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493 BC
[5.104.1] All the
Cyprians too, excepting those of Amathus, of their own proper motion
espoused the Ionian cause. The occasion of their revolting from the Medes
was the following. There was a certain Onesilus, younger brother of Gorgus,
king of Salamis, and son of Chersis, who was son of Siromus, and grandson
of Evelthon. This man had often in former times entreated Gorgus to rebel
against the king; but, when he heard of the revolt of the Ionians, he left
him no peace with his importunity. As, however, Gorgus would not hearken to
him, he watched his occasion, and when his brother had gone outside the
town, he with his partisans closed the gates upon him. Gorgus, thus
deprived of his city, fled to the Medes; and Onesilus, being now king of
Salamis, sought to bring about a revolt of the whole of Cyprus. All were
prevailed on except the Amathusians, who refused to listen to him;
whereupon Onesilus sate down before Amathus, and laid siege to it.
[5.105.1] While
Onesilus was engaged in the siege of Amathus, King Darius received tidings
of the taking and burning of Sardis by the Athenians and Ionians; and at
the same time he learnt that the author of the league, the man by whom the
whole matter had been Planned and contrived, was Aristagoras the Milesian. It
is said that he no sooner understood what had happened, than, laying aside
all thought concerning the Ionians, who would, he was sure, pay dear for
their rebellion, he asked, "Who the Athenians were?" and, being
informed, called for his bow, and placing an arrow on the string, shot
upward into the sky, saying, as he let fly the shaft- "Grant me, Zeus,
to revenge myself on the Athenians!" After this speech, he bade one of
his servants every day, when his dinner was spread, three times repeat these
words to him- "Master, remember the Athenians."
[5.106.1] Then he
summoned into his presence Histiaeus if Miletus, whom he had kept at his
court for so long a time; and on his appearance addressed him thus "I
am told, O Histiaeus, that thy lieutenant, to whom thou hast given Miletus
in charge, has raised a rebellion against me. He has brought men from the
other continent to contend with me, and, prevailing on the Ionians- whose
conduct I shall know how to recompense- to join with this force, he has
robbed me of Sardis! [5.106.2] Is this as it should be, thinkest thou Or
can it have been done without thy knowledge and advice? Beware lest it be
found hereafter that the blame of these acts is thine." [5.106.3]
Histiaeus answered- "What words are these, O king, to which thou hast
given utterance? I advise aught from which unpleasantness of any kind,
little or great, should come to thee! What could I gain by so doing? Or
what is there that I lack now? Have I not all that thou hast, and am I not
thought worthy to partake all thy counsels? [5.106.4] If my lieutenant has
indeed done as thou sayest, be sure he has done it all of his own head. For
my part, I do not think it can really be that the Milesians and my
lieutenant have raised a rebellion against thee. But if they have indeed
committed aught to thy hurt, and the tidings are true which have come to
thee, judge thou how ill-advised thou wert to remove me from the sea-coast.
[5.106.5] The Ionians, it seems, have waited till I was no longer in sight,
and then sought to execute that which they long ago desired; whereas, if I
had been there, not a single city would have stirred. Suffer me then to
hasten at my best speed to Ionia, that I may place matters there upon their
former footing, and deliver up to thee the deputy of Miletus, who has
caused all the troubles. [5.106.6] Having managed this business to thy
heart's content, I swear by all the gods of thy royal house, I will not put
off the clothes in which I reach Ionia till I have made Sardinia, the
biggest island in the world, thy tributary."
[5.107.1] Histiaeus
spoke thus, wishing to deceive the king; and Darius, persuaded by his
words, let him go; only bidding him be sure to do as he had promised, and
afterwards come back to Susa.
[5.108.1] In the
meantime- while the tidings of the burning of Sardis were reaching the
king, and Darius was shooting the arrow and having the conference with
Histiaeus, and the latter, by permission of Darius, was hastening down to
the sea- in Cyprus the following events took place. Tidings came to
Onesilus, the Salaminian, who was still besieging Amathus, that a certain
Artybius, a Persian, was looked for to arrive in Cyprus with a great
Persian armament. So Onesilus, when the news reached him, sent off heralds
to all parts of Ionia, and besought the Ionians to give him aid. After
brief deliberation, these last in full force passed over into the island;
and the Persians about the same time crossed in their ships from Cilicia,
and proceeded by land to attack Salamis; while the Phoenicians, with the
fleet, sailed round the promontory which goes by the name of "the Keys
of Cyprus."
