To oppose this formidable invasion, the Athenians had only about ten thousand men, but all of them animated with that invincible spirit which the love of liberty ever inspires. They were at this time headed by three of the greatest generals and statesmen their country ever produced, though no country ever produced more. These were Miltiades, Themistocles, and Aristides. The first was looked upon as the ablest commander; the second was so fond of a popular government, and so eager to ingratiate himself with his fellow-citizens, that he was frequently accused of acts of partiality. Indeed, he seemed to glory in the charge; for one day, when somebody was talking to him on the subject, and saying that he would make an excellent magistrate if he had more impartiality; "God forbid," replied he, "that I should ever sit upon a tribunal, where my friends should find no more favour than strangers." As to Aristides, he was so rigidly and inflexibly just, that his name has descended to posterity as almost another term for justice itself.

The first brunt of the war fell upon the Eretrians, who being utterly unable to oppose so mighty a force in the field, shut themselves up in the town; but, although they defended the place with great gallantry, yet, after a siege of seven days, it was taken by storm, and reduced to ashes. The inhabitants were put in chains, and sent as the first fruits of victory to the Persian monarch; but he, contrary to their expectation, treated them with great lenity, and gave them a village in the country of Cissa for their residence; where Apollonius Tyanæus found their descendants six hundred years after.

Elated with this success, the Persians advanced into the heart of the country, and being directed in their march by Hippias, the expelled tyrant of Athens, they soon arrived in the plains of Marathon, about ten miles distant from that

city. There, however, it was that the Athenians resolved to oppose them; but not thinking themselves singly equal to such an undertaking, they first sent to the Spartans for assistance, and would certainly have obtained it, had it not been for a foolish superstition which prevailed among that people, and which would not allow them to begin a march before the full moon. They then applied to the other states of Greece; but these were too much intimidated by the power of Persia to venture to move in their defence.

Obliged, therefore, to depend upon their own courage alone, they collected all their forces, to the number of ten thousand men, and entrusted the command of them to ten generals, of whom Miltiades was the chief; and each of these was to have the direction of the troops for one day at a time in regular succession. But this arrangement was soon found to be so very inconvenient, that, by the advice of Aristides, the chief command was vested in Miltiades alone, as the ablest and most experienced of all the generals. At the same time it was resolved in a council of war, though only by a majority of one vote, to meet the enemy in the open field, instead of waiting for them within the walls of the city.

Miltiades, sensible of the inferiority of his numbers when compared to those of the enemy, endeavoured to make up for this defect by taking possession of an advantageous ground. He, therefore, drew up his army at the foot of a mountain, so that the enemy should not be able to surround him or charge him in the rear. At the same time he fortified his flanks with a number of large trees, that were cut down for the purpose. Datis saw the advantage which the Athenians must derive from this masterly disposition; but relying on the superiority of his numbers, and unwilling to wait till the Spartan succours should arrive, he resolved to begin the engagement. The signal for battle, however, was

no sooner given, than the Athenians, instead of waiting for the onset of the enemy, according to their usual custom, rushed in upon them with irresistible fury. The Persians regarded this first step as the result of madness and despair, rather than of deliberate courage; but they were soon convinced of their mistake, when they found that the Athenians maintained the charge with the same spirit with which they had begun it. Miltiades had purposely and judiciously made his wings much stronger than his center, which was commanded by Themistocles and Aristides. The Persians availing themselves of this circumstance, attacked the center with great bravery, and were just upon the point of making it give way, when the two wings, having now become victorious, suddenly wheeled about, and falling upon the enemy in both flanks at once, threw them into disorder. The rout in a moment became universal, and they fled to their ships with great precipitation. The Athenians pursued them as far as the beach, and even set several of their ships on fire. It was on this occasion that Cynægyrus, the brother of the poet Eschylus, seized one of the enemy's ships, with his right hand, as they were pushing it off from the shore. When his right hand was cut off, he laid hold of the vessel with his left; and that likewise being lopped off, be at last seized it with his teeth, and in that manner expired.

Seven of the enemy's ships were taken, and above six thousand of them left dead on the field of battle, not to mention those who were drowned as they were endeavouring to escape, or were consumed in the ships that were set on fire. Of the Greeks there fell not above two hundred, and among these was Callimachus, who gave the casting vote for fighting the enemy in the field. Hippias, 9514.who was the chief cause of the war, is thought to have perished in this battle, though some say he escaped, and afterwards died miserably at Lemnos.

A. M.

Such was the famous battle of Marathon, one of the most important that is to be found in history, as it first taught the Greeks to despise the power of the Persian monarch, and bravely to maintain their own independence; and thus to go on cultivating those arts and sciences, which had so evident a tendency to polish and refine their own manners, and have since diffused their benign influence over all the rest of Europe.

Of the marble which the Persians had brought with them to erect a monument in memory of their expected victory, the Athenians now caused a statue to be made by the celebrated sculptor Phidias, to transmit to posterity the remembrance of their defeat. This statue was dedicated to the goddess Nemesis, who had a temple near the place. Monuments were at the same time erected to the memory of all those who had fallen in the battle; and upon these were inscribed their own names, and the name of the tribe to which they belonged. Of these monuments there were three kinds; one for the Athenians, one for the Platæans their allies, and one for the slaves, who had been enrolled into the troops upon this pressing emergency. To express their gratitude to Miltiades, the Athenians caused a picture to be painted by one of their most eminent artists, named Polygnotus, in which that great commander was represented at the head of the other generals, animating the troops, and setting them an example of bravery.

But their gratitude to this celebrated warrior, however sincere, was by no means lasting. The Athenians, with all their good qualities, were naturally fickle, and apt to be jealous of such as, either by their merit, their power, or popularity, had, in their opinion, rendered themselves dangerous to the state. Of this Miltiades had very soon after a mortifying proof: for having received a wound in an expedition against the Parians, and being thereby pre

vented from appearing in public to defend himself from a charge of bribery, which was brought against him by one Xanthippus, sentence was of course passed upon him in his absence, and he was condemned to lose his life. This severe

sentence, however, the Athenians had not the effrontery to execute upon one who had done them such essential services, and they therefore changed it into a fine of fifty talents; and as this was a sum which Miltiades could not pay, he was thrown into prison, where he soon after died. But the Athenians would not suffer his body to be buried till the fine was paid. His son Cimon, therefore, by exerting all his interest among his friends and relations, was at last able to raise the requisite sum to pay the fine, and to procure his father an honourable interment.

CHAPTER V.

FROM THE DEATH OF MILTIADES TO THE RETREAT OF XERXES OUT OF GREECE.

DARIUS, rather enraged than intimidated by the loss he had sustained in the battle of Marathon, was preparing to invade Greece in person, when, happily for the peace of that country, death put an end to his ambitious project. His son Xerxes, however, who succeeded him on the throne, was determined to execute the plan which his father had formed. Having just returned from a successful expedition he had made into Egypt, he expected to meet with the like good fortune in Europe. Confident of victory, he did not chuse, he said, for the future to buy the figs of Attica; he would possess himself of the country, and thus have figs of his own. But before he would engage in so important an