having lagged behind, fell into the hands of the Greeks, for they took the Greek ships for their own, and sailed into the midst of them: a certain Sandoces was commander of the fifteen. This man had been governor of Cumæ in Æolia, and being one of the royal judges had been crucified by King Darius because he had taken a bribe. But while he hung upon the cross, the King found that the good deeds which he had done to the King’s house were more than his evil deeds, and commanded that he should be taken down. Thus he escaped with his life; but this second peril he did not escape.
In the meanwhile Xerxes with the host passed through the land of Thessaly. Here he matched his horses with the horses of Thessaly, hearing that these were the swiftest in all Greece; and the horses of Thessaly were far outstripped. And having passed through Thessaly he came to Trachis.