Persia from the Earliest Period to the Arab

HISTORY OF PERSIA. 49
Greeks of the towns themselves, and by permitting
the people to establish democratic councils in the
place of " tyrants," Mardonius was at first completely
successful, in that he captured Thasos and its gold
mines, and reduced Macedonia to the status of a
Persian province : but here his good fortune deserted
him ; the elements fought on the side of the Greeks,
and, on attempting to round Mount Athos, 300
of his ships and 20,000 of his men found a watery
grave ; more than this, he suffered further heavy loss
by the night attack of the Thracian tribe of the Brigae,
the result being his retreat into Asia Minor dispirited
at his losses. But Darius himself was not so easily
cast down ; a fresh army under Datis was collected,
and a direct descent was made two years afterwards
upon Eretria and Attica. The glorious victory of
Marathon was the reply of the Greeks, under Miltiades,
to this second attack upon their liberties. The loss
Darius suffered in the failure of these two great inva-
sions must have been very severe even to a king, at that
time, of almost unlimited resources; but he was not,
apparently, appalled by
these misfortunes. A third
invasion was planned, and simultaneously with it, one
against Egypt, to be led in person by Darius, but,
before all the preparations could be completed, he
himself was dead.
Darius died B.C. 486, after a reign of thirty-five years,
and was immediately succeeded by Xerxes, his son
by Atossa.
The position of Persia when Darius died is the best
evidence of administrative abilities, which have been
rather unduly estimated by some writers of eminence.