an important thing also
 to be well spoken of by six thousand men, but most important of all that you should by no
 means set yourself down as untrustworthy in whatever you
 say.

For I see that the words of
 untrustworthy men wander here and there without result, without
 power, and without honour; but if men are seen to practise
 truth, their words, if they desire anything, have power to
 accomplish no less than force in the hands of other men; and if
 they wish to bring one to reason, I perceive that their threats
 can do this no less than present chastisement applied by others;
 and if such men make a promise to any one, they accomplish no
 less than others do by an immediate gift.

Recall for yourself what amount you paid to us in advance in
 order to obtain us as allies. You know that it was nothing; but
 because you were trusted to carry out truthfully whatever you
 said, you induced that great body of men to take the field with
 you and to gain for you a realm worth not merely thirty talents,
 the sum which these men think they ought now to recover, but
 many times as much.

First of all, then, this trust, the
 very thing which gained your kingdom for you, is being sold for
 this sum.

Come,
 now, recall how great a thing you then deemed it to achieve the
 conquests which you now have achieved. For my part, I am sure
 you would have prayed that the deeds now done might be
 accomplished for you rather than that many times that amount of
 money might fall to your lot.

Now I count it greater hurt and
 shame not to hold these possessions firmly now than not to have
 gained them then, by so much as it is a harder fate to become
 poor after being rich than not to become rich at all, and by so
 much as it is more painful to be found a subject after being a
 king than not to become king at all.

You understand, then, that those who
 have now become your subjects were not persuaded to live under
 your rule out of affection for you, but by stress of necessity,
 and that unless some fear should restrain them, they would
 endeavour to become free again.

In which of these two cases,
 therefore do you think they would feel greater fear and be more
 moderate in their relations with you: if they should see the
 soldiers cherishing such feelings toward you that they would
 stay with you now if you so bade them and would quickly come
 back to you again if you needed them, and should see also that
 others, hearing many good things about you from these troops,
 would quickly present themselves to take service with you
 whenever you wished it—or if they should form the unkind opinion
 that no other soldiers would come to you, in consequence of a
 distrust resulting from what has now happened, and that these
 whom you have are more friendly to them than to you?

Again, it was by no means because
 they fell short of us in numbers that they yielded to you, but
 because they lacked leaders. Hence there is now danger on this
 count also, the danger that they may find leaders in some of
 these soldiers who regard themselves as wronged by you, or else
 in men who are even stronger than these are,—I mean the
 Lacedaemonians,—in case the soldiers promise to render them more
 zealous service if they now exact what is due from you, and in
 case the Lacedaemonians, on account of their needing the army,
 grant them this request.

Again, that the Thracians who have
 now fallen under your sway would far more eagerly go against you
 than with you, is quite certain; for when you are conqueror
 their lot is slavery, and when you are conquered it is
 freedom.

And
 if you need henceforth to take some thought for the sake of this
 land also, seeing that it is yours, in which case do you suppose
 it would be freer from ills: if these soldiers should recover
 what they claim and go away leaving a state of peace behind
 them, or if they should remain as in a hostile country and you
 should undertake to maintain an opposing camp with other troops,
 that would have to be more numerous than these and would need
 provisions?

And in which case would more money
 be spent, if what is owing to these men should be paid over to
 them, or if this sum should be left owing and you should have to
 hire other troops stronger than they are?

Yes, but Heracleides thinks, as he
 used to explain to me, that this sum of money is a very large
 one. Upon my word it is a far smaller thing now for you to
 receive or to pay this sum than it would have been before we
 came to you to receive or to pay a tenth part of it.

For it is not number that determines
 what is much and what is little, but the capacity of the man who
 pays and of him who receives. And as for yourself, your yearly
 income is going to be greater now than all the property you
 possessed amounted to before.

For
 my part, Seuthes, it was out of regard for you as a friend that
 I urged this course, in order that you might be deemed worthy of
 the good things which the gods have given to you and that I
 might not lose credit with the army.

