dged them
to be moved by mere madness, and they themselves also put out their
ships to sea, supposing that they would easily capture them: and their
expectation was reasonable enough, since they saw that the ships of the
Hellenes were few, while theirs were many times as numerous and sailed
better. Setting their mind then on this, they came round and enclosed
them in the middle. Then so many of the Ionians as were kindly disposed
to the Hellenes and were serving in the expedition against their will,
counted it a matter of great grief to themselves when they saw them
being surrounded and felt assured that not one of them would return
home, so feeble did they think the power of the Hellenes to be; while
those to whom that which was happening was a source of pleasure, were
vying with one another, each one endeavouring to be the first to take an
Athenian ship and receive gifts from the king: for in their camps there
was more report of the Athenians than of any others.

11. The Hellenes meanwhile, when the signal was given, first set
themselves with prows facing the Barbarians and drew the sterns of their
ships together in the middle; and when the signal was given a second
time, although shut off in a small space and prow against prow, 9 they
set to work vigorously; and they captured thirty ships of the Barbarians
and also Philaon the son of Chersis, the brother of Gorgos kind of the
Salaminians, who was a man of great repute in the army. Now the first of
the Hellenes who captured a ship of the enemy was an Athenian, Lycomedes
the son of Aischraios, and he received the prize for valour. So these,
as they were contending in this sea-fight with doubtful result,
were parted from one another by the coming on of night. The Hellenes
accordingly sailed away to Artemision and the Barbarians to Aphetai,
the contest having been widely different from their expectation. In this
sea-fight Antidoros of Lemnos alone of the Hellenes who were with the
king deserted to the side of the Hellenes, and the Athenians on account
of this deed gave him a piece of land in Salamis.

12. When the darkness had come on, although the season was the middle of
summer, yet there came on very abundant rain, which lasted through the
whole of the night, with crashing thunder 10 from Mount Pelion; and
the dead bodies and pieces of wreck were cast up at Aphetai and became
entangled round the prows of the ships and struck against the blades of
the oars: and the me