ESCAPE OF TWO HUNDRED PLATAEANS FALL OF PLATAEA
I
The siege of Plataea had now lasted for more than a year, and the bravegarrison began to be in sore straits, for their supplies were givingout, and they had no hope of rescue from outside. In this desperatesituation they resolved to make an attempt to break through thebesieging lines, and make their escape to Athens. All were to take partin the adventure, leaving the Peloponnesians in possession of an emptytown. But when the time came for carrying out this bold design, half ofthe garrison drew back, thinking the risk too great. The other half,numbering about two hundred and twenty, persisted in their purpose, andforthwith fell to work on their preparations. They began by makingladders for scaling the enemy's wall; and in order to ascertain theproper length of the ladders, they counted the courses of bricks in apart of the wall facing the town, which happened to have been leftunplastered. Many counted the courses together, and by repeating theprocess over and over again, and comparing the result, they at last hitupon the right number. When once this was known, they could easilycalculate the length of their ladders, for the bricks were all of thesame dimensions, and they knew the thickness of a single brick.
The Peloponnesians had built a double line of wall round Plataea, thetwo lines being separated by a distance of sixteen feet. The whole ofthe space within this double wall was covered by a flat roof, so as topresent the appearance of a single thick wall, with battlements oneither side; and this covered space, which was divided into rooms bypartition-walls, served as barracks for the besiegers. Along the topwere high towers, with intervals of ten battlements between them, andbuilt flush with the wall on both sides, so as to leave no passage,except through the middle of the tower. These served as guard-rooms,where the soldiers on duty took shelter on wet and stormy nights. Forthe distance between the towers was very small, and they could rush outand man the walls at a moment's notice.
The Plataeans omitted no precaution which might secure success fortheir hazardous enterprise. Every man understood exactly the part whichhe had to play, and knew that his own life, and the lives of hiscomrades, depended on his courage and coolness. They had chosen theirtime well, for it was now mid-winter. So they waited for a night ofstorm and rain, when there was no moon, and sallying forth from thetown crossed the inner ditch, and came up to the inner wall,unperceived by the enemy; for the noise of their footsteps was drownedby the roaring of the wind, and they were careful to advance in openorder, so as not to be discovered by the clashing of their arms. Thewhole troop was lightly equipped, and they walked with their right footunsandalled, to give them a firmer hold on the muddy ground. Choosingone of the spaces between two towers, they adjusted their ladders, andbegan to ascend the wall. The first to mount were twelve picked men,armed with breastplates and daggers, who as soon as they reached thetop, rushed to the towers, six men to each, and having overpowered theguard, stood ready to defend the passage. These were followed byothers, armed with javelins, whose shields were handed up to them frombelow as they ascended, to enable them to climb the more easily.Several of this party had got up in safety, when one of those who werefollowing dislodged a tile as he grasped the battlements. The sound ofthe falling tile alarmed the guards in the towers, and soon the wholebesieging force was in a commotion. But being bewildered by thedarkness, and deafened by the tempest which was blowing, they knew notwhich way to turn, and remained at their quarters, waiting for orders.And at the same time the Plataeans left in the town made a feignedattack on the Peloponnesian wall at the opposite side to divert theattention of the enemy. In the general confusion thus created thebesiegers were at a loss what to do, and three hundred of their men,who were kept together for prompt service on any pressing occasion,took up their station before the outer wall, thinking that theAthenians had come to relieve the town. Fire-signals were now kindledby the Peloponnesians, to summon help from Thebes; but the Plataeanswere prepared for this also, and they kindled other beacons which hadbeen raised for the purpose on their wall, so as to obscure the meaningof the enemy's signals, and delay the march of the Thebans, until theirown comrades had had time to escape.
The way was thus left clear for the gallant two hundred. Those who ledthe party had secured possession of the passages through the towers,and stood ready to bar the way against all assailants. Others whofollowed brought ladders, and planting them at the foot of the towers,mounted to the top, and kept off the Peloponnesians, when theyattempted to force an entrance, with a shower of javelins. Over theintervening space now swarmed the main body of the Plataeans; and eachman, as he got over, halted at the edge of the outer ditch, and kept upa hot fire of javelins and arrows, to cover the retreat of hiscomrades, and repel any attack from below. When all the rest hadcrossed the wall, those who held the towers began to descend; and thiswas the most perilous part of the adventure, especially for those whocame last. All, however, succeeded in joining their comrades by theditch, and just at this moment the picked troop of three hundred, whocarried torches, came upon them. But fortune still favoured thePlataeans; crouching in the deep shadow thrown by the high banks of theditch, they plied the enemy, who with their blazing torches afforded aneasy mark, with darts and arrows. And thus, fighting and retreating atthe same time, they made their way gradually across the ditch, but notwithout a severe struggle, for the water was swollen by the snow whichhad fallen in the night, and covered with rotten ice. Their best friendwas the tempest, which raged with extraordinary violence throughout thenight.
When their last man had crossed, the Plataeans went off at a run in thedirection of Thebes, being assured that no one would expect them totake the road which led to their worst enemy. And the prudence of thiscourse soon appeared, for looking back they saw the Peloponnesianshurrying with lighted torches along the road to Athens. Then aftermarching towards Thebes for about a mile, they doubled back, and takingto the mountains soon reached the friendly territory of Attica. Theyreceived a kind welcome at Athens, where it was found that out of theoriginal two hundred and twenty, only eight were missing. Seven ofthese had lost heart at the last moment, and returned to Plataea, wherethey announced that all the rest of the party had been slain. One only,an archer, was taken prisoner at the outer ditch.
