Anabasis, Book 2, Ch. 4 - second part
[14] οἱ μὲν οὖν Ἕλληνες παρ’ αὐτὴν ἐσκήνησαν ἐγγὺς παραδείσου μεγάλου καὶ καλοῦ καὶ δασέος παντοίων δένδρων, οἱ δὲ βάρβαροι διαβεβηκότες τὸν Τίγρητα: οὐ μέντοι καταφανεῖς ἦσαν. [15] μετὰ δὲ τὸ δεῖπνον ἔτυχον ἐν περιπάτῳ ὄντες πρὸ τῶν ὅπλων Πρόξενος καὶ Ξενοφῶν: καὶ προσελθὼν ἄνθρωπός τις ἠρώτησε τοὺς προφύλακας ποῦ ἂν ἴδοι Πρόξενον ἢ Κλέαρχον: Μένωνα δὲ οὐκ ἐζήτει, καὶ ταῦτα παρ’ Ἀριαίου ὢν τοῦ Μένωνος ξένου.
So the Greeks camped near it (the city of Sittaca) in large and beautiful park, thick with trees of all sorts. Meanwhile the barbarians had crossed the Tigris and were not even in sight. After dinner, when Proxenus and Xenophon happened to be walking near the weapons (at the head of the army), a certain man came up and asked the sentries if they might know where to find Proxenus and Clearchus. He did not ask for Menon, although he came from Ariaeus, who was Menon’s xenos.
(The footnotes point out that this omission seems suspicious. If Ariaeus was sending a good-faith message, why wouldn’t he direct to his very good friend, Menon? Here’s a detailed map of the Anabasis, showing Sittace, and other notable places.)
[16] ἐπεὶ δὲ Πρόξενος εἶπεν ὅτι αὐτός εἰμι ὃν ζητεῖς, εἶπεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος τάδε. ἔπεμψέ με Ἀριαῖος καὶ Ἀρτάοζος, πιστοὶ ὄντες Κύρῳ καὶ ὑμῖν εὖνοι, καὶ κελεύουσι φυλάττεσθαι μὴ ὑμῖν ἐπιθῶνται τῆς νυκτὸς οἱ βάρβαροι: ἔστι δὲ στράτευμα πολὺ ἐν τῷ πλησίον παραδείσῳ. [17] καὶ παρὰ τὴν γέφυραν τοῦ Τίγρητος ποταμοῦ πέμψαι κελεύουσι φυλακήν, ὡς διανοεῖται αὐτὴν λῦσαι Τισσαφέρνης τῆς νυκτός, ἐὰν δύνηται, ὡς μὴ διαβῆτε ἀλλ’ ἐν μέσῳ ἀποληφθῆτε τοῦ ποταμοῦ καὶ τῆς διώρυχος.
Then Proxenus spoke up, “I am the man you’re asking for.”
And the man said the following: “Ariaeus and Artaozos sent me, they being Cyrus’s faithful deputies and well-disposed towards you. They advise you to be on guard, because the barbarians will attack you tonight. There is a large army in a nearby wooded park. And they also urge you to guard the bridge over the Tigris, as Tissaphernes intends to destroy it tonight if he can, so that you cannot cross, but will be cut off between the river and the canal.”
(The footnotes and further reading make it clear that the Persians are now all conspiring against the Greeks. In the following passages, the geography, the King’s motives, and the conversation get a little tricky to follow. Suffice to say, the Persians are up to no good.)
[18] ἀκούσαντες ταῦτα ἄγουσιν αὐτὸν παρὰ τὸν Κλέαρχον καὶ φράζουσιν ἃ λέγει. ὁ δὲ Κλέαρχος ἀκούσας ἐταράχθη σφόδρα καὶ ἐφοβεῖτο.
Hearing this, they brought the man to Clearchus and repeated what he had said. Clearchus, hearing it himself, was very upset and fearful.
[19] νεανίσκος δέ τις τῶν παρόντων ἐννοήσας εἶπεν ὡς οὐκ ἀκόλουθα εἴη τό τε ἐπιθήσεσθαι καὶ λύσειν τὴν γέφυραν. δῆλον γὰρ ὅτι ἐπιτιθεμένους ἢ νικᾶν δεήσει ἢ ἡττᾶσθαι. ἐὰν μὲν οὖν νικῶσι, τί δεῖ λύειν αὐτοὺς τὴν γέφυραν; οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν πολλαὶ γέφυραι ὦσιν ἔχοιμεν ἂν ὅποι φυγόντες ἡμεῖς σωθῶμεν.
But a young man of those present thought about the matter and said that it would be inconsistent both to attack and to take apart the bridge. Obviously the attack must result in either victory or defeat. If, on the one hand, they prevailed, then what use would it be to destroy the bridge? For even if there were many bridges, we would not know where to flee to safety.
