Histórias

This is the Showing forth of the Inquiry of Herodotus of Halicarnassos,
to the end that 1 neither the deeds of men may be forgotten by lapse
of time, nor the works 2 great and marvellous, which have been produced
some by Hellenes and some by Barbarians, may lose their renown; and
especially that the causes may be remembered for which these waged war
with one another.

1. Those of the Persians who have knowledge of history declare that
the Phenicians first began the quarrel. These, they say, came from that
which is called the Erythraian Sea to this of ours; and having settled
in the land where they continue even now to dwell, set themselves
forthwith to make long voyages by sea. And conveying merchandise of
Egypt and of Assyria they arrived at other places and also at Argos; now
Argos was at that time in all points the first of the States within that
land which is now called Hellas;—the Phenicians arrived then at this
land of Argos, and began to dispose of their ship's cargo: and on the
fifth or sixth day after they had arrived, when their goods had been
almost all sold, there came down to the sea a great company of women,
and among them the daughter of the king; and her name, as the Hellenes
also agree, was Io the daughter of Inachos. These standing near to the
stern of the ship were buying of the wares such as pleased them most,
when of a sudden the Phenicians, passing the word from one to another,
made a rush upon them; and the greater part of the women escaped by
flight, but Io and certain others were carried off. So they put them on
board their ship, and forthwith departed, sailing away to Egypt.

2. In this manner the Persians report that Io came to Egypt, not
agreeing therein with the Hellenes, 3 and this they say was the first
beginning of wrongs. Then after this, they say, certain Hellenes (but
the name of the people they are not able to report) put in to the city
of Tyre in Phenicia and carried off the king's daughter Europa;—these
would doubtless be Cretans;—and so they were quits for the former
injury. After this however the Hellenes, they say, were the authors of
the second wrong; for they sailed in to Aia of Colchis and to the river
Phasis with a ship of war, and from thence, after they had done the
other business for which they came, they carried off the king's daughter
Medea: and the king of Colchis sent a herald to the land of Hellas and
demanded satisfaction for the rape and to have his daughter back; but
they answered that, as the Barbarians had given them no satisfaction for
the rape of Io the Argive, so neither would they give satisfaction to
the Barbarians for this.

3. In the next generation after this, they say, Alexander the son of
Priam, having heard of these things, desired to get a wife for himself
by violence 4 from Hellas, being fully assured that he would not be
compelled to give any satisfaction for this wrong, inasmuch as the
Hellenes gave none for theirs. So he carried off Helen, and the
Hellenes resolved to send messengers first and to demand her back with
satisfaction for the rape; and when they put forth this demand, the
others alleged to them the rape of Medea, saying that the Hellenes were
now desiring satisfaction to be given to them by others, though they
had given none themselves nor had surrendered the person when demand was
made.

4. Up to this point, they say, nothing more happened than the carrying
away of women on both sides; but after this the Hellenes were very
greatly to blame; for they set the first example of war, making an
expedition into Asia before the Barbarians made any into Europe. Now
they say that in their judgment, though it is an act of wrong to
carry away women by force, it is a folly to set one's heart on taking
vengeance for their rape, and the wise course is to pay no regard when
they have been carried away; for it is evident that they would never be
carried away if they were not themselves willing to go. And the Persians
say that they, namely the people of Asia, when their women were carried
away by force, had made it a matter of no account, but the Hellenes on
account of a woman of Lacedemon gathered together a great armament, and
then came to Asia and destroyed the dominion of Priam; and that from
this time forward they had always considered the Hellenic race to be
their enemy: for Asia and the Barbarian races which dwell there the
Persians claim as belonging to them; but Europe and the Hellenic race
they consider to be parted off from them.

5. The Persians for their part say that things happened thus; and they
conclude that the beginning of their quarrel with the Hellenes was on
account of the taking of Ilion: but as regards Io the Phenicians do not
agree with the Persians in telling the tale thus; for they deny that
they carried her off to Egypt by violent means, and they say on the
other hand that when they were in Argos she was intimate with the master
of their ship, and perceiving that she was with child, she was ashamed
to confess it to her parents, and therefore sailed away with the
Phenicians of her own will, for fear of being found out. These are the
tales told by the Persians and the Phenicians severally: and concerning
these things I am not going to say that they happened thus or thus, 401
but when I have pointed to the man who first within my own knowledge
began to commit wrong against the Hellenes, I shall go forward further
with the story, giving an account of the cities of men, small as well
as great: for those which in old times were great have for the most part
become small, while those that were in my own time great used in former
times to be small: so then, since I know that human prosperity never
continues steadfast, I shall make mention of both indifferently.

6. Croesus was Lydian by race, the son of Alyattes and ruler of the
nations which dwell on this side of the river Halys; which river,
flowing from the South between the Syrians 5 and the Paphlagonians, runs
out towards the North Wind into that Sea which is called the Euxine.
This Croesus, first of all the Barbarians of whom we have knowledge,
subdued certain of the Hellenes and forced them to pay tribute, while
others he gained over and made them his friends. Those whom he subdued
were the Ionians, the Aiolians, and the Dorians who dwell in Asia; and
those whom he made his friends were the Lacedemonians. But before the
reign of Croesus all the Hellenes were free; for the expedition of the
Kimmerians, which came upon Ionia before the time of Croesus, was not a
conquest of the cities but a plundering incursion only. 6

7. Now the supremacy which had belonged to the Heracleidai came to the
family of Croesus, called Mermnadai, in the following manner:—Candaules,
whom the Hellenes call Myrsilos, was ruler of Sardis and a descendant of
Alcaios, son of Heracles: for Agron, the son of Ninos, the son of Belos,
the son of Alcaios, was the first of the Heracleidai who became king of
Sardis, and Candaules the son of Myrsos was the last; but those who were
kings over this land before Agron, were descendants of Lydos the son
of Atys, whence this whole nation was called Lydian, having been before
called Meonian. From these the Heracleidai, descended from Heracles and
the slave-girl of Iardanos, obtained the government, being charged
with it by reason of an oracle; and they reigned for two-and-twenty
generations of men, five hundred and five years, handing on the power
from father to son, till the time of Candaules the son of Myrsos.

8. This Candaules then of whom I speak had become passionately in love
with his own wife; and having become so, he deemed that his wife was
fairer by far than all other women; and thus deeming, to Gyges the son
of Daskylos (for he of all his spearmen was the most pleasing to him),
to this Gyges, I say, he used to impart as well the more weighty of his
affairs as also the beauty of his wife, praising it above measure: and
after no long time, since it was destined that evil should happen to
Candaules, he said to Gyges as follows: "Gyges, I think that thou dost
not believe me when I tell thee of the beauty of my wife, for it
happens that men's ears are less apt of belief than their eyes: contrive
therefore means by which thou mayest look upon her naked." But he cried
aloud and said: "Master, what word of unwisdom is this which thou dost
utter, bidding me look upon my mistress naked? When a woman puts off
her tunic she puts off her modesty also. Moreover of old time those fair
sayings have been found out by men, from which we ought to learn wisdom;
and of these one is this,—that each man should look on his own: but I
believe indeed that she is of all women the fairest and I entreat thee
not to ask of me that which it is not lawful for me to do."

9. With such words as these he resisted, fearing lest some evil might
come to him from this; but the king answered him thus: "Be of good
courage, Gyges, and have no fear, either of me, that I am saying these
words to try thee, or of my wife, lest any harm may happen to thee from
her. For I will contrive it so from the first that she shall not even
perceive that she has been seen by thee. I will place thee in the room
where we sleep, behind the open door; 7 and after I have gone in, my
wife also will come to lie down. Now there is a seat near the entrance
of the room, and upon this she will lay her garments as she takes
them off one by one; and so thou wilt be able to gaze upon her at full
leisure. And when she goes from the chair to the bed and thou shalt be
behind her back, then let it be thy part to take care that she sees thee
not as thou goest through the door."

10. He then, since he might not avoid it, gave consent: and Candaules,
when he considered that it was time to rest, led Gyges to the chamber;
and straightway after this the woman also appeared: and Gyges looked
upon her after she came in and as she laid down her garments; and when
she had her back turned towards him, as she went to the bed, then he
slipped away from his hiding-place and was going forth. And as he went
out, the woman caught sight of him, and perceiving that which had been
done by her husband she did not cry out, though struck with shame, 8 but
she made as though she had not perceived the matter, meaning to avenge
herself upon Candaules: for among the Lydians as also among most other
Barbarians it is a shame even for a man to be seen naked.

11. At the time then she kept silence, as I say, and made no outward
sign; but as soon as day had dawned, and she made ready those of the
servants whom she perceived to be the most attached to herself, and
after that she sent to summon Gyges. He then, not supposing that
anything of that which had been done was known to her, came upon her
summons; for he had been accustomed before to go 9 whenever the queen
summoned him. And when Gyges was come, the woman said to him these
words: "There are now two ways open to thee, Gyges, and I give thee the
choice which of the two thou wilt prefer to take. Either thou must slay
Candaules and possess both me and the kingdom of Lydia, or thou must
thyself here on the spot be slain, so that thou mayest not in future,
by obeying Candaules in all things, see that which thou shouldest not.
Either he must die who formed this design, or thou who hast looked upon
me naked and done that which is not accounted lawful." For a time then
Gyges was amazed at these words, and afterwards he began to entreat her
that she would not bind him by necessity to make such a choice: then
however, as he could not prevail with her, but saw that necessity was in
truth set before him either to slay his master or to be himself slain by
others, he made the choice to live himself; and he inquired further as
follows: "Since thou dost compel me to take my master's life against
my own will, let me hear from thee also what is the manner in which we
shall lay hands upon him." And she answering said: "From that same place
shall the attempt be, where he displayed me naked; and we will lay hands
upon him as he sleeps."

12. So after they had prepared the plot, when night came on, (for Gyges
was not let go nor was there any way of escape for him, but he must
either be slain himself or slay Candaules), he followed the woman to the
bedchamber; and she gave him a dagger and concealed him behind that very
same door. Then afterwards, while Candaules was sleeping, Gyges came
privily up to him 10 and slew him, and he obtained both his wife and his
kingdom: of him moreover Archilochos the Parian, who lived about that
time, made mention in a trimeter iambic verse. 11

13. He obtained the kingdom however and was strengthened in it by means
of the Oracle at Delphi; for when the Lydians were angry because of the
fate of Candaules, and had risen in arms, a treaty was made between the
followers of Gyges and the other Lydians to this effect, that if the
Oracle should give answer that he was to be king of the Lydians, he
should be king, and if not, he should give back the power to the sons of
Heracles. So the Oracle gave answer, and Gyges accordingly became
king: yet the Pythian prophetess said this also, that vengeance for
the Heracleidai should come upon the descendants of Gyges in the fifth
generation. Of this oracle the Lydians and their kings made no account
until it was in fact fulfilled.

14. Thus the Mermnadai obtained the government having driven out from it
the Heracleidai: and Gyges when he became ruler sent votive offerings to
Delphi not a few, for of all the silver offerings at Delphi his are more
in number than those of any other man; and besides the silver he offered
a vast quantity of gold, and especially one offering which is more
worthy of mention than the rest, namely six golden mixing-bowls, which
are dedicated there as his gift: of these the weight is thirty talents,
and they stand in the treasury of the Corinthians, (though in truth this
treasury does not belong to the State of the Corinthians, but is that
of Kypselos the son of Aëtion). 12 This Gyges was the first of the
Barbarians within our knowledge who dedicated votive offerings at
Delphi, except only Midas the son of Gordias king of Phrygia, who
dedicated for an offering the royal throne on which he sat before all to
decide causes; and this throne, a sight worth seeing, stands in the
same place with the bowls of Gyges. This gold and silver which Gyges
dedicated is called Gygian by the people of Delphi, after the name of
him who offered it.

Now Gyges also, 13 as soon as he became king, led an army against
Miletos and Smyrna, and he took the lower town of Colophon: 14 but no
other great deed did he do in his reign, which lasted eight-and-thirty
years, therefore we will pass him by with no more mention than has
already been made,

15, and I will speak now of Ardys the son of Gyges, who became king
after Gyges. He took Priene and made an invasion against Miletos; and
while he was ruling over Sardis, the Kimmerians driven from their abodes
by the nomad Scythians came to Asia and took Sardis except the citadel.

16. Now when Ardys had been king for nine-and-forty years, Sadyattes his
son succeeded to his kingdom, and reigned twelve years; and after him
Alyattes. This last made war against Kyaxares the descendant of Deïokes
and against the Medes, 15 and he drove the Kimmerians forth out of Asia,
and he took Smyrna which had been founded from Colophon, and made an
invasion against Clazomenai. From this he ed not as he desired, but
with great loss: during his reign however he performed other deeds very
worthy of mention as follows:—

17. He made war with those of Miletos, having received this war as
an inheritance from his father: for he used to invade their land and
besiege Miletos in the following manner:—whenever there were ripe crops
upon the land, then he led an army into their confines, making his march
to the sound of pipes and harps and flutes both of male and female tone:
and when he came to the Milesian land, he neither pulled down the houses
that were in the fields, nor set fire to them nor tore off their doors,
but let them stand as they were; the trees however and the crops that
were upon the land he destroyed, and then departed by the way he came:
for the men of Miletos had command of the sea, so that it was of no use
for his army to blockade them: and he abstained from pulling down the
houses to the end that the Milesians might have places to dwell in while
they sowed and tilled the land, and by the means of their labour he
might have somewhat to destroy when he made his invasion.

18. Thus he continued to war with them for eleven years; and in the
course of these years the Milesians suffered two great defeats, once
when they fought a battle in the district of Limenion in their own land,
and again in the plain of Maiander. Now for six of the eleven years
Sadyattes the son of Ardys was still ruler of the Lydians, the same who
was wont to invade the land of Miletos at the times mentioned; 16 for
this Sadyattes was he who first began the war: but for the five years
which followed these first six the war was carried on by Alyattes the
son of Sadyattes, who received it as an inheritance from his father (as
I have already said) and applied himself to it earnestly. And none of
the Ionians helped those of Miletos bear the burden of this war except
only the men of Chios. These came to their aid to pay back like with
like, for the Milesians had formerly assisted the Chians throughout
their war with the people of Erythrai.

19. Then in the twelfth year of the war, when standing corn was being
burnt by the army of the Lydians, it happened as follows:—as soon as the
corn was kindled, it was driven by a violent wind and set fire to the
temple of Athene surnamed of Assessos; and the temple being set on fire
was burnt down to the ground. Of this no account was made then; but
afterwards when the army had ed to Sardis, Alyattes fell sick, and as
his sickness lasted long, he sent messengers to inquire of the Oracle at
Delphi, either being advised to do so by some one, or because he himself
thought it best to send and inquire of the god concerning his sickness.
But when these arrived at Delphi, the Pythian prophetess said that she
would give them no answer, until they should have built up again
the temple of Athene which they had burnt at Assessos in the land of
Miletos.

20. Thus much I know by the report of the people of Delphi; but the
Milesians add to this that Periander the son of Kypselos, being a
special guest-friend of Thrasybulos the then despot of Miletos, heard
of the oracle which had been given to Alyattes, and sending a messenger
told Thrasybulos, in order that he might have knowledge of it beforehand
and take such counsel as the case required. This is the story told by
the Milesians.

21. And Alyattes, when this answer was reported to him, sent a herald
forthwith to Miletos, desiring to make a truce with Thrasybulos and the
Milesians for so long a time as he should be building the temple. He
then was being sent as envoy to Miletos; and Thrasybulos in the meantime
being informed beforehand of the whole matter and knowing what Alyattes
was meaning to do, contrived this device:—he gathered together in the
market-place all the store of provisions which was found in the
city, both his own and that which belonged to private persons; and he
proclaimed to the Milesians that on a signal given by him they should
all begin to drink and make merry with one another.

22. This Thrasybulos did and thus proclaimed to the end that the herald
from Sardis, seeing a vast quantity of provisions carelessly piled up,
and the people feasting, might report this to Alyattes: and so on fact
it happened; for when the herald ed to Sardis after seeing this and
delivering to Thrasybulos the charge which was given to him by the king
of Lydia, the peace which was made, came about, as I am informed, merely
because of this. For Alyattes, who thought that there was a great famine
in Miletos and that the people had been worn down to the extreme of
misery, heard from the herald, when he ed from Miletos, the opposite
to that which he himself supposed. And after this the peace was made
between them on condition of being guest-friends and allies to one
another, and Alyattes built two temples to Athene at Assessos in place
of one, and himself recovered from his sickness. With regard then to
the war waged by Alyattes with the Milesians and Thrasybulos things went
thus.

23. As for Periander, the man who gave information about the oracle to
Thrasybulos, he was the son of Kypselos, and despot of Corinth. In his
life, say the Corinthians, (and with them agree the Lesbians), there
happened to him a very great marvel, namely that Arion of Methymna was
carried ashore at Tainaron upon a dolphin's back. This man was a harper
second to none of those who then lived, and the first, so far as we
know, who composed a dithyramb, naming it so and teaching it to a chorus
17 at Corinth.

24. This Arion, they say, who for the most part of his time stayed with
Periander, conceived a desire to sail to Italy 18 and Sicily; and
after he had there acquired large sums of money, he wished to again to
Corinth. He set forth therefore from Taras, 19 and as he had faith
in Corinthians more than in other men, he hired a ship with a crew of
Corinthians. These, the story says, when out in open sea, formed a
plot to cast Arion overboard and so possess his wealth; and he having
obtained knowledge of this made entreaties to them, offering them his
wealth and asking them to grant him his life. With this however he
did not prevail upon them, but the men who were conveying him bade him
either slay himself there, that he might receive burial on the land,
or leap straightway into the sea. So Arion being driven to a strait
entreated them that, since they were so minded, they would allow him to
take his stand in full minstrel's garb upon the deck 20 of the ship and
sing; and he promised to put himself to death after he had sung. They
then, well pleased to think that they should hear the best of all
minstrels upon earth, drew back from the stern towards the middle of
the ship; and he put on the full minstrel's garb and took his lyre, and
standing on the deck performed the Orthian measure. Then as the measure
ended, he threw himself into the sea just as he was, in his full
minstrel's garb; and they went on sailing away to Corinth, but him,
they say, a dolphin supported on its back and brought him to shore at
Tainaron: and when he had come to land he proceeded to Corinth with his
minstrel's garb. Thither having arrived he related all that had been
done; and Periander doubting of his story kept Arion in guard and
would let him go nowhere, while he kept careful watch for those who had
conveyed him. When these came, he called them and inquired of them if
they had any report to make of Arion; and when they said that he was
safe in Italy and that they had left him at Taras faring well, Arion
suddenly appeared before them in the same guise as when he made his leap
from the ship; and they being struck with amazement were no longer
able to deny when they were questioned. This is the tale told by the
Corinthians and Lesbians alike, and there is at Tainaron a votive
offering of Arion of no great size, 21 namely a bronze figure of a man
upon a dolphin's back.

25. Alyattes the Lydian, when he had thus waged war against the
Milesians, afterwards died, having reigned seven-and-fifty years. This
king, when he recovered from his sickness, dedicated a votive offering
at Delphi (being the second of his house who had so done), namely a
great mixing-bowl of silver with a stand for it of iron welded together,
which last is a sight worth seeing above all the offerings at Delphi and
the work of Glaucos the Chian, who of all men first found out the art of
welding iron.

26. After Alyattes was dead Croesus the son of Alyattes received the
kingdom in succession, being five-and-thirty years of age. He (as I
said) fought against the Hellenes and of them he attacked the Ephesians
first. The Ephesians then, being besieged by him, dedicated their city
to Artemis and tied a rope from the temple to the wall of the city: now
the distance between the ancient city, which was then being besieged,
and the temple is seven furlongs. 22 These, I say, were the first upon
whom Croesus laid hands, but afterwards he did the same to the other
Ionian and Aiolian cities one by one, alleging against them various
causes of complaint, and making serious charges against those in whose
cases he could find serious grounds, while against others of them he
charged merely trifling offences.

27. Then when the Hellenes in Asia had been conquered and forced to pay
tribute, he designed next to build for himself ships and to lay hands
upon those who dwelt in the islands; and when all was prepared for
his building of ships, they say that Bias of Priene (or, according to
another account, Pittacos of Mytilene) came to Sardis, and being asked
by Croesus whether there was any new thing doing in Hellas, brought to
an end his building of ships by this saying: "O king," said he, "the men
of the islands are hiring a troop of ten thousand horse, and with this
they mean to march to Sardis and fight against thee." And Croesus,
supposing that what he reported was true, said: "May the gods put
it into the minds of the dwellers of the islands to come with horses
against the sons of the Lydians!" And he answered and said: "O king, I
perceive that thou dost earnestly desire to catch the men of the islands
on the mainland riding upon horses; and it is not unreasonable that thou
shouldest wish for this: what else however thinkest thou the men of the
islands desire and have been praying for ever since the time they heard
that thou wert about to build ships against them, than that they might
catch the Lydians upon the sea, so as to take vengeance upon thee for
the Hellenes who dwell upon the mainland, whom thou dost hold enslaved?"
Croesus, they say, was greatly pleased with this conclusion, 23 and
obeying his suggestion, for he judged him to speak suitably, he stopped
his building of ships; and upon that he formed a friendship with the
Ionians dwelling in the islands.

28. As time went on, when nearly all those dwelling on this side the
river Halys had been subdued, (for except the Kilikians and Lykians
Croesus subdued and kept under his rule all the nations, that is to say
Lydians, Phrygians, Mysians, Mariandynoi, Chalybians, Paphlagonians,
Thracians both Thynian and Bithynian, Carians, Ionians, Dorians,
Aiolians, and Pamphylians), 24

29, when these, I say, had been subdued, and while he was still adding
to his Lydian dominions, there came to Sardis, then at the height of
its wealth, all the wise men 25 of the Hellas who chanced to be alive at
that time, brought thither severally by various occasions; and of them
one was Solon the Athenian, who after he had made laws for the Athenians
at their bidding, left his native country for ten years and sailed away
saying that he desired to visit various lands, in order that he might
not be compelled to repeal any of the laws which he had proposed. 26 For
of themselves the Athenians were not competent to do this, having bound
themselves by solemn oaths to submit for ten years to the laws which
Solon should propose for them.

30. So Solon, having left his native country for this reason and for
the sake of seeing various lands, came to Amasis in Egypt, and also to
Croesus at Sardis. Having there arrived he was entertained as a guest
by Croesus in the king's palace; and afterwards, on the third or fourth
day, at the bidding of Croesus his servants led Solon round to see his
treasuries; and they showed him all things, how great and magnificent
they were: and after he had looked upon them all and examined them as he
had occasion, Croesus asked him as follows: "Athenian guest, much report
of thee has come to us, both in regard to thy wisdom and thy wanderings,
how that in thy search for wisdom thou hast traversed many lands to see
them; now therefore a desire has come upon me to ask thee whether thou
hast seen any whom thou deemest to be of all men the most happy." 27
This he asked supposing that he himself was the happiest of men; but
Solon, using no flattery but the truth only, said: "Yes, O king, Tellos
the Athenian." And Croesus, marvelling at that which he said, asked
him earnestly: "In what respect dost thou judge Tellos to be the most
happy?" And he said: "Tellos, in the first place, living while his
native State was prosperous, had sons fair and good and saw from all of
them children begotten and living to grow up; and secondly he had what
with us is accounted wealth, and after his life a most glorious end:
for when a battle was fought by the Athenians at Eleusis against the
neighbouring people, he brought up supports and routed the foe and there
died by a most fair death; and the Athenians buried him publicly where
he fell, and honoured him greatly."

31. So when Solon had moved Croesus to inquire further by the story of
Tellos, recounting how many points of happiness he had, the king
asked again whom he had seen proper to be placed next after this man,
supposing that he himself would certainly obtain at least the second
place; but he replied: "Cleobis and Biton: for these, who were of Argos
by race, possessed a sufficiency of wealth and, in addition to this,
strength of body such as I shall tell. Both equally had won prizes in
the games, and moreover the following tale is told of them:—There was a
feast of Hera among the Argives and it was by all means necessary that
their mother should be borne in a car to the temple. But since their
oxen were not brought up in time from the field, the young men, barred
from all else by lack of time, submitted themselves to the yoke and drew
the wain, their mother being borne by them upon it; and so they brought
it on for five-and-forty furlongs, 28 and came to the temple. Then after
they had done this and had been seen by the assembled crowd, there came
to their life a most excellent ending; and in this the deity declared
that it was better for man to die than to continue to live. For the
Argive men were standing round and extolling the strength 29 of the
young men, while the Argive women were extolling the mother to whose
lot it had fallen to have such sons; and the mother being exceedingly
rejoiced both by the deed itself and by the report made of it, took her
stand in front of the image of the goddess and prayed that she would
give to Cleobis and Biton her sons, who had honoured her 30 greatly,
that gift which is best for man to receive: and after this prayer, when
they had sacrificed and feasted, the young men lay down to sleep within
the temple itself, and never rose again, but were held bound in this
last end. 31 And the Argives made statues in the likeness of them and
dedicated them as offerings at Delphi, thinking that they had proved
themselves most excellent."

32. Thus Solon assigned the second place in respect of happiness to
these: and Croesus was moved to anger and said: "Athenian guest, hast
thou then so cast aside our prosperous state as worth nothing, that thou
dost prefer to us even men of private station?" And he said: "Croesus,
thou art inquiring about human fortunes of one who well knows that
the Deity is altogether envious and apt to disturb our lot. For in the
course of long time a man may see many things which he would not desire
to see, and suffer also many things which he would not desire to suffer.
The limit of life for a man I lay down at seventy years: and these
seventy years give twenty-five thousand and two hundred days, not
reckoning for any intercalated month. Then if every other one of these
years shall be made longer by one month, that the seasons may be caused
to come round at the due time of the year, the intercalated months will
be in number five-and-thirty besides the seventy years; and of these
months the days will be one thousand and fifty. Of all these days, being
in number twenty-six thousand two hundred and fifty, which go to the
seventy years, one day produces nothing at all which resembles what
another brings with it. Thus then, O Croesus, man is altogether a
creature of accident. As for thee, I perceive that thou art both great
in wealth and king of many men, but that of which thou didst ask me I
cannot call thee yet, until I learn that thou hast brought thy life to
a fair ending: for the very rich man is not at all to be accounted more
happy than he who has but his subsistence from day to day, unless also
the fortune go with him of ending his life well in possession of all
things fair. For many very wealthy men are not happy, 32 while many who
have but a moderate living are fortunate; 33 and in truth the very rich
man who is not happy has two advantages only as compared with the poor
man who is fortunate, whereas this latter has many as compared with the
rich man who is not happy. The rich man is able better to fulfil his
desire, and also to endure a great calamity if it fall upon him; whereas
the other has advantage over him in these things which follow:—he is not
indeed able equally with the rich man to endure a calamity or to fulfil
his desire, but these his good fortune keeps away from him, while he is
sound of limb, 34 free from disease, untouched by suffering, the father
of fair children and himself of comely form; and if in addition to this
he shall end his life well, he is worthy to be called that which thou
seekest, namely a happy man; but before he comes to his end it is well
to hold back and not to call him yet happy but only fortunate. Now to
possess all these things together is impossible for one who is mere man,
just as no single land suffices to supply all things for itself, but one
thing it has and another it lacks, and the land that has the greatest
number of things is the best: so also in the case of a man, no single
person is complete in himself, for one thing he has and another he
lacks; but whosoever of men continues to the end in possession of the
greatest number of these things and then has a gracious ending of his
life, he is by me accounted worthy, O king, to receive this name. But
we must of every thing examine the end and how it will turn out at the
last, for to many God shows but a glimpse of happiness and then plucks
them up by the roots and overturns them."

33. Thus saying he refused to gratify Croesus, who sent him away
from his presence holding him in no esteem, and thinking him utterly
senseless in that he passed over present good things and bade men look
to the end of every matter.

34. After Solon had departed, a great retribution from God came upon
Croesus, probably because he judged himself to be the happiest of all
men. First there came and stood by him a dream, which showed to him the
truth of the evils that were about to come to pass in respect of his
son. Now Croesus had two sons, of whom one was deficient, seeing that he
was deaf and dumb, while the other far surpassed his companions of the
same age in all things: and the name of this last was Atys. As regards
this Atys then, the dream signified to Croesus that he should lose him
by the blow of an iron spear-point: 35 and when he rose up from sleep
and considered the matter with himself, he was struck with fear on
account of the dream; and first he took for his son a wife; and whereas
his son had been wont to lead the armies of the Lydians, he now no
longer sent him forth anywhere on any such business; and the javelins
and lances and all such things which men use for fighting he conveyed
out of the men's apartments and piled them up in the inner bed-chambers,
for fear lest something hanging up might fall down upon his son.

35. Then while he was engaged about the marriage of his son, there came
to Sardis a man under a misfortune and with hands not clean, a Phrygian
by birth and of the royal house. This man came to the house of Croesus,
and according to the customs which prevail in that land made request
that he might have cleansing; and Croesus gave him cleansing: now the
manner of cleansing among the Lydians is the same almost as that which
the Hellenes use. So when Croesus had done that which was customary, he
asked of him whence he came and who he was, saying as follows: "Man, who
art thou, and from what region of Phrygia didst thou come to sit upon
my hearth? And whom of men or women didst thou slay?" And he replied:
"O king, I am the son of Gordias, the son of Midas, and I am called
Adrastos; and I slew my own brother against my will, and therefore am I
here, having been driven forth by my father and deprived of all that I
had." And Croesus answered thus: "Thou art, as it chances, the offshoot
of men who are our friends and thou hast come to friends, among whom
thou shalt want of nothing so long as thou shalt remain in our land: and
thou wilt find it most for thy profit to bear this misfortune as lightly
as may be." So he had his abode with Croesus. 36

36. During this time there was produced in the Mysian Olympos a boar of
monstrous size. This, coming down from the mountain aforesaid, ravaged
the fields of the Mysians, and although the Mysians went out against it
often, yet they could do it no hurt, but rather received hurt themselves
from it; so at length messengers came from the Mysians to Croesus and
said: "O king, there has appeared in our land a boar of monstrous size,
which lays waste our fields; and we, desiring eagerly to take it, are
not able: now therefore we ask of thee to send with us thy son and also
a chosen band of young men with dogs, that we may destroy it out of our
land." Thus they made request, and Croesus calling to mind the words of
the dream spoke to them as follows: "As touching my son, make no further
mention of him in this matter; for I will not send him with you, seeing
that he is newly married and is concerned now with the affairs of his
marriage: but I will send with you chosen men of the Lydians and the
whole number of my hunting dogs, and I will give command to those who
go, to be as zealous as may be in helping you to destroy the wild beast
out of your land."

37. Thus he made reply, and while the Mysians were being contented with
this answer, there came in also the son of Croesus, having heard of the
request made by the Mysians: and when Croesus said that he would not
send his son with them, the young man spoke as follows: "My father, in
times past the fairest and most noble part was allotted to us, to go out
continually to wars and to the chase and so have good repute; but
now thou hast debarred me from both of these, although thou hast not
observed in me any cowardly or faint-hearted spirit. And now with what
face must I appear when I go to and from the market-place of the city?
What kind of a man shall I be esteemed by the citizens, and what kind of
a man shall I be esteemed by my newly-married wife? With what kind of a
husband will she think that she is mated? Therefore either let me go to
the hunt, or persuade me by reason that these things are better for me
done as now they are."

38. And Croesus made answer thus: "My son, not because I have observed
in thee any spirit of cowardice or any other ungracious thing, do I act
thus; but a vision of a dream came and stood by me in my sleep and told
me that thou shouldest be short-lived, and that thou shouldest perish
by a spear-point of iron. With thought of this vision therefore I both
urged on this marriage for thee, and I refuse now to send thee upon the
matter which is being taken in hand, having a care of thee that I may
steal thee from thy fate at least for the period of my own life, if by
any means possible for me to do so. For thou art, as it chances, my only
son: the other I do not reckon as one, seeing that he is deficient in
hearing."

39. The young man made answer thus: "It may well be forgiven in thee, O
my father, that thou shouldest have a care of me after having seen such
a vision; but that which thou dost not understand, and in which the
meaning of the dream has escaped thee, it is right that I should expound
to thee. Thou sayest the dream declared that I should end my life by
means of a spear-point of iron: but what hands has a boar, or what
spear-point of iron, of which thou art afraid? If the dream had told
thee that I should end my life by a tusk, or any other thing which
resembles that, it would be right for thee doubtless to do as thou art
doing; but it said 'by a spear-point.' Since therefore our fight will
not be with men, let me now go."

40. Croesus made answer: "My son, thou dost partly prevail with me by declaring thy judgment about the dream; therefore, having been prevailed upon by thee, I change my resolution and allow thee to go to the chase."

41. Having thus said Croesus went to summon Adrastos the Phrygian; and
when he came, he addressed him thus: "Adrastos, when thou wast struck
with a grievous misfortune (with which I reproach thee not), I cleansed
thee, and I have received thee into my house supplying all thy costs.
Now therefore, since having first received kindness from me thou art
bound to requite me with kindness, I ask of thee to be the protector of
my son who goes forth to the chase, lest any evil robbers come upon
you by the way to do you harm; and besides this thou too oughtest to go
where thou mayest become famous by thy deeds, for it belongs to thee
as an inheritance from thy fathers so to do, and moreover thou hast
strength for it."

42. Adrastos made answer: "O king, but for this I should not have been
going to any such contest of valour; for first it is not fitting that
one who is suffering such a great misfortune as mine should seek the
company of his fellows who are in prosperity, and secondly I have no
desire for it; and for many reasons I should have kept myself away. But
now, since thou art urgent with me, and I ought to gratify thee (for I
am bound to requite thee with kindness), I am ready to do this: expect
therefore that thy son, whom thou commandest me to protect, will home to
thee unhurt, so far as his protector may avail to keep him safe."

43. When he had made answer to Croesus in words like these, they
afterwards set forth provided with chosen young men and with dogs.
And when they were come to Mount Olympos, they tracked the animal;
and having found it and taken their stand round in a circle, they
were hurling against it their spears. Then the guest, he who had been
cleansed of manslaughter, whose name was Adrastos, hurling a spear at it
missed the boar and struck the son of Croesus. So he being struck by the
spear-point fulfilled the saying of the dream. And one ran to report
to Croesus that which had come to pass, and having come to Sardis he
signified to him of the combat and of the fate of his son. And Croesus
was very greatly disturbed by the death of his son, and was much the
more moved to complaining by this, namely that his son was slain by the
man whom he had himself cleansed of manslaughter. And being grievously
troubled by the misfortune he called upon Zeus the Cleanser, protesting
to him that which he had suffered from his guest, and he called moreover
upon the Protector of Suppliants 37 and the Guardian of Friendship,
38 naming still the same god, and calling upon him as the Protector of
Suppliants because when he received the guest into his house he had
been fostering ignorantly the slayer of his son, and as the Guardian of
Friendship because having sent him as a protector he had found him the
worst of foes.

45. After this the Lydians came bearing the corpse, and behind it
followed the slayer: and he taking his stand before the corpse delivered
himself up to Croesus, holding forth his hands and bidding the king slay
him over the corpse, speaking of his former misfortune and saying that
in addition to this he had now been the destroyer of the man who had
cleansed him of it; and that life for him was no more worth living. But
Croesus hearing this pitied Adrastos, although he was himself suffering
so great an evil of his own, and said to him: "Guest, I have already
received from thee all the satisfaction that is due, seeing that thou
dost condemn thyself to suffer death; and not thou alone art the cause
of this evil, except in so far as thou wert the instrument of it against
thine own will, but some one, as I suppose, of the gods, who also long
ago signified to me that which was about to be." So Croesus buried his
son as was fitting: but Adrastos the son of Gordias, the son of Midas,
he who had been the slayer of his own brother and the slayer also of the
man who had cleansed him, when silence came of all men round about the
tomb, recognising that he was more grievously burdened by misfortune
than all men of whom he knew, slew himself upon the grave.

46. For two years then Croesus remained quiet in his mourning,
because he was deprived of his son: but after this period of time the
overthrowing of the rule of Astyages the son of Kyaxares by Cyrus
the son of Cambyses, and the growing greatness of the Persians caused
Croesus to cease from his mourning, and led him to a care of cutting
short the power of the Persians, if by any means he might, while yet it
was in growth and before they should have become great.

So having formed this design he began forthwith to make trial of
the Oracles, both those of the Hellenes and that in Libya, sending
messengers some to one place and some to another, some to go to Delphi,
others to Abai of the Phokians, and others to Dodona; and some were
sent to the shrine of Amphiaraos and to that of Trophonios, others to
Branchidai in the land of Miletos: these are the Oracles of the Hellenes
to which Croesus sent messengers to seek divination; and others he sent
to the shrine of Ammon in Libya to inquire there. Now he was sending the
messengers abroad to the end that he might try the Oracles and find
out what knowledge they had, so that if they should be found to have
knowledge of the truth, he might send and ask them secondly whether he
should attempt to march against the Persians.

47. And to the Lydians whom he sent to make trial of the Oracles he gave
charge as follows,—that from the day on which they set out from Sardis
they should reckon up the number of the days following and on the
hundredth day they should consult the Oracles, asking what Croesus
the son of Alyattes king of the Lydians chanced then to be doing: and
whatever the Oracles severally should prophesy, this they should cause
to be written down 39 and bear it back to him. Now what the other
Oracles prophesied is not by any reported, but at Delphi, so soon as the
Lydians entered the sanctuary of the temple 40 to consult the god and
asked that which they were commanded to ask, the Pythian prophetess
spoke thus in hexameter measure:

"But the number of sand I know, 41 and the measure of drops in the ocean;
The dumb man I understand, and I hear the speech of the speechless:
And there hath come to my soul the smell of a strong-shelled tortoise
Boiling in caldron of bronze, and the flesh of a lamb mingled with it;
Under it bronze is laid, it hath bronze as a clothing upon it."

48. When the Pythian prophetess had uttered this oracle, the Lydians
caused the prophecy to be written down, and went away at once to Sardis.
And when the rest also who had been sent round were there arrived with
the answers of the Oracles, then Croesus unfolded the writings one by
one and looked upon them: and at first none of them pleased him, but
when he heard that from Delphi, forthwith he did worship to the god and
accepted the answer, 42 judging that the Oracle at Delphi was the only
true one, because it had found out what he himself had done. For when he
had sent to the several Oracles his messengers to consult the gods,
keeping well in mind the appointed day he contrived the following
device,—he thought of something which it would be impossible to discover
or to conceive of, and cutting up a tortoise and a lamb he boiled them
together himself in a caldron of bronze, laying a cover of bronze over
them.

49. This then was the answer given to Croesus from Delphi; and as
regards the answer of Amphiaraos, I cannot tell what he replied to the
Lydians after they had done the things customary in his temple, 43 for
there is no record of this any more than of the others, except only that
Croesus thought that he also 44 possessed a true Oracle.

