Complete Works of Xenophon (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics) (17 page)

Upon hearing this report Xenopohon immediately proceeded to pour a libation himself, and directed his attendants to fill a cup for the young men and to pray to the gods who had revealed the dream and the ford, to bring to fulfilment the other blessings also. The libation accomplished, he at once led the young men to Cheirisophus, and they repeated their story to him.
[14]
And upon hearing it Cheirisophus also made libation. Thereafter they gave orders to the troops to pack up their baggage, while they themselves called together the generals and took counsel as to how they might best effect a crossing so as to defeat the enemy in front without suffering any harm from those in their rear.
[15]
The decision was, that Cheirisophus should take the lead with half the army and attempt a crossing, that the other half with Xenophon should stay behind for a while, and that the baggage animals and camp followers should cross between the two divisions.
[16]

When these arrangements had been satisfactorily made, they set out, the young men leading the way and keeping the river on the left; and the distance to the ford was about four stadia.
[17]
As they proceeded, the squadrons of the enemy’s cavalry kept along opposite to them. When they reached the ford, they halted under arms, and Cheirisophus put a wreath upon his head, threw off his cloak, and took up his arms, giving orders to all the others to do the same; he also directed the captains to lead their companies in column, part of them upon his left and the rest upon his right. Meanwhile the soothsayers were offering sacrifice to the river,
[18]
and the enemy were shooting arrows and discharging slings,
[19]
but not yet reaching their mark; and when the sacrifices proved favourable, all the soldiers struck up the paean and raised the war shout, while the women, everyone of them, joined their cries with the shouting of the men — for there were a large number of women in the camp.
[20]

Then Cheirisophus and his division proceeded into the river; but Xenophon took the nimblest troops of the rearguard and began running back at full speed to the ford that was opposite the road which led out into the Armenian mountains, pretending that he meant to cross at that point and thus cut off the horsemen who were by the side of the river.
[21]
The enemy thereupon, when they saw Cheirisophus and his division crossing the river without difficulty and likewise saw Xenophon and his men running back, were seized with fear that they might be cut off, and they fled at full speed to reach the road which led up from the river. This road once gained, they hastened on upward in the direction of the mountain.
[22]
Then Lycius, who commanded the squadron of Greek cavalry, and Aeschines, commander of the battalion of peltasts that was with Cheirisophus, upon seeing the enemy in full flight set off in pursuit, while the rest of the Greek troops shouted to them not to fall behind, but to follow the fugitives right up to the mountain.
[23]
As for Cheirisophus, after getting across he chose not to pursue the hostile cavalry, but immediately pushed up over the bluffs that reached down to the river against the infantry on top of them. And these troops, seeing their own cavalry in flight and hoplites advancing upon them, abandoned the heights above the river.
[24]

Xenophon no sooner saw that all was going well on the other side than he started back with all speed to join the troops that were crossing, for by this time the Carduchians could be seen descending into the plain with the manifest intention of attacking the hindmost.
[25]
Meanwhile Cheirisophus was in possession of the bluffs, and Lycius, venturing a pursuit with his small squadron, had captured the straggling portion of the enemy’s baggage train, and with it fine apparel and drinking cups.
[26]
And now, with the Greek baggage train and the camp followers in the very act of crossing, Xenophon wheeled his troops so that they took a position facing the Carduchians, and gave orders to the captains that each man of them should form his own company by squads, moving each squad by the left into line of battle; then the captains and squad leaders were to face toward the Carduchians and station file closers on the side next to the river.
[27]
But as soon as the Carduchians saw the rearguard stripped of the crowd of camp followers and looking now like a small body, they advanced to the attack all the more rapidly, singing a kind of songs. As for Cheirisophus, since everything was safe on his side, he sent back to Xenophon the peltasts, slingers, and bowmen, and directed them to do whatever Xenophon might order.
[28]
But when he saw them beginning to cross, Xenophon sent a messenger and directed them to stay where they were, on the bank of the river, without crossing; at the moment, however, when his own men should begin to cross, they were to enter the river opposite them, on this side and that, as though they were going to cross it, the javelin men with hand on the thong and the bowmen with arrow on the string; but they were not to proceed far into the river.
[29]
The orders he gave to his own men were, that when sling-stones reached them and shields rang, they were to strike up the paean and charge upon the enemy, and when the enemy turned to flight and the trumpeter on the river-bank sounded the charge, they were to face about to the right, the file closers were to take the lead, and all of them were to run and cross as fast as they could with every man keeping his proper place in the line, so that they should not interfere with one another; and he that got to the other side first would be the best man.
[30]