[20] ἐὰν δὲ ἡμεῖς νικῶμεν, λελυμένης τῆς γεφύρας οὐχ ἕξουσιν ἐκεῖνοι ὅποι φύγωσιν: οὐδὲ μὴν βοηθῆσαι πολλῶν ὄντων πέραν οὐδεὶς αὐτοῖς δυνήσεται λελυμένης τῆς γεφύρας.
But, on the other hand, if we (the Greeks) were victorious, the barbarians, having destroyed the bridge would not be able to escape over it. Nor could their many friends across the river come to their aid if the bridge was destroyed.
[21] ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ Κλέαρχος ταῦτα ἤρετο τὸν ἄγγελον πόση τις εἴη χώρα ἡ ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ Τίγρητος καὶ τῆς διώρυχος. ὁ δὲ εἶπεν ὅτι πολλὴ καὶ κῶμαι ἔνεισι καὶ πόλεις πολλαὶ καὶ μεγάλαι.
Hearing this, Clearchus asked the messenger how large in extent was the land between the Tigris and the canal. He replied that within were many villages and cities, large and great.
[22] τότε δὴ καὶ ἐγνώσθη ὅτι οἱ βάρβαροι τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὑποπέμψειαν, ὀκνοῦντες μὴ οἱ Ἕλληνες διελόντες τὴν γέφυραν μείναιεν ἐν τῇ νήσῳ ἐρύματα ἔχοντες ἔνθεν μὲν τὸν Τίγρητα, ἔνθεν δὲ τὴν διώρυχα: τὰ δ’ ἐπιτήδεια ἔχοιεν ἐκ τῆς ἐν μέσῳ χώρας πολλῆς καὶ ἀγαθῆς οὔσης καὶ τῶν ἐργασομένων ἐνόντων: εἶτα δὲ καὶ ἀποστροφὴ γένοιτο εἴ τις βούλοιτο βασιλέα κακῶς ποιεῖν.
At this point, it was realized that the barbarians had sent the man craftily (literally “under-sent,” a very neat compound) worrying that the Greeks, taking apart the bridge would remain in the peninsula, protected on one side by the Tigris and on the other by the canal. There being the necessaries of life in this large and prosperous middle-land, which also had farmers, then the Greeks might make this a refuge if they wanted to harass the King.
(Clearly this is a very different worry than the King’s concern that they might embarrass him in Greece. And while it might sound odd to the modern ear, in the ancient world, an armed body of men, supplied with food, farmers/slaves, and women (I suppose), in a small, defensible area might very well decide to set up shop there for an indefinite period. So, the whole game-playing about the bridge was to forestall this “Mesopotamian redoubt” idea, which, as it happens, was not what the Greeks wanted to do. Understandably, then or now, they just wanted to go home.)
[23] μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἀνεπαύοντο: ἐπὶ μέντοι τὴν γέφυραν ὅμως φυλακὴν ἔπεμψαν: καὶ οὔτε ἐπέθετο οὐδεὶς οὐδαμόθεν οὔτε πρὸς τὴν γέφυραν οὐδεὶς ἦλθε τῶν πολεμίων, ὡς οἱ φυλάττοντες ἀπήγγελλον. [24] ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἕως ἐγένετο, διέβαινον τὴν γέφυραν ἐζευγμένην πλοίοις τριάκοντα καὶ ἑπτὰ ὡς οἷόν τε μάλιστα πεφυλαγμένως: ἐξήγγελλον γάρ τινες τῶν παρὰ Τισσαφέρνους Ἑλλήνων ὡς διαβαινόντων μέλλοιεν ἐπιθήσεσθαι. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ψευδῆ ἦν: διαβαινόντων μέντοι ὁ Γλοῦς [αὐτῶν] ἐπεφάνη μετ’ ἄλλων σκοπῶν εἰ διαβαίνοιεν τὸν ποταμόν: ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἶδεν, ᾤχετο ἀπελαύνων.
After this they rested for the night. Nevertheless they set a guard on the bridge, and no one suffered anything from any quarter, nor did anyone of the enemy approach the bridge, so the guards reported. When morning came, they crossed on a bridge of 37 boats, guarding as well as possible, because some Greeks from Tissaphernes reported that he intended to attack them during the crosssing. But this turned out not to be so. Indeed, Glus appeared at the crossing with some other scouts, to see if they would cross the river; when he saw that they were, he went riding away.
