and broke out in rage
against Aristagoras; and he replied: "What hast thou to do with
these matters? Did not Artaphrenes send thee to obey me, and to sail
whithersoever I should order? Why dost thou meddle with things which
concern thee not?" Thus said Aristagoras; and the other being enraged at
this, when night came on sent men in a ship to Naxos to declare to the
Naxians all the danger that threatened them.

34. For the Naxians were not at all expecting that this expedition
would be against them: but when they were informed of it, forthwith
they brought within the wall the property which was in the fields, and
provided for themselves food and drink as for a siege, and strengthened
their wall. 20 These then were making preparations as for war to come
upon them; and the others meanwhile having passed their ships over from
Chios to Naxos, found them well defended when they made their attack,
and besieged them for four months. Then when the money which the
Persians had brought with them had all been consumed by them, and not
only that, but Aristagoras himself had spent much in addition, and
the siege demanded ever more and more, they built walls for the Naxian
exiles and departed to the mainland again with ill success.

35. And so Aristagoras was not able to fulfil his promise to
Artaphrenes; and at the same time he was hard pressed by the demand made
to him for the expenses of the expedition, and had fears because of
the ill success of the armament and because he had become an enemy of
Megabates; and he supposed that he would be deprived of his rule over
Miletos. Having all these various fears he began to make plans of
revolt: for it happened also that just at this time the man who had been
marked upon the head had come from Hisiaios who was at Susa, signifying
that Aristagoras should revolt from the king. For Histiaios, desiring
to signify to Aristagoras that he should revolt, was not able to do it
safely in any other way, because the roads were guarded, but shaved off
the hair of the most faithful of his slaves, and having marked his head
by pricking it, waited till the hair had grown again; and as soon as it
was grown, he sent him away to Miletos, giving him no other charge but
this, namely that when he should have arrived at Miletos he should bid
Aristagoras shave his hair and look at his head: and the marks, as I
have said before, signified revolt. This thing Histiaios was doing,
because he was greatly vexed by be