Page:History of Greece Vol III.djvu/272

 256 HISTORY OF GREECE, then unknown to the Lydians. For twelve successive years the Milesian territory was annually overrun and ravaged, previous to the gathering in of the crop. The inhabitants, after having been defeated in two ruinous battles, gave up all hope of resisting the devastation, so that the task of the invaders became easy, and the Lydian army pursued their destructive march to the sound of flutes and harps. They ruined the crops and the fruit-trees, but Alyattes would not allow the farm-buildings or country-houses to be burnt, in order that the means of production might still be preserved, to be again destroyed during the following season. By such unremitting devastation the Milesians were reduced to distress and famine, in spite of their command of the sea ; and the fate which afterwards overtook them during the reign of Croesus, of becoming tributary subjects to the throne of Sardis, would have begun half a century earlier, had not Alyattes unin- tentionally committed a profanation against the goddess Athene. Her temple at Assessus accidentally took fire, and was consumed, when his soldiers on a windy day were burning the Milesian standing corn. Though no one took notice of this incident at the time, yet Alyattes on his return to Sardis was smitten with pro longed sickness. Unable to obtain relief, he despatched envoys to seek humble advice from the god at Delphi ; but the Pythian priestess refused to furnish any healing suggestions until he should have rebuilt the burnt temple of Athene, and Perian- der, at that time despot of Corinth, having learned the tenor of this reply, transmitted private information of it to Thrasybulus, despot of Miletus, with whom he was intimately allied. Presently there arrived at Miletus a herald on the part of Alyattes, pro- posing a truce for the special purpose of enabling him to rebuild the destroyed temple, the Lydian monarch believing the Mile- sians to be so poorly furnished with subsistence that they would gladly embrace this temporary relief. But the herald on his ar- rival found abundance of corn heaped up in the agora, and the citizens engaged in feasting and enjoyment : for Thrasybulus had caused all the provision in the town, both public and private, to be brought out, in order that the herald might see the Milesians in a condition of apparent plenty, and carry the news of it to his master. The stratagem succeeded. Alyattes, under the persua- sion that his repeated devastations inflicted upon the Milesians no