But before night a great rain, with thunder and lightning from Mount Pelion, fell upon the Persians; and the dead corpses of them that had been slain in the battle, and broken pieces of the ships, were floated into the midst of the ships and hindered the oars. And the Persians were greatly afraid, thinking that there was no end of their perils, first the storm, and then the battle, and now this great storm of rain. But as for them that were sent round the island they fared much worse, for the storm fell upon them while they were in the open sea. They were near to the Hollows of Eubœa when the wind and the rain overtook them; nor could they hold up against the storm, but being driven they knew not whither, fell among rocks, and so were utterly destroyed. Thus did the Gods contrive that the number of the Persian ships should be made equal to the number of the ships of the Greeks.
Right glad were the barbarians when the morning was come; and that day they tarried in their place, being well content to be quiet after all their troubles. And to the Greeks there came fifty and three ships of the Athenians. Tidings also were brought how that all the ships of the barbarians that had sought to sail round Eubœa had perished by reason of the storm. All this put them in good heart; and at the same hour at which they had sailed the day before, they went forth and fell on some Cilician ships and destroyed them, and so, at nightfall, sailed back to Artemisium.
The third day the barbarians took it much to heart that so few ships of the Greeks should work them such injury. They feared also what Xerxes would do to them; therefore they did not tarry till the Greeks should begin the battle, but bidding each other be of good heart, about noonday they sailed out. Now it so fell out that these three days were the very days on which the Persians and the Greeks had fought in the Pass. For the Greeks at Artemisium sought to keep the Euripus even as Leonidas and his comrades sought to keep the Pass. So the Greeks strengthened each other, saying that they should not suffer the barbarians to go from thence