Clearchus of Soli

“ In an instant, Clearchus had been overcome. Chares, who had remained in the angle of shadow, sprang forward with a cry of rage. He reached Phradates before the soldiers could stop him, and dealt the Tyrian a blow that sent him down in an inanimate heap ten yards away; but, as he did so, a dozen men leaped upon him and bore him to the earth.
Clearchus was struggling like a madman with his captors, but to no purpose.
"They have us," the Theban said coolly. "Let us show ourselves men." ”

“ As they advanced, Clearchus gazed eagerly at the Persian line, every nerve stretched to the point of physical pain. He saw in the centre the ranks of the Greek mercenaries, ten times as deep as those of the phalanx, standing grim and motionless, in strange contrast with the restless flutter of the heterogeneous masses that surrounded them on three sides. He blushed to think that, when Persia stood at bay, Greeks could be found to range themselves with her against their own country. ”

“ Clearchus said bluntly. "As for my fortune, of what use is it to me without Artemisia? I must ask you to take charge of it once more for me. I shall give you full power, and if I come not back I desire that it shall be devoted to the public good as you may see fit."
"I am an old man," Ariston said, with mock hesitation, "but I cannot refuse the trust under the circumstances if you require it of me. Yet, why dost thou leave Athens?"
"How can I remain here?" Clearchus exclaimed. "My suffering is too great. ”

“ He smiled to see his friends dash past him, and he looked smilingly upon the clamorous crowd in which every man fought for his life. One of the priests, whose face had been gashed to the bone, rushed upon him, with hands extended, and tried to tear Artemisia from his arms. The man was unarmed, and Clearchus thrust him through the breast. ”

“ Clearchus said at last. "We are in the hands of the Gods. I shall ask the protection of Artemis and offer her a sacrifice. To-morrow we must be married. I do not dare to wait for the new moon, for I must be near you to protect you. Then, whatever may come, we will meet it together."
"Perhaps the dream was meant for me alone," Artemisia said tenderly. "I cannot bear to bring you into danger."
"Hush, Artemisia!" Clearchus said reprovingly. "I would rather a thousand times die with thee than live without thee." ”

“ He looked even more youthful than his twenty-one years as he stood among his leaders, some of whom were veterans of Philip's campaigns, grizzled with service. But in spite of his youth, there was a confidence in his bearing that left no doubt of who was master.
Clearchus felt himself strangely drawn to the young man whom all Hellas, with the exception of Sparta, acknowledged as its champion, and who was about to assail that great power beyond the Hellespont, whose limits were unknown and before whom Greece had stood in dread since the days of Great Cyrus. ”

“ The bitumen ate into the flesh of the soldiers. The lead and oil burned out their eyes. Many of them fled like living torches down the slope and plunged into the sea. The gap had become untenable.
Ptolemy saw that it would be impossible for reënforcements to reach him. He shook his sword at the city through the drifting smoke. "Another day!" he shouted, and, turning, plunged down the blazing path.
Clearchus stood dazed as he saw his comrades turn back.
"Come!" Chares shouted. "Do you want to be burned to death?"
"Cowards!" Clearchus cried, "why do you fly? ”

“ Having thus enriched himself, he inlisted vast numbers of foreign troops, and confirmed and strengthened himself in the sovereignty. When the cruelty and power of the tyrant was spread abroad, the Lacedæmonians at first sent messengers to him to advise him to lay down his government: but when he flatly refused, they sent an army against him under the command of Panthedas; but when Clearchus hear of his coming, he marched away with his forces to Selymbria, of which he had before possessed himself. ”

“ At the time of their greatest need, when Clearchus and the other officers had been struck down by the treachery of Tissaphernes, the Hellenes had vowed to offer sacrifices to the gods if ever they should again be in a land peopled by men of their own race. ”

“ Chares said. "Who is to stop us?"
"That will not do," Leonidas replied. "You know the order that nobody shall straggle from the camp. There is too much danger of getting into a brawl with the Persians."
"If a foraging party is going out, we might join it," Clearchus proposed.
"That is worth trying," the Spartan assented; "wait here until I find our friend, the captain." ”

“ Darius asked again.
"He remembers Cyrus, thy ancestor," Chares replied boldly.
These answers made an evident impression on Darius, whose face lost its listless expression. Many questions he put to the Greeks, who made no attempt to conceal anything from him, knowing that others could give him the information that he desired if they refused, and that refusal would mean immediate death. Finally the king could think of nothing more to ask.
"I am about to march against thy Alexander," he said. "Who will win the victory?"
"Victory is the gift of the Gods, O king," Clearchus said quickly. ”

“ Clearchus asked eagerly.
"Don't get excited," the Theban responded. "It will give you indigestion. They have revolted already, thanks to the gold your city sent them, and the barbarians are eating their corn in the citadel just at present, waiting for something to turn up."
"But that means war, Chares," Clearchus exclaimed.
"Well," Chares replied, "that will give Leonidas a chance to clear the rust from his sword. You know he is in the market."
"That is true," the Spartan said in response to Clearchus' glance of inquiry. "No man can live on air. ”

“ Clearchus demanded.
"It is possible for a good swimmer, but it is dangerous," Joel replied.
"I shall return with you at once," Clearchus announced, and began to belt on his sword.
"You are mad, Clearchus," Leonidas said, raising the flap of the tent. "Dawn is breaking. It would be broad daylight before you could reach the walls."
"I am going, nevertheless," Clearchus answered calmly, continuing his preparations.
"Do you think we are going to let you go alone?" Chares roared. "No, by Zeus; I am going, too! I have something I wish to say to Thais." ”

