Anabasis

One man in particular, pretending to be in a hurry to proceed back to Greece with all speed, proposed that they should choose other generals as quickly as possible, in case Clearchus did not wish to lead them back; secondly, that they should buy provisions—the market was in the barbarian army!—and pack up their baggage; then, to go to Cyrus and ask for vessels to sail away in; and if he would not give them vessels, to ask him for a guide to lead them homeward through a country that was friendly; and if he would not give them a guide, either, to form in line of battle with all speed and likewise to send a force to occupy the mountain heights in advance, in order that neither Cyrus nor the Cilicians should forestall them— and we have in our possession, he said, many of these Cilicians and much of their property that we have seized as plunder. Such were the words of this speaker.

After him Clearchus said merely this: Let no one among you speak of me as the man who is to hold this command, for I see many reasons why I should not do so; say rather that I shall obey to the best of my ability the man whom you choose, in order that you may know that I understand as well as any other person in the world how to be a subordinate also.

After he had spoken another man arose to point out the foolishness of the speaker who had urged them to ask for vessels, just as if Cyrus were going home again, and to point out also how foolish it was to ask for a guide from this man whose enterprise we are ruining. Indeed, if we propose to trust the guide that Cyrus gives us, what is to hinder us from directing Cyrus also to occupy the heights for us in advance?

For my part, I should hesitate to embark on the vessels that he might give us, for fear of his sinking us with his war-ships, and I should be afraid to follow the guide that he might give, for fear of his leading us to a place from which it will not be possible to escape; my choice would be, in going off without Cyrus’ consent, to go off without his knowledge—and that is not possible.

Now in my own opinion the plans just proposed are nonsense; rather, I think we should send to Cyrus men of the proper sort, along with Clearchus, to ask him what use he wishes to make of us; and if his enterprise is like the sort of one in which he employed mercenaries before,[*](As described in Xen. Anab. 1.1.2.) I think that we also should follow him and not be more cowardly than those who went up with him on the former occasion;

if, however, his enterprise is found to be greater and more laborious and more dangerous than the former one, we ought to demand that he should either offer sufficient persuasion[*](i.e. in the form of extra pay.) and lead us on with him, or yield to our persuasion and let us go home in friendship; for in this way, if we should follow him, we should follow as friends and zealous supporters, and if we should go back, we should go back in safety. I propose, further, that our representatives should report back to us whatever reply he may make, and that we after hearing it should deliberate about the matter.

This plan was adopted, and they chose representatives and sent them with Clearchus; and they proceeded to put to Cyrus the questions resolved upon by the army. He replied that he had heard that Abrocomas, a foe of his, was at the Euphrates river, twelve stages distant. It was against him, therefore, he said, that he desired to march. And if he were there, he wished to inflict due punishment upon him; but if he has fled, he continued, we will deliberate about the matter then and there.

Upon hearing this reply the deputies reported it to the soldiers, and they, while suspecting that Cyrus was leading them against the King, nevertheless thought it best to follow him. They asked, however, for more pay, and Cyrus promised to give them all half as much again as they had been receiving before, namely, a daric and a half a month to each man instead of a daric; but as regards the suspicion that he was leading them against the King, no one heard it expressed even then—at any rate, not openly.

Thence he marched two stages, ten parasangs, to the Psarus river, the width of which was three plethra. From there he marched one stage, five parasangs, to the Pyramus river, the width of which was a stadium.[*](The stadium = 582 1/2 English feet.) From there he marched two stages, fifteen parasangs, to Issus, the last city in Cilicia, a place situated on the sea, and large and prosperous.

There they remained three days; and the ships from Peloponnesus[*](See Xen. Anab. 1.2.21.) arrived to meet Cyrus, thirty-five in number, with Pythagoras the Lacedaemonian as admiral in command of them. They had been guided from Ephesus to Issus by Tamos the Egyptian, who was at the head of another fleet of twenty-five ships belonging to Cyrus—these latter being the ships with which Tamos had besieged Miletus, at the time when it was friendly to Tissaphernes,[*](See Xen. Anab. 1.1.7.) and had supported Cyrus in his war upon Tissaphernes.

Cheirisophus the Lacedaemonian also arrived with this fleet, coming in response to Cyrus’ summons,[*](See note on Xen. Anab. 1.2.21. These seven hundred hoplites under Cheirisophus had been sent by the Lacedaemonian authorities to aid Cyrus, and were the only troops in his army which stood in any official connection with any Greek state.) together with seven hundred hoplites, over whom he continued to hold command in the army of Cyrus. And the ships lay at anchor alongside Cyrus’ tent. It was at Issus also that the Greek mercenaries who had been in the service of Abrocomas—four hundred hoplites—joined Cyrus, after deserting Abrocomas, and so bore a share in his expedition against the King.

