Accordingly Aristagoras journeyed to Sardis, and told Artaphernes, that Naxos was an island of no great extent, to be sure, but beautiful and fertile, and near Ionia, and in it was much wealth and many slaves. "Do send an army against this country, to reinstate those who have been banished; and if you do this, I have, in the first place, a large sum of money ready, in addition to the expenses of the expedition, for it is just that we who lead you on should supply that; and in the next, you will acquire for the king Naxos itself, and the islands dependent upon it, Paros, Andros, and the rest that are called Cyclades. Setting out from there you will easily attack Eubœa, a large and wealthy island, not less than Cyprus, and very easy to be taken. A hundred ships are sufficient to subdue them all." The reply was quickly given: "You propose things advantageous to the king's house, and advise every thing well, except the number of ships; instead of one hundred, two hundred shall be ready at the commencement of the spring. But it is necessary that the king himself should approve of the design." Aristagoras, wild with delight, went back to Miletus. And Artaphernes, finding that Darius himself approved of the plan, made ready two hundred triremes, and a very numerous body of Persians and other allies: and he appointed Megabates general, a Persian of the family of the Archimenidæ, his own and Darius' nephew, whose daughter, if the report be true, was afterward betrothed to Pausanias, son of Cleombrotus the Lacedæmonian, who aspired to become tyrant of Greece. Artaphernes, having appointed Megabates general, sent forward the army to Aristagoras.
Megabates, with Aristagoras, the Ionian forces, and the Naxians, sailed professedly for the Hellespont; but when he arrived at Chios, anchored at Caucasa, that he might cross over from there to Naxos by a north wind. However, it was fated that the Naxians were not to perish by this armament, as the following event occurred: As Megabates was going round the watches on board the ships, he found no one on guard on board a Myndian ship; indignant at this, he ordered his body-guards to find the captain of this ship, whose name was Scylax, and to bind him with his body half-way through the lower row-lock of the vessel, so that his head should be on the outside of the vessel, and his legs within. Some one told Aristagoras that Megabates had bound and disgraced his Myndian friend. He went therefore and interceded for him with the Persian, but, when he found he could obtain nothing, went himself and released him. Megabates, hearing of this, was very indignant, and enraged at Aristagoras, and told him so; "but," said Aristagoras, "what have you to do with these matters? Did not Artaphernes send you to obey me, and to sail wheresoever I should command?" Megabates, still more exasperated at this, as soon as night arrived, dispatched men in a ship to Naxos, to inform the Naxians of the impending danger. The Naxians, who had not a suspicion that this armament was coming against them, immediately carried every thing from the fields into the town, and, with plenty of food and drink, prepared to undergo a siege, so the Persians had to attack men well fortified, and after besieging them four months, consumed all the supplies they had brought with them, together with large sums furnished by Aristagoras, and wanting still more to carry on the siege, they were forced to build a fortress for the Naxian exiles, and retire to the continent unsuccessful.
Aristagoras was thus unable to fulfil his promise to Artaphernes; while at the same time the expenses of the expedition pressed heavily on him on account of the ill success of the army; and having incurred the ill will of Megabates to such an extent that he feared that he should be deprived of the government of Miletus, he meditated a revolt. It happened at the same time that a messenger with his head tattooed came from Susa from Histiæus, urging Aristagoras to revolt from the king. For Histiæus, being desirous to communicate to Aristagoras his wish for him to revolt, had no other means of signifying it with safety, because the roads were guarded; therefore, having shaved the head of the most trustworthy of his slaves, he marked it with a sharp iron, and waited till the hair had grown again, then sent him to Miletus without other instructions except that when he arrived at Miletus he should desire Aristagoras to shave off his hair and look upon his head: the punctures, as I have said before, signified a wish for him to revolt. Histiæus did this because he looked upon his detention at Susa as a great misfortune; while if a revolt should take place he had great hopes that he should be sent down to the coast; but if Miletus made no new attempt, he thought that he should never go there again. It was resolved to revolt, and messengers were sent to the force that had returned from Naxos, and which was at Myus, to seize the captains on board the ships. Aristagoras thus openly revolted, devising every thing he could against Darius. And first, in pretence, having laid aside the sovereignty, he established an equality in Miletus, in order that the Milesians might more readily join with him in the revolt. Afterward he effected the same throughout the rest of Ionia, expelling some of the tyrants; and he delivered up those whom he had taken from on board the ships that had sailed with him against Naxos, to the cities, in order to gratify the people, giving them up to the respective cities, from whence each came. The Mityleneans, as soon as they received Coes, led him out, and stoned him to death; but the Cymeans let their tyrant go; and in like manner most of the others let theirs go. Accordingly there was a suppression of tyrants throughout the cities. But Aristagoras enjoined them all to appoint magistrates in each of the cities, and went himself in a trireme as ambassador to Sparta, for it was necessary for him to procure some powerful alliance.
