The army now burned its wagons, tents, and other excess baggage. They crossed the Zapatas River heading north up the Tigris valley. The first day they were not opposed by a large army, but were shadowed by a company of cavalry, archers, and slingers, who harassed them while staying out of range of Greek weapons. That night the Greeks responded by organizing a small cavalry accompanied by light infantry and slingers from Rhodes who could hurl lead bullets farther than the range of their enemies’ stones and arrows. The next day when the Persians attacked with five thousand men, the Greeks drove them off and killed some. The army continued north, past the massive ruins of ancient Assyrian cities of Nimrud and Nineveh, dogged by Persian troops who would only engage them from long distance. The Greeks continually adapted their formations and tactics to meet new challenges, including ambushes and occupied passes, dislodging troops in their path and fighting rearguard actions behind.
Finally they reached a point at which they had to decide what route to take. One road south went to Babylonia where they had been; one road east to Persia; one road west to Ionia; and to the north lay the mountains of a wild and independent people, the Carduchians. The Greeks wanted to get to Ionia, but the road was long and easy for the Persians to defend. The way northward was difficult, but provided a shorter path to the Black Sea, where Greek city-states ruled, through rugged territory that the Persians could not penetrate and where, rumor had it, a great Persian army had been swallowed up without a trace. The generals decided to head north into terra incognita occupied by savage tribes.[51]
Now they traveled on narrow tracks through mountains, constantly fighting off raids from Carduchian fighters, hill by hill, pass by pass.[52] Finally they descended into the Centrites River valley which marked the boundary of the province of Armenia. On the north bank of the river of a river they must cross the Persian satrap Orontas had stationed troops to block the Greeks’ passage. Marching along the main road, they found the river deep and swift. They were now facing Carduchian tribesmen in the mountains to their rear and Persian troops across the river in front of them. They camped for the night. Xenophon had a propitious dream and sent two men of the army to find a ford where the water was shallow and easy to cross. The Greeks now marched down to the new ford, armed themselves, and proceeded across, while Xenophon and his rear guards made a feint at crossing at the main road. The Persian forces fled in fear of being encircled. Xenophon then hastened to the new ford to cross. The light infantry, archers, and slingers sallied out from the river against the Carduchians, who were attempting to attack Xenophon’s men from the rear as they retreated. Thus the Greeks crossed into Armenia, a land only nominally under the control of Persia.[53]
With winter coming on they continued north, unmolested until they crossed the Teleboas River into a province called Western Armenia. The vice-satrap Tiribazus rode up to make a truce: he would not attack with his troops if the Greeks would not sack his territory. Tiribazus with his army shadowed the Greek army at a distance. One night a heavy snow fell in this highland region. Troops captured a man who told them Tiribazus planned to ambush them when they crossed a mountain pass ahead. Forewarned, they sent an advance guard to capture the pass, surprising the Persian troops and capturing Tiribazus’ tent with rich booty. Crossing the pass, the Greeks descended onto a plain where they struggled through six feet of snow against a strong north wind. The men began to suffer from malnutrition, hypothermia, snow-blindness, and frostbite. Xenophon relentlessly drove and rallied the stragglers to safety in a village where the vanguard had camped.
There the Greeks gratefully rested in a number of villages consisting of underground houses where domestic animals lived with the people during the harsh winter months. They then proceeded northward through the snow until they crossed the Phasis river. They captured the next mountain range and moved into the land of the Taochians. They then traveled through the land of the Chalybians, fighting skirmishes all the way. They crossed the Harpasus River and traveled through the country of the Scythenians to a city called Gymnias.[54]
From there a guide led them five days onward to a Mount Theches. As the vanguard reached the summit they let out a great shout. Xenophon was traveling, as usual, with the rearguard he commanded. He feared an enemy attack because hostile fighters were following them. “When the shout grew louder and closer and the advancing men broke into a run toward those who were yelling unceasingly, and the shout grew ever louder as more men joined in, Xenophon realized that something big was happening. He mounted a horse and took Lycius and the cavalry as reinforcements. Immediately they heard the soldiers shouting, thalassa, thalassa, “The sea! The sea!” and passing the message along from mouth to mouth. Then all the men of the rearguard broke into a run, and the pack animals and the horses galloped forward. When everyone had arrived at the summit, they hugged each other, as well as the generals and captains, weeping openly.”[55] They piled stones together in a great cairn to memorialize the event.[56]
In the distance glittered the Black Sea, a vast landlocked body of water ringed by Greek city-states and plied by Greek ships. The Greeks owned the sea. The Ten Thousand knew that as soon as they could descend to the coast they would be safe from the Persian troops and tribal fighters who had dogged and harassed them all the way from Mesopotamia. Salvation was in sight.
