178 HISTORICAL TALES.

Here he fell under the dominion of Persia, and here,
when Darius was in Scythia, he advised that the
bridge over the Danube should be destroyed. When
Darius returned Miltiades had to fly for his life. He
afterwards took part in the Ionic revolt, and cap-
tured from the Persians the islands of Lemnos and
Imbros. But when the Ionians were once more con-
quered Miltiades had again to fly for his life. Darius
hated him bitterly, and had given special orders for
his capture. He fled with five ships, and was pur-
sued so closely that one of them was taken. He
reached Athens in safety with the rest.

Not long afterwards Miltiades revenged himself
on Darius for this pursuit by his great victory at
Marathon, which for the time made him the idol of
the state and the most admired man in all Greece. ©

But the glory of Miltiades was quickly followed
by disgrace, and the end of his career was near at
hand. He was of the true soldierly temperament,
stirring, ambitious, not content to rest and rust, and
as a result his credit with the fickle Athenians
quickly disappeared. His head seems to have been
turned by his success, and he soon after asked for a
fleet of seventy ships of war, to be placed under his
command. He did not say where he proposed to
go, but stated only that whoever should come with
him would be rewarded plentifully with gold.

The victor at Marathon had but to ask to obtain.
The people put boundless confidence in him, and
gave him the fleet without a question. And the
golden prize promised brought him numbers of
eager volunteers, not one of whom knew where he