Explore "The Retreat of the Ten Thousand" by C. Witt on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Terrible indeed must have been the despair of the Hellenes on hearing of the death of Cyrus, for by this one blow their whole position was changed, their every hope was shattered. Instead of being able to cherish pleasant dreams of future happiness made possible by the bounty of Cyrus, they had now before them nothing but a dark and dreary prospect of toil and danger, through which if they barely escaped with their lives, it was as much as they could dare to hope.
Hitherto Cyrus, who had studied in advance every mile of the road, had been their leader, and had always brought them by the best way. Now they found themselves a thousand miles distant from their home, without the slightest knowledge of the countries through which they would have to pass. Hitherto they had been free from all care with regard to their daily food, for the liberal pay which they had received from Cyrus had enabled them to supply their wants without difficulty. Now they had nothing to fall back upon but their savings, and when these were spent, they would be reduced to the most extreme distress.