herodotus

iver as they went back? 76. And Crœsus, when he had passed over withhis army, came to that place in Cappadokia which is called Pteria (nowPteria is the strongest place in this country, and is situatedsomewhere about in a line with the city of Sinope[91] on the Euxine).Here he encamped and ravaged the fields of the Syrians. Moreover hetook the city of the Pterians, and sold the people into slavery, andhe took also all the towns that lay about it; and the Syrians, whowere not guilty of any wrong, he forced to remove from theirhomes.[92] Meanwhile Cyrus, having gathered his own forces and havingtaken up in addition to them all who dwelt in the region between, wascoming to meet Crœsus. Before he began however to lead forth his army,he had sent heralds to the Ionians and tried to induce them to revoltfrom Crœsus; but the Ionians would not do as he said. Then when Cyruswas come and had encamped over against Crœsus, they made trial of oneanother by force of arms in the land of Pteria: and after hardfighting, when many had fallen on both sides, at length, night havingcome on, they parted from one the other with no victory on eitherside.77. Thus the two armies contended with one another: and Crœsus beingill satisfied with his own army in respect of number (for the armywhich he had when he fought was far smaller than that of Cyrus), beingdissatisfied with it I say on this account, as Cyrus did not attemptto advance against him on the following day, marched back to Sardis,having it in his mind to call the Egyptians to his help according tothe oath which they had taken (for he had made an alliance with Amasisking of Egypt before he made the alliance with the Lacedemonians), andto summon the Babylonians as well (for with these also an alliance hadbeen concluded by him, Labynetos[93] being at that time ruler of theBabylonians), and moreover to send a message to the Lacedemoniansbidding them appear at a fixed time: and then after he had got allthese together and had gathered his own army, his design was to letthe winter go by and at the coming of spring to march against thePersians. So with these thoughts in his mind, as soon as he came toSardis he proceeded to send heralds to his several allies to give themnotice that by the fifth month from that time they should assemble atSardis: but the army which he had with him and which had fought withthe Persians, an army which consisted of mercenary troops,[94] he letgo and disbanded altogether, never expecting that Cyrus, after havingcontended against him with such even fortune, would after all marchupon Sardis.78. When Crœsus had these plans in his mind, the suburb of the citybecame of a sudden all full of serpents; and when these had appeared,the horses leaving off to feed in their pastures came constantlythither and devoured them. When Crœsus saw this he deemed it to be a