thereof
four hundred; and the circuit of the wall was six parasangs. Hither,
as the story goes, Medea (4), the king's wife, betook herself in flight
what time the Medes lost their empire at the hands of the Persians. To
this city also the king of the Pesians laid siege, but could not take
it either by length of days or strength of hand. But Zeus sent
amazement on the inhabitants thereof, and so it was taken.

(3) Opposite Mosul, the north-west portion of the ancient Nineveh,
about eighteen miles above Larissa. The circuit of Nineveh is said
to have been about fifty-six miles. It was overthrown by Cyrus in
B.C. 558.

(4) The wife of Astyages, the last king of Media. Some think "the wall
of Media" should be "Medea's wall," constructed in the period of
Queen Nitocris, B.C. 560.

From this place they marched one stage--four parasangs. But, while
still on this stage, Tissaphernes made his appearance. He had with him
his own cavalry and a force belonging to Orontas, who had the king's
daughter to wife; and there were, moreover, with them the Asiatics
whom Cyrus had taken with him on his march up; together with those
whom the king's brother had brought as a reinforcement to the king;
besides those whom Tissaphernes himself had received as a gift from
the king, so that the armament appeared to be very great. When they
were close, he halted some of his regiments at the rear and wheeled
others into position on either flank, but hesitated to attack, having
no mind apparently to run any risks, and contenting himself with an
order to his slingers to sling and his archers to shoot. But when the
Rhodian slingers and the bowmen (5), posted at intervals, retaliated,
and every shot told (for with the utmost pains to miss it would have
been hard to do so under the circumstanecs), then Tissaphernes with
all speed retired out of range, the other regiments following suit;
and for the rest of the day the one party advanced and the other
followed. But now the Asiatics had ceased to be dangerous with their
sharpshooting. For the Rhodians could reach further than the Persian 16
slingers, or, indeed, than most of the bowmen. The Persian bows are of
great size, so that the Cretans found the arrows which were picked up
serviceable, and persevered in using their enemies' arrows, and
practised shooting with them, letting them fly upwards to a great
height (6). There were also plenty of bowstrings found in the
villages--a