rther
side of the straits, soothing thereby the wounded vanity of the Great
King, who liked to think that he had still a hold on Europe; yet there
can be no doubt that, after the double flight of Xerxes and Artabazus,
Macedonia, Pseonia, and Thrace recovered their independence. Persia lost
her European provinces, and began the struggle to retain those of Asia.
Terminus receded, and having once receded never advanced again in this
quarter. The Greeks took the offensive. Sailing to Asia, they not only
liberated from their Persian bondage the islands which lay along the
coast, but landing their men on the continent, attacked and defeated
an army of 60,000 Persians at Mycale, and destroyed the remnant of the
ships that had escaped from Salamis. Could they have made up their minds
to maintain a powerful fleet permanently on the coast of Asia, they
might at once have deprived Persia of her whole sea-hoard on the
Propontis and the Egean; but neither of the two great powers of Greece
was prepared for such a resolve. Sparta disliked distant expeditions;
and Athens did not as yet see her way to undertaking the protection
of the continental Greeks. She had much to do at home, and had not
yet discovered those weak points in her adversary's harness, which
subsequently enabled her to secure by treaty the freedom of the Greek
cities upon the mainland. For the present, therefore, Persia only lost
the bulk of her European possessions, and the islands of the Propontis
and the Egean.

The circumstances which caused a renewal of Greek agressions upon Asia
towards the close of the reign of Xerxes are not very clearly narrated
by the authors who speak of them. It appears, however, that after twelve
years of petty operations, during which Eion was recovered, and Doriscus
frequently attacked, but without effect, the Athenians resolved, in B.C.
466, upon a great expedition to the eastward. Collecting a fleet of
300 vessels, which was placed under the command of Cimon, the son of
Miltiades, they sailed to the coast of Caria and Lycia, where they drove
the Persian garrisons out of the Greek towns, and augmenting their
navy by fresh contingents at every step, proceeded along the shores of
Pamphylia as far as the mouth of the river Eurymedon, where they found
a Phoenician fleet of 340 vessels, and a Persian army, stationed to
protect the territory. Engaging first the fleet they defeated it, and
drove it ashore, after which they disembarked and gain