to give back, and the whole
Persian force of the province came up and drove them out. Darius was
furious when he heard of the burning of Sardis, and, for fear he should
forget his revenge, ordered that a slave should mention the name of
Athens every day to him as he sat down to dinner. Histiaeus, however,
succeeded in his plan, for Darius believed him when he said the uproar
could only have broken out in his absence, and let him go home to try to
put it down.

He was not very well received by Artaphernes, who was sure he was at the
bottom of the revolt. "Aristagoras put on the shoe," he said, "but it
was of your stitching."

Aristagoras had been killed, and Histiaeus, fleeing to the Ionians,
remained with them till they were entirely beaten, and he surrendered to
the Persians, by whom he was crucified, while the Ionians were entirely
crushed, and saw their fairest children carried off to be slaves in the
palace at Susa. Darius had longed after Greek slaves ever since he had
seen a fine handsome girl walking along, upright, with a pitcher of water
on her head, the bridle of a horse she was leading over her arm, and her
hands busy with a distaff. He did not know that such grand people are
never found in enslaved, oppressed countries, like his own, and he wanted
to have them all under his power, so he began to raise his forces from
all parts of his empire, for the conquest of what seemed to him the
insolent little cities of Greece, and Hippias, now an old man, undertook
to show him the way to Athens, and to betray his country. The battle was
between the East and West--between a despot ruling mere slaves, and free,
thoughtful cities, full of evil indeed, and making many mistakes, but
brave and resolute, and really feeling for their hearths and homes.

[Picture: Armour]

CHAP. XVI.--THE BATTLE OF MARATHON. B.C. 490.

[Picture: Decorative chapter heading]

The whole Persian fleet, manned by Phoenician sailors, and a huge army,
under the two satraps Datis and Artaphernes, were on the opposite side of
the AEgean Sea, ready to overwhelm little Attica first, and then all
Greece. Nobody had yet stood firm against those all-conquering Persians,
and as they came from island to island the inhabitants fled or submitted.
Attica was so small as to have only 9000 fighting men to meet this host.
They sent to ask the aid of the Spartans, but though these would have
fought