herodotus

which the Cretans proved not the most contemptible of those who cameto assist Menelaos. Then after this, when they had returned home fromTroy, famine and pestilence came upon both the men and their cattle,until at last Crete was stripped of its inhabitants for the secondtime, and a third population of Cretans now occupy it together withthose which were left of the former inhabitants. The Pythianprophetess, I say, by calling these things to their minds stopped themfrom giving assistance to the Hellenes, though they desired to do so.172. As for the Thessalians, they at first had taken the side of thePersians against their will, and they gave proof that they were notpleased by that which the Aleuadai were designing; for so soon as theyheard that the Persian was about to cross over into Europe, they sentenvoys to the Isthmus: now at the Isthmus were assembledrepresentatives of Hellas chosen by the cities which had the bettermind about Hellas: having come then to these, the envoys of theThessalians said: "Hellenes, ye must guard the pass by Olympos, inorder that both Thessaly and the whole of Hellas may be sheltered fromthe war. We are prepared to join with you in guarding it, but ye mustsend a large force as well as we; for if ye shall not send, be assuredthat we shall make agreement with the Persian; since it is not rightthat we, standing as outposts so far in advance of the rest of Hellas,should perish alone in your defence: and not being willing[163] tocome to our help, ye cannot apply to us any force to compelinability;[164] but we shall endeavour to devise some means of safetyfor ourselves." 173. Thus spoke the Thessalians; and the Hellenes uponthis resolved to send to Thessaly by sea an army of men on foot toguard the pass: and when the army was assembled it set sail throughEuripos, and having come to Alos in the Achaian land, it disembarkedthere and marched into Thessaly leaving the ships behind at Alos, andarrived at Tempe, the pass which leads from lower Macedonia intoThessaly by the river Peneios, going between the mountains of Olymposand Ossa. There the Hellenes encamped, being assembled to the numberof about ten thousand hoplites, and to them was added the cavalry ofthe Thessalians; and the commander of the Lacedemonians was Euainetosthe son of Carenos, who had been chosen from the polemarchs,[165] notbeing of the royal house, and of the Athenians Themistocles the son ofNeocles. They remained however but few days here, for envoys came fromAlexander the son of Amyntas the Macedonian, who advised them todepart thence and not to remain in the pass and be trodden under footby the invading host, signifying to them at the same time both thegreat numbers of the army and the ships which they had. When thesegave them this counsel, they followed the advice, for they thoughtthat the counsel was good, and the Macedonian was evidently welldisposedtowards them. Also, as I think, it was fear that persuadedthem to it, when they were informed that there was another pass