C. Witt

“ If we were mad enough to think of taking your life, we should be destroying our best friend, and should expose ourselves to the fury of the Great King who would hasten to avenge your death.
‘And now I will tell you what services we can render in return for your friendship. We know that you are harassed by the Mysians, the Pisidians and other nations, and moreover that the Egyptians have risen against you. But if we Hellenes are your friends, and fight as comrades by your side, what people can hope to withstand you? ”

“ After conferring with the other generals, Clearchus answered, ‘We knew not that Cyrus intended to lead us against the Great King. But when he who had shown us much kindness was in need of our help, we should have been shamed before gods and men had we then deserted him. Cyrus is now dead, and we have no further quarrel with the King, nor any wish to injure his subjects. If we are allowed to go on our way in peace, we will return quietly to our home, and for any kindness that we may receive we shall prove ourselves grateful. ”

“ There was another matter to which Xenophon was anxious to call the attention of his comrades. He knew how serious a disadvantage it is to an army in the field to be encumbered with a quantity of baggage, and advised that everything not absolutely needed for the march should be burnt.
‘He who would enrich himself with spoil,’ he said, ‘must overcome the enemy. Only conquerors can hold their own, and take the spoil of the vanquished. ”

“ If we conquer, I will set my friends over all that land. I have less fear that I shall not have enough gifts with which to reward my friends, than that I shall not have enough friends on whom to bestow my gifts. To each of you moreover, ye officers of the Hellenes, I will give, in remembrance of this campaign, a crown of gold.’
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The rest of the soldiers quickly heard of the dazzling prospects held out by Cyrus, and there was not a man among them who did not long for the battle to begin. ”

“ The elder was called Artaxerxes; the younger, Cyrus. Parysatis was not an impartial mother. She loved Cyrus far better than Artaxerxes, and desired nothing more ardently than that he should succeed to the throne after the death of Darius, rather than his elder brother.
The Queen was beautiful, and wise and clever, and she had great influence over her husband, and seldom failed in persuading him to do as she wished. She hoped therefore to induce the King to name Cyrus as his successor, especially as there was much that could be urged in favour of her plan. ”

“ But at that moment, while still almost alone, Cyrus was struck under the eye by the javelin of a Carian lancer. It was a mortal wound, and falling from his horse to the ground, he died immediately. All his table-companions fell around him; the most faithful of all leaped from his horse and threw himself upon the corpse, where he was either killed by the enemy, or, as some say, fell upon his own sword.
The head and right hand of Cyrus were cut off by command of Artaxerxes, and carried through the ranks on the point of a long spear. ”

“ HELLAS Beyond the great Persian Empire, on the other side of the Hellespont, was the little country of Hellas, or Greece. The Hellenes, or Greeks, as they are often called, were a race of men who had for centuries trained themselves in the art of noble thinking and noble living, and they looked down with some scorn on their less cultivated neighbours, to whom they gave, one and all, the name of Barbarians. ”

“ The Hellenes were in the position of a man whose path lies through a bog. After he has advanced some little way, he begins to consider whether it would not be better to turn back, but finding that this is just as difficult as to go forward, he thinks it a pity to waste the effort he has already made, and decides to continue.
So to the Hellenes it seemed that to return promised to be no less dangerous than to advance. The more clear-sighted were by this time perfectly aware that whatever Cyrus might say, or refrain from saying, his ultimate design was to proclaim war against the Great King. ”

“ How could a mere governor of a province hope to unseat from his throne the Great King with all the resources of the empire at his command? At the most, Cyrus could only reckon upon some 100,000 soldiers, whereas Artaxerxes was able to bring more than a million of men into the field. ”

“ All around in every direction, as far as the eye could reach, was one vast stretch of snow, many feet in depth, and through this the Hellenes had to make their way. Any one who has tried to walk for even a quarter of an hour through snow into which he cannot help sinking above the knee at every step he takes, may imagine how tiring and painful it must have been to march thus for a whole day. Many of the slaves and horses perished, and also thirty of the soldiers. ”

“ As they were going over one of the mountains, the archers and slingers who marched in front, caught sight of the camp, and without waiting for the hoplites, rushed forward with a loud cry, which so frightened the Barbarians that they immediately fled in the most disgraceful manner,—just as when the lion opens his mouth and roars, all the lesser animals run away in fear and trembling. ”

“ There was however one empire, that of Persia, in which the title of Great carried with it no distinction, for in this country every king was called the Great King, not because it was supposed that his nature was more noble or his actions more splendid than those of other men, but because he was lord of a vast empire, greater than had ever yet been seen upon the face of the earth. ”

“ We have been true to the oath sworn in the name of the gods, while the Barbarians have perjured themselves. The gods will not allow them to go unpunished; their anger will be turned against our enemies, and their help will be with us. They can humble the mighty and exalt the weak, and can, if they will, save us out of our distress.
‘Let us not form too high an estimate of the Persian resources. The Mysians and the little nation of Pisidians defy the Great King. In the midst of his empire they live as free men, and have many large and flourishing cities. ”

