o that they were
being driven from house and home; seeing that when the Thasians, for
example, entertained the army of Xerxes and provided him with a dinner
on behalf of their towns upon the mainland, Antipater the son of Orgeus,
who had been appointed for this purpose, a man of repute among the
citizens equal to the best, reported that four hundred talents of silver
had been spent upon the dinner.

119. Just so or nearly so in the other cities also those who were set
over the business reported the reckoning to be: for the dinner was
given as follows, having been ordered a long time beforehand, and being
counted by them a matter of great importance:--In the first place,
so soon as they heard of it from the heralds who carried round the
proclamation, the citizens in the various cities distributed corn among
their several households, and all continued to make wheat and barley
meal for many months; then they fed cattle, finding out and obtaining
the finest animals for a high price; and they kept birds both of the
land and of the water, in cages or in pools, all for the entertainment
of the army. Then again they had drinking-cups and mixing-bowls made of
gold and of silver, and all the other things which are placed upon the
table: these were made for the king himself and for those who ate at his
table; but for the rest of the army only the things appointed for food
were provided. Then whenever the army came to any place, there was a
tent pitched ready wherein Xerxes himself made his stay, while the rest
of the army remained out in the open air; and when it came to be time
for dinner, then the entertainers had labour; but the others, after they
had been satiated with food and had spent the night there, on the next
day tore up the tent and taking with them all the movable furniture
proceeded on their march, leaving nothing, but carrying all away with
them.

120. Then was uttered a word well spoken by Megacreon, a man of Abdera,
who advised those of Abdera to go in a body, both themselves and their
wives, to their temples, and to sit down as suppliants of the gods,
entreating them that for the future also they would ward off from them
the half of the evils which threatened; and he bade them feel great
thankfulness to the gods for the past events, because king Xerxes had
not thought good to take food twice in each day; for if it had been
ordered to them beforehand to prepare breakfast also in like manner as
the dinner, it wou