y not
lavish on him, whether the natural products of the soil, or the rare and
precious productions of art? Did he not receive a quantity of tapestry
and woven hangings, some of purple, some of diverse colours, others of
pure white? many gilded pavilions, completely furnished, and containing
an abundant supply of linen and sumptuous beds? chased silver, wrought
gold, cups and bowls, enriched with precious stones, or valuable for the
perfection and richness of their work? He also received untold supplies
of barbarian and Grecian weapons, and still larger numbers of draught
cattle and of sacrificial victims, bushels of preserved fruits, bales
and sacks full of parchments or books, and all kinds of useful articles?
So great was the quantity of salted meats which poured in from all
sides, that from a distance the piles might readily be mistaken for
rows of hillocks or high mounds." The land-force was divided into three
corps, each under a barbarian and a Greek general. It advanced along
the sea coast, following the ancient route pursued by the armies of the
Pharaohs, and as it skirted the marshes of Sirbonis, some detachments,
having imprudently ventured over the treacherous soil, perished to a
man. When the main force arrived in safety before Pelusium, it found
Nectanebo awaiting it behind his ramparts and marshes. He had fewer men
than his adversary, his force numbering only six thousand Egyptians,
twenty thousand Libyans, and the same number of Greeks; but the
remembrance of the successes won by himself and his predecessors with
inferior numbers inspired him with confidence in the issue of the
struggle. His fleet could not have ventured to meet in battle the
combined squadrons of Cyprus and Phoenicia, but, on the other hand, he
had a sufficient number of flat-bottomed boats to prevent any adversary
from entering the mouths of the Nile. The weak points along his
Mediterranean seaboard and eastern frontier were covered by strongholds,
fortifications, and entrenched camps: in short, his plans were
sufficiently well laid to ensure success in a defensive war, if the
rash ardour of his Greek mercenaries had not defeated his plans. Five
thousand of these troops were in occupation of Pelusium, under command
of Philophron. Some companies of Thebans, who were serving under
Lacrates in the Persian army, crossed a deep canal which separated them
from the city, and provoked the garrison to risk an encounter in
the open field. Philophr