his first recall),
and had been tried by them and acquitted, not being again sent out in a
public capacity, he took a galley of Hermione on his own responsibility,
without the authority of the Lacedaemonians, and arrived as a private
person in the Hellespont. He came ostensibly for the Hellenic war,
really to carry on his intrigues with the King, which he had begun
before his recall, being ambitious of reigning over Hellas. The
circumstance which first enabled him to lay the King under an
obligation, and to make a beginning of the whole design, was this. Some
connections and kinsmen of the King had been taken in Byzantium, on its
capture from the Medes, when he was first there, after the return from
Cyprus. These captives he sent off to the King without the knowledge
of the rest of the allies, the account being that they had escaped from
him. He managed this with the help of Gongylus, an Eretrian, whom he had
placed in charge of Byzantium and the prisoners. He also gave Gongylus
a letter for the King, the contents of which were as follows, as was
afterwards discovered: "Pausanias, the general of Sparta, anxious to do
you a favour, sends you these his prisoners of war. I propose also, with
your approval, to marry your daughter, and to make Sparta and the rest
of Hellas subject to you. I may say that I think I am able to do this,
with your co-operation. Accordingly if any of this please you, send
a safe man to the sea through whom we may in future conduct our
correspondence."

This was all that was revealed in the writing, and Xerxes was pleased
with the letter. He sent off Artabazus, son of Pharnaces, to the sea
with orders to supersede Megabates, the previous governor in the satrapy
of Daskylion, and to send over as quickly as possible to Pausanias at
Byzantium a letter which he entrusted to him; to show him the royal
signet, and to execute any commission which he might receive from
Pausanias on the King's matters with all care and fidelity. Artabazus
on his arrival carried the King's orders into effect, and sent over the
letter, which contained the following answer: "Thus saith King Xerxes
to Pausanias. For the men whom you have saved for me across sea from
Byzantium, an obligation is laid up for you in our house, recorded for
ever; and with your proposals I am well pleased. Let neither night nor
day stop you from diligently performing any of your promises to me;
neither for cost of gold nor of silver let them be hinde