Aristagoras arrived at Sparta, when Cleomenes held the government; and he went to confer with him, as the Lacedæmonians say, carrying a bronze tablet, on which was engraved the circumference of the whole earth, the whole sea, and all rivers. "Wonder not, Cleomenes," said Aristagoras, "at my eagerness in coming here, for it is a great sorrow to us that the children of Ionians should be slaves instead of free, and above all others it is a disgrace to you, inasmuch as you are at the head of Greece. I adjure you by the Grecian gods, rescue the Ionians, who are of your own blood, from servitude. It is easy for you to effect this, for the barbarians are not valiant; whereas you, in matters relating to war, have attained to the utmost height of glory; their mode of fighting is, with bows and short spears, and they engage in battle wearing loose trousers, and turbans on their heads, so that they are easy to be overcome. Besides, there are treasures belonging to those who inhabit that continent, such as are not possessed by all other nations together; gold, silver, bronze, variegated garments, beasts of burden, and slaves; all these you may have if you will. They live adjoining one another as I will show you. Next to these Ionians are the Lydians, who inhabit a fertile country, and abound in silver." As he said this he showed the map of the earth, which he had brought with him, engraved on a tablet. "Next to the Lydians," proceeded Aristagoras, "are these Phrygians to the eastward, who are the richest in cattle and in corn of all with whom I am acquainted. Next to the Phrygians are the Cappadocians, whom we call Syrians; and bordering on them, the Cilicians, extending to this sea in which the island of Cyprus is situated; they pay an annual tribute of five hundred talents to the king. Next to the Cilicians are these Armenians, who also abound in cattle; and next to the Armenians are the Metienians, who occupy this country; and next them this territory of Cissia, in which Susa is situated, on this river Choaspes, and here the great king resides, and here are his treasures of wealth. If you take this city, you may boldly contend with Jupiter in wealth. As it is, you carry on war for a country of small extent, and not very fertile, and of narrow limits, with the Messenians, who are your equals in valor, and with the Arcadians and Argives, who have nothing akin to gold or silver, the desire of which induces men to hazard their lives in battle. But when an opportunity is offered to conquer all Asia with ease, will you prefer any thing else?" "Milesian friend," said Cleomenes, "I defer to give you an answer until the third day." They met at the appointed time and place, and Cleomenes asked Aristagoras, how many days' journey it was from the sea of the Ionians to the king. Aristagoras, though he was cunning in other things, and had deceived him with much address, made a slip in this; for he should not have told the real fact, if he wished to draw the Spartans into Asia; whereas he told him frankly that it was a three months' journey up there. Cutting short the rest of the description which Aristagoras was proceeding to give of the journey, Cleomenes said: "My friend, from Miletus, depart from Sparta before sunset; for you speak no agreeable language to the Lacedæmonians, in wishing to lead them a three months' journey from the sea;" and Cleomenes went home. Aristagoras, nothing daunted, taking an olive-branch in his hand, went to the house of Cleomenes, entered in, as a suppliant, and besought Cleomenes to listen to him. The latter's little child, a daughter, whose name was Gorgo, stood by him; she happened to be his only child, and was about eight or nine years of age. Cleomenes bade him say what he wished, and not mind the presence of the little girl. Thereupon Aristagoras promised him ten talents, if he would do as he desired; and as Cleomenes refused, Aristagoras went on increasing his offers, until he promised fifty talents, when little Gorgo cried out, "Papa, this stranger will corrupt you, if you don't quickly depart." Cleomenes, pleased with the advice of the child, retired to another apartment; and Aristagoras was forced to leave Sparta altogether, without ever getting another opportunity to give further particulars of the route to the city of the great king.
With respect to this road, the case is as follows: There are royal stations all along, and excellent inns, and the whole road is through an inhabited and safe country. There are twenty stations extending through Lydia and Phrygia, and the distance is ninety-four parasangs and a half. After Phrygia, the river Halys is met with, at which there are gates, which it is absolutely necessary to pass through, and thus to cross the river; there is also a considerable fort on it. When you cross over into Cappadocia, and traverse that country to the borders of Cilicia, there are eight and twenty stations, and one hundred and four parasangs; and on the borders of these people, you go through two gates, and pass by two forts. When you have gone through these and made the journey through Cilicia, there are three stations, and fifteen parasangs and a half. The boundary of Cilicia and Armenia is a river that is crossed in boats, called the Euphrates. In Armenia there are fifteen stations for resting-places, and fifty-six parasangs and a half; there is also a fort at the stations. Four rivers that are crossed in boats flow through this country, which it is absolutely necessary to ferry over. First, the Tigris; then the second and third have the same name, though they are not the same river, nor flow from the same source. For the first mentioned of these flows from the Armenians, and the latter from the Matienians. The fourth river is called the Gyndes, which Cyrus once distributed into three hundred and sixty channels. As you enter from Armenia into the country of Matiene, there are four stations; and from thence as you proceed to the Cissian territory there are eleven stations, and forty-two parasangs and a half, to the river Choaspes, which also must be crossed in boats; on this Susa is built. All these stations amount to one hundred and eleven,[21] as you go up from Sardis to Susa. Now if the royal road has been correctly measured in parasangs, and if the parasang is equal to thirty stades, as indeed it is, from Sardis to the royal palace, called Memnonia, is a distance of thirteen thousand five hundred stades, the parasangs being four hundred and fifty; and by those who travel one hundred and fifty stades every day, just ninety days are spent on the journey. So Aristagoras spoke correctly when he stated the distance to Susa.
