Page:History of Greece Vol IX.djvu/238

 216 HISTORY OF GKEECK. abundant provisions and booty, slaves as well as cattle, by plunder- ing the Bithynian villages ; not without occasional losses on his own side, by the carelessness of marauding parties.' One of these losses was of considerable magnitude. Derkyllidas had obtained from Seuthes in European Thrace (the same prince of whom Xenophon had so much reason to complain) a reinforce- ment of three hundred cavalry and two hundred peltasts, Odry- sian Thracians. These Odrysians established themselves in a separate camp, nearly two miles and a half from Derkyllidas, which they surrounded with a palisade about man's height. Being inde- fatigable plunderers, they prevailed upon Derkyllidas to send them a guard of two hundred hoplites, for the purpose of guarding their sep- arate camp with the booty accumulated within it. Presently the camp became richly stocked, especially with Bithynian captives. The hostile Bithynians, however, watching their opportunity when the Odrysians were out marauding, suddenly attacked at daybreak the two hundred Grecian hoplites in the camp. Shooting at them over the palisade with darts and arrows, they killed and wounded some, while the Greeks with their spears were utterly helpless, and could only reach their enemies by pulling up the palisade and charging out upon them ; but the light-armed assailants, easily evading the charge of warriors with shield and spear, turned round upon them when they began to retire, and slew several before they could get back. In each successive sally the same phenomena re- curred, until at length all the Greeks were overpowered and slain, except fifteen of them, who charged through the Odrysians in the first sally, and marched onward to join Derkyllidas, instead of re- turning with their comrades to the palisade. Derkyllidas lost no tune in sending a reinforcement, which, however, came too late, and found only the naked bodies of the slain. The victorious Bithynians carried away all their own captives. 2 At the beginning of spring the Spartan general returned to Lampsakus, where he found Arakus and two other Spartans, just arrived out as commissioners sent by the ephors. Arakus came with instructions to prolong the command of Derkyllidas for another year ; as well as to communicate the satisfaction of the ephors with the Cyreian army, in consequence of the great im-
 * Xen. Hellen. iii, 2, 2-5. 2 Xen. Hrllen. iii, 2,4.