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Homeratho of Limnos
By Joel Nicholas Karanikas
There once lived in the beautiful island of Limnos, a man named Homeratho. He was a man of great
learning and physical power-- a compound of Athenian intellect and Spartan violence, a man who
solved the greatest philosophical conundrums and fought at the greatest battles. He was living in
the glory of his middle years when King Darius of Persia launched an expedition to conquer Europe,
wresting power from Egypt and then towards Greece, throwing Asia Minor into subjection or tumult
and threatening the rest of the known world.
The Persian enemy had marched its way into Thrace, destroying, robbing, taking captive and
expelling from the Thracian soil an impoverished Greek general—the eminent Miltiades of the
Chersonese. In a wretched and infuriated state did Miltiades flee from his home, with nothing in his
mind but to avenge the tyrannical Persians who had thus grieved him. Seeking solace in Athens,
Miltiades was soon greatly delighted upon discovering the Athenian sympathy for the vanquished
Thracians—a sympathy which was immediately calculated to render possible his contemplated
vengeance upon the invading foe. And so, in return for military assistance in Thrace, Miltiades
proffered his services to the ruler of Athens who required as a gift the island of Limnos.
From Athens Miltiades sailed to the island of Limnos, accompanied by a formidable swarm of
triremes. From the distance the anxious Limnians sighted his dreadful advance, announcing the
alarm throughout their island; hundreds of villagers and townspeople huddled together under the
shelter of ill-fortified buildings; fear and trembling was rank among them all—all, that is, save the
bold Homeratho, who, donning his armour, was soon rushing up to the great beaches of the Limnian
coast and watching as the navy rapidly drew to the fringes of his homeland. In a few moments the
figure of Miltiades emerged from a trireme, and after disembarking, he confronted the crowded
masses of Limnians, bellowing:
“Behold! Ye of Limnos, hearken unto the words of Miltiades of the Chersonese! This day I declare
that, upon the word of the Athenian King, this island shall be completely subjected to his rule. Those
who submit shall live peaceably, but those who resist I will have no patience for.”
The panicking crowd of Limnians could not produce a coherent answer. Instead they waited for
Homeratho, who entered into a long, deep mental struggle. At length he said: “Be it known, O
Miltiades, that it is not our intention to resist thee. We shall, on the contrary, humbly submit to thy
overruling power—but only on one condition: namely, that you leave our island under a Northern
wind.”
Miltiades would not take this reply; for, although Homeratho’s ingenuity had devised a term that
was neither a surrender nor a refusal, Miltiades had no time for delay, so he immediately set upon
the island, his army frightening the Limnians, who had but pikes and staves to ward off the furious
Athenians. The battle was fierce and energetic, but the superior numbers of the Athenians could not
be resisted, and before sunset the Limnian populace had either fallen to the sword, been taken
captive or fled away; the last man to resist them was Homeratho, but despite his violent and
refractory behaviour, he was bound in shackles and kept in the lowest cell of Miltiades’ trireme. As
the weary soldiers slumbered at night on board Miltiades’ trireme, Homeratho broke his shackles
and proceeded to creep slowly up the galley’s steps, with a sword he had stolen from a sleeping
fusilier. One man, observing his ascending shadow, sent an alarm throughout the galley and soon
every man was rushing with swords drawn to the armed captive, who without a moment’s
hesitation, turned about to face his captors, not fleeing or hiding in the dark. As the Athenian host
was beleaguering our seemingly hapless Homeratho, the latter rushed forward and with a
tremendous flourish of his sword began striking his opponents one by one until a frightened
Miltiades stood astonished, staring upon the furious and heated spectacle of the unyielding Limnian.
“Homeratho!” cried Miltiades of the Chersonese with a sudden change of tone. “Thy merits are
indeed greater than I imagined. I will now declare thee a free man, on the condition that you e the
General Megabazus who drove me out by brute force from the soil of Thrace, just as I drove you out
from Limnos. I cannot but admire your courage, Homeratho, for I too was a man expelled from the
land I love, but with scarcely enough vigour to fight back. Instead I fled away, supposing I was
blessed by the Delphic oracle, to humour the spirits of the King of Athens so that he might avenge
my invaders, by invading Limnos and offering it to him as a gift that would set me above all his
courtiers. But you have shown me that Limnians are stronger than Thracians, and it were unjust for
me to keep you captive. Therefore I would have you use all the strength you have just displayed in
single combat with my most loathed enemy, the Persian Megabazus, and if you win, I shall appoint
you governor of Limnos, where you will rule your island fairly and justly.”
The fleet at last laid to rest at Thrace. The Athenian army which Miltiades had come to command
disembarked, and now met the advancing army of the Persians, who after some deliberation
accepted the challenge they were offered, that their leader, Megabazus, should combat Homeratho.
So with a vast crowd of eager spectators on either side, the two men began with a bow, then
proceeded to strike at each other. After half an hour of exhausting struggle, Homeratho
administered a fatal blow upon Megabazus, who fell in an instant to the ground. The Persians
screamed in unbelieving horror, the Greeks rejoiced in overwhelming rapture, and Homeratho,
thrice wounded, his physical strength spent, collapsed to the ground, and was carried away by
Miltiades’ men—a hero of Limnos.
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23 June 2016
Joel Karanikas