50. After this with great sacrifices he endeavoured to win the favour of
the god at Delphi: for of all the animals that are fit for sacrifice he
offered three thousand of each kind, and he heaped up couches overlaid
with gold and overlaid with silver, and cups of gold, and robes of
purple, and tunics, making of them a great pyre, and this he burnt up,
hoping by these means the more to win over the god to the side of the
Lydians: and he proclaimed to all the Lydians that every one of them
should make sacrifice with that which each man had. And when he had
finished the sacrifice, he melted down a vast quantity of gold, and of
it he wrought half-plinths 45 making them six palms 46 in length and
three in breadth, and in height one palm; and their number was one
hundred and seventeen. Of these four were of pure gold 47 weighing two
talents and a half 48 each, and others of gold alloyed with silver 49
weighing two talents. And he caused to be made also an image of a lion
of pure gold weighing ten talents; which lion, when the temple of Delphi
was being burnt down, fell from off the half-plinths, for upon these
it was set, 50 and is placed now in the treasury of the Corinthians,
weighing six talents and a half, for three talents and a half were
melted away from it.

51. So Croesus having finished all these things sent them to Delphi, and
with them these besides:—two mixing bowls of great size, one of gold and
the other of silver, of which the golden bowl was placed on the right
hand as one enters the temple, and the silver on the left, but the
places of these also were changed after the temple was burnt down,
and the golden bowl is now placed in the treasury of the people of
Clazomenai, weighing eight and a half talents and twelve pounds over,
51 while the silver one is placed in the corner of the vestibule 52 and
holds six hundred amphors 53 (being filled with wine by the Delphians on
the feast of the Theophania): this the people of Delphi say is the work
of Theodoros the Samian, 54 and, as I think, rightly, for it is evident
to me that the workmanship is of no common kind: moreover Croesus sent
four silver wine-jars, which stand in the treasury of the Corinthians,
and two vessels for lustral water, 55 one of gold and the other of
silver, of which the gold one is inscribed "from the Lacedemonians,"
who say that it is their offering: therein however they do not speak
rightly; for this also is from Croesus, but one of the Delphians wrote
the inscription upon it, desiring to gratify the Lacedemonians; and his
name I know but will not make mention of it. The boy through whose hand
the water flows is from the Lacedemonians, but neither of the vessels
for lustral water. And many other votive offerings Croesus sent with
these, not specially distinguished, among which are certain castings 56
of silver of a round shape, and also a golden figure of a woman three
cubits high, which the Delphians say is a statue of the baker of
Croesus. Moreover Croesus dedicated the ornaments from his wife's neck
and her girdles.

52. These are the things which he sent to Delphi; and to Amphiaraos,
having heard of his valour and of his evil fate, he dedicated a shield
made altogether of gold throughout, and a spear all of solid gold, the
shaft being of gold also as well as the two points, which offerings
were both remaining even to my time at Thebes in the temple of Ismenian
Apollo.

53. To the Lydians who were to carry these gifts to the temples Croesus
gave charge that they should ask the Oracles this question also,—whether
Croesus should march against the Persians, and if so, whether he should
join with himself any army of men as his friends. And when the Lydians
had arrived at the places to which they had been sent and had dedicated
the votive offerings, they inquired of the Oracles and said: "Croesus,
king of the Lydians and of other nations, considering that these are
the only true Oracles among men, presents to you 57 gifts such as your
revelations deserve, and asks you again now whether he shall march
against the Persians, and if so, whether he shall join with himself any
army of men as allies." They inquired thus, and the answers of both
the Oracles agreed in one, declaring to Croesus that if he should
march against the Persians he should destroy a great empire: and they
counselled him to find out the most powerful of the Hellenes and join
these with himself as friends.

54. So when the answers were brought back and Croesus heard them, he
was delighted with the oracles, and expecting that he would certainly
destroy the kingdom of Cyrus, he sent again to Pytho, 58 and presented
to the men of Delphi, having ascertained the number of them, two staters
of gold for each man: and in for this the Delphians gave to Croesus and
to the Lydians precedence in consulting the Oracle and freedom from all
payments, and the right to front seats at the games, with this privilege
also for all time, that any one of them who wished should be allowed to
become a citizen of Delphi.

55. And having made presents to the men of Delphi, Croesus consulted the
Oracle the third time; for from the time when he learnt the truth of
the Oracle, he made abundant use of it. 59 And consulting the Oracle
he inquired whether his monarchy would endure for a long time. And the
Pythian prophetess answered him thus:

"But when it cometh to pass that a mule of the Medes shall be monarch
Then by the pebbly Hermos, O Lydian delicate-footed,
Flee and stay not, and be not ashamed to be callèd a coward."

56. By these lines when they came to him Croesus was pleased more than
by all the rest, for he supposed that a mule would never be ruler of the
Medes instead of a man, and accordingly that he himself and his heirs
would never cease from their rule. Then after this he gave thought to
inquire which people of the Hellenes he should esteem the most powerful
and gain over to himself as friends. And inquiring he found that the
Lacedemonians and the Athenians had the pre-eminence, the first of the
Dorian and the others of the Ionian race. For these were the most
eminent races in ancient time, the second being a Pelasgian and the
first a Hellenic race: and the one never migrated from its place in any
direction, while the other was very exceedingly given to wanderings; for
in the reign of Deucalion this race dwelt in Pthiotis, and in the time
of Doros the son of Hellen in the land lying below Ossa and Olympos,
which is called Histiaiotis; and when it was driven from Histiaiotis by
the sons of Cadmos, it dwelt in Pindos and was called Makednian; and
thence it moved afterwards to Dryopis, and from Dryopis it came finally
to Peloponnesus, and began to be called Dorian.

57. What language however the Pelasgians used to speak I am not able
with certainty to say. But if one must pronounce judging by those that
still remain of the Pelasgians who dwelt in the city of Creston 60 above
the Tyrsenians, and who were once neighbours of the race now called
Dorian, dwelling then in the land which is now called Thessaliotis, and
also by those that remain of the Pelasgians who settled at Plakia
and Skylake in the region of the Hellespont, who before that had been
settlers with the Athenians, 61 and of the natives of the various other
towns which are really Pelasgian, though they have lost the name,—if
one must pronounce judging by these, the Pelasgians used to speak a
Barbarian language. If therefore all the Pelasgian race was such as
these, then the Attic race, being Pelasgian, at the same time when it
changed and became Hellenic, unlearnt also its language. For the people
of Creston do not speak the same language with any of those who dwell
about them, nor yet do the people of Phakia, but they speak the same
language one as the other: and by this it is proved that they still keep
unchanged the form of language which they brought with them when they
migrated to these places.

58. As for the Hellenic race, it has used ever the same language, as I
clearly perceive, since it first took its rise; but since the time when
it parted off feeble at first from the Pelasgian race, setting forth
from a small beginning it has increased to that great number of races
which we see, 62 and chiefly because many Barbarian races have been
added to it besides. Moreover it is true, as I think, 6201 of the
Pelasgian race also, 63 that so far as it remained Barbarian it never
made any great increase.

59. Of these races then Croesus was informed that the Athenian was held
subject and torn with faction by Peisistratos 64 the son of Hippocrates,
who then was despot of the Athenians. For to Hippocrates, when as a
private citizen he went to view the Olympic games, a great marvel had
occurred. After he had offered the sacrifice, the caldrons which were
standing upon the hearth, full of pieces of flesh and of water, boiled
without fire under them and ran over. And Chilon the Lacedemonian,
who chanced to have been present and to have seen the marvel, advised
Hippocrates first not to bring into his house a wife to bear him
children, and secondly, if he happened to have one already, to dismiss
her, and if he chanced to have a son, to disown him. When Chilon
had thus recommended, Hippocrates, they say, was not willing to be
persuaded, and so there was born to him afterwards this Peisistratos;
who, when the Athenians of the shore 65 were at feud with those of the
plain, Megacles the son of Alcmaion being leader of the first faction,
and Lycurgos the son of Aristolaïdes of that of the plain, aimed at the
despotism for himself and gathered a third party. So then, after
having collected supporters and called himself leader of the men of the
mountain-lands, 66 he contrived a device as follows:—he inflicted
wounds upon himself and upon his mules, and then drove his car into the
market-place, as if he had just escaped from his opponents, who, as he
alleged, had desired to kill him when he was driving into the country:
and he asked the commons that he might obtain some protection from them,
for before this he had gained reputation in his command against the
Megarians, during which he took Nisaia and performed other signal
service. And the commons of the Athenians being deceived gave him those
67 men chosen from the dwellers in the city who became not indeed the
spear-men 68 of Peisistratos but his club-men; for they followed behind
him bearing wooden clubs. And these made insurrection with Peisistratos
and obtained possession of the Acropolis. Then Peisistratos was ruler of
the Athenians, not having disturbed the existing magistrates nor changed
the ancient laws; but he administered the State under that constitution
of things which was already established, ordering it fairly and well.

60. However, no long time after this the followers of Megacles and those
of Lycurgos joined together and drove him forth. Thus Peisistratos had
obtained possession of Athens for the first time, and thus he lost
the power before he had it firmly rooted. But those who had driven
out Peisistratos became afterwards at feud with one another again.
And Megacles, harassed by the party strife, 69 sent a message to
Peisistratos asking whether he was willing to have his daughter to wife
on condition of becoming despot. And Peisistratos having accepted the
proposal and made an agreement on these terms, they contrived with a
view to his a device the most simple by far, as I think, that ever was
practised, considering at least that it was devised at a time when
the Hellenic race had been long marked off from the Barbarian as more
skilful and further removed from foolish simplicity, and among the
Athenians who are accounted the first of the Hellenes in ability. 70
In the deme of Paiania there was a woman whose name was Phya, in height
four cubits all but three fingers, 71 and also fair of form. This woman
they dressed in full armour and caused her to ascend a chariot and
showed her the bearing in which she might best beseem her part, 72 and
so they drove to the city, having sent on heralds to run before them,
who, when they arrived at the city, spoke that which had been commanded
them, saying as follows: "O Athenians, receive with favour Peisistratos,
whom Athene herself, honouring him most of all men, brings back to her
Acropolis." So the heralds went about hither and thither saying this,
and straightway there came to the demes in the country round a report
that Athene was bringing Peisistratos back, while at the same time the
men of the city, persuaded that the woman was the very goddess herself,
were paying worship to the human creature and receiving Peisistratos.

61. So having received back the despotism in the manner which has been
said, Peisistratos according to the agreement made with Megacles married
the daughter of Megacles; but as he had already sons who were young men,
and as the descendants of Alcmaion were said to be under a curse, 73
therefore not desiring that children should be born to him from his
newly-married wife, he had commerce with her not in the accustomed
manner. And at first the woman kept this secret, but afterwards she told
her mother, whether in answer to her inquiry or not I cannot tell; and
the mother told her husband Megacles. He then was very indignant that he
should be dishonoured by Peisistratos; and in his anger straightway he
proceeded to compose his quarrel with the men of his faction. And when
Peisistratos heard of that which was being done against himself, he
departed wholly from the land and came to Eretria, where he took counsel
together with his sons: and the advice of Hippias having prevailed, that
they should endeavour to win back the despotism, they began to gather
gifts of money from those States which owed them obligations for favours
received: and many contributed great sums, but the Thebans surpassed
the rest in the giving of money. Then, not to make the story long, time
elapsed and at last everything was prepared for their . For certain
Argives came as mercenaries from the Peloponnesus, and a man of Naxos
had come to them of his own motion, whose name was Lygdamis, and showed
very great zeal in providing both money and men.

62. So starting from Eretria after the lapse of ten years 74 they ed
back; and in Attica the first place of which they took possession was
Marathon. While they were encamping here, their partisans from the city
came to them, and also others flowed in from the various demes, to whom
despotic rule was more welcome than freedom. So these were gathering
themselves together; but the Athenians in the city, so long as
Peisistratos was collecting the money, and afterwards when he took
possession of Marathon, made no account of it; but when they heard that
he was marching from Marathon towards the city, then they went to the
rescue against him. These then were going in full force to fight against
the ing exiles, and the forces of Peisistratos, as they went towards the
city starting from Marathon, met them just when they came to the temple
of Athene Pallenis, and there encamped opposite to them. Then moved
by divine guidance 75 there came into the presence of Peisistratos
Amphilytos the Arcarnanian, 76 a soothsayer, who approaching him uttered
an oracle in hexameter verse, saying thus:

"But now the cast hath been made and the net hath been widely extended, And in the night the tunnies will dart through the moon-lighted waters."

63. This oracle he uttered to him being divinely inspired, and
Peisistratos, having understood the oracle and having said that he
accepted the prophecy which was uttered, led his army against the enemy.
Now the Athenians from the city were just at that time occupied with the
morning meal, and some of them after their meal with games of dice or
with sleep; and the forces of Peisistratos fell upon the Athenians and
put them to flight. Then as they fled, Peisistratos devised a very
skilful counsel, to the end that the Athenians might not gather again
into one body but might remain scattered abroad. He mounted his sons on
horseback and sent them before him; and overtaking the fugitives they
said that which was commanded them by Peisistratos, bidding them be of
good cheer and that each man should depart to his own home.

64. Thus then the Athenians did, and so Peisistratos for the third time
obtained possession of Athens, and he firmly rooted his despotism by
many foreign mercenaries and by much revenue of money, coming partly
from the land itself and partly from about the river Strymon, and also
by taking as hostages the sons of those Athenians who had remained in
the land and had not at once fled, and placing them in the hands of
Naxos; for this also Peisistratos conquered by war and delivered into
the charge of Lygdamis. Moreover besides this he cleansed the island
of Delos in obedience to the oracles; and his cleansing was of the
following kind:—so far as the view from the temple extended 77 he dug up
all the dead bodies which were buried in this part and removed them to
another part of Delos. So Peisistratos was despot of the Athenians; but
of the Athenians some had fallen in the battle, and others of them with
the sons of Alcmaion were exiles from their native land.

65. Such was the condition of things which Croesus heard was prevailing
among the Athenians during this time; but as to the Lacedemonians he
heard that they had escaped from great evils and had now got the better
of the Tegeans in the war. For when Leon and Hegesicles were kings of
Sparta, the Lacedemonians, who had good success in all their other wars,
suffered disaster in that alone which they waged against the men of
Tegea. Moreover in the times before this they had the worst laws of
almost all the Hellenes, both in matters which concerned themselves
alone and also in that they had no dealings with strangers. And they
made their change to a good constitution of laws thus:—Lycurgos, a
man of the Spartans who was held in high repute, came to the Oracle at
Delphi, and as he entered the sanctuary of the temple, straightway the
Pythian prophetess said as follows:

"Lo, thou art come, O Lycurgos, to this rich shrine of my temple,
Loved thou by Zeus and by all who possess the abodes of Olympos.
Whether to call thee a god, I doubt, in my voices prophetic,
God or a man, but rather a god I think, O Lycurgos."

66. Some say in addition to this that the Pythian prophetess also set
forth to him the order of things which is now established for the
Spartans; but the Lacedemonians themselves say that Lycurgos having
become guardian of Leobotes his brother's son, who was king of the
Spartans, brought in these things from Crete. For as soon as he became
guardian, he changed all the prevailing laws, and took measures that
they should not transgress his institutions: and after this Lycurgos
established that which appertained to war, namely Enomoties and Triecads
and Common Meals, 7701 and in addition to this the Ephors and the
Senate. Having changed thus, the Spartans had good laws; and to Lycurgos
after he was dead they erected a temple, and they pay him great worship.
So then, as might be supposed, with a fertile land and with no small
number of men dwelling in it, they straightway shot up and became
prosperous: and it was no longer sufficient for them to keep still; but
presuming that they were superior in strength to the Arcadians, they
consulted the Oracle at Delphi respecting conquest of the whole of
Arcadia; and the Pythian prophetess gave answer thus:

"The land of Arcadia thou askest; thou askest me much; I refuse it;
Many there are in Arcadian land, stout men, eating acorns;
These will prevent thee from this: but I am not grudging towards thee;
Tegea beaten with sounding feet I will give thee to dance in,
And a fair plain I will give thee to measure with line and divide it."

When the Lacedemonians heard report of this, they held off from the
other Arcadians, and marched against the Tegeans with fetters in their
hands, trusting to a deceitful 78 oracle and expecting that they
would make slaves of the men of Tegea. But having been worsted in the
encounter, those of them who were taken alive worked wearing the fetters
which they themselves brought with them and having "measured with line
and divided" 79 the plain of the Tegeans. And these fetters with which
they had been bound were preserved even to my own time at Tegea, hanging
about the temple of Athene Alea. 80

67. In the former war then I say they struggled against the Tegeans
continually with ill success; but in the time of Croesus and in the
reign of Anaxandrides and Ariston at Lacedemon the Spartans had at
length become victors in the war; and they became so in the following
manner:—As they continued to be always worsted in the war by the men of
Tegea, they sent messengers to consult the Oracle at Delphi and inquired
what god they should propitiate in order to get the better of the men
of Tegea in the war: and the Pythian prophetess made answer to them
that they should bring into their land the bones of Orestes the son of
Agamemnon. Then as they were not able to find the grave of Orestes,
they sent men again to go to the god and to inquire about the spot where
Orestes was laid: and when the messengers who were sent asked this, the
prophetess said as follows:

"Tegea there is, in Arcadian land, in a smooth place founded;
Where there do blow two blasts by strong compulsion together;
Stroke too there is and stroke in , and trouble on trouble.
There Agamemnon's son in the life-giving earth is reposing;
Him if thou bring with thee home, of Tegea thou shalt be master." 81

When the Lacedemonians had heard this they were none the less far from
finding it out, though they searched all places; until the time that
Lichas, one of those Spartans who are called "Well-doers," 82 discovered
it. Now the "Well-doers" are of the citizens the eldest who are passing
from the ranks of the "Horsemen," in each year five; and these are bound
during that year in which they pass out from the "Horsemen," to allow
themselves to be sent without ceasing to various places by the Spartan
State.

68. Lichas then, being one of these, discovered it in Tegea by means both of fortune and ability. For as there were at that time dealings under truce with the men of Tegea, he had come to a forge there and was looking at iron being wrought; and he was in wonder as he saw that which was being done. The smith therefore, perceiving that he marvelled at it, ceased from his work and said: "Surely, thou stranger of Lacedemon, if thou hadst seen that which I once saw, thou wouldst have marvelled much, since now it falls out that thou dost marvel so greatly at the working of this iron; for I, desiring in this enclosure to make a well, lighted in my digging upon a coffin of seven cubits in length; and not believing that ever there had been men larger than those of the present day, I opened it, and I saw that the dead body was equal in length to the coffin: then after I had measured it, I filled in the earth over it again." He then thus told him of that which he had seen; and the other, having thought upon that which was told, conjectured that this was Orestes according to the saying of the Oracle, forming his conjecture in the following manner:—whereas he saw that the smith had two pairs of bellows, he concluded that these were the winds spoken of, and that the anvil and the hammer were the stroke and the stroke in , and that the iron which was being wrought was the trouble laid upon trouble, making comparison by the thought that iron has been discovered for the evil of mankind. Having thus conjectured he came back to Sparta and declared the whole matter to the Lacedemonians; and they brought a charge against him on a fictitious pretext and drove him out into exile. 83 So having come to Tegea, he told the smith of his evil fortune and endeavoured to hire from him the enclosure, but at first he would not allow him to have it: at length however Lichas persuaded him and he took up his abode there; and he dug up the grave and gathered together the bones and went with them away to Sparta. From that time, whenever they made trial of one another, the Lacedemonians had much the advantage in the war; and by now they had subdued to themselves the greater part of Peloponnesus besides.

69. Croesus accordingly being informed of all these things was sending
messengers to Sparta with gifts in their hands to ask for an alliance,
having commanded them what they ought to say: and they when they came
said: "Croesus king of the Lydians and also of other nations sent us
hither and saith as follows: O Lacedemonians, whereas the god by an
oracle bade me join with myself the Hellene as a friend, therefore,
since I am informed that ye are the chiefs of Hellas, I invite you
according to the oracle, desiring to be your friend and your ally
apart from all guile and deceit." Thus did Croesus announce to the
Lacedemonians through his messengers; and the Lacedemonians, who
themselves also had heard of the oracle given to Croesus, were pleased
at the coming of the Lydians and exchanged oaths of friendship and
alliance: for they were bound to Croesus also by some services rendered
to them even before this time; since the Lacedemonians had sent to
Sardis and were buying gold there with purpose of using it for the image
of Apollo which is now set up on Mount Thornax in the Lacedemonian land;
and Croesus, when they desired to buy it, gave it them as a gift.

70. For this reason therefore the Lacedemonians accepted the alliance,
and also because he chose them as his friends, preferring them to all
the other Hellenes. And not only were they ready themselves when he made
his offer, but they caused a mixing-bowl to be made of bronze, covered
outside with figures round the rim and of such a size as to hold three
hundred amphors, 84 and this they conveyed, desiring to give it as a
gift in to Croesus. This bowl never came to Sardis for reasons of which
two accounts are given as follows:—The Lacedemonians say that when the
bowl was on its way to Sardis and came opposite the land of Samos, the
men of Samos having heard of it sailed out with ships of war and took
it away; but the Samians themselves say that the Lacedemonians who were
conveying the bowl, finding that they were too late and hearing that
Sardis had been taken and Croesus was a prisoner, sold the bowl in
Samos, and certain private persons bought it and dedicated it as a
votive offering in the temple of Hera; and probably those who had sold
it would say when they ed to Sparta that it had been taken from them by
the Samians.

71. Thus then it happened about the mixing-bowl: but meanwhile Croesus,
mistaking the meaning of the oracle, was making a march into Cappadokia,
expecting to overthrow Cyrus and the power of the Persians: and while
Croesus was preparing to march against the Persians, one of the
Lydians, who even before this time was thought to be a wise man but in
consequence of this opinion got a very great name for wisdom among
the Lydians, had advised Croesus as follows (the name of the man was
Sandanis):—"O king, thou art preparing to march against men who wear
breeches of leather, and the rest of their clothing is of leather also;
and they eat food not such as they desire but such as they can obtain,
dwelling in a land which is rugged; and moreover they make no use of
wine but drink water; and no figs have they for dessert, nor any other
good thing. On the one hand, if thou shalt overcome them, what wilt thou
take away from them, seeing they have nothing? and on the other hand,
if thou shalt be overcome, consider how many good things thou wilt lose;
for once having tasted our good things, they will cling to them fast
and it will not be possible to drive them away. I for my own part feel
gratitude to the gods that they do not put it into the minds of the
Persians to march against the Lydians." Thus he spoke not persuading
Croesus: for it is true indeed that the Persians before they subdued the
Lydians had no luxury nor any good thing.

72. Now the Cappadokians are called by the Hellenes Syrians; 85 and
these Syrians, before the Persians had rule, were subjects of the Medes,
but at this time they were subjects of Cyrus. For the boundary between
the Median empire and the Lydian was the river Halys; and this flows
from the mountain-land of Armenia through the Kilikians, and afterwards,
as it flows, it has the Matienians on the right hand and the Phrygians
on the other side; then passing by these and flowing up towards the
North Wind, it bounds on the one side the Cappadokian Syrians and on the
left hand the Paphlagonians. Thus the river Halys cuts off from the rest
almost all the lower parts of Asia by a line extending from the sea
that is opposite Cyprus to the Euxine. And this tract is the neck of the
whole peninsula, the distance of the journey being such that five days
are spent on the way by a man without encumbrance. 86

73. Now for the following reasons Croesus was marching into
Cappadokia:—first because he desired to acquire the land in addition to
his own possessions, and then especially because he had confidence in
the oracle and wished to take vengeance on Cyrus for Astyages. For
Cyrus the son of Cambyses had conquered Astyages and was keeping him in
captivity, who was brother by marriage to Croesus and king of the Medes:
and he had become the brother by marriage of Croesus in this manner:—A
horde of the nomad Scythians at feud with the rest withdrew and sought
refuge in the land of the Medes: and at this time the ruler of the Medes
was Kyaxares the son of Phraortes, the son of Deïokes, who at first
dealt well with these Scythians, being suppliants for his protection;
and esteeming them very highly he delivered boys to them to learn their
speech and the art of shooting with the bow. Then time went by, and the
Scythians used to go out continually to the chase and always brought
back something; till once it happened that they took nothing, and when
they ed with empty hands Kyaxares (being, as he showed on this occasion,
not of an eminently good disposition 87) dealt with them very harshly
and used insult towards them. And they, when they had received this
treatment from Kyaxares, considering that they had suffered indignity,
planned to kill and to cut up one of the boys who were being instructed
among them, and having dressed his flesh as they had been wont to dress
the wild animals, to bear it to Kyaxares and give it to him, pretending
that it was game taken in hunting; and when they had given it, their
design was to make their way as quickly as possible to Alyattes the son
of Sadyattes at Sardis. This then was done; and Kyaxares with the guests
who ate at his table tasted of that meat, and the Scythians having so
done became suppliants for the protection of Alyattes.

74. After this, seeing that Alyattes would not give up the Scythians
when Kyaxares demanded them, there had arisen war between the Lydians
and the Medes lasting five years; in which years the Medes often
discomfited the Lydians and the Lydians often discomfited the Medes (and
among others they fought also a battle by night): 88 and as they still
carried on the war with equally balanced fortune, in the sixth year a
battle took place in which it happened, when the fight had begun, that
suddenly the day became night. And this change of the day Thales the
Milesian had foretold to the Ionians laying down as a limit this very
year in which the change took place. The Lydians however and the Medes,
when they saw that it had become night instead of day, ceased from their
fighting and were much more eager both of them that peace should be made
between them. And they who brought about the peace between them were
Syennesis the Kilikian and Labynetos the Babylonian: 89 these were they
who urged also the taking of the oath by them, and they brought about an
interchange of marriages; for they decided that Alyattes should give his
daughter Aryenis to Astyages the son of Kyaxares, seeing that without
the compulsion of a strong tie agreements are apt not to hold strongly
together. Now these nations observe the same ceremonies in taking oaths
as the Hellenes, and in addition to them they make incision into the
skin of their arms, and then lick up the blood each of the other.

75. This Astyages then, being his mother's father, Cyrus had conquered
and made prisoner for a reason which I shall declare in the history
which comes after. 90 This then was the complaint which Croesus had
against Cyrus when he sent to the Oracles to ask if he should march
against the Persians; and when a deceitful answer had come back to him,
he marched into the dominion of the Persians, supposing that the answer
was favourable to himself. And when Croesus came to the river Halys,
then, according to my account, he passed his army across by the bridges
which there were; but, according to the account which prevails among the
Hellenes, Thales the Milesian enabled him to pass his army across. For,
say they, when Croesus was at a loss how his army should pass over the
river (since, they add, there were not yet at that time the bridges
which now there are), Thales being present in the army caused the river,
which flowed then on the left hand of the army, to flow partly also on
the right; and he did it thus:—beginning above the camp he proceeded to
dig a deep channel, directing it in the form of a crescent moon, so that
the river might take the camp there pitched in the rear, being turned
aside from its ancient course by this way along the channel, and
afterwards passing by the camp might fall again into its ancient course;
so that as soon as the river was thus parted in two it became fordable
by both branches: and some say even that the ancient course of the river
was altogether dried up. But this tale I do not admit as true, for how
then did they pass over the river as they went back?

76. And Croesus, when he had passed over with his army, came to that
place in Cappadokia which is called Pteria (now Pteria is the strongest
place in this country, and is situated somewhere about in a line with
the city of Sinope 91 on the Euxine). Here he encamped and ravaged the
fields of the Syrians. Moreover he took the city of the Pterians, and
sold the people into slavery, and he took also all the towns that lay
about it; and the Syrians, who were not guilty of any wrong, he forced
to remove from their homes. 92 Meanwhile Cyrus, having gathered his
own forces and having taken up in addition to them all who dwelt in the
region between, was coming to meet Croesus. Before he began however to
lead forth his army, he had sent heralds to the Ionians and tried to
induce them to revolt from Croesus; but the Ionians would not do as he
said. Then when Cyrus was come and had encamped over against Croesus,
they made trial of one another by force of arms in the land of Pteria:
and after hard fighting, when many had fallen on both sides, at length,
night having come on, they parted from one the other with no victory on
either side.

77. Thus the two armies contended with one another: and Croesus being
ill satisfied with his own army in respect of number (for the army
which he had when he fought was far smaller than that of Cyrus), being
dissatisfied with it I say on this account, as Cyrus did not attempt to
advance against him on the following day, marched back to Sardis, having
it in his mind to call the Egyptians to his help according to the oath
which they had taken (for he had made an alliance with Amasis king of
Egypt before he made the alliance with the Lacedemonians), and to
summon the Babylonians as well (for with these also an alliance had
been concluded by him, Labynetos 93 being at that time ruler of the
Babylonians), and moreover to send a message to the Lacedemonians
bidding them appear at a fixed time: and then after he had got all these
together and had gathered his own army, his design was to let the winter
go by and at the coming of spring to march against the Persians. So with
these thoughts in his mind, as soon as he came to Sardis he proceeded to
send heralds to his several allies to give them notice that by the fifth
month from that time they should assemble at Sardis: but the army which
he had with him and which had fought with the Persians, an army which
consisted of mercenary troops, 94 he let go and disbanded altogether,
never expecting that Cyrus, after having contended against him with such
even fortune, would after all march upon Sardis.

78. When Croesus had these plans in his mind, the suburb of the city
became of a sudden all full of serpents; and when these had appeared,
the horses leaving off to feed in their pastures came constantly thither
and devoured them. When Croesus saw this he deemed it to be a portent,
as indeed it was: and forthwith he despatched messengers to the dwelling
of the Telmessians, who interpret omens: and the messengers who were
sent to consult arrived there and learnt from the Telmessians what the
portent meant to signify, but they did not succeed in reporting the
answer to Croesus, for before they sailed back to Sardis Croesus had
been taken prisoner. The Telmessians however gave decision thus: that an
army speaking a foreign tongue was to be looked for by Croesus to
invade his land, and that this when it came would subdue the native
inhabitants; for they said that the serpent was born of the soil, while
the horse was an enemy and a stranger. The men of Telmessos thus made
answer to Croesus after he was already taken prisoner, not knowing as
yet anything of the things which had happened to Sardis and to Croesus
himself.

79. Cyrus, however, so soon as Croesus marched away after the battle
which had been fought in Pteria, having learnt that Croesus meant after
he had marched away to disband his army, took counsel with himself and
concluded that it was good for him to march as quickly as possible
to Sardis, before the power of the Lydians should be again gathered
together. So when he had resolved upon this, he did it without delay:
for he marched his army into Lydia with such speed that he was himself
the first to announce his coming to Croesus. Then Croesus, although he
had come to a great strait, since his affairs had fallen out altogether
contrary to his own expectation, yet proceeded to lead forth the
Lydians into battle. Now there was at this time no nation in Asia more
courageous or more stout in battle than the Lydian; and they fought on
horseback carrying long spears, the men being excellent in horsemanship.

80. So when the armies had met in that plain which is in front of the
city of Sardis,—a plain wide and open, through which flow rivers (and
especially the river Hyllos) all rushing down to join the largest called
Hermos, which flows from the mountain sacred to the Mother surnamed
"of Dindymos" 95 and runs out into the sea by the city of Phocaia,—then
Cyrus, when he saw the Lydians being arrayed for battle, fearing their
horsemen, did on the suggestion of Harpagos a Mede as follows:—all
the camels which were in the train of his army carrying provisions and
baggage he gathered together, and he took off their burdens and set
men upon them provided with the equipment of cavalry: and having thus
furnished them forth he appointed them to go in front of the rest of
the army towards the horsemen of Croesus; and after the camel-troop he
ordered the infantry to follow; and behind the infantry he placed his
whole force of cavalry. Then when all his men had been placed in their
several positions, he charged them to spare none of the other Lydians,
slaying all who might come in their way, but Croesus himself they were
not to slay, not even if he should make resistance when he was captured.
Such was his charge: and he set the camels opposite the horsemen for
this reason,—because the horse has a fear of the camel and cannot endure
either to see his form or to scent his smell: for this reason then the
trick had been devised, in order that the cavalry of Croesus might be
useless, that very force wherewith the Lydian king was expecting most
to shine. And as they were coming together to the battle, so soon as the
horses scented the camels and saw them they turned away back, and the
hopes of Croesus were at once brought to nought. The Lydians however
for their part did not upon that act as cowards, but when they perceived
what was coming to pass they leapt from their horses and fought with
the Persians on foot. At length, however, when many had fallen on either
side, the Lydians turned to flight; and having been driven within the
wall of their fortress they were besieged by the Persians.

81. By these then a siege had been established: but Croesus, supposing
that the siege would last a long time, proceeded to send from the
fortress other messengers to his allies. For the former messengers were
sent round to give notice that they should assemble at Sardis by the
fifth month, but these he was sending out to ask them to come to his
assistance as quickly as possible, because Croesus was being besieged.

82. So then in sending to his other allies he sent also to Lacedemon.
But these too, the Spartans I mean, had themselves at this very time
(for so it had fallen out) a quarrel in hand with the Argives about
the district called Thyrea. For this Thyrea, being part of the Argive
possessions, the Lacedemonians had cut off and taken for themselves. Now
the whole region towards the west extending as far down as Malea 96 was
then possessed by the Argives, both the parts situated on the mainland
and also the island of Kythera with the other islands. And when the
Argives had come to the rescue to save their territory from being cut
off from them, then the two sides came to a parley together and agreed
that three hundred should fight of each side, and whichever side had the
better in the fight that nation should possess the disputed land: they
agreed moreover that the main body of each army should withdraw to their
own country, and not stand by while the contest was fought, for fear
lest, if the armies were present, one side seeing their countrymen
suffering defeat should come up to their support. Having made this
agreement they withdrew; and chosen men of both sides were left behind
and engaged in fight with one another. So they fought and proved
themselves to be equally matched; and there were left at last of six
hundred men three, on the side of the Argives Alkenor and Chromios, and
on the side of the Lacedemonians Othryades: these were left alive when
night came on. So then the two men of the Argives, supposing that
they were the victors, set off to run to Argos, but the Lacedemonian
Othryades, after having stripped the corpses of the Argives and carried
their arms to his own camp, remained in his place. On the next day both
the two sides came thither to inquire about the result; and for some
time both claimed the victory for themselves, the one side saying that
of them more had remained alive, and the others declaring that these had
fled away, whereas their own man had stood his ground and had stripped
the corpses of the other party: and at length by reason of this dispute
they fell upon one another and began to fight; and after many had fallen
on both sides, the Lacedemonians were the victors. The Argives then cut
their hair short, whereas formerly they were compelled by law to wear
it long, and they made a law with a curse attached to it, that from that
time forth no man of the Argives should grow the hair long nor their
women wear ornaments of gold, until they should have won back Thyrea.
The Lacedemonians however laid down for themselves the opposite law to
this, namely that they should wear long hair from that time forward,
whereas before that time they had not their hair long. And they say that
the one man who was left alive of the three hundred, namely Othryades,
being ashamed to to Sparta when all his comrades had been slain, slew
himself there in Thyrea.

83. Such was the condition of things at Sparta when the herald from
Sardis arrived asking them to come to the assistance of Croesus, who was
being besieged. And they notwithstanding their own difficulties, as
soon as they heard the news from the herald, were eager to go to his
assistance; but when they had completed their preparations and their
ships were ready, there came another message reporting that the fortress
of the Lydians had been taken and that Croesus had been made prisoner.
Then (and not before) they ceased from their efforts, being grieved at
the event as at a great calamity.

84. Now the taking of Sardis came about as follows:—When the fourteenth
day came after Croesus began to be besieged, Cyrus made proclamation
to his army, sending horsemen round to the several parts of it, that he
would give gifts to the man who should first scale the wall. After this
the army made an attempt; and when it failed, then after all the rest
had ceased from the attack, a certain Mardian whose name was Hyroiades
made an attempt to approach on that side of the citadel where no guard
had been set; for they had no fear that it would ever be taken from that
side, seeing that here the citadel is precipitous and unassailable. To
this part of the wall alone Meles also, who formerly was king of Sardis,
did not carry round the lion which his concubine bore to him, the
Telmessians having given decision that if the lion should be carried
round the wall, Sardis should be safe from capture: and Meles having
carried it round the rest of the wall, that is to say those parts of the
citadel where the fortress was open to attack, passed over this part as
being unassailable and precipitous: now this is a part of the city which
is turned towards Tmolos. So then this 97 Mardian Hyroiades, having seen
on the day before how one of the Lydians had descended on that side of
the citadel to recover his helmet which had rolled down from above,
and had picked it up, took thought and cast the matter about in his own
mind. Then he himself 98 ascended first, and after him came up others
of the Persians, and many having thus made approach, Sardis was finally
taken and the whole city was given up to plunder.

85. Meanwhile to Croesus himself it happened thus:—He had a son, of whom
I made mention before, who was of good disposition enough but deprived
of speech. Now in his former time of prosperity Croesus had done
everything that was possible for him, and besides other things which he
devised he had also sent messengers to Delphi to inquire concerning him.
And the Pythian prophetess spoke to him thus:

"Lydian, master of many, much blind to destiny, Croesus,
Do not desire to hear in thy halls that voice which is prayed for,
Voice of thy son; much better if this from thee were removèd,
Since he shall first utter speech in an evil day of misfortune."

Now when the fortress was being taken, one of the Persians was about to
slay Croesus taking him for another; and Croesus for his part, seeing
him coming on, cared nothing for it because of the misfortune which was
upon him, and to him it was indifferent that he should be slain by the
stroke; but this voiceless son, when he saw the Persian coming on, by
reason of terror and affliction burst the bonds of his utterance and
said: "Man, slay not Croesus." This son, I say, uttered voice then first
of all, but after this he continued to use speech for the whole time of
his life.

86. The Persians then had obtained possession of Sardis and had taken
Croesus himself prisoner, after he had reigned fourteen years and had
been besieged fourteen days, having fulfilled the oracle in that he had
brought to an end his own great empire. So the Persians having taken him
brought him into the presence of Cyrus: and he piled up a great pyre
and caused Croesus to go up upon it bound in fetters, and along with him
twice seven sons of Lydians, whether it was that he meant to dedicate
this offering as first-fruits of his victory to some god, or whether
he desired to fulfil a vow, or else had heard that Croesus was a
god-fearing man and so caused him to go up on the pyre because he wished
to know if any one of the divine powers would save him, so that he
should not be burnt alive. He, they say, did this; but to Croesus as
he stood upon the pyre there came, although he was in such evil case, a
memory of the saying of Solon, how he had said with divine inspiration
that no one of the living might be called happy. And when this thought
came into his mind, they say that he sighed deeply 99 and groaned aloud,
having been for long silent, and three times he uttered the name of
Solon. Hearing this, Cyrus bade the interpreters ask Croesus who was
this person on whom he called; and they came near and asked. And
Croesus for a time, it is said, kept silence when he was asked this,
but afterwards being pressed he said: "One whom more than much wealth I
should have desired to have speech with all monarchs." Then, since his
words were of doubtful import, they asked again of that which he said;
and as they were urgent with him and gave him no peace, he told how once
Solon an Athenian had come, and having inspected all his wealth had made
light of it, with such and such words; and how all had turned out for
him according as Solon had said, not speaking at all especially with
a view to Croesus himself, but with a view to the whole human race
and especially those who seem to themselves to be happy men. And while
Croesus related these things, already the pyre was lighted and the edges
of it round about were burning. Then they say that Cyrus, hearing
from the interpreters what Croesus had said, changed his purpose
and considered that he himself also was but a man, and that he was
delivering another man, who had been not inferior to himself in
felicity, alive to the fire; and moreover he feared the requital, and
reflected that there was nothing of that which men possessed which was
secure; therefore, they say, he ordered them to extinguish as quickly as
possible the fire that was burning, and to bring down Croesus and those
who were with him from the pyre; and they using endeavours were not able
now to get the mastery of the flames.

