The histories of Herodotus;

312 HERODOTUS—BOOK V, TERPSICHORE [101-104
and had no means of escaping from the city, rushed together
to the market-place, and to the river Pactolus, which, bringing
down grains of gold from Mount Tmolus, flows through the
middle of the market-place, and then discharges itself into the
river Hermus, and that into the sea. The Lydians and Persians,
therefore, being assembled on this Pactolus and at the
market-place, were constrained to defend themselves : and the
Ionians, seeing some of the enemy standing on their defence,
and others coming up in great numbers, retired through fear
to the mountain called Tmolus, and thence under favour of the
night retreated to their ships. Thus Sardis was burned, and
in it the temple of the native goddess Cybebe; the Persians,
making a pretext of this, afterward burned in retaliation the
temples of Greece. As soon as the Persians who had settlements
on this side the river Halys were informed of these
things, they drew together, and marched to assist the Lydians
; and they happened to find that the Ionians were no
longer at Sardis ; but following on their track they overtook
them at Ephesus; and the Ionians drew out in battle array
against them, and coming to an engagement, were sorely
beaten ;
and the Persians slew many of them, and among other
persons of distinction, Eualcis, general of the Eretrians, who
had gained the prize in the contests for the crown, and
had been much celebrated by Simonides the Cean. Those
who escaped from the battle were dispersed throughout the
cities.
At that time such was the result of the encounter. Afterward
the Athenians, totally abandoning the Ionians, though
Aristagoras urgently solicited them by ambassadors, refused
to send them any assistance. The Ionians, being deprived of
the alliance of the Athenians (for they had conducted themselves
in such a manner toward Darius from the first), nevertheless
prepared for war with the king. And having sailed to
the Hellespont, they reduced Byzantium and all the other
cities in that quarter to their obedience. Then having sailed
out of the Hellespont, they gained over to their alliance the
greater part of Caria; for the city of Caunus, which before
would not join their alliance when they had burned Sardis,
came over to their side. And all the Cyprians, except the
Amathusians, came over to them of their own accord ; for
they, too, had revolted from the Mede on the following occasion
: Onesilus was younger brother of Gorgus, King of the
Salaminians, and son of Chersis, son of Siromus, son of Euelthon
; this man had frequently before exhorted his brother to
revolt from the king ; but when he heard that the Ionians had