The histories of Herodotus;

384 HERODOTUS—BOOK VII, POLYMNIA [41-46
the throng followed promiscuously. The army directed its
march from Lydia to the river Caicus and the Mysian territory;
and proceeding from the Caicus, leaving Mount Canae
on the left, passed through Atarneus to the city Carina. From
thence it marched through the plain of Thebes, and passing
by the city of Adramyttium and the Pelasgian Antrandus, and
keeping Mount Ida on the left, it entered the territory of Ilium.
But before this, as the army halted during the night under
Mount Ida, thunder and lightning fell upon them, and destroyed
a considerable number of the troops on the spot.
When the army arrived at the Scamander, which was the first
river since they had set out on their march from Sardis, whose
stream failed and did not afford sufficient drink for the army
and beasts of burden ; when, accordingly, Xerxes arrived at
this river, he went up to the Pergamus 1 of Priam, being desirous
of seeing it ; and having seen it, and inquired into every
particular, he sacrificed a thousand oxen to the Ilian Minerva,
and the magi poured out libations in honour of the heroes.
After they had done this, a panic fell on the camp during the
night, and at the dawn of day they marched from thence, on
the left skirting the city of Rhaetium, and Ophrynium, and
Dardanus, which borders on Abydos ; and on the right the
Gergithse Teucrians.
When they were at Abydos, Xerxes wished to behold the
whole army. A lofty throne of white marble had been previously
erected on a hill at this place for his express use ; the
people of Abydos had made it, in obedience to a previous
order of the king. When he was seated there, looking down
toward the shore, he beheld both the land army and the fleet
and when he beheld them, he desired to see a contest take
place between the ships ; and when it had taken place, and
the Sidonian Phoenicians were victorious, he showed himself
exceedingly gratified both with the contest and the army.
When he saw the whole Hellespont covered with the ships, and
all the shores and the plains of Abydos full of men, Xerxes
thereupon pronounced himself happy ;
but afterward shed
tears. Artabanus, his paternal uncle, having observed him,
the same who had before freely declared his opinion and ad-
vised Xerxes not to invade Greece ; this man, having perceived
Xerxes shedding tears, addressed him thus :
" O king,
how very different from each other are what you are now
doing, and what you did a little while ago ! for having pronounced
yourself happy, now you weep." He answered,
" Commiseration seized me when I considered how brief all
1 That is, " the citadel."
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