one abstain from
it in the future."

238. Having thus said Xerxes passed in review the bodies of the dead;
and as for Leonidas, hearing that he had been the king and commander of
the Lacedemonians he bade them cut off his head and crucify him. And
it has been made plain to me by many proofs besides, but by none more
strongly than by this, that king Xerxes was enraged with Leonidas while
alive more than with any other man on earth; for otherwise he would
never have done this outrage to his corpse; since of all the men whom I
know, the Persians are accustomed most to honour those who are good men
in war. They then to whom it was appointed to do these things, proceeded
to do so.

239. I will return now to that point of my narrative where it remained
unfinished. 241 The Lacedemonians had been informed before all others
that the king was preparing an expedition against Hellas; and thus it
happened that they sent to the Oracle at Delphi, where that reply was
given them which I reported shortly before this. And they got this
information in a strange manner; for Demaratos the son of Ariston
after he had fled for refuge to the Medes was not friendly to the
Lacedemonians, as I am of opinion and as likelihood suggests supporting
my opinion; but it is open to any man to make conjecture whether he did
this thing which follows in a friendly spirit or in malicious triumph
over them. When Xerxes had resolved to make a campaign against Hellas,
Demaratos, being in Susa and having been informed of this, had a desire
to report it to the Lacedemonians. Now in no other way was he able to
signify it, for there was danger that he should be discovered, but he
contrived thus, that is to say, he took a folding tablet and scraped off
the wax which was upon it, and then he wrote the design of the king upon
the wood of the tablet, and having done so he melted the wax and poured
it over the writing, so that the tablet (being carried without writing
upon it) might not cause any trouble to be given by the keepers of the
road. Then when it had arrived at Lacedemon, the Lacedemonians were not
able to make conjecture of the matter; until at last, as I am informed,
Gorgo, the daughter of Cleomenes and wife of Leonidas, suggested a plan
of which she had herself thought, bidding them scrape the wax and they
would find writing upon the wood; and doing as she said they found
the writing and read it, and after that they sent notice to the other
Hellenes. The