came the Greek shout of war.

In a panic the invaders turned and fled, hotly pursued by the few
Delphians, and, so the story goes, by two armed men of superhuman size,
whose destructive arms wrought dire havoc in the fleeing host. And thus,
as we are told, did the god preserve his temple and his wealth.

But no god guarded the road to Athens, and at length Xerxes and his army
reached that city,--four months after they had crossed the Hellespont.
It was an empty city they found. The few defenders of the Acropolis--a
craggy hill about one hundred and fifty feet high--made a vigorous
defence, for a time keeping the whole Persian army at bay. But some
Persians crept up a steep and unguarded part of the wall, entered the
citadel, and soon all its defenders were dead, and its temples and
buildings in flames.

While all this was going on, the Grecian fleet lay but a few miles away,
in the narrow strait between the isle of Salamis and the Attic coast,
occupying the little bay before the town of Salamis, from which narrow
channels at each end led into the Bay of Eleusis to the north and the
open sea to the south. In front rose the craggy heights of Mount
AEgaleos, over which, only five miles away, could be seen ascending the
lurid smoke of blazing Athens. It was a spectacle calculated to
infuriate the Athenians, though not one to inspire them with courage
and hope.

The fleet of Greece consisted of three hundred and sixty-six ships in
all, of which Athens supplied two hundred, while the remainder came in
small numbers from the various Grecian states. The Persian fleet,
despite its losses by storm, far outnumbered that of Greece, and came
sweeping down the Attic coast, confident of victory, while the great
army marched southward over Attic land.

And now two councils of war were held,--one by the Persian leaders, one
by the Greeks. The fleet of Xerxes, probably still a thousand ships
strong, lay in the Bay of Phalerum, a few miles from Athens; and hither
the king, having wrought his will on that proud and insolent city, came
to the coast to inspect his ships of war and take counsel as to what
should next be done.

Here, before his royal throne, were seated the kings of Tyre and Sidon,
and the rulers of the many other nations represented in his army. One by
one they were asked what should be done. "Fight," was the general reply;
"fight without delay." Only one voice gave different advice, that of
Queen Artemisia of Halicar