[sect. 5]
Characteristic and Analysis of Bk. 9
The ninth Book of Herodotus, as it stands, is the
shortest of the nine received divisions of the work, and calls
for but curt analysis. The narrative is all but continuous, so
far as the records of two concurrent and synchronous series of
events can be continuous. Apart from some trifling digressions
or excursuses, to be duly catalogued in their places, the Book falls
into two main divisions, the first (cc. 1-89) treating of the
conduct of the war on land, in Hellas proper, and culminating
in the victory of Plataia; the second (cc. 90-107, 114-122)
treating of the conduct of the war by sea, or rather by the
[p. xxxv]
maritime forces, and culminating in the victory of Mykale,
which was a victory in a land engagement, though apparently
won by the marines. Further analysis will present a better
conspectus of the substance and structure of each part.
Part I. THE CAMPAIGN OF PLATAIA, cc. 1-89.
Preliminaries: cc. 1-19.
P1 (cc. 1-5).
Advance of Mardonios from Thessaly to Athens, cc. 1-3.
Advice of the Thebans, c. 2.
Mission of Murychidas, c. 4.
Fate of Lykidas, c. 5.
G1 (cc. 6-12).
Athenian negotiations with Sparta, cc. 6-11.
i. Representations of Athens, Megara, Plataia at Sparta, c. 6.
ii. Speech of the Athenians, c. 7.
iii. Dilatory inaction of the Ephors, c. 8.
iv. Intervention of Chileos of Tegea, c. 9.
v. Despatch of Forces under Pausanias, c. 10.
vi. Final interview of the Envoys with the Ephors, c. 11.
P2 (cc. 12-18).
i. Argive message to Mardonios, c. 12.
ii. Mardonios evacuates Attica (c. 13), raids Megaris (c. 14),
retreats into Boiotia: position and camp, c. 15.
iii. The banquet of Attaginos, c. 16.
iv. The reception of the Phokians in the Persian camp, cc. 17, 18.
The operations in Boiotia: cc. 19-70.
G. Advance of Peloponnesian forces.
Junction with the Athenians at Eleusis.
Occupation of the first position in Boiotia, c. 19.
GP. Fighting in the first position, cc. 20-24.
Defeat of Persian cavalry by the Athenians.
Death of Masistios. Barbarian mourning.
GP. Operations in the second position, cc. 25-51.
First ten days.
Advance of the Greeks to a fresh position, c. 25.
Dispute between Athenians and Tegeatai for precedence, cc.
26, 27.
Hellenic battle-array: number and composition of the
army, cc. 28-30.
Persian battle-array: composition of the forces, cc. 31, 32.
Divinations: cc. 33, 36.
Digressions: Story of Teisamenos, cc. 33-35.
Story of Hegesistratos, c. 37.
[p. xxxvi]
Reluctance on both sides to begin the attack: lapse of ten
days.
Skirmishing, cc. 38-40. The Greeks cut off from the
main pass of Dryos Kephalai.
Eleventh day (cc. 41-46).
P (cc. 41-43).
Dispute between Mardonios and Artabazos, c. 41.
Mardonios resolves on doing battle next day; reassures Greek
commanders anent oracles, c. 42.
H. Hdt. on oracles: Bakis again, c. 43.
G. Visit of Alexander to the Athenian camp, cc. 44, 45.
The Athenian Strategoi and Pausanias, c. 46.
Twelfth day (cc. 47-57).
The Athenian and Spartan (ex)change of positions, c. 47.
The challenge of Mardonios, c. 48.
Cavalry assaults on the Greek position, c. 49.
Greek council of war: resolve to retreat to the Island and
to relieve baggage-train, cc. 50, 51.
Night of the twelfth day (cc. 52-57).
Retirement of the Greeks: the centre to the Heraion, c. 52.
Obstinacy of Amompharetos, c. 53.
Action and message of the Athenians, cc. 54, 55.
