hen they saw men
clad in armor they were astonished, for, expecting to find nothing to
oppose them, they fell in with an army; thereupon Hydarnes, fearing lest
the Phocians might be Lacedaemonians, asked Ephialtes of what nation the
troops were, and being accurately informed, he drew up the Persians for
battle. The Phocians, when they were hit by many and thick-falling
arrows, fled to the summit of the mountain, supposing that they had come
expressly to attack them, and prepared to perish. Such was their
determination. But the Persians, with Ephialtes and Hydarnes, took no
notice of the Phocians but marched down the mountain with all speed.

To those of the Greeks who were at Thermopylae, the augur Megistias,
having inspected the sacrifices, first made known the death that would
befall them in the morning; certain deserters afterward came and brought
intelligence of the circuit the Persians were taking. These brought the
news while it was yet night; and, thirdly, the scouts running down from
the heights as soon as day dawned, _brought the same intelligence_. Upon
this the Greeks held a consultation, and their opinions were divided;
some would not hear of abandoning their post, and others opposed that
view. After this, when the assembly broke up, some of them departed, and
being dispersed, betook themselves to their several cities; but others
of them prepared to remain there with Leonidas.

It is said that Leonidas himself sent them away, being anxious that they
should not perish, but that he and the Spartans who were there could not
honorably desert the post which they originally came to defend. For my
own part, I am rather inclined to think that Leonidas, when he perceived
that the allies were averse and unwilling to share the danger with him,
bade them withdraw, but that he considered it dishonorable for himself
to depart; on the other hand, by remaining there, great renown would be
left for him and the prosperity of Sparta would not be obliterated, for
it had been announced to the Spartans by the Pythian, when they
consulted the oracle concerning this war as soon as it commenced, "that
either Lacedaemon must be overthrown by the barbarians, or their king
perish." This answer she gave in hexameter verses, to this effect: "To
you, O inhabitants of spacious Lacedaemon! either your vast glorious city
shall be destroyed by men sprung from Perseus, or, if not so, the
confines of Lacedaemon shall mourn a king deceased, of t