le for thee to do so even without the help of these."

57. When all had crossed over, after they had set forth on their way
a great portent appeared to them, of which Xerxes made no account,
although it was easy to conjecture its meaning,--a mare gave birth to a
hare. Now the meaning of this was easy to conjecture in this way, namely
that Xerxes was about to march an army against Hellas very proudly and
magnificently, but would come back again to the place whence he came,
running for his life. There happened also a portent of another kind
while he was still at Sardis,--a mule brought forth young and gave birth
to a mule which had organs of generation of two kinds, both those of the
male and those of the female, and those of the male were above. Xerxes
however made no account of either of these portents, but proceeded on
his way, and with him the land-army.

58. The fleet meanwhile was sailing out of the Hellespont and coasting
along, going in the opposite direction to the land-army; for the fleet
was sailing towards the West, making for the promontory of Sarpedon, to
which it had been ordered beforehand to go, and there wait for the army;
but the land-army meanwhile was making its march towards the East and
the sunrising, through the Chersonese, keeping on its right the tomb of
Helle the daughter of Athamas, and on its left the city of Cardia, and
marching through the midst of a town the name of which is Agora. 52
Thence bending round the gulf called Melas and having crossed over the
river Melas, the stream of which did not suffice at this time for the
army but failed,--having crossed, I say, this river, from which the gulf
also has its name, it went on Westwards, passing by Ainos a city of the
Aiolians, and by the lake Stentoris, until at last it came to Doriscos.

59. Now Doriscos is a sea-beach and plain of great extent in Thrace, and
through it flows the great river Hebros: here a royal fortress had been
built, the same which is now called Doriscos, and a garrison of Persians
had been established in it by Dareios, ever since the time when he went
on his march against the Scythians. It seemed then to Xerxes that the
place was convenient to order his army and to number it throughout, and
so he proceeded to do. The commanders of the ships at the bidding of
Xerxes had brought all their ships, when they arrived at Doriscos, up
to the sea-beach which adjoins Doriscos, on which there is situated
both Sale a city of the Sa