herodotus

much time passed by; and in the centre of the army, where the Persiansthemselves and the Sacans were drawn up, the Barbarians were winning,--here, I say, the Barbarians had broken the ranks of their opponentsand were pursuing them inland, but on both wings the Athenians and thePlataians severally were winning the victory; and being victoriousthey left that part of the Barbarians which had been routed to flywithout molestation, and bringing together the two wings they foughtwith those who had broken their centre, and the Athenians werevictorious. So they followed after the Persians as they fled,slaughtering them, until they came to the sea; and then they calledfor fire and began to take hold of the ships. 114. In this part of thework was slain the polemarch Callimachos after having proved himself agood man, and also one of the generals, Stesilaos the son ofThrasylaos, was killed; and besides this Kynegeiros the son ofEuphorion while taking hold[107] there of the ornament at the stern ofa ship had his hand cut off with an axe and fell; and many others alsoof the Athenians who were men of note were killed. 115. Seven of theships the Athenians got possession of in this manner, but with therest the Barbarians pushed off from land, and after taking thecaptives from Eretria off the island where they had left them, theysailed round Sunion, purposing to arrive at the city before theAthenians. And an accusation became current among the Athenians to theeffect that they formed this design by contrivance of theAlcmaionidai; for these, it was said, having concerted matters withthe Persians, displayed to them a shield when they had now embarked intheir ships. 116. These then, I say, were sailing round Sunion; andmeanwhile the Athenians came to the rescue back to the city asspeedily as they could, and they arrived there before the Barbarianscame; and having arrived from the temple of Heracles at Marathon theyencamped at another temple of Heracles, namely that which is inKynosarges. The Barbarians however came and lay with their ships inthe sea which is off Phaleron, (for this was then the seaport of theAthenians), they anchored their ships, I say, off this place, and thenproceeded to sail back to Asia.117. In this fight at Marathon there were slain of the Barbariansabout six thousand four hundred men, and of the Athenians a hundredand ninety and two. Such was the number which fell on both sides; andit happened also that a marvel occurred there of this kind:--anAthenian, Epizelos the son of Cuphagoras, while fighting in the closecombat and proving himself a good man, was deprived of the sight ofhis eyes, neither having received a blow in any part of his body norhaving been hit with a missile, and for the rest of his life from thistime he continued to be blind: and I was informed that he used to tellabout that which had happened to him a tale of this kind, namely thatit seemed to him that a tall man in full armour stood against him,