Page:The story of Greece told to boys and girls.djvu/168

 'Why did the Ionians rebel against the king?' he asked the Greek in a stern voice.

'I cannot tell,' answered Histiaeus. 'I have marvelled at all the things which have happened.'

'O Histiaeus,' said Artaphernes, 'thou hast thus much to do with these matters. Thou didst sew this sandal and Aristagoras hath put it on.'

Then at length Histiaeus was afraid lest his deceit had been discovered, and lest he should be punished. So when night came he stole out of the city and went as speedily as might be to the sea. From that time he became a sea-robber or pirate, seizing any vessel from which he could hope to get booty, whether it belonged to Greek or to barbarian.

After a long time he was taken prisoner by the Persians. Artaphernes ordered that he should be crucified and that his head should be sent to Darius.

But the great king was displeased that his general had not sent the Greek to him alive.

'If Histiaeus had been sent away alive to King Darius,' says Herodotus, 'he would not, I think, have suffered any harm, but his trespass would have been forgiven him.'

Even as it was, Darius was determined to show what honour was yet possible to his faithless servant. For he ordered his slaves to 'wash the head and adorn it well, and to bury it as the head of one who had done much good to himself and to the Persians.'

In 494, four years after the Athenians had sailed to the help of the Ionians, the revolt was crushed. Miletus, where the rebellion had begun, was punished more severely than the other rebellious cities.