Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἴσως οὐδὲν πρὸς τὸν λόγον, ὡς ἂν εἴποιεν οἱ ταῖς τῶν ἐπαίνων τέχναις καθάπερ νόμοις ἐπιτεταγμένοι· ἐγὼ δὲ εἰ μὲν τί σοι προσήκει καὶ τούτων, ἐν καιρῷ σκέψομαι, [64] τά γε μὴν ὀνείδη τῶν ἀνθρώπων οὐ χαλεπῶς ἀπολύομαι. φημὶ γὰρ ὡς οὔτε ἐγὼ τῶν τεχνῶν μεταποιοῦμαι οὔτε ὅστις μή τισιν ὡμολόγησεν ἐμμενεῖν ἀδικεῖ μὴ φυλάττων ταῦτα· τυχὸν δὲ καὶ ἄλλων οὐκ ἀπορήσομεν εὐπρεπῶν παραιτήσεων. ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γὰρ ἄξιον μακρότερον εἰς οὐδὲν δέον ἀπαρτᾶν τὸν λόγον καὶ ἀποπλανᾶσθαι τῆς ὑποθέσεως. ἐπαναβῶμεν οὖν αὖθις εἰς ἴχνος καὶ ὅθεν ἐξέβην.
(But perhaps those who watch over the rules for writing panegyric as though they were laws, may say that all this is irrelevant to my speech. Now whether what I have been saying partly concerns you I shall consider at the proper time. But at any rate I can easily clear myself from the accusation of such persons. For I declare that I make no claim to be an expert in their art, and one who has not agreed to abide by certain rules has the right to neglect them. And it may be that I shall prove to have other convincing excuses besides. But it is not worth while to interrupt my speech and digress from my theme any longer when there is no need. Let me, then, retrace my steps to the point at which I digressed.)
[B] Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ οἱ Παρθυαῖοι κοσμηθέντες ὅπλοις αὐτοί τε καὶ ἵπποι ξὺν τοῖς Ἰνδικοῖς θηρίοις προσῆγον τῷ τείχει, λαμπροὶ ταῖς ἐλπίσιν ὡς αὐτίκα μάλα ἀναρπασόμενοι,[295] καὶ ἐδέδοτό σφιν τοῦ πρόσω χωρεῖν τὸ σημεῖον, ὠθοῦντο ξύμπαντες, αὐτός τις ἐθέλων πρῶτος ἐσαλέσθαι τὸ τεῖχος καὶ οἴχεσθαι φέρων τὸ ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ κλέος· εἶναί τε οὐδὲν ἐτόπαζον δέος· οὐδὲ γὰρ ὑπομενεῖν σφῶν τὴν ὁρμὴν τοὺς ἔνδον. [C] Παρθυαίοις μὲν τοσοῦτον περιῆν ἐλπίδος. οἱ δὲ πυκνήν τε εἶχον τὴν φάλαγγα κατὰ τὸ διερρηγμένον τοῦ τείχους, καὶ ὑπὲρ τοῦ συνεστῶτος ὁπόσον ἦν ἀχρεῖον πλῆθος [pg 172] ἐν τῇ πόλει κατέστησαν ἀναμίξαντες τῶν στρατιωτῶν οὐκ ἐλάττω μοῖραν. ἐπεὶ δὲ οἱ πολέμιοι προσήλαυνον καὶ οὐδὲν ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἐκ τοῦ τείχους ἀφίετο βέλος, βεβαιοτέραν εἶχον τὴν ἐλπίδα τοῦ κατ᾽ ἄκρας αἱρήσειν τὴν πόλιν, καὶ τοὺς ἵππους ἔπαιον μάστιξι καὶ ᾕμασσον τὰς πλευρὰς τοῦς κέντροις, [D] ἕως ἐποιήσαντο σφῶν κατὰ νώτου τὰ χώματα· ἐπεποίητο δὲ ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν ἐκεῖνα πρότερον πρὸς τὸ ἐπέχειν τοῦ Μυγδονίου τὰς ἐκροάς, ἰλύς τε ἦν περὶ τὸ χωρίον εὖ μάλα βαθεᾶα † οὐδὲ αὐτοῦ παντελῶς ὄντος ὑπὸ τῆς ὕλης[296]† καὶ διὰ τὸ πίειραν εἶναι τὴν γῆν καὶ στέγειν δύνασθαι φύσει τὰς λιβάδας. ἦν δὲ ἐνταῦθα καὶ παλαιὸν ἔρυμα τῇ πόλει τάφρος εὐρεῖα, καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ βαθύτερον συνειστήκει τέλμα. [65] ἁπτομένων δὲ ἤδη τῶν πολεμίων καὶ ταύτης καὶ διαβαίνειν πειρωμένων, ἐπεξῇσαν[297] πολλοὶ μὲν ἔνδοθεν, πολλοὶ δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν τειχῶν ἔβαλλον τοῖς λίθοις· καὶ αὐτῶν μὲν πολὺς ἐγένετο φόνος, φυγῇ δὲ ἔτρεπον τοὺς ἵππους ξύμπαντες, τῷ μόνον ἐθέλειν καὶ δηλοῦν τὴν γνώμην διὰ τοῦ σχήματος. ἐπιστρεφόντων γὰρ ἔπιπτον εὐθέως καὶ κατέφερον τοὺς ἱππέας· βαρεῖς δὲ ὄντες τοῖς ὅπλοις μᾶλλον ἐνείχοντο τῷ τέλματι. [B] καὶ αὐτῶν ἐνταῦθα γίνεται φόνος, ὅσος οὔπω πρόσθεν ἐν πολιορκίᾳ τοιαύτῃ[298] γέγονεν.
(Now when the Parthians advanced to attack the wall in their splendid accoutrements, men and horses, supported by the Indian elephants, it was with the utmost confidence that they would at once take it by assault. And at the signal to charge they all pressed forward, since every man of them was eager to be the first to scale the wall[299] and win the glory of that exploit. They did not imagine that there was anything to fear, nor did they believe that the besieged would resist their assault. Such was the exaggerated confidence of the Parthians. The besieged, however, kept their phalanx unbroken at the gap in the wall, and on the portion of the wall that was still intact they posted all the non-combatants in the city, and distributed among them an equal number of soldiers. But when the enemy rode up and not a single missile was hurled at them from the wall, their confidence that they would completely reduce the city was strengthened, and they whipped and spurred on their horses so that their flanks were covered with blood, until they had left the dykes behind them. These dykes they had made earlier to dam the mouth of the Mygdonius, and the mud thereabouts was very deep. In fact there was hardly any ground at all because of the wood,[300] and because the soil was so rich, and of the sort that conceals springs under its surface. Moreover there was in that place a wide moat that had been made long ago to protect the town, and had become filled up with a bog of considerable depth. Now when the enemy had already reached this moat and were trying to cross it, a large force of the besieged made a sally, while many others hurled stones from the walls. Then many of the besiegers were slain, and all with one accord turned their horses in flight, though only from their gestures could it be seen that flight was what they desired and intended. For, as they were in the act of wheeling them about, their horses fell and bore down the riders with them. Weighed down as they were by their armour, they floundered still deeper in the bog, and the carnage that ensued has never yet been paralleled in any siege of the same kind.)
