Ἱστιαῖος μέν νυν καὶ Μυτιληναῖοι ἐποίευν ταῦτα. ἐπὶ δὲ Μίλητον αὐτὴν ναυτικὸς πολλὸς καὶ πεζὸς ἦν στρατὸς προσδόκιμος· συστραφέντες γὰρ οἱ στρατηγοὶ τῶν Περσέων καὶ ἓν ποιήσαντες στρατόπεδον ἤλαυνον ἐπὶ τὴν Μίλητον, τἆλλα πολίσματα περὶ ἐλάσσονος ποιησάμενοι. τοῦ δὲ ναυτικοῦ Φοίνικες μὲν ἦσαν προθυμότατοι, συνεστρατεύοντο δὲ καὶ Κύπριοι νεωστὶ κατεστραμμένοι καὶ Κίλικές τε καὶ Αἰγύπτιοι.
While Histiaios and the men of Mytilene were acting thus, a large army both of sea and land forces was threatening to attack Miletos itself; for the commanders of the Persians had joined together to form one single army and were marching upon Miletos, considering the other towns of less account. Of their naval force the most zealous were the Phenicians, and with them also served the Cyprians, who had just been subdued, and the Kilikians and Egyptians.
οἳ μὲν δὴ ἐπὶ τὴν Μίλητον καὶ τὴν ἄλλην Ἰωνίην ἐστρατεύοντο, Ἴωνες δὲ πυνθανόμενοι ταῦτα ἔπεμπον προβούλους σφέων αὐτῶν ἐς Πανιώνιον. ἀπικομένοισι δὲ τούτοισι ἐς τοῦτον τὸν χῶρον καὶ βουλευομένοισι ἔδοξε πεζὸν μὲν στρατὸν μηδένα συλλέγειν ἀντίξοον Πέρσῃσι, ἀλλὰ τὰ τείχεα ῥύεσθαι αὐτοὺς Μιλησίους, τὸ δὲ ναυτικὸν πληροῦν ὑπολιπομένους μηδεμίαν τῶν νεῶν πληρώσαντας δὲ συλλέγεσθαι τὴν ταχίστην ἐς Λάδην προναυμαχήσοντας τῆς Μιλήτου. ἡ δὲ Λάδη ἐστὶ νῆσος μικρὴ ἐπὶ τῇ πόλι τῇ Μιλησίων κειμένη.
These, I say, were advancing upon Miletos and the rest of Ionia; and meanwhile the Ionians being informed of this were sending deputies chosen from themselves to the Panionion. When these had arrived at that place and took counsel together, they resolved not to gather a land-army to oppose the Persians, but that the Milesians should defend their walls by themselves, and that the Ionians should man their fleet, leaving out not one of their ships, and having done so should assemble as soon as possible at Lade, to fight a sea-battle in defence of Miletos. Now Lade is a small island lying opposite the city of the Milesians.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πεπληρωμένῃσι τῇσι νηυσὶ παρῆσαν οἱ Ἴωνες, σὺν δέ σφι καὶ Αἰολέων ὅσοι τὴν Λέσβον νέμονται. ἐτάσσοντο δὲ ὧδε. τὸ μὲν πρὸς τὴν ἠῶ εἶχον κέρας αὐτοὶ Μιλήσιοι, νέας παρεχόμενοι ὀγδώκοντα· εἴχοντο δὲ τούτων Πριηνέες δυώδεκα νηυσὶ καὶ Μυήσιοι τρισὶ νηυσί, Μυησίων δὲ Τήιοι εἴχοντο ἑπτακαίδεκα νηυσί, Τηίων δὲ εἴχοντο Χῖοι ἑκατὸν νηυσί·
πρὸς δὲ τούτοισι Ἐρυθραῖοί τε ἐτάσσοντο καὶ Φωκαέες, Ἐρυθραῖοι μὲν ὀκτὼ νέας παρεχόμενοι, Φωκαέες δὲ τρεῖς· Φωκαέων δὲ εἴχοντο Λέσβιοι νηυσὶ ἑβδομήκοντα· τελευταῖοι δὲ ἐτάσσοντο ἔχοντες τὸ πρὸς ἑσπέρην κέρας Σάμιοι ἑξήκοντα νηυσί. πάντων δὲ τούτων ὁ σύμπας ἀριθμὸς ἐγένετο τρεῖς καὶ πεντήκοντα καὶ τριηκόσιαι τριήρεες.
Then the Ionians manned their ships and came thither, and with them also those Aiolians who inhabit Lesbos; and they were drawn up in order thus:—the extremity of the line towards the East was held by the Milesians themselves, who furnished eighty ships; next to them were the Prienians with twelve ships and the men of Myus with three; next to those of Myus were the Teians with seventeen ships, and after the Teians the Chians with a hundred; after these were stationed the men of Erythrai and of Phocaia, the former furnishing eight ships and the latter three; next to the Phocaians were the Lesbians with seventy ships, and last, holding the extremity of the line towards the West, were stationed the Samians with sixty ships. Of all these the total number proved to be three hundred and fifty-three triremes.
