Complete Works of Xenophon (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics)

by Xenophon

  Now Epyaxa, the wife of Syennesis, had reached Tarsus five days ahead of Cyrus, but in the course of her passage over the mountains to the plain two companies of Menon’s army had been lost. Some said that they had been cut to pieces by the Cilicians while engaged in a bit of plundering; another story was that they had been left behind, and, unable to find the rest of the army or the roads, had thus wandered about and perished; at any rate, they numbered a hundred hoplites. [26] And when the rest of Menon’s troops reached Tarsus, in their anger over the loss of their comrades they plundered thoroughly, not only the city, but also the palace that was in it. As for Cyrus, after he had marched into the city he more than once summoned Syennesis to his presence; but Syennesis said that he had never yet put himself in the hands of anyone who was more powerful than he was, and he would not now put himself in the hands of Cyrus until his wife had won him over and he had received pledges. [27] When the two men finally met one another, Syennesis gave Cyrus a large sum of money for his army, while Cyrus gave him gifts which are regarded at court as tokens of honour — a horse with a gold-mounted bridle, a gold necklace and bracelets, a gold dagger and a Persian robe — promising him, further, that his land should not be plundered any more and that they might take back the slaves that had been seized in case they should chance upon them anywhere.

  3. Cyrus and his army remained here at Tarsus twenty days, for the soldiers refused to go any farther; for they suspected by this time that they were going against the King, and they said they had not been hired for that. Clearchus was the first to try to force his men to go on, but they pelted him and his pack-animals with stones as often as they began to go forward. [2] At that time Clearchus narrowly escaped being stoned to death; but afterwards, when he realized that he could not accomplish anything by force, he called a meeting of his own troops. And first he stood and wept for a long time, while his men watched him in wonder and were silent; then he spoke as follows: [3]

  “Fellow-soldiers, do not wonder that I am distressed at the present situation. For Cyrus became my friend and not only honoured me, an exile from my fatherland, in various ways, but gave me ten thousand darics. And I, receiving this money, did not lay it up for my own personal use or squander it in pleasure, but I proceeded to expend it on you. [4] First I went to war with the Thracians, and for the sake of Greece I inflicted punishment upon them with your aid, driving them out of the Chersonese when they wanted to deprive the Greeks who dwelt there of their land. Then when Cyrus’ summons came, I took you with me and set out, in order that, if he had need of me, I might give him aid in return for the benefits I had received from him. [5] But you now do not wish to continue the march with me; so it seems that I must either desert you and continue to enjoy Cyrus’ friendship, or prove false to him and remain with you. Whether I shall be doing what is right, I know not, but at any rate I shall choose you and with you shall suffer whatever I must. And never shall any man say that I, after leading Greeks into the land of the barbarians, betrayed the Greeks and chose the friendship of the barbarians; [6] nay, since you do not care to obey me, I shall follow with you and suffer whatever I must. For I consider that you are to me both fatherland and friends and allies; with you I think I shall be honoured wherever I may be, bereft of you I do not think I shall be able either to aid a friend or to ward off a foe. Be sure, therefore, that wherever you go, I shall go also.” [7]

  Such were his words. And the soldiers — not only his own men, but the rest also — when they heard that he said he would not go on to the King’s capital, commended him; and more than two thousand of the troops under Xenias and Pasion took their arms and their baggage train and encamped with Clearchus. [8] But Cyrus, perplexed and distressed by this situation, sent repeatedly for Clearchus. Clearchus refused to go to him, but without the knowledge of the soldiers he sent a messenger and told him not to be discouraged, because, he said, this matter would be settled in the right way. He directed Cyrus, however, to keep on sending for him, though he himself, he said, would refuse to go. [9]

