In the aftermath of the Peloponnesian war A young Persian prince with a ruthless aim Cyrus assembled a vast host of mercenaries Thinking good pay and rich booty they'd gain
Ten thousand Greek hoplites ready for war They set out eastward in March 401 B.C. Expecting to suppress some dissident tribes The true goal of the endeavour they didn't see
In a sudden skirmish one hundred were lost Unrest among the men soon started to grow Spartan Clearchus managed to keep them in line But their true purpose they still didn't know
On the banks of the Euphrates Cyrus did speak Revealing his plan to overthrow his elder sibling To forcefully seize the throne of Persia for himself The army indeed a formidable threat to the king
On towards Babylon [4x]
Across Northern Syria into the Arabian desert Until they were confronted with the king's might A cloud of dust first appeared on the horizon Then helmets and armour flashed in the sunlight
The sides drew up in battle-order near Babylon Combat was engaged close to Cunaxa on a plain The Greeks fought against numerical supremacy But all became irrelevant once Cyrus was slain
Before the Greeks could return a ploy unfolded Tissaphernes lured their five generals into a tent And slaughtered them and all their attendants On vengeance the treacherous satrap was bent
The Ten Thousand now aimless and leaderless Seeming to be lost in these vast and hostile lands But one of the men received an omen from Zeus Xenophon rose to take matters into his hands
He advised the officers to choose new leaders To all the forces a rousing speech he made So they decided not to lay down their arms But to persist against odds that were great
The retreating army's progress was slow, arduous In the mountains of Kardouchia they had to fight Vulnerable they were to mounted Persian archers But cavalry and slingers demonstrated their might
In the Armenian mountains the weather was the foe By hunger and frostbite the troops disheartened But through personal example Xenophon led on And upon reaching the sea the men were elated
There were more adventures on the long road home Before many of them at last to Greece returned Xenophon was then banished from his city Athens A friend of Sparta by the democratic rabble spurned
The Ten Thousand's march was a significant feat Their journey showed what the Greeks could gain The possibility of conquest seen for the first time The wealth and weakness of the Persian domainTeksty umieszczone na naszej stronie są własnością wytwórni, wykonawców, osób mających do nich prawa.
