✍️ Rob's Notes

The History - Book 9 (Calliope) by Herodotus

17 min read

Author: Herodotus

Summary (Slides by nblm)

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Notes

  • When Alexander gets back and tells Mardonius that his peace terms where not considered and that the Greeks would not surrender, he immediately mobilized his troops to march towards Athens.
  • Along the way, the Thebans advice him to not attack while the Greeks are united. They tell him to send gifts to numerous Greek states and cause division. But Mardonius is stubborn and wants to subdue the Greeks by force.
  • When he reaches Athens he sees the city deserted and that the people and troops have fled to Salamis and other places. Mardonius offers a second peace treaty through Murychides.
  • Murychides delivers the message to the Athenian council and one of the council members - Lycidas supports this. The Athenians stone him to death. They also stone his family to death.
  • 289 - When the Persians attack, the Athenians send a message to the Spartans - asking them to honor their word of protecting them. But the Spartans are busy building a wall in the Isthmus, they also have a festival. So they delay by ten days. Finally, they send a troop of 5000 men.
  • The Argives send a messenger to Mardonius informing him that Spartans are coming for the aid of the Athenians and that they cannot stop them.
  • Mardonius is unhappy after hearing this. He had not done anything to Athens expecting them to accept his treaty. Now he decides to burn the city to the ground of whatever was remaining. He decides to withdraw to Thebes since Attica (Athens) is not good fighting ground for cavalry.
  • The Persians reach Thebes, they cut down all the trees to make a wall of protection for themselves. The Thebans give them a feast where they sit around with Thebans and Persians alternating.
  • Thousand heavy armed Phocian soldiers join them. Mardonius tell them to take position at the plains away from the main army. But a rumor spreads among them that the Persians will kill all of them before the battle begins due to Thessalians asking Persians to destroy Phocians. They see a horse charging towards them. They stand firm ready to fight. But the horse stops and goes back. So the fighting is averted.
  • When Mardonius sees that the Greeks are not attacking them, he sends out his cavalry under Masistus to attack the Greeks. Masistus is well reputed as a great general among the Persians. He leads multiple attacks and causes great harm to the Greek army. But on one of the rounds, he gets hit by an arrow and falls down from his horse. The Greeks slay him. The Persians attack but are not able to recover their leader’s body. They go back to Mardonius and lament Masistus’ death.
  • The Greeks put Masistus’ body in a cart and parade it around to show the army to embolden them to fight. After this, they decide to go to Plataea since it was better to encamp there.
  • Battle of words (debate?) between the Athenians and the Tegeans over the positioning of their armies. Tegeans claim the post based on ancestry and ancient conquests. Athenians say they also have ancestry to talk about. But in recent times, they were the ones who fought the enemy bravely after the Persians had already conquered 46 nations. In the end, the Spartans support Athenians and the post on the left flank is given to the Athenians.
  • The Greek army size - eighteen hundred men short of one hundred and ten thousand. 10k Lacaemedonians on the right (5k of them being Spartans), Tegeans were next to the Spartans on the right. Many other groups. Athenians on the left with 8k soldiers.
  • The Persian army - 300k + 50k Greeks who joined Mardonius. Mardonius arranges his army to face specific groups of Greeks. Persians against the Spartans and Tegeans, Medes against the Corinthians and a few others, and so on.
  • After both armies are lined up to fight against each other on both sides of the river Asopus. The next day both preprare to offer sacrifices to the gods.
  • The Grecian sacrifice is done by Tisamenus who is the Greek soothsayer. He was childless and when he went to the temple at Delphi, the oracle had said the he will win 5 contests. So he prepares and participates in the Olympics but doesn’t win 5. So the people interpret to mean that he would win 5 battles. Sparta asks for him. He says he would be ready to fight if they give him citizenship. They refuse. But when Persians come, they go to him again. This time he says he wants citizenship for him and his brother. So both of them become citizens.
  • The sacrifice on the Persian side is done by Hegesistratus, who was their soothsayer. He was once held captive by the Spartans. Before his execution, he had cut off his own feet and escaped (I remember hearing this story before also).
  • Both soothsayer advice not to fight but hold the defense position. Timagendias, a Theban advices Mardonius to check on a mountain pass nearby through with more men were joining the Greeks. He sends his cavalry and they find people crossing with supplies. They kill everyone.
  • Ten more days pass and no one attacks. At this point, Artabazus advices Mardonius to retreat to the fortified city of Thebes. There they had lot of provisions and they could wait for Greeks to attack and then defeat them easily. But Mardonius insists on taking the fight to the Greeks since he thinks their army is stronger. (pg 297)