87. Then it is related by the Lydians that Croesus, having learned how
Cyrus had changed his mind, and seeing that every one was trying to put
out the fire but that they were no longer able to check it, cried aloud
entreating Apollo that if any gift had ever been given by him which had
been acceptable to the god, he would come to his aid and rescue him from
the evil which was now upon him. So he with tears entreated the god, and
suddenly, they say, after clear sky and calm weather clouds gathered and
a storm burst, and it rained with a very violent shower, and the pyre
was extinguished. Then Cyrus, having perceived that Croesus was a lover
of the gods and a good man, caused him to be brought down from the pyre
and asked him as follows: "Croesus, tell me who of all men was it who
persuaded thee to march upon my land and so to become an enemy to me
instead of a friend?" and he said: "O king, I did this to thy felicity
and to my own misfortune, and the causer of this was the god of the
Hellenes, who incited me to march with my army. For no one is so
senseless as to choose of his own will war rather peace, since in peace
the sons bury their fathers, but in war the fathers bury their sons.
But it was pleasing, I suppose, to the divine powers that these things
should come to pass thus."

88. So he spoke, and Cyrus loosed his bonds and caused him to sit near
himself and paid to him much regard, and he marvelled both himself and
all who were about him at the sight of Croesus. And Croesus wrapt in
thought was silent; but after a time, turning round and seeing the
Persians plundering the city of the Lydians, he said: "O king, must I
say to thee that which I chance to have in my thought, or must I keep
silent in this my present fortune?" Then Cyrus bade him say boldly
whatsoever he desired; and he asked him saying: "What is the business
that this great multitude of men is doing with so much eagerness?" and
he said: "They are plundering thy city and carrying away thy wealth."
And Croesus answered: "Neither is it my city that they are plundering
nor my wealth which they are carrying away; for I have no longer any
property in these things: but it is thy wealth that they are carrying
and driving away."

89. And Cyrus was concerned by that which Croesus had said, and he
caused all the rest to withdraw and asked Croesus what he discerned for
his advantage as regards that which was being done; and he said: "Since
the gods gave me to thee as a slave, I think it right if I discern
anything more than others to signify it to thee. The Persians, who are
by nature unruly, 100 are without wealth: if therefore thou shalt suffer
them to carry off in plunder great wealth and to take possession of it,
then it is to be looked for that thou wilt experience this result, thou
must expect namely that whosoever gets possession of the largest share
will make insurrection against thee. Now therefore, if that which I say
is pleasing to thee, do this:—set spearmen of thy guard to watch at all
the gates, and let these take away the things, and say to the men who
were bearing them out of the city that they must first be tithed for
Zeus: and thus thou on the one hand wilt not be hated by them for taking
away the things by force, and they on the other will willingly let the
things go, 101 acknowledging within themselves that thou art doing that
which is just."

90. Hearing this, Cyrus was above measure pleased, because he thought
that Croesus advised well; and he commended him much and enjoined the
spearmen of his guard to perform that which Croesus had advised: and
after that he spoke to Croesus thus: "Croesus, since thou art prepared,
like a king as thou art, to do good deeds and speak good words,
therefore ask me for a gift, whatsoever thou desirest to be given thee
forthwith." And he said: "Master, thou wilt most do me a pleasure if
thou wilt permit me to send to the god of the Hellenes, whom I honoured
most of all gods, these fetters, and to ask him whether it is accounted
by him right to deceive those who do well to him." Then Cyrus asked him
what accusation he made against the god, that he thus requested; and
Croesus repeated to him all that had been in his mind, and the answers
of the Oracles, and especially the votive offerings, and how he had been
incited by the prophecy to march upon the Persians: and thus speaking he
came back again to the request that it might be permitted to him to make
this reproach 102 against the god. And Cyrus laughed and said: "Not this
only shalt thou obtain from me, Croesus, but also whatsoever thou mayst
desire of me at any time." Hearing this Croesus sent certain of the
Lydians to Delphi, enjoining them to lay the fetters upon the threshold
of the temple and to ask the god whether he felt no shame that he had
incited Croesus by his prophecies to march upon the Persians, persuading
him that he should bring to an end the empire of Cyrus, seeing that
these were the first-fruits of spoil which he had won from it,—at the
same time displaying the fetters. This they were to ask, and moreover
also whether it was thought right by the gods of the Hellenes to
practice ingratitude.

91. When the Lydians came and repeated that which they were enjoined to
say, it is related that the Pythian prophetess spoke as follows: "The
fated destiny it is impossible even for a god to escape. And Croesus
paid the debt due for the sin of his fifth ancestor, who being one of
the spearmen of the Heracleidai followed the treacherous device of a
woman, and having slain his master took possession of his royal dignity,
which belonged not to him of right. And although Loxias eagerly desired
that the calamity of Sardis might come upon the sons of Croesus and not
upon Croesus himself, it was not possible for him to draw the Destinies
aside from their course; but so much as these granted he brought to
pass, and gave it as a gift to Croesus: for he put off the taking of
Sardis by three years; and let Croesus be assured that he was taken
prisoner later by these years than the fated time: moreover secondly, he
assisted him when he was about to be burnt. And as to the oracle which
was given, Croesus finds fault with good ground: for Loxias told him
beforehand that if he should march upon the Persians he should destroy
a great empire: and he upon hearing this, if he wished to take counsel
well, ought to have sent and asked further whether the god meant his
own empire or that of Cyrus: but as he did not comprehend that which was
uttered and did not ask again, let him pronounce himself to be the cause
of that which followed. To him also 103 when he consulted the Oracle for
the last time Loxias said that which he said concerning a mule; but this
also he failed to comprehend: for Cyrus was in fact this mule, seeing
that he was born of parents who were of two different races, his mother
being of nobler descent and his father of less noble: for she was a
Median woman, daughter of Astyages and king of the Medes, but he was a
Persian, one of a race subject to the Medes, and being inferior in all
respects he was the husband of one who was his royal mistress." Thus the
Pythian prophetess replied to the Lydians, and they brought the answer
back to Sardis and repeated it to Croesus; and he, when he heard it,
acknowledged that the fault was his own and not that of the god. With
regard then to the empire of Croesus and the first conquest of Ionia, it
happened thus.

92. Now there are in Hellas many other votive offerings made by Croesus
and not only those which have been mentioned: for first at Thebes of the
Boeotians there is a tripod of gold, which he dedicated to the Ismenian
Apollo; then at Ephesos there are the golden cows and the greater number
of the pillars of the temple; and in the temple of Athene Pronaia at
Delphi a large golden shield. These were still remaining down to my own
time, but others of his votive offerings have perished: and the votive
offerings of Croesus at Branchidai of the Milesians were, as I am told,
equal in weight and similar to those at Delphi. Now those which he sent
to Delphi and to the temple of Amphiaraos he dedicated of his own goods
and as first-fruits of the wealth inherited from his father; but the
other offerings were made of the substance of a man who was his foe, who
before Croesus became king had been factious against him and had joined
in endeavouring to make Pantaleon ruler of the Lydians. Now Pantaleon
was a son of Alyattes and a brother of Croesus, but not by the same
mother, for Croesus was born to Alyattes of a Carian woman, but
Pantaleon of an Ionian. And when Croesus had gained possession of the
kingdom by the gift of his father, he put to death the man who opposed
him, drawing him upon the carding-comb; and his property, which even
before that time he had vowed to dedicate, he then offered in the manner
mentioned to those shrines which have been named. About his votive
offerings let it suffice to have said so much.

93. Of marvels to be recorded the land of Lydia has no great store as
compared with other lands, 104 excepting the gold-dust which is carried
down from Tmolos; but one work it has to show which is larger far than
any other except only those in Egypt and Babylon: for there is there the
sepulchral monument of Alyattes the father of Croesus, of which the base
is made of larger stones and the rest of the monument is of earth piled
up. And this was built by contributions of those who practised trade and
of the artisans and the girls who plied their traffic there; and still
there existed to my own time boundary-stones five in number erected upon
the monument above, on which were carved inscriptions telling how much
of the work was done by each class; and upon measurement it was found
that the work of the girls was the greatest in amount. For the daughters
of the common people in Lydia practice prostitution one and all, to
gather for themselves dowries, continuing this until the time when they
marry; and the girls give themselves away in marriage. Now the circuit
of the monument is six furlongs and two hundred feet, 105 and the
breadth is thirteen hundred feet. 106 And adjoining the monument is a
great lake, which the Lydians say has a never-failing supply of water,
and it is called the lake of Gyges. 107 Such is the nature of this
monument.

94. Now the Lydians have very nearly the same customs as the Hellenes,
with the exception that they prostitute their female children; and they
were the first of men, so far as we know, who struck and used coin of
gold or silver; and also they were the first retail-traders. And the
Lydians themselves say that the games which are now in use among them
and among the Hellenes were also their invention. These they say were
invented among them at the same time as they colonised Tyrsenia, 108 and
this is the account they give of them:—In the reign of Atys the son of
Manes their king there came to be a grievous dearth over the whole
of Lydia; and the Lydians for a time continued to endure it, but
afterwards, as it did not cease, they sought for remedies; and one
devised one thing and another of them devised another thing. And then
were discovered, they say, the ways of playing with the dice and the
knucklebones and the ball, and all the other games excepting draughts
(for the discovery of this last is not claimed by the Lydians). These
games they invented as a resource against the famine, and thus they used
to do:—on one of the days they would play games all the time in order
that they might not feel the want of food, and on the next they ceased
from their games and had food: and thus they went on for eighteen years.
As however the evil did not slacken but pressed upon them ever more
and more, therefore their king divided the whole Lydian people into two
parts, and he appointed by lot one part to remain and the other to go
forth from the land; and the king appointed himself to be over that one
of the parts which had the lot to stay in the land, and his son to be
over that which was departing; and the name of his son was Tyrsenos.
So the one party of them, having obtained the lot to go forth from the
land, went down to the sea at Smyrna and built ships for themselves,
wherein they placed all the movable goods which they had and sailed away
to seek for means of living and a land to dwell in; until after passing
by many nations they came at last to the land of the Ombricans, 109 and
there they founded cities and dwell up to the present time: and changing
their name they were called after the king's son who led them out from
home, not Lydians but Tyrsenians, taking the name from him.

The Lydians then had been made subject to the Persians as I say:

95, and after this our history proceeds to inquire about Cyrus, who he
was that destroyed the empire of Croesus, and about the Persians, in
what manner they obtained the lead of Asia. Following then the report
of some of the Persians,—those I mean who do not desire to glorify the
history of Cyrus but to speak that which is in fact true,—according to
their report, I say, I shall write; but I could set forth also the other
forms of the story in three several ways.

The Assyrians ruled Upper Asia 110 for five hundred and twenty years,
and from them the Medes were the first who made revolt. These having
fought for their freedom with the Assyrians proved themselves good men,
and thus they pushed off the yoke of slavery from themselves and were
set free; and after them the other nations also did the same as the
Medes: and when all on the continent were thus independent, they ed
again to despotic rule as follows:—

96. There appeared among the Medes a man of great ability whose name
was Deïokes, and this man was the son of Phraortes. This Deïokes, having
formed a desire for despotic power, did thus:—whereas the Medes dwelt
in separate villages, he, being even before that time of great repute in
his own village, set himself to practise just dealing much more and
with greater zeal than before; and this he did although there was much
lawlessness throughout the whole of Media, and although he knew that
injustice is ever at feud with justice. And the Medes of the same
village, seeing his manners, chose him for their judge. So he, since
he was aiming at power, was upright and just, and doing thus he had no
little praise from his fellow-citizens, insomuch that those of the other
villages learning that Deïokes was a man who more than all others gave
decision rightly, whereas before this they had been wont to suffer from
unjust judgments, themselves also when they heard it came gladly to
Deïokes to have their causes determined, and at last they trusted the
business to no one else.

97. Then, as more and more continually kept coming to him, because men
learnt that his decisions proved to be according to the truth, Deïokes
perceiving that everything was referred to himself would no longer
sit in the place where he used formerly to sit in public to determine
causes, and said that he would determine causes no more, for it was not
profitable for him to neglect his own affairs and to determine causes
for his neighbours all through the day. So then, since robbery and
lawlessness prevailed even much more in the villages than they did
before, the Medes having assembled together in one place considered with
one another and spoke about the state in which they were: and I suppose
the friends of Deïokes spoke much to this effect: "Seeing that we are
not able to dwell in the land under the present order of things, let
us set up a king from among ourselves, and thus the land will be well
governed and we ourselves shall turn to labour, and shall not be ruined
by lawlessness." By some such words as these they persuaded themselves
to have a king.

98. And when they straightway proposed the question whom they should set
up to be king, Deïokes was much put forward and commended by every one,
until at last they agreed that he should be their king. And he bade them
build for him a palace worthy of the royal dignity and strengthen him
with a guard of spearmen. And the Medes did so: for they built him a
large and strong palace in that part of the land which he told them, and
they allowed him to select spearmen from all the Medes. And when he
had obtained the rule over them, he compelled the Medes to make one
fortified city and pay chief attention to this, having less regard to
the other cities. And as the Medes obeyed him in this also, he built
large and strong walls, those which are now called Agbatana, standing
in circles one within the other. And this wall is so contrived that one
circle is higher than the next by the height of the battlements alone.
And to some extent, I suppose, the nature of the ground, seeing that it
is on a hill, assists towards this end; but much more was it produced
by art, since the circles are in all seven in number. 111 And within the
last circle are the royal palace and the treasure-houses. The largest
of these walls is in size about equal to the circuit of the wall round
Athens; and of the first circle the battlements are white, of the second
black, of the third crimson, of the fourth blue, of the fifth red: thus
are the battlements of all the circles coloured with various tints, and
the two last have their battlements one of them overlaid with silver and
the other with gold.

99. These walls then Deïokes built for himself and round his own palace,
and the people he commanded to dwell round about the wall. And after
all was built, Deïokes established the rule, which he was the first to
establish, ordaining that none should enter into the presence of the
king, but that they deal with him always through messengers; and that
the king should be seen by no one; and moreover that to laugh or to spit
in presence is unseemly, and this last for every one without exception.
112 Now he surrounded himself with this state 113 to the end that his
fellows, who had been brought up with him and were of no meaner family
nor behind him in manly virtue, might not be grieved by seeing him
and make plots against him, but that being unseen by them he might be
thought to be of different mould.

100. Having set these things in order and strengthened himself in his
despotism, he was severe in preserving justice; and the people used
to write down their causes and send them in to his presence, and he
determined the questions which were brought in to him and sent them out
again. Thus he used to do about the judgment of causes; and he also took
order for this, that is to say, if he heard that any one was behaving in
an unruly manner, he sent for him and punished him according as each act
of wrong deserved, and he had watchers and listeners about all the land
over which he ruled.

101. Deïokes then united the Median race alone, and was ruler of this:
and of the Medes there are the tribes which here follow, namely, Busai,
Paretakenians, Struchates, Arizantians, Budians, Magians: the tribes of
the Medes are so many in number.

102. Now the son of Deïokes was Phraortes, who when Deïokes was dead,
having been king for three-and-fifty years, received the power in
succession; and having received it he was not satisfied to be ruler of
the Medes alone, but marched upon the Persians; and attacking them first
before others, he made these first subject to the Medes. After this,
being ruler of these two nations and both of them strong, he proceeded
to subdue Asia going from one nation to another, until at last he
marched against the Assyrians, those Assyrians I mean who dwelt at
Nineveh, and who formerly had been rulers of the whole, but at that time
they were left without support their allies having revolted from them,
though at home they were prosperous enough. 114 Phraortes marched, I
say, against these, and was both himself slain, after he had reigned
two-and-twenty years, and the greater part of his army was destroyed.

103. When Phraortes had brought his life to an end, Kyaxares the son of
Phraortes, the son of Deïokes, received the power. This king is said
to have been yet much more warlike than his forefathers; and he first
banded the men of Asia into separate divisions, that is to say, he first
arrayed apart from one another the spearmen and the archers and the
horsemen, for before that time they were all mingled together without
distinction. This was he who fought with the Lydians when the day became
night as they fought, and who also united under his rule the whole of
Asia above the river Halys. 115 And having gathered together all his
subjects he marched upon Nineveh to avenge his father, and also because
he desired to conquer that city. And when he had fought a battle with
the Assyrians and had defeated them, while he was sitting down before
Nineveh there came upon him a great army of Scythians, 116 and the
leader of them was Madyas the son of Protohyas, king of the Scythians.
These had invaded Asia after driving the Kimmerians out of Europe, and
in pursuit of them as they fled they had come to the land of Media.

104. Now from the Maiotian lake to the river Phasis and to the land of
the Colchians is a journey of thirty days for one without encumbrance;
117 and from Colchis it is not far to pass over to Media, for there
is only one nation between them, the Saspeirians, and passing by this
nation you are in Media. However the Scythians did not make their
invasion by this way, but turned aside from it to go by the upper road
118 which is much longer, keeping Mount Caucasus on their right hand.
Then the Medes fought with the Scythians, and having been worsted in the
battle they lost their power, and the Scythians obtained rule over all
Asia.

105. Thence they went on to invade Egypt; and when they were in Syria
which is called Palestine, Psammetichos king of Egypt met them; and by
gifts and entreaties he turned them from their purpose, so that they
should not advance any further: and as they retreated, when they came
to the city of Ascalon in Syria, most of the Scythians passed through
without doing any damage, but a few of them who had stayed behind
plundered the temple of Aphrodite Urania. Now this temple, as I find
by inquiry, is the most ancient of all the temples which belong to this
goddess; for the temple in Cyprus was founded from this, as the people
of Cyprus themselves report, and it was the Phenicians who founded the
temple in Kythera, coming from this land of Syria. So these Scythians
who had plundered the temple at Ascalon, and their descendants for ever,
were smitten by the divinity 119 with a disease which made them women
instead of men: and the Scythians say that it was for this reason
that they were diseased, and that for this reason travellers who visit
Scythia now, see among them the affection of those who by the Scythians
are called Enareës.

106. For eight-and-twenty years then the Scythians were rulers of Asia,
and by their unruliness and reckless behaviour everything was ruined;
for on the one hand they exacted that in tribute from each people which
they laid upon them, 120 and apart from the tribute they rode about and
carried off by force the possessions of each tribe. Then Kyaxares with
the Medes, having invited the greater number of them to a banquet, made
them drunk and slew them; and thus the Medes recovered their power,
and had rule over the same nations as before; and they also took
Nineveh,—the manner how it was taken I shall set forth in another
history, 121—and made the Assyrians subject to them excepting only the
land of Babylon.

107. After this Kyaxares died, having reigned forty years including
those years during which the Scythians had rule, and Astyages son of
Kyaxares received from him the kingdom. To him was born a daughter whom
he named Mandane; and in his sleep it seemed to him that there passed
from her so much water as to fill his city and also to flood the whole
of Asia. This dream he delivered over 122 to the Magian interpreters of
dreams, and when he heard from them the truth at each point he became
afraid. And afterwards when this Mandane was of an age to have a
husband, he did not give her in marriage to any one of the Medes who
were his peers, because he feared the vision; but he gave her to a
Persian named Cambyses, whom he found to be of a good descent and of a
quiet disposition, counting him to be in station much below a Mede of
middle rank.

108. And when Mandane was married to Cambyses, in the first year
Astyages saw another vision. It seemed to him that from the womb of this
daughter a vine grew, and this vine overspread the whole of Asia. Having
seen this vision and delivered it to the interpreters of dreams, he sent
for his daughter, being then with child, to come from the land of the
Persians. And when she had come he kept watch over her, desiring to
destroy that which should be born of her; for the Magian interpreters
of dreams signified to him that the offspring of his daughter should
be king in his room. Astyages then desiring to guard against this, when
Cyrus was born, called Harpagos, a man who was of kin near him and whom
he trusted above all the other Medes, and had made him manager of all
his affairs; and to him he said as follows: "Neglect not by any means,
Harpagos, the matter which I shall lay upon thee to do, and beware lest
thou set me aside, 123 and choosing the advantage of others instead,
bring thyself afterwards to destruction. Take the child which Mandane
bore, and carry it to thy house and slay it; and afterwards bury it in
whatsoever manner thou thyself desirest." To this he made answer: "O
king, never yet in any past time didst thou discern in me an offence
against thee, and I keep watch over myself also with a view to the time
that comes after, that I may not commit any error towards thee. If it
is indeed thy pleasure that this should so be done, my service at least
must be fitly rendered."

109. Thus he made answer, and when the child had been delivered to him
adorned as for death, Harpagos went weeping to his wife all the words
which had been spoken by Astyages. And she said to him: "Now, therefore,
what is it in thy mind to do?" and he made answer: "Not according as
Astyages enjoined: for not even if he shall come to be yet more out
of his senses and more mad than he now is, will I agree to his will or
serve him in such a murder as this. And for many reasons I will not slay
the child; first because he is a kin to me, and then because Astyages is
old and without male issue, and if after he is dead the power shall come
through me, does not the greatest of dangers then await me? To secure
me, this child must die; but one of the servants of Astyages must be the
slayer of it, and not one of mine."

110. Thus he spoke, and straightway sent a messenger to that one of the
herdsmen of Astyages who he knew fed his herds on the pastures which
were most suitable for his purpose, and on the mountains most haunted by
wild beasts. The name of this man was Mitradates, and he was married to
one who was his fellow-slave; and the name of the woman to whom he was
married was Kyno in the tongue of the Hellenes and in the Median tongue
Spaco, for what the Hellenes call kyna (bitch) the Medes call spaca.
Now, it was on the skirts of the mountains that this herdsman had his
cattle-pastures, from Agbatana towards the North Wind and towards the
Euxine Sea. For here in the direction of the Saspeirians the Median land
is very mountainous and lofty and thickly covered with forests; but
the rest of the land of Media is all level plain. So when this herdsman
came, being summoned with much urgency, Harpagos said these words:
"Astyages bids thee take this child and place it on the most desolate
part of the mountains, so that it may perish as quickly as possible.
And he bade me to say that if thou do not kill it, but in any way shalt
preserve it from death, he will slay thee by the most evil kind of
destruction: 124 and I have been appointed to see that the child is laid
forth."

111. Having heard this and having taken up the child, the herdsman went
back by the way he came, and arrived at his dwelling. And his wife also,
as it seems, having been every day on the point of bearing a child, by
a providential chance brought her child to birth just at that time, when
the herdsman was gone to the city. And both were in anxiety, each for
the other, the man having fear about the child-bearing of his wife, and
the woman about the cause why Harpagos had sent to summon her husband,
not having been wont to do so aforetime. So as soon as he ed and stood
before her, the woman seeing him again beyond her hopes was the first
to speak, and asked him for what purpose Harpagos had sent for him so
urgently. And he said: "Wife, when I came to the city I saw and heard
that which I would I had not seen, and which I should wish had never
chanced to those whom we serve. For the house of Harpagos was all full
of mourning, and I being astonished thereat went within: and as soon as
I entered I saw laid out to view an infant child gasping for breath
and screaming, which was adorned with gold ornaments and embroidered
clothing: and when Harpagos saw me he bade me forthwith to take up the
child and carry it away and lay it on that part of the mountains which
is most haunted by wild beasts, saying that it was Astyages who laid
this task upon me, and using to me many threats, if I should fail to do
this. And I took it up and bore it away, supposing that it was the
child of some one of the servants of the house, for never could I have
supposed whence it really was; but I marvelled to see it adorned with
gold and raiment, and I marvelled also because mourning was made for it
openly in the house of Harpagos. And straightway as we went by the road,
I learnt the whole of the matter from the servant who went with me out
of the city and placed in my hands the babe, namely that it was in truth
the son of Mandane the daughter of Astyages, and of Cambyses the son of
Cyrus, and that Astyages bade slay it. And now here it is."

112. And as he said this the herdsman uncovered it and showed it to
her. And she, seeing that the child was large and of fair form, wept and
clung to the knees of her husband, beseeching him by no means to lay it
forth. But he said that he could not do otherwise than so, for watchers
would come backwards and forwards sent by Harpagos to see that this was
done, and he would perish by a miserable death if he should fail to do
this. And as she could not after all persuade her husband, the wife next
said as follows: "Since then I am unable to persuade thee not to lay it
forth, do thou this which I shall tell thee, if indeed it needs must be
seen laid forth. I also have borne a child, but I have borne it dead.
Take this and expose it, and let us rear the child of the daughter of
Astyages as if it were our own. Thus thou wilt not be found out doing
a wrong to those whom we serve, nor shall we have taken ill counsel
for ourselves; for the dead child will obtain a royal burial and the
surviving one will not lose his life."

113. To the herdsman it seemed that, the case standing thus, his wife
spoke well, and forthwith he did so. The child which he was bearing
to put to death, this he delivered to his wife, and his own, which was
dead, he took and placed in the chest in which he had been bearing the
other; and having adorned it with all the adornment of the other child,
he bore it to the most desolate part of the mountains and placed it
there. And when the third day came after the child had been laid forth,
the herdsman went to the city, leaving one of his under-herdsmen to
watch there, and when he came to the house of Harpagos he said that he
was ready to display the dead body of the child; and Harpagos sent the
most trusted of his spearmen, and through them he saw and buried the
herdsman's child. This then had had burial, but him who was afterwards
called Cyrus the wife of the herdsman had received, and was bringing him
up, giving him no doubt some other name, not Cyrus.

114. And when the boy was ten years old, it happened with regard to him as follows, and this made him known. He was playing in the village in which were stalls for oxen, he was playing there, I say, with other boys of his age in the road. And the boys in their play chose as their king this one who was called the son of the herdsman: and he set some of them to build palaces and others to be spearmen of his guard, and one of them no doubt he appointed to be the eye of the king, and to one he gave the office of bearing the messages, 12401 appointing a work for each one severally. Now one of these boys who was playing with the rest, the son of Artembares a man of repute among the Medes, did not do that which Cyrus appointed him to do; therefore Cyrus bade the other boys seize him hand and foot, 125 and when they obeyed his command he dealt with the boy very roughly, scourging him. But he, so soon as he was let go, being made much more angry because he considered that he had been treated with indignity, went down to the city and complained to his father of the treatment which he had met with from Cyrus, calling him not Cyrus, for this was not yet his name, but the son of the herdsman of Astyages. And Artembares in the anger of the moment went at once to Astyages, taking the boy with him, and he declared that he had suffered things that were unfitting and said: "O king, by thy slave, the son of a herdsman, we have been thus outraged," showing him the shoulders of his son.

115. And Astyages having heard and seen this, wishing to punish the boy
to avenge the honour of Artembares, sent for both the herdsman and his
son. And when both were present, Astyages looked at Cyrus and said:
"Didst thou dare, being the son of so mean a father as this, to treat
with such unseemly insult the son of this man who is first in my
favour?" And he replied thus: "Master, I did so to him with right. For
the boys of the village, of whom he also was one, in their play set me
up as king over them, for I appeared to them most fitted for this place.
Now the other boys did what I commanded them, but this one disobeyed
and paid no regard, until at last he received the punishment due. If
therefore for this I am worthy to suffer any evil, here I stand before
thee."

116. While the boy thus spoke, there came upon Astyages a sense of
recognition of him and the lineaments of his face seemed to him to
resemble his own, and his answer appeared to be somewhat over free for
his station, while the time of the laying forth seemed to agree with the
age of the boy. Being struck with amazement by these things, for a
time he was speechless; and having at length with difficulty recovered
himself, he said, desiring to dismiss Artembares, in order that he might
get the herdsman by himself alone and examine him: "Artembares, I will
so order these things that thou and thy son shall have no cause to
find fault"; and so he dismissed Artembares, and the servants upon the
command of Astyages led Cyrus within. And when the herdsman was left
alone with the king, Astyages being alone with him asked whence he had
received the boy, and who it was who had delivered the boy to him.
And the herdsman said that he was his own son, and that the mother was
living with him still as his wife. But Astyages said that he was not
well advised in desiring to be brought to extreme necessity, and as he
said this he made a sign to the spearmen of his guard to seize him. So
he, as he was being led away to the torture, 126 then declared the story
as it really was; and beginning from the beginning he went through the
whole, telling the truth about it, and finally ended with entreaties,
asking that he would grant him pardon.

117. So when the herdsman had made known the truth, Astyages now cared
less about him, but with Harpagos he was very greatly displeased and
bade his spearmen summon him. And when Harpagos came, Astyages asked
him thus: "By what death, Harpagos, didst thou destroy the child whom I
delivered to thee, born of my daughter?" and Harpagos, seeing that
the herdsman was in the king's palace, turned not to any false way of
speech, lest he should be convicted and found out, but said as follows:
"O king, so soon as I received the child, I took counsel and considered
how I should do according to thy mind, and how without offence to thy
command I might not be guilty of murder against thy daughter and against
thyself. I did therefore thus:—I called this herdsman and delivered the
child to him, saying first that thou wert he who bade him slay it—and in
this at least I did not lie, for thou didst so command. I delivered it,
I say, to this man commanding him to place it upon a desolate mountain,
and to stay by it and watch it until it should die, threatening him with
all kinds of punishment if he should fail to accomplish this. And when
he had done that which was ordered and the child was dead, I sent the
most trusted of my eunuchs and through them I saw and buried the child.
Thus, O king, it happened about this matter, and the child had this
death which I say."

118. So Harpagos declared the truth, and Astyages concealed the anger
which he kept against him for that which had come to pass, and first he
related the matter over again to Harpagos according as he had been told
it by the herdsman, and afterwards, when it had been thus repeated by
him, he ended by saying that the child was alive and that that which had
come to pass was well, "for," continued he, "I was greatly troubled by
that which had been done to this child, and I thought it no light thing
that I had been made at variance with my daughter. Therefore consider
that this is a happy change of fortune, and first send thy son to be
with the boy who is newly come, and then, seeing that I intend to make a
sacrifice of thanksgiving for the preservation of the boy to those gods
to whom that honour belongs, be here thyself to dine with me."

119. When Harpagos heard this, he did reverence and thought it a great
matter that his offence had turned out for his profit and moreover that
he had been invited to dinner with happy augury; 127 and so he went to
his house. And having entered it straightway, he sent forth his son, for
he had one only son of about thirteen years old, bidding him go to the
palace of Astyages and do whatsoever the king should command; and he
himself being overjoyed told his wife that which had befallen him. But
Astyages, when the son of Harpagos arrived, cut his throat and divided
him limb from limb, and having roasted some pieces of the flesh and
boiled others he caused them to be dressed for eating and kept them
ready. And when the time arrived for dinner and the other guests were
present and also Harpagos, then before the other guests and before
Astyages himself were placed tables covered with flesh of sheep; but
before Harpagos was placed the flesh of his own son, all but the head
and the hands and the feet, 128 and these were laid aside covered up
in a basket. Then when it seemed that Harpagos was satisfied with food,
Astyages asked him whether he had been pleased with the banquet; and
when Harpagos said that he had been very greatly pleased, they who had
been commanded to do this brought to him the head of his son covered
up, together with the hands and the feet; and standing near they
bade Harpagos uncover and take of them that which he desired. So when
Harpagos obeyed and uncovered, he saw the remains of his son; and seeing
them he was not overcome with amazement but contained himself: and
Astyages asked him whether he perceived of what animal he had been
eating the flesh: and he said that he perceived, and that whatsoever
the king might do was well pleasing to him. Thus having made answer and
taking up the parts of the flesh which still remained he went to his
house; and after that, I suppose, he would gather all the parts together
and bury them.

120. On Harpagos Astyages laid this penalty; and about Cyrus he took
thought, and summoned the same men of the Magians who had given judgment
about his dream in the manner which has been said: and when they came,
Astyages asked how they had given judgment about his vision; and they
spoke according to the same manner, saying that the child must have
become king if he had lived on and had not died before. He made answer
to them thus: "The child is alive and not dead: 129 and while he was
dwelling in the country, the boys of the village appointed him king; and
he performed completely all those things which they do who are really
kings; for he exercised rule, 130 appointed to their places spearmen
of the guard and doorkeepers and bearers of messages and all else. Now
therefore, to what does it seem to you that these things tend?" The
Magians said: "If the child is still alive and became king without any
arrangement, be thou confident concerning him and have good courage,
for he shall not be ruler again the second time; since some even of our
oracles have had but small results, 131 and that at least which has
to do with dreams comes often in the end to a feeble accomplishment."
Astyages made answer in these words: "I myself also, O Magians, am most
disposed to believe that this is so, namely that since the boy was named
king the dream has had its fulfilment and that this boy is no longer
a source of danger to me. Nevertheless give counsel to me, having well
considered what is likely to be most safe both for my house and for
you." Replying to this the Magians said: "To us also, O king, it is of
great consequence that thy rule should stand firm; for in the other
case it is transferred to strangers, coming round to this boy who is a
Persian, and we being Medes are made slaves and become of no account
in the eyes of the Persians, seeing that we are of different race; but
while thou art established as our king, who art one of our own nation,
we both have our share of rule and receive great honours from thee. Thus
then we must by all means have a care of thee and of thy rule. And now,
if we saw in this anything to cause fear, we would declare all to thee
beforehand: but as the dream has had its issue in a trifling manner,
both we ourselves are of good cheer and we exhort thee to be so
likewise: and as for this boy, send him away from before thine eyes to
the Persians and to his parents."

121. When he heard this Astyages rejoiced, and calling Cyrus spoke to
him thus: "My son, I did thee wrong by reason of a vision of a dream
which has not come to pass, but thou art yet alive by thine own destiny;
now therefore go in peace to the land of the Persians, and I will send
with thee men to conduct thee: and when thou art come thither, thou
shalt find a father and a mother not after the fashion of Mitradates the
herdsman and his wife."

122. Thus having spoken Astyages sent Cyrus away; and when he had ed and
come to the house of Cambyses, his parents received him; and after that,
when they learnt who he was, they welcomed him not a little, for they
had supposed without doubt that their son had perished straightway after
his birth; and they inquired in what manner he had survived. And he told
them, saying that before this he had not known but had been utterly in
error; on the way, however, he had learnt all his own fortunes: for
he had supposed without doubt that he was the son of the herdsman of
Astyages, but since his journey from the city began he had learnt the
whole story from those who conducted him. And he said that he had been
brought up by the wife of the herdsman, and continued to praise her
throughout, so that Kyno was the chief person in his tale. And his
parents took up this name from him, and in order that their son might
be thought by the Persians to have been preserved in a more supernatural
manner, they set on foot a report that Cyrus when he was exposed had
been reared by a bitch: 132 and from that source has come this report.

123. Then as Cyrus grew to be a man, being of all those of his age the
most courageous and the best beloved, Harpagos sought to become his
friend and sent him gifts, because he desired to take vengeance on
Astyages. For he saw not how from himself, who was in a private station,
punishment should come upon Astyages; but when he saw Cyrus growing
up, he endeavoured to make him an ally, finding a likeness between the
fortunes of Cyrus and his own. And even before that time he had
effected something: for Astyages being harsh towards the Medes, Harpagos
communicated severally with the chief men of the Medes, and persuaded
them that they must make Cyrus their leader and cause Astyages to cease
from being king. When he had effected this and when all was ready, then
Harpagos wishing to make known his design to Cyrus, who lived among the
Persians, could do it no other way, seeing that the roads were watched,
but devised a scheme as follows:—he made ready a hare, and having cut
open its belly but without pulling off any of the fur, he put into it,
just as it was, a piece of paper, having written upon it that which
he thought good; and then he sewed up again the belly of the hare, and
giving nets as if he were a hunter to that one of his servants whom he
trusted most, he sent him away to the land of the Persians, enjoining
him by word of mouth to give the hare to Cyrus, and to tell him at the
same time to open it with his own hands and let no one else be present
when he did so.

124. This then was accomplished, and Cyrus having received from him the
hare, cut it open; and having found within it the paper he took and read
it over. And the writing said this: "Son of Cambyses, over thee the gods
keep guard, for otherwise thou wouldst never have come to so much good
fortune. Do thou therefore 133 take vengeance on Astyages who is thy
murderer, for so far as his will is concerned thou art dead, but by the
care of the gods and of me thou art still alive; and this I think thou
hast long ago learnt from first to last, both how it happened about
thyself, and also what things I have suffered from Astyages, because I
did not slay thee but gave thee to the herdsman. If therefore thou wilt
be guided by me, thou shalt be ruler of all that land over which now
Astyages is ruler. Persuade the Persians to revolt, and march any army
against the Medes: and whether I shall be appointed leader of the army
against thee, or any other of the Medes who are in repute, thou hast
what thou desirest; for these will be the first to attempt to destroy
Astyages, revolting from him and coming over to thy party. Consider then
that here at least all is ready, and therefore do this and do it with
speed."

125. Cyrus having heard this began to consider in what manner he might
most skilfully persuade the Persians to revolt, and on consideration he
found that this was the most convenient way, and so in fact he did:—He
wrote first on a paper that which he desired to write, and he made an
assembly of the Persians. Then he unfolded the paper and reading from it
said that Astyages appointed him commander of the Persians; "and now, O
Persians," he continued, "I give you command to come to me each one with
a reaping-hook." Cyrus then proclaimed this command. (Now there are of
the Persians many tribes, and some of them Cyrus gathered together and
persuaded to revolt from the Medes, namely those, upon which all the
other Persians depend, the Pasargadai, the Maraphians and the Maspians,
and of these the Pasargadai are the most noble, of whom also the
Achaimenidai are a clan, whence are sprung the Perseïd 134 kings. But
other Persian tribes there are, as follows:—the Panthaliaians, the
Derusiaians and the Germanians, these are all tillers of the soil; and
the rest are nomad tribes, namely the Daoi, Mardians, Dropicans and
Sagartians.)

126. Now there was a certain region of the Persian land which was
overgrown with thorns, extending some eighteen or twenty furlongs in
each direction; and when all had come with that which they had been
before commanded to bring, Cyrus bade them clear this region for
cultivation within one day: and when the Persians had achieved the
task proposed, then he bade them come to him on the next day bathed and
clean. Meanwhile Cyrus, having gathered together in one place all the
flocks of goats and sheep and the herds of cattle belonging to his
father, slaughtered them and prepared with them to entertain the host
of the Persians, and moreover with wine and other provisions of the most
agreeable kind. So when the Persians came on the next day, he made them
recline in a meadow and feasted them. And when they had finished dinner,
Cyrus asked them whether that which they had on the former day or
that which they had now seemed to them preferable. They said that the
difference between them was great, for the former day had for them
nothing but evil, and the present day nothing but good. Taking up this
saying Cyrus proceeded to lay bare his whole design, saying: "Men of the
Persians, thus it is with you. If ye will do as I say, ye have these and
ten thousand other good things, with no servile labour; but if ye will
not do as I say, ye have labours like that of yesterday innumerable. Now
therefore do as I say and make yourselves free: for I seem to myself to
have been born by providential fortune to take these matters in hand;
and I think that ye are not worse men than the Medes, either in other
matters or in those which have to do with war. Consider then that this
is so, and make revolt from Astyages forthwith."

