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Such, then, were the views which led Histiaeus to despatch his
messenger; and it so chanced that all these several motives to revolt
were brought to bear upon Aristagoras at one and the same time.
Accordingly, at this conjuncture Aristagoras held a council of his
trusty friends, and laid the business before them, telling them both
what he had himself purposed, and what message had been sent him by
Histiaeus. At this council all his friends were of the same way of
thinking, and recommended revolt, except only Hecataeus the
historian. He, first of all, advised them by all means to avoid
engaging in war with the king of the Persians, whose might he set
forth, and whose subject nations he enumerated. As however he could
not induce them to listen to this counsel, he next advised that they
should do all that lay in their power to make themselves masters of the
sea. "There was one only way," he said, "so far as he could see,
of their succeeding in this. Miletus was, he knew, a weak state -
but if the treasures in the temple at Branchidae, which Croesus the
Lydian gave to it, were seized, he had strong hopes that the mastery
of the sea might be thereby gained; at least it would give them money
to begin the war, and would save the treasures from falling into the
hands of the enemy." Now these treasures were of very great value,
as I showed in the first part of my History. The assembly,
however, rejected the counsel of Hecataeus, while, nevertheless,
they resolved upon a revolt. One of their number, it was agreed,
should sail to Myus, where the fleet had been lying since its return
from Naxos, and endeavour to seize the captains who had gone there
with the vessels.
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