Herodotus - The Histories.pdf

The Histories–Book Eight V 105
that this is the course which the king would have
followed:- he would have made the men upon the
ship’s deck, who were not only Persians, but
Persians of the very highest rank, quit their place
and go down below; and would have cast into the
sea an equal number of the rowers, who were
Phoenicians. But the truth is, that the king, as I
have already said, returned into Asia by the same
road as the rest of the army.
I will add a strong proof of this. It is certain that
Xerxes on his way back from Greece passed
through Abdera, where he made a contract of
friendship with the inhabitants, and presented
them with a golden scymitar, and a tiara broidered
with gold. The Abderites declare- but I put
no faith in this part of their story- that from the
time of the king’s leaving Athens, he never once
loosed his girdle till he came to their city, since it
was not till then that he felt himself in safety.
Now Abdera is nearer to the Hellespont than
Eion and the Strymon, where Xerxes, according
to the other tale, took ship.