127. So the Persians having obtained a leader willingly attempted to set
themselves free, since they had already for a long time been indignant
to be ruled by the Medes: but when Astyages heard that Cyrus was acting
thus, he sent a messenger and summoned him; and Cyrus bade the messenger
report to Astyages that he would be with him sooner than he would
himself desire. So Astyages hearing this armed all the Medes, and
blinded by divine providence he appointed Harpagos to be the leader of
the army, forgetting what he had done to him. Then when the Medes had
marched out and began to fight with the Persians, some of them continued
the battle, namely those who had not been made partakers in the design,
while others went over to the Persians; but the greater number were
wilfully slack and fled.

128. So when the Median army had been shamefully dispersed, so soon as
Astyages heard of it he said, threatening Cyrus: "But not even so shall
Cyrus at least escape punishment." Thus having spoken he first impaled
the Magian interpreters of dreams who had persuaded him to let Cyrus go,
and then he armed those of the Medes, youths and old men, who had been
left behind in the city. These he led out and having engaged battle with
the Persians he was worsted, and Astyages himself was taken alive, and
he lost also those of the Medes whom he had led forth.

129. Then when Astyages was a prisoner, Harpagos came and stood near him
and rejoiced over him and insulted him; and besides other things which
he said to grieve him, he asked him especially how it pleased him to
be a slave instead of a king, making reference to that dinner at which
Astyages had feasted him with the flesh of his own son. 135 He looking
at him asked him in whether he claimed the work of Cyrus as his own
deed: and Harpagos said that since he had written the letter, the deed
was justly his. Then Astyages declared him to be at the same time the
most unskilful and the most unjust of men; the most unskilful because,
when it was in his power to become king (as it was, if that which had
now been done was really brought about by him), he had conferred the
chief power on another, and the most unjust, because on account of that
dinner he had reduced the Medes to slavery. For if he must needs confer
the kingdom on some other and not keep it himself, it was more just
to give this good thing to one of the Medes rather than to one of the
Persians; whereas now the Medes, who were guiltless of this, had become
slaves instead of masters, and the Persians who formerly were slaves of
the Medes had now become their masters.

130. Astyages then, having been king for five-and-thirty years, was thus
caused to cease from being king; and the Medes stooped under the yoke of
the Persians because of his cruelty, after they had ruled Asia above the
river Halys for one hundred and twenty-eight years, except during that
period for which the Scythians had rule. 136 Afterwards however it
repented them that they had done this, and they revolved from Dareios,
and having revolted they were subdued again, being conquered in a
battle. At this time then, I say, in the reign of Astyages, the Persians
with Cyrus rose up against the Medes and from that time forth were
rulers of Asia: but as for Astyages, Cyrus did no harm to him besides,
but kept him with himself until he died. Thus born and bred Cyrus became
king; and after this he subdued Croesus, who was the first to begin the
quarrel, as I have before said; and having subdued him he then became
ruler of all Asia.

131. These are the customs, so far as I know, which the Persians
practise:—Images and temples and altars they do not account it lawful
to erect, nay they even charge with folly those who do these things; and
this, as it seems to me, because they do not account the gods to be in
the likeness of men, as do the Hellenes. But it is their wont to perform
sacrifices to Zeus going up to the most lofty of the mountains, and the
whole circle of the heavens they call Zeus: and they sacrifice to the
Sun and the Moon and the Earth, to Fire and to Water and to the Winds:
these are the only gods to whom they have sacrificed ever from the
first; but they have learnt also to sacrifice to Aphrodite Urania,
having learnt it both from the Assyrians and the Arabians; and the
Assyrians call Aphrodite Mylitta, the Arabians Alitta, 13601 and the
Persians Mitra.

132. Now this is the manner of sacrifice for the gods aforesaid which
is established among the Persians:—they make no altars neither do they
kindle fire; and when they mean to sacrifice they use no libation nor
music of the pipe nor chaplets 137 nor meal for sprinkling; 138 but when
a man wishes to sacrifice to any one of the gods, he leads the animal
for sacrifice to an unpolluted place and calls upon the god, having
his tiara 13801 wreathed round generally with a branch of myrtle. For
himself alone separately the man who sacrifices may not request good
things in his prayer, but he prays that it may be well with all the
Persians and with the king; for he himself also is included of course
in the whole body of Persians. And when he has cut up the victim into
pieces and boiled the flesh, he spreads a layer of the freshest grass
and especially clover, upon which he places forthwith all the pieces of
flesh; and when he has placed them in order, a Magian man stands by them
and chants over them a theogony (for of this nature they say that their
incantation is), seeing that without a Magian it is not lawful for
them to make sacrifices. Then after waiting a short time the sacrificer
carries away the flesh and uses it for whatever purpose he pleases.

133. And of all days their wont is to honour most that on which they
were born, each one: on this they think it right to set out a feast more
liberal than on other days; and in this feast the wealthier of them set
upon the table an ox or a horse or a camel or an ass, roasted whole in
an oven, and the poor among them set out small animals in the same way.
They have few solid dishes, 139 but many served up after as dessert, and
these not in a single course; and for this reason the Persians say that
the Hellenes leave off dinner hungry, because after dinner they have
nothing worth mentioning served up as dessert, whereas if any
good dessert were served up they would not stop eating so soon. To
wine-drinking they are very much given, and it is not permitted for
a man to vomit or to make water in presence of another. Thus do they
provide against these things; and they are wont to deliberate when
drinking hard about the most important of their affairs, and whatsoever
conclusion has pleased them in their deliberation, this on the next day,
when they are sober, the master of the house in which they happen to be
when they deliberate lays before them for discussion: and if it pleases
them when they are sober also, they adopt it, but if it does not
please them, they let it go: and that on which they have had the first
deliberation when they are sober, they consider again when they are
drinking.

134. When they meet one another in the roads, by this you may discern
whether those who meet are of equal rank,—for instead of greeting by
words they kiss one another on the mouth; but if one of them is a little
inferior to the other, they kiss one another on the cheeks, and if one
is of much less noble rank than the other, he falls down before him and
does worship to him. 140 And they honour of all most after themselves
those nations which dwell nearest to them, and next those which dwell
next nearest, and so they go on giving honour in proportion to distance;
and they hold least in honour those who dwell furthest off from
themselves, esteeming themselves to be by far the best of all the human
race on every point, and thinking that others possess merit according
to the proportion which is here stated, 141 and that those who dwell
furthest from themselves are the worst. And under the supremacy of the
Medes the various nations used also to govern one another according to
the same rule as the Persians observe in giving honour, 142 the Medes
governing the whole and in particular those who dwelt nearest to
themselves, and these having rule over those who bordered upon them, and
those again over the nations that were next to them: for the race went
forward thus ever from government by themselves to government through
others.

135. The Persians more than any other men admit foreign usages; for they
both wear the Median dress judging it to be more comely than their own,
and also for fighting the Egyptian corslet: moreover they adopt all
kinds of luxuries when they hear of them, and in particular they have
learnt from the Hellenes to have commerce with boys. They marry each
one several lawful wives, and they get also a much larger number of
concubines.

136. It is established as a sign of manly excellence next after
excellence in fight, to be able to show many sons; and to those who have
most the king sends gifts every year: for they consider number to be a
source of strength. And they educate their children, beginning at five
years old and going on till twenty, in three things only, in riding, in
shooting, and in speaking the truth: but before the boy is five years
old he does not come into the presence of his father, but lives with the
women; and it is so done for this reason, that if the child should die
while he is being bred up, he may not be the cause of any grief to his
father.

137. I commend this custom of theirs, and also the one which is next
to be mentioned, namely that neither the king himself shall put any to
death for one cause alone, nor any of the other Persians for one cause
alone shall do hurt that is irremediable to any of his own servants; but
if after reckoning he finds that the wrongs done are more in number and
greater than the services rendered, 143 then only he gives vent to
his anger. Moreover they say that no one ever killed his own father or
mother, but whatever deeds have been done which seemed to be of this
nature, if examined must necessarily, they say, be found to be due
either to changelings or to children of adulterous birth; for, say they,
it is not reasonable to suppose that the true parent would be killed by
his own son.

138. Whatever things it is not lawful for them to do, these it is not
lawful for them even to speak of: and the most disgraceful thing in
their estimation is to tell an lie, and next to this to owe money, this
last for many other reasons, but especially because it is necessary,
they say, for him who owes money, also sometimes to tell lies: and
whosoever of the men of the city has leprosy or whiteness of skin, he
does not come into a city nor mingle with the other Persians; and they
say that he has these diseases because he has offended in some way
against the Sun: but a stranger who is taken by these diseases, in many
regions 144 they drive out of the country altogether, and also white
doves, alleging against them the same cause. And into a river they
neither make water nor spit, neither do they wash their hands in it,
nor allow any other to do these things, but they reverence rivers very
greatly.

139. This moreover also has chanced to them, which the Persians have
themselves failed to notice but I have not failed to do so:—their
names, which are formed to correspond with their bodily shapes or their
magnificence of station, end all with the same letter, that letter which
the Dorians call san and the Ionians sigma; with this you will find, if
you examine the matter, that all the Persian names end, not some with
this and others with other letters, but all alike.

140. So much I am able to say for certain from my own knowledge about
them: but what follows is reported about their dead as a secret mystery
and not with clearness, namely that the body of a Persian man is not
buried until it has been torn by a bird or a dog. (The Magians I know
for a certainty have this practice, for they do it openly.) However that
may be, the Persians cover the body with wax and then bury it in the
earth. Now the Magians are distinguished in many ways from other men,
as also from the priests in Egypt: for these last esteem it a matter
of purity to kill no living creature except the animals which they
sacrifice; but the Magians kill with their own hands all creatures
except dogs and men, and they even make this a great end to aim at,
killing both ants and serpents and all other creeping and flying things.
About this custom then be it as it was from the first established; and I
now to the former narrative. 145

141. The Ionians and Aiolians, as soon as the Lydians had been subdued
by the Persians, sent messengers to Cyrus at Sardis, desiring to be his
subjects on the same terms as they had been subjects of Croesus. And
when he heard that which they proposed to him, he spoke to them a fable,
saying that a certain player on the pipe saw fishes in the sea and
played on his pipe, supposing that they would come out to land; but
being deceived in his expectation, he took a casting-net and enclosed
a great multitude of the fishes and drew them forth from the water: and
when he saw them leaping about, he said to the fishes: "Stop dancing I
pray you now, seeing that ye would not come out and dance before when
I piped." Cyrus spoke this fable to the Ionians and Aiolians for this
reason, because the Ionians had refused to comply before, when Cyrus
himself by a messenger requested them to revolt from Croesus, while now
when the conquest had been made they were ready to submit to Cyrus. Thus
he said to them in anger, and the Ionians, when they heard this answer
brought back to their cities, put walls round about them severally, and
gathered together to the Panionion, all except the men of Miletos, for
with these alone Cyrus had sworn an agreement on the same terms as the
Lydians had granted. The rest of the Ionians resolved by common consent
to send messengers to Sparta, to ask the Spartans to help the Ionians.

142. These Ionians to whom belongs the Panionion had the fortune to
build their cities in the most favourable position for climate and
seasons of any men whom we know: for neither the regions above Ionia nor
those below, neither those towards the East nor those towards the West,
146 produce the same results as Ionia itself, the regions in the one
direction being oppressed by cold and moisture, and those in the other
by heat and drought. And these do not use all the same speech, but have
four different variations of language. 147 First of their cities on the
side of the South lies Miletos, and next to it Myus and Priene. These
are settlements made in Caria, and speak the same language with one
another; and the following are in Lydia,—Ephesos, Colophon, Lebedos,
Teos, Clazomenai, Phocaia: these cities resemble not at all those
mentioned before in the speech which they use, but they agree one with
another. There remain besides three Ionian cities, of which two are
established in the islands of Samos and Chios, and one is built upon the
mainland, namely Erythrai: now the men of Chios and of Erythrai use the
same form of language, but the Samians have one for themselves alone.
Thus there result four separate forms of language.

143. Of these Ionians then those of Miletos were sheltered from danger,
since they had sworn an agreement; and those of them who lived in
islands had no cause for fear, for the Phenicians were not yet subjects
of the Persians and the Persians themselves were not sea-men. Now these
148 were parted off from the other Ionians for no other reason than
this:—The whole Hellenic nation was at that time weak, but of all its
races the Ionian was much the weakest and of least account: except
Athens, indeed, it had no considerable city. Now the other Ionians, and
among them the Athenians, avoided the name, not wishing to be called
Ionians, nay even now I perceive that the greater number of them are
ashamed of the name: but these twelve cities not only prided themselves
on the name but established a temple of their own, to which they gave
the name of Panionion, and they made resolution not to grant a share in
it to any other Ionians (nor indeed did any ask to share it except those
of Smyrna);

144, just as the Dorians of that district which is now called the Five
Cities 149 but was formerly called the Six Cities, 150 take care not
to admit any of the neighbouring Dorians to the temple of Triopion, and
even exclude from sharing in it those of their own body who commit any
offence as regards the temple. For example, in the games of the Triopian
Apollo they used formerly to set bronze tripods as prizes for the
victors, and the rule was that those who received them should not carry
them out of the temple but dedicate them then and there to the god.
There was a man then of Halicarnassos, whose name was Agasicles, who
being a victor paid no regard to this rule, but carried away the tripod
to his own house and hung it up there upon a nail. On this ground
the other five cities, Lindos, Ialysos and Cameiros, Cos and Cnidos,
excluded the sixth city Halicarnassos from sharing in the temple.

145. Upon these they laid this penalty: but as for the Ionians, I think
that the reason why they made of themselves twelve cities and would
not receive any more into their body, was because when they dwelt in
Peloponnesus there were of them twelve divisions, just as now there are
twelve divisions of the Achaians who drove the Ionians out: for first,
(beginning from the side of Sikyon) comes Pellene, then Aigeira and
Aigai, in which last is the river Crathis with a perpetual flow (whence
the river of the same name in Italy received its name), and Bura and
Helike, to which the Ionians fled for refuge when they were worsted by
the Achaians in fight, and Aigion and Rhypes and Patreis and Phareis
and Olenos, where is the great river Peiros, and Dyme and Tritaieis, of
which the last alone has an inland position. 151 These form now twelve
divisions of the Achaians, and in former times they were divisions of
the Ionians.

146. For this reason then the Ionians also made for themselves twelve
cities; for at any rate to say that these are any more Ionians than
the other Ionians, or have at all a nobler descent, is mere folly,
considering that a large part of them are Abantians from Euboea, who
have no share even in the name of Ionia, and Minyai of Orchomenos have
been mingled with them, and Cadmeians and Dryopians and Phokians who
seceded from their native State and Molossians and Pelasgians of Arcadia
and Dorians of Epidauros and many other races have been mingled with
them; and those of them who set forth to their settlements from the City
Hall of Athens and who esteem themselves the most noble by descent
of the Ionians, these, I say, brought no women with them to their
settlement, but took Carian women, whose parents they slew: and on
account of this slaughter these women laid down for themselves a rule,
imposing oaths on one another, and handed it on to their daughters, that
they should never eat with their husbands, nor should a wife call her
own husband by name, for this reason, because the Ionians had slain
their fathers and husbands and children and then having done this had
them to wife. This happened at Miletos.

147. Moreover some of them set Lykian kings over them, descendants of Glaucos and Hippolochos, while others were ruled by Cauconians of Pylos, descendants of Codros the son of Melanthos, and others again by princes of the two races combined. Since however these hold on to the name more than the other Ionians, let them be called, if they will, the Ionians of truly pure descent; but in fact all are Ionians who have their descent from Athens and who keep the feast of Apaturia; and this all keep except the men of Ephesos and Colophon: for these alone of all the Ionians do not keep the Apaturia, and that on the ground of some murder committed.

148. Now the Panionion is a sacred place on the north side of Mycale,
set apart by common agreement of the Ionians for Poseidon of Helike 152;
and this Mycale is a promontory of the mainland running out Westwards
towards Samos, where the Ionians gathering together from their cities
used to hold a festival which they called the Panionia. (And not only
the feasts of the Ionians but also those of all the Hellenes equally are
subject to this rule, that their names all end in the same letter, just
like the names of the Persians.) 153

These then are the Ionian cities:

149, and those of Aiolia are as follows:—Kyme, which is called
Phriconis, Larisai, Neon-teichos, Temnos, Killa, Notion, Aigiroëssa,
Pitane, Aigaiai, Myrina, Gryneia; these are the ancient cities of the
Aiolians, eleven in number, since one, Smyrna, was severed from them by
the Ionians; for these cities, that is those on the mainland, used also
formerly to be twelve in number. And these Aiolians had the fortune to
settle in a land which is more fertile than that of the Ionians but in
respect of climate less favoured. 154

150. Now the Aiolians lost Smyrna in the following manner:—certain men
of Colophon, who had been worsted in party strife and had been driven
from their native city, were received there for refuge: and after this
the Colophonian exiles watched for a time when the men of Smyrna were
celebrating a festival to Dionysos outside the walls, and then they
closed the gates against them and got possession of the city. After
this, when the whole body of Aiolians came to the rescue, they made an
agreement that the Ionians should give up the movable goods, and that
on this condition the Aiolians should abandon Smyrna. When the men of
Smyrna had done this, the remaining eleven cities divided them amongst
themselves and made them their own citizens.

151. These then are the Aiolian cities upon the mainland, with the
exception of those situated on Mount Ida, for these are separate from
the rest. And of those which are in the islands, there are five in
Lesbos, for the sixth which was situated in Lesbos, namely Arisba, was
enslaved by the men of Methymna, though its citizens were of the same
race as they; and in Tenedos there is one city, and another in what are
called the "Hundred Isles." Now the Lesbians and the men of Tenedos,
like those Ionians who dwelt in the islands, had no cause for fear; but
the remaining cities came to a common agreement to follow the Ionians
whithersoever they should lead.

152. Now when the messengers from the Ionians and Aiolians came to
Sparta (for this business was carried out with speed), they chose before
all others to speak for them the Phocaian, whose name was Pythermos. He
then put upon him a purple cloak, in order that as many as possible
of the Spartans might hear of it and come together, and having been
introduced before the assembly 155 he spoke at length, asking the
Spartans to help them. The Lacedemonians however would not listen to
him, but resolved on the contrary not to help the Ionians. So they
departed, and the Lacedemonians, having dismissed the messengers of the
Ionians, sent men notwithstanding in a ship of fifty oars, to find out,
as I imagine, about the affairs of Cyrus and about Ionia. These when
they came to Phocaia sent to Sardis the man of most repute among
them, whose name was Lacrines, to report to Cyrus the saying of the
Lacedemonians, bidding him do hurt to no city of the Hellas, since they
would not permit it.

153. When the herald had spoken thus, Cyrus is said to have asked those
of the Hellenes whom he had with him, what men the Lacedemonians were
and how many in number, that they made this proclamation to him; and
hearing their answer he said to the Spartan herald: "Never yet did I
fear men such as these, who have a place appointed in the midst of their
city where they gather together and deceive one another by false oaths:
and if I continue in good health, not the misfortunes of the Ionians
will be for them a subject of talk, but rather their own." These words
Cyrus threw out scornfully with reference to the Hellenes in general,
because they have got for themselves 156 markets and practise buying and
selling there; for the Persians themselves are not wont to use markets
nor have they any market-place at all. After this he entrusted Sardis to
Tabalos a Persian, and the gold both of Croesus and of the other Lydians
he gave to Pactyas a Lydian to take charge of, and himself marched
away to Agbatana, taking with him Croesus and making for the present no
account of the Ionians. For Babylon stood in his way still, as also the
Bactrian nation and the Sacans and the Egyptians; and against these he
meant to make expeditions himself, while sending some other commander
about the Ionians.

154. But when Cyrus had marched away from Sardis, Pactyas caused the
Lydians to revolt from Tabalos and from Cyrus. This man went down to the
sea, and having in his possession all the gold that there had been in
Sardis, he hired for himself mercenaries and persuaded the men of the
sea-coast to join his expedition. So he marched on Sardis and besieged
Tabalos, having shut himself up in the citadel.

155. Hearing this on his way, Cyrus said to Croesus as follows:
"Croesus, what end shall I find of these things which are coming to
pass? The Lydians will not cease as it seems, from giving trouble to
me and from having it themselves. I doubt me if it were not best 157 to
sell them all as slaves; for as it is, I see that I have done in like
manner as if one should slay the father and then spare his sons: just so
I took prisoner and am carrying away thee, who wert much more than the
father of the Lydians, while to the Lydians themselves I delivered up
their city; and can I feel surprise after this that they have revolted
from me?" Thus he said what was in his mind, but Croesus answered him as
follows, fearing lest he should destroy Sardis: "O king, that which thou
hast said is not without reason; but do not thou altogether give vent
to thy wrath, nor destroy an ancient city which is guiltless both of the
former things and also of those which have come to pass now: for as
to the former things it was I who did them and I bear the consequences
heaped upon my head; 158 and as for what is now being done, since the
wrongdoer is Pactyas to whom thou didst entrust the charge of Sardis,
let him pay the penalty. But the Lydians I pray thee pardon, and lay
upon them commands as follows, in order that they may not revolt nor
be a cause of danger to thee:—send to them and forbid them to possess
weapons of war, but bid them on the other hand put on tunics under their
outer garments and be shod with buskins, and proclaim to them that they
train their sons to play the lyre and the harp and to be retail-dealers;
and soon thou shalt see, O king, that they have become women instead of
men, so that there will be no fear that they will revolt from thee."

156. Croesus, I say, suggested to him this, perceiving that this was
better for the Lydians than to be reduced to slavery and sold; for he
knew that if he did not offer a sufficient reason, he would not persuade
Cyrus to change his mind, and he feared lest at some future time, if
they should escape the present danger, the Lydians might revolt from
the Persians and be destroyed. And Cyrus was greatly pleased with the
suggestion made and slackened from his wrath, saying that he agreed with
his advice. Then he called Mazares a Mede, and laid charge upon him to
proclaim to the Lydians that which Croesus suggested, and moreover to
sell into slavery all the rest who had joined with the Lydians in the
expedition to Sardis, and finally by all means to bring Pactyas himself
alive to Cyrus.

157. Having given this charge upon the road, he continued his march to
the native land of the Persians; but Pactyas hearing that an army was
approaching to fight against him was struck with fear and fled away
forthwith to Kyme. Then Mazares the Mede marched upon Sardis with a
certain portion of the army of Cyrus, and as he did not find Pactyas or
his followers any longer at Sardis, he first compelled the Lydians to
perform the commands of Cyrus, and by his commands the Lydians changed
the whole manner of their life. After this Mazares proceeded to send
messengers to Kyme bidding them give up Pactyas: and the men of Kyme
resolved to refer to the god at Branchidai the question what counsel
they should follow. For there was there an Oracle established of old
time, which all the Ionians and Aiolians were wont to consult; and this
place is in the territory of Miletos above the port of Panormos.

158. So the men of Kyme sent messengers to the Branchidai 159 to inquire
of the god, and they asked what course they should take about Pactyas so
as to do that which was pleasing to the gods. When they thus inquired,
the answer was given them that they should deliver up Pactyas to the
Persians: and the men of Kyme, having heard this answer reported, were
disposed to give him up. Then when the mass of the people were thus
disposed, Aristodicos the son of Heracleides, a man of repute among the
citizens, stopped the men of Kyme from doing so, having distrust of the
answer and thinking that those sent to inquire were not speaking the
truth; until at last other messengers were sent to the Oracle to ask a
second time about Pactyas, and of them Aristodicos was one.

159. When these came to Branchidai, Aristodicos stood forth from the
rest and consulted the Oracle, asking as follows: Lord, 160 there came
to us a suppliant for protection Pactyas the Lydian, flying from a
violent death at the hands of the Persians, and they demand him from us,
bidding the men of Kyme give him up. But we, though we fear the power of
the Persians, yet have not ventured up to this time to deliver to them
the suppliant, until thy counsel shall be clearly manifested to us,
saying which of the two things we ought to do." He thus inquired, but
the god again declared to them the same answer, bidding them deliver up
Pactyas to the Persians. Upon this Aristodicos with deliberate purpose
did as follows:—he went all round the temple destroying the nests of the
sparrows 161 and of all the other kinds of birds which had been hatched
on the temple: and while he was doing this, it is said that a voice came
from the inner shrine directed to Aristodicos and speaking thus: "Thou
most impious of men, why dost thou dare to do this? Dost thou carry
away by force from my temple the suppliants for my protection?" And
Aristodicos, it is said, not being at all at a loss replied to this:
"Lord, dost thou thus come to the assistance of thy suppliants, and yet
biddest the men of Kyme deliver up theirs?" and the god answered him
again thus: "Yea, I bid you do so, that ye may perish the more quickly
for your impiety; so that ye may not at any future time come to the
Oracle to ask about delivering up of suppliants."

160. When the men of Kyme heard this saying reported, not wishing either
to be destroyed by giving him up or to be besieged by keeping him with
them, they sent him away to Mytilene. Those of Mytilene however, when
Mazares sent messages to them, were preparing to deliver up Pactyas
for a price, but what the price was I cannot say for certain, since the
bargain was never completed; for the men of Kyme, when they learnt that
this was being done by the Mytilenians, sent a vessel to Lesbos and
conveyed away Pactyas to Chios. After this he was dragged forcibly from
the temple of Athene Poliuchos by the Chians and delivered up: and the
Chians delivered him up receiving Atarneus in , (now this Atarneus is a
region of Mysia 162 opposition Lesbos). So the Persians having received
Pactyas kept him under guard, meaning to produce him before Cyrus. And
a long time elapsed during which none of the Chians either used
barley-meal grown in this region of Atarneus, for pouring out in
sacrifice to any god, or baked cakes for offering of the corn which grew
there, but all the produce of this land was excluded from every kind of
sacred service.

161. The men of Chios had then delivered up Pactyas; and after this
Mazares made expedition against those who had joined in besieging
Tabalos: and first he reduced to slavery those of Priene, then he
overran the whole plain of the Maiander making spoil of it for his army,
and Magnesia in the same manner: and straightway after this he fell sick
and died.

162. After he was dead, Harpagos came down to take his place in command,
being also a Mede by race (this was the man whom the king of the Medes
Astyages feasted with the unlawful banquet, and who helped to give the
kingdom to Cyrus). This man, being appointed commander then by Cyrus,
came to Ionia and proceeded to take the cities by throwing up mounds
against them: for when he had enclosed any people within their walls,
then he threw up mounds against the walls and took their city by storm;
and the first city of Ionia upon which he made an attempt was Phocaia.

163. Now these Phocaians were the first of the Hellenes who made long
voyages, and these are they who discovered the Adriatic and Tyrsenia and
Iberia and Tartessos: and they made voyages not in round ships, but in
vessels of fifty oars. These came to Tartessos and became friends with
the king of the Tartessians whose name was Arganthonios: he was ruler
of the Tartessians for eighty years and lived in all one hundred and
twenty. With this man, I say, the Phocaians became so exceedingly
friendly, that first he bade them leave Ionia and dwell wherever they
desired in his own land; and as he did not prevail upon the Phocaians
to do this, afterwards, hearing from them of the Mede how his power was
increasing, he gave them money to build a wall about their city: and he
did this without sparing, for the circuit of the wall is many furlongs
163 in extent, and it is built all of large stones closely fitted
together.

164. The wall of the Phocaians was made in this manner: and Harpagos
having marched his army against them began to besiege them, at the same
time holding forth to them proposals and saying that it was enough to
satisfy him if the Phocaians were willing to throw down one battlement
of their wall and dedicate one single house. 164 But the Phocaians,
being very greatly grieved at the thought of subjection, said that they
wished to deliberate about the matter for one day and after that they
would give their answer; and they asked him to withdraw his army from
the wall while they were deliberating. Harpagos said that he knew very
well what they were meaning to do, nevertheless he was willing to allow
them to deliberate. So in the time that followed, when Harpagos
had withdrawn his army from the wall, the Phocaians drew down their
fifty-oared galleys to the sea, put into them their children and women
and all their movable goods, and besides them the images out of the
temples and the other votive offerings except such as were made of
bronze or stone or consisted of paintings, all the rest, I say, they
put into the ships, and having embarked themselves they sailed towards
Chios; and the Persians obtained possession of Phocaia, the city being
deserted of the inhabitants.

165. But as for the Phocaians, since the men of Chios would not sell
them at their request the islands called Oinussai, from the fear lest
these islands might be made a seat of trade and their island might be
shut out, therefore they set out for Kyrnos: 165 for in Kyrnos
twenty years before this they had established a city named Alalia, in
accordance with an oracle, (now Arganthonios by that time was dead). And
when they were setting out for Kyrnos they first sailed to Phocaia and
slaughtered the Persian garrison, to whose charge Harpagos had
delivered the city; then after they had achieved this they made solemn
imprecations on any one of them who should be left behind from their
voyage, and moreover they sank a mass of iron in the sea and swore that
not until that mass should appear again on the surface 166 would they to
Phocaia. However as they were setting forth to Kyrnos, more than half of
the citizens were seized with yearning and regret for their city and for
their native land, and they proved false to their oath and sailed back
to Phocaia. But those of them who kept the oath still, weighed anchor
from the islands of Oinussai and sailed.

166. When these came to Kyrnos, for five years they dwelt together with
those who had come thither before, and they founded temples there.
Then, since they plundered the property of all their neighbours,
the Tyrsenians and Carthaginians 167 made expedition against them by
agreement with one another, each with sixty ships. And the Phocaians
also manned their vessels, sixty in number, and came to meet the enemy
in that which is called the Sardinian sea: and when they encountered one
another in the sea-fight the Phocaians won a kind of Cadmean victory,
for forty of their ships were destroyed and the remaining twenty were
disabled, having had their prows bent aside. So they sailed in to Alalia
and took up their children and their women and their other possessions
as much as their ships proved capable of carrying, and then they left
Kyrnos behind them and sailed to Rhegion.

167. But as for the crews of the ships that were destroyed, the
Carthaginians and Tyrsenians obtained much the greater number of them,
168 and these they brought to land and killed by stoning. After this the
men of Agylla found that everything which passed by the spot where the
Phocaians were laid after being stoned, became either distorted, or
crippled, or paralysed, both small cattle and beasts of burden and
human creatures: so the men of Agylla sent to Delphi desiring to purge
themselves of the offence; and the Pythian prophetess bade them do that
which the men of Agylla still continue to perform, that is to say, they
make great sacrifices in honour of the dead, and hold at the place a
contest of athletics and horse-racing. These then of the Phocaians had
the fate which I have said; but those of them who took refuge at Rhegion
started from thence and took possession of that city in the land of
Oinotria which now is called Hyele. This they founded having learnt from
a man of Poseidonia that the Pythian prophetess by her answer meant
them to found a temple to Kyrnos, who was a hero, and not to found a
settlement in the island of Kyrnos. 169

168. About Phocaia in Ionia it happened thus, and nearly the same thing
also was done by the men of Teos: for as soon as Harpagos took their
wall with a mound, they embarked in their ships and sailed straightway
for Thrace; and there they founded the city of Abdera, which before
them Timesios of Clazomenai founded and had no profit therefrom, but
was driven out by the Thracians; and now he is honoured as a hero by the
Teïans in Abdera.

169. These alone of all the Ionians left their native cities because
they would not endure subjection: but the other Ionians except the
Milesians did indeed contend in arms with Harpagos like those who left
their homes, and proved themselves brave men, fighting each for his own
native city; but when they were defeated and captured they remained all
in their own place and performed that which was laid upon them: but the
Milesians, as I have also said before, had made a sworn agreement with
Cyrus himself and kept still. Thus for the second time Ionia had been
reduced to subjection. And when Harpagos had conquered the Ionians on
the mainland, then the Ionians who dwelt in the islands, being struck
with fear by these things, gave themselves over to Cyrus.

170. When the Ionians had been thus evilly entreated but were continuing
still to hold their gatherings as before at the Panionion, Bias a man
of Priene set forth to the Ionians, as I am informed, a most profitable
counsel, by following which they might have been the most prosperous
of all the Hellenes. He urged that the Ionians should set forth in one
common expedition and sail to Sardinia, and after that found a single
city for all the Ionians: and thus they would escape subjection and
would be prosperous, inhabiting the largest of all islands and being
rulers over others; whereas, if they remained in Ionia, he did not
perceive, he said, that freedom would any longer exist for them. This
was the counsel given by Bias of Priene after the Ionians had been
ruined; but a good counsel too was given before the ruin of Ionia
by Thales a man of Miletos, who was by descent of Phenician race. He
advised the Ionians to have one single seat of government, 170 and that
this should be at Teos (for Teos, he said, was in the centre of Ionia),
and that the other cities should be inhabited as before, but accounted
just as if they were demes.

These men 171 set forth to them counsels of the kind which I have said:

171. but Harpagos, after subduing Ionia, proceeded to march against the
Carians and Caunians and Lykians, taking also Ionians and Aiolians to
help him. Of these the Carians came to the mainland from the islands;
for being of old time subjects of Minos and being called Leleges, they
used to dwell in the islands, paying no tribute, so far back as I am
able to arrive by hearsay, but whenever Minos required it, they used
to supply his ships with seamen: and as Minos subdued much land and was
fortunate in his fighting, the Carian nation was of all nations by much
the most famous at that time together with him. And they produced three
inventions of which the Hellenes adopted the use; that is to say, the
Carians were those who first set the fashion of fastening crests on
helmets, and of making the devices which are put onto shields, and these
also were the first who made handles for their shields, whereas up to
that time all who were wont to use shields carried them without handles
and with leathern straps to guide them, having them hung about their
necks and their left shoulders. Then after the lapse of a long time the
Dorians and Ionians drove the Carians out of the islands, and so they
came to the mainland. With respect to the Carians the Cretans relate
that it happened thus; the Carians themselves however do not agree with
this account, but suppose that they are dwellers on the mainland from
the beginning, 172 and that they went always by the same name which they
have now: and they point as evidence of this to an ancient temple of
Carian Zeus at Mylasa, in which the Mysians and Lydians share as being
brother races of the Carians, for they say that Lydos and Mysos were
brothers of Car; these share in it, but those who being of another race
have come to speak the same language as the Carians, these have no share
in it.

172. It seems to me however that the Caunians are dwellers there from
the beginning, though they say themselves that they came from Crete: but
they have been assimilated to the Carian race in language, or else the
Carians to the Caunian race, I cannot with certainty determine which.
They have customs however in which they differ very much from all other
men as well as from the Carians; for example the fairest thing in their
estimation is to meet together in numbers for drinking, according to
equality of age or friendship, both men, women, and children; and again
when they had founded temples for foreign deities, afterwards they
changed their purpose and resolved to worship only their own native
gods, and the whole body of Caunian young men put on their armour and
made pursuit as far as the borders of the Calyndians, beating the air
with their spears; and they said that they were casting the foreign gods
out of the land. Such are the customs which these have.

173. The Lykians however have sprung originally from Crete (for in old
time the whole of Crete was possessed by Barbarians): and when the sons
of Europa, Sarpedon and Minos, came to be at variance in Crete about the
kingdom, Minos having got the better in the strife of parties drove
out both Sarpedon himself and those of his party: and they having been
expelled came to the land of Milyas in Asia, for the land which now the
Lykians inhabit was anciently called Milyas, and the Milyans were then
called Solymoi. Now while Sarpedon reigned over them, they were called
by the name which they had when they came thither, and by which the
Lykians are even now called by the neighbouring tribes, namely Termilai;
but when from Athens Lycos the son of Pandion came to the land of the
Termilai and to Sarpedon, he too having been driven out by his brother
namely Aigeus, then by the name taken from Lycos they were called after
a time Lykians. The customs which these have are partly Cretan and
partly Carian; but one custom they have which is peculiar to them, and
in which they agree with no other people, that is they call themselves
by their mothers and not by their fathers; and if one asks his neighbour
who he is, he will state his parentage on the mother's side and
enumerate his mother's female ascendants: and if a woman who is a
citizen marry a slave, the children are accounted to be of gentle birth;
but if a man who is a citizen, though he were the first man among them,
have a slave for wife or concubine, the children are without civil
rights.

174. Now the Carians were reduced to subjection by Harpagos without any
brilliant deed displayed either by the Carians themselves or by those
of the Hellenes who dwell in this land. Of these last there are besides
others the men of Cnidos, settlers from Lacedemon, whose land runs out
into the sea, 173 being in fact the region which is called Triopion,
beginning from the peninsula of Bybassos: and since all the land of
Cnidos except a small part is washed by the sea (for the part of it
which looks towards the North is bounded by the Gulf of Keramos, and
that which looks to the South by the sea off Syme and Rhodes), therefore
the men of Cnidos began to dig through this small part, which is about
five furlongs across, while Harpagos was subduing Ionia, desiring to
make their land an island: and within the isthmus all was theirs, 174
for where the territory of Cnidos ends in the direction of the mainland,
here is the isthmus which they were digging across. And while the
Cnidians were working at it with a great number of men, it was perceived
that the men who worked suffered injury much more than might have been
expected and in a more supernatural manner, both in other parts of their
bodies and especially in their eyes, when the rock was being broken
up; so they sent men to ask the Oracle at Delphi what the cause of
the difficulty was. And the Pythian prophetess, as the men of Cnidos
themselves report, gave them this reply in trimeter verse:—

"Fence not the place with towers, nor dig the isthmus through; Zeus would have made your land an island, had he willed."

When the Pythian prophetess had given this oracle, the men of Cnidos
not only ceased from their digging but delivered themselves to Harpagos
without resistance, when he came against them with his army.

175. There were also the Pedasians, who dwelt in the inland country
above Halicarnassos; and among these, whenever anything hurtful is about
to happen either to themselves or to their neighbours, the priestess
of Athene has a great beard: this befell them three times. These of
all about Caria were the only men who held out for any time against
Harpagos, and they gave him trouble more than any other people, having
fortified a mountain called Lide.

176. After a time the Pedasians were conquered; and the Lykians, when
Harpagos marched his army into the plain of Xanthos, came out against
him 175 and fought, few against many, and displayed proofs of valour;
but being defeated and confined within their city, they gathered
together into the citadel their wives and their children, their property
and their servants, and after that they set fire to this citadel, so
that it was all in flames, and having done so and sworn terrible oaths
with one another, they went forth against the enemy 176 and were slain
in fight, that is to say all the men of Xanthos: and of the Xanthians
who now claim to be Lykians the greater number have come in from abroad,
except only eighty households; but these eighty households happened
at that time to be away from their native place, and so they escaped
destruction. Thus Harpagos obtained possession of Caunos, for the men of
Caunos imitated in most respects the behaviour of the Lykians.

177. So Harpagos was conquering the coast regions of Asia; and Cyrus
himself meanwhile was doing the same in the upper parts of it, subduing
every nation and passing over none. Now most of these actions I shall
pass over in silence, but the undertakings which gave him trouble more
than the rest and which are the most worthy of note, of these I shall
make mention.

