ght; but when at last
the battle began, it was a grand victory, and was gained in a wonderfully
short time. The Spartans killed Mardonius, and put the best Persian
troops, called the Immortals, to flight; and the Athenians, under
Aristides, fought with the Thebans, who had joined the Persian army. The
whole Persian camp was sacked. The Helots were sent to collect the
spoil, and put it all together. They stole a good deal of the gold,
which they took for brass, and sold it as such. Waggon-loads of silver
and gold vessels were to be seen; collars, bracelets, and rich armour;
and the manger of Xerxes' horses, which he had left behind, and which was
of finely-worked brass. Pausanias bade the slaves of Mardonius to
prepare such a feast as their master was used to, and then called his
friends to see how useless were all the carpets, cushions, curtains, gold
and silver, and the dainties upon them, and how absurd it was to set out
on a conquering expedition thus encumbered.

A tenth part of the spoil was set apart for Apollo, and formed into a
golden tripod, supported by a brazen serpent with three heads. A great
statue of Jupiter was sent to Olympia, the pedestal adorned with the
names of all the cities which had sent men to the battle, and such
another of Neptune was set up on the Isthmus; while a temple to Athene,
adorned with pictures of the battle, was built on the spot near Plataea.
Pausanias received a sample of all that was best of the spoil. Among the
dead was found that one Spartan who had missed Thermopylae. He had been
miserable ever since, and only longed to die in battle, as now he had
done. The Plataeans were to be respected by all the other states of
Greece, so long as they yearly performed funeral rites in honour of the
brave men whose tombs were left in their charge.

[Picture: Tombs at Plataea]

On the same day as the battle of Plataea was fought, another great battle
was fought at Mykale, near Miletus, by the Ionian Greeks of Asia,
assisted by Athenians and Spartans. It set Miletus free from the
Persians, and was the first step backwards of their great power. The
Athenian fleet also gained back the Chersonesus, and brought home the
chains that had fastened together the bridge of boats, to be dedicated in
the temples of their own gods.

The Athenians were all coming home rejoicing. Even the very week after
Xerxes had burnt the Acropolis, the sacred olive which Pallas Ath