herodotus

and Athens, they began to besiege them and to ravage their land; untilat last the Carystians also came over to the will of the Persians.100. The Eretrians meanwhile being informed that the armament of thePersians was sailing to attack them, requested the Athenians to helpthem; and the Athenians did not refuse their support, but gave ashelpers those four thousand to whom had been allotted the land of thewealthy[91] Chalkidians. The Eretrians however, as it turned out, hadno sound plan of action, for while they sent for the Athenians, theyhad in their minds two different designs: some of them, that is,proposed to leave the city and go to the heights of Eubœa; whileothers of them, expecting to win gain for themselves from the Persian,were preparing to surrender the place. Having got knowledge of howthings were as regards both these plans, Aischines the son of Nothon,one of the leaders of the Eretrians, told the whole condition of theiraffairs to those of the Athenians who had come, and entreated them todepart and go to their own land, that they might not also perish. Sothe Athenians did according to this counsel given to them byAischines. 101. And while these passed over to Oropos and savedthemselves, the Persians sailed on and brought their ships to landabout Temenos and Chioreai and Aigilea in the Eretrian territory; andhaving taken possession of these places,[91a] forthwith they began todisembark their horses and prepared to advance against the enemy. TheEretrians however did not intend to come forth against them and fight;but their endeavour was if possible to hold out by defending theirwalls, since the counsel prevailed not to leave the city. Then aviolent assault was made upon the wall, and for six days there fellmany on both sides; but on the seventh day Euphorbos the son ofAlkimachos and Philagros the son of Kyneos, men of repute among thecitizens, gave up the city to the Persians. These having entered thecity plundered and set fire to the temples in retribution for thetemples which were burned at Sardis, and also reduced the people toslavery according to the commands of Dareios.102. Having got Eretria into their power, they stayed a few days andthen sailed for the land of Attica, pressing on[92] hard and supposingthat the Athenians would do the same as the Eretrians had done. Andsince Marathon was the most convenient place in Attica for horsemen toact and was also very near to Eretria, therefore Hippias the son ofPeisistratos was guiding them thither. 103. When the Athenians hadinformation of this, they too went to Marathon to the rescue of theirland; and they were led by ten generals, of whom the tenth wasMiltiades, whose father Kimon of Stesagoras had been compelled to gointo exile from Athens because of Peisistratos the son of Hippocrates:and while he was in exile it was his fortune to win a victory at theOlympic games with a four-horse chariot, wherein, as it happened, hedid the same thing as his half-brother Miltiades[93] had done, who had