CHAPTER I.

CAPTURE OF MITYLENE BY THE PERSIANS.—DEATH OF MEMNON.

Soon after this, Memnon, whom King Darius had appointed commander of

the whole fleet and of the entire sea-coast, with the design of moving

the seat of war into Macedonia and Greece, acquired possession of

Chios, which was surrendered to him by treachery. Thence he sailed to

Lesbos and brought over to his side all the cities of the island,[198]

except Mitylene, the inhabitants of which did not submit to him. When

he had gained these cities over, he turned his attention to Mitylene;

and walling off the city from the rest of the island by constructing

a double stockade from sea to sea, he easily got the mastery on the

land side by building five camps. A part of his fleet guarded their

harbour, and, intercepting the ships passing by, he kept the rest of

his fleet as a guard off Sigrium,[199] the headland of Lesbos, where is

the best landing-place for trading vessels from Chios, Geraestus,[200]

and Malea.[201] By this means he deprived the Mitylenaeans of all hope

of succour by sea. But meantime he himself fell ill and died, and his

death at that crisis was exceedingly injurious to the king’s interests.

Nevertheless Autophradates, and Pharnabazus, son of Artabazus,

prosecuted the siege with vigour. To the latter indeed, Memnon, when

dying, had entrusted his command, as he was his sister’s son, till

Darius should come to some decision on the matter. The Mitylenaeans,

therefore, being excluded from the land, and being blockaded on the

sea by many ships lying at anchor, sent to Pharnabazus and came to

the following agreement:—That the auxiliary troops which had come

to their aid from Alexander should depart, that the citizens should

demolish the pillars on which the treaty made by them with Alexander

was inscribed,[202] that they should become allies of Darius on the

terms of the peace which was made with King Darius in the time of

Antalcidas,[203] and that their exiles should return from banishment

on condition of receiving back half the property which they possessed

when they were banished. Upon these terms the compact was made between

the Mitylenaeans and the Persians. But as soon as Pharnabazus and

Autophradates once got within the city, they introduced a garrison with

Lycomedes, a Rhodian, as its commandant. They also appointed Diogenes,

one of the exiles, to be despot of the city, and exacted money from the

Mitylenaeans, taking part of it by violence for themselves from the

wealthy citizens, and laying the rest as a tax upon the community.