HERODOTUS

BOOK VIII. 22-24to fight against the land of your fathers and bringslavery upon Hellas. Jt were best of all that youshould join yourselves to us ;but if that be impossiblefor you, then do you even now withdrawyourselves from the war, and entreat the Cariansto do the same as you. If neither of these thingsmay be, and you are fast bound by such constraintthat you cannot rebel, yet we pray you not to useyour full strength in the day of battle ;be mindfulthat you are our sons and that our quarrel with theforeigner was of your making in the beginning."To my thinking Themistocles thus wrote with adouble intent, that if the king knew nought of thewriting it might make the lonians to change sidesand join with the Greeks, and that if the writingwere maliciously reported to Xerxes he might therebybe led to mistrust the lonians, and keep them outof the sea-fights.23. Such was Themistocles' writing. Immediatelyafter this there came to the foreigners a man ofHistiaea in a boat, telling them of the flight of theGreeks from Artemisium. Not believing this, theykept the bringer of the news in ward, and sentswift ships to spy out the matter and when the;crews of these brought word of the truth, on learningthat, the whole armada at the first spreading of sunlightsailed all together to Artemisium, where havingwaited tillmidday, they next sailed to Histiaea, andon their coming took possession of the Histiaeans'city,and overran all the villages on the seaboard ofthe*Ellopian region, which is the land of Histiaea.24. While they were there, Xerxes sent a herald1The northern half of Euboea, including the district ofHistiaea.23