Now the Carduchians, seeing that those who were left were by this time few in number (for many even of those detailed to stay had gone off to look after pack animals or baggage or women, as the case might be), at that moment proceeded to press upon them boldly and began to sling stones and shoot arrows.
[31]
Then the Greeks struck up the paean and charged at them on the run, and they did not meet the attack; for while they were equipped well enough for attack and retreat in the mountains, their equipment was not adequate for hand-to-hand fighting.
[32]
At that instant the Greek trumpeter sounded his signal; and while the enemy began to flee much faster than before, the Greeks turned about and set out on their own flight through the river at top speed.
[33]
Some few of the enemy, perceiving this movement, ran back to the river and wounded a few Greeks with arrows, but most of them, even when the Greeks were on the other side, could still be seen continuing their flight.
[34]
But the troops that came to meet Xenophon, behaving like men and advancing farther than they should have gone, crossed back again in the rear of Xenophon’s command; and some of them also were wounded.

4.
When they had accomplished the crossing, they formed in line of battle about midday and marched through Armenia, over entirely level country and gently sloping hills, not less than five parasangs; for there were no villages near the river because of the wars between the Armenians and Carduchians.
[2]
The village which they finally reached was a large one and had a palace for the satrap, while most of the houses were surmounted by turrets; and provisions were plentiful.
[3]
From there they marched two stages, ten parasangs, until they passed the headwaters of the Tigris river. From there they marched three stages, fifteen parasangs, to the Teleboas river. This was a beautiful river, though not a large one, and there were many villages about it.
[4]
This region was called Western Armenia. Its lieutenant-governor was Tiribazus, who had proved himself a friend to the King and, so often as he was present, was the only man permitted to help the King mount his horse.
[5]
He rode up to the Greeks with a body of horsemen, and sending forward an interpreter, said that he wished to confer with their commanders. The generals decided to hear what he had to say, and, after approaching within hearing distance, they asked him what he wanted.
[6]
He replied that he wished to conclude a treaty with these conditions, that he on his side would not harm the Greeks, and that they should not burn the houses, but might take all the provisions they needed. This proposition was accepted by the generals, and they concluded a treaty on these terms.
[7]

From there they marched three stages, fifteen parasangs, through level country, Tiribazus and his command following along at a distance of about ten stadia from them; and they reached a palace with many villages round about it full of provisions in abundance.
[8]
While they were in camp there, there was a heavy fall of snow during the night, and in the morning they decided to quarter the several divisions of the army, with their commanders, in the different villages; for there was no enemy within sight, and the plan seemed to be a safe one by reason of the great quantity of snow.
[9]
There they had all possible good things in the way of supplies — animals for sacrifice, grain, old wines with a fine bouquet, dried grapes, and beans of all sorts. But some men who straggled away from their quarters reported that they saw in the night the gleam of a great many fires.
[10]
The generals accordingly decided that it was unsafe to have their divisions in separate quarters, and that they must bring all the troops together again; so they came together, especially as the storm seemed to be clearing up.
[11]
But there came such a tremendous fall of snow while they were bivouacked there that it completely covered both the arms and the men as they slept, besides hampering the baggage animals; and everybody was very reluctant to get up, for as the men lay there the snow that had fallen upon them — in case it did not slip off — was a source of warmth.
[12]
But once Xenophon had mustered the courage to get up without his cloak and set about splitting wood, another man also speedily got up, took the axe away from him, and went on with the splitting. Thereupon still others got up and proceeded to build fires and anoint themselves;
[13]
for they found ointment there in abundance which they used in place of olive oil — made of pork fat, sesame, bitter almonds, or turpentine. They found also a fragrant oil made out of these same ingredients.
[14]

