ταῦτα εἴπας καὶ Ἀρτάβανον ἀποστείλας ἐς Σοῦσα δεύτερα μετεπέμψατο Ξέρξης Περσέων τοὺς δοκιμωτάτους· ἐπεὶ δέ οἱ παρῆσαν, ἔλεγέ σφι τάδε. ὦ Πέρσαι, τῶνδʼ ἐγὼ ὑμέων χρηίζων συνέλεξα, ἄνδρας τε γενέσθαι ἀγαθοὺς καὶ μὴ καταισχύνειν τὰ πρόσθε ἐργασμένα Πέρσῃσι, ἐόντα μεγάλα τε καὶ πολλοῦ ἄξια, ἀλλʼ εἷς τε ἕκαστος καὶ οἱ σύμπαντες προθυμίην ἔχωμεν· ξυνὸν γὰρ πᾶσι τοῦτο ἀγαθὸν σπεύδεται.
τῶνδε δὲ εἵνεκα προαγορεύω ἀντέχεσθαι τοῦ πολέμου ἐντεταμένως· ὡς γὰρ ἐγὼ πυνθάνομαι, ἐπʼ ἄνδρας στρατευόμεθα ἀγαθούς, τῶν ἢν κρατήσωμεν, οὐ μή τις ἡμῖν ἄλλος στρατὸς ἀντιστῇ κοτε ἀνθρώπων. νῦν δὲ διαβαίνωμεν ἐπευξάμενοι τοῖσι θεοῖσι οἳ Πέρσας λελόγχασι.
Having thus spoken and having sent Artabanos back to Susa, next Xerxes summoned to his presence the men of most repute among the Persians, and when they were come before him, he spoke to them as follows: “Persians, I assembled you together desiring this of you, that ye should show yourselves good men and should not disgrace the deeds done in former times by the Persians, which are great and glorious; but let us each one of us by himself, and all together also, be zealous in our enterprise; for this which we labour for is a common good for all. And I exhort you that ye persevere in the war without relaxing your efforts, because, as I am informed, we are marching against good men, and if we shall overcome them, there will not be any other army of men which will ever stand against us. Now therefore let us begin the crossing, after having made prayer to those gods who have the Persians for their allotted charge.”
ταύτην μὲν τὴν ἡμέρην παρεσκευάζοντο ἐς τὴν διάβασιν· τῇ δὲ ὑστεραίῃ ἀνέμενον τὸν ἥλιον ἐθέλοντες ἰδέσθαι ἀνίσχοντα, θυμιήματά τε παντοῖα ἐπὶ τῶν γεφυρέων καταγίζοντες καὶ μυρσίνῃσι στορνύντες τὴν ὁδόν.
ὡς δʼ ἐπανέτελλε ὁ ἥλιος, σπένδων ἐκ χρυσέης φιάλης Ξέρξης ἐς τὴν θάλασσαν εὔχετο πρὸς τὸν ἥλιον μηδεμίαν οἱ συντυχίην τοιαύτην γενέσθαι, ἥ μιν παύσει καταστρέψασθαι τὴν Εὐρώπην πρότερον ἢ ἐπὶ τέρμασι τοῖσι ἐκείνης γένηται. εὐξάμενος δὲ ἐσέβαλε τὴν φιάλην ἐς τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον καὶ χρύσεον κρητῆρα καὶ Περσικὸν ξίφος, τὸν ἀκινάκην καλέουσι.
ταῦτα οὐκ ἔχω ἀτρεκέως διακρῖναι οὔτε εἰ τῷ ἡλίῳ ἀνατιθεὶς κατῆκε ἐς τὸ πέλαγος, οὔτε εἰ μετεμέλησέ οἱ τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον μαστιγώσαντι καὶ ἀντὶ τούτων τὴν θάλασσαν ἐδωρέετο.
During this day then they were making preparation to cross over; and on the next day they waited for the Sun, desiring to see him rise, and in the meantime they offered all kinds of incense upon the bridges and strewed the way with branches of myrtle. Then, as the Sun was rising, Xerxes made libation from a golden cup into the sea, and prayed to the Sun, that no accident might befall him such as should cause him to cease from subduing Europe, until he had come to its furthest limits. After having thus prayed he threw the cup into the Hellespont and with it a golden mixing-bowl and a Persian sword, which they call akinakes: but whether he cast them into the sea as an offering dedicated to the Sun, or whether he had repented of his scourging of the Hellespont and desired to present a gift to the sea as amends for this, I cannot for certain say.
ὡς δὲ ταῦτά οἱ ἐπεποίητο, διέβαινον κατὰ μὲν τὴν ἑτέρην τῶν γεφυρέων τὴν πρὸς τοῦ Πόντου ὁ πεζός τε καὶ ἡ ἵππος ἅπασα, κατὰ δὲ τὴν πρὸς τὸ Αἰγαῖον τὰ ὑποζύγια καὶ ἡ θεραπηίη.
