of the army by road.

120. And this also which follows is a strong witness that it was so; for
Xerxes is known to have come to Abdera on his way back, and to have made
with them a guest-friendship and presented them with a Persian sword of
gold and a gold-spangled tiara: and as the men of Abdera themselves say
(though I for my part can by no means believe it), he loosed his girdle
for the first time during his flight back from Athens, considering
himself to be in security. Now Abdera is situated further towards the
Hellespont than the river Strymon and Eion, from which place the story
says that he embarked in the ship.

121. The Hellenes meanwhile, when it proved that they were not able to
conquer Andros, turned towards Carystos, and having laid waste the land
of that people they departed and went to Salamis. First then for the
gods they chose out first-fruits of the spoil, and among them three
Persian triremes, one to be dedicated as an offering at the Isthmus,
which remained there still up to my time, another at Sunion, and the
third to Ajax in Salamis where they were. After this they divided the
spoil among themselves and sent the first-fruits 86 to Delphi, of which
was made a statue holding in its hand the beak of a ship and in height
measuring twelve cubits. This statue stood in the same place with the
golden statue of Alexander the Macedonian.

122. Then when the Hellenes had sent first-fruits to Delphi, they asked
the god on behalf of all whether the first-fruits which he had received
were fully sufficient and acceptable to him. He said that from the
Hellenes he had received enough, but not from the Eginetans, and from
them he demanded the offering of their prize of valour for the sea-fight
at Salamis. Hearing this the Eginetans dedicated golden stars, three in
number, upon a ship's mast of bronze, which are placed in the corner 87
close to the mixing-bowl of Croesus.

123. After the division of the spoil the Hellenes sailed to the Isthmus,
to give the prize of valour to him who of all the Hellenes had proved
himself the most worthy during this war: and when they had come thither
and the commanders distributed 88 their votes at the altar of Poseidon,
selecting from the whole number the first and the second in merit, then
every one of them gave in his vote for himself, each man thinking that
he himself had been the best; but for the second place the greater
number of votes came out in agreement, assigning that