Ἐπεὶ δὲ τὰ τῶν ἱππέων ὧδε ἐπεπράγει, τῶν ἐλεφάντων πειρῶνται, καταπλήξεσθαι μᾶλλον [pg 174] οἰόμενοι τῷ ξένῳ τῆς μάχης· οὐ γὰρ δὴ τοσοῦτον αὐτοῖς τὰ τῶν ὀμμάτων διέφθαρτο, ὡς μὴ καθορᾶν βαρύτερον μὲν ὂν ἵππου τὸ θηρίον, φέρον δὲ ἄχθος οὐχ ἵππων δυοῖν ἢ πλειόνων, ἁμαξῶν δὲ οἶμαι συχνῶν, [C] τοξότας καὶ ἀκοντιστὰς καὶ σιδηροῦν πύργον. ταῦτα δὲ ἦν ἅπαντα πρὸς τὸ χωρίον χειροποίητον γεγονὸς τέλμα κωλύματα, καὶ ἦν αὐτοῖς ἔργῳ φανερά· ὅθεν οὐκ εἰκὸς εἰς μάχην ἰέναι, ἀλλὰ ἐς κατάπληξιν τῶν ἔνδον παρασκευάζεσθαι. προσῆγον δὲ ἐν τάξει μέτρον διεστῶτες ἀλλήλων ἴσον, καὶ ἐῴκει τείχει τῶν Παρθυαίων ἡ φάλανξ· τὰ μὲν θηρία[301] τοὺς πύργους φέροντα, τῶν ὁπλιτῶν δὲ ἀναπληρούντων τὰ ἐν μέσῳ. ταχθέντες δὲ οὕτως οὐ μέγα ὄφελος ἦσαν τῷ βαρβάρῳ· [D] παρεῖχον γὰρ ἡδονὴν καὶ τέρψιν τοῖς ἐκ τοῦ τείχους θεωμένοις. ὡς δὲ ἐγένοντο διακορεῖς οἱονεὶ λαμπρᾶς καὶ πολυτελοῦς πομπῆς πεμπομένης, λίθους ἐκ μηχανῶν ἀφιέντες καὶ τόξοις βάλλοντες ἐς τὴν τειχομαχίαν προυκαλοῦντο τοὺς βαρβάρους. φύσει δὲ ὄντες εἰς ὀργὴν ὀξύρροποι καὶ δεινὸν ποιούμενοι τὸ γέλωτα ὀφλῆσαι καὶ ἀπαγαγεῖν ὀπίσω τὴν παρασκευὴν ἄπρακτον, ἐγκελευομένου σφίσι τοῦ βασιλέως, προσῆγον τῷ τείχει καὶ ἐβάλλοντο πυκνοῖς[302] τοῖς λίθοις καὶ τοῖς τοξεύμασι· [66] καὶ ἐτρώθη τῶν θηρίων τινὰ καὶ ἀπέθανεν κατενεχθέντα[303] ὑπὸ τῆς ἰλυος. δείσαντες δὶ καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἄλλων ἀπῆγον ὀπίσω πάλιν εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον.
(Since this fate had overtaken the cavalry, they tried the elephants, thinking that they would be more likely to overawe us by that novel sort of fighting. For surely they had not been stricken so blind as not to see that an elephant is heavier than a horse, since it carries the load, not of two horses or several, but what would, I suppose, require many waggons, I mean archers and javelin men and the iron tower besides. All this was a serious hindrance, considering that the ground was artificially made and had been converted into a bog. And this the event made plain. Hence it is probable that they were not advancing to give battle, but rather were arrayed to overawe the besieged. They came on in battle line at equal distances from one another, in fact the phalanx of the Parthians resembled a wall, with the elephants carrying the towers, and hoplites filling up the spaces between. But drawn up as these were they were of no great use to the barbarian. It was, however, a spectacle which gave the defenders on the wall great pleasure and entertainment, and when they had gazed their fill at what resembled a splendid and costly pageant in procession, they hurled stones from their engines, and, shooting their arrows, challenged the barbarians to fight for the wall. Now the Parthians are naturally quick-tempered, and they could not endure to incur ridicule and lead back this imposing force without striking a blow; so by the king's express command they charged at the wall and received a continuous fire of stones and arrows, while some of the elephants were wounded, and perished by sinking into the mud. Thereupon, in fear for the others also, they led them back to the camp.)