Thirteenth day (ἠώς). Pausanias retires, c. 56.
Amompharetos rejoins the main body, c. 57.
The final battle, and victory of the Greeks, cc. 58-70.
Mardonios' speech to the Aleuadai, c. 58.
Persians cross the Asopos in pursuit of the Lakedaimonians,
c. 59.
Pausanias summons the Athenians to his aid, c. 60.
The engagement on the right wing (Spartans, Persians), cc.
61-65: death of Mardonios, c. 63.
The flight of Artabazos with 40,000 men, c. 66.
The engagement on the left wing (Athenians, Boiotians), c. 67.
Rout of the Persian forces covered by the cavalry, c. 68.
Advance of the Greek centre (in two divisions): defeat of the
left centre by the Boiotian cavalry, c. 69.
Capture and sack of the Persian fortified camp, c. 70.
Numerical losses on both sides, c. 70.
AFTER THE BATTLE, cc. 71-89.
i. The Aristeia: Spartan: (Aristodemos, Poseidonios, Philokyon,
Amompharetos, Kallikrates), cc. 71, 72.
Athenian: Sophanes of Dekeleia, cc. 73-75.
Note: ancient connexion between Dekeleia and
Sparta.
ii. The Lady of Kos, c. 76.
[p. xxxvii]
iii. Mantineians, Eleians, too late! c. 77.
iv. Proposal of Lampon (of Aigina) rejected by Pausanias, cc. 78, 79.
v. Collecting the spoils (origin of Aiginetan wealth), c. 80.
vi. Division of the spoils: memorial offerings, c. 81.
vii. An object-lesson on luxury, c. 82.
viii. Curiosities of the battle-field, c. 83.
ix. The burial of Mardonios, c. 84.
x. The tombs at Plataia, c. 85.
Siege, surrender and fate of Thebes, cc. 86-88.
The escape of Artabazos, c. 89 (cp. c. 66 supra).
As there are unusually precise data in the text regarding the
journal, or diary, of Plataia, from the occupation of the second
position onwards, they have been utilized for the purposes of the
Analysis, but, of course, without prejudice to the questions of fact,
and the military problems underlying the presentation of the
whole matter in Herodotus. The purpose of this Analysis was
simply to represent the subject in bare outline, as found in the
Herodotean logography. How far his stories are consistent and
credible in themselves, in relation to each other, and to the
permanent or a priori conditions of the problem (geographical,
strategic, anthropological), are questions not arising in a mere
Analysis. The Analysis, however, may be taken to show that
Herodotus describes the operations on the Asopos with unusual
minuteness at unusual length, and here if anywhere advances a
claim to be judged as a military historian. At least three distinct
positions are assigned to the Greek forces in the course of the
operations, and the account of the final engagement discriminates
clearly the behaviour of the two wings and the quondam centre.
Although in some few passages the author sets his readers on
the Persian side (cc. 24, 41-42, 58, 66, 89), the story is in the
main told obviously from the national standpoint, and in this case
even the Persian record is almost as much Greek as Barbarian.
Chronological sequence is manifestly abandoned in the miscellaneous
series of items and episodes comprised under the heading
After the Battle, though the items in themselves will be found
of special value for the determination of the sources and composition
of the first Part of the Book.
The digressional element is reduced almost to a minimum in
this Part. The record of the operations and events in loco is
only interrupted by the stories of the Diviners, in cc. 33-37, and
[p. xxxviii]
by the author's own aside concerning oracles in c. 43. When
the chronological sequence and continuity is dropped after the
battle a larger excursional element makes its appearance, and at
least one note, that on Dekeleia (c. 75), may carry down almost
as late as any other throughout the whole work.
The second Part of the ninth Book (cc. 90 ff.) deals on a
smaller scaleperhaps there was less to recordwith the operations
of the fleet, culminating at Mykale, the story being resumed
from Bk. 8 c. 132, and the movement being ex hypothesi synchronous
with the events recorded in the first Part, the exact
synchronism of the battle of Mykale with the final engagement
at Plataia being expressly marked.
