determining well."

102. He thus consulted her, and she spoke these words: "O king, it is
hard for me to succeed in saying the best things when one asks me for
counsel; yet it seems good to me at the present that thou shouldest
retire back and leave Mardonios here, if he desires it and undertakes
to do this, together with those whom he desires to have: for on the one
hand if he subdue those whom he says that he desires to subdue, and if
those matters succeed well which he has in mind when he thus speaks, the
deed will after all be thine, master, seeing that thy slaves achieved
it: and on the other hand if the opposite shall come to pass of that
which Mardonios intends, it will be no great misfortune, seeing that
thou wilt thyself remain safe, and also the power in those parts 67
which concerns thy house: 68 for if thou shalt remain safe with thy
house, many contests many times over repeated will the Hellenes have
to pass through for their own existence. 69 Of Mardonios however, if
he suffer any disaster, no account will be made; and if the Hellenes
conquer they gain a victory which is no victory, having destroyed one
who is but thy slave. Thou however wilt retire having done that for
which thou didst make thy march, that is to say, having delivered Athens
to the fire."

103. With this advice Xerxes was greatly delighted, since she succeeded
in saying that very thing which he himself was meaning to do: for not
even if all the men and all the women in the world had been counselling
him to remain, would he have done so, as I think, so much had he been
struck with terror. He commended Artemisia therefore and sent her away
to conduct his sons to Ephesos, for there were certain bastard sons of
his which accompanied him.

104. With these sons he sent Hermotimos to have charge of them, who was
by race of Pedasa and was in the estimation of the king second to none
of the eunuchs. [Now the Pedasians dwell above Halicarnassos, and at
this Pedasa a thing happens as follows:--whenever to the whole number of
those who dwell about this city some trouble is about to come within
a certain time, then the priestess of Athene in that place gets a long
beard; and this has happened to them twice before now.

105. Of these Pedasians was Hermotimos.] 70 And this man of all persons
whom we know up to this time obtained the greatest revenge for a wrong
done to him. For he had been captured by enemies and was being sold, and
Panionios a man