herodotus

it is fitting that ye keep still and remain by yourselves: for ifthings happen according to my mind, I shall not esteem any people tobe of greater consequence than you." Having heard this the Argives, itis said, considered it a great matter; and therefore at first theymade no offer of help nor did they ask for any share; but afterwards,when the Hellenes tried to get them on their side, then, since theyknew well that the Lacedemonians would not give them a share in thecommand, they asked for this merely in order that they might have apretext for remaining still. 151. Also some of the Hellenes reportthat the following event, in agreement with this account, came to passmany years after these things:--there happened, they say, to be inSusa the city of Memnon[137] envoys of the Athenians come about someother matter, namely Callias the son of Hipponicos and the others whowent up with him; and the Argives at that very time had also sentenvoys to Susa, and these asked Artoxerxes the son of Xerxes, whetherthe friendship which they had formed with Xerxes still remainedunbroken, if they themselves desired to maintain it,[138] or whetherthey were esteemed by him to be enemies; and king Artoxerxes said thatit most certainly remained unbroken, and that there was no city whichhe considered to be more his friend than Argos. 152. Now whetherXerxes did indeed send a herald to Argos saying that which has beenreported, and whether envoys of the Argives who had gone up to Susainquired of Artoxerxes concerning friendship, I am not able to say forcertain; nor do I declare any opinion about the matters in questionother than that which the Argives themselves report: but I know thismuch, that if all the nations of men should bring together into oneplace the evils which they have suffered themselves, desiring to makeexchange with their neighbours, each people of them, when they hadexamined closely the evils suffered by their fellows, would gladlycarry away back with them those which they had brought.[139] Thus itis not the Argives who have acted most basely of all. I however ambound to report that which is reported, though I am not boundaltogether to believe it; and let this saying be considered to holdgood as regards every narrative in the history: for I must add thatthis also is reported, namely that the Argives were actually those whoinvited the Persian to invade Hellas, because their war with theLacedemonians had had an evil issue, being willing to suffer anythingwhatever rather than the trouble which was then upon them.153. That which concerns the Argives has now been said: and meanwhileenvoys had come to Sicily from the allies, to confer with Gelon, amongwhom was also Syagros from the Lacedemonians. Now the ancestor of thisGelon, he who was at Gela as a settler,[140] was a native of theisland of Telos, which lies off Triopion; and when Gela was founded bythe Lindians of Rhodes and by Antiphemos, he was not left behind. Thenin course of time his descendants became and continued to be priests