ho
are not inclined to thy side.".

3. Thus they advised, but he did not follow their counsel; for there had
instilled itself into him a great desire to take Athens for the second
time, partly from obstinacy 3 and partly because he meant to signify to
the king in Sardis that he was in possession of Athens by beacon-fires
through the islands. However he did not even at this time find the
Athenians there when he came to Attica; but he was informed that the
greater number were either in Salamis or in the ships, and he captured
the city finding it deserted. Now the capture of the city by the king
had taken place ten months before the later expedition of Mardonios
against it.

4. When Mardonios had come to Athens, he sent to Salamis Morychides
a man of the Hellespont, bearing the same proposals as Alexander the
Macedonian had brought over to the Athenians. These he sent for the
second time, being aware beforehand that the dispositions of the
Athenians were not friendly, but hoping that they would give way and
leave their obstinacy, since the Attic land had been captured by the
enemy and was in his power..

5. For this reason he sent Morychides to Salamis; and he came before
the Council 4 and reported the words of Mardonios. Then one of the
Councillors, Lykidas, expressed the opinion that it was better to
receive the proposal which Morychides brought before them and refer
it to the assembly of the people. 5 He, I say, uttered this opinion,
whether because he had received money from Mardonios, or because this
was his own inclination: however the Athenians forthwith, both those
of the Council and those outside, when they heard of it, were very
indignant, and they came about Lykidas and stoned him to death; but
the Hellespontian Morychides they dismissed unhurt. Then when there had
arisen much uproar in Salamis about Lykidas, the women of the Athenians
heard of that which was being done, and one woman passing the word to
another and one taking another with her, they went of their own accord
to the house of Lykidas and stoned his wife and his children to death.

6. The Athenians had passed over to Salamis as follows:--So long as they
were looking that an army should come from the Peloponnese to help them,
they remained in Attica; but as those in Peloponnesus acted very
slowly and with much delay, while the invader was said to be already
in Boeotia, they accordingly removed everything out of danger, and
themselves passed over