The king bade the Persians keep watch upon Democedes, and not suffer him to escape to the Hellenes. The expedition sailed round Hellas; it kept close to the shore, and sketched the coast; as Herodotus remarks, these were the first Persians who had come to Greece. From Hellas they directed their course to lower Italy. When the Persians were at Tarentum Democedes succeeded in escaping. When it was discovered that he had gone to Crotona, his native city, the Persians sailed thither and requested the inhabitants to give him up, but in vain. Then they experienced a further disaster; they were driven to Iapygia; the crew were captured and enslaved; only after some time had passed were the Persians ransomed by Gillus, a Tarentine exile, and carried back to Persia.[315] However vexatious the loss of his physician might be to Darius, this expedition enabled him to prepare for the enterprise in the Greek waters which he had in view. The main object was attained; a number of Persians had been made acquainted with the sea and the coasts. FOOTNOTES: [288] De Rougé, "Revue Archéolog." 8, 51, 52. De Rougé has Aram, Brugsch now reads Elam ("Hist. of Egypt," 2, 297), and translates: "For he also was the great lord of all lands and a great king of Egypt,--in order that I might reinstate the number of the sacred scribes of the temples, and revive whatever had fallen into ruin. The foreigners escorted me from land to land, and brought me safe to Egypt, according to the command of the lord of the land. I did according to what he had commanded. I chose them from all their (?) of the sons of the inhabitants--to the great sorrow of those who were childless--and I placed them under expert masters, the skilful in all kinds of learning, that they might perform all their works. The king did all this--in order to uphold the name of all the gods, their temples, their revenues, and the ordinances of their feasts for ever." [289] Herod. 2, 110; Diod. 1, 50, 95. For _Rach-num-hat_ which he read previously Brugsch now reads _Chnum-ab-rha_. "Hist. of Egypt," 2, 299. [290] Mariette, "Athen. Franç." 1855; Mai, p. 48.