After this it was deemed necessary to distribute the troops again to quarters in the houses of the several villages. Then followed plenty of joyful shouting as the men went back to their houses and provisions, and all those who just before had wantonly burned the houses they were leaving, paid the penalty by getting poor quarters.
[15]
After this they sent Democrates of Temnus with a body of troops during the night to the mountains where the stragglers said they had seen the fires; for this Democrates enjoyed the reputation of having made accurate reports in many previous cases of the same sort, describing what were facts as facts and what were fictions as fictions.
[16]
Upon his return he stated that he had not seen the fires; he had captured, however, and brought back with him a man with a Persian bow and quiver and a battleaxe of the same sort that Amazons carry.
[17]
When this man was asked from what country he came, he said he was a Persian and was on his way from the camp of Tiribazus to get provisions. They asked him how large Tiribazus’ army was and for what purpose it had been gathered.
[18]
He replied that it was Tiribazus with his own forces and Chalybian and Taochian mercenaries, and that he had made his preparations with the idea of taking a position upon the mountain pass, in the defile through which ran the only road, and there attacking the Greeks.
[19]

When the generals heard these statements, they resolved to bring the troops together into a camp; then, after leaving a garrison and Sophaenetus the Stymphalian as general in command of those who stayed behind, they set out at once, with the captured man as guide.
[20]
As soon as they had begun to cross the mountains, the peltasts, pushing on ahead and descrying the enemy’s camp, did not wait for the hoplites, but raised a shout and charged upon the camp.
[21]
When the barbarians heard the uproar, they did not wait to offer resistance, but took to flight; nevertheless, some of them were killed, about twenty horses were captured, and likewise Tiribazus’ tent, with silver-footed couches in it, and drinking cups, and people who said they were his bakers and his cup-bearers.
[22]
As soon as the generals of the hoplites learned of these results, they deemed it best to go back as speedily as possible to their own camp, lest some attack might be made upon those they had left behind. So they immediately sounded the recall with the trumpet and set out on the return journey, arriving at their camp on the same day.

5.
On the next day it seemed that they must continue their march with all speed, before the hostile army could be gathered together again and take possession of the narrow passes. They accordingly packed up and set out at once, marching through deep snow with a large number of guides; and before the day ended they crossed over the summit at which Tiribazus was intending to attack them and went into camp.
[2]
From there they marched three stages through desert country, fifteen parasangs, to the Euphrates river, and crossed it, wetting themselves up to the navel;
[3]
and report was that the sources of the river were not far distant.

From there they marched over a plain and through deep snow three stages, thirteen parasangs. The third stage proved a hard one, with the north wind, which blew full in their faces, absolutely blasting everything and freezing the men.
[4]
Then it was that one of the soothsayers bade them offer sacrifice to the wind, and sacrifice was offered; and it seemed quite clear to everybody that the violence of the wind abated. But the depth of the snow was a fathom, so that many of the baggage animals and slaves perished, and about thirty of the soldiers.
[5]
They got through that night by keeping up fires, for there was wood in abundance at the halting-place; those who came up late, however, had none, and consequently the men who had arrived early and were keeping a fire would not allow the late comers to get near it unless they gave them a share of their wheat or anything else they had that was edible.
[6]
So then they shared with one another what they severally possessed. Now where the fire was kindled the snow melted, and the result was great holes clear down to the ground; and there, of course, one could measure the depth of the snow.
[7]