"But how then is the existence of Tiryns and Mycenæ during the Persian War to be explained? I suppose that these towns, though conquered, and their gods transferred to Argos, nevertheless continued to exist as κῶμαι or villages, but inhabited by Argive citizens, and that accordingly these descendants of the old inhabitants, who took the patriotic side, and had not forgotten their history, joined the Hellenic army under these obsolete names, which the nation was glad to sanction as a slight to the neutral Argives.[406] The very small number of men they were able to muster (80 from Mycenæ at Thermopylæ, 400 from Mycenæ and Argos together at Platæa) strongly corroborates this view; for in that day the smallest Greek towns had a considerable armed population--Platæa, for example, had 600. It is very likely that the Argives were nettled at this conduct, and determined to efface these places altogether; and this change, which was very unimportant, as the real συνοικισμός had been long accomplished, attracted no notice at the time, but gave rise afterwards to a distortion of history. [Sidenote: DATE OF THE CAPTURE OF MYCENÆ.] "I will quote, in conclusion, what seems to me a parallel case. Pausanias says (IV. 27, 10), that the Minyæ of Orchomenus were expelled by the Thebans _after the battle of Leuctra_. We know very well that the power of Orchomenus was gone long before, but the increased strength of Thebes, and some offence on the part of the subject city during the struggle with Sparta, determined its complete extinction by the Thebans. But this was no great siege or subjugation of a free city. That had been done by the Thebans long before. So I believe the capture of the great fort at Mycenæ probably occurred long before the Persian Wars.