Page:History of Greece Vol IX.djvu/70

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48 HISTORY OF GREECE. for beauty and accomplished intelligence, was made prisoner and transferred to the harem of Artaxerxes ; the other, a younger per- son, found means to save herself, though without her upper gar- ments, 1 and sought shelter among some Greeks who were left in the camp on guard of the Grecian baggage. These Greeks re- pelled the Persian assailants with considerable slaughter; pre- serving their own baggage, as well as the persons of all who fled to them for shelter. But the Asiatic camp of the Cyreians was completely pillaged, not excepting those reserved waggons of pro- visions which Cyrus had provided hi order that his Grecian auxiliaries might be certain, under all circumstances, of a supply. 2 While Artaxerxes was thus stripping the Cyreian camp, he was joined by Tissaphernes and his division of horse, who had charged through between the Grecian division and the river. At this tune, there was a distance of no less than thirty stadia or three and a half miles between him and Klearchus with the Grecian division ; so far had the latter advanced forward in pursuit of the Persian fugitives. Apprised, after some time, that the king's troops had been victori- ous on the left and centre, and were masters of the camp, but not yet knowing of the death of Cyrus, Klearchus marched back his troops, and met the enemy's forces also returning. He was apprehensive of being surrounded by superior numbers, and there- fore took post with his rear upon the river. In this position, Arta- 1 Xen. Anab. i, 10, 3. The accomplishments and fascinations of this Phokaean lady, and the great esteem in which she was held first by Cyrus and afterwards by Artaxerxes, have been exaggerated into a romantic story, in which we cannot tell what may be the proportion of trnth (see JElian, V. H. xii, 1 ; Plutarch, Artaxerx. c. 26, 27 ; Justin, x, 2). Both Plutarch and Justin state that the subsequent enmity between Artaxerxes and his son Darius, which led to the conspiracy of the latter against his father, and to his destruction when the conspiracy was discovered, arose out of the passion of Darius for her. But as that transaction certainly happened at the close of the long life and reign of Artaxerxes, who reigned forty-six years and as she must have been then sixty years old, if not more we may fairly presume that the cause of the family tragedy must have been something different. Compare the description of the fate of Berenike of Chios, and MonimS of Miletus, wives of Mithridates king of Pontus. during the last misfor- tunes of that prince (Plutarch, Lucullus, c, 18).

  • Xen. Anab. i, 10. 17. This provisicn must probably have been mads

during the recent halt at Pylse.