Page:Xenophon by Alexander Grant.djvu/78

68 Xenophon evidently set eyes of affection upon the harbour of Calpe. He describes with enthusiasm its convenient situation under a lofty rock, its copious supply of water, the abundant timber in its neighbourhood, and the fertility of the surrounding country—producing, as he twice observes, "everything except olives," which, as a Greek, he seems particularly to have missed. The belief that he wanted to colonise the place was very strong in the army, and the soldiers, as a protest, refused to encamp upon the very spot which Xenophon says "would have been the natural site for a city." To explain this conduct of theirs, he mentions that the majority of Greeks in the army were not absolutely poor men, but (what we should call) gentlemen, who had joined the expedition from a regard to Cyrus, or under the idea that brilliant fortunes might be made in his service. Many of them had families at home, and they now wanted to get back.

The natives of the surrounding country had the same impression that a new city was to be formed, and after Xenophon had given them a little taste of Greek prowess, in a sharp skirmish with some Bithynian troops assisted by some cavalry belonging to the Persian satrap, they sent in proposals of alliance. Traders along the coast, also, willingly put in to secure the custom of the supposed settlers. And the omens for departure, whenever a sacrifice was made, were, or seemed to Xenophon, extremely unfavourable. The army thus rested many days at Calpe, whence they did a good deal of plundering.