A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

1306 XERXES. XERXES.
any ascertained data; and when we learn from Greeks, who had in a panic deserted Artemisium
Thucydides that he found it impossible to find out and sailed to Chalcis in Euboea, thus leaving
the exact numbers of the small armies of Greeks Xerxes at full liberty to communicate with his
who fought at Mantineia, we shall not be ashamed fleet, now took courage, and sailed back to their
to avow our inability to count the Asiatic multi- former position at Artemnisinum. On their arrival
tudes at Doriscus." (Hist. of Greece, vol. v. p. 46, they found the Persian fleet, which had recovered
foll.) from the effects of the storm, drawn up on the
After the review of Doriscus Xerxes continued opposite coast in the neighbourhood of Aphetae.
his march through Thrace in three divisions, and Meantime Xerxes had attempted to force his way
along three different lines of road. The tribes through the pass of Thermopylae, but his troops
through which he marched had to furnish a day's were repulsed again and again by Leonidas and his
meal for the immense host, and for this purpose had gallant band. At last a Malian, of the name of
made preparations many months beforehand. The Ephialtes, showed the Persians a pass over the
cost of feeding such a multitude brought many of mountains of Oeta, and thus enabled them to fall
the cities of Thrace to the brink of ruin: the city on the rear of the Greeks. Leonidas and his
of Thasos alone, on account of their possessions on Spartans disdained to fly, and were all slain after
the main land, expended no less a sum for this pur- performing miracles of valour [LEONIDAS]. On
pose than 400 talents. On reaching Acanthus, the same days on which Leonidas was fighting
near the isthmus of Athos, Xerxes left his fleet, with the land forces of Xerxes, the Greek ships
which received orders to sail through the canal at Artemisium attacked the Persian fleet. In the
that had been dug across the isthmus, to double the first battle, which was not fought till late in the
two peninsulas of Sithonia and Pallene, and await day, the Greeks had the advantage, and in the folhis arrival at Therme, afterwards called Thessalo- lowing night the Persian ships suffered still more
nica (now Saloniki), a little to the east of the from a violent storm, which blew right upon the
mouth of the river Axius. After joining his fleet shore at Aphetae The same storm completely
at Therme, Xerxes marched through Mygdonia and destroyed a squadron of the Persian fleet, which
Bottiaeis, as far as the mouth of the Haliacmon. had been sent to sail round Euboea in order to cut
Hitherto his march had been through territory sub- off the retreat of the Greeks. The Persian ships
ject to the Persian empire, and he now entered at Aphetae had been too much damaged to renew
Macedonia, the monarch of which reverently ten- the fight on the following day, but the day after
dered his submission, and undertook to conduct they again sailed out and offered battle to the
him further. Greeks. The contest lasted the whole day, and
The Greeks had originally intended to defend both sides fought with the greatest courage. Althe defile of Tempe, the northernmost entrance of though the Greeks at the close still maintained
Greece, and they sent thither a force of 10,000 their position, and had destroyed a great number
men, in accordance with the urgent desires of the of the enemy's ships, yet their own loss was conThessalians. But upon arriving there the Greeks siderable, and half the Athenian ships was disfound that it would be impossible to hold the pass, abled. Under these circumstances the Greek comas the Persians could land troops in their rear, and manders saw that it was impossible to remain at
there was another pass across the mountains east Artemisium any longer, and their resolution to reof Tempe,by which the Persians could enter Thes- treat was quickened by the disastrous intelligence
saly. The Greeks therefore returned to the isth- that Xerxes was master of the pass at Thermomus about the same time as Xerxes crossed the pylae. Upon this they forthwith abandoned ArteHellespont. Their retreat was followed by the misium and retired to Salamis, opposite the southsubmission of the whole of Thessaly to Xerxes, who western coast of Attica.
accordingly met with no opposition till he reached The Peloponnesians had resolved to retire within
Thermopylae. Here the Greeks resolved to mnake the peninsula, and to build a wall across the istha stand. This pass was in one important respect mus. It was now too late to send an army into
better adapted for defence than that of Tempe, for Boeotia, and Attica thus lay exposed to the full
the mainland was here separated from the island of vengeance of the invader. The fleet had been
Euboea only by a narrow strait, so that by defend- ordered to assemble at Troezen in order to co-opeing the strait with their fleet the Persians could rate with the land forces for the protection of the
not land troops in their rear on the mainland. Peloponnesus, and Eurybiades had only remained
Accordingly, while Leonidas, king of Sparta, con- at Salamis at the earnest entreaty of the Athenians,
ducted a land force to Thermopylae, his colleague in order to assist them in the transport of their
Eurybiades sailed with the combined Greek fleet families. They had no time to lose. Themistocles
to the north of Euboea, and took up his position on urged them at once to remove the women, children,
the northern coast, which faced Magnesia, and which and infirm persons to Salamis, Aegina, and Troewas called Artemisium from the temple of Artemis zen, and within six days the whole population with
belonging to the town of Histiaea. few exceptions left the country. The greater numThe remainder of the history of the invasion of ber were conveyed to Troezen, where they were
Xerxes is so fully related in other articles in this received most hospitably, and maintained at the
work [THEMISTOCLES; EURYBIADES; LEONIDAS; public expense. Meantime Xerxes had entered
ARISTmIDES; MARDONIUS], that it is only neces- Phocis, which he laid Wxsaste with fire and sword.
sary in this place to give a very brief enumeration At Panopeus he sent a detachment of his army to
of the subsequent events. Xerxes arrived in safety plunder Delphi, while he himself marched into
with his land forces before Thermopylae, but his Boeotia with the main body of his forces. All the
fleet was overtaken by a violent storm and hurri- people of Boeotia submitted to him with the excepcane off the coast of Sepias in Magnesia, by which tion of the inhabitants of Thespiae and Plataea,
at least four hundred ships of war were destroyed, which were deserted by their citizens, and were
as well as an immense number of transports. The both burnt Tsy Xerxes. Thus he reached Athens