[5.109.1] In this
posture of affairs the princes of Cyprus called together the captains of
the Ionians, and thus addressed them:- "Men of Ionia, we Cyprians
leave it to you to choose whether you will fight with the Persians or with
the Phoenicians. [5.109.2] If it be your pleasure to try your strength on
land against the Persians, come on shore at once, and array yourselves for
the battle; we will then embark aboard your ships and engage the
Phoenicians by sea. If, on the other hand, ye prefer to encounter the
Phoenicians, let that be your task: only be sure, whichever part you
choose, to acquit yourselves so that Ionia and Cyprus, so far as depends on
you, may preserve their freedom." [5.109.3] The Ionians made answer-
"The commonwealth of Ionia sent us here to guard the sea, not to make
over our ships to you, and engage with the Persians on shore. We will
therefore keep the post which has been assigned to us, and seek therein to
be of some service. Do you, remembering what you suffered when you were the
slaves of the Medes, behave like brave warriors."
[5.110.1] Such was the
reply of the Ionians. Not long afterwards the Persians advanced into the
plain before Salamis, and the Cyprian kings ranged their troops in order of
battle against them, placing them so that while the rest of the Cyprians
were drawn up against the auxiliaries of the enemy, the choicest troops of
the Salaminians and the Solians were set to oppose the Persians. At the
same time Onesilus, of his own accord, took post opposite to Artybius, the
Persian general.
[5.111.1] Now Artybius
rode a horse which had been trained to rear up against a foot-soldier.
Onesilus, informed of this, called to him his shield-bearer, who was a
Carian by nation, a man well skilled in war, and of daring courage; and
thus addressed him:- "I hear," he said, "that the horse
which Artybius rides, rears up and attacks with his fore legs and teeth the
man against whom his rider urges him. Consider quickly therefore and tell
me which wilt thou undertake to encounter, the steed or the rider?"
Then the squire answered him, "Both, my liege, or either, am I ready
to undertake, and there is nothing that I will shrink from at thy bidding.
But I will tell thee what seems to me to make most for thy interests. As
thou art a prince and a general, I think thou shouldest engage with one who
is himself both a prince and also a general. For then, if thou slayest thine
adversary, 'twill redound to thine honour, and if he slays thee (which may
Heaven forefend!), yet to fall by the hand of a worthy foe(makes death lose
half its horror. To us, thy followers, leave his war-horse and his retinue.
And have thou no fear of the horse's tricks. I warrant that this is the
last time he will stand up against any one."
[5.112.1] Thus spake
the Carian; and shortly after, the two hosts joined battle both by sea and
land. And here it chanced that by sea the Ionians, who that day fought as
they have never done either before or since, defeated the Phoenicians, the
Samians especially distinguishing themselves. Meanwhile the combat had
begun on land, and the two armies were engaged in a sharp struggle, when
thus it fell out in the matter of the generals. Artybius, astride upon his
horse, charged down upon Onesilus, who, as he had agreed with his
shield-bearer, aimed his blow at the rider; the horse reared and placed his
fore feet upon the shield of Onesilus, when the Carian cut at him with a
reaping-hook, and severed the two legs from the body. The horse fell upon
the spot, and Artybius, the Persian general, with him.
[5.113.1] In the thick
of the fight, Stesanor, tyrant of Curium, who commanded no inconsiderable
body of troops, went over with them to the enemy. On this desertion of the
Curians- Argive colonists, if report says true- forthwith the war-chariots
of the Salaminians followed the examplm set them, and went over likewise;
whereupon victory declared in favour of the Persians; and the army of the
Cyprians being routed, vast numbers were slain, and among them Onesilus,
the son of Chersis, who was the author of the revolt, and Aristocyprus,
king of the Solians. This Aristocyprus was son of Philocyprus, whom Solon
the Athenian, when he visited Cyprus, praised in his poems beyond all other
sovereigns.
[5.114.1] The
Amathusians, because Onesilus had laid siege to their town, cut the head
off his corpse, and took it with them to Amathus, where it was set up over
the gates. Here it hung till it became hollow; whereupon a swarm of bees
took possession of it, and filled it with a honeycomb. On seeing this the
Amathusians consulted the oracle, and were commanded "to take down the
head and bury it, and thenceforth to regard Onesilus as a hero, and offer
sacrifice to him year by year; so it would go the better with them."
[5.115.1] And to this
day the Amathusians do as they were then bidden.As for the Ionians who had
gained the sea-fight, when they found that the affairs of Onesilus were
utterly lost and ruined, and tha| siege was laid to all the cities of
Cyprus excepting Salamis, which the inhabitants had surrendered to Gorgus,
the former king, forthwith they left Cyprus, and sailed away home. Of the
cities which were besieged, Soli held out the longest: the Persians took it
by undermining the wall in the fifth month from the beginning of the siege.
492 BC
[5.116.1] Thus, after
enjoying a year of freedom, the Cyprians were enslaved for the second time.
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