[25] ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Τίγρητος ἐπορεύθησαν σταθμοὺς τέτταρας παρασάγγας εἴκοσιν ἐπὶ τὸν Φύσκον ποταμόν, τὸ εὖρος πλέθρου: ἐπῆν δὲ γέφυρα. καὶ ἐνταῦθα ᾠκεῖτο πόλις μεγάλη ὄνομα Ὦπις: πρὸς ἣν ἀπήντησε τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ὁ Κύρου καὶ Ἀρταξέρξου νόθος ἀδελφὸς ἀπὸ Σούσων καὶ Ἐκβατάνων στρατιὰν πολλὴν ἄγων ὡς βοηθήσων βασιλεῖ: καὶ ἐπιστήσας τὸ ἑαυτοῦ στράτευμα παρερχομένους τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἐθεώρει. [26] ὁ δὲ Κλέαρχος ἡγεῖτο μὲν εἰς δύο, ἐπορεύετο δὲ ἄλλοτε καὶ ἄλλοτε ἐφιστάμενος: ὅσον δὲ [ἂν] χρόνον τὸ ἡγούμενον τοῦ στρατεύματος ἐπιστήσειε, τοσοῦτον ἦν ἀνάγκη χρόνον δι’ ὅλου τοῦ στρατεύματος γίγνεσθαι τὴν ἐπίστασιν: ὥστε τὸ στράτευμα καὶ αὐτοῖς τοῖς Ἕλλησι δόξαι πάμπολυ εἶναι, καὶ τὸν Πέρσην ἐκπεπλῆχθαι θεωροῦντα.
From the Tigris they marched four stages, twenty parasangs, to the Physcus River1, which was one plethrum wide, with a bridge over it. And there a large city called Opis was situated, before which they were met by Artaxerxes’ and Cyrus’ half-brother2, who was leading a large army from Susa and Ebatana to aid the King. And his army halted to watch the Greeks marching by. Clearchus, leading the men in a double file, was marching and intermittently stopping. (To the viewer) as much time as Clearchus’ vanguard would take, the main body would need that much more time, so that the Greeks seemed very numerous to the Persian army, and seeing the Greeks, they panicked.3
[27] ἐντεῦθεν δ’ ἐπορεύθησαν διὰ τῆς Μηδίας σταθμοὺς ἐρήμους ἓξ παρασάγγας τριάκοντα εἰς τὰς Παρυσάτιδος κώμας τῆς Κύρου καὶ βασιλέως μητρός. ταύτας Τισσαφέρνης Κύρῳ ἐπεγγελῶν διαρπάσαι τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἐπέτρεψε πλὴν ἀνδραπόδων. ἐνῆν δὲ σῖτος πολὺς καὶ πρόβατα καὶ ἄλλα χρήματα. [28] ἐντεῦθεν δ’ ἐπορεύθησαν σταθμοὺς ἐρήμους τέτταρας παρασάγγας εἴκοσι τὸν Τίγρητα ποταμὸν ἐν ἀριστερᾷ ἔχοντες. ἐν δὲ τῷ πρώτῳ σταθμῷ πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ πόλις ᾠκεῖτο μεγάλη καὶ εὐδαίμων ὄνομα Καιναί, ἐξ ἧς οἱ βάρβαροι διῆγον ἐπὶ σχεδίαις διφθερίναις ἄρτους, τυρούς, οἶνον.
From there they went through Media six days marches through the desert, thirty parasangs, into some villages belonging to Parysatides, the mother of Cyrus and the King. As an insult to Cyrus, Tissaphernes gave over these villages, except for slaves captured in war, to be plundered by the Greeks.4 Within the villages was plenty of food and livestock and other useful things5 Then, they proceeded four desert stages, twenty parasangs, keeping the Tigris River on their left. During the first day’s march, there was a large and prosperous city called Caenae across the river, from which the natives carried across bread, cheese, and wine on leather rafts6.
- The modern Diyala River, which the Marines crossed in April, 2003, as recounted in Bing West’s book, The March Up. [↩]
- the Greek word nothos strictly means ‘illegitimate.’ In this case, the man was leading an army and presumably was not stigmatized, although not being the son of the official queen Parysatides, was in no way in line for the throne. [↩]
- For this ruse to work, the Persians must have been watching from some great distance where they could not distinguish individuals starting and stopping, but merely get the impression of an army taking a very long time to pass by. [↩]
- It is unclear to me how Tissaphernes thought he could do this without equally insulting the living and still-powerful Queen Mother. At any rate, she had her revenge, for this and other insults, when she had Tissaphernes killed five years later. [↩]
- the Greek word here is chremata, usually translated as ‘money,’ or ‘property’ or ‘possessions.’ ‘Useful things’ is quite a literal translation, and I think accurate, to describe furniture, tools, clothes, utensils, or other basic things useful to life in an ancient Mesopotamian village. [↩]
- presumably inflated, as described in Book 1, Chapter 5 [↩]
Anabasis - On the character of Clearchus
Anabasis, Book 1 - Review
Anabasis, Book 1, Ch. 6 - The End of Orontas
Anabasis, Book 2, Ch. 1 - Ariaeus demurs
Anabasis - More on Clearchus