“ As the two friends proceeded they now began to meet other bands of fugitives straggling along the road. Most of them fled silently, often looking back over their shoulders as if in dread of pursuit.
"Cowards!" said Leonidas, scornfully.
"Life is sweet to all of us," Clearchus remonstrated, thinking of Artemisia.
"To such as these it should be bitter!" the Spartan replied.
They were rounding a turn in the road as he spoke, and before the words were well out of his mouth they found themselves entangled in a rabble of horsemen, who were retreating before a fierce attack. ”

“ Clearchus said. "You are in command again."
The Spartan turned his horse's head up the pass and the others fell in behind him. They rode unchallenged, for the defile had not yet been occupied by the Persian force. From every new elevation they could see the endless lines of infantry and cavalry slowly drawing together far below them, until they passed at noon through a narrow way between lofty and beetling cliffs, and saw Cilicia lying before them, with the blue horizon of the sea in the distant southwest. ”

“ The Hellenes could not but perceive that the tone94 of their allies was changing rapidly, and many of them warned Clearchus that there was something wrong. ‘Why do we remain here?’ they asked him. ‘Do we not know that the King wishes above all things to destroy us? To him it would be unendurable that we should reach home in safety, and boast that we, a handful of Hellenes, have defeated the Great King in the very heart of his empire, and have then escaped out of his hands after defying him openly. ”

“ Thais continued. "She could not love me more if she knew, and I will not be the means of bringing danger upon her or her children. We know the fate that awaits the kinsmen of princes. Did not Olympias cause Cleopatra to be slain with her babe in her arms? Has not Roxana murdered Statira, and is not Roxana herself, with the young Alexander, held in captivity? Nevertheless, I will tell her if you desire, and it shall be proclaimed throughout Egypt."
"May the Gods forbid!" Clearchus exclaimed. "You are right, Thais. It must not be told." ”

“ Chares was wielding the great Scythian sword with both hands. Whoever was thrust within its sweep went down. Its tempered edge shore through bone and metal, and no parry availed to turn it aside. Clearchus fought at his shoulder with his javelin, protecting him against attack in the rear.
"Back!" Nathan shouted to them. "We cannot face the odds. We must seek the wall!"
"You are right," Chares answered without turning his head. "We are coming. I wish Alexander were here!"
He cut down a negro who had succeeded in getting within the thrust of Clearchus' lance. ”

“ Not being able to put an end to their civil discords, they desired a governor from the Lacedæmonians; to which end Clearchus was sent to them, who, after the whole power was put into his hands, got together a great number of mercenaries, and acted more like a tyrant than a governor. For first, having invited the magistrates to a feast, after a public sacrifice, he caused them all to be put to death. Presently after, when there was none left to govern the city, he strangled thirty of the chief men of Byzantium, and seized upon all their goods to his own use. ”

“ She described Clearchus' despair at her loss and his vain effort to find some trace of her. She told how he had consulted the oracle and of her own adventure in Thebes when Chares had given his fortune to save her from Phradates. Then the young men had joined the army and left her alone in Athens.
"Chares consented that I should meet him here," she went on. "He said that women would not be allowed to follow the army to its first battle. It is there the greatest danger lies; for if they win there, they will hold all the western provinces of the Persian empire." ”

“ The frightened women pressed around Clearchus, wailing and beating their breasts and trying all at once to tell him the story of what had happened. The young man waved them aside and ran to the room where Philox lay. The faithful old steward had received a dagger thrust in the breast and was unconscious. Clearchus then sought Melissa ”

“ but Clearchus spoke, and his words were few; "Conquerors do not, as a rule, give up their arms"; ”

“ Clearchus said.
"I hope so!" Chares exclaimed, in a voice that came from his heart.
"There, in front of Darius, are his Greek mercenaries," Nathan continued. "Leonidas told the truth when he said there were thirty thousand of them. Those heavy-armed troops on each side of the centre are the Cardaces. And, look, there is the cavalry, there on the beach. That is the flower of the Persian army. Nabazarnes leads it." ”

“ Without you I can neither help a friend nor harm an enemy.’
On hearing these words, the soldiers felt perfectly satisfied, and at once made peace with their general. Moreover two thousand men, belonging to two other companies, left the generals under whom they had enlisted, in order to join the company of Clearchus. For they believed that having once said that he would not march against the Great King, Clearchus would hold to his resolution whatever happened, whereas it seemed very possible that the other officers might be won over by Cyrus, notwithstanding their present protests. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Leonidas said. "Alone we can never prevent the sacrifice."
"My people will help us," Nathan said. "They will not give up their first-born without fighting."
"How many are they?" Clearchus asked.
"There are ten thousand of them in the city," Joel replied; "but they are not armed, excepting those who have been drafted to the defence of the walls."
"I have more faith in Alexander than I have in your people," Chares said bluntly. "He will be in the city before this day ends, unless the Gods have misled old Aristander." ”

“ But Clearchus had with him the Eleian Tolmides, the best herald of his time; him he ordered to proclaim silence, and then to give out this proclamation of the generals: "Whoever will give any information as to who let an ass into the camp shall receive a talent of silver in reward." On hearing this proclamation the soldiers made up their minds that their fear was baseless, and their generals safe and sound. At break of day Clearchus gave the order to the Hellenes to get under arms in line of battle, and take up exactly the same position as they held on the day of the battle. ”

“ And of Anaxarchus, Clearchus the Solensian writes, in the fifth book of his Lives, in the following manner—"Anaxarchus, who was one of those who called themselves Eudæmonici, after he had become a rich man through the folly of those men who supplied him with means out of their abundance, used to have a naked full-grown damsel for his cup-bearer, who was superior in beauty to all her fellows; she, if one is to look at the real truth, thus exposing the intemperance of all those who employed her. ”