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Cleomenes, however, was still king when Aristagoras, tyrant of
Miletus, reached Sparta. At their interview, Aristagoras,
according to the report of the Lacedaemonians, produced a bronze
tablet, whereupon the whole circuit of the earth was engraved, with
all its seas and rivers. Discourse began between the two; and
Aristagoras addressed the Spartan king in these words following:
"Think it not strange, O King Cleomenes, that I have been at the
pains to sail hither; for the posture of affairs, which I will now
recount unto thee, made it fitting. Shame and grief is it indeed to
none so much as to us, that the sons of the Ionians should have lost
their freedom, and come to be the slaves of others; but yet it touches
you likewise, O Spartans, beyond the rest of the Greeks, inasmuch
as the pre-eminence over all Greece appertains to you. We beseech
you, therefore, by the common gods of the Grecians, deliver the
Ionians, who are your own kinsmen, from slavery. Truly the task is
not difficult; for the barbarians are an unwarlike people; and you are
the best and bravest warriors in the whole world. Their mode of
fighting is the following: they use bows and arrows and a short spear;
they wear trousers in the field, and cover their heads with turbans.
So easy are they to vanquish! Know too that the dwellers in these
parts have more good things than all the rest of the world put together
- gold, and silver, and brass, and embroidered garments, beasts of
burthen, and bond-servants - all which, if you only wish it, you
may soon have for your own. The nations border on one another, in the
order which I will now explain. Next to these Ionians" (here he
pointed with his finger to the map of the world which was engraved upon
the tablet that he had brought with him) "these Lydians dwell; their
soil is fertile, and few people are so rich in silver. Next to
them," he continued, "come these Phrygians, who have more flocks
and herds than any race that I know, and more plentiful harvests. On
them border the Cappadocians, whom we Greeks know by the name of
Syrians: they are neighbours to the Cilicians, who extend all the
way to this sea, where Cyprus (the island which you see here) lies.
The Cilicians pay the king a yearly tribute of five hundred talents.
Next to them come the Armenians, who live here - they too have
numerous flocks and herds. After them come the Matieni, inhabiting
this country; then Cissia, this province, where you see the river
Choaspes marked, and likewise the town Susa upon its banks, where
the Great King holds his court, and where the treasuries are in which
his wealth is stored. Once masters of this city, you may be bold to
vie with Jove himself for riches. In the wars which ye wage with your
rivals of Messenia, with them of Argos likewise and of Arcadia,
about paltry boundaries and strips of land not so remarkably good, ye
contend with those who have no gold, nor silver even, which often give
men heart to fight and die. Must ye wage such wars, and when ye might
so easily be lords of Asia, will ye decide otherwise?" Thus spoke
Aristagoras; and Cleomenes replied to him, - "Milesian stranger,
three days hence I will give thee an answer."
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