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Rh either to give me battle, if thou believest thyself able to encounter me, or, if thou thinkest thyself too weak, to acknowledge thy master, by presenting him with earth and water?" The Scythians were an high spirited people, extremely jealous of their liberty, and professed enemies to all slavery. Indathyrsus sent Darius the following answer: "If I fly before thee, prince of the Persians, it is not because I fear thee; what I do now, is no more than what I am used to do in time of peace. We Scythians have neither cities nor lands to defend; if thou hast a mind to force us to come to an engagement, come and attack the tombs of our fathers, and thou shall find what manner of men we are. As to the title of master, which thou assumest, keep it for other nations than the Scythians. For my part, I acknowledge no other master than the great Jupiter, one of my own ancestors, and the goddess Vesta." The farther Darius advanced into the country, the greater hardships his army was exposed to.

Darius deliberated no longer, finding himself under an absolute necessity of quitting his imprudent enterprise. He began then to think in earnest upon returning home; and saw but too plainly that there was no time to be lost. Therefore, as soon as night came, the Persians, to deceive the enemy, lighted a great number of fires, as usual; and leaving the old men and the sick behind them in the camp, together with all their asses, which made a sufficient noise, they marched away as fast as they could, in order to reach the Danube.

Darius, on his return to Sardis after his unhappy expedition against the Scythians, having learnt for certain that he owed both his own safety and that of his whole army to Hystæus, who had persuaded the Ionians not to destroy the bridge on the Danube, sent for that prince to his court, and desired him freely to ask any favor, in recompence of his service. Hystæus hereupon desired the king to give him Mercina of Edonia, a territory upon the river Strymon, in Thrace, together with the liberty of building a city there. His request was readily granted: whereupon he returned to Miletos, where he caused a fleet of ships to be equipped, and then set out for Thrace. Having taken possession of the territory granted him, he immediately set about the execution of his project in building a city.