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character of Xerxes, he has certainly transmitted his name to posterity as an object of contempt rather than of admiration. No name has been more frequently employed to "point a moral and adorn a tale."

He had ordered a bridge to be constructed across the Hellespont. This was done by fastening several tiers of ships together by strong cordage. No sooner was this bridge completed than it was broken by a violent tempest. Herodotus states that Xerxes was so enraged at this accident, that he ordered the sea to be beaten with stripes, a pair of fetters to be thrown into it, and all the workmen employed upon the bridge to be beheaded. The bridge was then rebuilt in a stronger manner, and the whole army passed over. They marched through Thrace, where the inhabitants made their submission to Xerxes. The fleet which attended the army was unable to sail round the promontory of Mount Athos, and a canal was cut for its passage across the isthmus. The labor of this is said to have occupied three years. The Persians encountered no great obstacle till they reached the Grecian territory but here, at the mountain pass of Thermopylæ, the countless hordes of Xerxes were checked and repulsed by a handful of men, under the command of Leonidas, king of Sparta. Treachery, however, enabled the Persians to gain an entrance into the heart of the country; but the particulars of this invasion belong properly to Grecian history. It is sufficient at present to say, that the mighty hosts of Xerxes were destroyed by the Greeks at Salamis, Mycale, and Platea; and the great king himself was forced to recross the Hellespont in a fishing-boat, where he had passed, in so pompous a manner, a short time before. The Greeks, following up their success, expelled the Persians from the Mediterranean, and made them tremble for the security of their provinces in Asia Minor.

Xerxes was at Sardis when he heard of these accumulated disasters. He immediately fled from that city, giving orders for the destruction of all the temples in Asia Minor, either from zeal for the Magian religion, or to wreak his vengeance on the Greeks. Upon his return to Persia, he was assassinated by a captain of his own guards, 464 B. C. It is remarkable that the Persian historians make no mention of this monarch, and scarcely any thing would have been known respecting him, but for Herodotus. That writer's account of Xerxes, and his expedition into Greece, is certainly full of marvels, and should be received with great caution. It would hardly be reasonable to expect impartiality, or a scrupulous regard to truth, in the narrative of a credulous and patriotic Greek, describing the invasion of his country by a haughty and arrogant enemy. Whether Herodotus *

Whatever doubts we may entertain of the precise accuracy of Herodotus, in the details of this part of his history, there are good grounds for believing that he is entitled to general confidence. He wrote at no very distant period from the time when the events happened; he appears, always, to have a sincere regard for truth; and even in giving the numbers of the Persian army, where the vastness of his figures

CHAPTER LVIII.

465 to 334 B. C.

Artaxerxes Longimanus Battle of Cunaza Retreat of the Ten Thousand Greeks under Xenophon.

XERXES was succeeded on the throne by Artaxerxes Longimanus, (465 B. C.) who is celebrated for his just insufficient to check the decline of the empire, which now began to exhibit signs of weakness in every forced to sign a disgraceful peace, by which he recogquarter. After countless humiliations, Artaxerxes was nized the independence of the Asiatic Greeks. Internal wars and rebellions were of frequent occurrence; the royal forces were often defeated, and the empire was kept in a state of confusion. He died

and beneficent administration. But his virtues were

425 B. C.

of particular notice, and come to Artaxerxes Mnemon, We now pass over a few other monarchs, unworthy He was, howwho ascended the throne 405 B. C. ever, opposed by his brother Cyrus, who had the support of the queen mother, and of an army of Greek mercenaries, which he was enabled to raise by his connection with Sparta.

thousand Greeks and one hundred thousand of other Cyrus assembled his army, consisting of thirteen nations, at Sardis, in Asia Minor, and marched towards Susa, the Persian capital, to assert his right to the throne. At Cunaxa, in Babylonia, he was met by Artaxerxes, at the head of an army amounting, we are A battle took told, to nine hundred thousand men. place, 400 B. C. Cyrus was killed and his army dispersed. The Greeks † were, however, victorious in their quarter of the field, and, after the battle, were summoned by Artaxerxes to lay down their arms. This proposal was heard with the liveliest indignation. They were surrounded by enemies, yet they rejected the summons without hesitation, being firmly resolved to fight, to the last extremity, rather than surrender. To add to their embarrassments, they were seduced into a deceitful armistice by the Persians, and their generals were treacherously murdered. This act of perfidy converted their previous alarm and apprehension almost into despair. They were near two thousand

excite suspicion, he presents such particulars as confirm his statements. He gives an enumeration of the land forces, telling us that their number was ascertained, not by counting, but by their being marched into enclosures, and the number inferred by calculation. He tells us the number of men in the naval armament, giving us first the number of ships, and then how many he reckoned to each. Upon these and other grounds, learned men, generally, consider this portion of the history of Herodotus, marvellous as its details may appear, as worthy of credit.