CHAPTER II.
THE IONIAN REVOLT.
Aristagoras the Milesian, having been expelled from Sparta by Cleomenes the Lacedæmonian, repaired to Athens; for this city was much more powerful than the rest. Presenting himself before the people, he said the same that he had done at Sparta, respecting the wealth of Asia and the Persian mode of warfare, how they used neither shield nor spear, and could be easily conquered. He said also that the Milesians were a colony of the Athenians, and it was but reasonable that they, having such great power, should rescue them. And as there was nothing he did not promise, being very much in earnest, at length he persuaded them. It appears to be more easy to impose upon a multitude than one man; this schemer, you see, was not able to impose upon Cleomenes the Lacedæmonian singly, but did upon thirty thousand Athenians. Twenty ships were sent to succor the Ionians, and Melanthius commander over them, a citizen who was universally esteemed. These ships proved the source of calamities both to Greeks and barbarians. Aristagoras sailed first, arrived at Miletus, and had recourse to a project from which no advantage could result to the Ionians; nor did he employ it for that purpose, but that he might vex king Darius. He sent a man into Phrygia, to the Pæonians, who had been carried away captive by Megabazus, from the river Strymon, and occupied a tract in Phrygia, and a village by themselves. Arrived among the Pæonians, the messenger spoke as follows: "Men of Pæonia, Aristagoras, tyrant of Miletus, has sent me to suggest to you a mode of deliverance, if you will take his advice. For all Ionia has revolted from the king, and offers you an opportunity of returning safe to your own country; as far as to the coast take care of yourselves, and we will provide for the rest." When the Pæonians heard these words, they considered it a very joyful event, and taking with them their children and wives, fled to the coast; though some of them, through fear, remained where they were. When the Pæonians reached the coast, they crossed over to Chios, when a large body of Persian cavalry came on their heels, and sent orders to Chios to the Pæonians, commanding them to return. The Pæonians did not listen to the proposal; but the Chians conveyed them to Lesbos, and the Lesbians forwarded them to Doriscus; thence proceeding on foot they reached Pæonia.
The Athenians arrived with twenty ships, bringing with them five triremes of the Eretrians, who engaged in this expedition out of good-will to the Milesians, in order to repay a former obligation; for the Milesians had formerly joined the Eretrians in the war against the Chalcidians. When these had arrived, and the rest of the allies had come up, Aristagoras resolved to make an expedition to Sardis. He himself did not march with the army, but remained at Miletus, and appointed as generals of the Milesians, his own brother Charopinus, and of the other citizens Hermophantus. The Ionians arrived at Ephesus with this force, left their ships at Coressus, in the Ephesian territory, and advanced with a numerous army, taking Ephesians for their guides; and marching by the side of the river Cayster, they crossed Mount Tmolus, and reached and took Sardis without opposition; all except the citadel, for Artaphernes with a strong garrison defended the citadel. The following accident prevented them, after they had taken the city, from plundering it. Most of the houses in Sardis were built with reeds; and such of them as were built with brick, had roof of reeds. A soldier happened to set fire to one of these, and immediately the flame spread from house to house, and consumed the whole city. While the city was burning, the Lydians, and as many of the Persians as were in the city, being enclosed on every side, and having no means of escaping from the city, rushed together to the market-place, and to the river Pactolus, which, bringing down grains of gold from Mount Tmolus, flows through the middle of the market-place, and then discharges itself into the river Hermus, and that into the sea. The Lydians and Persians, being assembled on this Pactolus and at the market-place, were constrained to defend themselves: and the Ionians, seeing some of the enemy standing on their defence, and others coming up in great numbers, retired through fear to the mountain called Tmolus, and thence under favor of the night retreated to their ships. Thus Sardis was burnt, and in it the temple of the native goddess Cybebe; the Persians, making a pretext of this, afterwards burnt in retaliation the temples of Greece. As soon as the Persians who had settlements on this side the river Halys were informed of these things, they drew together and marched to assist the Lydians; the Ionians were no longer at Sardis; but following on their track they overtook them at Ephesus, where the Ionians drew out in battle-array against them, and coming to an engagement, were sorely beaten; and the Persians slew many of them, among other persons of distinction, Eualcis, general of the Eretrians, who had gained the prize in the contests for the crown, and had been much celebrated by Simonides the Cean. Those who escaped from the battle were dispersed throughout the cities.
Such was the result of the encounter. Afterward, the Athenians, totally abandoning the Ionians, though Aristagoras urgently solicited them by ambassadors, refused to send them any assistance. The Ionians, deprived of the alliance of the Athenians, (for they had conducted themselves in such a manner toward Darius from the first,) nevertheless prepared for war with the king. And sailing to the Hellespont, they reduced Byzantium and all the other cities in that quarter to their obedience. They then sailed out of the Hellespont, and gained over to their alliance the greater part of Caria; for the city of Caunus, which before would not join their alliance, when they had burnt Sardis, came over to their side.