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[1]
When the Medes had been roughly handled, they retired, and the Persians whom the king called Immortals, led by Hydarnes, attacked in turn. It was thought that they would easily accomplish the task.
When the Medes had been roughly handled, they retired, and the Persians whom the king called Immortals, led by Hydarnes, attacked in turn. It was thought that they would easily accomplish the task.
[2] When they joined battle with the
Hellenes, they fared neither better nor worse than the Median army, since they used shorter spears than the
Hellenes and could not use their numbers fighting in a narrow space.
[3] The
Lacedaemonians fought memorably, showing themselves skilled fighters amidst unskilled on many occasions, as when they would turn their backs and feign flight. The barbarians would see them fleeing and give chase with shouting and noise, but when the
Lacedaemonians were overtaken, they would turn to face the barbarians and overthrow innumerable
Persians. A few of the
Spartans themselves were also slain. When the
Persians could gain no inch of the pass, attacking by companies and in every other fashion, they withdrew.
Histories. Herodotus. ed. A.D. Godley. Cambridge. 1920-1925.
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