  After this Clearchus gathered together his own soldiers, those who had come over to him, and any others who wanted to be present, and spoke as follows: “Fellow-soldiers, it is clear that the relation of Cyrus to us is precisely the same as ours to him; that is, we are no longer his soldiers, since we decline to follow him, and likewise he is no longer our paymaster. [10] I know, however, that he considers himself wronged by us. Therefore, although he keeps sending for me, I decline to go, chiefly, it is true, from a feeling of shame, because I am conscious that I have proved utterly false to him, but, besides that, from fear that he may seize me and inflict punishment upon me for the wrongs he thinks he has suffered at my hands. [11] In my opinion, therefore, it is no time for us to be sleeping or unconcerned about ourselves; we should rather be considering what course we ought to follow under the present circumstances. And so long as we remain here we must consider, I think, how we can remain most safely; or, again, if we count it best to depart at once, how we are to depart most safely and how we shall secure provisions — for without provisions neither general nor private is of any use. [12] And remember that while this Cyrus is a valuable friend when he is your friend, he is a most dangerous foe when he is your enemy; furthermore, he has an armament — infantry and cavalry and fleet — which we all alike see and know about; for I take it that our camp is not very far away from him. It is time, then, to propose whatever plan any one of you deems best.” With these words he ceased speaking. [13]

  Thereupon various speakers arose, some of their own accord to express the opinions they held, but others at the instigation of Clearchus to make clear the difficulty of either remaining or departing without the consent of Cyrus. [14] One man in particular, pretending to be in a hurry to proceed back to Greece with all speed, proposed that they should choose other generals as quickly as possible, in case Clearchus did not wish to lead them back; secondly, that they should buy provisions — the market was in the barbarian army! — and pack up their baggage; then, to go to Cyrus and ask for vessels to sail away in; and if he would not give them vessels, to ask him for a guide to lead them homeward through a country that was friendly; and if he would not give them a guide, either, to form in line of battle with all speed and likewise to send a force to occupy the mountain heights in advance, in order that neither Cyrus nor the Cilicians should forestall them—”and we have in our possession,” he said, “many of these Cilicians and much of their property that we have seized as plunder.” Such were the words of this speaker. [15]

  After him Clearchus said merely this: “Let no one among you speak of me as the man who is to hold this command, for I see many reasons why I should not do so; say rather that I shall obey to the best of my ability the man whom you choose, in order that you may know that I understand as well as any other person in the world how to be a subordinate also.” [16] After he had spoken another man arose to point out the foolishness of the speaker who had urged them to ask for vessels, just as if Cyrus were going home again, and to point out also how foolish it was to ask for a guide “from this man whose enterprise we are ruining. Indeed, if we propose to trust the guide that Cyrus gives us, what is to hinder us from directing Cyrus also to occupy the heights for us in advance? [17] For my part, I should hesitate to embark on the vessels that he might give us, for fear of his sinking us with his war-ships, and I should be afraid to follow the guide that he might give, for fear of his leading us to a place from which it will not be possible to escape; my choice would be, in going off without Cyrus’ consent, to go off without his knowledge — and that is not possible. [18] Now in my own opinion the plans just proposed are nonsense; rather, I think we should send to Cyrus men of the proper sort, along with Clearchus, to ask him what use he wishes to make of us; and if his enterprise is like the sort of one in which he employed mercenaries before, I think that we also should follow him and not be more cowardly than those who went up with him on the former occasion; [19] if, however, his enterprise is found to b
e greater and more laborious and more dangerous than the former one, we ought to demand that he should either offer sufficient persuasion and lead us on with him, or yield to our persuasion and let us go home in friendship; for in this way, if we should follow him, we should follow as friends and zealous supporters, and if we should go back, we should go back in safety. I propose, further, that our representatives should report back to us whatever reply he may make, and that we after hearing it should deliberate about the matter.” [20]

  This plan was adopted, and they chose representatives and sent them with Clearchus; and they proceeded to put to Cyrus the questions resolved upon by the army. He replied that he had heard that Abrocomas, a foe of his, was at the Euphrates river, twelve stages distant. It was against him, therefore, he said, that he desired to march. And if he were there, he wished to inflict due punishment upon him; “but if he has fled,” he continued, “we will deliberate about the matter then and there.” [21] Upon hearing this reply the deputies reported it to the soldiers, and they, while suspecting that Cyrus was leading them against the King, nevertheless thought it best to follow him. They asked, however, for more pay, and Cyrus promised to give them all half as much again as they had been receiving before, namely, a daric and a half a month to each man instead of a daric; but as regards the suspicion that he was leading them against the King, no one heard it expressed even then — at any rate, not openly.

