86i G R E 
the fafety, and defpifcd the refentment, of their north, 
ern allies. 
. The i^thcniaqs, a fecond time forfaken by their con- 
federates, were obliged again to defert tlieir country. 
They had fcarcely failed to their families in Salamis, 
when Attica was again invaded by the Perfians. While 
the fugitives continued in that ifland, they received 
another embafTy from Mardonius, offering them the 
fame terms vvliich they had formerly rejected. They 
ftill perfilled in rejecting them ; in confequence of which, 
they beheld, without apparent uneafinefs, from the fltores 
ol Salamis, their territories again laid wafte; their ci¬ 
ties and temples devoted to the flames; and every thing 
that had efcaped the fury of the fird invafion, deftroyed 
by tile fecond. After committing thefe ravages, Mar¬ 
donius returned into Bocotia, that his troops-niight be 
fupplied witli provifions, and that, fliould the enemy 
offer battle, tiiey might engage in a country better 
adapted than Attica to the operations of cavalry. Whe¬ 
ther tlie eloquence of the ambafladors fentby the Athe¬ 
nians to the Spartan fenate on this diftrefling occafion, 
or the returning fenfe of public utility, overcame the 
pufillanimons refolutions formerly embraced by the 
Spartans, is uncertain ; bat they now firll determined 
to take the field. Five thoufand Spartan pike-men were 
accompanied by thirty-five thoufand helots. Their 
Peloponnelian allies fent their refpeftive contingents ; 
fo that the heavy-armed men railed in the peninfula 
exceeded twenty thoufand, commanded by Paufanias, 
the guardian and kinfman of Pliftarchus, fon of Leo¬ 
nidas. Having marched beyond the ifihmus, they were 
joined by Ari'ftides at the head of eight thoufand Athe¬ 
nians, and by a fuperior number of their allies of Me- 
gara, Thelpia;, Platasa, Salamis, Euboea, and .®gina. 
'i'he wliole heavy-armed troops amounted to nearly 
forty tlioufand ; the light-armed were the thirty-five 
thoufand helots, attendants on the Spartans, and about 
as niany more, one to each foldier, attended the other 
divifions of the army. 
Mardonuis, having marched into Boeotia, encamped 
on the baiiKs of the yEfopus. His army of three luin- 
dred thoufand men, while they waited the enemy’s ap¬ 
proach, were employed in building a fquare fortifica¬ 
tion, about five quarters of a mile in front ; a work of 
little utility, fmee it could only defend a fmall portion 
of a camp w hich extended many miles, from the Theban 
town of Erythnca, to the. territory of the Platteans. 
”1 lie Greeks, having arrived in thofe parts, took port: at 
the toot of mount Citheroii, direiflly oppolite to the 
enemy. The hoftile armies remained eleven days in 
their encampments, facing each other. The Medes and 
Perlians encamped on the plain, liontiiig the Spartans : 
the Grecian auxiliaries were placed i/ii direft oppofition 
to tlie Athenians. It is eafy to perceive, even at this 
difiance of time, the reulon of Inch an arrangement. 
The Perfians avoided to encounter the Athenian bra¬ 
very, which they had already fatally experienced in the 
field of Marathon; and as tlie Thebans were . tlie moft 
powerful of their foreign allies, as well as the in¬ 
veterate enemies of Athens, it was tliought proper to 
oppofe tliem to that fide on which the Athenians were 
polled. 
The fame reafons which made INfardoniits defire to 
preferve, made the fugacious Paufanias willi to alter, 
the relative dilpofitipn of tiieir refpeCtive troops. Ex¬ 
cepting ill the glorious conteft at 'I'liennopylte, in wliich 
they devoted thenii' Ives to deatli for tiie fafety of their 
country, tlie Spartans had never contended ivith the 
Medes; but they had often fought and conquered the 
Boeotians. Patifaiiias therefore defired tiie Atlienians 
to change places wiili liis countrymen. Tliis requeft 
was cheerfully complietl with ; but other circtiiiiffances 
fowed dilienfion in tlic Aiiicnian camp. The quiet like- 
wife of tl.ie Lacedaniioniaiis was diflurbed by tlie quar¬ 
rels between Paufanias and Anomphuretus, the Spartan 
E C E. 
next in command ; and confipiring with tliefe internal 
animofities, the Perfian horfe beat up their quarters, in¬ 
tercepted their convoys, and, by an unexpected iiicur- 
fion, deftroyed their watering-place. It thus became 
neceffary again to decamp. The obfeurity of midnight 
was chofen as the nioft convenient time for effecting this 
purpofe ; and the deftiiied place of retreat was a narrow 
flip of ground lying towards the fource of the aEfopus, 
and confined between that river and mount Citheron. 
