The place was at last
betrayed by a friend of Darius, who cut off his own nose and ears, and
showed himself bleeding, at the gates, pretending the king had done him
this cruel injury. The Babylonians received and trusted him, and he
soon opened the gates to his master, who terribly punished the rebels,
destroyed as much as he could of the Temple of Bel, and left the city to
go to decay, so that she never again was the Lady of Kingdoms. Darius
was a great King, and records of his history are still to be read, cut
out in the face of the rocks; but he tried two conquests that were far
beyond his strength. He led an army into the bare and dreary country of
the Scythians, the wild sons of Japhet, near the mouth of the Danube,
and there would have been almost starved to death, but that a faithful
camel loaded with provisions kept close to him. He also sent a large
fleet and army to subdue the brave and wise Greeks, who lived in the
isles and peninsulas opposite to Asia Minor, thinking he should easily
bring them under his dominion, but they met his troops at Marathon, and
gained a great victory, driving the Persians home with great loss.
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