For a long period, the Asiatic sovereigns had been accustomed to employ Greek soldiers as auxiliaries. These people, like the Swiss and Hessians of modern times, sold their services to the highest bidder. The Greeks formed the chief reliance of Darius in his conflict with Alexander.

oppose them. They had no cavalry to chastise the clouds of barbarians who would perpetually hang upon their front, flanks, and rear: under such circumstances, it would seem that victory would be fruitless, and defeat inevitable ruin.

Yet, in the face of all these terrors, the Greeks determined to make the attempt to fight their way homeward. Xenophon, in a council of war, roused the troops from the despondency which had taken possession of them, and was elected general-in-chief. The retreat was therefore commenced; but, as they proceeded, constant attacks in every quarter, made their march a continual battle. We can present only a portion of their adventures which followed; these we shall give nearly in the words of Xenophon himself, who became the historian of the expedition.

After innumerable skirmishes with hosts of enemies, and a fatiguing march through a desert, they came to the Euphrates, near its source in Armenia. This they crossed, the water being breast high. From thence they marched three days over a plain covered with deep snow. The last day's march was very painful, for the north wind, blowing full in their faces, parched and benumbed the men. One of the priests advised them to sacrifice to the wind, which was done, and the violence of the blasts sensibly abated. The snow was a fathom in depth, so that many of the slaves and sumpter-horses died, with about thirty soldiers. They kept fires during the night, finding plenty of wood where they encamped. In the places where the fires were made, the snow being melted, there were large pits which reached down to the ground; this afforded an opportunity of measuring the depth of the

snow.

From this station they marched the next day through the snow, when many of the men were seized with a disease called bulimia, and fell down exhausted. Upon the march, a party, under Cheirisophus, came to

a village just as it was dark, and found some women and girls at a fountain without the walls, carrying water. These females inquired who they were. The interpreter answered, in Persian, that they were going to the satrap from the king. The women replied, that he was not there, but at a place in the neighborhood. It being late, they entered the town with the women, and called upon the governor. Here Cheirisophus encamped, with all of his men that could come up. The rest, who were unable to continue their march, passed the night without food or fire, by which some of them perished; and a party of the enemy, following them, took those of the sumpter-horses that could not keep pace with the others. Some of the men, also, who had lost their sight by the snow, or whose toes were frozen, were left behind. The eyes of the men were relieved from the snow by wearing black cloth before them, and their feet by continual motion.

Their extreme sufferings caused some of the men to sit down and refuse to march any farther. Xenophon used all the means in his power to persuade them not to stay behind, telling them that the enemy were in great force close upon the rear. At last he grew angry; but they bade him kill them if he chose, for they were not able to go on. Upon this, he determined, if possible, to strike a terror into the pursuers lest they should fall upon the men who were thus unable to proceed. It was now dark, and the enemy came on with great tumult, wrangling about the booty they had taken. At this moment, such of the Greek rear-guard as were able, rose up and rushed upon them, while those who were fatigued shouted as loud as they could, and struck their shields with their pikes. The enemy, in great alarm, rushed into a valley through the snow, and were heard of no more.

Xenophon, with the rest of the forces, then retired, assuring the sick men that, the next day, some people

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should be sent to them.

But, before they had gone half a mile, they found others lying down in the snow, while no guard was set. They forced these men to rise, and then learned that the vanguard had halted. Xenophon, hearing this, pushed forward, sending the ablest of the targeteers before, to inquire the cause. They brought word that the whole army were taking their rest in the snow. Xenophon and his men, therefore, after setting such guard as they could, passed the night in that spot without fire or food. Towards daybreak, he sent the youngest of his men to compel the sick to rise, and proceed on the march.

Meantime Cheirisophus had sent a company from the village, to inquire how the rear-guard fared. These were rejoiced to see them, and, having delivered their sick to be carried to the camp, they marched forward to the village. Here Cheirisophus kept his station, and the remainder of the army took up their quarters in the villages around.

