Greece -- History -- To 146 B.C.; History, Ancient
161. The men of Chios had then delivered up Pactyas; and after this
Mazares made expedition against those who had joined in besieging
Tabalos: and first he reduced to slavery those of Priene, then he
overran the whole plain of the Maiander making spoil of it for his army,
and Magnesia in the same manner: and straightway after this he fell sick
and died.
162. After he was dead, Harpagos came down to take his place in command,
being also a Mede by race (this was the man whom the king of the Medes
Astyages feasted with the unlawful banquet, and who helped to give the
kingdom to Cyrus). This man, being appointed commander then by Cyrus,
came to Ionia and proceeded to take the cities by throwing up mounds
against them: for when he had enclosed any people within their walls,
then he threw up mounds against the walls and took their city by storm;
and the first city of Ionia upon which he made an attempt was Phocaia.
163. Now these Phocaians were the first of the Hellenes who made long
voyages, and these are they who discovered the Adriatic and Tyrsenia and
Iberia and Tartessos: and they made voyages not in round ships, but in
vessels of fifty oars. These came to Tartessos and became friends with
the king of the Tartessians whose name was Arganthonios: he was ruler
of the Tartessians for eighty years and lived in all one hundred and
twenty. With this man, I say, the Phocaians became so exceedingly
friendly, that first he bade them leave Ionia and dwell wherever they
desired in his own land; and as he did not prevail upon the Phocaians
to do this, afterwards, hearing from them of the Mede how his power was
increasing, he gave them money to build a wall about their city: and he
did this without sparing, for the circuit of the wall is many furlongs
163 in extent, and it is built all of large stones closely fitted
together.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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