Book 4 · Chapter 6

A week went by, and on the eighth day, Xenophon handed over the guide - basically, the village leader - to Cheirisophus. He left the leader’s house safe in the village, except for his son, a young guy in his prime. This kid was entrusted to Episthenes from Amphipolis to watch over.

If the guide proved to be a good guide, they’d take his son with them when they left. They made the house their storage spot for anything they could gather. Then they broke camp and started marching, the guide leading the way through the snow.

When they reached the third stop, Cheirisophus totally lost it with him, because he hadn’t led them to any villages. The guide said there weren't any in that area. Cheirisophus punched him, but forgot to tie him up. The leader ended up running off in the night, leaving his son behind.

That was the only problem between Cheirisophus and Xenophon during the whole march - the way he’d mistreated and ignored the guide. As for the boy, Episthenes developed a real connection with him and took him home, where he became his most loyal friend.

After that, they marched for seven days, covering about five parasangs - roughly five miles - each day, until they reached the river Phasis, which was about a hundred feet wide.

Then they marched another couple of days, about ten parasangs, but at the pass leading down into the plain, they saw a mixed group of Chalybes, Taochians, and Phasianians blocking their way. When Cheirisophus spotted the enemy at the pass, about three or four miles away, he stopped marching.

"He didn’t want to approach with his troops lined up, so he told everyone else to spread out and form a line. Once the rear guard caught up, he gathered the generals and officers and said, "The enemy’s holding the mountain pass, so we need to figure out how to take it.

I think we should let the troops eat breakfast while we decide whether to cross the mountains today or tomorrow." "I think," said Cleanor, "as soon as we’re done eating, we should arm up and attack.

"If we waste time today, the enemy who’s just watching us now will get bolder, and more people will join them."

After him Xenophon spoke: Okay, here's how I see it, he said. If we’re gonna fight, let’s prepare to defend ourselves fiercely. But if we want to get through this with as few injuries and losses as possible, we need a smart plan.

That part of the mountain we can see stretches for almost seven miles. Where are the enemy soldiers posted to stop us? Besides the main road, they’re nowhere to be seen.

It’s way better to try and sneak across this mountain unnoticed and grab what we need before they even realize we’re there, than to charge into a fortified position with a fully prepared enemy.

It’s way easier to hike up a mountain without a fight than to trudge across flat ground with attackers on either side. And a guy will see what's right in front of him, even at night, way better than in a chaotic battle, especially if he's not fighting.

A rough trail is actually kind of nice when you’re walking in peace, compared to a smooth road with bullets flying everywhere. And I don’t think it’s impossible to sneak around, especially if we go at night when we can't be seen, and get far enough back that they won’t even notice us.

Honestly, if we pretend to attack here, I think we’ll find the mountain chain even more deserted elsewhere, because they’ll be waiting for us here in force. "But what gives me the nerve to talk about sneaking around in front of you, Cheirisophus?

You Lacedaemonians, you ‘big shots,’ I’m told you’ve been practicing stealing since you were kids! It’s not shameful, it's actually honorable, unless the law says otherwise. And to encourage your sneaky skills, you even get whipped if you're caught, right?

Well, this is your chance to show off your training. Just be careful we don't get caught stealing over the mountain, or we'll be the ones getting it! "Yeah, well," retorted Cheirisophus, "I’ve heard that you Athenians are really good at swiping public money, even though there’s a huge risk involved.

But apparently, it's your best people who do it - the ones you think are worthy to rule. So, this is a great opportunity for you to show off your education, Xenophon. "And I," replied Xenophon, "am ready to take the rear guard as soon as we’re done eating, and grab the mountain chain.

I already have guides - the light troops set up an ambush and caught some shady characters who were hanging around our back. They told me the mountain isn’t impossible to climb, it's even grazed by goats and cattle, so if we can get a foothold, our animals will be fine - they can cross.

"As for the enemy, I doubt they'll even wait for us once they see us climbing up, because they don’t even bother coming down to meet us on level ground now. Cheirisophus answered: "But why would you go and leave your command in the rear? Send someone else, unless a bunch of volunteers step up."

Then Aristonymus from Methydria came forward with some heavy infantry, and Nicomachus from Oetea with another group of light troops, and they agreed to light several signal fires as soon as they reached the heights.

With the plans made, they had breakfast, and after breakfast Cheirisophus moved the entire army ten furlongs closer to the enemy, to make it look like they were still planning to attack there.

After they ate and night fell, the group headed out, taking the mountain as ordered, while the rest of the army stayed put. When the enemy realized the mountain was taken, they ditched any idea of sleep, keeping tons of fires burning all night.

But at sunrise, Cheirisophus made a sacrifice and started moving along the road, and the group on the mountain moved along with him, keeping pace on the high ground. A big chunk of the enemy stayed put in the mountain pass, but a smaller group turned to face the troops on the heights.

Before the main forces could even get together, the troops on the heights clashed, and the Hellenes won, chasing after them.

Meanwhile, the smaller group of Hellenes came from the plain, quickly moving toward the enemy’s tightly packed lines, while Cheirisophus followed with his heavy infantry at a brisk pace. But as soon as the enemy on the road saw their higher division losing, they bolted, and a few were killed.

The Hellenes grabbed a ton of wicker shields, smashing them to pieces with their short swords and making them useless. So when they reached the top of the pass, they made a sacrifice and put up a trophy, then headed down into the plain, reaching villages packed with all sorts of good stuff.