  • Alexander goes over to the Greeks’ side in the night and tells the Generals that since Mardonius thinks that Greeks are growing in number, he might attack anytime. Also the Persians are running out of provisions.
  • The Greeks shift positions - Athenians come to the right and Spartans to the left. Seeing this the Persians go to the right on their side to face the Spartans. Seeing this, the Greeks change position again and go back to the original arrangement. The Persians also do the same.
  • The Persians send a herald to the Spartan side challenging them to a fight if they are brave enough instead of involving the whole armies. But the Spartans don’t take up the challenge. Mardonius thinks that the Greek camp is scared. He launches attack on them. The Greeks are running out of provisions since the Persians had blocked the passage of provisions. The Greeks retreat to an island nearby.
  • When Mardonius comes to know that Greeks left in the night, they cross over to the other side of the river. He calls Thorax and his brothers and tells them that Spartans are not brave but cowards. He wonders why Artabazus was scared of the Spartan and had asked Persians to retreat to Thebes. He feels good that he didn’t listen to Artabazus’ advice.
  • Since the Greeks had not retreated together, different camps are now separated. When Persians attack, the Spartans are left alone to fight against them.
  • The fight was mostly going against the Greeks, but after Mardonius gets killed, the Persians fall into disarray and they get defeated. Artabazus flees to Phocis.
  • After seeing that all the Persian men and allies were killed, one of the women adorns herself and her maids in gold and go to the Spartans asking for mercy. They listen to the suppliant and send her off Egina.
  • Someone suggests that they should cut off Mardonius’ head as a sign of revenge for what the Persians had done to Leonidas. But the Greeks refuse to do so saying that they will not stoop to the level of the barbarians.
  • The Greeks get a lot of gold and wealth from the Persian camp. They dedicated a tenth for the Delphian god.
  • Pausanias asks the Persian cooks to make them a banquet like they did for Mardonius. The lavish feast is set on tables of gold and silver. He also asks Spartan cooks to prepare Spartan supper. Then he compares the two and tells his army that it made no sense for the Medes who were so rich to attack Sparta which was so poor!
  • The Greeks then proceed to march eastwards. They attack Thebes and makes them surrender.
  • Artabazus flees with 40 thousand men. When he reaches Thessaly he realizes they don’t know anything about the outcome of the battle. So he lies and says that Mardonius is coming behind and they should extend hospitality to him and rest of the army also. So they treat him well and allows the army to go further. They cross Thessay and Macedon and go towards Thrace. But by the time they reach Byzantium, most of the army die along the way.
  • Herodotus says that it was a great coincidence that the battle at Plataea (land) and the one at Mycale (sea) at the same time.
  • Most of the Persians at Mycale including the commander Tigranes die. Artayntes (one of the generals) survives and reaches Sardis. Masistes, Xerxes brother scolds him - saying he was worse than a woman. In a fit of rage Artayntes attacks him but gets killed.
  • At Sardis, Xerxes falls in love with his brother, Masistes’s wife. He sends messages but she doesn’t respond. He doesn’t use force since he respects his brother. In order to get close to her, he arranges a wedding between his son Darius and his brother’s daughter Artaynta. After the wedding, Xerxes loses interest in Masistes’ wife and falls in love with her daughter Artaynta who is now his daughter-in-law. She accepts his advances. One day in a generous mood Xerxes says she can have whatever she wants. She asks for a beautiful robe that he had. This was a gift from his wife. He tries to not give it but give other lavish gifts. But she does not agree. Finally he relents. She walks around the palace wearing this robe. Xerxes’ wife gets to know this and immediately gets mad. But instead of punishing Artaynta, she decides to take revenge against her mother, Masistes’s wife (probably the sisters-in-law had some enmity before). During Xerxes’ birthday, she asks a wish to be given Masistes’s wife. Xerxes tries to dissuade but it doesn’t work. So he gives Masistes’s wife to her. He talks to his brother to give up his wife and proposes that he marry his (Xerxes’) daughter. But Masistes doesn’t agree. Xerxes’ wife mutilates Masistes’ wife have her breasts, ears, nose, etc. cut off and fed to the dogs. When Masistes hears that his wife was mutilated, he decides to gather his sons and followers and go to Bactria to gather an army to revolt against Xerxes. But Xerxes gets wind of this and has Masistes and his whole family killed.
  • Herodotus briefly talks about Artayctes, a cruel Persian satrap who had desecrated an Athenian temple. After the war the Greeks pursue him and kill him and his son.
  • The book ends with a quote from Cyrus the great - “soft countries gave birth to soft men—there was no region which produced very delightful fruits, and at the same time men of a warlike spirit”.