For be well assured that at present
 if I should wish to inflict harm upon a foe, I could not do it
 with this army, and if I should wish to come to your assistance
 again, I should not find myself able to do that; such is the
 feeling of the army toward me.

And yet I make your own self my
 witness, along with the gods, who know, that I have neither
 received anything from you that was intended for the soldiers,
 nor have ever asked what was theirs for my private use, nor
 demanded from you what you had promised me;

and I swear to you that even if you
 had offered to pay what was due to me, I should not have
 accepted it unless the soldiers also were at the same time to
 recover what was due to them. For it would have been disgraceful
 to get my own affairs arranged and leave theirs in an evil
 state, especially since I was honoured by them.

And yet Heracleides thinks that
 everything is but nonsense in comparison with possessing money,
 by hook or by crook; but I believe, Seuthes, that no possession
 is more honourable for a man, especially a commander, or more
 splendid than valour and justice and generosity.

For he who possesses these things is
 rich because many are his friends, and rich because still others
 desire to become his friends; if he prospers he has those who
 will rejoice with him, and if he meets with a mischance he does
 not lack those who will come to his aid.

But
 if you neither learned from my deeds that I was your friend from
 the bottom of my heart nor are able to perceive this from my
 words, at least give a thought to what the soldiers say with one
 accord; for you were present and heard what those who wished to
 censure me said.

They accused me before the
 Lacedaemonians of regarding you more highly than I did the
 Lacedaemonians, while on their own account they charged me with
 being more concerned that your affairs should be well than that
 their own should be;

and they also said that I had
 received gifts from you. And yet, touching these gifts, do you
 imagine it was because they had observed in me some ill-will
 toward you that they charged me with having received them from
 you, or because they perceived in me abundant good-will for
 you?

For my part, I presume that
 everybody believes he ought to show good-will to the man from
 whom he receives gifts. You, however, before I had rendered you
 any service, welcomed me with a pleasure which you showed by
 your eyes, your voice, and your hospitality, and you could not
 make promises enough about all that should be done for me; yet
 now that you have accomplished what you desired and have become
 as great as I could possibly make you, have you now the heart to
 allow me to be held in such dishonour among the
 soldiers?

But truly I have confidence, not
 only that time will teach you that you must resolve to pay what
 is due, but also that you will not yourself endure to see those
 men who have freely given you good service, accusing you. I ask
 you, therefore, when you render payment, to use all zeal to make
 me just such a man in the eyes of the soldiers as I was when you
 made me your friend.

Upon hearing these words Seuthes
 cursed the man who was to blame for the fact that the soldiers’
 wages had not been paid long ago; and everybody suspected that
 Heracleides was that man; for I, said
 Seuthes, never intended to defraud them, and I
 will pay over the money.

Thereupon Xenophon said again: Then since you
 intend to make payment, I now request you to do it through me,
 and not to allow me to have, on your account, a different
 standing with the army now from what I had at the time when we
 came to you.

And Seuthes replied: But you will not be less
 honoured among the soldiers on my account if you will stay with
 me, keeping only a thousand hoplites, and, besides, I will give
 over the fortresses to you and the other things that I
 promised.

And Xenophon answered: This plan is not a
 possible one; so dismiss us. 
 Yet really, said Seuthes, I know
 that it is also safer for you to stay with me than to go
 away.

And Xenophon replied: Well, I thank you for your
 solicitude; it is not possible, however, for me to stay; but
 wherever I may enjoy greater honour, be sure that it will be a
 good thing for you as well as myself.

Thereupon Seuthes said: As for ready money, I
 have only a little, and that I give you, a talent; 
 but I have six hundred cattle, and sheep to the number of four
 thousand, and nearly a hundred and twenty slaves. Take these,
 and likewise the hostages of the people who wronged you, and go your
 way.

Xenophon laughed and said: Now supposing all this
 does not suffice to cover the amount of the pay, whose talent
 shall I say I have? Would I not better, seeing that it is really
 a source of danger to me, be on my guard against stones 
 on my way back? For you heard the threats. For the time,
 then, he remained there at Seuthes’ quarters.

