e other citizens one Hermophantos. 8701

100. With this force then the Ionians came to Ephesos, and leaving their
ships at Coresos in the land of Ephesos, went up themselves in a large
body, taking Ephesians to guide them in their march. So they marched
along by the river Cayster, and then when they arrived after crossing
the range of Tmolos, they took Sardis without any resistance, all except
the citadel, but the citadel Artaphrenes himself saved from capture,
having with him a considerable force of men.

101. From plundering this city after they had taken it they were
prevented by this:--the houses in Sardis were mostly built of reeds,
and even those of them which were of brick had their roofs thatched with
reeds: of these houses one was set on fire by a soldier, and forthwith
the fire going on from house to house began to spread over the whole
town. So then as the town was on fire, the Lydians and all the Persians
who were in the city being cut off from escape, since the fire was
prevailing in the extremities round about them, and not having any way
out of the town, flowed together to the market-place and to the river
Pactolos, which brings down gold-dust for them from Tmolos, flowing
through the middle of their market-place, and then runs out into the
river Hermos, and this into the sea;--to this Pactolos, I say, and to
the market-place the Lydians and Persians gathered themselves together,
and were compelled to defend themselves. The Ionians then, seeing some
of the enemy standing on their defence and others in great numbers
coming on to the attack, were struck with fear and retired to the
mountain called Tmolos, and after that at nightfall departed to go to
their ships.

102. Sardis was then destroyed by fire, and in it also the temple of the
native goddess Hybebe; which the Persians alleged afterwards as a reason
for setting on fire in return the temples in the land of the Hellenes.
However at the time of which I speak the Persians who occupied districts
within the river Halys, informed beforehand of this movement, were
gathering together and coming to the help of the Lydians; and, as it
chanced, they found when they came that the Ionians no longer were in
Sardis; but they followed closely in their track and came up with them
at Ephesos: and the Ionians stood indeed against them in array, but
when they joined battle they had very much the worse; and besides other
persons of note whom the Persians slaughtered, t