A T T I 
troops. Ten days intervened between this aftion and the 
general engagement. Artabazus was of opinion, that the 
Pcrlians ought to avoid a general battle ; but Mardonius, 
a man of a violent fiery difpofition, thought otherwife. 
Paufanias and Ariftides, informed ol the defign of the 
Perfians to attack them, drew up their army near to the 
city of PI a tea ; which Mardonius perceiving, he changed 
the intended order of his attack. That day was wholly 
taken up with thefe evolutions. But the Greeks, finding 
themfelves ftraitened for water in their prefent fituation, 
refolved to decamp. Mardonius, believing this movement 
to be a flight, immediately advanced with his men, ut¬ 
tering loud fhouts, and charged the rear of the Greek 
army, compofed of the Lacedemonians ; who, forming 
themfelves into a column, oppofed the enemy, and, fall¬ 
ing on the Perfians with the greateft fury, made a dreadful 
flaughter. - Mardonius fell in the beginning of the adtion. 
The main body of the Greek army advancing in the mean 
time to the charge, in feparate detachments, completed 
the overthrow of the Perfians. In another quarter of the 
field, the 40,000 Greeks in the Perfian fervice, who were 
engaged with the troops commanded by Arifiides, hearing 
of the flight of the Perfians, followed their example, and 
retreated likewife; but rallied in their camp, and there 
intrenched themfelves. The Lacedemonians, however, 
fupported by the Athenians, attacked and forced their 
intrenchments ; after which nothing was to be feen but a 
general maflacre: for the Perfians, being too numerous to 
be made prifoners, received no quarter, and were all put 
to the fword. Artabazus, after diftinguifliing himfelf both 
as a fkilfttl officer and as a brave foldier, collected the 
fcattered remains of the Perfian army, amounting now to 
no more than 44,000 men, and returned with all expedi¬ 
tion towards Perfia. The lofs of the Greeks in this en¬ 
gagement was about 10,000 men. 
The Perfian fleet having, in the mean time, failed to¬ 
wards Samos ; that of the Greeks, under the command of 
Leotychides the Lacedemonian, and Xantippus the Athe¬ 
nian, advanced as far as Delos. The Perfians, hearing of 
the approach of the Greeks, retired to Mycale in Afia 
Minor, where they drew their veflels on ffiore, and fur- 
rounded them with a deep ditch. The Greeks, however, 
purfued them thither ; and, with the afliftance of the 
Ionians, attacked them. The battle was at firft bravely 
fought on both fides ; but the Milefians and Samians, fol¬ 
lowed by the reft of the Afiatic Greeks, having deferted 
from the Perfians, the latter were vanquiffied, and 40,000 
of them cut in pieces. The Athenians took polfeffion of 
the enemy’s camp, burnt the Perfian fleet, and returned 
to Samos with a vaft deal of plunder. This engagement 
happened on the fame day with that of Platea. Thus did 
that memorable day for ever free Attica from any future 
Perfian invaiions, and deliver them from thofe innumera¬ 
ble armies, which, like clouds of locufts, had confumed 
their country for two whole years. Thefe grievous de¬ 
feats were never forgotten by the Perfian monarchs ; and 
they entirely cured Xerxes of all defire of undertaking any 
other enterprifes of the fame kind; while, on the other 
hand, the fevere effedts of tyranny, formerly experienced 
by the Athenians, had excited in them fuch a firong de¬ 
fire of liberty, that to preferve it they boldly hazarded 
the greateft dangers. The'lr bravery, however, was ad¬ 
mirably fupported and conducted by the wifdom and (kill 
of their generals, who were particularly attentive to choofe 
fuch a fituation for giving battle, that the enemy could 
not much avail themfelves of their vaft fuperiority in 
point of numbers. n 
The Athenians, having now recovered perfect tranquil¬ 
lity, brought back their wives and children to Athens ; 
of which they rebuilt the walls, and confiderably increa¬ 
sed the extent. The Lacedemonians taking umbrage at 
this, from an apprehenfion left Athens ftiould become too 
powerful, reprefented to the Athenians, that it was the 
general intereft of Greece to have no fortified place with¬ 
out the Peloponnefe, becaufe, in cafe of a frefti invafion. 