This pelt was at leafl preferred by the majority ; for 
the Greeks were by no means unanimous ; fo that, when 
the march was ordered, many of the allies abandoned 
their leaders ; others took refuge in the neighbouring 
temples, to elude the purfuit of the horfe ; while 
Anompharetus the Spartan declared, “That neither he, 
nor the divifion under his command, fliould‘ever fly 
from the enemy:’’ and in confequence of its difperfion 
in fo many different direClions, the Grecian army pre- 
fented next morning the appearance, not of a regular 
march, but of a flight or rout. 
Mardonius was firfl apprifed that the Greeks had 
changed their order of battle ; and he was next informed 
that they had abandoned their camp. Not doubting 
that fear had precipitated their retreat, he ordered bis 
foldiers to purfue the fugitives, and to complete the 
victory. The Lacedaemonians and Athenians were flill 
within his reach; the former near the foot of the moun¬ 
tain, the latter in the middle of the plain. Having fent 
his Grecian auxiliaries, amounting to fifty thoufand, 
agaiiift the Athenians, he advanced with the braved of 
the PerliaM troops againft that portion of the enemy 
which had fiiewn an anxious folicitiide to avoid his arms. 
Never did the contrafl appear greater, than in the op- 
pofite appearance and behaviour of 'he hoftile armies 
on this occafion. The barbarians, ill armed, and totally 
ignorant of difeipline, advanced without order, and with 
a loud iiifulting noife. The Lacednsmoiiians, carefully 
covered with their fliields, patiently received the darts 
and javelins wliich the enemy threw upon them. B-tit 
as foon as Paufanias, cafting his eyes towards a neigh¬ 
bouring temple of Juno, and devoutly entreating the 
protection of the goddefs, gave the fignal to engage, 
the Spartans proceeded with intrepidity to clofe with 
their opponents. The Perfians, reinforced by the 
Sacas, a Scythian tribe, fuftained the attack with great 
bravery. Immenfe numbers were (lain; but new num¬ 
bers, fucceeded, crowding together in tumultuous dif- 
order, and making an hideous outcry, as if they had 
intended to tear in pieces and devour the enemy. Mar¬ 
donius, mounted on a white deed of uncommon fwift- 
nefs, was difiinguiflied in every part of the battle by the 
fplcndour of his appearance, but ftill more by deeds of 
fignal valour. He was attended by a thoufand horfe- 
nien, confiding of the flower of the Perfian nobility, all 
alike ambitious to imitate the example, and to emulate 
the fame, of tlieir leader. Had their (kill been equal 
to tlieir courage, or had they previoudy bedowed as 
much pains in difcipliiiing their troops, as in improving 
their own agility and addrefs, cither the Greeks mud 
have been conquered, or the battle remained doubtful. 
But the barbarians aCfed without union or concert; and 
as they fought fingly, were fnccefiively defeated. It is 
the nature, and the greated difadvantage, of cavalry, 
not to iiicreafe in force in proportion to the reduplica¬ 
tion of their ranks. The Grecian phalanx, on the other" 
hand, received an accedioii of drenglh from every addi¬ 
tion to its depth ; the ranks behind fupported thofe be¬ 
fore ; no power was mil-(pent or unexerted: and tlie 
effect might be continually augmented, till it became 
irre(idible. Availing themfelves of this circumdance, 
the Lacedaemonians thickened their ranks, extended 
tlieir fpears, fudained the thock, and penetrated tlie 
depth, of the braved Perfian fquadron. Mardonius fell 
by the arm of the Spartan Aieinmelhis. The death of 
the general was immediately followed by the defeat oY 