178. Cyrus, so soon as he had made subject to himself all other parts
of the mainland, proceeded to attack the Assyrians. Now Assyria
has doubtless many other great cities, but the most famous and the
strongest, and the place where the seat of their monarchy had been
established after Nineveh was destroyed, was Babylon; which was a city
such as I shall say.—It lies in a great plain, and in size it is such
that each face measures one hundred and twenty furlongs, 177 the shape
of the whole being square; thus the furlongs of the circuit of the city
amount in all to four hundred and eighty. Such is the size of the city
of Babylon, and it had a magnificence greater than all other cities of
which we have knowledge. First there runs round it a trench deep and
broad and full of water; then a wall fifty royal cubits in thickness
and two hundred cubits in height: now the royal cubit is larger by three
fingers than the common cubit. 178

179. I must also tell in addition to this for what purpose the earth was
used, which was taken out of the trench, and in what manner the wall was
made. As they dug the trench they made the earth which was carried out
of the excavation into bricks, and having moulded enough bricks they
baked them in kilns; and then afterwards, using hot asphalt for mortar
and inserting reed mats at every thirty courses of brickwork, they built
up first the edges of the trench and then the wall itself in the same
manner: and at the top of the wall along the edges they built chambers
of one story facing one another; and between the rows of chambers they
left space to drive a four-horse chariot. In the circuit of the wall
there are set a hundred gates made of bronze throughout, and the
gate-posts and lintels likewise. Now there is another city distant from
Babylon a space of eight days' journey, of which the name is Is; and
there is a river there of no great size, and the name of the river is
also Is, and it sends its stream into the river Euphrates. This river Is
throws up together with its water lumps of asphalt in great abundance,
and thence was brought the asphalt for the wall of Babylon.

180. Babylon then was walled in this manner; and there are two divisions
of the city; for a river whose name is Euphrates parts it in the middle.
This flows from the land of the Armenians and is large and deep and
swift, and it flows out into the Erythraian sea. The wall then on each
side has its bends 179 carried down to the river, and from this point
the walls stretch along each bank of the stream in the form of a rampart
of baked bricks: and the city itself is full of houses of three and
four stories, and the roads by which it is cut up run in straight lines,
including the cross roads which lead to the river; and opposite to each
road there were set gates in the rampart which ran along the river, in
many in number as the ways, 180 and these also were of bronze and led
like the ways 181 to the river itself.

181. This wall then which I have mentioned is as it were a cuirass 182
for the town, and another wall runs round within it, not much weaker for
defence than the first but enclosing a smaller space. 183 And in each
division of the city was a building in the midst, in the one the king's
palace of great extent and strongly fortified round, and in the other
the temple of Zeus Belos with bronze gates, and this exists still up to
my time and measures two furlongs each way, 184 being of a square shape:
and in the midst of the temple 185 is built a solid tower measuring a
furlong both in length and in breadth, and on this tower another tower
has been erected, and another again upon this, and so on up to the
number of eight towers. An ascent to these has been built running
outside round about all the towers; and when one reaches about the
middle of the ascent one finds a stopping-place and seats to rest upon,
on which those who ascend sit down and rest: and on the top of the last
tower there is a large cell, 186 and in the cell a large couch is laid,
well covered, and by it is placed a golden table: and there is no image
there set up nor does any human being spend the night there except only
one woman of the natives of the place, whomsoever the god shall choose
from all the woman, as say the Chaldeans who are the priests of this
god.

182. These same men say also, but I do not believe them, that the god
himself comes often to the cell and rests upon the couch, as happens
likewise in the Egyptian Thebes according to the report of the
Egyptians, for there also a woman sleeps in the temple of the Theban
Zeus (and both these women are said to abstain from commerce with men),
and as happens also with the prophetess 187 of the god in Patara of
Lykia, whenever there is one, for there is not always an Oracle there,
but whenever there is one, then she is shut up during the nights in the
temple within the cell.

183. There is moreover in the temple at Babylon another cell below,
wherein is a great image of Zeus sitting, made of gold, and by it is
placed a large table of gold, and his footstool and seat are of gold
also; and, as the Chaldeans reported, the weight of the gold of which
these things are made is eight hundred talents. Outside this cell is
an altar of gold; and there is also another altar of great size, where
full-grown animals 188 are sacrificed, whereas on the golden altar it
is not lawful to sacrifice any but young sucklings only: and also on the
larger altar the Chaldeans offer one thousand talents of frankincense
every year at the time when they celebrate the feast in honour of this
god. There was moreover in these precincts still remaining at the time
of Cyrus, 189 a statue twelve cubits high, of gold and solid. This I
did not myself see, but that which is related by the Chaldeans I relate.
Against this statue Dareios the son of Hystaspes formed a design, but
he did not venture to take it: it was taken however by Xerxes the son of
Dareios, who also killed the priest when he forbade him to meddle with
the statue. This temple, then, is thus adorned with magnificence, and
there are also many private votive-offerings.

184. Of this Babylon, besides many other rulers, of whom I shall make
mention in the Assyrian history, and who added improvement to the walls
and temples, there were also two who were women. Of these, the one who
ruled first, named Semiramis, who lived five generations before the
other, produced banks of earth in the plain which are a sight worth
seeing; and before this the river used to flood like a sea over the
whole plain.

185. The queen who lived after her time, named Nitocris, was wiser than
she who had reigned before; and in the first place she left behind her
monuments which I shall tell of; then secondly, seeing that the monarchy
of the Medes was great and not apt to remain still, but that besides
other cities even Nineveh had been captured by it, she made provision
against it in so far as she was able. First, as regards the river
Euphrates which flows through the midst of their city, whereas before
this it flowed straight, she by digging channels above made it so
winding that it actually comes three times in its course to one of the
villages in Assyria; and the name of the village to which the Euphrates
comes is Ardericca; and at this day those who travel from this Sea of
ours to Babylon, in their voyage down the river Euphrates 18901 arrive
three times at this same village and on three separate days. This she
did thus; and she also piled up a mound along each bank of the river,
which is worthy to cause wonder for its size and height: and at a great
distance above Babylon, she dug a basin for a lake, which she caused to
extend along at a very small distance from the river, 190 excavating it
everywhere of such depth as to come to water, and making the extent such
that the circuit of it measured four hundred and twenty furlongs: and
the earth which was dug out of this excavation she used up by piling it
in mounds along the banks of the river: and when this had been dug by
her she brought stones and set them all round it as a facing wall. Both
these two things she did, that is she made the river to have a winding
course, and she made the place which was dug out all into a swamp, in
order that the river might run more slowly, having its force broken
by going round many bends, and that the voyages might be winding to
Babylon, and after the voyages there might succeed a long circuit of the
pool. These works she carried out in that part where the entrance to the
country was, and the shortest way to it from Media, so that the Medes
might not have dealings with her kingdom and learn of her affairs.

186. These defences she cast round her city from the depth; and she made
the following addition which was dependent upon them:—The city was in
two divisions, and the river occupied the space between; and in the
time of the former rulers, when any one wished to pass over from the
one division to the other, he had to pass over in a boat, and that, as I
imagine, was troublesome: she however made provision also for this; for
when she was digging the basin for the lake she left this other monument
of herself derived from the same work, that is, she caused stones to be
cut of very great length, and when the stones were prepared for her and
the place had been dug out, she turned aside the whole stream of the
river into the place which she had been digging; and while this was
being filled with water, the ancient bed of the river being dried up in
the meantime, she both built up with baked bricks after the same fashion
as the wall the edges of the river, where it flows through the city, and
the places of descent leading from the small gateways to the river; and
also about the middle of the city, as I judge, with the stones which
she had caused to be dug out she proceeded to build a bridge, binding
together the stones with iron and lead: and upon the top she laid
squared timbers across, to remain there while it was daytime, over which
the people of Babylon made the passage across; but at night they used to
take away these timbers for this reason, namely that they might not go
backwards and forwards by night and steal from one another: and when the
place dug out had been made into a lake full of water by the river, and
at the same time the bridge had been completed, then she conducted the
Euphrates back into its ancient channel from the lake, and so the
place dug out being made into a swamp was thought to have served a good
purpose, and there had been a bridge set up for the men of the city.

187. This same queen also contrived a snare of the following kind:—Over
that gate of the city through which the greatest number of people passed
she set up for herself a tomb above the very gate itself. And on the
tomb she engraved writing which said thus: "If any of the kings of
Babylon who come after me shall be in want of wealth, let him open my
tomb and take as much as he desires; but let him not open it for any
other cause, if he be not in want; for that will not be well." 191 This
tomb was undisturbed until the kingdom came to Dareios; but to Dareios
it seemed that it was a monstrous thing not to make any use of this
gate, and also, when there was money lying there, not to take it,
considering that the money itself invited him to do so. Now the reason
why he would not make any use of this gate was because the corpse would
have been above his head as he drove through. He then, I say, opened the
tomb and found not indeed money but the corpse, with writing which said
thus: "If thou hadst not been insatiable of wealth and basely covetous,
thou wouldest not have opened the resting-places of the dead."

188. This queen then is reported to have been such as I have described:
and it was the son of this woman, bearing the same name as his father,
Labynetos, and being ruler over the Assyrians, against whom Cyrus was
marching. Now the great king makes his marches not only well furnished
192 from home with provisions for his table and with cattle, but also
taking with him water from the river Choaspes, which flows by Susa, of
which alone and of no other river the king drinks: and of this water of
the Choaspes boiled, a very great number of waggons, four-wheeled
and drawn by mules, carry a supply in silver vessels, and go with him
wherever he may march at any time.

189. Now when Cyrus on his way towards Babylon arrived at the river
Gyndes,—of which river the springs are in the mountains of the
Matienians, and it flows through the Dardanians and runs into another
river, the Tigris, which flowing by the city of Opis runs out into the
Erythraian Sea,—when Cyrus, I say, was endeavouring to cross this river
Gyndes, which is a navigable stream, then one of his sacred white horses
in high spirit and wantonness went into the river and endeavoured to
cross, but the stream swept it under water and carried it off forthwith.
And Cyrus was greatly moved with anger against the river for having done
thus insolently, and he threatened to make it so feeble that for the
future even women could cross it easily without wetting the knee. So
after this threat he ceased from his march against Babylon and divided
his army into two parts; and having divided it he stretched lines and
marked out straight channels, 193 one hundred and eighty on each bank of
the Gyndes, directed every way, and having disposed his army along them
he commanded them to dig: so, as a great multitude was working, the work
was completed indeed, but they spent the whole summer season at this
spot working.

190. When Cyrus had taken vengeance on the river Gyndes by dividing it
into three hundred and sixty channels, and when the next spring was just
beginning, then at length he continued his advance upon Babylon: and
the men of Babylon had marched forth out of their city and were awaiting
him. So when in his advance he came near to the city, the Babylonians
joined battle with him, and having been worsted in the fight they were
shut up close within their city. But knowing well even before this that
Cyrus was not apt to remain still, and seeing him lay hands on every
nation equally, they had brought in provisions beforehand 194 for very
many years. So while these made no account of the siege, Cyrus was
in straits what to do, for much time went by and his affairs made no
progress onwards.

191. Therefore, whether it was some other man who suggested it to him
when he was in a strait what to do, or whether he of himself perceived
what he ought to do, he did as follows:—The main body of his army 195 he
posted at the place where the river runs into the city, and then again
behind the city he set others, where the river issues forth from the
city; and he proclaimed to his army that so soon as they should see that
the stream had become passable, they should enter by this way into the
city. Having thus set them in their places and in this manner exhorted
them he marched away himself with that part of his army which was not
fit for fighting: and when he came to the lake, Cyrus also did the same
things which the queen of the Babylonians had done as regards the river
and the lake; that is to say, he conducted the river by a channel into
the lake, which was at that time a swamp, and so made the former course
of the river passable by the sinking of the stream. When this had been
done in such a manner, the Persians who had been posted for this very
purpose entered by the bed of the river Euphrates into Babylon, the
stream having sunk so far that it reached about to the middle of a man's
thigh. Now if the Babylonians had had knowledge of it beforehand or had
perceived that which was being done by Cyrus, they would have allowed
196 the Persians to enter the city and then destroyed them miserably;
for if they had closed all the gates that led to the river and mounted
themselves upon the ramparts which were carried along the banks of the
stream, they would have caught them as it were in a fish-wheal: but as
it was, the Persians came upon them unexpectedly; and owing to the size
of the city (so it is said by those who dwell there) after those about
the extremities of the city had suffered capture, those Babylonians who
dwelt in the middle did not know that they had been captured; but
as they chanced to be holding a festival, they went on dancing and
rejoicing during this time until they learnt the truth only too well.

Babylon then had thus been taken for the first time:

192, and as to the resources of the Babylonians how great they are, I
shall show by many other proofs and among them also by this:—For the
support of the great king and his army, apart from the regular tribute
the whole land of which he is ruler has been distributed into portions.
Now whereas twelve months go to make up the year, for four of these he
has his support from the territory of Babylon, and for the remaining
eight months from the whole of the rest of Asia; thus the Assyrian
land is in regard to resources the third part of all Asia: and the
government, or satrapy as it is called by the Persians, of this
territory is of all the governments by far the best; seeing that when
Tritantaichmes son of Artabazos had this province from the king, there
came in to him every day an artab full of silver coin (now the artab
is a Persian measure and holds more than the medimnos of Attica 197 by
three Attic choinikes); and of horses he had in this province as his
private property, apart from the horses for use in war, eight hundred
stallions and sixteen thousand mares, for each of these stallions served
twenty mares: of Indian hounds moreover such a vast number were
kept that four large villages in the plain, being free from other
contributions, had been appointed to provide food for the hounds.

193. Such was the wealth which belonged to the ruler of Babylon. Now
the land of the Assyrians has but little rain; and this little gives
nourishment to the root of the corn, but the crop is ripened and the ear
comes on by the help of watering from the river, not as in Egypt by the
coming up of the river itself over the fields, but the crop is watered
by hand or with swing-buckets. For the whole Babylonian territory like
the Egyptian is cut up into channels, and the largest of the channels is
navigable for ships and runs in the direction of the sunrising in winter
from the Euphrates to another river, namely the Tigris, along the bank
of which lay the city of Nineveh. This territory is of all that we know
the best by far for producing corn: 198 as to trees, 199 it does
not even attempt to bear them, either fig or vine or olive, but for
producing corn it is so good that it s as much as two-hundred-fold
for the average, and when it bears at its best it produces
three-hundred-fold. The leaves of the wheat and barley there grow to
be full four fingers broad; and from millet and sesame seed how large
a tree grows, I know myself but shall not record, being well aware that
even what has already been said relating to the crops produced has been
enough to cause disbelief in those who have not visited the Babylonian
land. They use no oil of olives, but only that which they make of sesame
seed; and they have date-palms growing over all the plain, most of them
fruit-bearing, of which they make both solid food and wine and honey;
and to these they attend in the same manner as to fig-trees, and in
particular they take the fruit of those palms which the Hellenes call
male-palms, and tie them upon the date-bearing palms, so that their
gall-fly may enter into the date and ripen it and that the fruit of
the palm may not fall off: for the male-palm produces gall-flies in its
fruit just as the wild-fig does.

194. But the greatest marvel of all the things in the land after the
city itself, to my mind is this which I am about to tell: Their boats,
those I mean which go down the river to Babylon, are round and all of
leather: for they make ribs for them of willow which they cut in the
land of the Armenians who dwell above the Assyrians, and round these
they stretch hides which serve as a covering outside by way of hull, not
making broad the stern nor gathering in the prow to a point, but making
the boats round like a shield: and after that they stow the whole boat
with straw and suffer it to be carried down the stream full of cargo;
and for the most part these boats bring down casks of palm-wood 200
filled with wine. The boat is kept straight by two steering-oars and
two men standing upright, and the man inside pulls his oar while the man
outside pushes. 201 These vessels are made both of very large size and
also smaller, the largest of them having a burden of as much as five
thousand talents' weight; 202 and in each one there is a live ass, and
in those of larger size several. So when they have arrived at Babylon in
their voyage and have disposed of their cargo, they sell by auction the
ribs of the boat and all the straw, but they pack the hides upon their
asses and drive them off to Armenia: for up the stream of the river
it is not possible by any means to sail, owing to the swiftness of the
current; and for this reason they make their boats not of timber but
of hides. Then when they have come back to the land of the Armenians,
driving their asses with them, they make other boats in the same manner.

195. Such are their boats; and the following is the manner of dress
which they use, namely a linen tunic reaching to the feet, and over this
they put on another of wool, and then a white mantle thrown round, while
they have shoes of a native fashion rather like the Boeotian slippers.
They wear their hair long and bind their heads round with fillets, 203
and they are anointed over the whole of their body with perfumes. Each
man has a seal and a staff carved by hand, and on each staff is carved
either an apple or a rose or a lily or an eagle or some other device,
for it is not their custom to have a staff without a device upon it.

196. Such is the equipment of their bodies: and the customs which are
established among them are as follows, the wisest in our opinion being
this, which I am informed that the Enetoi in Illyria also have. In every
village once in each year it was done as follows:—When the maidens
204 grew to the age for marriage, they gathered these all together and
brought them in a body to one place, and round them stood a company of
men: and the crier caused each one severally to stand up, and proceeded
to sell them, first the most comely of all, and afterwards, when she had
been sold and had fetched a large sum of money, he would put up another
who was the most comely after her: and they were sold for marriage. Now
all the wealthy men of the Babylonians who were ready to marry vied with
one another in bidding for the most beautiful maidens; those however of
the common sort who were ready to marry did not require a fine form, but
they would accept money together with less comely maidens. For when the
crier had made an end of selling the most comely of the maidens, then
he would cause to stand up that one who was least shapely, or any one of
them who might be crippled in any way, and he would make proclamation
of her, asking who was willing for least gold to have her in marriage,
until she was assigned to him who was willing to accept least: and the
gold would be got from the sale of the comely maidens, and so those
of beautiful form provided dowries for those which were unshapely or
crippled; but to give in marriage one's own daughter to whomsoever each
man would, was not allowed, nor to carry off the maiden after buying her
without a surety; for it was necessary for the man to provide sureties
that he would marry her, before he took her away; and if they did not
agree well together, the law was laid down that he should pay back
the money. It was allowed also for any one who wished it to come from
another village and buy. This then was their most honourable custom; it
does not however still exist at the present time, but they have found
out of late another way, in order that the men may not ill-treat them or
take them to another city: 205 for since the time when being conquered
they were oppressed and ruined, each one of the common people when he is
in want of livelihood prostitutes his female children.

197. Next in wisdom to that, is this other custom which was established
206 among them:—they bear out the sick into the market-place; for of
physicians they make no use. So people come up to the sick man and give
advice about his disease, if any one himself has ever suffered anything
like that which the sick man has, or saw any other who had suffered
it; and coming near they advise and recommend those means by which they
themselves got rid of a like disease or seen some other get rid of it:
and to pass by the sick man in silence is not permitted to them, nor
until one has asked what disease he has.

198. They bury their dead in honey, and their modes of lamentation
are similar to those used in Egypt. And whenever a Babylonian man has
intercourse with his wife, he sits by incense offered, and his wife does
the same on the other side, and when it is morning they wash themselves,
both of them, for they will touch no vessel until they have washed
themselves: and the Arabians do likewise in this matter.

199. Now the most shameful of the customs of the Babylonians is as
follows: every woman of the country must sit down in the precincts 207
of Aphrodite once in her life and have commerce with a man who is a
stranger: and many women who do not deign to mingle with the rest,
because they are made arrogant by wealth, drive to the temple with pairs
of horses in covered carriages, and so take their place, and a large
number of attendants follow after them; but the greater number do
thus,—in the sacred enclosure of Aphrodite sit great numbers of women
with a wreath of cord about their heads; some come and others go; and
there are passages in straight lines going between the women in every
direction, 208 through which the strangers pass by and make their
choice. Here when a woman takes her seat she does not depart again to
her house until one of the strangers has thrown a silver coin into her
lap and has had commerce with her outside the temple, and after throwing
it he must say these words only: "I demand thee in the name of the
goddess Mylitta": 209 now Mylitta is the name given by the Assyrians to
Aphrodite: and the silver coin may be of any value; whatever it is she
will not refuse it, for that is not lawful for her, seeing that this
coin is made sacred by the act: and she follows the man who has first
thrown and does not reject any: and after that she departs to her house,
having acquitted herself of her duty to the goddess 210, nor will you
be able thenceforth to give any gift so great as to win her. So then as
many as have attained to beauty and stature 211 are speedily released,
but those of them who are unshapely remain there much time, not being
able to fulfil the law; for some of them remain even as much as three or
four years: and in some parts of Cyprus too there is a custom similar to
this.

200. These customs then are established among the Babylonians: and there
are of them three tribes 212 which eat nothing but fish only: and when
they have caught them and dried them in the sun they do thus,—they
throw them into brine, and then pound them with pestles and strain them
through muslin; and they have them for food either kneaded into a soft
cake, or baked like bread, according to their liking.

201. When this nation also had been subdued by Cyrus, he had a desire to
bring the Massagetai into subjection to himself. This nation is reputed
to be both great and warlike, and to dwell towards the East and the
sunrising, beyond the river Araxes and over against 213 the Issedonians:
and some also say that this nation is of Scythian race.

202. Now the Araxes is said by some to be larger and by others to be
smaller than the Ister: and they say that there are many islands in it
about equal in size to Lesbos, and in them people dwelling who feed in
the summer upon roots of all kinds which they dig up and certain fruits
from trees, which have been discovered by them for food, they store up,
it is said, in the season when they are ripe and feed upon them in the
winter. Moreover it is said that other trees have been discovered by
them which yield fruit of such a kind that when they have assembled
together in companies in the same place and lighted a fire, they sit
round in a circle and throw some of it into the fire, and they smell the
fruit which is thrown on, as it burns, and are intoxicated by the scent
as the Hellenes are with wine, and when more of the fruit is thrown on
they become more intoxicated, until at last they rise up to dance and
begin to sing. This is said to be their manner of living: and as to the
river Araxes, it flows from the land of the Matienians, whence flows the
Gyndes which Cyrus divided into the three hundred and sixty channels,
and it discharges itself by forty branches, of which all except one end
in swamps and shallow pools; and among them they say that men dwell who
feed on fish eaten raw, and who are wont to use as clothing the skins of
seals: but the one remaining branch of the Araxes flows with unimpeded
course into the Caspian Sea.

203. Now the Caspian Sea is apart by itself, not having connection with
the other Sea: for all that Sea which the Hellenes navigate, and the Sea
beyond the Pillars, which is called Atlantis, and the Erythraian Sea are
in fact all one, but the Caspian is separate and lies apart by itself.
In length it is a voyage of fifteen days if one uses oars, 214 and
in breadth, where it is broadest, a voyage of eight days. On the side
towards the West of this Sea the Caucasus runs along by it, which is of
all mountain-ranges both the greatest in extent and the loftiest: and
the Caucasus has many various races of men dwelling in it, living for
the most part on the wild produce of the forests; and among them
there are said to be trees which produce leaves of such a kind that by
pounding them and mixing water with them they paint figures upon their
garments, and the figures do not wash out, but grow old with the woollen
stuff as if they had been woven into it at the first: and men say that
the sexual intercourse of these people is open like that of cattle.

204. On the West then of this Sea which is called Caspian the Caucasus
is the boundary, while towards the East and the rising sun a plain
succeeds which is of limitless extent to the view. Of this great plain
then the Massagetai occupy a large part, against whom Cyrus had become
eager to march; for there were many strong reasons which incited him to
it and urged him onwards,—first the manner of his birth, that is to say
the opinion held of him that he was more than a mere mortal man,
and next the success which he had met with 215 in his wars, for
whithersoever Cyrus directed his march, it was impossible for that
nation to escape.

205. Now the ruler of the Massagetai was a woman, who was queen after
the death of her husband, and her name was Tomyris. To her Cyrus sent
and wooed her, pretending that he desired to have her for his wife:
but Tomyris understanding that he was wooing not herself but rather
the kingdom of the Massagetai, rejected his approaches: and Cyrus
after this, as he made no progress by craft, marched to the Araxes, and
proceeded to make an expedition openly against the Massagetai, forming
bridges of boats over the river for his army to cross, and building
towers upon the vessels which gave them passage across the river.

206. While he was busied about this labour, Tomyris sent a herald and
said thus: "O king of the Medes, cease to press forward the work which
thou art now pressing forward; for thou canst not tell whether these
things will be in the end for thy advantage or no; cease to do so, I
say, and be king over thine own people, and endure to see us ruling
those whom we rule. Since however I know that thou wilt not be willing
to receive this counsel, but dost choose anything rather than to be
at rest, therefore if thou art greatly anxious to make trial of the
Massagetai in fight, come now, leave that labour which thou hast in
yoking together the banks of the river, and cross over into our land,
when we have first withdrawn three days' journey from the river: or if
thou desirest rather to receive us into your land, do thou this same
thing thyself." Having heard this Cyrus called together the first men
among the Persians, and having gathered these together he laid the
matter before them for discussion, asking their advice as to which
of the two things he should do: and their opinions all agreed in one,
bidding him receive Tomyris and her army into his country.

207. But Croesus the Lydian, being present and finding fault with this
opinion, declared an opinion opposite to that which had been set forth,
saying as follows: "O king, I told thee in former time also, that since
Zeus had given me over to thee, I would avert according to my power
whatever occasion of falling I might see coming near thy house: and now
my sufferings, which have been bitter, 216 have proved to be lessons of
wisdom to me. If thou dost suppose that thou art immortal and that thou
dost command an army which is also immortal, it will be of no use for me
to declare to thee my judgment; but if thou hast perceived that thou art
a mortal man thyself and dost command others who are so likewise, then
learn this first, that for the affairs of men there is a revolving
wheel, and that this in its revolution suffers not the same persons
always to have good fortune. I therefore now have an opinion about the
matter laid before us, which is opposite to that of these men: for if we
shall consent to receive the enemy into our land, there is for thee this
danger in so doing:—if thou shalt be worsted thou wilt lose in addition
all thy realm, for it is evident that if the Massagetai are victors they
will not turn back and fly, but will march upon the provinces of thy
realm; and on the other hand if thou shalt be the victor, thou wilt not
be victor so fully as if thou shouldest overcome the Massagetai after
crossing over into their land and shouldest pursue them when they fled.
For against that which I said before I will set the same again here, and
say that thou, when thou hast conquered, wilt march straight against
the realm of Tomyris. Moreover besides that which has been said, it is
a disgrace and not to be endured that Cyrus the son of Cambyses should
yield to a woman and so withdraw from her land. Now therefore it seems
good to me that we should cross over and go forward from the crossing as
far as they go in their retreat, and endeavour to get the better of
them by doing as follows:—The Massagetai, as I am informed, are without
experience of Persian good things, and have never enjoyed any great
luxuries. Cut up therefore cattle without stint and dress the meat
and set out for these men a banquet in our camp: moreover also provide
without stint bowls of unmixed wine and provisions of every kind; and
having so done, leave behind the most worthless part of thy army and let
the rest begin to retreat from the camp towards the river: for if I
am not mistaken in my judgment, they when they see a quantity of good
things will fall to the feast, and after that it remains for us to
display great deeds."

208. These were the conflicting opinions; and Cyrus, letting go the
former opinion and choosing that of Croesus, gave notice to Tomyris to
retire, as he was intending to cross over to her. She then proceeded to
retire, as she had at first engaged to do, but Cyrus delivered Croesus
into the hands of his son Cambyses, to whom he meant to give the
kingdom, and gave him charge earnestly to honour him and to treat him
well, if the crossing over to go against the Massagetai should not be
prosperous. Having thus charged him and sent these away to the land of
the Persians, he crossed over the river both himself and his army.

209. And when he had passed over the Araxes, night having come on he saw
a vision in his sleep in the land of the Massagetai, as follows:—in his
sleep it seemed to Cyrus that he saw the eldest of the sons of Hystaspes
having upon his shoulders wings, and that with the one of these he
overshadowed Asia and with the other Europe. Now of Hystaspes the son
of Arsames, who was a man of the Achaimenid clan, the eldest son was
Dareios, who was then, I suppose, a youth of about twenty years of age,
and he had been left behind in the land of the Persians, for he was
not yet of full age to go out to the wars. So then when Cyrus awoke he
considered with himself concerning the vision: and as the vision seemed
to him to be of great import, he called Hystaspes, and having taken him
apart by himself he said: "Hystaspes, thy son has been found plotting
against me and against my throne: and how I know this for certain I will
declare to thee:—The gods have a care of me and show me beforehand all
the evils that threaten me. So in the night that is past while sleeping
I saw the eldest of thy sons having upon his shoulders wings, and with
the one of these he overshadowed Asia and with the other Europe. To
judge by this vision then, it cannot be but that he is plotting against
me. Do thou therefore go by the quickest way back to Persia and take
care that, when I thither after having subdued these regions, thou set
thy son before me to be examined."

210. Cyrus said thus supposing that Dareios was plotting against him;
but in fact the divine powers were showing him beforehand that he was
destined to find his end there and that his kingdom was coming about
to Dareios. To this then Hystaspes replied as follows: "O king, heaven
forbid 217 that there should be any man of Persian race who would plot
against thee, and if there be any, I pray that he perish as quickly as
may be; seeing that thou didst make the Persians to be free instead of
slaves, and to rule all nations instead of being ruled by others. And if
any vision announces to thee that my son is planning rebellion against
thee, I deliver him over to thee to do with him whatsoever thou wilt."

211. Hystaspes then, having made answer with these words and having
crossed over the Araxes, was going his way to the Persian land to keep
watch over his son Dareios for Cyrus; and Cyrus meanwhile went forward
and made a march of one day from the Araxes according to the suggestion
of Croesus. After this when Cyrus and the best part of the army 218 of
the Persians had marched back to the Araxes, and those who were unfit
for fighting had been left behind, then a third part of the army of
the Massagetai came to the attack and proceeded to slay, not without
resistance, 219 those who were left behind of the army of Cyrus; and
seeing the feast that was set forth, when they had overcome their
enemies they lay down and feasted, and being satiated with food and wine
they went to sleep. Then the Persians came upon them and slew many of
them, and took alive many more even than they slew, and among these the
son of the queen Tomyris, who was leading the army of the Massagetai;
and his name was Spargapises.

212. She then, when she heard that which had come to pass concerning the
army and also the things concerning her son, sent a herald to Cyrus and
said as follows: "Cyrus, insatiable of blood, be not elated with pride
by this which has come to pass, namely because with that fruit of the
vine, with which ye fill yourselves and become so mad that as the wine
descends into your bodies, evil words float up upon its stream,—because
setting a snare, I say, with such a drug as this thou didst overcome my
son, and not by valour in fight. Now therefore receive the word which
I utter, giving thee good advice:—Restore to me my son and depart from
this land without penalty, triumphant over a third part of the army of
the Massagetai: but if thou shalt not do so, I swear to thee by the Sun,
who is lord of the Massagetai, that surely I will give thee thy fill of
blood, insatiable as thou art."

213. When these words were reported to him Cyrus made no account of
them; and the son of the queen Tomyris, Spargapises, when the wine left
him and he learnt in what evil case he was, entreated Cyrus that he
might be loosed from his chains and gained his request, and then so
soon as he was loosed and had got power over his hands he put himself to
death.

214. He then ended his life in this manner; but Tomyris, as Cyrus did
not listen to her, gathered together all her power and joined battle
with Cyrus. This battle of all the battles fought by Barbarians I
judge to have been the fiercest, and I am informed that it happened
thus:—first, it is said, they stood apart and shot at one another, and
afterwards when their arrows were all shot away, they fell upon one
another and engaged in close combat with their spears and daggers; and
so they continued to be in conflict with one another for a long time,
and neither side would flee; but at last the Massagetai got the better
in the fight: and the greater part of the Persian army was destroyed
there on the spot, and Cyrus himself brought his life to an end there,
after he had reigned in all thirty years wanting one. Then Tomyris
filled a skin with human blood and had search made among the Persian
dead for the corpse of Cyrus: and when she found it, she let his head
down into the skin and doing outrage to the corpse she said at the
same time this: "Though I yet live and have overcome thee in fight,
nevertheless thou didst undo me by taking my son with craft: but I
according to my threat will give thee thy fill of blood." Now as regards
the end of the life of Cyrus there are many tales told, but this which I
have related is to my mind the most worthy of belief.

215. As to the Massagetai, they wear a dress which is similar to that of
the Scythians, and they have a manner of life which is also like theirs;
and there are of them horsemen and also men who do not ride on horses
(for they have both fashions), and moreover there are both archers
and spearmen, and their custom it is to carry battle-axes; 220 and for
everything they use either gold or bronze, for in all that has to do
with spear-points or arrow-heads or battle-axes they use bronze, but for
head-dresses and girdles and belts round the arm-pits 221 they employ
gold as ornament: and in like manner as regards their horses, they put
breast-plates of bronze about their chests, but on their bridles and
bits and cheek-pieces they employ gold. Iron however and silver they use
not at all, for they have them not in their land, but gold and bronze in
abundance.

216. These are the customs which they have:—Each marries a wife, but
they have their wives in common; for that which the Hellenes say that
the Scythians do, is not in fact done by the Scythians but by the
Massagetai, that is to say, whatever woman a man of the Massagetai may
desire he hangs up his quiver in front of the waggon and has commerce
with her freely. They have no precise limit of age laid down for their
life, but when a man becomes very old, his nearest of kin come together
and slaughter him solemnly 222 and cattle also with him; and then after
that they boil the flesh and banquet upon it. This is considered by them
the happiest lot; but him who has ended his life by disease they do not
eat, but cover him up in the earth, counting it a misfortune that he did
not attain to being slaughtered. They sow no crops but live on cattle
and on fish, which last they get in abundance from the river Araxes;
moreover they are drinkers of milk. Of gods they reverence the Sun
alone, and to him they sacrifice horses: and the rule 223 of the
sacrifice is this:—to the swiftest of the gods they assign the swiftest
of all mortal things.

—————

NOTES TO BOOK I

1 [ {'Erodotou 'Alikarnesseos istories apodexis ede, os k.t.l.} The
meaning of the word {istorie} passes gradually from "research" or
"inquiry" to "narrative," "history"; cp. vii. 96. Aristotle in quoting
these words writes {Thouriou} for {'Alikarnesseos} ("Herodotus of
Thurii"), and we know from Plutarch that this reading existed in his
time as a variation.]

2 [ Probably {erga} may here mean enduring monuments like the pyramids
and the works at Samos, cp. i. 93, ii. 35, etc.; in that case {ta te
alla} refers back to {ta genomena}, though the verb {epolemesan} derives
its subject from the mention of Hellenes and Barbarians in the preceding
clause.]

3 [ Many Editors have "with the Phenicians," on the authority of some inferior MSS. and of the Aldine edition.]

4 [ {arpages}.]

401 [ "thus or in some other particular way."]

5 [ {Surion}, see ch. 72. Herodotus perhaps meant to distinguish
{Surioi} from {Suroi}, and to use the first name for the Cappadokians
and the second for the people of Palestine, cp. ii. 104; but they are
naturally confused in the MSS.]

6 [ {ex epidromes arpage}.]

7 [ {tes anoigomenes thures}, "the door that is opened."]

8 [ Or "because she was ashamed."]

9 [ {phoitan}.]

10 [ {upeisdus}: Stein adopts the conjecture {upekdus}, "slipping out of his hiding-place."]

11 [ This last sentence is by many regarded as an interpolation. The line referred to is {Ou moi ta Gugeo tou polukhrosou melei}.]

12 [ See v. 92.]

13 [ i.e. like other kings of Lydia who came after him.]

14 [ {Kolophonos to astu}, as opposed apparently to the acropolis, cp. viii. 51.]

15 [ See ch. 73.]

16 [ {o kai esballon tenikauta es ten Milesien ten stratien}: an
allusion apparently to the invasions of the Milesian land at harvest
time, which are described above. All the operations mentioned in the
last chapter have been loosely described to Alyattes, and a correction
is here added to inform the reader that they belong equally to his
father. It will hardly mend matters much if we take {o Audos} in ch. 17
to include both father and son.]

17 [ {didaxanta}.]

18 [ This name is applied by Herodotus to the southern part of the peninsula only.]

19 [ Tarentum.]

20 [ {en toisi edolioisi}: properly "benches," but probably here the raised deck at the stern.]

21 [ {ou mega}: many of the MSS. have {mega}.]

22 [ {stadioi}: furlongs of about 606 English feet.]

23 [ {to epilogo}.]

24 [ This list of nations is by some suspected as an interpolation; see Stein's note on the passage.]

25 [ {sophistai}: cp. ii. 49, and iv. 95.]

26 [ {etheto}.]

27 [ {olbiotaton}.]

28 [ {stadious}.]

29 [ {romen}: many of the MSS. have {gnomen}, "good disposition."]

30 [ i.e. their mother: but some understand it to mean the goddess.]

31 [ {en telei touto eskhonto}.]

32 [ {anolbioi}.]

33 [ {eutukhees}.]

34 [ {aperos}: the MSS. have {apeiros}.]

35 [ {aikhme sideree blethenta}.]

36 [ "in the house of Croesus."]

37 [ {'Epistion}.]

38 [ {'Etaireion}.]

39 [ {suggrapsamenous}, i.e. have it written down by the {propsetes}
(see vii. 111 and viii. 37), who interpreted and put into regular verse
the inspired utterances of the prophetess {promantis}.]

40 [ {es to megaron}.]

41 [ {oida d' ego}: oracles often have a word of connection such as {de}
or {alla} at the beginning (cp. ch. 55, 174, etc.), which may indicate
that they are part of a larger connected utterance.]

42 [ Cp. vii. 178 and ix. 91 ("I accept the omen.")]

43 [ See viii. 134.]

44 [ {kai touton}, i.e. Amphiaraos: many Editors retain the readings of
the Aldine edition, {kai touto}, "that in this too he had found a true
Oracle."]

45 [ {emiplinthia}, the plinth being supposed to be square.]

46 [ {exapalaiota}, the palm being about three inches, cp. ii. 149.]

47 [ {apephthou khrusou}, "refined gold."]

48 [ {triton emitalanton}: the MSS. have {tria emitalanta}, which has been corrected partly on the authority of Valla's translation.]

49 [ "white gold."]

50 [ Arranged evidently in stages, of which the highest consisted of the
4 half-plinths of pure gold, the second of 15 half-plinths, the third of
35, the fourth of 63, making 117 in all: see Stein's note.]

51 [ {elkon stathmon einaton emitalanton kai eti duodeka mneas}. The {mnea} (mina) is 15.2 oz., and 60 of them go to a talent.]

52 [ {epi tou proneiou tes gonies}, cp. viii. 122: the use of {epi}
seems to suggest some kind of raised corner-stone upon which the
offerings stood.]

53 [ The {amphoreus} is about 9 gallons.]

54 [ Cp. iii. 41.]

55 [ {perirranteria}.]

56 [ {kheumata}, which some translate "jugs" or "bowls."]

57 [ {umin}, as if both Oracles were being addressed together.]

58 [ i.e. Delphi.]

59 [ {enephoreeto}, "he filled himself with it."]

60 [ {Krestona}: Niebuhr would read {Krotona} (Croton or Cortona in
Etruria), partly on the authority of Dionysius: see Stein's note. Two of
the best MSS. are defective in this part of the book.]

61 [ See ii. 51 and vi. 137.]

62 [ {auxetai es plethos ton ethneon pollon}: "has increased to a
multitude of its races, which are many." Stein and Abicht both venture
to adopt the conjecture {Pelasgon} for {pollon}, "Pelasgians especially
being added to them, and also many other Barbarian nations."]

