By Herodotus
Translated into English by G. C. Macaulay
{e Herodotou diathesis en apasin epieikes, kai tois men
agathois sunedomene, tois de kakois sunalgousa}.—Dion.
Halic.
This text was prepared from the third edition, printed in 1914, by
MacMillan and Co., Limited, St. Martin's Street, London.
Greek text has been transliterated and marked with brackets, as in the
opening citation above.
1. In the meantime those of the Persians who had been left behind in
Europe by Dareios, of whom Megabazos was the commander, had subdued the
people of Perinthos first of the Hellespontians, since they refused to
be subject to Dareios. These had in former times also been hardly dealt
with by the Paionians: for the Paionians from the Strymon had been
commanded by an oracle of their god to march against the Perinthians;
and if the Perinthians, when encamped opposite to them, should shout
aloud and call to them by their name, they were to attack them; but if
they should not shout to them, they were not to attack them: and thus
the Paionians proceeded to do. Now when the Perinthians were encamped
opposite to them in the suburb of their city, a challenge was made and
a single combat took place in three different forms; for they matched a
man against a man, and a horse against a horse, and a dog against a dog.
Then, as the Perinthians were getting the better in two of the three,
in their exultation they raised a shout of paion, 1 and the Paionians
conjectured that this was the very thing which was spoken of in the
oracle, and said doubtless to one another, "Now surely the oracle
is being accomplished for us, now it is time for us to act." So the
Paionians attacked the Perinthians when they had raised the shout of
paion, and they had much the better in the fight, and left but few of
them alive.
2. Thus it happened with respect to those things which had been done to
them in former times by the Paionians; and at this time, although the
Perinthians proved themselves brave men in defence of their freedom,
the Persians and Megabazos got the better of them by numbers. Then after
Perinthos had been conquered, Megabazos marched his army through the
length of Thracia, forcing every city and every race of those who
dwell there to submit to the king, for so it had been commanded him by
Dareios, to subdue Thracia.
3. Now the Thracian race is the most numerous, except the Indians, in
all the world: and if it should come to be ruled over by one man, or
to agree together in one, it would be irresistible in fight and the
strongest by far of all nations, in my opinion. Since however this is
impossible for them and cannot ever come to pass among them, 2 they are
in fact weak for that reason. They have many names, belonging to their
various tribes in different places; but they all follow customs which
are nearly the same in all respects, except the Getai and Trausians and
those who dwell above the Crestonians.