A Persian, who made it his business to speak Greek [sc. but did so badly]. They say he used xai/romai, instead of saying xai/rw.[1] And that [sort of thing] is "Datism".
Datis: "this man saw a vision of a dream, and they do not say what the vision was. But as soon as day dawned, he made a search of the ships. And he found a gilt statue of Apollo in a Phoenician one and asked whence it had been stolen. He learned that it was from such and such a shrine and he sent [it] in his own ship to Delos and entrusted the statue to the shrine and ordered the Delians to return the statue."[2]
[Datis is the man] who, wanting to speak Greek, said h(/domai and xai/romai and eu)frai/nomai.[3]
Datis and Artaphernes,[4] leaders of the Persians after Mardonius was relieved of command, sent envoys into Greece to make trial of the cities and to ask for earth and water. All the islanders gave it to them; but the Athenians took deep offense and banished the envoys. The Lacedaemonians agreed to give both [sc. tokens]; they threw them into a well, poured soil down onto them, and explained that they had given them the gift for which they had asked.[5]