Sykes' History of Persia - Heritage Institute

f
Early Daric.
CHAPTER XVI
PERSIA AND HELLAS DURING THE REIGN OF DARIUS
They were the first of the Greeks who dared to look upon the Median garb,
and to face men clad in that fashion. Until this time the very name of the
Medes had been a terror to the Greeks to hear.— Herodotus, vi. 112.
r The Issues at Stake.—The invasion of Hellas by the
myriads of the Persian Empire and their ultimate repulse
constitute an event in the history of the world which is un-
surpassed alike in importance and in dramatic grandeur.
It was, indeed, the first attempt of the organized
East to conquer the less organized West, and in its later
phase not only did the Persian Empire invade Hellas,
but through Persian influence Carthage made an equally
deadly assault on the Greek colonies of Sicily. Fortunately
for the cause of mankind, both invasions failed signally.^
/ The Greek Subjects of Persia.— By the conquest of the
I Greek cities and islands of Asia Minor, and the later
annexation of Thrace and Macedonia, the Persians had
1
acquired control over at least one-third of the entire race
of the Greeks. These, from their training and equipment,
were a formidable military force, and they possessed a
navy equal to that of the Phoenicians. At the same time,
the intense love of liberty and other qualities which gave
the Greeks their strength also made them extremely
difficult to control ; and it is certain that none of the
^
It must never be forgotten that our knowledge of the Persian campaigns against
Hellas is drawn entirely from Greek sources. Herodotus, indeed, used Persian sources
to a limited extent but the ; point of view is invariably that of the Greek. The authorities
consulted in this and the following chapter are Macan's Herodotus^ Grundy's Great
Persian War, and Bury's History of Greece. These works constitute a notable advance
in our knowledge of the subject.
198