herodotus

that which they desired to guard against in good time[111] when theychanged their counsel,[112] reflecting on this especially besidesother things, namely that they had a country which, it appears, iseasy to conquer and may quickly be taken: for it would have beennecessary only to let the river flow over their land by making anembankment to keep it from going through the narrow channel and sodiverting the course by which now it flows, in order to put allThessaly under water except the mountains." This he said in referenceto the sons of Aleuas, because they, being Thessalians, were the firstof the Hellenes who gave themselves over to the king; for Xerxesthought that they offered him friendship on behalf of their wholenation. Having said thus and having looked at the place, he sailedback to Therma.131. He then was staying in the region of Pieria many days, for theroad over the mountains of Macedonia was being cut meanwhile by athird part of his army, that all the host might pass over by this wayinto the land of the Perraibians: and now the heralds returned who hadbeen sent to Hellas to demand the gift of earth, some empty-handed andothers bearing earth and water. 132. And among those who gave thatwhich was demanded were the following, namely the Thessalians,Dolopians, Enianians,[113] Perraibians, Locrians, Megnesians, Malians,Achaians of Phthiotis, and Thebans, with the rest of the Bœotians alsoexcepting the Thespians and Plataians. Against these the Hellenes whotook up war with the Barbarian made an oath; and the oath was this,--that whosoever being Hellenes had given themselves over to thePersian, not being compelled, these, if their own affairs should cometo a good conclusion, they would dedicate as an offering[114] to thegod at Delphi. 133. Thus ran the oath which was taken by the Hellenes:Xerxes however had not sent to Athens or to Sparta heralds to demandthe gift of earth, and for this reason, namely because at the formertime when Dareios had sent for this very purpose, the one people threwthe men who made the demand into the pit[115] and the others into awell, and bade them take from thence earth and water and bear them tothe king. For this reason Xerxes did not send men to make this demand.And what evil thing[116] came upon the Athenians for having done thisto the heralds, I am not able to say, except indeed that their landand city were laid waste; but I do not think that this happened forthat cause: 134, on the Lacedemonians however the wrath fell ofTalthybios, the herald of Agamemnon; for in Sparta there is a templeof Talthybios, and there are also descendants of Talthybios calledTalthybiads, to whom have been given as a right all the missions ofheralds which go from Sparta; and after this event it was not possiblefor the Spartans when they sacrificed to obtain favourable omens. Thiswas the case with them for a long time; and as the Lacedemonians weregrieved and regarded it as a great misfortune, and general assemblies