Book 4 · Chapter 2

It was already late afternoon when they told the advance team to grab a quick bite and head out. Then they tied up the guide and handed him over. The deal was, if they managed to take the summit, they were to guard the position that night and at daybreak, signal with a bugle.

At that signal, the team on the summit was to attack the enemy holding the visible pass, while the generals with the main force would bring up reinforcements as quickly as they could. With that settled, they set off, two thousand strong.

It started pouring rain, but Xenophon, with his rear guard, started moving toward the visible pass so the enemy would focus on that road, and the team sneaking around could avoid being spotted as much as possible.

Now, when the rear guard, moving forward like that, reached a ravine they had to cross to climb the steep slope, the barbarians suddenly started rolling huge boulders down - each one like a wagon load, some bigger, some smaller.

They crashed against the rocks and shattered, flying everywhere like slingstones - it was totally impossible to even approach the pass entrance. Some of the officers, finding themselves blocked, kept trying other routes, and didn’t give up until it got dark.

Then, thinking they wouldn't be seen retreating, they went back for supper. Some of them who’d been on duty in the rear guard hadn’t had breakfast (it just happened that way). However, the enemy didn’t stop rolling boulders down all through the night, which was easy to hear from the booming sound.

The team with the guide circled around and surprised the enemy’s guards sitting around their fire. After killing some and driving the rest away, they took their places, thinking they had the high ground.

Actually, they didn't, because above them was a hill shaped like a chest, bordered by the narrow road where they’d found the guards. Still, from where they were, there was a way to reach the enemy, who were sitting on the pass they’d mentioned earlier.

So, they spent the night there, but at the first hint of dawn, they moved stealthily and in battle formation against the enemy. There was a mist, so they could get really close without being seen.

But as soon as they spotted each other, the bugle sounded, and with a loud cheer, they charged toward the guys, who didn't wait around - they abandoned the road and ran off, losing only a few lives, since they were so quick.

Cheirisophus and his men, hearing the bugle, charged up the clear road, while the other generals pushed their way up through rough terrain, wherever their divisions happened to be.

The men climbed as best they could, hoisting each other up with their spears, and these were the first to join the team who had already taken the position. Xenophon, with the rear guard, followed the path the team with the guide had taken, since it was easiest for the pack animals.

He posted half his men behind the baggage, and kept the other half with him. Along the way, they encountered a ridge above the road, occupied by the enemy, which they had to either push out or risk being cut off from the rest of the Greeks.

The men could have taken the same route as everyone else, but the pack animals had no other way to climb.

Then, with shouts of encouragement, they charged up the hill in a massive push, but they left a clear path for the enemy to escape if they wanted to. For a while, as people scrambled up as best they could, the locals shot arrows and darts, but they didn't get close.

Soon, though, they just ran off. But as soon as the Greeks were safely past the first rise, they spotted another one ahead, also occupied, and figured they needed to take that one too.

But then Xenophon realized that if they left the ridge they’d just taken unprotected behind them, the enemy could retake it and attack the baggage train as it moved past - it would be a long, easy target because the road was so narrow.

To stop that, he left some officers in charge of the ridge - Cephisodorus, son of Cephisophon, an Athenian; Amphicrates, son of Amphidemus, an Athenian; and Archagoras, an Argive exile - while he and the rest of the troops attacked the second rise.

They took it the same way, but then they saw there was still a third hill left, and it was the steepest of all. It was that same knoll mentioned earlier, above the outpost, that a small group had captured the night before.

But when the Greeks got close, the locals, to everyone's surprise, just left without a fight. People guessed they were scared of being surrounded and trapped, but the truth was that from their high ground, they’d seen what was happening in the rear and had all run off to attack the rearguard.

So then Xenophon, with the youngest soldiers, climbed to the top, giving orders to the rest to move slowly so the last companies could catch up. They were to follow the road, and when they reached the flat ground, they were to put down their weapons.

Meanwhile, the Argive Archagoras arrived, fleeing and shouting that they’d been pushed off the first ridge, and that Cephisodorus and Amphicrates, along with many others, were killed - basically, anyone who hadn’t jumped down the rocks and made it back to the rearguard.

After that win, the barbarians reached a ridge facing the knoll, and Xenophon talked to them through an interpreter to try and make a deal, demanding that they return the bodies of the dead. They agreed to do so if he wouldn’t burn their houses, and Xenophon agreed to those terms.

While the rest of the army moved past and the talks were going on, everyone from the area had time to gather, and the enemy formed a line. And as soon as the Greeks started to descend from the knoll to join the others where the troops were stopped, the enemy charged, yelling and screaming.

They reached the top of the knoll where Xenophon was coming down, and started rolling down the rocks. One guy’s leg was crushed. Xenophon’s shield-bearer ran off with his shield, but Eurylochus of Lusia, an Arcadian hoplite, ran up and threw his shield in front to protect both of them.

So the two of them retreated, and the rest did too, joining the main group. After that, the entire Greek force united and settled down in lots of nice houses, with plenty of food and drink - there was so much wine they stored it in concrete tanks.

Xenophon and Cheirisophus arranged to recover the dead, and in return, they gave back the guide. Then they did everything they could for the dead, giving them the usual honors for good people.

The next day, they headed out without a guide. The enemy kept up a constant fight, blocking every narrow path. Whenever the front got stuck, Xenophon would race up the hills from behind, smashing through the roadblocks and clearing the way for the lead group.

When the rear was under attack, Cheirisophus did the same thing, finding a higher route and freeing the back lines. Like that, they helped each other out, always looking out for each other. Sometimes, after the relief group climbed up, they’d run into trouble on the way down.

The barbarians were super quick, letting them get close before turning around and dodging away - mostly because they only had bows and slings to carry. Seriously, those guys were amazing archers. Their bows were almost six feet long, and their arrows were over four feet!

When they shot, they'd brace their left foot on the bottom of the bow to pull the string back. The arrows zipped right through shields and armor. When the Greeks got hold of them, they used them like spears, tying them to their straps. The Cretans were a huge help in those areas.

They were led by Stratocles, a Cretan.