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The Greeks, as soon as the victims were favourable, put to sea, and
sailed across from Delos to Samos. Arriving off Calami, a place
upon the Samian coast, they brought the fleet to an anchor near the
temple of Juno which stands there, and prepared to engage the
Persians by sea. These latter, however, no sooner heard of the
approach of the Greeks, than, dismissing the Phoenician ships, they
sailed away with the remainder to the mainland. For it had been
resolved in council not to risk a battle, since the Persian fleet was
thought to be no match for that of the enemy. They fled, therefore,
to the main, to be under the protection of their land army, which now
lay at Mycale, and consisted of the troops left behind by Xerxes to
keep guard over Ionia. This was an army of sixty thousand men, under
the command of Tigranes, a Persian of more than common beauty and
stature. The captains resolved therefore to betake themselves to these
troops for defence, to drag their ships ashore, and to build a rampart
around them, which might at once protect the fleet, and serve likewise
as a place of refuge for themselves.
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