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Like a boxer sent reeling by an unexpected blow, who then turns on his foe with renewed fury,
Artaphernes landed his first counterblow to the rebellion at Ephesus.
The Persians fully expected this uprising to shatter at the first sign of adversity —
and yet the Greeks continued to resist.
Artaphernes knew what had to be done.
He directed the full might of Persia against Miletus, home city of Aristagoras and epicenter of the rebellion.
This was no small undertaking:
Miletus was a mighty metropolis, famed for its wealth.
From its bustling harbor, Miletus had seeded the shores of the Black Sea with dozens of colonies.
Now that harbor hosted the entire Ionian navy, its triremes bristling with fierce Greek marines.
A formidable target.
But Artaphernes was well-acquainted with the endless squabbles of his former subjects,
and knew that with a single loose thread, he could unravel the entire Greek alliance.
Artaphernes soon found just such a thread.
The Greek sailors were on the verge of mutiny,
having been driven to exhaustion by the endless drills of their relentless admiral, Dionysius.
Artaphernes had found the soft underbelly of Miletus.
Now he made ready to slit it open.