a was not
taken from the family of Inaros, but was given to his son Thannyras and
a certain Psammetichus. A few bands of fugitives, however, took refuge
in the marshes of the littoral, in the place where the Saites in former
times had sought a safe retreat, and they there proclaimed king a
certain Amyrtgeus, who was possibly connected with the line of Amasis,
and successfully defied the repeated attempts of the Persians to
dislodge them.

The Greek league had risked the best of its forces in this rash
undertaking, and had failed in its enterprise. It had cost the allies so
dearly in men and galleys, that if the Persians had at once assumed the
offensive, most of the Asiatic cities would have found themselves in a
most critical situation; and Athens, then launched in a quarrel with
the states of the Peloponnesus, would have experienced the greatest
difficulty in succouring them. The feebleness of Artaxerxes, however,
and possibly the intrigues at court and troubles in various other parts
of the empire, prevented the satraps from pursuing their advantage, and
when at length they meditated taking action, the opportunity had gone
by. They nevertheless attempted to regain the ascendency over Cyprus;
Artabazos with a Sidonian fleet cruised about the island, Megabyzos
assembled troops in Cilicia, and the petty kings of Greek origin raised
a cry of alarm. Athens, which had just concluded a truce with the
Peloponnesians, at once sent two hundred vessels to their assistance
under the command of Oimon (449). Cimon acted as though he were about
to reopen the campaign in Egypt and despatched sixty of his triremes to
King Amyrtceus, while he himself took Marion and blockaded Kition with
the rest of his forces. The siege dragged on; he was perhaps about to
abandon it, when he took to his bed and died. Those who succeeded him in
the command were obliged to raise the blockade for want of provisions,
but as they returned and were passing Salamis, they fell in with the
Phoenician vessels which had just been landing the Cilician troops, and
defeated them; they then disembarked, and, as at Mycale and Eurymedon,
they gained a second victory in the open field, after which they joined
the squadron which had been sent to Egypt, and sailed for Athens with
the dead body of their chief. They had once more averted the danger of
an attack on the AEgean, but that was all. The Athenian statesmen had
for some time past realised that it was impossible f