force of men. 101. From plundering this city after they had taken it
they were prevented by this:--the houses in Sardis were mostly built
of reeds, and even those of them which were of brick had their roofs
thatched with reeds: of these houses one was set on fire by a soldier,
and forthwith the fire going on from house to house began to spread
over the whole town. So then as the town was on fire, the Lydians and
all the Persians who were in the city being cut off from escape, since
the fire was prevailing in the extremities round about them, and not
having any way out of the town, flowed together to the market-place
and to the river Pactolos, which brings down gold-dust for them from
Tmolos, flowing through the middle of their market-place, and then
runs out into the river Hermos, and this into the sea;--to this
Pactolos, I say, and to the market-place the Lydians and Persians
gathered themselves together, and were compelled to defend themselves.
The Ionians then, seeing some of the enemy standing on their defence
and others in great numbers coming on to the attack, were struck with
fear and retired to the mountain called Tmolos, and after that at
nightfall departed to go to their ships.

102. Sardis was then destroyed by fire, and in it also the temple of
the native goddess Hybebe; which the Persians alleged afterwards as a
reason for setting on fire in return the temples in the land of the
Hellenes. However at the time of which I speak the Persians who
occupied districts within the river Halys, informed beforehand of this
movement, were gathering together and coming to the help of the
Lydians; and, as it chanced, they found when they came that the
Ionians no longer were in Sardis; but they followed closely in their
track and came up with them at Ephesos: and the Ionians stood indeed
against them in array, but when they joined battle they had very much
the worse; and besides other persons of note whom the Persians