  4. Thence he marched two stages, ten parasangs, to the Psarus river, the width of which was three plethra. From there he marched one stage, five parasangs, to the Pyramus river, the width of which was a stadium. From there he marched two stages, fifteen parasangs, to Issus, the last city in Cilicia, a place situated on the sea, and large and prosperous. [2] There they remained three days; and the ships from Peloponnesus arrived to meet Cyrus, thirty-five in number, with Pythagoras the Lacedaemonian as admiral in command of them. They had been guided from Ephesus to Issus by Tamos the Egyptian, who was at the head of another fleet of twenty-five ships belonging to Cyrus — these latter being the ships with which Tamos had besieged Miletus, at the time when it was friendly to Tissaphernes, and had supported Cyrus in his war upon Tissaphernes. [3] Cheirisophus the Lacedaemonian also arrived with this fleet, coming in response to Cyrus’ summons, together with seven hundred hoplites, over whom he continued to hold command in the army of Cyrus. And the ships lay at anchor alongside Cyrus’ tent. It was at Issus also that the Greek mercenaries who had been in the service of Abrocomas — four hundred hoplites — joined Cyrus, after deserting Abrocomas, and so bore a share in his expedition against the King. [4]

  Thence he marched one stage, five parasangs, to the Gates between Cilicia and Syria. These Gates consisted of two walls; the one on the hither, or Cilician, side was held by Syennesis and a garrison of Cilicians, while the one on the farther, the Syrian, side was reported to be guarded by a garrison of the King’s troops. And in the space between these walls flows a river named the Carsus, a plethrum in width. The entire distance from one wall to the other was three stadia; and it was not possible to effect a passage by force, for the pass was narrow, the walls reached down to the sea, and above the pass were precipitous rocks, while, besides, there were towers upon both the walls. [5] It was because of this pass that Cyrus had sent for the fleet, in order that he might disembark hoplites between and beyond the walls and thus overpower the enemy if they should be keeping guard at the Syrian Gates — and that was precisely what Cyrus supposed Abrocomas would do, for he had a large army. Abrocomas, however, did not do so, but as soon as he heard that Cyrus was in Cilicia, he turned about in his journey from Phoenicia and marched off to join the King, with an army, so the report ran, of three hundred thousand men. [6]

  Thence Cyrus marched one stage, five parasangs, to Myriandus, a city on the sea coast, inhabited by Phoenicians; it was a trading place, and many merchant ships were lying at anchor there. There he remained seven days; [7] and Xenias the Arcadian and Pasion the Megarian embarked upon a ship, put on board their most valuable effects, and sailed away; they were moved to do this, as most people thought, by a feeling of jealous pride, because their soldiers had gone over to Clearchus with the intention of going back to Greece again instead of proceeding against the King, and Cyrus had allowed Clearchus to keep them. After they had disappeared, a report went round that Cyrus was pursuing them with warships; and while some people prayed that they might be captured, because, as they said, they were cowards, yet others felt pity for them if they should be caught. [8]

  Cyrus, however, called the generals together and said: “Xenias and Pasion have deserted us. But let them, nevertheless, know full well that they have not escaped from me — either by stealth, for I know in what direction they have gone, or by speed, for I have men-of-war with which I can overtake their craft. But for my part, I swear by the gods that I shall not pursue them, nor shall anyone say about me that I use a man so long as he is with me and then, when he wants to leave me, seize him and maltreat him and despoil him of his possessions. Nay, let them go, with the knowledge that their behaviour toward us is worse than ours toward them. To be sure, I have their wives and children under guard in Tralles, but I shall not deprive them of these, either, for they shall receive them back because of their former excellence in my service.” [9] Such were his words; as for the Greeks, even those who had been somewhat despondent in regard to the upward march, when they heard of the magnanimity of Cyrus they continued on their way with greater satisfaction and eagerness.

