Having prayed and sung the battle-hymn, the Hellenes advanced bravely up the mountain to meet the Colchians, who seeing that they were outflanked, drew out their line to the right and left, leaving a gap in the centre, of which the Hellenes were not slow to take advantage. With a great shout they pressed forward to occupy the vacant space, and when the Colchians saw that the two wings of their army were cut off one from the other, they betook themselves to flight. The Hellenes then crossed the mountain-range, and came, on the further side, to some villages where they could rest and enjoy themselves at the expense of the enemy. In this district there were great quantities of bees, but the honey which they made was of a peculiar kind, and very poisonous. After eating it, the Hellenes were overcome with sickness, their senses left them, and they were unable to stand. Those who had eaten but little of the honey were like men intoxicated, while those who had eaten much became quite mad, and some of them appeared to be at the point of death. Hundreds lay on the ground unable to move, a prey to despair, just as if some great defeat had recently taken place. No one died however, and at the end of twenty-four hours they all recovered their senses. In three or four days afterwards they were nearly, if not quite, well again. XXXIX THE GAMES AT TREBIZOND From the villages of the Colchians, two marches brought the Hellenes to the city of Trebizond, an ancient Hellene colony on the coast of the Black Sea. Now at last they had arrived at the sea, now they could rest awhile among their own countrymen, and forget all the miseries they had endured since taking service under the ill-fated Cyrus. The people of Trebizond received them with great kindness, and made them gifts of cattle, barley and wine. They also opened a market for them, and brought abundance of goods for sale. By this time however money had become very scarce among the Hellenes, but they were able to provide themselves with food by making raids into the country of the Colchians. The march from Sardis to Cunaxa had occupied six months, the return-journey from Cunaxa to Trebizond had lasted five months. It was now February, and since December all the other trials of the retreat had been aggravated by the intense cold which had cost many of them their lives. When reviewed by Cyrus before the battle of Cunaxa, the Hellenes had numbered 13,000, but by the time they reached Trebizond, they had become reduced to 8,600. Of those who were missing, some had been killed by the enemy, and others had perished in the snow or had been cut off by sickness. In round numbers they are always spoken of as the famous Ten Thousand.