Quotes

  • If the Greeks, who had held together hitherto, still continued united among themselves, it would be difficult for the whole world to overcome them by force of arms. (View Highlight)
  • A strong desire of taking Athens a second time possessed him, in part arising from his inborn stubbornness, in part from a wish to inform the king at Sardis, by fire-signals along the islands, that he was master of the place. H (View Highlight)
  • If the Athenians are not our friends, but league themselves with the barbarians, however strong our wall across the Isthmus may be, there will be doors enough, and wide enough open too, by which the Persian may gain entrance to the Peloponnese. (View Highlight)
  • “Dear friend, it is not possible for man to avert that which God has decreed shall happen. No one believes warnings, however true. Many of us Persians know our danger, but we are constrained by necessity to do as our leader bids us. (View Highlight)
  • Verily ‘tis the sorest of all human ills, to abound in knowledge and yet have no power over action. (View Highlight)
  • And now, although the Thebans had espoused the cause of the Medes, yet Mardonius cut down all the trees in these parts; not however from any enmity towards the Thebans, but on account of his own urgent needs; for he wanted a rampart to protect his army from attack, (View Highlight)
  • Now Masistius was a man of much repute among the Persians, and rode a Nisaean charger with a golden bit, and otherwise magnificently caparisoned. So the horse advanced against the Greeks, and made attacks upon them in divisions, doing them great damage at each charge, and insulting them by calling them women. (View Highlight)
  • a fierce battle of words arose between the Athenians and the Tegeans, (View Highlight)
  • Being without a leader, it seemed to them the fittest course to return to Mardonius. (View Highlight)
  • “We are not ignorant that our forces were gathered here, not for the purpose of speech-making, but for battle against the barbarian. (View Highlight)
  • But what boots it to speak of these ancient matters? A nation which was brave in those days might have grown cowardly since, and a nation of cowards then might now be valiant. (View Highlight)
  • There we stood alone, and singly fought with the Persians; nay, and venturing on so dangerous a cast, we overcame the enemy, and conquered on that day forty and six nations! (View Highlight)
  • The Greek army, therefore, which mustered at Plataea, counting light-armed as well as heavy-armed, was but eighteen hundred men short of one hundred and ten thousand; (View Highlight)
  • Tisamenus had gone to Delphi to consult the god concerning his lack of offspring, when it was declared to him by the Pythoness that he would win five very glorious combats. (View Highlight)
  • Tisamenus the Elean, having in this way become a Spartan citizen, afterwards, in the capacity of soothsayer, helped the Spartans to gain five very glorious combats. He and his brother were the only men whom the Spartans ever admitted to citizenship. (View Highlight)
  • Artabazus thought it would be best for them to break up from their quarters as soon as possible, and withdraw the whole army to the fortified town of Thebes, where they had abundant stores of corn for themselves, and of fodder for the sumpter-beasts. There, he said, they had only to sit quiet, and the war might be brought to an end on this wise: —Coined gold was plentiful in the camp, and uncoined gold too; they had silver moreover in great abundance, and drinking-cups. (View Highlight)
  • There is an oracle which says that the Persians shall come into Greece, sack the temple at Delphi, and when they have so done, perish one and all. Now we, as we are aware of the prediction, will neither go against the temple nor make any attempt to sack it: we therefore shall not perish (View Highlight)
  • I am myself a Greek by descent, and I would not willingly see Greece exchange freedom for slavery. (View Highlight)
  • when she heard that the Persians were all slain and that the Greeks had carried the day, forthwith she adorned herself and her maids with many golden ornaments, and with the bravest of the apparel that she had brought with her, (View Highlight)
  • wherein were found many tents richly adorned with furniture of gold and silver, many couches covered with plates of the same, and many golden bowls, goblets, and other drinking-vessels. (View Highlight)
