herodotus

and meanwhile they were bridging over the Hellespont from Asia toEurope. Now there is in the Chersonese of the Hellespont between thecity of Sestos and Madytos, a broad foreland[32] running down into thesea right opposite Abydos; this is the place where no long timeafterwards the Athenians under the command of Xanthippos the son ofAriphron, having taken Artaÿctes a Persian, who was the governor ofSestos, nailed him alive to a board with hands and feet extended (hewas the man who was wont to take women with him to the temple ofProtesilaos at Elaius and to do things there which are not lawful).34. To this foreland they on whom this work was laid were making theirbridges, starting from Abydos, the Phenicians constructing the onewith ropes of white flax, and the Egyptians the other, which was madewith papyrus rope. Now from Abydos to the opposite shore is a distanceof seven furlongs. But when the strait had been bridged over, a greatstorm came on and dashed together all the work that had been made andbroke it up. Then when Xerxes heard it he was exceedingly enraged, andbade them scourge the Hellespont with three hundred strokes of thelash and let down into the sea a pair of fetters. Nay, I have heardfurther that he sent branders also with them to brand the Hellespont.However this may be, he enjoined them, as they were beating, to sayBarbarian and presumptuous words as follows: "Thou bitter water, thymaster lays upon thee this penalty, because thou didst wrong him nothaving suffered any wrong from him: and Xerxes the king will pass overthee whether thou be willing or no; but with right, as it seems, noman doeth sacrifice to thee, seeing that thou art a treacherous[33]and briny stream." The sea he enjoined them to chastise thus, and alsohe bade them cut off the heads of those who were appointed to havecharge over the bridging of the Hellespont. 36. Thus then the men did,to whom this ungracious office belonged; and meanwhile other chiefconstructorsproceeded to make the bridges; and thus they made them:--They put together fifty-oared galleys and triremes, three hundred andsixty to be under the bridge towards the Euxine Sea, and three hundredand fourteen to be under the other, the vessels lying in the directionof the stream of the Hellespont (though crosswise in respect to thePontus), to support the tension of the ropes.[34] They placed themtogether thus, and let down very large anchors, those on the oneside[35] towards the Pontus because of the winds which blow fromwithin outwards, and on the other side, towards the West and theEgean, because of the South-East[36] and South Winds. They left alsoan opening for a passage through, so that any who wished might be ableto sail into the Pontus with small vessels, and also from the Pontusoutwards. Having thus done, they proceeded to stretch tight the ropes,straining them with wooden windlasses, not now appointing the twokinds of rope to be used apart from one another, but assigning to eachbridge two ropes of white flax and four of the papyrus ropes. Thethickness and beauty of make was the same for both, but the flaxen