After the Battle at Salamis (a)

Translation

1. Having thus finished his story the sailor lay down on the deck, while Dikaiopolis and Philip were silent, marvelling at all he had told. But in the end Philip said: "How bravely the Greeks fought, how brilliantly the Athenians lead the allies! But you, what did you do after the war? Did you, having become a merchant, sail out in merchant ships?" But he [the sailor] said: 'O no, for the war had not finished but it was necessary to fight for a long time still against the barbarians. For the barbarians held all the islands and the whole of Ionia [in their power].
2. And Philip [asked]: But for how long was it necessary to fight? Did you take part in many battles?
   And the sailor, having got up and come closer to him said: Indeed, child, I took part in very many battles and sailed with our allies to many parts of the earth. But we always beat the barbarians.
   Philip: But where were you fighting?
   And he replied: First of all, with the beginning of spring we gave the Ionians their freedom back; for, having sailed with 100 ships towards Samos and having chased the fleet of the barbarians to Mycale we disembarked onto land, defeated their army and destroyed their fleet. And as soon as the Ionians knew that we were winning they revolted against the Persians and helped us; so this is how they became free again. And the following year, sailing all over (in every direction of) the Aigean Sea we drove the barbarians out: for we freed Cyprus and, having sailed towards the Pontus [}the Black Sea], we took Byzantium [nowadays called Constantinople, after a Roman emperor] and many other towns: for nowhere were the barbarians able to resist us.
3. But later on, when the Persians had gathered an enormous army and 200 ships they tried to force their way into the Aegean Sea again, Cimon, excellent general that he was, leading us caught up with them by the Eurymedon river and defeated them on land and by sea in a gigantic battle.
4. And what is more, we took our campaign into Egypt and, helping the inhabitants, drove the Persians out. For we sailed up the Nile, a very large river, that irrigates the whole of Egypt in summer and flows into the sea in 7 channels; and we took Memphis, a great city lying on the Nile. And so we remained in Egypt for 6 years and saw many wonders; for the Egyptians do everything the opposite way to other people and use different customs. For among the Egyptians it is the women who spend their time in the market place while their husbands stay at home and do the weaving.
5. And so we saw the pyramids, enormous tombs of the ancient kings, and the Sphinx, a most awesome statue, half woman, half lioness. And more, we saw strange animals, crocodiles, which of all living [qnhto&j really means 'mortal'] creatures grow from exceedingly small to enormous and most terrifying, and ostriches, [certain] very big birds that can't fly but run no slower than our horses. But finally the Persians, having got together an enormous army, attacked us and drove us out of Memphis. So this is how for the first time we suffered a great disaster; for having lost 200 ships we ourselves escaped with great difficulty to Cyrene.