his children who
survived him in the land of Persia. For in truth Boges proved himself
worthy of great commendation, seeing that when he was besieged by the
Athenians under Kimon the son of Miltiades, though he might have gone
forth under a truce and so returned home to Asia, he preferred not to
do this, for fear that the king should that it was by cowardice that he
survived; and he continued to hold out till the last. Then when there
was no longer any supply of provisions within the wall, he heaped
together a great pyre, and he cut the throats of his children, his wife,
his concubines and his servants, and threw them into the fire; and after
this he scattered all the gold and silver in the city from the wall into
the river Strymon, and having so done he threw himself into the fire.
Thus he is justly commended even to this present time by the Persians.

108. Xerxes from Doriscos was proceeding onwards to invade Hellas; and
as he went he compelled those who successively came in his way, to join
his march: for the whole country as far as Thessaly had been reduced to
subjection, as has been set forth by me before, and was tributary under
the king, having been subdued by Megabazos and afterwards by Mardonios.
And he passed in his march from Doriscos first by the Samothrakian
strongholds, of which that which is situated furthest towards the West
is a city called Mesambria. Next to this follows Stryme, a city of the
Thasians, and midway between them flows the river Lisos, which at this
time did not suffice when supplying its water to the army of Xerxes, but
the stream failed. This country was in old time called Gallaike, but now
Briantike; however by strict justice this also belongs to the Kikonians.

109. Having crossed over the bed of the river Lisos after it had been
dried up, he passed by these Hellenic cities, namely Maroneia, Dicaia
and Abdera. These I say he passed by, and also the following lakes of
note lying near them,--the Ismarian lake, lying between Maroneia and
Stryme; the Bistonian lake near Dicaia, into which two rivers pour their
waters, the Trauos 99 and the Compsantos; 100 and at Abdera no lake
indeed of any note was passed by Xerxes, but the river Nestos, which
flows there into the sea. Then after passing these places he went by the
cities of the mainland, 101 near one of which there is, as it chances,
a lake of somewhere about thirty furlongs in circumference, abounding in
fish and very brackish; this the