Afterwards divers councils were held by the captains of the fleet, in which, after others had set forth their opinions, Dionysius of Phocæa thus spake, “Ye men of Ionia, now are our fortunes on the razor’s edge, whether we shall be free men or slaves, and slaves that are also runaways. If ye will endure for the time some hardness, ye will be able to prevail over your enemies and so be free forever; but if ye continue in your present slothfulness and disorder, there is no hope but that ye will suffer the wrath of the King when he shall avenge himself on you for your revolt. Be therefore persuaded by me and yield yourselves to my commands; for if ye fulfill these faithfully either will the Persians fly before us, or if they fight, will be utterly vanquished.”
The Ionians hearkened to these words and committed themselves to Dionysius. And he every day made them move their ships in column, and practice with their oars, and exercise themselves in breaking the line. And the fighting men were kept under arms, and the ships remained on their anchors, so that the men had toil without ceasing from morning until night. These things the Ionians endured for seven days, but on the eighth—for they were not accustomed to such toil—being worn out with labor and with the heat of the sun, they began to say to each other, “Against what god have we sinned that we suffer such things? Surely we were mad that we gave ourselves to this boaster from Phocæa that has brought but three ships only. For he has taken us and plagued us with trouble that cannot be endured, so that many of us have already fallen sick, and many will soon fall. Surely it were better to endure anything rather than these hardships. Even slavery were better than this servitude. Let us therefore yield him obedience no more.”
After this they would not obey him, but pitched their tents upon the island, as though they had been soldiers, and lay in the shade, and would