On hearing the report of those who had turned back, the Plataeansapplied for a truce to bury their dead; and when their herald came backfrom his useless errand, they learned to their delight that thisgallant enterprise, so ably planned, and so boldly executed, had beencrowned with complete success.
II
Well would it have been for the Plataeans who remained in the town ifthey had stood by their first purpose, and shared the fortunes of theirbrave comrades. Better far to have died, sword in hand, than to meetthe ignoble fate which was now reserved for them. It was in thefollowing summer, two years after the beginning of the siege, that thecrisis arrived. The Plataeans had come to the end of their provisions,and were suffering severely from want of food. In this state ofweakness they were suddenly attacked by the besiegers, who might easilyhave carried the town by storm. But the Spartan general wished, ifpossible, to avoid this, as all places taken by assault would have tobe given back to their original owners on the conclusion of peace,whereas those which had voluntarily surrendered might be retained.Accordingly he sent a herald, and summoned the Plataeans to surrender,promising that they should have a fair trial by Spartan judges; andthey, being actually on the point of starvation, accepted the termsoffered, and laid down their arms. They were kept in custody andsupplied with food until the judges, five in number, arrived fromSparta. On the arrival of the judges no express charge was made againstthem, but they were called up one by one, and asked this simplequestion: "Have you done any service to the Spartans or their allies inthe course of the present war?"
The Plataeans saw the snare which was set for them, and seeking toevade it they asked permission to plead their cause at length. Leavebeing given, the Plataean advocate rose to address the court, and madea most moving and eloquent appeal, which
well deserves to be reproducedin its main outlines.
"Men of Sparta," began the orator, "we surrendered our city on thefaith of your promise that the innocent should be spared, and only theguilty condemned. But we fear that our confidence has been misplaced.That our doom is already pronounced we have but too plain evidence, inyour sinister question, in your cold, condemning looks, in the gloomyfaces of our enemies, who have poisoned your ears against us. We havebut little hope of turning you from your purpose by anything that wecan say. Nevertheless we have resolved to speak, lest in the hour ofdeath we should be tormented by the thought that a word might havesaved us, and that word remained unspoken.
"In the history of the last fifty years no city in Greece has a fairerrecord than ours. Though not trained to the sea, we served in the fleetat Artemisium; we fought under Pausanias in the great battle whichdecided the fate of Greece, and took part beyond our strength in allthe trials and perils of our common country. On the gratitude of Spartawe have a special claim, for in the day of her direst extremity, afterthe earthquake, when the Helots were in arms against her, we sent athird part of our citizens to her aid. Since then we have been found inthe ranks of your enemies; but this was your fault, not ours. Who droveus into the arms of Athens, when we were hard pressed by the tyranny ofThebes? We joined the Athenian alliance at your bidding; they defendedus against our enemies, and admitted us to the rights of Atheniancitizenship. We were bound, therefore, by every tie of honour and dutyto stand by them, whether their cause was just or unjust.
"What, then, is the meaning of your question, whether we have done youor your allies any service during this war? If you ask as foes, how canyou claim any service? And if you ask as friends, you have done usbitter wrong, by attacking us unprovoked.
"The Thebans seized our city in time of peace, and at a holy season,and we were justified by the laws of nature and of nations in wreakingvengeance upon them. It may seem to your interest to pay court to themnow; but think how different was our conduct from theirs when thePersian was at our doors, threatening slavery to us all. We were amongthe few who obeyed the call of honour, while Thebes and all the othertowns of Boeotia took sides with the Barbarian.
"Hitherto Sparta has been called the glass of honour in Greece. What,then, will men say, if Spartan judges are guilty of blotting Plataeaout of the map of Greece, and of the judicial murder of her citizens?Strange, indeed, and terrible has been the fate of our city, both nowand in the past. Our fathers were brought to the brink of ruin by theirvalour and devotion; we, their sons, have just passed through all thehorrors of a siege, and now we are forced to plead for our lives.Outcasts from our fatherland, spurned and rejected of all, we arethrown upon your mercy; and much we fear that your hearts are hardenedagainst us.
"We adjure you, then, by the memory of those times, and of the partwhich we took in the salvation of Greece, not to betray us to our worstenemies, the Thebans. Do not win their gratitude by murder, but ours bymercy. Forget the cold calculations of policy; think of the everlastinginfamy of such a deed. Your fathers are buried in our land, and we havebeen constant in paying all honour and service to their tombs. Will yegive up the land in which they rest to the men [Footnote: The Thebans,who fought on the side of the Persians at Plataea.] who are guilty oftheir blood? Will ye enslave those fields which saw the triumph ofGreek liberty, and dishonour the gods by whose favour the victory waswon? By your own renown, by the conscience of Greece, by the memory ofyour sires, we adjure you, men of Lacedaemon, not to do this deed.
"But it is time to make an end. If we have spoken in vain, and you areresolved on our death, we have still one request. Send us back into ourcity, and keep us there immured until we have perished of hunger. Anyfate is better than falling into the hands of the Thebans, the enemiesof Plataea, and of all Greece."
The orator had indeed spoken in vain, or if his words had made anyimpression on the minds of the judges, it was speedily obliterated by afierce and bitter tirade which was delivered by a Theban speaker inreply. As soon as he had finished his harangue, the prisoners werecalled up again in turn, and questioned as before. When each of themhad answered, in the only manner possible, he was led away and put todeath; and not one of them was spared. The number of those slain wastwo hundred and twenty-five, and of these twenty-five were Athenians.The city was then levelled to the ground, and the territory left at thedisposal of the Thebans. Thus was this brave little communitysacrificed to the rancour of Thebes, and the selfish policy of Sparta.