HERODOTUS

BOOK VIII. 111-113blest with a plentiful lack of land, and we have twounserviceable gods who never quit our island but areever fain to dwell there, even Poverty and Impotencebeing possessed of these gods, we of;Andros will give no money for the power of Athens;can never be stronger than our inability."112. So for thus answering and refusing to givethey were besieged. There was no end to Themistocles'avarice ; using the same agents whom he hadused with the king, he sent threatening messagesto the other islands, demanding money, and sayingthat if they would not give what he asked he wouldbring the Greek armada upon them and besiege andtake their islands. Thereby he collected great sumsfrom the Carystians and Parians ;for these wereinformed that Andros was besieged for taking thePersian part, and that Themistocles was of all thegenerals the most esteemed which so; affrightedthem that they sent money and Isuppose that;there were other islanders too that gave, and notthese alone, but I cannot with certainty say. Neverthelessthe Carystians got thereby no respite frommisfortune ;but the Parians propitiated Themistocleswith money and so escaped the armament. SoThemistocles issued out from Andros and tookmonies from the islanders, unknown to the othergenerals.113. They that were with Xerxes waited for afew days after the sea-fight and then marchedaway to Boeotia by the road whereby they hadcome ;for Mardonius was minded to give the kingsafe conduct, and deemed the time of year unseasonablefor war ;it was better, he thought, to