  • enough for me to gain the approval of my own countrymen, by righteous deeds as well as by righteous words. (View Highlight)
  • I sent for you, O Greeks, to show you the folly of this Median captain, who, when he enjoyed such fare as this, must needs come here to rob us of our penury. (View Highlight)
  • When twenty days were gone by, and the violence of the Greeks did not slacken, (View Highlight)
  • The body of Mardonius disappeared the day after the battle; but who it was that stole it away I cannot say with certainty. (View Highlight)
  • With these words he took his departure, and marched his troops at their best speed through Thessaly and Macedon straight upon Thrace, following the inland route, which was the shortest, and, in good truth, using all possible despatch. (View Highlight)
  • Here it happened that Evenius, when he was chosen to keep the watch, by some accident fell asleep upon his guard; and while he slept, the cave was entered by wolves, which destroyed some sixty of the flock under his care. (View Highlight)
  • Evenius had the gift of prophecy, insomuch that he became a famous man in Greece. Deiphonus, the son of this Evenius, had accompanied the Corinthians, and was sooth-sayer, as I said before, to the Greek armament. (View Highlight)
  • But the matter came to the ears of the Apolloniats, who forthwith brought Evenius to trial, and condemned him to lose his eyes, because he had gone to sleep upon his post (View Highlight)
  • This was an army of sixty thousand men, under the command of Tigranes, a Persian of more than common beauty and stature. (View Highlight)
  • Many things prove to me that the gods take part in the affairs of man. How else, when the battles of Mycale and Plataea were about to happen on the self same day, should such a rumour have reached the Greeks in that region, greatly cheering the whole army, and making them more eager than before to risk their lives. (View Highlight)
  • A strange coincidence too it was, that both the battles should have been fought near a precinct of Eleusinian Ceres. (View Highlight)
  • the Greeks were full of fear, not so much on their own account, as for their countrymen, and for Greece herself, lest she should be worsted in her struggle with Mardonius. But when the voice fell on them, their fear vanished, and they charged more vigorously and at a quicker pace. (View Highlight)
  • And the other Ionians likewise, beholding their example, revolted and attacked the Persians. (View Highlight)
  • In this battle the Greeks who behaved with the greatest bravery were the Athenians; and among them the palm was borne off by Hermolycus, the son of Euthynus, a man accomplished in the Pancratium. (View Highlight)
  • Artayntes and Ithamitres, who were leaders of the fleet, escaped; Mardontes, and the commander of the land force, Tigranes, died fighting. (View Highlight)
  • He therefore sent her messages, but failed to win her consent; and he could not dare to use violence, out of regard to Masistes, his brother. (View Highlight)
  • a change came over him, and losing all love for the wife of Masistes, he conceived a passion for his son’s bride, Masistes’ daughter. And Artaynta — for so was she called —very soon returned his love. (View Highlight)
  • Now with the Persians there is no greater insult than to call a man “worse than a woman.” (View Highlight)
  • a feast which takes place once every year, in celebration of the king’s birthday —“Tykta” the feast is called in the Persian tongue, which in our language may be rendered “perfect” and this is the only day in all the year on which the king soaps his head, and distributes gifts to the Persians. (View Highlight)
  • Such is the tale of King Xerxes’ love and of the death of his brother Masistes. (View Highlight)
  • This done, they sailed back to Greece, carrying with them, besides other treasures, the shore cables from the bridges of Xerxes, which they wished to dedicate in their temples. (View Highlight)
  • but he warned them not to expect in that case to continue rulers, but to prepare for being ruled by others — soft countries gave birth to soft men—there was no region which produced very delightful fruits, and at the same time men of a warlike spirit. (View Highlight)

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