On the next day Seuthes delivered over
 to them what he had promised, and sent men with them to drive the
 cattle. As for the soldiers, up to this time they had been saying
 that Xenophon had gone off to Seuthes to dwell with him and to
 receive what Seuthes had promised him; but when they caught sight of
 him, they were delighted, and ran out to meet him.

As soon as Xenophon saw Charminus and Polynicus, he said to them:
 This property has been saved for the army
 through you, and to you I turn it over; do you, then, dispose of
 it and make the distribution to the army. They,
 accordingly, took it over, appointed booty-vendors, and proceeded to
 sell it; and they incurred a great deal of blame.

As for Xenophon, he would not go near them, but it was plain that he
 was making preparations for his homeward journey; for not yet had
 sentence of exile been pronounced against him at Athens . His friends
 in the camp, however, came to him and begged him not to depart until
 he should lead the army away and turn it over to Thibron.

From there they sailed across to
 Lampsacus , where
 Xenophon was met by Eucleides, the Phliasian seer, son of the
 Cleagoras who painted the mural paintings in the Lyceum. Eucleides
 congratulated Xenophon upon his safe return, and asked him how much
 gold he had got.

He replied, swearing to the truth of his statement, that he would not
 have even enough money to pay his travelling expenses on the way
 home unless he should sell his horse and what he had about his
 person. And Eucleides would not believe him.

But when the Lampsacenes sent gifts of hospitality to Xenophon and he
 was sacrificing to Apollo, he gave Eucleides a place beside him; and
 when Eucleides saw the vitals of the victims, he said that he well
 believed that Xenophon had no money. But I am
 sure, he went on, that even if money
 should ever be about to come to you, some obstacle always
 appears—if nothing else, your own self. In this Xenophon
 agreed with him.

Then Eucleides said, Yes, Zeus the Merciful is an
 obstacle in your way, and asked whether he had yet
 sacrificed to him, just as at home, he
 continued, where I was wont to offer the
 sacrifices for you, and with whole victims. Xenophon
 replied that not since he left home had he sacrificed to that
 god. Eucleides, accordingly, advised him to
 sacrifice just as he used to do, and said that it would be to his
 advantage.

And the next day, upon coming to Ophrynium, Xenophon proceeded to
 sacrifice, offering whole victims of swine after the custom of his
 fathers, and he obtained favourable omens.

In fact, on that very day Bion and Nausicleides arrived
 with money to give to the army and were entertained by Xenophon, and
 they redeemed his horse, which he had sold at Lampsacus for fifty daries,—for
 they suspected that he had sold it for want of money, since they
 heard he was fond of the horse,—gave it back to him, and would not
 accept from him the price of it.

From there they marched through the
 Troad and, crossing
 over Mount Ida, arrived first at Antandrus, and then, proceeding
 along the coast, reached the plain of Thebes .

Making their way from there through Adramyttium and Certonus,
 they came to the plain of the Caicus and so reached Pergamus , in Mysia . Here Xenophon was entertained by Hellas , the wife of Gongylus the Eretrian and mother of Gorgion and
 Gongylus.

She told him that there was a Persian in the plain named Asidates,
 and said that if he should go by night with three hundred troops, he
 could capture this man, along with his wife and children and
 property, of which he had a great deal. And she sent as guides for
 this enterprise not only her own cousin, but also Daphnagoras, whom
 she regarded very highly.

Xenophon, accordingly, proceeded to sacrifice, keeping these two by
 his side. And Basias, the Elean seer who was present, said that the
 omens were extremely favourable for him and that the man was easy to
 capture.

So after dinner he set forth, taking with him the captains who were
 his closest friends and others who had proved themselves trustworthy
 throughout, in order that he might do them a good turn. But there
 joined him still others who forced themselves in, to the number of
 six hundred; and the captains tried to drive them away, so that they
 might not have to give them a share in the booty—just as though the
 property was already in hand.

When they reached the place, about
 midnight, the slaves that were round about the tower and most of the
 animals ran away, the Greeks leaving them unheeded in order to
 capture Asidates himself and his belongings.

