Page:History of Greece Vol V.djvu/206

182 fflSTOEY OF GREECE. Herodotus, there survived only three thousand men out of the three hundred thousand which had composed the army of Mar- donius, — save and except the forty thousand men who accom- panied Artabazus in his retreat.^ Respecting these numbers, the historian had probably little to give except some vague reports, without any pretence of computation : about the Gre- cian loss, his statement deserves more attention, when he tells us that there perished ninety-one Spartans, sixteen Tegeans, and fifty-two Athenians. Herein, however, is not included the loss of the Megarians when attacked by the Theban cavalry, nor is the number of slain Lacedicmonians, not Spartans, specified; while even the other numbers actually stated are decidedly smaller than the probable truth, considering the multitude of Persian arrows and the unshielded right side of the Grecian hoplite. On the whole, the affirmation of Plutarch, that not less than thirteen hundred and sixty Greeks were slain in the action, appears probable : all doubtless hoplites, — for little account was then made of the light-armed, nor indeed are we told that they took any active part in the battle.2 Whatever may have been the numerical loss of the Persians, this defeat proved the total ruin of their army : but we may fairly presume that many were spared and sold into slavery ,3 while many of the fugitives prob- ably found means to join the retreating division of Artabazus. That general made a rapid march across Thessaly and Macedo- ' Herodot. ix, 70 : compare -iEschyl. Pers. 805-824. He singles out " the Dorian spear " as the great weapon of destruction to the Persians at Pla- taea, — very justly. Dr. Blomfield is sui-prised at this compliment ; but it is to be recollected that all the earlier part of the tragedy had been em- ployed in setting forth the glory of Athens at Salamis, and he might well afford to give the Peloponnesians the credit which they derived at Platsea. Pindar distributes the honor between Sparta and Athens in like manner (Pyth. i, 76). 2 Plutarch, Aristeides, c. 19. Kleidemus, quoted by Plutarch, stated that all the fifty-two Athenians who perished belonged to the tribe Mantis, which distinguished itself in the Athenian ranks. But it seems impossible to believe that no citizens belonging to the other nine tribes were killed. ^ Diodorus, indeed, states that Pausanias was so apprehensive of the numbers of the Persians, that he forbade his soldiers to give quarter or take any prisoners (xi, 32) ; but this is hardly to be believed, in spite of his assertion. His statement that the Greeks lost ten thousand men is still less admissible. •