Polycrates, an Athenian, one of the captains, then took a company of the light-armed troops, and made a rapid incursion upon a neighboring village. He surprised the inhabitants, together with the governor, in their houses, and found seventeen colts, that were being bred as a tribute for the king; also the governor's daughter, who had been married about nine days: her husband, having gone to hunt rabbits, was not taken. The houses of these people were under ground, the entrance resembling a well, but the interior was spacious. There was a passage dug for the cattle, but the inhabitants descended by ladders. In these houses were goats, sheep, cows, and fowls. All the cattle were fed within doors. There were also wheat, barley, pulse, and jars of beer, the malt floating even with the brim of the vessels. The jars contained reeds of various sizes, without joints. When any one was thirsty, he took one of these in his mouth and sucked. The liquor was very strong, but pleasant to those accustomed to it.

Xenophon invited the governor of the village to sup with him, and encouraged him with the assurance that his children should not be taken from him, and that, when the Greeks departed, they would leave his house full of provisions in payment for what they took, provided he would serve them as a guide till they came to another nation. The governor agreed to this, and, as a proof of good-will, told them where there was some wine buried in the earth. The soldiers enjoyed plenty that night, keeping a watchful eye, however, upon the governor and his children.

The next day, Xenophon, taking the governor with him, went to Cheirisophus, visiting the villages on his way, where he found the soldiers feasting and carousing. They all forced him to sit down and feast with them, and he every where found the tables covered with lamb, kid, pork, veal, and fowls, with plenty of wheaten and barley bread. When any one wished to drink to his friend, he took him to the jar, where he was obliged to stoop and drink like an ox. When the party came to Cheirisophus, they found his men also feasting, and crowned with garlands of hay, having Armenian boys, in barbarian dresses, to wait upon them. With these boys they conversed by signs, as if they had been deaf and dumb. Cheirisophus and Xenophon asked the governor, by their interpreter, what country this was; and he answered, Armenia.

From hence, as the army advanced, they came into the country of the Taochians, and here their provisions

began to fail; for the natives inhabited fastnesses, into the recesses of which they had conveyed all their effects. The Greeks, at length, arrived at a strong post without any houses, but where great numbers of men, with their cattle, were collected. This place Cheirisophus attacked, and when one company was roughly received in the assault, another went up; for the place, being surrounded with precipices, could not be assailed in all parts at once.

When Xenophon came up with the heavy-armed rear-guard, Cheirisophus said, "You come very seasonably, for this place must be taken, or the army will be starved." Upon this a council of war was called, and Cheirisophus said, "The place is accessible only at this point, and when any of our men attempt to go up, the enemy roll down great stones from the rock above; and behold the consequence!"-pointing to his men with broken legs and ribs. "But," replied Xenophon, "when they have expended all their stones, what can hinder us from going up? I can see only a few men with arms. The space through which we must pass, exposed to the stones, is not above a hundred and fifty feet in length, one third of which is covered with clumps of large pines, where the soldiers may be sheltered." "But while they are exposed," said Cheirisophus," the stones will fall in a shower." "So much the better," replied Xenophon; "they will be out of ammunition the sooner. Let us try it." Upon this, Cheirisophus and Xenophon, with Callimachus of Parrhasia, one of the captains, advanced, all the rest of the officers keeping out of danger. Then about seventy of the men crept forward, one by one, under the trees, sheltering themselves as well as they could. At a safe distance in the rear stood Agasius the Stymphalian, and Aristonymus of Methydnia. Callimachus advanced two or three paces from his tree, but as soon as he saw the stones pouring down, he ran back; this he repeated several times, and on each occasion more than ten cartloads of stones were

thrown at him. When Agasius saw what Callimachus was doing, and that the eyes of the whole army were upon him, he began to fear that his rival would bear away the palm of, victory; so he pushed forward. Callimachus, seeing him endeavoring to pass by, laid hold of his shield; and, in the mean time, Aristonymus, and after him Eurylochus, ran by them both, for they were rivals in glory.

By this emulation, which urged the assailants to the boldest efforts, the place was taken. And now followed a dreadful spectacle; for the women in the garrison first threw their children down the precipices, and then themselves. The men did the same. Æneas, the Stymphalian, a captain, seeing one of the barbarians, richly dressed, running to throw himself down, caught hold of him, and they both fell over together, and were dashed to pieces.

The Greeks now advanced through the country of the Chalybians. These were the most courageous people they had hitherto met, and a close engagement soon followed. The enemy had long linen corselets, with thick twisted cords instead of tassels, and their pikes were fifteen cubits long. They kept within their towns till the Greeks had passed, and then followed them with harassing attacks. The latter, however, advanced in spite of every obstacle, and soon came to the River Harpasus, which was four hundred feet broad. From thence they marched through the country of the Scythians, and in four days more,

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spective states; but, instead of doing so, such was their partiality for a warlike and adventurous life, that they first engaged in the service of Seuthes, a prince of Thrace, and afterwards joined the Lacedæmonian army in Ionia.