6201 [ {pros de on emoige dokeei}: the MSS. have {emoi te}. Some Editors
read {os de on} (Stein {prosthe de on}) for {pros de on}. This
whole passage is probably in some way corrupt, but it can hardly be
successfully emended.]

63 [ i.e. as it is of the Hellenic race before it parted from the Pelasgian and ceased to be Barbarian.]

64 [ {katekhomenon te kai diespasmenon... upo Peisistratou}. Peisistratos was in part at least the cause of the divisions.]

65 [ {paralon}.]

66 [ {uperakrion}.]

67 [ {toutous}: some read by conjecture {triekosious}, "three hundred," the number which he actually had according to Polyænus, i. 21.]

68 [ {doruphoroi}, the usual word for a body-guard.]

69 [ {perielaunomenos de te stasi}: Stein says "harassed by attacks
of his own party," but the passage to which he refers in ch. 61,
{katallasseto ten ekhthren toisi stasiotesi}, may be referred to in the
quarrel made with his party by Megacles when he joined Peisistratos.]

70 [ More literally, "since from ancient time the Hellenic race had been
marked off from the Barbarians as being more skilful and more freed from
foolish simplicity, (and) since at that time among the Athenians, who
are accounted the first of the Hellenes in ability, these men devised a
trick as follows."]

71 [ The cubit is reckoned as 24 finger-breadths, i.e. about 18 inches.]

72 [ So Rawlinson.]

73 [ See v. 70.]

74 [ {dia endekatou eteos}. Not quite the same as {dia evdeka eteon}
("after an interval of eleven years"); rather "in the eleventh year"
(i.e. "after an interval of ten years").]

75 [ {thein pompe khreomenos}.]

76 [ For {'Akarnan} it has been suggested to read {'Akharneus}, because
this man is referred to as an Athenian by various writers. However
Acarnanians were celebrated for prophetic power, and he might be called
an Athenian as resident with Peisistratos at Athens.]

77 [ Or "for that part of the land from which the temple could be seen," but cp. Thuc. iii. 104. In either case the meaning is the same.]

7701 [ {enomotias kai triekadas kai sussitia}. The {enomotia} was the
primary division of the Spartan army: of the {triekas} nothing is known
for certain.]

78 [ {kibdelo}, properly "counterfeit": cp. ch. 75.]

79 [ {skhoino diametresamenoi}: whether actually, for the purpose of
distributing the work among them, or because the rope which fastened
them together lay on the ground like a measuring-tape, is left
uncertain.]

80 [ Cp. ix. 70.]

81 [ {epitarrothos}. Elsewhere (that is in Homer) the word always means
"helper," and Stein translates it so here, "thou shalt be protector and
patron of Tegea" (in the place of Orestes). Mr. Woods explains it by
the parallel of such phrases as {Danaoisi makhes epitarrothoi}, to mean
"thou shalt be a helper (of the Lacedemonians) in the matter of Tegea,"
but this perhaps would be a form of address too personal to the
envoy, who is usually addressed in the second person, but only
as representative of those who sent him. The conjectural reading
{epitarrothon exeis}, "thou shalt have him as a helper against Tegea,"
is tempting.]

82 [ {agathoergon}.]

83 [ This was to enable him the better to gain his ends at Tegea.]

84 [ Cp. ch. 51, note.]

85 [ See ch. 6.]

86 [ {euzono andri}: cp. ch. 104 and ii. 34. The word {euzonos} is used of light-armed troops; Hesychius says, {euzonos, me ekhon phortion}.]

87 [ {orgen ouk akros}: this is the reading of all the best MSS., and
it is sufficiently supported by the parallel of v. 124, {psukhen ouk
akros}. Most Editors however have adopted the reading {orgen akros}, as
equivalent to {akrakholos}, "quick-tempered."]

88 [ It has been suggested by some that this clause is not genuine.
It should not, however, be taken to refer to the battle which was
interrupted by the eclipse, for (1) that did not occur in the period
here spoken of; (2) the next clause is introduced by {de} (which can
hardly here stand for {gar}); (3) when the eclipse occurred the fighting
ceased, therefore it was no more a {nuktomakhin} than any other battle
which is interrupted by darkness coming on.]

89 [ See ch. 188. Nabunita was his true name.]

90 [ See ch. 107 ff.]

91 [ Not "somewhere near the city of Sinope," for it must have been at a
considerable distance and probably far inland. Sinope itself is at least
fifty miles to the west of the Halys. I take it to mean that Pteria was
nearly due south of Sinope, i.e. that the nearest road from Pteria to
the sea led to Sinope. Pteria no doubt was the name of a region as well
as of a city.]

92 [ {anastatous epoiese}.]

93 [ This is the son of the man mentioned in ch. 74.]

94 [ {us en autou xeinikos}. Stein translates "so much of it as was
mercenary," but it may be doubted if this is possible. Mr. Woods, "which
army of his was a foreign one."]

95 [ {Metros Dindumenes}, i.e. Kybele: the mountain is Dindymos in Phrygia.]

96 [ i.e. the whole strip of territory to the West of the peninsula
of Argolis, which includes Thyrea and extends southwards to Malea:
"westwards as far as Malea" would be absurd.]

97 [ {outos}: a conjectural emendation of {autos}.]

98 [ {autos}: some MSS. read {o autos}, "this same man."]

99 [ {aneneikamenon}, nearly equivalent to {anastemaxanta} (cp. Hom. Il.
xix. 314), {mnesamenos d' adinos aneneikato phonesen te}. Some translate
it here, "he recovered himself," cp. ch. 116, {aneneikhtheis}.]

100 [ {ubristai}.]

101 [ {proesousi}: a conjectural emendation of {poiesousi}, adopted in most of the modern editions.]

102 [ {touto oneidisai}: or {touton oneidisai}, "to reproach the god with these things." The best MSS. have {touto}.]

103 [ {to kai... eipe ta eipe Loxias k.t.l.}: various emendations have
been proposed. If any one is to be adopted, the boldest would perhaps be
the best, {to de kai... eipe Loxias}.]

104 [ {oia te kai alle khore}, "such as other lands have."]

105 [ {stadioi ex kai duo plethra}.]

106 [ {plethra tria kai deka}.]

107 [ {Gugaie}.]

108 [ Or "Tyrrhenia."]

109 [ Or "Umbrians."]

110 [ {tes ano 'Asies}, i.e. the parts which are removed from the Mediterranean.]

111 [ i.e. nature would not be likely to supply so many regularly
ascending circles. Stein alters the text so that the sentence runs thus,
"and whereas there are seven circles of all, within the last is the
royal palace," etc.]

112 [ i.e. "to laugh or to spit is unseemly for those in presence of
the king, and this last for all, whether in the presence of the king
or not." Cp. Xen. Cyrop. i. 2. 16, {aiskhron men gar eti kai nun esti
Persais kai to apoptuein kai to apomuttesthai}, (quoted by Stein, who
however gives a different interpretation).]

113 [ {tauta de peri eouton esemnune}: the translation given is that of Mr. Woods.]

114 [ {allos mentoi eouton eu ekontes}: the translation is partly due to Mr. Woods.]

115 [ i.e. East of the Halys: see note on ch. 95.]

116 [ See iv. 12.]

117 [ Cp. ch. 72.]

118 [ {ten katuperthe odon}, i.e. further away from the Euxine eastwards.]

119 [ {o theos}.]

120 [ {khoris men gar phoron}: many Editors substitute {phoron} for
{phoron}, but {phoron} may stand if taken not with {khoris} but with {to
ekastoisi epeballon}.]

121 [ Cp. ch. 184, "the Assyrian history."]

122 [ {uperthemenos}, a conjectural emendation of {upothemenos}, cp. ch.
108 where the MSS. give {uperthemenos}, (the Medicean with {upo} written
above as a correction).]

123 [ Or "expose me to risk," "stake my safety."]

124 [ Or "thou wilt suffer the most evil kind of death": cp. ch. 167.]

12401 [ {tas aggelias pherein}, i.e. to have the office of
{aggeliephoros} (ch. 120) or {esaggeleus} (iii. 84), the chamberlain
through whom communications passed.]

125 [ {dialabein}. So translated by Mr. Woods.]

126 [ {es tas anagkas}, "to the necessity," mentioned above.]

127 [ Or "to celebrate good fortune."]

128 [ {akreon kheiron te kai podon}: cp. ii. 121 (e), {apotamonta en to omo ten kheira}.]

129 [ {esti te o pais kai periesti}. So translated by Mr. Woods.]

130 [ {erkhe}: a few inferior MSS. have {eikhe}, which is adopted by several Editors.]

131 [ {para smikra... kekhoreke}, "have come out equal to trifles."]

132 [ {kuon}: cp. ch. 110.]

133 [ {su nun}, answering to {se gar theoi eporeousi}: the MSS. and some Editors read {su nun}.]

134 [ i.e. of the race of Perses: see vii. 61.]

135 [ "how his change from a throne to slavery was as compared with that feast, etc.," i.e. what did he think of it as a retribution.]

136 [ See ch. 106. The actual duration of the Median supremacy would be therefore a hundred years.]

13601 [ This is by some altered to "Alilat," by comparison of iii. 8.]

137 [ {stemmasi}, i.e. the chaplets wound round with wool which were worn at Hellenic sacrifices.]

138 [ {oulesi}.]

13801 [ Cp. vii. 61.]

139 [ {sitoisi}: perhaps "plain dishes."]

140 [ {proskuneei}, i.e. kisses his feet or the ground.]

141 [ {ton legomenon}, a correction of {to legomeno}. (The Medicean
MS. has {toi legomenoi} like the rest, not {toi legomeno}, as stated by
Stein.)]

142 [ {ekhomenon, kata ton auton de logon}: the MSS. and most Editors
have {ekhomenon}. {kata ton auton de logon}; "and this same rule the
Persians observe in giving honour." This, however, makes it difficult
(though not impossible) to refer {to ethnos} in the next clause to the
Medes, and it can hardly be referred to the Persians, who certainly
had not the same system of government. Perhaps however we may translate
thus, "for each race extended forward thus their rule or their deputed
authority."]

143 [ Cp. vii. 194.]

144 [ {polloi}: omitted, or corrected variously, by Editors. There is,
perhaps, something wrong about the text in the next clause also, for it
seems clear that white doves were not objected to by the Persians. See
Stein's note.]

145 [ See ch. 95.]

146 [ These words, "neither those towards the East nor those towards the
West" have perhaps been interpolated as an explanation of {ta ano} and
{ta kato}. As an explanation they can hardly be correct, but the whole
passage is vaguely expressed.]

147 [ {tropous tesseras paragogeon}.]

148 [ i.e. the Asiatic Ionians who had formed a separate confederacy.
Some understand it to mean the Milesians, but this would give no
satisfactory connection with what follows.]

149 [ {pentapolios}.]

150 [ {exapolios}.]

151 [ {mesogaioi}. Several of the other cities are at some distance from
the coast, but the region is meant in each case rather than the city
(hence such forms as {Tritaiees}).]

152 [ {'Elikonio}.]

153 [ This is condemned as an interpolation by some Editors.]

154 [ {oreon de ekousan ouk omoios}.]

155 [ {katastas}: cp. iii. 46.]

156 [ {ktesamenoi}: Stein reads {stesamenoi} by conjecture: cp. vi. 58.]

157 [ {phrontizo me ariston e}. The translation is Rawlinson's.]

158 [ {kephale anamaxas}: cp. Hom. Od. xix. 92.]

159 [ {es tous Bragkhidas}, i.e. the priests of the temple. The name of the place {Bragkhidai} is feminine, cp. ch. 92.]

160 [ {onax}, addressing Apollo.]

161 [ {exaipee tous strouthous k.t.l.} The verb is one which is commonly
used of the destruction and depopulation of cities, cp. ch. 176.
(Stein.)]

162 [ {tou de 'Atarneos toutou esti khoros tes Musies}.]

163 [ {ouk oligoi stadioi}.]

164 [ {katirosai}, i.e. dedicate it to the king as a token of submission.]

165 [ i.e. Corsica.]

166 [ {anaphanenai}: the MSS. have {anaphenai}, which can only be
translated by supplying {ton ponton} from {katepontosan}, "till the sea
produced it again," but this is hardly satisfactory.]

167 [ {Karkhedonioi}.]

168 [ {elakhon te auton pollo pleious}. Several Editors suppose that
words have been lost or that the text is corrupt. I understand it to
mean that many more of them fell into the hands of the enemy than were
rescued by their own side. Some translate "divided most of them by lot";
but this would be {dielakhon}, and the proceeding would have no object
if the prisoners were to be put to death at once. For {pleious} Stein
reads {pleistous}.]

169 [ {ton Kurnon... ktisai eron eonta, all' ou ten neson}.]

170 [ {bouleuterion}.]

171 [ {outoi}: the MSS. have {outo}.]

172 [ {autokhthonas epeirotas}.]

173 [ Many Editors insert {oi} before {tes khores tes spheteres} and alter the punctuation accordingly.]

174 [ Or "all their land came within the isthmus."]

175 [ {epexiontes}: the MSS. have {upexiontes}, which Mr. Woods explains to mean "coming forth suddenly."]

176 [ {epexelthontes}: the MSS. have {upexelthontes}.]

177 [ {stadion}, and so throughout.]

178 [ The "royal cubit" appears to have measured about twenty-one inches.]

179 [ {tous agkhonas}, the walls on the North and South of the city, called so because built at an angle with the side walls.]

180 [ {laurai}, "lanes."]

181 [ {kai autai}, but perhaps the text is not sound.]

182 [ {thorex}, as opposed to the inner wall, which would be the {kithon} (cp. vii. 139).]

183 [ {steinoteron}: Mr. Woods says "of less thickness," the top of the wall being regarded as a road.]

184 [ {duo stadion pante}, i.e. 404 yards square.]

185 [ {tou irou}, i.e. the sacred precincts; cp. {en to temenei touto}.]

186 [ {neos}, the inner house of the temple.]

187 [ {promantis}.]

188 [ {ta telea ton probaton}.]

189 [ "at that time."]

18901 [ {katapleontes ton Euphreten}: the MSS. have {katapleontes es ton
E}. (It is not true, as stated by Abicht, that the Medicean MS. omits
{es}.)]

190 [ {oligon ti parateinousa apo tou potamou}.]

191 [ {ou gar ameinon}, an Epic phrase, cp. iii. 71 and 82.]

192 [ {eskeuasmenos}, a conjectural emendation of {eskeuasmenoisi}, "with provisions well prepared."]

193 [ {kateteine skhoinoteneas upodexas diorukhas}. Stein understands
{kateteine ten stratien} (resumed afterwards by {diataxas}), "he
extended his army, having first marked out channels straight by lines."]

194 [ {proesaxanto}, from {proesago}: it may be however from {prosatto}, "they had heaped together provisions for themselves beforehand."]

195 [ {ten stratien apasan}. Stein thinks that some correction is needed.]

196 [ {oi d' an perudontes k.t.l.}: the MSS. have {oud' an perudontes},
"they would not even have allowed them to enter the city (from the
river)," but the negative is awkward referring to the participle alone,
and the admission of the enemy to the river-bed within the city would
have been an essential part of the scheme, not to be omitted in the
description.]

197 [ The Attic medimnos (= 48 choinikes) was rather less than 12 gallons.]

198 [ {ton tes Demetros karpon}.]

199 [ Stein supposes that words have fallen out before {ta gar de alla
dendrea}, chiefly because some mention of the palm-trees might have been
expected here.]

200 [ {phoinikeious}: some Editors (following Valla) have altered this
to {phoinikeiou} ("casks of palm-wine"), but it is not likely that
palm-wine would have been thus imported, see ch. 193.]

201 [ {kai o men eso elkei to plektron o de exo otheei}. I take it to
mean that there is one steering-oar on each side, and the "inside" is
the side nearer to the bank of the river. The current would naturally
run faster on the "outside" and consequently would tend to turn the boat
round, and therefore the inside oarsman pulls his oar constantly towards
himself and the outside man pushes his oar from himself (i.e. backs
water), to keep the boat straight. Various explanations are given. Stein
takes {eso, exo} with the verbs, "one draws the boat towards himself,
the other pushes it from himself." Mr. Woods understands that only one
oar is used at a time and by two men looking different ways, of whom {o
men eso} is he who stands nearest to the side of the boat.]

202 [ If the talents meant are Euboic, this would be about 170 tons.]

203 [ {mitresi}: cp. vii. 62.]

204 [ {os an ai parthenoi ginoiato}, equivalent to {osai aei parthenoi ginoiato}, which Stein suggests as a correction.]

205 [ This sentence, "in order that—city," is thought by Stein to be either interpolated or misplaced.]

206 [ {katestekee}: some Editors adopt the correction {katesteke}, "is established."]

207 [ {iron}, afterwards called {temenos}.]

208 [ {panta tropon odon}: some MSS. have {odon} for {odon}, and {odon
ekhousi} might perhaps mean "afford a passage." (The reading of the
Medicean MS. is {odon}.)]

209 [ "I call upon Mylitta against thee"; or perhaps, "I call upon Mylitta to be favourable to thee."]

210 [ {aposiosamene te theo}.]

211 [ {eideos te epammenai eisi kai megatheos}.]

212 [ {patriai}.]

213 [ {antion}.]

214 [ That is perhaps, "if one rows as well as sails," using oars when the wind is not favourable, cp. ii. 11.]

215 [ {genomene}, or {ginomene}, "which he met with."]

216 [ {eonta akharita}: most of the MSS. have {ta eonta akharita}, with
which reading the sentence would be, "the sufferings which I have, have
proved bitter lessons of wisdom to me."]

217 [ {me eie}.]

218 [ {tou katharou stratou}, perhaps "the effective part," without the encumbrances, cp. iv. 135.]

219 [ {alexomenous}.]

220 [ {sagaris nomizontes ekhein}: cp. iv. 5.]

221 [ {maskhalisteras}.]

222 [ {thuousi}.]

223 [ {nomos}: the conjecture {noos}, "meaning," which is adopted by
many Editors, may be right; but {nomos} seems to mean the "customary
rule" which determines this form of sacrifice, the rule namely of "swift
to the swift."]

1. When Cyrus had brought his life to an end, Cambyses received the
royal power in succession, being the son of Cyrus and of Cassandane the
daughter of Pharnaspes, for whose death, which came about before his
own, Cyrus had made great mourning himself and also had proclaimed to
all those over whom he bore rule that they should make mourning for her:
Cambyses, I say, being the son of this woman and of Cyrus, regarded
the Ionians and Aiolians as slaves inherited from his father; and he
proceeded to march an army against Egypt, taking with him as helpers not
only the other nations of which he was the ruler, but also those of the
Hellenes over whom he had power besides.

2. Now the Egyptians, before the time when Psammetichos 1 became king
over them, were wont to suppose that they had come into being first of
all men; but since the time when Psammetichos having become king desired
to know what men had come into being first, they suppose that the
Phrygians came into being before themselves, but they themselves before
all other men. Now Psammetichos, when he was not able by inquiry to
find out any means of knowing who had come into being first of all men,
contrived a device of the following kind:—Taking two new-born children
belonging to persons of the common sort he gave them to a shepherd to
bring up at the place where his flocks were, with a manner of bringing
up such as I shall say, charging him namely that no man should utter any
word in their presence, and that they should be placed by themselves in
a room where none might come, and at the proper time he should bring to
them she-goats, and when he had satisfied them with milk he should do
for them whatever else was needed. These things Psammetichos did and
gave him this charge wishing to hear what word the children would let
break forth first, after they had ceased from wailings without sense.
And accordingly so it came to pass; for after a space of two years had
gone by, during which the shepherd went on acting so, at length, when
he opened the door and entered, both the children fell before him in
entreaty and uttered the word bekos, stretching forth their hands. At
first when he heard this the shepherd kept silence; but since this word
was often repeated, as he visited them constantly and attended to them,
at last he declared the matter to his master, and at his command he
brought the children before his face. Then Psammetichos having himself
also heard it, began to inquire about what nation of men named anything
bekos, and inquiring he found that the Phrygians had this name for
bread. In this manner and guided by an indication such as this, the
Egyptians were brought to allow that the Phrygians were a more ancient
people than themselves.

3. That so it came to pass I heard from the priests of that Hephaistos
who dwells at Memphis; 2 but the Hellenes relate, besides many other
idle tales, that Psammetichos cut out the tongues of certain women, and
then caused the children to live with these women.

With regard then to the rearing of the children they related so much as
I have said: and I heard also other things at Memphis when I had speech
with the priests of Hephaistos. Moreover I visited both Thebes and
Heliopolis 3 for this very cause, namely because I wished to know
whether the priests at these places would agree in their accounts with
those at Memphis; for the men of Heliopolis are said to be the most
learned in records of the Egyptians. Those of their narrations which I
heard with regard to the gods I am not earnest to relate in full, but
I shall name them only, 4 because I consider that all men are equally
ignorant of these matters: 5 and whatever things of them I may record, I
shall record only because I am compelled by the course of the story.

4. But as to those matters which concern men, the priests agreed with
one another in saying that the Egyptians were the first of all men on
earth to find out the course of the year, having divided the seasons
into twelve parts to make up the whole; and this they said they found
out from the stars: and they reckon to this extent more wisely than
the Hellenes, as it seems to me, inasmuch as the Hellenes throw in an
intercalated month every other year, to make the seasons right, whereas
the Egyptians, reckoning the twelve months at thirty days each, bring
in also every year five days beyond the number, and thus the circle of
their seasons is completed and comes round to the same point whence
it set out. They said moreover that the Egyptians were the first who
brought into use appellations for the twelve gods and the Hellenes took
up the use from them; and that they were the first who assigned altars
and images and temples to the gods, and who engraved figures on stones;
and with regard to the greater number of these things they showed me by
actual facts that they had happened so. They said also that the first
man 6 who became king of Egypt was Min; 7 and that in his time all Egypt
except the district of Thebes 8 was a swamp, and none of the regions
were then above water which now lie below the lake of Moiris, to which
lake it is a voyage of seven days up the river from the sea:

5, and I thought that they said well about the land; for it is manifest
in truth even to a person who has not heard it beforehand but has only
seen, at least if he have understanding, that the Egypt to which the
Hellenes come in ships is a land which has been won by the Egyptians as
an addition, and that it is a gift of the river: moreover the regions
which lie above this lake also for a distance of three days' sail, about
which they did not go on to say anything of this kind, are nevertheless
another instance of the same thing: for the nature of the land of Egypt
is as follows:—First when you are still approaching it in a ship and are
distant a day's run from the land, if you let down a sounding-line you
will bring up mud and will find yourself in eleven fathoms. This then so
far shows that there is a silting forward of the land.

6. Then secondly, as to Egypt itself, the extent of it along the sea is
sixty schoines, according to our definition of Egypt as extending from
the Gulf of Plinthine to the Serbonian lake, along which stretches Mount
Casion; from this lake then 9 the sixty schoines are reckoned: for those
of men who are poor in land have their country measured by fathoms,
those who are less poor by furlongs, those who have much land by
parasangs, and those who have land in very great abundance by schoines:
now the parasang is equal to thirty furlongs, and each schoine, which
is an Egyptian measure, is equal to sixty furlongs. So there would be
an extent of three thousand six hundred furlongs for the coast-land of
Egypt. 10

7. From thence and as far as Heliopolis inland Egypt is broad, and the
land is all flat and without springs of water 11 and formed of mud: and
the road as one goes inland from the sea to Heliopolis is about the
same in length as that which leads from the altar of the twelve gods at
Athens to Pisa and the temple of Olympian Zeus: reckoning up you would
find the difference very small by which these roads fail of being equal
in length, not more indeed than fifteen furlongs; for the road from
Athens to Pisa wants fifteen furlongs of being fifteen hundred, while
the road to Heliopolis from the sea reaches that number completely.

8. From Heliopolis however, as you go up, Egypt is narrow; for on the
one side a mountain-range belonging to Arabia stretches along by the
side of it, going in a direction from North towards the midday and the
South Wind, tending upwards without a break to that which is called the
Erythraian Sea, in which range are the stone-quarries which were used
in cutting stone for the pyramids at Memphis. On this side then the
mountain ends where I have said, and then takes a turn back; 12 and
where it is widest, as I was informed, it is a journey of two months
across from East to West; and the borders of it which turn towards the
East are said to produce frankincense. Such then is the nature of this
mountain-range; and on the side of Egypt towards Libya another range
extends, rocky and enveloped in sand: in this are the pyramids, and it
runs in the same direction as those parts of the Arabian mountains which
go towards the midday. So then, I say, from Heliopolis the land has no
longer a great extent so far as it belongs to Egypt, 13 and for about
four 14 days' sail up the river Egypt properly so called is narrow:
and the space between the mountain-ranges which have been mentioned is
plain-land, but where it is narrowest it did not seem to me to exceed
two hundred furlongs from the Arabian mountains to those which are
called the Libyan. After this again Egypt is broad.

9. Such is the nature of this land: and from Heliopolis to Thebes is
a voyage up the river of nine days, and the distance of the journey in
furlongs is four thousand eight hundred and sixty, the number of the
schoines being eighty-one. If these measures of Egypt in furlongs be put
together the result is as follows:—I have already before this shown
that the distance along the sea amounts to three thousand six hundred
furlongs, and I will now declare what the distance is inland from the
sea to Thebes, namely six thousand one hundred and twenty furlongs: and
again the distance from Thebes to the city called Elephantine is one
thousand eight hundred furlongs.

10. Of this land then, concerning which I have spoken, it seemed to
myself also, according as the priests said, that the greater part had
been won as an addition by the Egyptians; for it was evident to me that
the space between the aforesaid mountain-ranges, which lie above the
city of Memphis, once was a gulf of the sea, like the regions about
Ilion and Teuthrania and Ephesos and the plain of the Maiander, if it
be permitted to compare small things with great; and small these are in
comparison, for of the rivers which heaped up the soil in those regions
none is worthy to be compared in volume with a single one of the mouths
of the Nile, which has five mouths. 15 Moreover there are other rivers
also, not in size at all equal to the Nile, which have performed great
feats; of which I can mention the names of several, and especially the
Acheloös, which flowing through Acarnania and so issuing out into the
sea has already made half of the Echinades from islands into mainland.

11. Now there is in the land of Arabia, not far from Egypt, a gulf of
the sea running in from that which is called the Erythraian Sea, very
long and narrow, as I am about to tell. With respect to the length of
the voyage along it, one who set out from the innermost point to sail
out through it into the open sea, would spend forty days upon the
voyage, using oars; 16 and with respect to breadth, where the gulf is
broadest it is half a day's sail across: and there is in it an ebb and
flow of tide every day. Just such another gulf I suppose that Egypt was,
and that the one ran in towards Ethiopia from the Northern Sea, and the
other, the Arabian, of which I am about to speak, 17 tended from the
South towards Syria, the gulfs boring in so as almost to meet at their
extreme points, and passing by one another with but a small space left
between. If then the stream of the Nile should turn aside into this
Arabian gulf, what would hinder that gulf from being filled up with silt
as the river continued to flow, at all events within a period of twenty
thousand years? indeed for my part I am of opinion that it would be
filled up even within ten thousand years. How, then, in 18 all the time
that has elapsed before I came into being should not a gulf be filled up
even of much greater size than this by a river so great and so active?

12. As regards Egypt then, I both believe those who say that things
are so, and for myself also I am strongly of opinion that they are so;
because I have observed that Egypt runs out into the sea further than
the adjoining land, and that shells are found upon the mountains of it,
and an efflorescence of salt forms upon the surface, so that even
the pyramids are being eaten away by it, and moreover that of all the
mountains of Egypt, the range which lies above Memphis is the only one
which has sand: besides which I notice that Egypt resembles neither the
land of Arabia, which borders upon it, nor Libya, nor yet Syria (for
they are Syrians who dwell in the parts of Arabia lying along the sea),
but that it has soil which is black and easily breaks up, 19 seeing that
it is in truth mud and silt brought down from Ethiopia by the river: but
the soil of Libya, we know, is reddish in colour and rather sandy, while
that of Arabia and Syria is somewhat clayey and rocky. 1901

13. The priests also gave me a strong proof concerning this land as
follows, namely that in the reign of king Moiris, whenever the river
reached a height of at least eight cubits 20 it watered Egypt below
Memphis; and not yet nine hundred years had gone by since the death of
Moiris, when I heard these things from the priests: now however, unless
the river rises to sixteen cubits, or fifteen at the least, it does not
go over the land. I think too that those Egyptians who dwell below the
lake of Moiris and especially in that region which is called the Delta,
if that land continues to grow in height according to this proportion
and to increase similarly in extent, 21 will suffer for all remaining
time, from the Nile not overflowing their land, that same thing which
they themselves said that the Hellenes would at some time suffer: for
hearing that the whole land of the Hellenes has rain and is not watered
by rivers as theirs is, they said that the Hellenes would at some time
be disappointed of a great hope and would suffer the ills of famine.
This saying means that if the god 22 shall not send them rain, but shall
allow drought to prevail for a long time, the Hellenes will be destroyed
by hunger; for they have in fact no other supply of water to save them
except from Zeus alone.

14. This has been rightly said by the Egyptians with reference to
the Hellenes: but now let me tell how matters are with the Egyptians
themselves in their turn. If, in accordance with what I before said,
their land below Memphis (for this is that which is increasing) shall
continue to increase in height according to the same proportion as in
past time, assuredly those Egyptians who dwell here will suffer famine,
if their land shall not have rain nor the river be able to go over their
fields. It is certain however that now they gather in fruit from the
earth with less labour than any other men and also with less than the
other Egyptians; for they have no labour in breaking up furrows with a
plough nor in hoeing nor in any other of those labours which other men
have about a crop; but when the river has come up of itself and watered
their fields and after watering has left them again, then each man sows
his own field and turns into it swine, and when he has trodden the
seed into the ground by means of the swine, after that he waits for the
harvest; and when he has threshed the corn by means of the swine, then
he gathers it in.

15. If we desire to follow the opinions of the Ionians as regards Egypt,
who say that the Delta alone is Egypt, reckoning its sea-coast to be
from the watch-tower called of Perseus to the fish-curing houses of
Pelusion, a distance of forty schoines, and counting it to extend inland
as far as the city of Kercasoros, where the Nile divides and runs to
Pelusion and Canobos, while as for the rest of Egypt, they assign it
partly to Libya and partly to Arabia,—if, I say, we should follow this
account, we should thereby declare that in former times the Egyptians
had no land to live in; for, as we have seen, their Delta at any rate
is alluvial, and has appeared (so to speak) lately, as the Egyptians
themselves say and as my opinion is. If then at the first there was no
land for them to live in, why did they waste their labour to prove that
they had come into being before all other men? They needed not to have
made trial of the children to see what language they would first utter.
However I am not of opinion that the Egyptians came into being at the
same time as that which is called by the Ionians the Delta, but that
they existed always ever since the human race came into being, and that
as their land advanced forwards, many of them were left in their first
abodes and many came down gradually to the lower parts. At least it is
certain that in old times Thebes had the name of Egypt, and of this 23
the circumference measures six thousand one hundred and twenty furlongs.

16. If then we judge aright of these matters, the opinion of the Ionians
about Egypt is not sound: but if the judgment of the Ionians is right, I
declare that neither the Hellenes nor the Ionians themselves know how
to reckon since they say that the whole earth is made up of three
divisions, Europe, Asia, and Libya: for they ought to count in addition
to these the Delta of Egypt, since it belongs neither to Asia nor to
Libya; for at least it cannot be the river Nile by this reckoning which
divides Asia from Libya, 24 but the Nile is cleft at the point of this
Delta so as to flow round it, and the result is that this land would
come between Asia and Libya. 25

17. We dismiss then the opinion of the Ionians, and express a judgment
of our own in this matter also, that Egypt is all that land which is
inhabited by Egyptians, just as Kilikia is that which is inhabited by
Kilikians and Assyria that which is inhabited by Assyrians, and we
know of no boundary properly speaking between Asia and Libya except
the borders of Egypt. If however we shall adopt the opinion which is
commonly held by the Hellenes, we shall suppose that the whole of Egypt,
beginning from the Cataract 26 and the city of Elephantine, is divided
into two parts and that it thus partakes of both the names, since one
side will thus belong to Libya and the other to Asia; for the Nile from
the Cataract onwards flows to the sea cutting Egypt through the midst;
and as far as the city of Kercasoros the Nile flows in one single
stream, but from this city onwards it is parted into three ways; and
one, which is called the Pelusian mouth, turns towards the East; the
second of the ways goes towards the West, and this is called the Canobic
mouth; but that one of the ways which is straight runs thus,—when the
river in its course downwards comes to the point of the Delta, then it
cuts the Delta through the midst and so issues out to the sea. In this
we have 27 a portion of the water of the river which is not the smallest
nor the least famous, and it is called the Sebennytic mouth. There are
also two other mouths which part off from the Sebennytic and go to
the sea, and these are called, one the Saïtic, the other the Mendesian
mouth. The Bolbitinitic and Bucolic mouths, on the other hand, are not
natural but made by digging.

18. Moreover also the answer given by the Oracle of Ammon bears witness
in support of my opinion that Egypt is of the extent which I declare it
to be in my account; and of this answer I heard after I had formed my
own opinion about Egypt. For those of the city of Marea and of Apis,
dwelling in the parts of Egypt which border on Libya, being of opinion
themselves that they were Libyans and not Egyptians, and also being
burdened by the rules of religious service, because they desired not to
be debarred from the use of cows' flesh, sent to Ammon saying that they
had nought in common with the Egyptians, for they dwelt outside the
Delta and agreed with them in nothing; and they said they desired that
it might be lawful for them to eat everything without distinction. The
god however did not permit them to do so, but said that that land which
was Egypt which the Nile came over and watered, and that those were
Egyptians who dwelling below the city of Elephantine drank of that
river. Thus it was answered to them by the Oracle about this:

19, and the Nile, when it is in flood, goes over not only the Delta
but also of the land which is called Libyan and of that which is called
Arabian sometimes as much as two days' journey on each side, and at
times even more than this or at times less.

As regards the nature of the river, neither from the priests nor
yet from any other man was I able to obtain any knowledge: and I was
desirous especially to learn from them about these matters, namely
why the Nile comes down increasing in volume from the summer solstice
onwards for a hundred days, and then, when it has reached the number of
these days, turns and goes back, failing in its stream, so that through
the whole winter season it continues to be low, and until the summer
solstice returns. Of none of these things was I able to receive any
account from the Egyptians, when I inquired of them what power the Nile
has whereby it is of a nature opposite to that of other rivers. And
I made inquiry, desiring to know both this which I say and also why,
unlike all other rivers, it does not give rise to any breezes blowing
from it.

20. However some of the Hellenes who desired to gain distinction for
cleverness have given an account of this water in three different ways:
two of these I do not think it worth while even to speak of except only
to indicate their nature; of which the one says that the Etesian Winds
are the cause that makes the river rise, by preventing the Nile from
flowing out into the sea. But often the Etesian Winds fail and yet the
Nile does the same work as it is wont to do; and moreover, if these were
the cause, all the other rivers also which flow in a direction opposed
to the Etesian Winds ought to have been affected in the same way as the
Nile, and even more, in as much as they are smaller and present to them
a feebler flow of stream: but there are many of these rivers in Syria
and many also in Libya, and they are affected in no such manner as the
Nile.

21. The second way shows more ignorance than that which has been
mentioned, and it is more marvellous to tell; 28 for it says that the
river produces these effects because it flows from the Ocean, and that
the Ocean flows round the whole earth.

22. The third of the ways is much the most specious, but nevertheless it
is the most mistaken of all: for indeed this way has no more truth in
it than the rest, alleging as it does that the Nile flows from melting
snow; whereas it flows out of Libya through the midst of the Ethiopians,
and so comes out into Egypt. How then should it flow from snow, when it
flows from the hottest parts to those which are cooler? And indeed most
of the facts are such as to convince a man (one at least who is capable
of reasoning about such matters), that it is not at all likely that it
flows from snow. 29 The first and greatest evidence is afforded by the
winds, which blow hot from these regions; the second is that the land
is rainless always and without frost, whereas after snow has fallen rain
must necessarily come within five days, so that if it snowed in those
parts rain would fall there; the third evidence is afforded by the
people dwelling there, who are of a black colour by reason of the
burning heat. Moreover kites and swallows remain there through the year
and do not leave the land; and cranes flying from the cold weather which
comes on in the region of Scythia come regularly to these parts for
wintering: if then it snowed ever so little in that land through which
the Nile flows and in which it has its rise, none of these things would
take place, as necessity compels us to admit.

23. As for him who talked about the Ocean, he carried his tale into the
region of the unknown, and so he need not be refuted; 30 since I for my
part know of no river Ocean existing, but I think that Homer or one of
the poets who were before him invented the name and introduced it into
his verse.

24. If however after I have found fault with the opinions proposed, I am bound to declare an opinion of my own about the matters which are in doubt, I will tell what to my mind is the reason why the Nile increases in the summer. In the winter season the Sun, being driven away from his former path through the heaven 31 by the stormy winds, comes to the upper parts of Libya. If one would set forth the matter in the shortest way, all has now been said; for whatever region this god approaches most and stands directly above, this it may reasonably be supposed is most in want of water, and its native streams of rivers are dried up most.

25. However, to set it forth at greater length, thus it is:—the Sun
passing in his course by the upper parts of Libya, does thus, that is to
say, since at all times the air in those parts is clear and the country
is warm, because there are no cold winds, 32 in passing through it the
Sun does just as he was wont to do in the summer, when going through the
midst of the heaven, that is he draws to himself the water, and having
drawn it he drives it away to the upper parts of the country, and the
winds take it up and scattering it abroad melt it into rain; so it is
natural that the winds which blow from this region, namely the South
and South-west Winds, should be much the most rainy of all the winds. I
think however that the Sun does not send away from himself all the water
of the Nile of each year, but that he also lets some remain behind with
himself. Then when the winter becomes milder, the Sun returns back again
to the midst of the heaven, and from that time onwards he draws equally
from all rivers; but in the meanwhile they flow in large volume, since
water of rain mingles with them in great quantity, because their country
receives rain then and is filled with torrent streams. In summer however
they are weak, since not only the showers of rain fail then, but also
they are drawn by the Sun. The Nile however, alone of all rivers, not
having rain and being drawn by the Sun, naturally flows during this time
of winter in much less than its proper volume, that is much less than in
summer; 33 for then it is drawn equally with all the other waters, but
in winter it bears the burden alone. Thus I suppose the Sun to be the
cause of these things.

26. He is also the cause in my opinion that the air in these parts is
dry, since he makes it so by scorching up his path through the heaven:
34 thus summer prevails always in the upper parts of Libya. If however
the station of the seasons had been changed, and where now in the heaven
are placed the North Wind and winter, there was the station of the South
Wind and of the midday, and where now is placed the South Wind, there
was the North, if this had been so, the Sun being driven from the midst
of the heaven by the winter and the North Wind would go to the upper
parts of Europe, just as now he comes to the upper parts of Libya, and
passing in his course throughout the whole of Europe I suppose that he
would do to the Ister that which he now works upon the Nile.

27. As to the breeze, why none blows from the river, my opinion is that
from very hot places it is not natural that anything should blow, and
that a breeze is wont to blow from something cold.

