Page:History of Greece Vol VI.djvu/241

 SECOXD AND THIRD YEARS OF THE WAR- 219 Doberus j 1 it was here that many troops and additional volunteers reached him, making up his full total. From Doberus, probably marching down along one of the tributary streams of the Axius, he entered into that portion of Upper Macedonia, which lies along the higher Axius, and which had constituted the separate prin- cipality of Philip : the presence in his army of Amyntos son of Philip, induced some of the fortified places, Gortynia, Atalante, and others, to open their gates without resistance, while Eidomene was taken by storm, and Europus in vain attacked. From hence, he passed still farther southward into Lower Macedonia, the kingdom of Perdikkas ; ravaging the territory on both sides of the Axius even to the neighborhood of the towns Pella and Kyrrhus ; and apparently down as far south as the mouth of the river and the head of the Thermaic gulf. Farther south than this he did not go, but spread his force over the districts between the left bank of the Axius and the head of the Strymonic gulf, Mygdonia, Krestonia, and Anthenius, while a portion of his army was detached to overrun the territory of the Chalkidians and Bottiaeans. The Macedonians under Perdikkas, renouncing all idea of contending on foot against so overwhelming a host, either fled or shut themselves up in the small number of fortified places which the country presented. The cavalry from Upper Macedonia, indeed, well armed and excellent, made some orderly and successful charges against the Thracians, lightly armed with javelins, short swords, and the pelta, or small shield, but it was presently shut in, harassed on all sides by superior numbers, and compelled to think only of retreat and extrication. 2 Luckily for the enemies of the Odrysian king, his march was not made until the beginning of winter, seemingly about No- vember or December. We may be sure that the Athenians, 1 See Gattcrer (De Herodoti et Thucydidis Thracia), sects. 44-57 ; Poppo (Prolegom. ad Thucydidem), vol. ii, ch. 31, about the geography of this region, which is very imperfectly known, even in modern times. We can hardly pretend to assign a locality to these ancient names. Thucydides, in his brief statements respecting this march of Sitalke's, speaks like one who had good information about the inland regions ; as ha was likely to have from his familiarity with the coasts, and resident propri- etorship in Thrace (Thucyd. ii, 100 ; Hcrodot. v, 16). f Thuoyd. ii, 100; Xenophon, Memorab. iii, 9, 2.