The governor of this country sent the Greeks a guide: this man promised, in five days, to bring them within sight of the sea; if not, he consented to be put to death. The fifth day they arrived at the holy mountain called Theches. As soon as the vanguard ascended the mountain and saw the sea, they gave a great shout, which being heard by Xenophon, and those in the rear, they thought the front must be attacked. The noise, however, increased; for the men, as fast as they came up, joined in the shout. This so swelled the sound, that Xenophon, thinking something extraordinary had happened, mounted his horse and rode forward. Presently he heard the soldiers crying out, "The sea! the sea!" and cheering one another with congratulations. At this moment they all ran, the rear-guard as well as the rest, so that the horses and beasts of burden were driven forward in the crowd. When they all reached the top of the mountain, and saw the sea, they embraced one another with tears in their eyes, for they now deemed that they were near their home. Under the grateful impulse of the moment, they brought together a great number of stones, and built a mound, upon which they piled up the shields, staves, and bucklers, taken from the enemy. The guide was dismissed with the present of a horse, a silver cup, a Persian dress, and ten darics.

The sea which had thus delighted the eyes of the Greeks was the Euxine or Black Sea. A few days' A few days' march now brought them to the city of Trapezus, the modern Trebizond, a Grecian colony on the shore of the Euxine. They had traversed above one thousand miles of a hostile and naturally difficult country, with surprisingly little loss. They proceeded westward, and, at Cerasus, another Grecian city, where they soon after arrived, a muster of the forces took place, when it was found that of the original ten thousand heavy-armed men, eight thousand six hundred still survived.

From this place they advanced, partly by land and partly by water, to the city of Byzantium, now Constantinople. Nearly a year had been spent in this adventurous and toilsome march, the success of which is to be attributed to the skill and ability of Xenophon, their leader. It might have been supposed that they The general route of this retreat may be easily made out on the Map of The East, at page 69.

Artaxerxes

CHAPTER LIX.

400 to 336 B. C.

Ochus- Darius Codomannus.

We must return to Artaxerxes, who, during the remainder of his reign, was the mere puppet of his mother, whose inveterate hatred against all whom she suspected of having contributed to the overthrow of her favorite son Cyrus, filled the palace with murders and conspiracies. While the court was thus disgraced, Agesilaus, king of Sparta, joined with the Asiatic Greeks, and made rapid conquests in Western Persia. He would probably have dismembered the empire, had not the troubles existing in Greece through a lavish distribution of Persian gold, compelled him to return home.

throne 360 B. C. He had murdered his brother to Ochus, the youngest son of Artaxerxes, came to the obtain this dignity; and, to secure the quiet possession of it, he put to death no less than eighty of the royal family. Artabazus, the satrap of Asia Minor, taking advantage of the unpopularity which the bloody deeds of the king had brought upon him, made an effort to seize the throne. But this attempt was unsuccessful, and Ochus, after defeating Artabazus, marched against the Phoenicians, who had rebelled, and who were supported by the Cyprians and Egyptians. The treason Phoenicians were reduced to such desperation, that the of their leader gave Ochus an easy victory, and the people of Sidon set their city on fire, and perished, with their wives and children, to the number of 40,000, in the conflagration.

Ochus renewed the attempt made by his father for the Having thus quelled all resistance to his authority, conquest of Egypt. He marched with a numerous army into that country, but met with a disaster on his route from the Serbonian Lake-a marshy district lying between Phoenicia and the mouths of the Nile. During the continuance of the southerly winds, such a quantity of sand is thrown upon this dangerous spot, that it is impossible to distinguish dry land from unfathomable bogs. The Persians, being unprovided with guides, wandered among these quagmires till the wreck of his army, arrived in Egypt; and so great numbers of them were ingulfed. Ochus, with feeble a resistance was made by the inhabitants, that he was able to plunder the land, and return with a rich booty to Persia.

The success of this enterprise so far satisfied him, that he gave himself up to enjoyment, and intrusted the administration of the government to two of his officers, Mentor and Bagoas. The latter was an Egyptian eunuch, and bore an inveterate malice Egypt, and killed the sacred bull Apis. These acts against the king for having plundered the temples of he regarded as the worst crimes which a human being could perpetrate, and, under the influence of a fanatical zeal, he poisoned his master. Not content with