And when they found themselves unable to take the tower by storm (for
 it was high and large, and furnished with battlements and a
 considerable force of warlike defenders), they attempted to dig
 through the tower-wall.

Now the wall had a thickness of eight earthen bricks. At daybreak,
 however, a breach had been made; and just as soon as the light
 showed through, some one from within struck with an ox-spit clean
 through the thigh of the man who was nearest the hole; and from that
 time on they kept shooting out arrows and so made it unsafe even to
 pass by the place any more.

Then, as the result of their shouting and lighting of beacon fires,
 there came to their assistance Itamenes with his own force, and from
 Comania Assyrian hoplites and Hyrcanian horsemen—these also being
 mercenaries in the service of the King—to the number of eighty, as
 well as about eight hundred peltasts, and more from Parthenium, and
 more from Apollonia and from the near-by places, including
 horsemen.

Then it was time to consider how the
 retreat was to be effected; so seizing all the cattle and sheep
 there were, as well as slaves, they got them inside of a hollow
 square and proceeded to drive them along with them, not because they
 were any longer giving thought to the matter of booty, but out of
 fear that the retreat might become a rout if they should go off and
 leave their booty behind, and that the enemy might become bolder and
 the soldiers more disheartened; while as it was, they were
 withdrawing like men ready to fight for their possessions.

But as soon as Gongylus saw that the Greeks were few and those who
 were attacking them many, he sallied forth himself, in spite of his
 mother, at the head of his own force, desiring to take part in the
 action; and Procles also came to the rescue, from Halisarna
 and Teuthrania, the descendant of Damaratus.

And Xenophon and his men, by this time sorely distressed by the
 arrows and sling-stones, and marching in a curved line in order to
 keep their shields facing the arrows, succeeded with difficulty in
 crossing the Carcasus river, almost half of their number
 wounded.

It was here that Agasias, the Stymphalian captain, was wounded,
 though he continued to fight all the time against the enemy. So they
 came out of it in safety, with about two hundred slaves and sheep
 enough for sacrificial victims.

The next day Xenophon offered
 sacrifice, and then by night led forth the entire army with the
 intention of making as long a march as possible through Lydia , to the end that Asidates
 might not be fearful on account of their nearness, but be off his
 guard.

Asidates, however, hearing that Xenophon had sacrificed again with a
 view to attacking him and that he was to come with the entire army,
 left his tower and encamped in villages that lay below the town of
 Parthenium.

There Xenophon and his men fell in with him, and they captured him,
 his wife and children, his horses, and all that he had; and thus the
 omens of the earlier sacrifice proved true.

After that they came back again to Pergamus . And there Xenophon paid his greeting to
 the god; for the Laconians, the captains, the other generals, and
 the soldiers joined in arranging matters so that he got the pick of
 horses and teams of oxen and all the rest; the result was, that he
 was now able even to do a kindness to another.

Meanwhile Thibron arrived and took
 over the army, and uniting it with the rest of his Greek forces,
 proceeded to wage war upon Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus.

[The governors of all the King’s territories that
 we traversed were as follows: Artimas of Lydia , Artacamas of Phrygia , Mithradates of Lycaonia and Cappadocia , Syennesis of
 Cilicia , Dernes of
 Phoenicia and
 Arabia , Belesys of
 Syria and Assyria,
 Rhoparas of Babylon ,
 Arbacas of Media, Tiribazus of the Phasians and Hesperites; then the
 Carduchians, Chalybians, Chaldaeans, Macronians, Colchians,
 Mossynoecians, Coetians, and Tibarenians, who were independent; and
 then Corylas governor of Paphlagonia , Pharnabazus of the Bithynians, and
 Seuthes of the Thracians in Europe .

The length of the entire journey,
 upward and downward, was two hundred and fifteen stages, one
 thousand, one hundred and fifty parasangs, or thirty-four thousand,
 two hundred and fifty-five stadia; and the length in time, upward
 and downward, a year and three months.