ἡγέοντο δὲ πρῶτα μὲν οἱ μύριοι Πέρσαι, ἐστεφανωμένοι πάντες, μετὰ δὲ τούτους ὁ σύμμικτος στρατὸς παντοίων ἐθνέων. ταύτην μὲν τὴν ἡμέρην οὗτοι, τῇ δὲ ὑστεραίῃ πρῶτοι μὲν οἵ τε ἱππόται καὶ οἱ τὰς λόγχας κάτω τρέποντες· ἐστεφάνωντο δὲ καὶ οὗτοι.
μετὰ δὲ οἵ τε ἵπποι οἱ ἱροὶ καὶ τὸ ἅρμα τὸ ἱρόν, ἐπὶ δὲ αὐτός τε Ξέρξης καὶ οἱ αἰχμοφόροι καὶ οἱ ἱππόται οἱ χίλιοι, ἐπὶ δὲ τούτοισι ὁ ἄλλος στρατός. καὶ αἱ νέες ἅμα ἀνήγοντο ἐς τὴν ἀπεναντίον. ἤδη δὲ ἤκουσα καὶ ὕστατον διαβῆναι βασιλέα πάντων.
When Xerxes had done this, they proceeded to cross over, the whole army both the footmen and the horsemen going by one bridge, namely that which was on the side of the Pontus, while the baggage-animals and the attendants went over the other, which was towards the Egean. First the ten thousand Persians led the way, all with wreaths, and after them came the mixed body of the army made up of all kinds of nations: these on that day; and on the next day, first the horsemen and those who had their spear-points turned downwards, these also wearing wreaths; and after them the sacred horses and the sacred chariot, and then Xerxes himself and the spear-bearers and the thousand horsemen; and after them the rest of the army. In the meantime the ships also put out from shore and went over to the opposite side. I have heard however another account which says that the king crossed over the very last of all.
Ξέρξης δὲ ἐπεὶ διέβη ἐς τὴν Εὐρώπην, ἐθηεῖτο τὸν στρατὸν ὑπὸ μαστίγων διαβαίνοντα· διέβη δὲ ὁ στρατὸς αὐτοῦ ἐν ἑπτὰ ἡμέρῃσι καὶ ἐν ἑπτὰ εὐφρόνῃσι, ἐλινύσας οὐδένα χρόνον.
ἐνθαῦτα λέγεται, Ξέρξεω ἤδη διαβεβηκότος τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον, ἄνδρα εἰπεῖν Ἑλλησπόντιον ὦ Ζεῦ, τί δὴ ἀνδρὶ εἰδόμενος Πέρσῃ καὶ οὔνομα ἀντὶ Διὸς Ξέρξην θέμενος ἀνάστατον τὴν Ἑλλάδα θέλεις ποιῆσαι, ἄγων πάντας ἀνθρώπους; καὶ γὰρ ἄνευ τούτων ἐξῆν τοι ποιέειν ταῦτα.
When Xerxes had crossed over into Europe, he gazed upon the army crossing under the lash; and his army crossed over in seven days and seven nights, going on continuously without any pause. Then, it is said, after Xerxes had now crossed over the Hellespont, a man of that coast exclaimed: “Why, O Zeus, in the likeness of a Persian man and taking for thyself the name of Xerxes instead of Zeus, art thou proposing to lay waste Hellas, taking with thee all the nations of men? for it was possible for thee to do so even without the help of these.”
ὡς δὲ διέβησαν πάντες, ἐς ὁδὸν ὁρμημένοισι τέρας σφι ἐφάνη μέγα, τὸ Ξέρξης ἐν οὐδενὶ λόγῳ ἐποιήσατο καίπερ εὐσύμβλητον ἐόν· ἵππος γὰρ ἔτεκε λαγόν. εὐσύμβλητον ὦν τῇδε τοῦτο ἐγένετο, ὅτι ἔμελλε μὲν ἐλᾶν στρατιὴν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα Ξέρξης ἀγαυρότατα καὶ μεγαλοπρεπέστατα, ὀπίσω δὲ περὶ ἑωυτοῦ τρέχων ἥξειν ἐς τὸν αὐτὸν χῶρον. ἐγένετο δὲ καὶ ἕτερον αὐτῷ τέρας ἐόντι ἐν Σάρδισι·
ἡμίονος γὰρ ἔτεκε ἡμίονον διξὰ ἔχουσαν αἰδοῖα, τὰ μὲν ἔρσενος τὰ δὲ θηλέης· κατύπερθε δὲ ἦν τὰ τοῦ ἔρσενος. τῶν ἀμφοτέρων λόγον οὐδένα ποιησάμενος τὸ πρόσω ἐπορεύετο, σὺν δέ οἱ ὁ πεζὸς στρατός.
When all had crossed over, after they had set forth on their way a great portent appeared to them, of which Xerxes made no account, although it was easy to conjecture its meaning,—a mare gave birth to a hare. Now the meaning of this was easy to conjecture in this way, namely that Xerxes was about to march an army against Hellas very proudly and magnificently, but would come back again to the place whence he came, running for his life. There happened also a portent of another kind while he was still at Sardis,—a mule brought forth young and gave birth to a mule which had organs of generation of two kinds, both those of the male and those of the female, and those of the male were above. Xerxes however made no account of either of these portents, but proceeded on his way, and with him the land-army.
Cite This Text