Book 7 · Chapter 2

Now these five were left - Neon from Asinaea, Phryniscus from Achaea, Philesius from Achaea, Xanthicles from Achaea, and Timasion from Dardanus - leading the army. They pushed on to some Thracian villages near Byzantium and set up camp. But the generals couldn't agree.

Cleanor and Phryniscus wanted to march and join Seuthes, who had buttered them up with gifts - one got a horse, the other a wife. But Neon had other plans: "Once we're under the protection of the Spartans," he thought, "I can take charge of the whole army."

Timasion just wanted to get back to Asia, hoping to reclaim his position at home and end his exile. The soldiers shared that wish. But as time went on, a lot of the men sold their gear and headed out on their own; others just disappeared into the cities. One guy was stoked about it - Anaxibius.

The army falling apart was a huge win for him. "This is perfect," he thought, "I can really help Pharnabazus out now. But while Anaxibius was sailing from Byzantium, he ran into Aristarchus at Cyzicus. Aristarchus was the new governor, replacing Cleander at Byzantium.

Word was that a new admiral, Polus, was about to arrive at the Hellespont and take over from Anaxibius. Anaxibius sent a message to Aristarchus, telling him to sell off any Cyreian soldiers still hanging around in Byzantium.

Cleander hadn’t sold a single one; instead, he’d been taking care of the sick and wounded, showing them pity and making sure they were taken in by local families. Aristarchus changed everything - he sold over four hundred of them as soon as he got to Byzantium.

Meanwhile, Anaxibius sailed along the coast and, according to their agreement, sent a message to Pharnabazus.

But when Pharnabazus heard that Aristarchus was the new governor in Byzantium and that Anaxibius was no longer admiral, he gave him the cold shoulder and started working with Aristarchus on the same plans for the Cyreian army that he’s been cooking up with Anaxibius.

Anaxibius then called Xenophon and told him to sail to the army as fast as he could and hold it together. He was to gather the scattered troops and march them to Perinthus, and then ferry them across to Asia without wasting any time.

Anaxibius put a thirty-oared galley at his service, gave him a letter of authority and an officer to go with him, and ordered the Perinthians to escort Xenophon to the army on horseback as soon as possible. And that’s how Xenophon sailed across and finally reached the army.

The soldiers greeted him with a huge celebration and would have been totally down to cross from Thrace into Asia under his leadership.

But Seuthes, hearing that Xenophon had arrived, sent Medosades again, by sea, to meet him and begged him to bring the army to him, promising him anything he thought would convince him. But Xenophon told him it wasn’t his call, and Medosades left. The Greeks then headed to Perinthus.

When they arrived, Neon pulled his troops away and set up camp separately, with around eight hundred men. The rest of the army stayed together near the walls of Perinthus.

After that, Xenophon started looking for ships so they wouldn't waste any time crossing over. But before that could happen, Aristarchus, the governor from Byzantium, showed up with a couple of warships - Pharnabazus had basically strong-armed him into it.

To be crystal clear, he first told all the ship captains and shipmasters to not carry the troops across. Then, he went to the camp and told the soldiers that they weren't allowed to go into Asia. Xenophon said he was acting on orders from Anaxibius, who had sent him there specifically for that.

Aristarchus shot back, "Honestly, Anaxibius isn't in charge anymore, and I’m the governor here. If I catch any of you out on the water, I’ll sink you. Then he headed back inside the walls of Perinthus. The next day, he called in the generals and officers of the army.

They’d already reached the walls of the fort when someone told Xenophon that if he went inside, he’s be grabbed, and either meet a bad end or, more likely, handed over to Pharnabazus. Hearing that, Xenophon sent the rest of the group forward, but he made up an excuse - he needed to offer a sacrifice.

That way, he could turn back and ask the priests, "Do the gods want us to try and get the army over to Seuthes? It was obvious that trying to cross into Asia with this guy and his warships, who was determined to block them, was way too risky.

Plus, he didn’t want to get stuck in the Chersonese with an army that desperately needed everything; they’d be at the mercy of the governor and cut off from basic supplies. While Xenophon was figuring things out, the generals and officers came back with a message from Aristarchus.

He told them they could head back for now, but he’s expect them in the afternoon. Their suspicions that something was up had definitely become reality. In the meantime, Xenophon had found out that the priests were on board with his plan.

They seemed to be saying that he and the army could safely make their way to Seuthes.

So, he took Polycrates, the Athenian captain, and picked one person he could trust from each of the generals (except Neon), and that night they headed out to find the army of Seuthes, which was about sixty furlongs away.

