11 - Across the Bitter Sea - 493-490 BC

W ho are these Athenians?” According to Herodotus, that’s what Darius asked when he heard about the sack of Sardis and the outbreak of the Ionian Revolt. For Darius, the likely answer was that the Athenians were liars and betrayers. After all, Athenian ambassadors had come to Sardis, sworn oaths to the satrap Artaphernes, and made ritual offerings in acceptance of Persian power. But they had later refused to take back their exiled ruler, Hippias, and had taken part in the sneak attack on Sardis. From an ethical standpoint, Darius probably felt religiously bound to punish the Athenians for their actions. At the same time, the Athenians had shown that they could launch raids across the Aegean, and left unchecked, they would continue to threaten imperial power in the west.