there were taken six thousand horses, with a countless number of baggage-beasts, and fifteen thousand men, all whom he led back past the camp of the enemy.  I wonder at Sallustius saying that this was the first time that the Romans saw the camel;[356] for he must have supposed that the soldiers of Scipio, who some time before had defeated Antiochus, and those who had also fought with Archelaus at Orchomenus and Chaeronea, were unacquainted with the camel.  Now Mithridates had determined to fly as soon as he could; but, with the view of contriving something which should draw Lucullus in the other direction, and detain him in his rear, he sent his admiral, Aristonikus, to the Grecian sea, and Aristonikus was just on the point of setting sail when he was betrayed to Lucullus, who got him into his power, together with ten thousand pieces of gold which he was carrying to bribe a part of the Roman army with.  Upon this Mithridates fled to the sea, and his generals led the land forces off.  But Lucullus falling upon them at the river Granikus,[357] took many prisoners, and slew twenty thousand of them.  It is said that near three hundred thousand persons were destroyed out of the whole number of camp-followers and fighting-men.

XII.  Upon entering Kyzikus, Lucullus took his pleasure, and enjoyed a friendly reception suitably to the occasion; he next visited the Hellespont, and got his navy equipped.  Arriving at the Troad,[358] he placed his tent within the sacred precincts of Aphrodite, and as he was sleeping there he thought that he saw the goddess in the night standing by him, saying: 

    “Why slumber, lion of the mighty heart? 
    The fawns are near at hand.”

Waking from sleep, Lucullus called his friends and told them his dream, while it was still night; and there came persons from Ilium, who reported that thirteen of the king’s quinqueremes had been seen near the Achaean harbour, moving in the direction of Lemnos.  Immediately setting sail, Lucullus captured these vessels and killed their commander, Isidorus, and he then advanced against the other captains.  Now, as they happened to be at anchor, they drew all their vessels together up to the land, and, fighting from the decks, dealt blows on the men of Lucullus; for the ground rendered it impossible to sail round to the enemy’s rear, and, as the ships of Lucullus were afloat, they could make no attack on those of the enemy, which were planted close to the land and securely situated.  However, with some difficulty, Lucullus landed the bravest of his soldiers in a part of the island which was accessible, who, falling on the rear of the enemy, killed some and compelled the rest to cut their cables and make their escape from the land, and so to drive their vessels foul of one another, and to be exposed to the blows of the vessels of Lucullus.  Many of the enemy perished; but among the captives there was Marius,[359] he who was sent from Sertorius.  Marius had only one eye, and the soldiers had received orders from Lucullus, as they were setting out on the expedition, to kill no one-eyed man; for Lucullus designed to make Marius die a shameful and dishonourable death.