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31.

When Mardonius' barbarians had finished their mourning for Masistius and heard that the Greeks were at Plataea, they also came to the part of the Asopus river nearest to them. When they were there, they were arrayed for battle by Mardonius as I shall show. He posted the Persians facing the Lacedaemonians. [2] Seeing that the Persians by far outnumbered the Lacedaemonians, they were arrayed in deeper ranks and their line ran opposite the Tegeans also. In his arraying of them he chose out the strongest part of the Persians to set it over against the Lacedaemonians, and posted the weaker by them facing the Tegeans; this he did being so informed and taught by the Thebans. [3] Next to the Persians he posted the Medes opposite the men of Corinth, Potidaea, Orchomenus, and Sicyon; next to the Medes, the Bactrians, opposite the men of Epidaurus, Troezen, Lepreum, Tiryns, Mycenae, and Phlius. [4] After the Bactrians he set the Indians, opposite the men of Hermione and Eretria and Styra and Chalcis. Next to the Indians he posted the Sacae, opposite the Ampraciots, Anactorians, Leucadians, Paleans, and Aeginetans; [5] next to the Sacae, and opposite the Athenians, Plataeans, Megarians, the Boeotians, Locrians, Malians, Thessalians, and the thousand that came from Phocis; for not all the Phocians took the Persian side, but some of them gave their aid to the Greek cause; these had been besieged on Parnassus, and issued out from there to harry Mardonius' army and the Greeks who were with him. Beside these, he arrayed the Macedonians also and those who lived in the area of Thessaly opposite the Athenians.

Herodotus, with an English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920.

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