Histories

He dismissed from command Mardonius, who had fared so badly on his expedition, and appointed other generals to lead his armies against Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens and +Eretria [23.8083,38.3917] (Perseus) Eretria, Datis, a Mede by birth, and his own nephew Artaphrenes son of Artaphrenes; the order he gave them at their departure was to enslave Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens and +Eretria [23.8083,38.3917] (Perseus) Eretria and bring the slaves into his presence.

When these appointed generals on their way from the king reached the Aleian plain in Cilicia [34.333,36.666] (region (general)), Turkey, AsiaCilicia, bringing with them a great and well-furnished army, they camped there and were overtaken by all the fleet that was assigned to each; there also arrived the transports for horses, which in the previous year Darius had bidden his tributary subjects to make ready.

Having loaded the horses into these, and embarked the land army in the ships, they sailed to Ionia (region (general)), Europe Ionia with six hundred triremes. From there they held their course not by the mainland and straight towards the Canakkale Bogazi (strait), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Hellespont and Thrace (region (general)), EuropeThrace, but setting forth from +Nisos Samos [26.8,37.75] (island), Samos, Aegean Islands, Greece, Europe Samos they sailed by the Icarian sea and from island to island; this, to my thinking, was because they feared above all the voyage around +Mount Athos [24.316,40.166] (inhabited place), Pangaion Oros, Macedonia, Greece, Europe Athos, seeing that in the previous year they had come to great disaster by holding their course that way; moreover, +Nisos Naxos [25.583,32.33] (island), Cyclades, Aegean Islands, Greece, Europe Naxos was still unconquered and constrained them.