Anabasis

This city was besieged by the king[*](Cyrus the Great (558-529 B.C.).) of the Persians at the time when the Persians were seeking to wrest from the Medes their empire, but he could in no way capture it. A cloud, however, overspread the sun and hid it from sight until the inhabitants abandoned their city; and thus it was taken.

Near by this city was a pyramid of stone, a plethrum in breadth and two plethra in height; and upon this pyramid were many barbarians who had fled away from the neighbouring villages.

From this place they marched one stage, six parasangs, to a great stronghold, deserted and lying in ruins. The name of this city was Mespila,[*](The ruins which Xenophon saw here were those of Nineveh, the famous capital of the Assyrian Empire. It is curious to find him dismissing this great Assyrian city (as well as Calah above) with the casual and misleading statement that it was once inhabited by the Medes. In fact, the capture of Nineveh by the Medes (c. 600 B.C.) was the precise event which closed the important period of its history, and it remained under the control of the Medes only during the succeeding half-century, i.e. until the Median Empire was in its turn overthrown by the Persians (549 B.C.). Xenophon, then, goes but one unimportant step backward in his historical note—perhaps because he did not care to go farther, perhaps because he was unable to do so.) and it was once inhabited by the Medes. The foundation of its wall was made of polished stone full of shells, and was fifty feet in breadth and fifty in height.

Upon this foundation was built a wall of brick, fifty feet in breadth and a hundred in height; and the circuit of the wall was six parasangs. Here, as the story goes, Medea, the king’s[*](Astyages, the last king of Media.) wife, took refuge at the time when the Medes were deprived of their empire by the Persians.

To this city also the king of the Persians laid siege, but he was unable to capture it either by length of siege or by storm; Zeus, however, terrified the inhabitants with thunder, and thus the city was taken.

From this place they marched one stage, four parasangs. In the course of this stage Tissaphernes made his appearance, having under his command the cavalry which he had himself brought with him,[*](i.e. from his province in Asia Minor, when he came to inform Artaxerxes of Cyrus’ designs against him. See Xen. Anab. 1.2.4.) the troops of Orontas,[*](cp. Xen. Anab. 2.4.8.) who was married to the King’s daughter, the barbarians whom Cyrus had brought with him on his upward march, and those with whom the King’s brother had come to the aid of the King[*](cp. Xen. Anab. 2.4.25.); besides these contingents Tissaphernes had all the troops that the King had given him; the result was, that his army appeared exceedingly large.

When he got near the Greeks, he stationed some of his battalions in their rear and moved others into position on their flanks; then, although he could not muster up the courage to close with them and had no desire to risk a decisive battle, he ordered his men to discharge their slings and let fly their arrows.

But when the Rhodian slingers and the bowmen, posted at intervals here and there, sent back an answering volley, and not a man among them missed his mark (for even if he had been very eager to do so, it would not have been easy),[*](i.e. on account of the dense throng of the enemy.) then Tissaphernes withdrew out of range with all speed, and the other battalions followed his example.

For the rest of the day the one army continued its march and the other its pursuit. And the barbarians were no longer[*](cp. Xen. Anab. 3.3.7-10.) able to do any harm by their skirmishing at long range; for the Rhodian slingers carried farther with their missiles than the Persians, farther even than the Persian bowmen.

The Persian bows are also[*](Xenophon remarks in Xen. Anab. 3.3.17 upon the large size of the stones employed in the Persian slings. The word also (καὶ) can hardly refer back to that remark, but it may be that some further observation of the same sort in the original text (see critical note) of the present passage served to introduce what Xenophon now goes on to say about the Persian bows. It is implied in consequently (ὥστε) that the Cretan bows were of approximately the same size as those of the Persians.) large, and consequently the Cretans could make good use of all the arrows that fell into their hands; in fact, they were continually using the enemy’s arrows, and practised themselves in long-range work by shooting them into the air.[*](So that the arrows could be easily recovered.) In the villages, furthermore, the Greeks found gut in abundance and lead for the use of their slingers.

As for that day’s doings, when the Greeks came upon some villages and proceeded to encamp, the barbarians withdrew, having had the worst of it in the skirmishing. The following day the Greeks remained quiet and collected supplies, for there was an abundance of corn in the villages. On the day thereafter they continued their march through the plain, and Tissaphernes hung upon their rear and kept up the skirmishing.

Then it was that the Greeks found out that a square is a poor formation when an enemy is following. For if the wings draw together, either because a road is unusually narrow or because mountains or a bridge make it necessary, it is inevitable that the hoplites should be squeezed out of line and should march with difficulty, inasmuch as they are crowded together and are likewise in confusion; the result is that, being in disorder, they are of little service.

Furthermore, when the wings draw apart again, those who were lately squeezed out are inevitably scattered, the space between the wings is left unoccupied, and the men affected are out of spirits when an enemy is close behind them. Again, as often as the army had to pass over a bridge or make any other crossing, every man would hurry, in the desire to be the first one across, and that gave the enemy a fine chance to make an attack.

When the generals came to realize these difficulties, they formed six companies of a hundred men each and put a captain at the head of each company, adding also platoon and squad commanders.[*](i.e. commanders of fifties and twenty-fives, or of half and quarter companies.) Then in case the wings drew together on the march,[*](The formation is a hollow square. Xenophon means by wings (κέρατα, here and above) the right and left ends of the division which formed the front of the square, and by flanks (πλευραί) the divisions which formed the sides of the square. Apparently three of the special companies were stationed at the middle of the front side of the square (cp. 43 below) and the other three in the corresponding position at the rear.) these companies would drop back, so as not to interfere with the wings, and for the time being would move along behind the wings;

and when the flanks of the square drew apart again, they would fill up the space between the wings, by companies in case this space was rather narrow, by platoons in case it was broader, or, if it was very broad, by squads[*](The squad, or quarter company, consisting of 25 men (i.e. 24 the leader), normally marched three abreast, i.e. with a front of three and a depth of eight. The company might be formed in any one of three ways: (a) one squad front and four deep, (b) two squads front and two deep, or (c) four squads front and one deep. Three companies ranged alongside one another in formation (a) would thus have a front of three squads or nine men, in formation (b) a front of eighteen men, and in formation (c) a front of thirty-six men. It is these three dispositions of the three special companies at the front of the square which Xenophon terms, respectively, by companies, by platoons, and by squads.)—the idea being, to have the gap filled up in any event.

Again, if the army had to make some crossing or to pass over a bridge, there was no confusion, but each company crossed over in its turn; and if any help was needed in any part of the army, these troops would make their way to the spot. In this fashion the Greeks proceeded four stages.

In the course of the fifth stage they caught sight of a palace of some sort, with many villages round about it, and they observed that the road to this place passed over high hills, which stretched down from the mountain at whose foot the villages were situated. And the Greeks were well pleased to see the hills, as was natural considering that the enemy’s force was cavalry;[*](Which is most effective in a level country.)

when, however, in their march out of the plain they had mounted to the top of the first hill, and were descending it, so as to ascend the next, at this moment the barbarians came upon them and down from the hilltop discharged their missiles and sling-stones and arrows, fighting under the lash.[*](Like Xerxes’ troops at Thermopylae (Hdt. 7.223).)

They not only inflicted many wounds, but they got the better of the Greek light troops and shut them up within the lines of the hoplites, so that these troops, being mingled with the non-combatants, were entirely useless throughout that day, slingers and bowmen alike.

And when the Greeks, hard-pressed as they were, undertook to pursue the attacking force, they reached the hilltop but slowly, being heavy troops, while the enemy sprang quickly out of reach;