  After this Cyrus marched four stages, twenty parasangs, to the Chalus river, which is a plethrum in width and full of large, tame fish; these fish the Syrians regarded as gods, and they would not allow anyone to harm them, or the doves, either. And the villages in which the troops encamped belonged to Parysatis, for they had been given her for girdle-money. [10] From there Cyrus marched five stages, thirty parasangs, to the sources of the Dardas river, the width of which is a plethrum. There was the palace of Belesys, the late ruler of Syria, and a very large and beautiful park containing all the products of the seasons. But Cyrus cut down the park and burned the palace. [11] Thence he marched three stages, fifteen parasangs, to the Euphrates river, the width of which was four stadia; and on the river was situated a large and prosperous city named Thapsacus. There he remained five days. And Cyrus summoned the generals of the Greeks and told them that the march was to be to Babylon, against the Great King; he directed them, accordingly, to explain this to the soldiers and try to persuade them to follow. [12] So the generals called an assembly and made this announcement; and the soldiers were angry with the generals, and said that they had known about this for a long time, but had been keeping it from the troops; furthermore, they refused to go on unless they were given money, as were the men who made the journey with Cyrus before, when he went to visit his father; they had received the donation, even though they marched, not to battle, but merely because Cyrus’ father summoned him. [13] All these things the generals reported back to Cyrus, and he promised that he would give every man five minas in silver when they reached Babylon and their pay in full until he brought the Greeks back to Ionia again. By these promises the greater part of the Greek army was persuaded.

  But as for Menon, before it was clear what the rest of the soldiers would do, that is, whether they would follow Cyrus or not, he gathered together his own troops apart from the others and spoke as follows: [14] “Soldiers, if you will obey me, you will, without either danger or toil, be honoured by Cyrus above and beyond the rest of the troops. What, then, do I direct you to do? At this moment Cyrus is begging the Greeks to follow him against the King; my own plan, then, is that you should cross the Euphrates river before it is clear what answer the rest of the Greeks will make to Cyrus. [15] For if they vote to follow him, it is you who will get the credit for that decision because you began the crossing, and Cyrus will not only feel grateful to you, regarding you as the most zealous in his cause, but he will return the favour — and he knows how to do that if a
ny man does; on the other hand, if the rest vote not to follow him, we shall all go back together, but you, as the only ones who were obedient, are the men he will employ, not only for garrison duty, but for captaincies; and whatever else you may desire, I know that you, as friends of Cyrus, will secure from him.” [16] Upon hearing these words the soldiers were persuaded, and made the crossing before the rest gave their answer. When Cyrus learned that they had crossed, he was delighted and sent Glus to the troops with this message: “Soldiers, to-day I commend you; but I shall see to it that you also shall have cause to commend me, else count me no longer Cyrus.” [17] So Menon’s troops cherished high hopes and prayed that he might be successful, while to Menon himself Cyrus was said to have sent magnificent gifts besides. After so doing Cyrus proceeded to cross the river, and the rest of the army followed him, to the last man. And in the crossing no one was wetted above the breast by the water. [18] The people of Thapsacus said that this river had never been passable on foot except at this time, but only by boats; and these Abrocomas had now burned, as he marched on ahead of Cyrus, in order to prevent him from crossing. It seemed, accordingly, that here was a divine intervention, and that the river had plainly retired before Cyrus because he was destined to be king. [19]