28. Let these matters then be as they are and as they were at the first:
but as to the sources of the Nile, not one either of the Egyptians or of
the Libyans or of the Hellenes, who came to speech with me, professed to
know anything, except the scribe of the sacred treasury of Athene at the
city of Saïs in Egypt. To me however this man seemed not to be speaking
seriously when he said that he had certain knowledge of it; and he said
as follows, namely that there were two mountains of which the tops ran
up to a sharp point, situated between the city of Syene, which is in
the district of Thebes, and Elephantine, and the names of the mountains
were, of the one Crophi and of the other Mophi. From the middle between
these two mountains flowed (he said) the sources of the Nile, which were
fathomless in depth, and half of the water flowed to Egypt and towards
the North Wind, the other half to Ethiopia and the South Wind. As for
the fathomless depth of the source, he said that Psammetichos king of
Egypt came to a trial of this matter; for he had a rope twisted of many
thousands of fathoms and let it down in this place, and it found no
bottom. By this the scribe (if this which he told me was really as he
said) gave me to understand 35 that there were certain strong eddies
there and a backward flow, and that since the water dashed against the
mountains, therefore the sounding-line could not come to any bottom when
it was let down.

29. From no other person was I able to learn anything about this matter;
but for the rest I learnt so much as here follows by the most diligent
inquiry; 36 for I went myself as an eye-witness as far as the city of
Elephantine and from that point onwards I gathered knowledge by report.
From the city of Elephantine as one goes up the river there is country
which slopes steeply; so that here one must attach ropes to the vessel
on both sides, as one fastens an ox, and so make one's way onward;
and if the rope break, the vessel is gone at once, carried away by the
violence of the stream. Through this country it is a voyage of about
four days in length, and in this part the Nile is winding like the river
Maiander, and the distance amounts to twelve schoines, which one must
traverse in this manner. Then you will come to a level plain, in which
the Nile flows round an island named Tachompso. (Now in the regions
above Elephantine there dwell Ethiopians at once succeeding, who also
occupy half of the island, 37 and Egyptians the other half.) Adjoining
this island there is a great lake, round which dwell Ethiopian nomad
tribes; and when you have sailed through this you will come to the
stream of the Nile again, which flows into this lake. After this you
will disembark and make a journey by land of forty days; for in the Nile
sharp rocks stand forth out of the water, and there are many reefs, by
which it is not possible for a vessel to pass. Then after having passed
through this country in the forty days which I have said, you will
embark again in another vessel and sail for twelve days; and after this
you will come to a great city called Meroe. This city is said to be
the mother-city of all the other Ethiopians: and they who dwell in it
reverence of the gods Zeus and Dionysos alone, and these they greatly
honour; and they have an Oracle of Zeus established, and make warlike
marches whensoever this god commands them by prophesyings and to
whatsoever place he commands.

30. Sailing from this city you will come to the "Deserters" in another
period of time equal to that in which you came from Elephantine to the
mother-city of the Ethiopians. Now the name of these "Deserters" is
Asmach, and this word signifies, when translated into the tongue of the
Hellenes, "those who stand on the left hand of the king." These were two
hundred and forty thousand Egyptians of the warrior class, who revolted
and went over to the Ethiopians for the following cause:—In the reign of
Psammetichos garrisons were set, one towards the Ethiopians at the city
of Elephantine, another towards the Arabians and Assyrians at Daphnai
of Pelusion, and another towards Libya at Marea: and even in my own
time the garrisons of the Persians too are ordered in the same manner as
these were in the reign of Psammetichos, for both at Elephantine and at
Daphnai the Persians have outposts. The Egyptians then of whom I speak
had served as outposts for three years and no one relieved them from
their guard; accordingly they took counsel together, and adopting a
common plan they all in a body revolted from Psammetichos and set out
for Ethiopia. Hearing this Psammetichos set forth in pursuit, and when
he came up with them he entreated them much and endeavoured to persuade
them not to desert the gods of their country and their children and
wives: upon which it is said that one of them pointed to his privy
member and said that wherever this was, there would they have both
children and wives. When these came to Ethiopia they gave themselves
over to the king of the Ethiopians; and he rewarded them as
follows:—there were certain of the Ethiopians who had come to be at
variance with him; and he bade them drive these out and dwell in their
land. So since these men settled in the land of the Ethiopians, the
Ethiopians have come to be of milder manners, from having learnt the
customs of the Egyptians.

31. The Nile then, besides that part of its course which is in Egypt,
is known as far as a four months' journey by river and land: for that is
the number of months which are found by reckoning to be spent in going
from Elephantine to these "Deserters": and the river runs from the West
and the setting of the sun. But what comes after that no one can clearly
say; for this land is desert by reason of the burning heat.

32. Thus much however I heard from men of Kyrene, who told me that they
had been to the Oracle of Ammon, and had come to speech with Etearchos
king of the Ammonians: and it happened that after speaking of other
matters they fell to discourse about the Nile and how no one knew the
sources of it; and Etearchos said that once there had come to him men of
the Nasamonians (this is a Libyan race which dwells in the Syrtis,
and also in the land to the East of the Syrtis reaching to no great
distance), and when the Nasamonians came and were asked by him whether
they were able to tell him anything more than he knew about the desert
parts of Libya, they said that there had been among them certain sons of
chief men, who were of unruly disposition; and these when they grew up
to be men had devised various other extravagant things and also they
had told off by lot five of themselves to go to see the desert parts
of Libya and to try whether they could discover more than those who had
previously explored furthest: for in those parts of Libya which are by
the Northern Sea, beginning from Egypt and going as far as the headland
of Soloeis, which is the extreme point of Libya, Libyans (and of them
many races) extend along the whole coast, except so much as the Hellenes
and Phenicians hold; but in the upper parts, which lie above the
sea-coast and above those people whose land comes down to the sea, Libya
is full of wild beasts; and in the parts above the land of wild beasts
it is full of sand, terribly waterless and utterly desert. These young
men then (said they), being sent out by their companions well furnished
with supplies of water and provisions, went first through the inhabited
country, and after they had passed through this they came to the country
of wild beasts, and after this they passed through the desert, making
their journey towards the West Wind; and having passed through a great
tract of sand in many days, they saw at last trees growing in a level
place; and having come up to them, they were beginning to pluck the
fruit which was upon the trees: but as they began to pluck it, there
came upon them small men, of less stature than men of the common size,
and these seized them and carried them away; and neither could the
Nasamonians understand anything of their speech nor could those who were
carrying them off understand anything of the speech of the Nasamonians:
and they led them (so it was said) through very great swamps, and after
passing through these they came to a city in which all the men were in
size like those who carried them off and in colour of skin black; and
by the city ran a great river, which ran from the West towards the
sunrising, and in it were seen crocodiles.

33. Of the account given by Etearchos the Ammonian let so much suffice
as is here said, except that, as the men of Kyrene told me, he alleged
that the Nasamonians returned safe home, and that the people to whom
they had come were all wizards. Now this river which ran by the city,
Etearchos conjectured to be the Nile, and moreover reason compels us to
think so; for the Nile flows from Libya and cuts Libya through in the
midst, and as I conjecture, judging of what is not known by that which
is evident to the view, it starts at a distance from its mouth equal to
that of the Ister: for the river Ister begins from the Keltoi and the
city of Pyrene and so runs that it divides Europe in the midst (now
the Keltoi are outside the Pillars of Heracles and border upon the
Kynesians, who dwell furthest towards the sunset of all those who have
their dwelling in Europe); and the Ister ends, having its course through
the whole of Europe, by flowing into the Euxine Sea at the place where
the Milesians have their settlement of Istria.

34. Now the Ister, since it flows through land which is inhabited, is
known by the reports of many; but of the sources of the Nile no one
can give an account, for the part of Libya through which it flows is
uninhabited and desert. About its course however so much as it was
possible to learn by the most diligent inquiry has been told; and it
runs out into Egypt. Now Egypt lies nearly opposite to the mountain
districts of Kilikia; and from thence to Sinope, which lies upon the
Euxine Sea, is a journey in the same straight line of five days for
a man without encumbrance; 3701 and Sinope lies opposite to the place
where the Ister runs out into the sea: thus I think that the Nile passes
through the whole of Libya and is of equal measure with the Ister.

Of the Nile then let so much suffice as has been said.

35. Of Egypt however I shall make my report at length, because it has
wonders more in number than any other land, and works too it has to show
as much as any land, which are beyond expression great: for this reason
then more shall be said concerning it.

The Egyptians in agreement with their climate, which is unlike any
other, and with the river, which shows a nature different from all other
rivers, established for themselves manners and customs in a way opposite
to other men in almost all matters: for among them the women frequent
the market and carry on trade, while the men remain at home and weave;
and whereas others weave pushing the woof upwards, the Egyptians push
it downwards: the men carry their burdens upon their heads and the
women upon their shoulders: the women make water standing up and the
men crouching down: they ease themselves in their houses and they eat
without in the streets, alleging as reason for this that it is right
to do secretly the things that are unseemly though necessary, but those
which are not unseemly, in public: no woman is a minister either of male
or female divinity, but men of all, both male and female: to support
their parents the sons are in no way compelled, if they do not desire
to do so, but the daughters are forced to do so, be they never so
unwilling.

36. The priests of the gods in other lands wear long hair, but in Egypt
they shave their heads: among other men the custom is that in mourning
those whom the matter concerns most nearly have their hair cut short,
but the Egyptians, when deaths occur, let their hair grow long, both
that on the head and that on the chin, having before been close shaven:
other men have their daily living separated from beasts, but the
Egyptians have theirs together with beasts: other men live on wheat and
barley, but to any one of the Egyptians who makes his living on these it
is a great reproach; they make their bread of maize, 38 which some call
spelt; 39 they knead dough with their feet and clay with their hands,
with which also they gather up dung: and whereas other men, except
such as have learnt otherwise from the Egyptians, have their members as
nature made them, the Egyptians practise circumcision: as to garments,
the men wear two each and the women but one: and whereas others make
fast the rings and ropes of the sails outside the ship, the Egyptians
do this inside: finally in the writing of characters and reckoning with
pebbles, while the Hellenes carry the hand from the left to the right,
the Egyptians do this from the right to the left; and doing so they say
that they do it themselves rightwise and the Hellenes leftwise: and they
use two kinds of characters for writing, of which the one kind is called
sacred and the other common. 40

37. They are religious excessively beyond all other men, and with regard
to this they have customs as follows:—they drink from cups of bronze and
rinse them out every day, and not some only do this but all: they wear
garments of linen always newly washed, and this they make a special
point of practice: they circumcise themselves for the sake of
cleanliness, preferring to be clean rather than comely. The priests
shave themselves all over their body every other day, so that no lice or
any other foul thing may come to be upon them when they minister to
the gods; and the priests wear garments of linen only and sandals of
papyrus, and any other garment they may not take nor other sandals;
these wash themselves in cold water twice in the day and twice again
in the night; and other religious services they perform (one may almost
say) of infinite number. 41 They enjoy also good things not a few, for
they do not consume or spend anything of their own substance, but there
is sacred bread baked for them and they have each great quantity of
flesh of oxen and geese coming in to them each day, and also wine of
grapes is given to them; but it is not permitted to them to taste of
fish: beans moreover the Egyptians do not at all sow in their land, and
those which grow they neither eat raw nor boil for food; nay the priests
do not endure even to look upon them, thinking this to be an unclean
kind of pulse: and there is not one priest only for each of the gods but
many, and of them one is chief-priest, and whenever a priest dies his
son is appointed to his place.

38. The males of the ox kind they consider to belong to Epaphos, and
on account of him they test them in the following manner:—If the priest
sees one single black hair upon the beast he counts it not clean for
sacrifice; and one of the priests who is appointed for the purpose makes
investigation of these matters, both when the beast is standing upright
and when it is lying on its back, drawing out its tongue moreover, to
see if it is clean in respect of the appointed signs, which I shall tell
of in another part of the history: 42 he looks also at the hairs of the
tail to see if it has them growing in the natural manner: and if it
be clean in respect of all these things, he marks it with a piece of
papyrus, rolling this round the horns, and then when he has plastered
sealing-earth over it he sets upon it the seal of his signet-ring, and
after that they take the animal away. But for one who sacrifices a beast
not sealed the penalty appointed is death.

39. In this way then the beast is tested; and their appointed manner of sacrifice is as follows:—they lead the sealed beast to the altar where they happen to be sacrificing and then kindle a fire: after that, having poured libations of wine over the altar so that it runs down upon the victim and having called upon the god, they cut its throat, and having cut its throat they sever the head from the body. The body then of the beast they flay, but upon the head 43 they make many imprecations first, and then they who have a market and Hellenes sojourning among them for trade, these carry it to the market-place and sell it, while they who have no Hellenes among them cast it away into the river: and this is the form of imprecation which they utter upon the heads, praying that if any evil be about to befall either themselves who are offering sacrifice or the land of Egypt in general, it may come rather upon this head. Now as regards the heads of the beasts which are sacrificed and the pouring over them of the wine, all the Egyptians have the same customs equally for all their sacrifices; and by reason of this custom none of the Egyptians eat of the head either of this or of any other kind of animal:

40, but the manner of disembowelling the victims and of burning them is
appointed among them differently for different sacrifices; I shall
speak however of the sacrifices to that goddess whom they regard as the
greatest of all, and to whom they celebrate the greatest feast.—When
they have flayed the bullock and made imprecation, they take out the
whole of its lower entrails but leave in the body the upper entrails and
the fat; and they sever from it the legs and the end of the loin and the
shoulders and the neck: and this done, they fill the rest of the body of
the animal with consecrated 44 loaves and honey and raisins and figs and
frankincense and myrrh and every other kind of spices, and having filled
it with these they offer it, pouring over it great abundance of oil.
They make their sacrifice after fasting, and while the offerings are
being burnt, they all beat themselves for mourning, and when they have
finished beating themselves they set forth as a feast that which they
left unburnt of the sacrifice.

41. The clean males then of the ox kind, both full-grown animals and
calves, are sacrificed by all the Egyptians; the females however they
may not sacrifice, but these are sacred to Isis; for the figure of Isis
is in the form of a woman with cow's horns, just as the Hellenes present
Io in pictures, and all the Egyptians without distinction reverence cows
far more than any other kind of cattle; for which reason neither man nor
woman of Egyptian race would kiss a man who is a Hellene on the mouth,
nor will they use a knife or roasting-spits or a caldron belonging to
a Hellene, nor taste of the flesh even of a clean animal if it has been
cut with the knife of a Hellene. And the cattle of this kind which die
they bury in the following manner:—the females they cast into the river,
but the males they bury, each people in the suburb of their town, with
one of the horns, or sometimes both, protruding to mark the place; and
when the bodies have rotted away and the appointed time comes on, then
to each city comes a boat 45 from that which is called the island of
Prosopitis (this is in the Delta, and the extent of its circuit is nine
schoines). In this island of Prosopitis is situated, besides many other
cities, that one from which the boats come to take up the bones of the
oxen, and the name of the city is Atarbechis, and in it there is set
up a holy temple of Aphrodite. From this city many go abroad in various
directions, some to one city and others to another, and when they have
dug up the bones of the oxen they carry them off, and coming together
they bury them in one single place. In the same manner as they bury the
oxen they bury also their other cattle when they die; for about them
also they have the same law laid down, and these also they abstain from
killing.

42. Now all who have a temple set up to the Theban Zeus or who are of
the district of Thebes, these, I say, all sacrifice goats and abstain
from sheep: for not all the Egyptians equally reverence the same gods,
except only Isis and Osiris (who they say is Dionysos), these they all
reverence alike: but they who have a temple of Mendes or belong to the
Mendesian district, these abstain from goats and sacrifice sheep. Now
the men of Thebes and those who after their example abstain from sheep,
say that this custom was established among them for the cause which
follows:—Heracles (they say) had an earnest desire to see Zeus, and Zeus
did not desire to be seen of him; and at last when Heracles was urgent
in entreaty Zeus contrived this device, that is to say, he flayed a ram
and held in front of him the head of the ram which he had cut off, and
he put on over him the fleece and then showed himself to him. Hence
the Egyptians make the image of Zeus into the face of a ram; and the
Ammonians do so also after their example, being settlers both from
the Egyptians and from the Ethiopians, and using a language which is a
medley of both tongues: and in my opinion it is from this god that the
Ammonians took the name which they have, for the Egyptians call Zeus
Amun. The Thebans then do not sacrifice rams but hold them sacred for
this reason; on one day however in the year, on the feast of Zeus, they
cut up in the same manner and flay one single ram and cover with its
skin the image of Zeus, and then they bring up to it another image
of Heracles. This done, all who are in the temple beat themselves in
lamentation for the ram, and then they bury it in a sacred tomb.

43. About Heracles I heard the account given that he was of the number
of the twelve gods; but of the other Heracles whom the Hellenes know I
was not able to hear in any part of Egypt: and moreover to prove that
the Egyptians did not take the name of Heracles from the Hellenes, but
rather the Hellenes from the Egyptians,—that is to say those of the
Hellenes who gave the name Heracles to the son of Amphitryon,—of that, I
say, besides many other evidences there is chiefly this, namely that the
parents of this Heracles, Amphitryon and Alcmene, were both of Egypt by
descent, 46 and also that the Egyptians say that they do not know
the names either of Poseidon or of the Dioscuroi, nor have these been
accepted by them as gods among the other gods; whereas if they had
received from the Hellenes the name of any divinity, they would
naturally have preserved the memory of these most of all, assuming that
in those times as now some of the Hellenes were wont to make voyages
4601 and were sea-faring folk, as I suppose and as my judgment compels
me to think; so that the Egyptians would have learnt the names of these
gods even more than that of Heracles. In fact however Heracles is a
very ancient Egyptian god; and (as they say themselves) it is seventeen
thousand years to the beginning of the reign of Amasis from the time
when the twelve gods, of whom they count that Heracles is one, were
begotten of the eight gods.

44. I moreover, desiring to know something certain of these matters so
far as might be, made a voyage also to Tyre of Phenicia, hearing that
in that place there was a holy temple of Heracles; and I saw that it
was richly furnished with many votive offerings besides, and especially
there were in it two pillars, 47 the one of pure gold and the other of
an emerald stone of such size as to shine by night: 48 and having come
to speech with the priests of the god, I asked them how long time it
was since their temple had been set up: and these also I found to be
at variance with the Hellenes, for they said that at the same time when
Tyre was founded, the temple of the god also had been set up, and that
it was a period of two thousand three hundred years since their people
began to dwell at Tyre. I saw also at Tyre another temple of Heracles,
with the surname Thasian; and I came to Thasos also and there I found a
temple of Heracles set up by the Phenicians, who had sailed out to seek
for Europa and had colonised Thasos; and these things happened full five
generations of men before Heracles the son of Amphitryon was born in
Hellas. So then my inquiries show clearly that Heracles is an ancient
god, and those of the Hellenes seem to me to act most rightly who have
two temples of Heracles set up, and who sacrifice to the one as an
immortal god and with the title Olympian, and make offerings of the dead
49 to the other as a hero.

45. Moreover, besides many other stories which the Hellenes tell without
due consideration, this tale is especially foolish which they tell about
Heracles, namely that when he came to Egypt, the Egyptians put on him
wreaths and led him forth in procession to sacrifice him to Zeus; and he
for some time kept quiet, but when they were beginning the sacrifice of
him at the altar, he betook himself to prowess and slew them all. I for
my part am of opinion that the Hellenes when they tell this tale are
altogether without knowledge of the nature and customs of the Egyptians;
for how should they for whom it is not lawful to sacrifice even beasts,
except swine 50 and the males of oxen and calves (such of them as are
clean) and geese, how should these sacrifice human beings? Besides this,
how is it in nature possible that Heracles, being one person only and
moreover a man (as they assert), should slay many myriads? Having said
so much of these matters, we pray that we may have grace from both the
gods and the heroes for our speech.

46. Now the reason why those of the Egyptians whom I have mentioned do
not sacrifice goats, female or male, is this:—the Mendesians count Pan
to be one of the eight gods (now these eight gods they say came into
being before the twelve gods), and the painters and image-makers
represent in painting and in sculpture the figure of Pan, just as the
Hellenes do, with goat's face and legs, not supposing him to be really
like this but to resemble the other gods; the cause however why they
represent him in this form I prefer not to say. The Mendesians then
reverence all goats and the males more than the females (and the
goatherds too have greater honour than other herdsmen), but of the goats
one especially is reverenced, and when he dies there is great mourning
in all the Mendesian district: and both the goat and Pan are called in
the Egyptian tongue Mendes. Moreover in my lifetime there happened in
that district this marvel, that is to say a he-goat had intercourse with
a woman publicly, and this was so done that all men might have evidence
of it.

47. The pig is accounted by the Egyptians an abominable animal; and
first, if any of them in passing by touch a pig, he goes into the river
and dips himself forthwith in the water together with his garments; and
then too swineherds, though they be native Egyptians, unlike all others
do not enter any of the temples in Egypt, nor is anyone willing to give
his daughter in marriage to one of them or to take a wife from among
them; but the swineherds both give in marriage to one another and take
from one another. Now to the other gods the Egyptians do not think it
right to sacrifice swine; but to the Moon and to Dionysos alone at the
same time and on the same full-moon they sacrifice swine, and then eat
their flesh: and as to the reason why, when they abominate swine at all
their other feasts, they sacrifice them at this, there is a story told
by the Egyptians; and this story I know, but it is not a seemly one for
me to tell. Now the sacrifice of the swine to the Moon is performed as
follows:—when the priest has slain the victim, he puts together the end
of the tail and the spleen and the caul, and covers them up with the
whole of the fat of the animal which is about the paunch, and then he
offers them with fire; and the rest of the flesh they eat on that day of
full moon upon which they have held the sacrifice, but on any day after
this they will not taste of it: the poor however among them by reason of
the scantiness of their means shape pigs of dough and having baked them
they offer these as a sacrifice.

48. Then for Dionysos on the eve of the festival each one kills a pig by
cutting its throat before his own doors, and after that he gives the pig
to the swineherd who sold it to him, to carry away again; and the rest
of the feast of Dionysos is celebrated by the Egyptians in the same
way as by the Hellenes in almost all things except choral dances, but
instead of the phallos they have invented another contrivance, namely
figures of about a cubit in height worked by strings, which women carry
about the villages, with the privy member made to move and not much
less in size than the rest of the body: and a flute goes before and they
follow singing the praises of Dionysos. As to the reason why the figure
has this member larger than is natural and moves it, though it moves no
other part of the body, about this there is a sacred story told.

49. Now I think that Melampus the son of Amytheon was not without
knowledge of these rites of sacrifice, but was acquainted with them: for
Melampus is he who first set forth to the Hellenes the name of Dionysos
and the manner of sacrifice and the procession of the phallos. Strictly
speaking indeed, he when he made it known did not take in the whole, but
those wise men who came after him made it known more at large. Melampus
then is he who taught of the phallos which is carried in procession for
Dionysos, and from him the Hellenes learnt to do that which they do. I
say then that Melampus being a man of ability contrived for himself an
art of divination, and having learnt from Egypt he taught the Hellenes
many things, and among them those that concern Dionysos, making changes
in some few points of them: for I shall not say that that which is done
in worship of the god in Egypt came accidentally to be the same with
that which is done among the Hellenes, for then these rites would have
been in character with the Hellenic worship and not lately brought in;
nor certainly shall I say that the Egyptians took from the Hellenes
either this or any other customary observance: but I think it most
probable that Melampus learnt the matters concerning Dionysos from
Cadmos the Tyrian and from those who came with him from Phenicia to the
land which we now call Boeotia.

50. Moreover the naming 51 of almost all the gods has come to Hellas
from Egypt: for that it has come from the Barbarians I find by inquiry
is true, and I am of opinion that most probably it has come from Egypt,
because, except in the case of Poseidon and the Dioscuroi (in accordance
with that which I have said before), and also of Hera and Hestia and
Themis and the Charites and Nereïds, the Egyptians have had the names
of all the other gods in their country for all time. What I say here
is that which the Egyptians think themselves: but as for the gods whose
names they profess that they do not know, these I think received their
naming from the Pelasgians, except Poseidon; but about this god the
Hellenes learnt from the Libyans, for no people except the Libyans have
had the name of Poseidon from the first and have paid honour to this
god always. Nor, it may be added, have the Egyptians any custom of
worshipping heroes.

51. These observances then, and others besides these which I shall
mention, the Hellenes have adopted from the Egyptians; but to make, as
they do, the images of Hermes with the phallos they have learnt not from
the Egyptians but from the Pelasgians, the custom having been received
by the Athenians first of all the Hellenes and from these by the rest;
for just at the time when the Athenians were beginning to rank among the
Hellenes, the Pelasgians became dwellers with them in their land, and
from this very cause it was that they began to be counted as Hellenes.
Whosoever has been initiated in the mysteries of the Cabeiroi, which the
Samothrakians perform having received them from the Pelasgians, that
man knows the meaning of my speech; for these very Pelasgians who
became dwellers with the Athenians used to dwell before that time in
Samothrake, and from them the Samothrakians received their mysteries. So
then the Athenians were the first of the Hellenes who made the images
of Hermes with the phallos, having learnt from the Pelasgians; and
the Pelasgians told a sacred story about it, which is set forth in the
mysteries in Samothrake.

52. Now the Pelasgians formerly were wont to make all their sacrifices
calling upon the gods in prayer, as I know from that which I heard at
Dodona, but they gave no title or name to any of them, for they had
not yet heard any, but they called them gods ({theous}) from some such
notion as this, that they had set ({thentes}) in order all things and
so had the distribution of everything. Afterwards, when much time
had elapsed, they learnt from Egypt the names of the gods, all except
Dionysos, for his name they learnt long afterwards; and after a time
the Pelasgians consulted the Oracle at Dodona about the names, for this
prophetic seat is accounted to be the most ancient of the Oracles which
are among the Hellenes, and at that time it was the only one. So when
the Pelasgians asked the Oracle at Dodona whether they should adopt the
names which had come from the Barbarians, the Oracle in reply bade them
make use of the names. From this time they sacrificed using the names of
the gods, and from the Pelasgians the Hellenes afterwards received them:

53, but whence the several gods had their birth, or whether they all
were from the beginning, and of what form they are, they did not learn
till yesterday, as it were, or the day before: for Hesiod and Homer I
suppose were four hundred years before my time and not more, and these
are they who made a theogony for the Hellenes and gave the titles to
the gods and distributed to them honours and arts, and set forth their
forms: but the poets who are said to have been before these men were
really in my opinion after them. Of these things the first are said by
the priestesses of Dodona, and the latter things, those namely which
have regard to Hesiod and Homer, by myself.

54. As regards the Oracles both that among the Hellenes and that in
Libya, the Egyptians tell the following tale. The priests of the Theban
Zeus told me that two women in the service of the temple had been
carried away from Thebes by Phenicians, and that they had heard that one
of them had been sold to go into Libya and the other to the Hellenes;
and these women, they said, were they who first founded the prophetic
seats among the nations which have been named: and when I inquired
whence they knew so perfectly of this tale which they told, they said
in reply that a great search had been made by the priests after these
women, and that they had not been able to find them, but they had heard
afterwards this tale about them which they were telling.

55. This I heard from the priests at Thebes, and what follows is said by
the prophetesses 52 of Dodona. They say that two black doves flew from
Thebes to Egypt, and came one of them to Libya and the other to their
land. And this latter settled upon an oak-tree 53 and spoke with human
voice, saying that it was necessary that a prophetic seat of Zeus should
be established in that place; and they supposed that that was of the
gods which was announced to them, and made one accordingly: and the dove
which went away to the Libyans, they say, bade the Libyans to make an
Oracle of Ammon; and this also is of Zeus. The priestesses of Dodona
told me these things, of whom the eldest was named Promeneia, the next
after her Timarete, and the youngest Nicandra; and the other people of
Dodona who were engaged about the temple gave accounts agreeing with
theirs.

56. I however have an opinion about the matter as follows:—If the
Phenicians did in truth carry away the consecrated women and sold one of
them into Libya and the other into Hellas, I suppose that in the country
now called Hellas, which was formerly called Pelasgia, this woman was
sold into the land of the Thesprotians; and then being a slave there she
set up a sanctuary of Zeus under a real oak-tree; 54 as indeed it was
natural that being an attendant of the sanctuary of Zeus at Thebes, she
should there, in the place to which she had come, have a memory of him;
and after this, when she got understanding of the Hellenic tongue, she
established an Oracle, and she reported, I suppose, that her sister had
been sold in Libya by the same Phenicians by whom she herself had been
sold.

57. Moreover, I think that the women were called doves by the people of
Dodona for the reason that they were Barbarians and because it seemed to
them that they uttered voice like birds; but after a time (they say) the
dove spoke with human voice, that is when the woman began to speak so
that they could understand; but so long as she spoke a Barbarian tongue
she seemed to them to be uttering voice like a bird: for had it been
really a dove, how could it speak with human voice? And in saying that
the dove was black, they indicate that the woman was Egyptian. The
ways of delivering oracles too at Thebes in Egypt and at Dodona closely
resemble one another, as it happens, and also the method of divination
by victims has come from Egypt.

58. Moreover, it is true also that the Egyptians were the first of men who made solemn assemblies 55 and processions and approaches to the temples, 56 and from them the Hellenes have learnt them, and my evidence for this is that the Egyptian celebrations of these have been held from a very ancient time, whereas the Hellenic were introduced 57 but lately.

59. The Egyptians hold their solemn assemblies not once in the year but
often, especially and with the greatest zeal and devotion 58 at the
city of Bubastis for Artemis, and next at Busiris for Isis; for in this
last-named city there is a very great temple of Isis, and this city
stands in the middle of the Delta of Egypt; now Isis is in the tongue of
the Hellenes Demeter: thirdly, they have a solemn assembly at the city
of Saïs for Athene, fourthly at Heliopolis for the Sun (Helios), fifthly
at the city of Buto in honour of Leto, and sixthly at the city of
Papremis for Ares.

60. Now, when they are coming to the city of Bubastis they do as
follows:—they sail men and women together, and a great multitude of each
sex in every boat; and some of the women have rattles and rattle with
them, while some of the men play the flute during the whole time of the
voyage, and the rest, both women and men, sing and clap their hands; and
when as they sail they come opposite to any city on the way they bring
the boat to land, and some of the women continue to do as I have said,
others cry aloud and jeer at the women in that city, some dance, and
some stand up and pull up their garments. This they do by every city
along the river-bank; and when they come to Bubastis they hold festival
celebrating great sacrifices, and more wine of grapes is consumed upon
that festival than during the whole of the rest of the year. To this
place (so say the natives) they come together year by year 59 even to
the number of seventy myriads 5901 of men and women, besides children.

61. Thus it is done here; and how they celebrate the festival in honour
of Isis at the city of Busiris has been told by me before: 60 for, as I
said, they beat themselves in mourning after the sacrifice, all of them
both men and women, very many myriads of people; but for whom they beat
themselves it is not permitted to me by religion to say: and so many as
there are of the Carians dwelling in Egypt do this even more than the
Egyptians themselves, inasmuch as they cut their foreheads also with
knives; and by this it is manifested that they are strangers and not
Egyptians.

62. At the times when they gather together at the city of Saïs for their
sacrifices, on a certain night 61 they all kindle lamps many in number
in the open air round about the houses; now the lamps are saucers full
of salt and oil mixed, and the wick floats by itself on the surface, and
this burns during the whole night; and to the festival is given the name
Lychnocaia (the lighting of the lamps). Moreover those of the Egyptians
who have not come to this solemn assembly observe the night of the
festival and themselves also light lamps all of them, and thus not in
Saïs alone are they lighted, but over all Egypt: and as to the reason
why light and honour are allotted to this night, 62 about this there is
a sacred story told.

63. To Heliopolis and Buto they go year by year and do sacrifice only:
but at Papremis they do sacrifice and worship as elsewhere, and besides
that, when the sun begins to go down, while some few of the priests are
occupied with the image of the god, the greater number of them stand in
the entrance of the temple with wooden clubs, and other persons to the
number of more than a thousand men with purpose to perform a vow, these
also having all of them staves of wood, stand in a body opposite to
those: and the image, which is in a small shrine of wood covered over
with gold, they take out on the day before to another sacred building.
The few then who have been left about the image, draw a wain with four
wheels, which bears the shrine and the image that is within the shrine,
and the other priests standing in the gateway try to prevent it from
entering, and the men who are under a vow come to the assistance of the
god and strike them, while the others defend themselves. 63 Then there
comes to be a hard fight with staves, and they break one another's
heads, and I am of opinion that many even die of the wounds they
receive; the Egyptians however told me that no one died. This solemn
assembly the people of the place say that they established for the
following reason:—the mother of Ares, they say, used to dwell in this
temple, and Ares, having been brought up away from her, when he grew
up came thither desiring to visit his mother, and the attendants of his
mother's temple, not having seen him before, did not permit him to pass
in, but kept him away; and he brought men to help him from another city
and handled roughly the attendants of the temple, and entered to visit
his mother. Hence, they say, this exchange of blows has become the
custom in honour of Ares upon his festival.

64. The Egyptians were the first who made it a point of religion not to
lie with women in temples, nor to enter into temples after going away
from women without first bathing: for almost all other men except the
Egyptians and the Hellenes lie with women in temples and enter into a
temple after going away from women without bathing, since they hold that
there is no difference in this respect between men and beasts: for
they say that they see beasts and the various kinds of birds coupling
together both in the temples and in the sacred enclosures of the gods;
if then this were not pleasing to the god, the beasts would not do so.

65. Thus do these defend that which they do, which by me is disallowed:
but the Egyptians are excessively careful in their observances, both
in other matters which concern the sacred rites and also in those which
follow:—Egypt, though it borders upon Libya, 6301 does not very much
abound in wild animals, but such as they have are one and all accounted
by them sacred, some of them living with men and others not. But if I
should say for what reasons the sacred animals have been thus dedicated,
I should fall into discourse of matters pertaining to the gods, of
which I most desire not to speak; and what I have actually said touching
slightly upon them, I said because I was constrained by necessity.
About these animals there is a custom of this kind:—persons have been
appointed of the Egyptians, both men and women, to provide the food for
each kind of beast separately, and their office goes down from father
to son; and those who dwell in the various cities perform vows to
them thus, that is, when they make a vow to the god to whom the animal
belongs, they shave the head of their children either the whole or
the half or the third part of it, and then set the hair in the balance
against silver, and whatever it weighs, this the man gives to the person
who provides for the animals, and she cuts up fish of equal value and
gives it for food to the animals. Thus food for their support has been
appointed: and if any one kill any of these animals, the penalty, if he
do it with his own will, is death, and if against his will, such penalty
as the priests may appoint: but whosoever shall kill an ibis or a hawk,
whether it be with his will or against his will, must die.

66. Of the animals that live with men there are great numbers, and would
be many more but for the accidents which befall the cats. For when the
females have produced young they are no longer in the habit of going
to the males, and these seeking to be united with them are not able. To
this end then they contrive as follows,—they either take away by force
or remove secretly the young from the females and kill them (but after
killing they do not eat them), and the females being deprived of their
young and desiring more, therefore come to the males, for it is a
creature that is fond of its young. Moreover when a fire occurs, the
cats seem to be divinely possessed; 64 for while the Egyptians stand at
intervals and look after the cats, not taking any care to extinguish the
fire, the cats slipping through or leaping over the men, jump into the
fire; and when this happens, great mourning comes upon the Egyptians.
And in whatever houses a cat has died by a natural death, all those who
dwell in this house shave their eyebrows only, but those in whose houses
a dog has died shave their whole body and also their head.

67. The cats when they are dead are carried away to sacred buildings in
the city of Bubastis, where after being embalmed they are buried; but
the dogs they bury each people in their own city in sacred tombs;
and the ichneumons are buried just in the same way as the dogs. The
shrew-mice however and the hawks they carry away to the city of Buto,
and the ibises to Hermopolis; 65 the bears (which are not commonly seen)
and the wolves, not much larger in size than foxes, they bury on the
spot where they are found lying.

68. Of the crocodile the nature is as follows:—during the four most
wintry months this creature eats nothing: she has four feet and is an
animal belonging to the land and the water both; for she produces and
hatches eggs on the land, and the most part of the day she remains upon
dry land, but the whole of the night in the river, for the water in
truth is warmer than the unclouded open air and the dew. Of all the
mortal creatures of which we have knowledge this grows to the greatest
bulk from the smallest beginning; for the eggs which she produces are
not much larger than those of geese and the newly-hatched young one
is in proportion to the egg, but as he grows he becomes as much as
seventeen cubits long and sometimes yet larger. He has eyes like those
of a pig and teeth large and tusky, in proportion to the size of his
body; but unlike all other beasts he grows no tongue, neither does he
move his lower jaw, but brings the upper jaw towards the lower, being
in this too unlike all other beasts. He has moreover strong claws and a
scaly hide upon his back which cannot be pierced; and he is blind in the
water, but in the air he is of very keen sight. Since he has his living
in the water he keeps his mouth all full within of leeches; and whereas
all other birds and beasts fly from him, the trochilus is a creature
which is at peace with him, seeing that from her he receives benefit;
for the crocodile having come out of the water to the land and then
having opened his mouth (this he is wont to do generally towards the
West Wind), the trochilus upon that enters into his mouth and swallows
down the leeches, and he being benefited is pleased and does no harm to
the trochilus.

69. Now for some of the Egyptians the crocodiles are sacred animals, and
for others not so, but they treat them on the contrary as enemies: those
however who dwell about Thebes and about the lake of Moiris hold them
to be most sacred, and each of these two peoples keeps one crocodile
selected from the whole number, which has been trained to tameness, and
they put hanging ornaments of molten stone and of gold into the ears
of these and anklets round the front feet, and they give them food
appointed and victims of sacrifices and treat them as well as possible
while they live, and after they are dead they bury them in sacred tombs,
embalming them: but those who dwell about the city of Elephantine even
eat them, not holding them to be sacred. They are called not crocodiles
but champsai, and the Ionians gave them the name of crocodile, comparing
their form to that of the crocodiles (lizards) which appear in their
country in the stone walls.

70. There are many ways in use of catching them and of various kinds: I
shall describe that which to me seems the most worthy of being told. A
man puts the back of a pig upon a hook as bait, and lets it go into the
middle of the river, while he himself upon the bank of the river has
a young live pig, which he beats; and the crocodile hearing its cries
makes for the direction of the sound, and when he finds the pig's back
he swallows it down: then they pull, and when he is drawn out to land,
first of all the hunter forthwith plasters up his eyes with mud, and
having so done he very easily gets the mastery of him, but if he does
not do so he has much trouble.

71. The river-horse is sacred in the district of Papremis, but for the
other Egyptians he is not sacred; and this is the appearance which he
presents: he is four-footed, cloven-hoofed like an ox, 66 flat-nosed,
with a mane like a horse and showing teeth like tusks, with a tail and
voice like a horse, and in size as large as the largest ox; and his hide
is so exceedingly thick that when it has been dried shafts of javelins
are made of it.

72. There are moreover otters in the river, which they consider to be
sacred; and of fish also they esteem that which is called the lepidotos
to be sacred, and also the eel; and these they say are sacred to the
Nile: and of birds the fox-goose.

