Anabasis

From there the Greeks marched through the country of the Macronians three stages, ten parasangs. On the first of these days they reached the river which separated the territory of the Macronians from that of the Scythinians.

There they had on the right, above them, an exceedingly difficult bit of ground, and on the left another river, into which the boundary stream that they had to cross emptied. Now this stream was fringed with trees, not large ones, but of thick growth, and when the Greeks came up, they began felling them in their haste to get out of the place as speedily as possible.

But the Macronians, armed with wicker shields and lances and hair tunics, were drawn up in line of battle opposite the place where the Greeks must cross, and they were cheering one another on and throwing stones, which fell into the stream; for they never reached the Greeks or did them any harm.

At this moment one of the peltasts came up to Xenophon, a man who said that he had been a slave at Athens, with word that he knew the language of these people; I think, he went on, that this is my native country, and if there is nothing to hinder, I should like to have a talk with them.

Well, there is nothing to hinder, said Xenophon; so talk with them, and learn, to begin with, who they are. In reply to his inquiry they said, Macronians. Well, then, said Xenophon, ask them why they are arrayed against us and want to be our enemies.

They replied, Because you are coming against our land. The generals directed the man to say, We have not come to do you any harm whatever, but we have been at war with the King and are on our way back to Greece, and we want to reach the sea.

The Macronians asked whether they would give pledges to this effect. They replied that they were ready both to give and to receive pledges. Thereupon the Macronians gave the Greeks a barbarian lance and the Greeks gave them a Greek lance, for the Macronians said that these were pledges; and both sides called the gods to witness.