Page:Key to Easy Latin Stories for beginners.djvu/97

^ART IV.] THE THIED DTSTASlON OF GEEECK 89 the barbarians: ‘The Athenian admiral has sent me, without the knowledge of the rest of the Greeks: for he favours the party of the Great King: moreover, he sent me to announce that the terrified Greeks are meditating flight. They are neither agreed among themselves, nor will they resist you any longer. Wherefore attack them, and do not allow them to take to flight.’ Having said these things, he at once retired, but Xerxes gave his signal for battle.

258.Therefore the barbarians attacked the Gredan ships with such fury that all the other Greeks backed water, and brought their vessels close to land. Aminias, an Athenian alone, being carried out too far to sea, assailed a hostile vessel with the beak (of his own ship). And when this vessel was clinging entangled with the other, and could not be got away, then at length the rest, coming up to assist Aminias, commenced the fight. They say that the appearance of a woman appeared to the Greeks, which exhorted them to fight bravely, in such a way as to be clearly heard by the whole host; and that it first upbraided them in these words: ‘Cowards, how long will ye back water?’ They fought for a long while; but the greater part of the enemies’ ships were destroyed in this engagement.

259.But Xerxes, when he saw the loss that had been inflicted, began to think about flight, fearing that some of the Ionians might form the plan of cutting the bridge. So he sent ships to the Hellespont to guard the bridges, that he might return in safety to Asia. Then he himself hastened to the Hellespont, leaving Mardonius with a large anny in Thessaly. Many of the army were destroyed by hunger or disease on the road. However, it is well known that Xerxes at length returned home. Next year Mardonius was completely defeated by the Greeks near Plataea. So three expeditions of the barbarians which had been sent to Greece were repulsed with great loss, and the Greeks escaped with liberty (lit. turned out free).