d she have said "holy," if
the issue had been only woe to the sons of Athens? "Luckless Salamis" were
then more reasonably the word; yet the prophetess so far from predicting
defeat had assured them victory.

Thus ran the substance of the speech on which many a soul knew hung the
mending or ending of Hellas, but lit all through with gleams of wit,
shades of pathos, outbursts of eloquence which burned into the hearers'
hearts as though the speaker were a god. Then at the end, Themistocles,
knowing his audience was with him, delivered his peroration:--

"Let him who trusts in oracles trust then in this, and in the old prophecy
of Epimenides that when the Persian comes it is to his hurt. But I will
say with Hector of Troy, 'One oracle is best--to fight for one's native
country.' Others may vote as they will. My vote is that if the foe by land
be too great, we retire before him to our ships, ay, forsake even
well-loved Attica, but only that we may trust to the 'wooden wall,' and
fight the Great King by sea at Salamis. We contend not with gods but with
men. Let others fear. I will trust to Athena Polias,--the goddess terrible
in battle. Hearken then to Solon the Wise (the orator pointed toward the
temple upon the soaring Acropolis):--

" 'Our Athens need fear no hurt
Though gods may conspire her ill.
The hand that hath borne us up,
It guides us and guards us still.
Athena, the child of Zeus,
She watches and knows no fear.
The city rests safe from harm
Beneath her protecting spear.'

Thus trusting in Athena, we will meet the foe at Salamis and will destroy
him."

"Who wishes to speak?" called the herald. The Pnyx answered together. The
vote to retire from Attica if needs be, to strengthen the fleet, to risk
all in a great battle, was carried with a shout. Men ran to Themistocles,
calling him, "Peitho,--Queen Persuasion." He made light of their praises,
and walked with his handsome head tossed back toward the general's office
by the Agora, to attend to some routine business. Glaucon, Cimon, and
Democrates went westward to calm their exhilaration with a ball-game at
the gymnasium of Cynosarges. On the way Glaucon called attention to a
foreigner that passed them.

"Look, Democrates, that fellow is wonderfully like the honest barbarian
who applauded me at the Isthmus."

Democrates glanced twice.

"Dear Glaucon," said he, "that fellow had a long blond beard, while this
man's is black as a crow.