A source-book of ancient history - The Search For Mecca

Last Years of the Revolt 159
III.
The Siege and Destruction of Miletus
The Persians, then, being conquerors of the lonians ^f^^^^
^*"
in the sea-fight, besieged Miletus by land and sea, under- Herodotus vi.
mining the walls and bringing against it all manner of 18
engines; and they took it completely in the sixth year from
the revolt of Aristagoras, and reduced the people to slav-
^^j^"^''^^^'
fought oS
ery; so that the disaster agreed with the oracle which had ^%,%^ ^"J"
been uttered with reference to Miletus. ^^'"' "4-
For when the Argives were inquiring at Delphi about
An oracle,
the safety of their city, there was given to them an oracle Hdt. vi. 19.
which applied to both, that is to say, part of it had reference
to the Argives themselves, while that which was
added afterward referred to the Milesians. The part of it
which had reference to the Argives I will record when I
reach that place in the history, but that which the Oracle
uttered with reference to the Milesians who were not
there present, is
as follows:
"And at that time, O Miletus, of evil deeds the contriver,
Thou shalt be made for many a glorious gift and a banquet;
Then shall thy wives be compelled to wash the feet of the longhaired.
And in Didyma then my shrine shall be tended by others."
At the time of which I speak, these things came upon the
Milesians, since most of the men were killed by the Persians,
who are long-haired, and the women and children
were dealt with as slaves; and the temple at Didyma, with
the sacred building and the sanctuary of the Oracle, was
first plundered and then burnt. Of the things in this
temple I have made mention frequently in other parts of
the history.
After this the Milesians who had been taken prisoner