Ὡς δὲ καὶ ταύτης ὁ Παρθυαῖος ἥμαρτε τῆς πείρας, τοὺς τοξότας διελὼν εἰς μοίρας διαδέχεσθαί τε ἀλλήλους κελεύει καὶ συνεχῶς βάλλειν πρὸς τὸ διερρηγμένον τοῦ τείχους, ὡς μὴ δυνηθεῖεν ἀποικοδομῆσαι καὶ ἔχειν ἀσφαλῶς τὴν πόλιν· οὕτω γὰρ αἱρήσειν λαθὼν ἢ βιασάμενος τῷ πλήθει τους ἔνδον ἤλπιζε. [B] ἀλλὰ μάταιον γὰρ[304] ἀπέφηνεν ἡ βασιλέως παρασκευὴ τοῦ βαρβάρου τὸ διανόημα. κατὰ νώτου γὰρ τῶν ὁπλιτῶν ἕτερον τεῖχος εἰργάζετο· ὁ δὲ ᾤετο τοῖς ἀρχαίοις ἴχνεσιν ἐς τὰ θεμέλια χρωμένους μέλλειν ἔτι. ἡμέρᾳ δὲ ὅληι καὶ νυκτὶ συνεχῶς ἐργασαμένων ἔστε ἐπὶ τέτταρας πήχεις ὕψους ἠγείρετο, καὶ ἕωθεν ὤφθη λαμπρὸν καὶ νεουργές, ἐκείνων οὐδὲ ἀκαρῆ χρόνον ἐνδιδόντων, διαδεχομένων δὲ ἀλλήλους καὶ ἀκοντιζόντων ἐς τοὺς ἐφεστῶτας τῷ κειμένῳ τείχει, τοῦτο ἐξέπληξε δεινῶς τὸν βάρβαρον. [C] οὐ μὴν ἀπῆγεν εὐθὺς τὴν στρατιάν, ἀλλ᾽ αὖθις τοῖς αὐτοῖς χρῆται παλαίσμασι. δράσας δὲ οἶμαι καὶ παθὼν παραπλήσια ἀπῆγε τὴν στρατιὰν ὀπίσω, πολλοὺς μὲν ὑπὸ τῆς ἐνδείας δήμους ἀπολέσας, πολλὰ δὲ ἀναλώσας περὶ τοῖς χώμασι καὶ τῇ πολιορκίᾳ σώματα, [D] σατράπας δὲ ἀνελὼν συχνούς, ἄλλον ἄλλο ἐπαιτιώμενος, τὸν μὲν ὅτι μὴ καρτερῶς ἐπεποίητο τὰ χώματα, εἶξε δὲ καὶ ἐπεκλύσθη παρὰ τῶν ποταμίων ῥευμάτων, τὸν δὲ ὡς φαύλως [pg 178] ἀγωνισάμενον ὑπὸ τοῖς τείχεσι, καὶ ἄλλους ἄλλας ἐπάγων αἰτίας ἔκτεινεν. ἔστι γὰρ εὖ μάλα τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν βαρβάροις σύνηθες ἐς τοὺς ὑπηκόους τὰς αἰτίας τῆς δυσπραγίας ἀποσκευάζεσθαι, ὃ δὴ καὶ τότε δράσας ἀπιὼν ᾤχετο. καὶ ἄγει πρὸς ἡμᾶς εἰρήνην ἐκ τούτου, καὶ οὔτε ὅρκων οὔτε συνθηκῶν ἐδέησεν, [67] ἀγαπᾷ δὲ οἴκοι μένων, εἰ μὴ στρατεύοιτο βασιλεὺς ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν καὶ δίκην ἀπαιτοίη τοῦ θράσους καὶ τῆς ἀπονοίας.
(Having failed in this second attempt as well, the Parthian king divided his archers into companies and ordered them to relieve one another and to keep shooting at the breach in the wall, so that the beseiged could not rebuild it and thus ensure the safety of the town. For he hoped by this means either to take it by surprise, or by mere numbers to overwhelm the garrison. But the preparations that had been made by the Emperor made it clear that the barbarian's plan was futile. For in the rear of the hoplites a second wall was being built, and while he thought they were using the old line of the wall for the foundations and that the work was not yet in hand, they had laboured continuously for a whole day and night till the wall had risen to a height of four cubits. And at daybreak it became visible, a new and conspicuous piece of work. Moreover the besieged did not for a moment yield their ground, but kept relieving one another and shooting their javelins at those who were attacking the fallen wall, and all this terribly dismayed the barbarian. Nevertheless he did not at once lead off his army but employed the same efforts over again. But when he had done as before, and as before suffered repulse, he did lead his army back, having lost many whole tribes through famine, and squandered many lives over the dykes and in the siege. He had also put to death many satraps one after another, on various charges, blaming one of them because the dykes had not been made strong enough, but gave way and were flooded by the waters of the river, another because when fighting under the walls he had not distinguished himself; and others he executed for one offence or another. This is in fact the regular custom among the barbarians in Asia, to shift the blame of their ill-success on to their subjects. Thus then the king acted on that occasion, and afterwards took himself off. And from that time he has kept the peace with us and has never asked for any covenant or treaty, but he stays at home and is thankful if only the Emperor does not march against him and exact vengeance for his audacity and folly.)