Vol. II. No. 85. 
C A. 509 
it might ferve for a retreat and warlike magazine to the 
enemy. Themiftocles having procured himfelf to be 
named ambalfador to Lacedemon, there,'to juftify the con- 
dudt of his countrymen, maintained in open fenate, that it 
was as much for the common advantage of the allies as 
for that of the Athenians, that the latter had fortified 
their city with good walls; that befides, it was but equi¬ 
table that they, as well as the reft, ftiould take proper 
meafures for their own fafety ; and, in fine, that they were 
able to defend themfelves either againft foreign ordomef- 
tic enemies. 
In the next place,Themiftocles, folely intent on increaling 
the power of the republic, fortified the Pyreum, or port of 
Athens, in the fame manner as he had done the city; and 
perfuaded the Athenians to augment their fleet yearly with 
twenty Iliips. The objedt of this Jkilful politician, was to 
deprive the Lacedemonians of the fuperiority hitherto pof- 
felted by them over the other ftates of Greece. But it 
mull be confefled, that he was not very fcrupulous with 
regard to the means employed by him for that purpofe. 
An inftance of this was his projedt of burning the Grecian 
fleet in the harbour of Pegazus, whither it had retired to 
winter after the defeat of Mardonius ; but, not daring 
openly to propofe this fcheme, lie was defired by the peo¬ 
ple to communicate the matter privately to Arifiides; who 
declared that the project of Themiftocles was highly tife- 
ful, but very unjuft. Themiftocles was therefore prohi¬ 
bited from putting it in execution. How becoming, thus 
to fee a whole ftate prefer what was juft to what was life- 
ful! and what a high idea of the jufiice of Ariftides muft 
we not conceive, when we fee him chofen fingly by a whole 
people, to determine whether a project of the utmoft na¬ 
tional importance was juft or unjuft ! 
Ariftides, having nothing in view but the welfare of his 
country, was continually employed in promoting her inte- 
refts. His prudence prevented difturbances that were 
likely to arife in Athens by the turbulent difpofition of 
the people, who, finding themfelves now in peace and fe- 
curity, defired to take the w hole power of government in¬ 
to their own hands. To thefe projects they were chiefly 
inftigated by Themiftocles, partly from motives of oppo- 
fition to his rival Ariftides, who fupported the party of 
the better fort; but principally from partiality to the par¬ 
ty of the commons, to which his birth naturally attached 
him. Ariftides, to quiet them, procured the office of 
arclion, hitherto confined to the richer tribes, to be ren¬ 
dered attainable by every rank in the ftate. By this con- 
ceftion he, for the prefent, fatisfied the people, and di¬ 
verted them from a fcheme that muft infallibly have oc» 
cafioned a civil war. 
As the Perfians were ftill in poffeflion of fome cities in 
Afia Minor, the Athenians and Lacedemonians refolved 
to difpoffefs them ; and, for that purpofe, fent out a fleet 
under the command of Paufanias, Ariftides, and Cimon 
the fon of Miltiades. This expedition was attended with 
the defired fuccefs, and the Perfian garrifons were every 
where expelled. Then the fleet failed up the Hellefpont, 
and attacked Byzantium, which Paufanias had the glory 
of taking. But the haughty difpofition natural to that 
Spartan appeared to be greatly increafed by his late fuc¬ 
cefs. He treated the officers in the moll arrogant and 
overbearing manner, and loon became perfedlly unfupport- 
able. This exceffive pride ftained the glory of his actions, 
and at laft brought on his ruin. For, defirous to become 
the fon-in-law of Xerxes, his vanity induced him to betray 
his country, and he offered to make that monarch mafter 
of Sparta, and of all the reft of Greece, on condition of 
receiving his daughter in marriage, and of being invefied 
witli fovereign authority over the country he ftiould thus 
betray. Xerxes embraced the propofiri, and tranfmitted 
to Paufanias large fums of money, to enable him to make 
good his engagements. The plot, however, was difeo- 
vered; but as the Lacedemonians could not, for the pre¬ 
fent, procure fufficient evidence of his treafon to juftify a 
capital punifliment, they were fatisfied with depofing him, 
6 O The 
