IONIAN GREEKS AND VIETNAM

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

In these days of the "credibility gap" and "overkill" in Vietnam, a sort of ancient parallel in the battle of Marathon, as so brilliantly described by Professor N.G.L. Hammond of Bristol University on Tuesday, may be instructive. The sources are exclusively Greek, and they report the battle as an over-whelming victory of a small force over an enormous enemy army. The sympathies of all readers are well conditioned. The meticulous and detailed analysis of Professor Hammond uncovered a flaw in the onesided Classical presentation of the battle. The Ionian Greeks in the army of the Persians secretly informed their cousins from Athens early in the morning of the battle that the Persian cavalry had left the field, presumably for water and fodder. This was the signal for the Athenians to attack and the battle was won.

What happened to the large contingent of Ionian Greeks in the Persian army? Did they cover up their treachery by fighting for Darius against the Athenians, or did they change sides? There is no information, but one may wager that they contributed to the Persian defeat. How will history deal with the Viet Cong, the north and south Vietnamese and the Americans? Richard N.Frye   Aga Khan Profesor of Iranian