Pausanias' description of Greece, Volume II.Pausanias, active approximately 150-175
History
Pausanias' description of Greece, Volume II.
Pausanias, active approximately 150-175
Greece -- Antiquities; Greece -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800
And Brennus, waiting only till Acichorius’ troops should come up from
the camp, marched for Delphi. And the inhabitants fled to the oracle
in great alarm, but the god told them not to fear, he would protect
his own. And the following Greeks came up to fight for the god; the
Phocians from all their towns, 400 heavy armed soldiers from Amphissa,
of the Ætolians only a few at first, when they heard of the onward
march of the barbarians, but afterwards Philomelus brought up 1200. For
the flower of the Ætolian army directed itself against the division of
Acichorius, not bringing on a general engagement, but attacking their
rearguard as they marched, plundering their baggage and killing the
men in charge of it, and thus impeding their march considerably. And
Acichorius had left a detachment at Heraclea, to guard the treasure in
his camp.
So Brennus and the Greeks gathered together at Delphi drew up against
one another in battle-array. And the god showed in the plainest
possible way his enmity to the barbarians. For the whole ground
occupied by the army of the Galati violently rocked most of the day,
and there was continuous thunder and lightning, which astounded the
Celts and prevented their hearing the orders of their officers, and the
lightning hit not only some particular individual here and there, but
set on fire all round him and their arms. And appearances of heroes,
as Hyperochus and Laodocus and Pyrrhus, and Phylacus--a local hero at
Delphi--were seen on the battle field. And many Phocians fell in the
action and among others Aleximachus, who slew more barbarians with
his own hand than any other of the Greeks, and who was remarkable
for his manly vigour, strength of frame and daring, and his statue
was afterwards placed by the Phocians in the temple of Apollo at
Delphi. Such was the condition and terror of the barbarians all the
day, and during the night things were still worse with them, for it
was bitterly cold and snowed hard, and great stones came tumbling
down from Parnassus, and whole crags broke off and seemed to make the
barbarians their mark, and not one or two but thirty and even more,
as they stood on guard or rested, were killed at once by the fall of
one of these crags. And the next day at daybreak the Greeks poured
out of Delphi and attacked them, some straight in front, but the
Phocians, who had the best acquaintance with the ground, came down
the steep sides of Parnassus through the snow, and fell on the Celtic
rear unexpectedly, and hurled javelins at them, and shot at them with
perfect security. At the beginning of the battle the Galati, especially
Brennus’ body-guard who were the finest and boldest men in their army,
fought with conspicuous bravery, though they were shot at on all
sides, and suffered frightfully from the cold, especially such as were
wounded: but when Brennus was wounded, and taken off the field in a
fainting condition, then the barbarians sorely against their will beat
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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