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The Persians encamped upon the hill over against the citadel, which
is called Mars' hill by the Athenians, and began the siege of the
place, attacking the Greeks with arrows whereto pieces of lighted tow
were attached, which they shot at the barricade. And now those who
were within the citadel found themselves in a most woeful case; for
their wooden rampart betrayed them; still, however, they continued to
resist. It was in vain that the Pisistratidae came to them and
offered terms of surrender - they stoutly refused all parley, and
among their other modes of defence, rolled down huge masses of stone
upon the barbarians as they were mounting up to the gates: so that
Xerxes was for a long time very greatly perplexed, and could not
contrive any way to take them.
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