Thence he marched one stage, five parasangs, to the Gates between Cilicia and Syria. These Gates consisted of two walls; the one on the hither, or Cilician, side was held by Syennesis and a garrison of Cilicians, while the one on the farther, the Syrian, side was reported to be guarded by a garrison of the King’s troops. And in the space between these walls flows a river named the Carsus, a plethrum in width. The entire distance from one wall to the other was three stadia; and it was not possible to effect a passage by force, for the pass was narrow, the walls reached down to the sea, and above the pass were precipitous rocks, while, besides, there were towers upon both the walls.

It was because of this pass that Cyrus had sent for the fleet, in order that he might disembark hoplites between and beyond the walls and thus overpower the enemy if they should be keeping guard at the Syrian Gates—and that was precisely what Cyrus supposed Abrocomas would do, for he had a large army. Abrocomas, however, did not do so, but as soon as he heard that Cyrus was in Cilicia, he turned about in his journey from Phoenicia[*](Of which Abrocomas was satrap.) and marched off to join the King, with an army, so the report ran, of three hundred thousand men.

Thence Cyrus marched one stage, five parasangs, to Myriandus, a city on the sea coast, inhabited by Phoenicians; it was a trading place, and many merchant ships were lying at anchor there. There he remained seven days;

and Xenias the Arcadian and Pasion the Megarian embarked upon a ship, put on board their most valuable effects, and sailed away; they were moved to do this, as most people thought, by a feeling of jealous pride, because their soldiers had gone over to Clearchus[*](See Xen. Anab. 1.3.7.) with the intention of going back to Greece again instead of proceeding against the King, and Cyrus had allowed Clearchus to keep them. After they had disappeared, a report went round that Cyrus was pursuing them with warships; and while some people prayed that they might be captured, because, as they said, they were cowards, yet others felt pity for them if they should be caught.

Cyrus, however, called the generals together and said: Xenias and Pasion have deserted us. But let them, nevertheless, know full well that they have not escaped from me—either by stealth, for I know in what direction they have gone, or by speed, for I have men-of-war with which I can overtake their craft. But for my part, I swear by the gods that I shall not pursue them, nor shall anyone say about me that I use a man so long as he is with me and then, when he wants to leave me, seize him and maltreat him and despoil him of his possessions. Nay, let them go, with the knowledge that their behaviour toward us is worse than ours toward them. To be sure, I have their wives and children under guard in Tralles,[*](A city in Caria.) but I shall not deprive them of these, either, for they shall receive them back because of their former excellence in my service.

Such were his words; as for the Greeks, even those who had been somewhat despondent in regard to the upward march, when they heard of the magnanimity of Cyrus they continued on their way with greater satisfaction and eagerness.After this Cyrus marched four stages, twenty parasangs, to the Chalus river, which is a plethrum in width and full of large, tame fish; these fish the Syrians regarded as gods, and they would not allow anyone to harm them, or the doves, either.[*](According to the legend, the Syrian goddess Derceto had been transformed into a fish, and her daughter, Semiramis, into a dove.) And the villages in which the troops encamped belonged to Parysatis, for they had been given her for girdle-money.[*](cp. the English pin-money.)

From there Cyrus marched five stages, thirty parasangs, to the sources of the Dardas river, the width of which is a plethrum. There was the palace of Belesys, the late ruler of Syria, and a very large and beautiful park containing all the products of the seasons. But Cyrus cut down the park and burned the palace.

Thence he marched three stages, fifteen parasangs, to the Euphrates river, the width of which was four stadia; and on the river was situated a large and prosperous city named Thapsacus. There he remained five days. And Cyrus summoned the generals of the Greeks and told them that the march was to be to Babylon, against the Great King; he directed them, accordingly, to explain this to the soldiers and try to persuade them to follow.

So the generals called an assembly and made this announcement; and the soldiers were angry with the generals, and said that they had known about this for a long time, but had been keeping it from the troops; furthermore, they refused to go on unless they were given money,[*](The troops are not now asking for additional pay, as at Tarsus (Xen. Anab. 1.3.21), but for a special donation. See below.) as were the men who made the journey with Cyrus before,[*](See Xen. Anab. 1.1.2.) when he went to visit his father; they had received the donation, even though they marched, not to battle, but merely because Cyrus’ father summoned him.