herodotus

portent, as indeed it was: and forthwith he despatched messengers tothe dwelling of the Telmessians, who interpret omens: and themessengers who were sent to consult arrived there and learnt from theTelmessians what the portent meant to signify, but they did notsucceed in reporting the answer to Crœsus, for before they sailed backto Sardis Crœsus had been taken prisoner. The Telmessians however gavedecision thus: that an army speaking a foreign tongue was to be lookedfor by Crœsus to invade his land, and that this when it came wouldsubdue the native inhabitants; for they said that the serpent was bornof the soil, while the horse was an enemy and a stranger. The men ofTelmessos thus made answer to Crœsus after he was already takenprisoner, not knowing as yet anything of the things which had happenedto Sardis and to Crœsus himself.79. Cyrus, however, so soon as Crœsus marched away after the battlewhich had been fought in Pteria, having learnt that Crœsus meant afterhe had marched away to disband his army, took counsel with himself andconcluded that it was good for him to march as quickly as possible toSardis, before the power of the Lydians should be again gatheredtogether. So when he had resolved upon this, he did it without delay:for he marched his army into Lydia with such speed that he was himselfthe first to announce his coming to Crœsus. Then Crœsus, although hehad come to a great strait, since his affairs had fallen outaltogether contrary to his own expectation, yet proceeded to leadforth the Lydians into battle. Now there was at this time no nation inAsia more courageous or more stout in battle than the Lydian; and theyfought on horseback carrying long spears, the men being excellent inhorsemanship. 80. So when the armies had met in that plain which is infront of the city of Sardis,--a plain wide and open, through whichflow rivers (and especially the river Hyllos) all rushing down to jointhe largest called Hermos, which flows from the mountain sacred to theMother surnamed "of Dindymos"[95] and runs out into the sea by thecity of Phocaia,--then Cyrus, when he saw the Lydians being arrayedfor battle, fearing their horsemen, did on the suggestion of Harpagosa Mede as follows:--all the camels which were in the train of his armycarrying provisions and baggage he gathered together, and he took offtheir burdens and set men upon them provided with the equipment ofcavalry: and having thus furnished them forth he appointed them to goin front of the rest of the army towards the horsemen of Crœsus; andafter the camel-troop he ordered the infantry to follow; and behindthe infantry he placed his whole force of cavalry. Then when all hismen had been placed in their several positions, he charged them tospare none of the other Lydians, slaying all who might come in theirway, but Crœsus himself they were not to slay, not even if he shouldmake resistance when he was captured. Such was his charge: and he setthe camels opposite the horsemen for this reason,--because the horse