Ἆρά γε ἄξιον ταύτην παραβαλεῖν τὴν μάχην ταῖς ὑπὲρ τῶν νεῶν τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν καὶ τοῦ τείχους; ἀθρεῖτε δὲ ὧδε τὴν ὁμοιότητα καὶ τὸ διάφορον λογίζεσθε. Ἑλλήνων μὲν Αἴαντε καὶ οἱ Λαπίθαι καὶ Μενεσθεὺς τοῦ τείχους εἶξαν καὶ περιεῖδον τὰς πύλας συντριβομένας ὑφ᾽ Ἕκτορος καὶ τῶν ἐπάλξεων ἐπιβεβηκότα τὸν Σαρπηδάνα. [B] οἱ δὲ οὐδὲ διαρραγέντος αὐτομάτως τοῦ τείχους ἐνέδοσαν, ἀλλὰ ἐνίκων μαχόμενοι καὶ ἀπεκρούοντο Παρθυαίους ξὺν Ἰνδοῖς ἐπιστρατεύσαντας. εἶτα ὁ μὲν ἐπιβὰς τῶν νεῶν ἀπὸ τῶν ἰκρίων ὥσπερ ἐρύματος πεζὸς διαγωνίζεται, οἱ δὲ πρότερον ἀπὸ τῶν τειχῶν ἀναυμάχουν, τέλος δὲ οἱ μὲν τῶν ἐπάλξεων εἶξαν καὶ τῶν νεῶν, οἱ δὲ ἐνίκων ναυσὶ τε ἐπιόντας καὶ πεζῇ τοὺς πολεμίους. ἀλλὰ γὰρ εὖ ποιῶν ὁ λόγος ἐπὶ τὸν Ἕκτορα καὶ τὸν Σαρπηδόνα, οὐκ οἶδα ὅπως, [C] ὑπηνέχθη καὶ ἐπ᾽ αὐτό γέ φασι τῶν ἔργων [pg 180] τὸ κεφάλαιον, τὴν καθαίρεσιν τοῦ τείχους, ὃ[305] μιᾷ πρότερον ἡμέρᾳ τοὺς Ἀχαιούς φησι, τοῦ Πυλίου δημαγωγοῦ καὶ βασιλέως ξυμπείθοντος, ἄρρηκτον νηῶν τε καὶ αὐτῶν εἶλαρ κατασκευάσασθαι.
(And now am I justified in comparing this battle with those that were fought in defence of the Greek ships and the wall? Observe the following points of similarity, and note also the difference. Of the Greeks the two Ajaxes, the Lapithae and Menestheus fell back from the wall and looked on helplessly while the gates were battered down by Hector, and Sarpedon scaled the battlements. But our garrison did not give way even when the wall fell in of itself, but they fought and won, and repulsed the Parthians, aided though these were by their Indian allies. Then again Hector went up on to the ships and fought from their decks on foot, and as though from behind a rampart, whereas our garrison first had to fight a naval battle from the walls, and finally, while Hector and Sarpedon had to retreat from the battlements and the ships, the garrison routed not only the forces that brought ships to the attack but the land force as well. Now it is appropriate that by some happy chance my speech should have alluded to Hector and Sarpedon, and to what I may call the very crown of their achievements, I mean the destruction of that wall which Homer tells us the Achaeans built only the day before, on the advice of the princely orator[306] of Pylos “to be an impregnable bulwark for the ships and the army.”[307])