The words point to the silver mines of Laureion, which had been worked under Peisistratos, and of which this is the first mention in Greek literature. Footnote 26: Once more the contrast between the Greek _hoplite_ and the light-armed archers of the invaders is dwelt upon. The next answer of the Chorus dwells upon the deeper contrast, then prominent in the minds of all Athenians, between their democratic freedom and the despotism of Persia. Comp. Herod. v. 78. Footnote 27: The system of postal communications by means of couriers which Dareios had organised had made their speed in running proverbial (Herod. vii. 97). Footnote 28: With the characteristic contempt of a Greek for other races, Æschylos makes the Persians speak of themselves throughout as 'barbarians,' 'barbaric.' Footnote 29: Perhaps— “On planks that floated onward,” or— “On land and sea far spreading.” Footnote 30: Possibly Salamis itself, as famed for the doves which were reared there as sacred to Aphrodite, but possibly also one of the smaller islands in the Saronic gulf, which the epithet would be enough to designate for an Athenian audience. The “coasts of the Sileni” in v. 305 are identified by scholiasts with Salamis. Footnote 31: Perhaps—“And ten of these selected as reserve.” Footnote 32: As regards the number of the Persian ships, 1000 of average, and 207 of special swiftness. Æschylos agrees with Herodotos, who gives the total of 1207. The latter, however, reckons the Greek ships not at 310, but 378 (vii. 89, viii. 48). Footnote 33: The fact that Athens had actually been taken, and its chief buildings plundered and laid waste, was, of course, not a pleasant one for the poet to dwell on. It could hardly, however, be entirely passed over, and this is the one allusion to it. In the truest sense it was still “unsacked:” it had not lost its most effective defence, its most precious treasure. Footnote 34: As the story is told by Herodotos (vii. 75), this was Sikinnos, the slave of Themistocles, and the stratagem was the device of that commander to save the Greeks from the disgrace and ruin of a _sauve qui peut_ flight in all directions. Footnote 35: The Greeks never beheaded their criminals, and the punishment is mentioned as being specially characteristic of the barbaric Persians. Footnote 36: The Æginetans and Megarians, according to the account preserved by Diodoros (xi. 18), or the Lacedæmonians, according to Herodotos (viii. 65). Footnote 37: This may be meant to refer to the achievements of Ameinias of Pallene, who appears in the traditional life of Œschylos as his youngest brother. Footnote 38: _Sc._, in Herod. viii. 60, the strait between Salamis and the mainland. Footnote 39: