Famous and decisive battles of the world Author:Charles King Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE ARMY OF ATTICA. It is pitiful to think of his subsequent history. Taking advantage of the enthusiasm and confidence of the people immediately after Marath... more »on, he induced them to fit out and give him command of a secret expedition, which he assured them would yield great profit to Athens. It turned out to be a mere raid upon the neighboring island of Paros to satisfy a personal hatred against one of its prominent citizens. The expedition was a failure, and Miltiades himself, tricked into a midnight rendezvous with the so-called priestess of the temple, fell in the darkness, sustained severe injuries; was recalled in dishonor, and died at Athens in disgrace, the wretched dupe of a woman. Marathon checked at once the hopes and schemes of Darius, sent the discomfited fleet and army back to the shores of Asia, and roused the valor and enthusiasm of Greece to the highest pitch. As a purely military state Lacedaemon still held the lead, but in all that related to national affairs and speedily in all that concerned her naval force and policy, Athens by her great victory rose to the first rank. For ten valuable and well-improved years the shores of Greece saw no more of the Persian invaders. chapter{Section 4THERMOPYLAE. 480 B. C. T cannot be claimed that this was a great battle, but as a combat renowned in history for chivalric devotion and valor, its incidents can never lack interest to either soldier, scholar, or casual reader. After Marathon, when Datis and his defeated army returned to Persia, King Darius seems to have been stunned by the force of the blow, so much so that he forgot even the destined vengeance on the prisoners brought from Eretria. He soon rallied, however, and resolved upon an expedition that should far exceed in strength and numbers either that ...« less