The Histories

Book 6 Page 56



Paragraph 135 135. Miltiades accordingly, being in a wretched case, set forth to sail homewards, neither bringing wealth to the Athenians nor having added to them the possession of Paros, but having besieged the city for six-and-twenty days and laid waste the island: and the Parians being informed that Timo the under-priestess of the goddesses had acted as a guide to Miltiades, desired to take vengeance upon her for this, and they sent messengers to Delphi to consult the god, so soon as they had leisure from the siege; and these messengers they sent to ask whether they should put to death the under-priestess of the goddesses, who had been a guide to their enemies for the capture of her native city and had revealed to Miltiades the mysteries which might not be uttered to a male person. The Pythian prophetess however forbade them, saying that Timo was not the true author of these things, but since it was destined that Miltiades should end his life not well, she had appeared to guide him to his evil fate..

Paragraph 136 136. Thus the Pythian prophetess replied to the Parians: and the Athenians, when Miltiades had returned back from Paros, began to talk of him, and among the rest especially Xanthippos the son of Ariphron, who brought Miltiades up before the people claiming the penalty of death and prosecuted him for his deception of the Athenians: and Miltiades did not himself make his own defence, although he was present, for he was unable to do so because his thigh was mortifying; but he lay in public view upon a bed, while his friends made a defence for him, making mention much both of the battle which had been fought at Marathon and of the conquest of Lemnos, namely how he had conquered Lemnos and taken vengeance on the Pelasgians, and had delivered it over to the Athenians: and the people came over to his part as regards the acquittal from the penalty of death, but they imposed a fine of fifty talents for the wrong committed: and after this Miltiades died, his thigh having gangrened and mortified, and the fifty talents were paid by his son Kimon.






The Histories of Herodotus