Anabasis

Thereupon Mithradates undertook to show that there was no possibility of their effecting a safe return unless the King so pleased. Then it became clear to the Greeks that his mission was a treacherous one; indeed, one of Tissaphernes’ relatives had followed along, to see that he kept faith.

The generals consequently decided that it was best to pass a decree that there should be no negotiations with the enemy in this war so long as they should be in the enemy’s country. For the barbarians kept coming and trying to corrupt the soldiers; in the case of one captain, Nicarchus the Arcadian, they actually succeeded, and he decamped during the night, taking with him about twenty men.

After this they took breakfast, crossed the Zapatas[*](cp. Xen. Anab. 2.5.1.) river, and set out on the march in the formation decided upon,[*](See Xen. Anab. 3.2.36.) with the baggage animals and the camp followers in the middle of the square. They had not proceeded far when Mithradates appeared again, accompanied by about two hundred horsemen and by bowmen and slingers—exceedingly active and nimble troops—to the number of four hundred.

He approached the Greeks as if he were a friend, but when his party had got close at hand, on a sudden some of them, horse and foot alike, began shooting with their bows and others with slings, and they inflicted wounds. And the Greek rearguard, while suffering severely, could not retaliate at all; for the Cretan[*](See Xen. Anab. 1.2.9. The Cretans were the most famous archers of antiquity.) bowmen not only had a shorter range than the Persians, but besides, since they had no armour, they were shut in within the lines of the hoplites; and the Greek javelin-men could not throw far enough to reach the enemy’s slingers.

Xenophon consequently decided that they must pursue the Persians, and this they did, with such of the hoplites and peltasts as were guarding the rear with him; but in their pursuit they failed to catch a single man of the enemy.

For the Greeks had no horsemen, and their foot-soldiers were not able to overtake the enemy’s foot-soldiers—since the latter had a long start in their flight—within a short distance; and a long pursuit, far away from the main Greek army, was not possible.

Again, the barbarian horsemen even while they were in flight would inflict wounds by shooting behind them from their horses; and whatever distance the Greeks might at any time cover in their pursuit, all that distance they were obliged to fall back fighting.

The result was that during the whole day they travelled not more than twenty-five stadia. They did arrive, however, towards evening at the villages.[*](i.e. those mentioned in Xen. Anab. 1.2.34.)Here again there was despondency. And Cheirisophus and the eldest of the generals found fault with Xenophon for leaving the main body of the army to undertake a pursuit, and thus endangering himself without being able, for all that, to do the enemy any harm.