αὗται μὲν Ἰώνων ἦσαν, τῶν δὲ βαρβάρων τὸ πλῆθος τῶν νεῶν ἦσαν ἑξακόσιαι. ὡς δὲ καὶ αὗται ἀπίκατο πρὸς τὴν Μιλησίην καὶ ὁ πεζός σφι ἅπας παρῆν, ἐνθαῦτα οἱ Περσέων στρατηγοὶ πυθόμενοι τὸ πλῆθος τῶν Ἰάδων νεῶν καταρρώδησαν μὴ οὐ δυνατοὶ γένωνται ὑπερβαλέσθαι, καὶ οὕτω οὔτε τὴν Μίλητον οἷοί τε ἔωσι ἐξελεῖν μὴ οὐκ ἐόντες ναυκράτορες, πρός τε Δαρείου κινδυνεύσωσι κακόν τι λαβεῖν.
ταῦτα ἐπιλεγόμενοι, συλλέξαντες τῶν Ἰώνων τοὺς τυράννους, οἳ ὑπʼ Ἀρισταγόρεω μὲν τοῦ Μιλησίου καταλυθέντες τῶν ἀρχέων ἔφευγον ἐς Μήδους, ἐτύγχανον δὲ τότε συστρατευόμενοι ἐπὶ τὴν Μίλητον, τούτων τῶν ἀνδρῶν τοὺς παρεόντας συγκαλέσαντες ἔλεγόν σφι τάδε.
ἄνδρες Ἴωνες, νῦν τις ὑμέων εὖ ποιήσας φανήτω τὸν βασιλέος οἶκον· τοὺς γὰρ ἑωυτοῦ ἕκαστος ὑμέων πολιήτας πειράσθω ἀποσχίζων ἀπὸ τοῦ λοιποῦ συμμαχικοῦ. προϊσχόμενοι δὲ ἐπαγγείλασθε τάδε, ὡς πείσονταί τε ἄχαρι οὐδὲν διὰ τὴν ἀπόστασιν, οὐδέ σφι οὔτε τὰ ἱρὰ οὔτε τὰ ἴδια ἐμπεπρήσεται, οὐδὲ βιαιότερον ἕξουσι οὐδὲν ἢ πρότερον εἶχον.
εἰ δὲ ταῦτα μὲν οὐ ποιήσουσι, οἳ δὲ πάντως διὰ μάχης ἐλεύσονται, τάδε ἤδη σφι λέγετε ἐπηρεάζοντες, τά περ σφέας κατέξει, ὡς ἑσσωθέντες τῇ μάχῃ ἐξανδραποδιεῦνται, καὶ ὡς σφέων τοὺς παῖδας ἐκτομίας ποιήσομεν, τὰς δὲ παρθένους ἀνασπάστους ἐς Βάκτρα, καὶ ὡς τὴν χώρην ἄλλοισι παραδώσομεν.
These were the ships of the Ionians; and of the Barbarians the number of ships was six hundred. When these too were come to the Milesian coast and their whole land-army was also there, then the commanders of the Persians, being informed of the number of the Ionian ships, were struck with fear lest they should be unable to overcome them, and thus on the one hand should not be able to conquer Miletos from not having command of the sea, and at the same time should run a risk of being punished by Dareios. Reflecting upon these things they gathered together the despots of the Ionians who were exiles with the Medes, having been deposed from their governments by Aristagoras the Milesian, and who chanced to be then joining in the expedition against Miletos,—of these men they called together those who were present and spoke to them as follows: “Ionians, now let each one of you show himself a benefactor of the king’s house, that is to say, let each one of you endeavour to detach his own countrymen from the body of the alliance: and make your proposals promising at the same time that they shall suffer nothing unpleasant on account of the revolt, and neither their temples nor their private houses shall be burnt, nor shall they have any worse treatment than they had before this; but if they will not do so, but will by all means enter into a contest with us, threaten them and tell them this, which in truth shall happen to them, namely that if they are worsted in the fight they shall be reduced to slavery, and we shall make their sons eunuchs, and their maidens we shall remove to Bactria, and deliver their land to others.”.
οἳ μὲν δὴ ἔλεγον τάδε. τῶν δὲ Ἰώνων οἱ τύραννοι διέπεμπον νυκτὸς ἕκαστος ἐς τοὺς ἑωυτοῦ ἐξαγγελλόμενος. οἱ δὲ Ἴωνες, ἐς τοὺς καὶ ἀπίκοντο αὗται αἱ ἀγγελίαι, ἀγνωμοσύνῃ τε διεχρέωντο καὶ οὐ προσίεντο τὴν προδοσίην· ἑωυτοῖσι δὲ ἕκαστοι ἐδόκεον μούνοισι ταῦτα τοὺς Πέρσας ἐξαγγέλλεσθαι.
They thus spoke; and the despots of Ionia sent each one by night to his own people announcing to them this. The Ionians however, that is those to whom these messages came, continued obstinate and would not accept the thought of treason to their cause; and each people thought that to them alone the Persians were sending this message.
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