As they continued on, a slave who was a member of the Macronian tribe negotiated passage for them through that country. The Greeks fought through the territory of the Colchians, and finally descended into the coastal plain. They marched to the Greek city of Trapezus, a colony of Sinopē that dominated the south coast of the Black Sea. There they remained for a month trading with the city and raiding barbarian tribes inland for plunder. They paid their vows of sacrifices to Zeus the Savior and other gods and held athletic games in celebration.[57]
The Ten Thousand had made an incredible escape from the center of a hostile empire. They had lost several thousand of their number. At one time there were in fact almost 14,000 soldiers in the Greek contingent. Now there were about 8,600—plus servants, for many soldiers had at least a combination valet-porter as attendant and some had a woman.[58] But despite the losses from battle, disease, the elements, and a few desertions, they had survived. Now, however, they faced a new challenge. They were still distant from their several homes. Whereas necessity had forced them to work together in a hostile environment, they were now an army without an enemy and without a purpose. As a large professional army they were a problem to any Greek state: who would feed them? Would they behave themselves or loot their hosts’ territory?
They could get home fairly quickly if they could secure passage in a ship, but where was the shipping to transport almost nine thousand men, their servants and equipment? As a mercenary army, they could be of service. But the Greeks, now led by Sparta and her allies, were nominally at peace with the Persian Empire. There were rulers who would be happy to employ a mercenary army for local campaigns, but how could they get to where they might be employed? If they had to travel overland, how could they feed themselves without pillaging? In the short run, the more well-to-do officers had the means to secure their own passage and could leave the army behind. The rank-and-file soldiers could, in principle, simply leave the group and fend for themselves. But this option amounted to disbanding the army that had accomplished so much against impossible odds.
The Spartan general Cheirisophus sailed to try to secure ships from the Spartan admiral, but when he did not return after a month, the army marched off westward along the coast to the Greek city of Cerasus. They then marched westward, plundering barbarians along the way, until they reached the Greek city of Cotyora, another colony of Sinope, where they stayed forty-five days. This city did not sell goods to them, so they took what they needed. The mother city Sinope sent a delegation to complain, but Xenophon, as spokesman, said they only took what they did because they could not buy it.[59]
The army worked out differences among its own people and with the people of Sinope, and, having ships enough for once, sailed to that city. Cheirisophus finally appeared, without the ships he had hoped to secure. The Spartan admiral Anaxibius, however, sent his congratulations on their march, and promised to employ them if they could join him. They were able to sail on west as far as Heracleia. After suffering a number of vicissitudes the army marched to the Bosporus and crossed over to Byzantium, where Anaxibius the Spartan admiral was in charge. Contrary to his promises, he refused to employ the soldiers, rather ordering them to go home. Feeling betrayed by his high-handed treatment, the army almost sacked Byzantium. At length they found employment with a local war-lord, Seuthes. Eventually they would be employed by the Spartans in a campaign against the Persians. But the road home for the Ten Thousand, as for Odysseus, was long and difficult. And it would turn out that their leader Xenophon would never again live in Athens.[60]
[51].Xenophon Anabasis 3.3-5.
[52].Xenophon Anabasis 4.1-2.
[53].Xenophon Anabasis 4.3.
[54].Xenophon Anabasis 4.4.1-7.19.
[55].Xenophon Anabasis 4.7.23-25. Xenophon uses the Attic word thalatta for ‘sea,’ but in the other dialects his fellow-soldiers spoke, the word was the marvelously onomatopoetic thalassa.
[56].Waterfield 2006:152-153 visited the cairn, which is still visible at the site, standing at over 2,500 meters above sea level.
[57].Xenophon Anabasis 4.8.
[58].Xenophon Anabasis 5.3.3; see Dillery 1998, 373 nn. 53-54.
[59].Xenophon Anabasis 5.3-5.
[60].Xenophon Anabasis books 6-7; Diogenes Laertius 2.51-53, 56.