Part II. THE NAVAL OPERATIONS, cc. 90-end.
1. The campaign of Mykale, cc. 90-107.
Delos: The Greek Fleet at Delos, cc. 90-92 (cp. 8. 132).
Envoys from Samos: Hegesistratos.
Admission of the Samians to the Alliance.
Digression: Story of Evenios of Apollonia, father of Deiphonos, the
Diviner, cc. 93-94.
If Deiphonos was really his son? c. 95.
Samos: Movement of the Greek Fleet from Delos to Samos, c. 96.
The Persians at Mykale, c. 97.
Mykale: Advance of the Greeks: Leotychidas' appeal to the Ionians, c. 98.
Landing of the Greeks, c. 99.
The φήμη: the κηρυκήιον: Divine coincidences, cc. 100, 101.
Athenians rout the Persians, c. 102.
Arrival of the Lakedaimonians, c. 103.
Loyal conduct of Samians, c. 103, and Milesians, c. 104.
Second Revolt of Ionia from the Persians.
Aristeia of the Athenians, c. 105.
Samos: Return of the Greek Fleet to Samos: Council, c. 106.
Division of opinion between Peloponnesians and Athenians as to
the future position of Ionia.
Admission of Samians, Chians, Lesbians, Nesiotai into the
Alliance.
Sardes: Retreat of the Persians to Sardes: quarrel of Artayntes and
Masistes, the commanders: Xeinagoras of Halikarnassos saves
the life of Masistes, c. 107.
2. Digression (a domestic tragedy): Life in an Oriental Harem, or The
Amours of Xerxes, the revenge of Amastris, and the death
of Masistes, cc. 108-113.
Sestos: 3. Operations on the Hellespont, cc. 114-121.
i. The Greek Fleet at Abydos<*> departure of the Peloponnesians,
c. 114.
[p. xxxix]
ii. Siege and capture of Sestos by the Athenians, cc. 115-120, or the
story of Artayktes.
iii. Return of the Athenians home, c. 120.
Colophon: Anecdote of Kyros, his wisdom, c. 122.
Thus rapidly after the story of Plataia is once ended the work
of Herodotus draws to a close: were it not for the considerable
digressions, and especially the major one, which disparts
them, the stories of Mykale and of Sestos had been soon told,
and the symmetry in the composition, demanded to some extent
by the supposed co-ordination of the two series of events, were
even more hopelessly lost. The conscious parallelism in the
construction extends, perhaps, even so far as to establish a
balance between the two sieges, of Thebes (cc. 86-88) and of Sestos
(cc. 114-121); and the whole concludes most characteristically
with an anecdote, a bon mot, which carries a moral for Greece,
mutato nomine, and points in that manner the most obvious lesson
of the war just recorded, as a victory of the mountain over the
plain, of poverty over luxury, of the sound mind in sound body
over degenerate wearers of purple and fine linen. It is the moral
anticipated in the object-lesson of Pausanias, on Lakonic simplicity
and Persian pomp (c. 82), and by design, or happy accident,
might seem to have suggested the introduction of that lurid
picture of oriental despotism, vice and cruelty presented in the
major digression, on the amours of Xerxes, as though the historian
would say: Horrors of that kind were rendered for ever impossible
in Hellas by the stricken fields of Plataia and Mykale!
Thus compact, finished and complete, the work of Herodotus
as a whole, and the last three Books as its third volume, emerge
from our Analyses. And yet there are eminent authorities6 who
still doubt whether the ninth Book, whether the work as a whole,
is to be deemed finished and complete according to the design
and conception of the author; or whether, as clearly in the case
of Thucydides, some catastrophe prevented the fulfilment of the
historian's lifelong ambition. To the solution of this problem
our argument naturally proceeds.
[p. xl]