Book 4 · Chapter 8

From here, the Hellenes marched through the land of the Macrones, covering about ten parasangs in three stages. On the first day, they reached a river marking the border between the Macrones’ land and the land of the Scythenians. To their right, they saw a really tough and rugged country.

To their left was another river that flowed into the first one, and they needed to cross it. The riverbanks were packed with trees, though they weren't huge. As soon as they got there, the Hellenes started chopping them down, super eager to get across.

But the Macrones, armed with wicker shields, spears, and simple tunics, were already lined up to meet them. They were yelling encouragement and throwing a constant stream of stones into the river, but they couldn't reach the other side or do any damage.

Just then, one of the light infantry ran up to Xenophon. He’d been a slave in Athens, and wanted to let him know he recognized the language of these people. "I think," he said, "this might be my home, and if it’s okay, I’ll talk to them. "Go ahead," replied Xenophon. "Ask them who they are."

In response to his question, they said, We are Macrones. Okay, he said, ask them why they’re lined up to fight us. They answered, Because you’re invading our country. The generals told him to say: We don’t mean you any harm.

"We’ve been at war with the king, and we’re now heading back to Hellas. All we want is to reach the sea." The others asked, "Are you willing to give us promises to that effect?" They replied, "Yes, we’re ready to give and receive promises."

Then the Macrones gave a simple spear to the Hellenes, and the Hellenes gave a Greek spear to them. "These will be our pledges," they said, and both sides called upon the gods to witness. After exchanging pledges, the Macrones started chopping down trees and building a road to help them cross.

They mixed freely with the Hellenes, getting along really well, and gave them everything they could. For three days, they guided them on their march until they safely reached the border of the Colchians. Now, they faced a huge mountain range, but it was passable.

On the mountain, the Colchians were ready for battle. At first, the Hellenes lined up to attack the hill, but the generals decided to hold a war council and figure out the best way to fight.

"I don’t think we should just move forward in a line," Xenophon said. "I suggest we form up in columns instead." He urged, "If we just move forward in a line, it’s going to get scattered and messed up right away."

The mountain’s full of bumps and dips - easy to get through here, tough to get through there. Just seeing the line fall apart like that will be super discouraging. Plus, if we’re several people deep, the enemy will still find a way to overlap us and use their numbers against us.

If we’re spread out, we can expect a constant barrage of missiles and a wave of enemy soldiers to cut right through our line. If that happens anywhere, the whole line goes down. No, I think forming columns is better.

We’ll cover enough ground with spaces between the columns so the last guys on each side are outside the enemy's flanks. Our best guys will be at the front, leading the charge, and each column can find the easiest path.

"It’s also going to be tough for the enemy to break into the spaces between the columns, with companies on both sides. And if one company gets pushed back, the ones next to it will come to the rescue. If any company makes it to the top, not one enemy soldier will stand their ground."

The soldiers agreed, and they formed into columns. Then Xenophon, coming back from the right side, addressed the troops. Listen up, he said. These guys in front of us are the only thing standing between us and what we’re hoping for - and we’re way overdue.

"We’re going to swallow them up whole, no cooking needed, if we can." The different groups got into position, and the columns were formed. All together, they had about eighty companies of heavy infantry, each with around a hundred soldiers.

The light infantry and archers were arranged in three groups - two on the sides to support the left and right, and one in the center - with each group having about six hundred people. Before they started, the generals told everyone to pray.

With prayers and a battle hymn rising from their lips, they began to move forward. Cheirisophus and Xenophon, along with the light infantry, moved outside the enemy’s line on the right and left. The enemy saw them coming and tried to stay in line and face them.

But to do that, he stretched out on both sides, and ended up being split apart, leaving a big gap in his line. Seeing this, the light infantry attached to the Arcadian battalion, led by Aeschines, an Arcarnanian, thought they were fleeing and shouted, rushing up the mountain.

They were quickly followed by the Arcadian heavy infantry, led by Cleanor of Orchomenus.

When they started running like that, the enemy totally scattered, everyone running in a different direction. The Hellenes climbed the hill and found plenty of villages with tons of supplies. Honestly, there wasnn't much to be amazed by, except for the sheer number of beehives

- and the honey was something else. After tasting the honeycomb, the soldiers went completely bonkers, throwing up and having diarrhea, and they couldn’t even stand up straight.

A little bit made them feel like they were super drunk, a lot made them act like they were losing their minds, and some looked like they were about to die. So, hundreds of them just lay there, feeling totally bummed out.

But the next day, nobody had died, and almost exactly when they’d eaten the honey, they came to their senses, and by the third or fourth day, they were back on their feet, like they’d just finished a tough round of physical therapy.

From there, they marched for two days - about seven miles - and reached the sea at Trapezus, a busy Greek city on the Black Sea. It was originally settled by people from Sinope and was located in Colchis territory.

They stopped there for about thirty days, using the Colchian villages as a base to raid the whole area of Colchis. The people of Trapezus supplied the army with everything they needed, entertained them, and gave them gifts like oxen, wheat, and wine.

They also talked to the Colchians - who mostly lived in the plains - and got gifts of cattle from them too. Now, the Hellenes got ready for the sacrifices they’d promised, and they had enough cattle to offer thanks to Zeus, Heracles, and the other gods, just like they’d vowed.

They even set up a track meet on the mountainside where they were staying, and they chose Dracontius, a Spartan (who’d been kicked out of his home as a kid after accidentally killing another boy with his dagger), to be in charge of the running and president of the games.

As soon as the sacrifices were done, they handed over the animal hides to Dracontius and told him to lead them to the racecourse. He just waved his hand and pointed to where they were standing and said, "Right here! This ridge is perfect for running, anywhere, everywhere."

"But how," they asked, "will they wrestle on this rough, scrubby ground? "Oh! They’ll take even worse knocks when they’re thrown," the president replied. There was a mile race for the younger guys, mostly captured boys; and over sixty Cretans competed in the long race.

There was also wrestling, boxing, and pankration. It was a seriously awesome show. There were tons of entries, and the competition, with their friends - guys and girls - cheering them on, was insane.

There was even horse racing; the riders had to gallop down a steep hill to the sea, then turn around and come back up to the altar. On the way down, more than half of them ended up tumbling head over heels, and then they had to trudge back up the super steep hill, barely walking.

The place was filled with shouts, laughter, and cheers.