As they got closer, they spotted some abandoned campfires. At first, it seemed like Seuthes had moved his camp. But then they heard a jumble of voices - Seuthes’ people signaling to each other. It clicked: Seuthes kept his fires burning in front of his night guards.

That way, the guards, hidden in the dark, wouldn't be spotted, keeping their numbers and location a secret. Anyone approaching from the outside, though, would be standing out in the firelight, totally obvious. Figuring things out, Xenophon sent his translator - one of the guys with him - forward.

He told him to let Seuthes know Xenophon was there and wanted to talk. The others asked if he was an Athenian from the army nearby. As soon as the translator replied, "Yeah, that’s us," they jumped up and bolted.

Before you could say "peltasts," a whole bunch of them showed up, grabbing Xenophon and his crew and dragging them to Seuthes. Seuthes was in a tower, seriously protected, with horses circling it - all saddled up and ready to go.

He was so freaked out that he was feeding his horses even during the day and keeping watch with them at night, all geared up. Apparently, way back when, one of his ancestors, named Teres, had been in this country with a huge army.

He’d lost a bunch of soldiers to the locals and had his supply wagons stolen too. The people who live here are called Thynians, and they’re known to be the most fierce fighters - especially at night.

As they got closer, Seuthes told Xenophon to come in and bring anyone he wanted - just two people. Once inside, they greeted each other warmly, and then, like the Thracians did, they toasted with bowls of wine. Seuthes had Medosades standing close by, who always acted as his main representative.

Xenophon took the lead and started talking: "Seuthes, you’ve sent for me a couple of times now. First, you sent Medosades over to Chalcedon, and you asked me to help the army cross from Asia. You promised me lots of good things if I did, at least that’s what Medosades said."

He then turned to Medosades and asked, Is that right? Medosades nodded. And then, again, Medosades came when I’d crossed from Parium to find the army, and he promised that if I brought you the army, you’d treat me like a friend and a brother in many ways.

"He especially mentioned some coastal towns you owned, saying you were planning to give them to me as a gift. Xenophon then asked Medosades again, "Did he really say all that? Medosades confirmed it. "So, tell me," Xenophon continued, "what answer did I give you, first at Chalcedon?"

"You said the army was going to cross to Byzantium anyway, so there was no need to pay you or anyone else anything. And you added that once across, you planned to leave the army, which is exactly what you said. He then asked, "What did I say when you came to me in Selybria?"

"You said the idea was impossible; everyone was going to Perinthus to cross back into Asia." "Okay," said Xenophon, "and despite all that, here I am now, with Phryniscus, one of my guys, and Polycrates over there, a captain."

And outside, we have the most trustworthy men they could find to represent the other generals - everyone except Neon the Laconian. If you want to make these deals even more secure, just call them in too.

"And Polycrates, go tell them that I want them to leave their weapons outside, and you can leave your sword outside before you come in with them."

When Seuthes heard that far, he jumped in: "I’m definitely not gonna doubt an Athenian - we’re practically family already, I know that! And I think we're gonna be the best of friends."

"Then, as soon as the right guys showed up, Xenophon was the first to ask Seuthes what he planned to do with the army. Seuthes replied: "Maesades was my dad; he ruled over the Melanditae, the Thynians, and the Tranipsae.

But then things went south for the Odrysians, and my dad got kicked out of the country, and later died from an illness, leaving me to grow up as an orphan at the court of Medocus, who’s the king now. But when I was old enough, I couldn’t stand living off someone else’s generosity.

So I sat next to him as a suppliant, begging him to give me as many men and horses as he could spare, so I could get revenge on those who’d driven us out of our land. That way, I could stop living like a pet, waiting for scraps from my master’s table.

"In response to my request, he gave me the men and horses you’ll see at sunrise, and now I live with them, raiding my own ancestral land. But if you guys join me, I think, with a little help from the gods, we could easily reclaim my kingdom. That’s what I need from you."

"Okay," said Xenophon, "but if we do come, what can you offer us? For the regular soldiers, the officers, and the generals? Tell us that, so these witnesses can report your answer."

And he promised to give to the common soldiers a cyzicene , to a captain twice as much, and to a general four times as much, plus as much land as they wanted, a couple of oxen, and a fortified place on the coast. But what if, said Xenophon, we don’t succeed, even though we try?

What if the Spartans cause trouble? Will you take any of us in if we need a safe place to go? He replied: "Not only that, but I’ll consider you my brothers, entitled to share my seat, and to share all the wealth we can get. And to you yourself, Xenophon!

"I’ll give you my daughter, and if you have a daughter, I’ll buy her in the Thracian way; and I’ll give you Bisanthe as a place to live - it’s the prettiest of all my coastal possessions."