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On one of these occasions Megacreon of Abdera wittily recommended his
countrymen "to go to the temples in a body, men and women alike, and
there take their station as suppliants, and beseech the gods that they
would in future always spare them one-half of the woes which might
threaten their peace - thanking them at the same time very warmly for
their past goodness in that they had caused Xerxes to be content with
one meal in the day." For had the order been to provide breakfast for
the king as well as dinner, the Abderites must either have fled before
Xerxes came, or, if they awaited his coming, have been brought to
absolute ruin. As it was, the nations, though suffering heavy
pressure, complied nevertheless with the directions that had been given.
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