Page:Greece from the Coming of the Hellenes to AD. 14.djvu/122

94 such an operation, and after spending large sums of his own property Aristagoras found it impossible to take Naxos, and was, therefore, unable to fulfil his promise to Artaphernes that the expedition should bring in enough to pay its cost. He felt certain that this ill-success would involve the loss of his governorship of Miletus and, perhaps, of his life. His only chance seemed to be to cover his failure by instigating some general movement in Ionia sufficient to distract the attention of Artaphernes.

In the midst of his perplexity he received a message from Histiaeus, who, wearied of his detention at Susa, hoped that a movement in Ionia would secure his being sent down to deal with it. According to the well-known story the message was conveyed by two words tattooed on a slave's head—"raise Ionia" . This chimed in well with his own views, and steps were at once taken. An agreement was come to whereby the tyrants of the several Greek towns were persuaded or forced to abdicate, and the Paeonians were advised to quit the district in which they had been placed by Darius and return to their own lands. Aristagoras then set sail for European Greece in the hope of getting support from Sparta or Athens. His proposal was rejected by the Spartan king, Cleomenes, who, besides the national objection to distant expeditions, was intent about this time upon crushing Argos. At Athens he found a readier welcome. The Athenians were just entering on their upward career; they had got rid of their tyrants, and were ready to act as champions of freedom everywhere. They were