“ THE TREATY WITH ARIÆUS Terrible indeed must have been the despair of the Hellenes on hearing of the death of Cyrus, for by this one blow their whole position was changed, their every hope was shattered. Instead of being able to cherish pleasant dreams of future happiness made possible by the bounty of Cyrus, they had now before them nothing but a dark and dreary prospect of toil and danger, through which if they barely escaped with their lives, it was as much as they could dare to hope. ”

“ From the Great King we can look for nothing but fury and vengeance, for we came hither to unseat him from his throne.
‘Nevertheless it seems to me that our condition is not such that we should give way to despair, for the gods are angry with the Barbarians because they have broken the peace they swore to maintain. The gods will therefore be on our side. Moreover we can endure frost and heat better than the weakly Persians, and are in every way, thank the gods, made of better stuff. ”

“ THE GAMES AT TREBIZOND From the villages of the Colchians, two marches brought the Hellenes to the city of Trebizond, an ancient Hellene colony on the coast of the Black Sea. Now at last they had arrived at the sea, now they could rest awhile among their own countrymen, and forget all the miseries they had endured since taking service under the ill-fated Cyrus.
The people of Trebizond received them with great kindness, and made them gifts of cattle, barley and wine. They also opened a market for them, and brought abundance of goods for sale. ”

“ THE GREAT KING From time to time, in the course of the world’s history, the title of Great has been given to some monarch who has distinguished himself, either by the splendour of his victories, or by the value of his services to his fellowmen. ”

“ To the Hellene citizen, the one supreme necessity of life was freedom, and consequently in almost all the states the government was in the hands of men chosen by the people. Now and again a monarchy would be established in one or other of the states, but it never lasted long, and in their horror of tyrants, the Hellenes were apt to overlook the advantages of a firm, stable government. ”

“ In our days the general is regarded as the head of the army who has to think for all, and he would be blamed if he were to risk his life without actual necessity. But in the time of Cyrus, the general in command always took his share of the actual fighting, and would have been thought a coward if he had not been seen by friend and foe alike, in the fore-front of the battle.
The next morning the troops continued their march, drawn up in fighting order, for Cyrus expected that the two armies would meet that day. ”

“ Xenophon was well received at Sardis, and accompanied Cyrus on his march. Yet, up to the day of the massacre of the Hellenes by Tissaphernes, he had taken no active part in the expedition. He served neither as general, nor as captain, nor as private soldier, but was present merely as the friend of Proxenus and Cyrus. Nevertheless he took the deepest interest in everything that befell the army, whether for good or ill. ”

“ For to the gods all things are subject, and they have power over all, everywhere alike.
‘But more than this, you are of all others the man who is best able to help us. Without you our way is shrouded in shades of night, for we know not your land. The inhabited districts we should fear to enter, but far more should we dread the barren waste lands, where there would be none to help us. But with your good-will every way is open to us, every river can be crossed, we shall be among friends, and food will not fail. ”

“ He never showed himself to the people, except surrounded by his ten thousand guards. If he gave an audience, the person admitted to the royal presence was compelled, on pain of death, to present himself dressed in a robe with long sleeves falling over the hands, so that he should not be able to use his hands against his sovereign. If he entertained guests at his table, those among them who were considered the most faithful were placed at his right hand, and the less trusted at his left, because, in case of need, he would be better able to defend himself with the right hand than with the left. ”

“ It may seem strange that one satrap should have been able to wage war against another, whilst all the time both continued to be subjects of the Great King. But in point of fact, such rivalries between neighbouring satraps were rather encouraged than otherwise by the Great Kings, who lived in constant fear lest one or other of the great lords should take it into his head to make himself an independent sovereign, and consequently felt more secure when they were occupied in quarrelling among themselves. ”

“ All they could do was to question the prisoners, and from them they learnt that southwards, in the direction from whence they had come, were the provinces of Babylonia and Media, to the east were the cities of Susa and Babylon, to the west the provinces of Lydia and Ionia, and that the road northwards over the mountains would lead them through the land of the Carduchians, a fierce, war-loving race, who had never been conquered. Once the Great King had sent into their country an army of 120,000 men, to subdue them, but of all that great host not one had ever seen his home again. ”

“ Of the Persian troops, the most brilliant and useful were the cavalry. The Persians had long been famous for their skill and activity as horsemen; they were also excellent archers, and could draw their long bows at full gallop with as accurate an aim as if they were standing still and undisturbed on solid ground.
Among the Hellenes, on the contrary, the most28 useful, and at the same time the most numerous, were the Hoplites, or heavy infantry. There were no cavalry, and in the whole army only forty mounted men, nearly all of whom were officers. ”