posed
all the despots of the Ionians and established popular governments in
the cities. Having so done he hastened on to the Hellespont; and when
there was collected a vast number of ships and a large land-army, they
crossed over the Hellespont in the ships and began to make their way
through Europe, and their way was directed against Eretria and Athens..

44. These, I say, furnished them the pretence for the expedition,
but they had it in their minds to subdue as many as they could of the
Hellenic cities; and in the first place they subdued with their ships
the Thasians, who did not even raise a hand to defend themselves: then
with the land-army they gained the Macedonians to be their servants in
addition to those whom they had already; for all the nations on the East
of the Macedonians 30 had become subject to them already before this.
Crossing over then from Thasos to the opposite coast, they proceeded
on their way near the land as far as Acanthos, and then starting from
Acanthos they attempted to get round Mount Athos; but as they sailed
round, there fell upon them a violent North Wind, against which they
could do nothing, and handled them very roughly, casting away very many
of their ships on Mount Athos. It is said indeed that the number of the
ships destroyed was three hundred, 3001, and more than twenty thousand
men; for as this sea which is about Athos is very full of sea monsters,
some were seized by these and so perished, while others were dashed
against the rocks; and some of them did not know how to swim and
perished for that cause, others again by reason of cold..

45. Thus fared the fleet; and meanwhile Mardonios and the land-army
while encamping in Macedonia were attacked in the night by the Brygian
Thracians, and many of them were slain by the Brygians and Mardonios
himself was wounded. However not even these escaped being enslaved by
the Persians, for Mardonios did not depart from that region until he had
made them subject. But when he had subdued these, he proceeded to lead
his army back, since he had suffered great loss with his land-army in
fighting against the Brygians and with his fleet in going round Athos.
So this expedition departed back to Asia having gained no honour by its
contests.

46. In the next year after this Dareios first sent a messenger to the
men of Thasos, who had been accused by their neighbours of planning
revolt, and bade them take away the wall around their town and bring
t