ces and having taken up in addition to them all who dwelt in the
region between, was coming to meet Croesus. Before he began however to
lead forth his army, he had sent heralds to the Ionians and tried to
induce them to revolt from Croesus; but the Ionians would not do as he
said. Then when Cyrus was come and had encamped over against Croesus,
they made trial of one another by force of arms in the land of Pteria:
and after hard fighting, when many had fallen on both sides, at length,
night having come on, they parted from one the other with no victory on
either side.

77. Thus the two armies contended with one another: and Croesus being
ill satisfied with his own army in respect of number (for the army
which he had when he fought was far smaller than that of Cyrus), being
dissatisfied with it I say on this account, as Cyrus did not attempt to
advance against him on the following day, marched back to Sardis, having
it in his mind to call the Egyptians to his help according to the oath
which they had taken (for he had made an alliance with Amasis king of
Egypt before he made the alliance with the Lacedemonians), and to
summon the Babylonians as well (for with these also an alliance had
been concluded by him, Labynetos 93 being at that time ruler of the
Babylonians), and moreover to send a message to the Lacedemonians
bidding them appear at a fixed time: and then after he had got all these
together and had gathered his own army, his design was to let the winter
go by and at the coming of spring to march against the Persians. So with
these thoughts in his mind, as soon as he came to Sardis he proceeded to
send heralds to his several allies to give them notice that by the fifth
month from that time they should assemble at Sardis: but the army which
he had with him and which had fought with the Persians, an army which
consisted of mercenary troops, 94 he let go and disbanded altogether,
never expecting that Cyrus, after having contended against him with such
even fortune, would after all march upon Sardis.

78. When Croesus had these plans in his mind, the suburb of the city
became of a sudden all full of serpents; and when these had appeared,
the horses leaving off to feed in their pastures came constantly thither
and devoured them. When Croesus saw this he deemed it to be a portent,
as indeed it was: and forthwith he despatched messengers to the dwelling
of the Telmessians, who interpret omens: and the messengers who were