73. There is also another sacred bird called the phoenix which I did
not myself see except in painting, for in truth he comes to them very
rarely, at intervals, as the people of Heliopolis say, of five hundred
years; and these say that he comes regularly when his father dies; and
if he be like the painting, he is of this size and nature, that is to
say, some of his feathers are of gold colour and others red, and in
outline and size he is as nearly as possible like an eagle. This bird
they say (but I cannot believe the story) contrives as follows:—setting
forth from Arabia he conveys his father, they say, to the temple of the
Sun (Helios) plastered up in myrrh, and buries him in the temple of the
Sun; and he conveys him thus:—he forms first an egg of myrrh as large as
he is able to carry, and then he makes trial of carrying it, and when he
has made trial sufficiently, then he hollows out the egg and places his
father within it and plasters over with other myrrh that part of the egg
where he hollowed it out to put his father in, and when his father is
laid in it, it proves (they say) to be of the same weight as it was;
and after he has plastered it up, he conveys the whole to Egypt to the
temple of the Sun. Thus they say that this bird does.

74. There are also about Thebes sacred serpents, not at all harmful to
men, which are small in size and have two horns growing from the top of
the head: these they bury when they die in the temple of Zeus, for to
this god they say that they are sacred.

75. There is a region moreover in Arabia, situated nearly over against
the city of Buto, to which place I came to inquire about the winged
serpents: and when I came thither I saw bones of serpents and spines in
quantity so great that it is impossible to make report of the number,
and there were heaps of spines, some heaps large and others less large
and others smaller still than these, and these heaps were many in
number. This region in which the spines are scattered upon the ground
is of the nature of an entrance from a narrow mountain pass to a great
plain, which plain adjoins the plain of Egypt; and the story goes that
at the beginning of spring winged serpents from Arabia fly towards
Egypt, and the birds called ibises meet them at the entrance to this
country and do not suffer the serpents to go by but kill them. On
account of this deed it is (say the Arabians) that the ibis has come to
be greatly honoured by the Egyptians, and the Egyptians also agree that
it is for this reason that they honour these birds.

76. The outward form of the ibis is this:—it is a deep black all over,
and has legs like those of a crane and a very curved beak, and in size
it is about equal to a rail: this is the appearance of the black kind
which fight with the serpents, but of those which most crowd round men's
feet (for there are two several kinds of ibises) the head is bare and
also the whole of the throat, and it is white in feathering except the
head and neck and the extremities of the wings and the rump (in all
these parts of which I have spoken it is a deep black), while in legs
and in the form of the head it resembles the other. As for the serpent
its form is like that of the watersnake; and it has wings not feathered
but most nearly resembling the wings of the bat. Let so much suffice as
has been said now concerning sacred animals.

77. Of the Egyptians themselves, those who dwell in the part of Egypt
which is sown for crops 67 practise memory more than any other men and
are the most learned in history by far of all those of whom I have had
experience: and their manner of life is as follows:—For three successive
days in each month they purge, hunting after health with emetics and
clysters, and they think that all the diseases which exist are produced
in men by the food on which they live; for the Egyptians are from other
causes also the most healthy of all men next after the Libyans (in my
opinion on account of the seasons, because the seasons do not change,
for by the changes of things generally, and especially of the seasons,
diseases are most apt to be produced in men), and as to their diet, it
is as follows:—they eat bread, making loaves of maize, which they call
kyllestis, and they use habitually a wine made out of barley, for vines
they have not in their land. Of their fish some they dry in the sun and
then eat them without cooking, others they eat cured in brine. Of birds
they eat quails and ducks and small birds without cooking, after first
curing them; and everything else which they have belonging to the
class of birds or fishes, except such as have been set apart by them as
sacred, they eat roasted or boiled.

78. In the entertainments of the rich among them, when they have
finished eating, a man bears round a wooden figure of a dead body in a
coffin, made as like the reality as may be both by painting and carving,
and measuring about a cubit or two cubits each way; 68 and this he shows
to each of those who are drinking together, saying: "When thou lookest
upon this, drink and be merry, for thou shalt be such as this when thou
art dead." Thus they do at their carousals.

79. The customs which they practise are derived from their fathers and
they do not acquire others in addition; but besides other customary
things among them which are worthy of mention, they have one song, 6801
that of Linos, the same who is sung of both in Phenicia and in Cyprus
and elsewhere, having however a name different according to the various
nations. This song agrees exactly with that which the Hellenes sing
calling on the name of Linos, 69 so that besides many other things
about which I wonder among those matters which concern Egypt, I wonder
especially about this, namely whence they got the song of Linos. 70 It
is evident however that they have sung this song from immemorial time,
and in the Egyptian tongue Linos is called Maneros. The Egyptians told
me that he was the only son of him who first became king of Egypt, and
that he died before his time and was honoured with these lamentations by
the Egyptians, and that this was their first and only song.

80. In another respect the Egyptians are in agreement with some of the
Hellenes, namely with the Lacedemonians, but not with the rest, that is
to say, the younger of them when they meet the elder give way and move
out of the path, and when their elders approach they rise out of their
seat. In this which follows however they are not in agreement with any
of the Hellenes,—instead of addressing one another in the roads they do
reverence, lowering their hand down to their knee.

81. They wear tunics of linen about their legs with fringes, which they
call calasiris; above these they have garments of white wool thrown
over: woollen garments however are not taken into the temples, nor are
they buried with them, for this is not permitted by religion. In these
points they are in agreement with the observances called Orphic and
Bacchic (which are really Egyptian), 71 and also with those of the
Pythagoreans, for one who takes part in these mysteries is also
forbidden by religious rule to be buried in woollen garments; and about
this there is a sacred story told.

82. Besides these things the Egyptians have found out also to what god
each month and each day belongs, and what fortunes a man will meet with
who is born on any particular day, and how he will die, and what kind
of a man he will be: and these inventions were taken up by those of the
Hellenes who occupied themselves about poesy. Portents too have been
found out by them more than by all other men besides; for when a portent
has happened, they observe and write down the event which comes of it,
and if ever afterwards anything resembling this happens, they believe
that the event which comes of it will be similar.

83. Their divination is ordered thus:—the art is assigned not to any
man, but to certain of the gods, for there are in their land Oracles of
Heracles, of Apollo, of Athene, of Artemis, of Ares, and of Zeus, and
moreover that which they hold most in honour of all, namely the Oracle
of Leto which is in the city of Buto. The manner of divination however
is not yet established among them according to the same fashion
everywhere, but is different in different places.

84. The art of medicine among them is distributed thus:—each physician
is a physician of one disease and of no more; and the whole country is
full of physicians, for some profess themselves to be physicians of the
eyes, others of the head, others of the teeth, others of the affections
of the stomach, and others of the more obscure ailments.

85. Their fashions of mourning and of burial are these:—Whenever any
household has lost a man who is of any regard amongst them, the whole
number of women of that house forthwith plaster over their heads or even
their faces with mud. Then leaving the corpse within the house they go
themselves to and fro about the city and beat themselves, with their
garments bound up by a girdle 72 and their breasts exposed, and with
them go all the women who are related to the dead man, and on the other
side the men beat themselves, they too having their garments bound up by
a girdle; and when they have done this, they then convey the body to the
embalming.

86. In this occupation certain persons employ themselves regularly and
inherit this as a craft. These, whenever a corpse is conveyed to them,
show to those who brought it wooden models of corpses made like reality
by painting, and the best of the ways of embalming they say is that of
him whose name I think it impiety to mention when speaking of a matter
of such a kind; 73 the second which they show is less good than this and
also less expensive; and the third is the least expensive of all. Having
told them about this, they inquire of them in which way they desire the
corpse of their friend to be prepared. Then they after they have agreed
for a certain price depart out of the way, and the others being left
behind in the buildings embalm according to the best of these ways
thus:—First with a crooked iron tool they draw out the brain through the
nostrils, extracting it partly thus and partly by pouring in drugs; and
after this with a sharp stone of Ethiopia they make a cut along the side
and take out the whole contents of the belly, and when they have cleared
out the cavity and cleansed it with palm-wine they cleanse it again with
spices pounded up: then they fill the belly with pure myrrh pounded
up and with cassia and other spices except frankincense, and sew it
together again. Having so done they keep it for embalming covered up
in natron for seventy days, but for a longer time than this it is not
permitted to embalm it; and when the seventy days are past, they wash
the corpse and roll its whole body up in fine linen 74 cut into bands,
smearing these beneath with gum, 75 which the Egyptians use generally
instead of glue. Then the kinsfolk receive it from them and have a
wooden figure made in the shape of a man, and when they have had this
made they enclose the corpse, and having shut it up within, they store
it then in a sepulchral chamber, setting it to stand upright against the
wall.

87. Thus they deal with the corpses which are prepared in the most
costly way; but for those who desire the middle way and wish to avoid
great cost they prepare the corpse as follows:—having filled their
syringes with the oil which is got from cedar-wood, with this they
forthwith fill the belly of the corpse, and this they do without having
either cut it open or taken out the bowels, but they inject the oil by
the breech, and having stopped the drench from returning back they keep
it then the appointed number of days for embalming, and on the last
of the days they let the cedar oil come out from the belly, which they
before put in; and it has such power that it brings out with it the
bowels and interior organs of the body dissolved; and the natron
dissolves the flesh, so that there is left of the corpse only the skin
and the bones. When they have done this they give back the corpse at
once in that condition without working upon it any more.

88. The third kind of embalming, by which are prepared the bodies of
those who have less means, is as follows:—they cleanse out the belly
with a purge and then keep the body for embalming during the seventy
days, and at once after that they give it back to the bringers to carry
away.

89. The wives of men of rank when they die are not given at once to be
embalmed, nor such women as are very beautiful or of greater regard
than others, but on the third or fourth day after their death (and
not before) they are delivered to the embalmers. They do so about this
matter in order that the embalmers may not abuse their women, for they
say that one of them was taken once doing so to the corpse of a woman
lately dead, and his fellow-craftsman gave information.

90. Whenever any one, either of the Egyptians themselves or of
strangers, is found to have been carried off by a crocodile or brought
to his death by the river itself, the people of any city by which he may
have been cast up on land must embalm him and lay him out in the fairest
way they can and bury him in a sacred burial-place, nor may any of his
relations or friends besides touch him, but the priests of the Nile
themselves handle the corpse and bury it as that of one who was
something more than man.

91. Hellenic usages they will by no means follow, and to speak generally
they follow those of no other men whatever. This rule is observed by
most of the Egyptians; but there is a large city named Chemmis in the
Theban district near Neapolis, and in this city there is a temple of
Perseus the son of Danae which is of a square shape, and round it grow
date-palms: the gateway of the temple is built of stone and of very
great size, and at the entrance of it stand two great statues of stone.
Within this enclosure is a temple-house 76 and in it stands an image
of Perseus. These people of Chemmis say that Perseus is wont often to
appear in their land and often within the temple, and that a sandal
which has been worn by him is found sometimes, being in length two
cubits, and whenever this appears all Egypt prospers. This they say, and
they do in honour of Perseus after Hellenic fashion thus,—they hold an
athletic contest, which includes the whole list of games, and they offer
in prizes cattle and cloaks and skins: and when I inquired why to them
alone Perseus was wont to appear, and wherefore they were separated from
all the other Egyptians in that they held an athletic contest, they said
that Perseus had been born of their city, for Danaos and Lynkeus were
men of Chemmis and had sailed to Hellas, and from them they traced a
descent and came down to Perseus: and they told me that he had come to
Egypt for the reason which the Hellenes also say, namely to bring from
Libya the Gorgon's head, and had then visited them also and recognised
all his kinsfolk, and they said that he had well learnt the name of
Chemmis before he came to Egypt, since he had heard it from his mother,
and that they celebrated an athletic contest for him by his own command.

92. All these are customs practised by the Egyptians who dwell above the
fens: and those who are settled in the fen-land have the same customs
for the most part as the other Egyptians, both in other matters and also
in that they live each with one wife only, as do the Hellenes; but for
economy in respect of food they have invented these things besides:—when
the river has become full and the plains have been flooded, there grow
in the water great numbers of lilies, which the Egyptians call lotos;
these they cut with a sickle and dry in the sun, and then they pound
that which grows in the middle of the lotos and which is like the head
of a poppy, and they make of it loaves baked with fire. The root also
of this lotos is edible and has a rather sweet taste: 77 it is round
in shape and about the size of an apple. There are other lilies too, in
flower resembling roses, which also grow in the river, and from them the
fruit is produced in a separate vessel springing from the root by the
side of the plant itself, and very nearly resembles a wasp's comb:
in this there grow edible seeds in great numbers of the size of an
olive-stone, and they are eaten either fresh 78 or dried. Besides this
they pull up from the fens the papyrus which grows every year, and the
upper parts of it they cut off and turn to other uses, but that which is
left below for about a cubit in length they eat or sell: and those who
desire to have the papyrus at its very best bake it in an oven heated
red-hot, and then eat it. Some too of these people live on fish alone,
which they dry in the sun after having caught them and taken out the
entrails, and then when they are dry, they use them for food.

93. Fish which swim in shoals are not much produced in the rivers, but
are bred in the lakes, and they do as follows:—When there comes upon
them the desire to breed, they swim out in shoals towards the sea; and
the males lead the way shedding forth their milt as they go, while the
females, coming after and swallowing it up, from it become impregnated:
and when they have become full of young in the sea they swim up back
again, each shoal to its own haunts. The same however no longer lead the
way as before, but the lead comes now to the females, and they leading
the way in shoals do just as the males did, that is to say they shed
forth their eggs by a few grains at a time, 79 and the males coming
after swallow them up. Now these grains are fish, and from the grains
which survive and are not swallowed, the fish grow which afterwards are
bred up. Now those of the fish which are caught as they swim out to sea
are found to be rubbed on the left side of the head, but those which are
caught as they swim up again are rubbed on the right side. This happens
to them because as they swim down to the sea they keep close to the land
on the left side of the river, and again as they swim up they keep to
the same side, approaching and touching the bank as much as they can,
for fear doubtless of straying from their course by reason of the
stream. When the Nile begins to swell, the hollow places of the land
and the depressions by the side of the river first begin to fill, as the
water soaks through from the river, and so soon as they become full of
water, at once they are all filled with little fishes; and whence
these are in all likelihood produced, I think that I perceive. In the
preceding year, when the Nile goes down, the fish first lay eggs in the
mud and then retire with the last of the retreating waters; and when
the time comes round again, and the water once more comes over the land,
from these eggs forthwith are produced the fishes of which I speak.

94. Thus it is as regards the fish. And for anointing those of the
Egyptians who dwell in the fens use oil from the castor-berry, 80 which
oil the Egyptians call kiki, and thus they do:—they sow along the banks
of the rivers and pools these plants, which in a wild form grow of
themselves in the land of the Hellenes; these are sown in Egypt and
produce berries in great quantity but of an evil smell; and when they
have gathered these, some cut them up and press the oil from them,
others again roast them first and then boil them down and collect that
which runs away from them. The oil is fat and not less suitable for
burning than olive-oil, but it gives forth a disagreeable smell.

95. Against the gnats, which are very abundant, they have contrived as
follows:—those who dwell above the fen-land are helped by the towers, to
which they ascend when they go to rest; for the gnats by reason of the
winds are not able to fly up high: but those who dwell in the fen-land
have contrived another way instead of the towers, and this is it:—every
man of them has got a casting net, with which by day he catches fish,
but in the night he uses it for this purpose, that is to say he puts the
casting-net round about the bed in which he sleeps, and then creeps in
under it and goes to sleep: and the gnats, if he sleeps rolled up in a
garment or a linen sheet, bite through these, but through the net they
do not even attempt to bite.

96. Their boats with which they carry cargoes are made of the thorny
acacia, of which the form is very like that of the Kyrenian lotos, and
that which exudes from it is gum. From this tree they cut pieces of wood
about two cubits in length and arrange them like bricks, fastening
the boat together by running a great number of long bolts through the
two-cubit pieces; and when they have thus fastened the boat together,
they lay cross-pieces 81 over the top, using no ribs for the sides; and
within they caulk the seams with papyrus. They make one steering-oar for
it, which is passed through the bottom of the boat; and they have a mast
of acacia and sails of papyrus. These boats cannot sail up the river
unless there be a very fresh wind blowing, but are towed from the shore:
down-stream however they travel as follows:—they have a door-shaped
crate made of tamarisk wood and reed mats sewn together, and also a
stone of about two talents weight bored with a hole; and of these the
boatman lets the crate float on in front of the boat, fastened with a
rope, and the stone drag behind by another rope. The crate then, as the
force of the stream presses upon it, goes on swiftly and draws on the
baris (for so these boats are called), while the stone dragging after it
behind and sunk deep in the water keeps its course straight. These boats
they have in great numbers and some of them carry many thousands of
talents' burden.

97. When the Nile comes over the land, the cities alone are seen rising
above the water, resembling more nearly than anything else the islands
in the Egean sea; for the rest of Egypt becomes a sea and the cities
alone rise above water. Accordingly, whenever this happens, they pass
by water not now by the channels of the river but over the midst of
the plain: for example, as one sails up from Naucratis to Memphis the
passage is then close by the pyramids, whereas the usual passage is not
the same even here, 82 but goes by the point of the Delta and the city
of Kercasoros; while if you sail over the plain to Naucratis from the
sea and from Canobos, you will go by Anthylla and the city called after
Archander.

98. Of these Anthylla is a city of note and is especially assigned to
the wife of him who reigns over Egypt, to supply her with sandals, (this
is the case since the time when Egypt came to be under the Persians):
the other city seems to me to have its name from Archander the
son-in-law of Danaos, who was the son of Phthios, the son of Achaios;
for it is called the City of Archander. There might indeed be another
Archander, but in any case the name is not Egyptian.

99. Hitherto my own observation and judgment and inquiry are the
vouchers for that which I have said; but from this point onwards I am
about to tell the history of Egypt according to that which I heard, to
which will be added also something of that which I have myself seen.

Of Min, who first became king of Egypt, the priests said that on the
one hand he banked off the site of Memphis from the river: for the whole
stream of the river used to flow along by the sandy mountain-range on
the side of Libya, but Min formed by embankments that bend of the river
which lies to the South about a hundred furlongs above Memphis, and thus
he dried up the old stream and conducted the river so that it flowed in
the middle between the mountains: and even now this bend of the Nile is
by the Persians kept under very careful watch, that it may flow in the
channel to which it is confined, 83 and the bank is repaired every year;
for if the river should break through and overflow in this direction,
Memphis would be in danger of being overwhelmed by flood. When this Min,
who first became king, had made into dry land the part which was dammed
off, on the one hand, I say, he founded in it that city which is now
called Memphis; for Memphis too is in the narrow part of Egypt; 84
and outside the city he dug round it on the North and West a lake
communicating with the river, for the side towards the East is barred by
the Nile itself. Then secondly he established in the city the temple of
Hephaistos a great work and most worthy of mention.

100. After this man the priests enumerated to me from a papyrus roll
the names of other kings, three hundred and thirty in number; and in all
these generations of men eighteen were Ethiopians, one was a woman, a
native Egyptian, and the rest were men and of Egyptian race: and the
name of the woman who reigned was the same as that of the Babylonian
queen, namely Nitocris. Of her they said that desiring to take vengeance
for her brother, whom the Egyptians had slain when he was their king and
then, after having slain him, had given his kingdom to her,—desiring,
I say, to take vengeance for him, she destroyed by craft many of the
Egyptians. For she caused to be constructed a very large chamber under
ground, and making as though she would handsel it but in her mind
devising other things, she invited those of the Egyptians whom she knew
to have had most part in the murder, and gave a great banquet. Then
while they were feasting, she let in the river upon them by a secret
conduit of large size. Of her they told no more than this, except that,
when this had been accomplished, she threw herself into a room full of
embers, in order that she might escape vengeance.

101. As for the other kings, they could tell me of no great works which
had been produced by them, and they said that they had no renown 85
except only the last of them, Moris: he (they said) produced as a
memorial of himself the gateway of the temple of Hephaistos which is
turned towards the North Wind, and dug a lake, about which I shall set
forth afterwards how many furlongs of circuit it has, and in it built
pyramids of the size which I shall mention at the same time when I speak
of the lake itself. He, they said, produced these works, but of the rest
none produced any.

102. Therefore passing these by I shall make mention of the king who
came after these, whose name was Sesostris. He (the priests said) first
of all set out with ships of war from the Arabian gulf and subdued those
who dwelt by the shores of the Erythraian Sea, until as he sailed he
came to a sea which could no further be navigated by reason of shoals:
then secondly, after he had returned to Egypt, according to the report
of the priests he took a great army 86 and marched over the continent,
subduing every nation which stood in his way: and those of them whom he
found valiant and fighting desperately for their freedom, in their lands
he set up pillars which told by inscriptions his own name and the name
of his country, and how he had subdued them by his power; but as to
those of whose cities he obtained possession without fighting or with
ease, on their pillars he inscribed words after the same tenor as he did
for the nations which had shown themselves courageous, and in addition
he drew upon them the hidden parts of a woman, desiring to signify by
this that the people were cowards and effeminate.

103. Thus doing he traversed the continent, until at last he passed over
to Europe from Asia and subdued the Scythians and also the Thracians.
These, I am of opinion, were the furthest 87 people to which the
Egyptian army came, for in their country the pillars are found to have
been set up, but in the land beyond this they are no longer found. From
this point he turned and began to go back; and when he came to the river
Phasis, what happened then I cannot say for certain, whether the king
Sesostris himself divided off a certain portion of his army and left the
men there as settlers in the land, or whether some of his soldiers were
wearied by his distant marches and remained by the river Phasis.

104. For the people of Colchis are evidently Egyptian, and this I
perceived for myself before I heard it from others. So when I had
come to consider the matter I asked them both; and the Colchians had
remembrance of the Egyptians more than the Egyptians of the Colchians;
but the Egyptians said they believed that the Colchians were a portion
of the army of Sesostris. That this was so I conjectured myself not
only because they are dark-skinned and have curly hair (this of itself
amounts to nothing, for there are other races which are so), but also
still more because the Colchians, Egyptians, and Ethiopians alone of
all the races of men have practised circumcision from the first. The
Phenicians and the Syrians 88 who dwell in Palestine confess themselves
that they have learnt it from the Egyptians, and the Syrians 89 about
the river Thermodon and the river Parthenios, and the Macronians, who
are their neighbours, say that they have learnt it lately from the
Colchians. These are the only races of men who practise circumcision,
and these evidently practise it in the same manner as the Egyptians. Of
the Egyptians themselves however and the Ethiopians, I am not able to
say which learnt from the other, for undoubtedly it is a most ancient
custom; but that the other nations learnt it by intercourse with the
Egyptians, this among others is to me a strong proof, namely that those
of the Phenicians who have intercourse with Hellas cease to follow the
example of the Egyptians in this matter, and do not circumcise their
children.

105. Now let me tell another thing about the Colchians to show how they
resemble the Egyptians:—they alone work flax in the same fashion as the
Egyptians, 90 and the two nations are like one another in their whole
manner of living and also in their language: now the linen of Colchis
is called by the Hellenes Sardonic, whereas that from Egypt is called
Egyptian.

106. The pillars which Sesostris of Egypt set up in the various
countries are for the most part no longer to be seen extant; but in
Syria Palestine I myself saw them existing with the inscription upon
them which I have mentioned and the emblem. Moreover in Ionia there are
two figures of this man carved upon rocks, one on the road by which one
goes from the land of Ephesos to Phocaia, and the other on the road from
Sardis to Smyrna. In each place there is a figure of a man cut in the
rock, of four cubits and a span in height, holding in his right hand a
spear and in his left a bow and arrows, and the other equipment which he
has is similar to this, for it is both Egyptian and Ethiopian: and from
the one shoulder to the other across the breast runs an inscription
carved in sacred Egyptian characters, saying thus, "This land with my
shoulders I won for myself." But who he is and from whence, he does not
declare in these places, though in other places he has declared this.
Some of those who have seen these carvings conjecture that the figure is
that of Memnon, but herein they are very far from the truth.

107. As this Egyptian Sesostris was returning and bringing back many
men of the nations whose lands he had subdued, when he came (said the
priests) to Daphnai in the district of Pelusion on his journey home, his
brother to whom Sesostris had entrusted the charge of Egypt invited him
and with him his sons to a feast; and then he piled the house round
with brushwood and set it on fire: and Sesostris when he discovered this
forthwith took counsel with his wife, for he was bringing with him (they
said) his wife also; and she counselled him to lay out upon the pyre two
of his sons, which were six in number, and so to make a bridge over
the burning mass, and that they passing over their bodies should thus
escape. This, they said, Sesostris did, and two of his sons were burnt
to death in this manner, but the rest got away safe with their father.

108. Then Sesostris, having returned to Egypt and having taken vengeance
on his brother, employed the multitude which he had brought in of those
whose lands he had subdued, as follows:—these were they who drew the
stones which in the reign of this king were brought to the temple of
Hephaistos, being of very great size; and also these were compelled to
dig all the channels which now are in Egypt; and thus (having no such
purpose) they caused Egypt, which before was all fit for riding and
driving, to be no longer fit for this from thenceforth: for from that
time forward Egypt, though it is plain land, has become all unfit for
riding and driving, and the cause has been these channels, which are
many and run in all directions. But the reason why the king cut up
the land was this, namely because those of the Egyptians who had their
cities not on the river but in the middle of the country, being in want
of water when the river went down from them, found their drink brackish
because they had it from wells.

109. For this reason Egypt was cut up; and they said that this king
distributed the land to all the Egyptians, giving an equal square
portion to each man, and from this he made his revenue, having appointed
them to pay a certain rent every year: and if the river should take away
anything from any man's portion, he would come to the king and declare
that which had happened, and the king used to send men to examine and to
find out by measurement how much less the piece of land had become, in
order that for the future the man might pay less, in proportion to the
rent appointed: and I think that thus the art of geometry was found out
and afterwards came into Hellas also. For as touching the sun-dial 91
and the gnomon 92 and the twelve divisions of the day, they were learnt
by the Hellenes from the Babylonians.

110. He moreover alone of all the Egyptian kings had rule over Ethiopia;
and he left as memorials of himself in front of the temple of Hephaistos
two stone statues of thirty cubits each, representing himself and his
wife, and others of twenty cubits each representing his four sons: and
long afterwards the priest of Hephaistos refused to permit Dareios the
Persian to set up a statue of himself in front of them, saying that
deeds had not been done by him equal to those which were done by
Sesostris the Egyptian; for Sesostris had subdued other nations besides,
not fewer than he, and also the Scythians; but Dareios had not been able
to conquer the Scythians: wherefore it was not just that he should set
up a statue in front of those which Sesostris had dedicated, if he did
not surpass him in his deeds. Which speech, they say, Dareios took in
good part.

111. Now after Sesostris had brought his life to an end, his son Pheros,
they told me, received in succession the kingdom, and he made no warlike
expedition, and moreover it chanced to him to become blind by reason of
the following accident:—when the river had come down in flood rising to
a height of eighteen cubits, higher than ever before that time, and had
gone over the fields, a wind fell upon it and the river became agitated
by waves: and this king (they say) moved by presumptuous folly took
a spear and cast it into the midst of the eddies of the stream; and
immediately upon this he had a disease of the eyes and was by it made
blind. For ten years then he was blind, and in the eleventh year there
came to him an oracle from the city of Buto saying that the time of his
punishment had expired, and that he should see again if he washed his
eyes with the water of a woman who had accompanied with her own husband
only and had not knowledge of other men: and first he made trial of his
own wife, and then, as he continued blind, he went on to try all the
women in turn; and when he had at last regained his sight he gathered
together all the women of whom he had made trial, excepting her by
whose means he had regained his sight, to one city which now is named
Erythrabolos, 93 and having gathered them to this he consumed them all
by fire, as well as the city itself; but as for her by whose means he
had regained his sight, he had her himself to wife. Then after he had
escaped the malady of his eyes he dedicated offerings at each one of the
temples which were of renown, and especially (to mention only that which
is most worthy of mention) he dedicated at the temple of the Sun works
which are worth seeing, namely two obelisks of stone, each of a single
block, measuring in length a hundred cubits each one and in breadth
eight cubits.

112. After him, they said, there succeeded to the throne a man of
Memphis, whose name in the tongue of the Hellenes was Proteus; for whom
there is now a sacred enclosure at Memphis, very fair and well ordered,
lying on that side of the temple of Hephaistos which faces the North
Wind. Round about this enclosure dwell Phenicians of Tyre, and this
whole region is called the Camp of the Tyrians. 94 Within the enclosure
of Proteus there is a temple called the temple of the "foreign
Aphrodite," which temple I conjecture to be one of Helen the daughter of
Tyndareus, not only because I have heard the tale how Helen dwelt with
Proteus, but also especially because it is called by the name of the
"foreign Aphrodite," for the other temples of Aphrodite which there are
have none of them the addition of the word "foreign" to the name.

113. And the priests told me, when I inquired, that the things
concerning Helen happened thus:—Alexander having carried off Helen was
sailing away from Sparta to his own land, and when he had come to the
Egean Sea contrary winds drove him from his course to the Sea of Egypt;
and after that, since the blasts did not cease to blow, he came to Egypt
itself, and in Egypt to that which is now named the Canobic mouth of the
Nile and to Taricheiai. Now there was upon the shore, as still there is
now, a temple of Heracles, in which if any man's slave take refuge and
have the sacred marks set upon him, giving himself over to the god, it
is not lawful to lay hands upon him; and this custom has continued
still unchanged from the beginning down to my own time. Accordingly the
attendants of Alexander, having heard of the custom which existed about
the temple, ran away from him, and sitting down as suppliants of the
god, accused Alexander, because they desired to do him hurt, telling
the whole tale how things were about Helen and about the wrong done to
Menelaos; and this accusation they made not only to the priests but also
to the warden of this river-mouth, whose name was Thonis.

114. Thonis then having heard their tale sent forthwith a message to
Proteus at Memphis, which said as follows: "There hath come a stranger,
a Teucrian by race, who hath done in Hellas an unholy deed; for he hath
deceived the wife of his own host, and is come hither bringing with him
this woman herself and very much wealth, having been carried out of
his way by winds to thy land. 95 Shall we then allow him to sail out
unharmed, or shall we first take away from him that which he brought
with him?" In reply to this Proteus sent back a messenger who said thus:
"Seize this man, whosoever he may be, who has done impiety to his own
host, and bring him away into my presence, that I may know what he will
find to say."

115. Hearing this, Thonis seized Alexander and detained his ships, and
after that he brought the man himself up to Memphis and with him Helen
and the wealth he had, and also in addition to them the suppliants. So
when all had been conveyed up thither, Proteus began to ask Alexander
who he was and from whence he was voyaging; and he both recounted to
him his descent and told him the name of his native land, and moreover
related of his voyage, from whence he was sailing. After this Proteus
asked him whence he had taken Helen; and when Alexander went astray in
his account and did not speak the truth, those who had become suppliants
convicted him of falsehood, relating in full the whole tale of the wrong
done. At length Proteus declared to them this sentence, saying, "Were
it not that I count it a matter of great moment not to slay any of those
strangers who being driven from their course by winds have come to my
land hitherto, I should have taken vengeance on thee on behalf of the
man of Hellas, seeing that thou, most base of men, having received from
him hospitality, didst work against him a most impious deed. For thou
didst go in to the wife of thine own host; and even this was not enough
for thee, but thou didst stir her up with desire and hast gone away with
her like a thief. Moreover not even this by itself was enough for thee,
but thou art come hither with plunder taken from the house of thy host.
Now therefore depart, seeing that I have counted it of great moment not
to be a slayer of strangers. This woman indeed and the wealth which thou
hast I will not allow thee to carry away, but I shall keep them safe for
the Hellene who was thy host, until he come himself and desire to carry
them off to his home; to thyself however and thy fellow-voyagers I
proclaim that ye depart from your anchoring within three days and go
from my land to some other; and if not, that ye will be dealt with as
enemies."

116. This the priests said was the manner of Helen's coming to Proteus;
and I suppose that Homer also had heard this story, but since it was
not so suitable to the composition of his poem as the other which he
followed, he dismissed it finally, 96 making it clear at the same time
that he was acquainted with that story also: and according to the manner
in which he described 97 the wanderings of Alexander in the Iliad (nor
did he elsewhere retract that which he had said) it is clear that when
he brought Helen he was carried out of his course, wandering to various
lands, and that he came among other places to Sidon in Phenicia. Of this
the poet has made mention in the "prowess of Diomede," and the verses
run this: 98

"There she had robes many-coloured, the works of women of Sidon,
Those whom her son himself the god-like of form Alexander
Carried from Sidon, what time the broad sea-path he sailed over
Bringing back Helene home, of a noble father begotten."

And in the Odyssey also he has made mention of it in these verses: 99

"Such had the daughter of Zeus, such drugs of exquisite cunning,
Good, which to her the wife of Thon, Polydamna, had given,
Dwelling in Egypt, the land where the bountiful meadow produces
Drugs more than all lands else, many good being mixed, many evil."

And thus too Menelaos says to Telemachos: 100

"Still the gods stayed me in Egypt, to come back hither desiring, Stayed me from voyaging home, since sacrifice was due I performed not."

In these lines he makes it clear that he knew of the wandering of
Alexander to Egypt, for Syria borders upon Egypt and the Phenicians, of
whom is Sidon, dwell in Syria.

117. By these lines and by this passage 101 it is also most clearly
shown that the "Cyprian Epic" was not written by Homer but by some other
man: for in this it is said that on the third day after leaving
Sparta Alexander came to Ilion bringing with him Helen, having had a
"gently-blowing wind and a smooth sea," whereas in the Iliad it says
that he wandered from his course when he brought her.

118. Let us now leave Homer and the "Cyprian" Epic; but this I will say,
namely that I asked the priests whether it is but an idle tale which
the Hellenes tell of that which they say happened about Ilion; and they
answered me thus, saying that they had their knowledge by inquiries from
Menelaos himself. After the rape of Helen there came indeed, they said,
to the Teucrian land a large army of Hellenes to help Menelaos; and
when the army had come out of the ships to land and had pitched its
camp there, they sent messengers to Ilion, with whom went also Menelaos
himself; and when these entered within the wall they demanded back Helen
and the wealth which Alexander had stolen from Menelaos and had taken
away; and moreover they demanded satisfaction for the wrongs done: and
the Teucrians told the same tale then and afterwards, both with oath and
without oath, namely that in deed and in truth they had not Helen nor
the wealth for which demand was made, but that both were in Egypt; and
that they could not justly be compelled to give satisfaction for that
which Proteus the king of Egypt had. The Hellenes however thought that
they were being mocked by them and besieged the city, until at last they
took it; and when they had taken the wall and did not find Helen, but
heard the same tale as before, then they believed the former tale and
sent Menelaos himself to Proteus.

119. And Menelaos having come to Egypt and having sailed up to Memphis,
told the truth of these matters, and not only found great entertainment,
but also received Helen unhurt, and all his own wealth besides. Then
however, after he had been thus dealt with, Menelaos showed himself
ungrateful to the Egyptians; for when he set forth to sail away,
contrary winds detained him, and as this condition of things lasted
long, he devised an impious deed; for he took two children of natives
and made sacrifice of them. After this, when it was known that he had
done so, he became abhorred, and being pursued he escaped and got away
in his ships to Libya; but whither he went besides after this, the
Egyptians were not able to tell. Of these things they said that they
found out part by inquiries, and the rest, namely that which happened in
their own land, they related from sure and certain knowledge.

120. Thus the priests of the Egyptians told me; and I myself also agree
with the story which was told of Helen, adding this consideration,
namely that if Helen had been in Ilion she would have been given up to
the Hellenes, whether Alexander consented or no; for Priam assuredly was
not so mad, nor yet the others of his house, that they were desirous to
run risk of ruin for themselves and their children and their city, in
order that Alexander might have Helen as his wife: and even supposing
that during the first part of the time they had been so inclined, yet
when many others of the Trojans besides were losing their lives as
often as they fought with the Hellenes, and of the sons of Priam himself
always two or three or even more were slain when a battle took place (if
one may trust at all to the Epic poets),—when, I say, things were coming
thus to pass, I consider that even if Priam himself had had Helen as his
wife, he would have given her back to the Achaians, if at least by so
doing he might be freed from the evils which oppressed him. Nor even
was the kingdom coming to Alexander next, so that when Priam was old the
government was in his hands; but Hector, who was both older and more of
a man than he, would have received it after the death of Priam; and
him it behoved not to allow his brother to go on with his wrong-doing,
considering that great evils were coming to pass on his account both to
himself privately and in general to the other Trojans. In truth however
they lacked the power to give Helen back; and the Hellenes did not
believe them, though they spoke the truth; because, as I declare my
opinion, the divine power was purposing to cause them utterly to perish,
and so make it evident to men that for great wrongs great also are the
chastisements which come from the gods. And thus have I delivered my
opinion concerning these matters.

121. After Proteus, they told me, Rhampsinitos received in succession
the kingdom, who left as a memorial of himself that gateway to the
temple of Hephaistos which is turned towards the West, and in front of
the gateway he set up two statues, in height five-and-twenty cubits, of
which the one which stands on the North side is called by the Egyptians
Summer and the one on the South side Winter; and to that one which they
call Summer they do reverence and make offerings, while to the other
which is called Winter they do the opposite of these things. (a) This
king, they said, got great wealth of silver, which none of the kings
born after him could surpass or even come near to; and wishing to store
his wealth in safety he caused to be built a chamber of stone, one of
the walls whereof was towards the outside of his palace: and the builder
of this, having a design against it, contrived as follows, that is, he
disposed one of the stones in such a manner that it could be taken
out easily from the wall either by two men or even by one. So when the
chamber was finished, the king stored his money in it, and after some
time the builder, being near the end of his life, called to him his sons
(for he had two) and to them he related how he had contrived in building
the treasury of the king, and all in forethought for them, that they
might have ample means of living. And when he had clearly set forth to
them everything concerning the taking out of the stone, he gave them the
measurements, saying that if they paid heed to this matter they would be
stewards of the king's treasury. So he ended his life, and his sons made
no long delay in setting to work, but went to the palace by night, and
having found the stone in the wall of the chamber they dealt with it
easily and carried forth for themselves great quantity of the wealth
within. (b) And the king happening to open the chamber, he marvelled
when he saw the vessels falling short of the full amount, and he did not
know on whom he should lay the blame, since the seals were unbroken and
the chamber had been close shut; but when upon his opening the chamber
a second and a third time the money was each time seen to be diminished,
for the thieves did not slacken in their assaults upon it, he did as
follows:—having ordered traps to be made he set these round about the
vessels in which the money was; and when the thieves had come as at
former times and one of them had entered, then so soon as he came near
to one of the vessels he was straightway caught in the trap: and when he
perceived in what evil case he was, straightway calling his brother
he showed him what the matter was, and bade him enter as quickly as
possible and cut off his head, for fear lest being seen and known he
might bring about the destruction of his brother also. And to the other
it seemed that he spoke well, and he was persuaded and did so; and
fitting the stone into its place he departed home bearing with him the
head of his brother. (c) Now when it became day, the king entered into
the chamber and was very greatly amazed, seeing the body of the thief
held in the trap without his head, and the chamber unbroken, with no way
to come in or go out: and being at a loss he hung up the dead body of
the thief upon the wall and set guards there, with charge if they saw
any one weeping or bewailing himself to seize him and bring him before
the king. And when the dead body had been hung up, the mother was
greatly grieved, and speaking with the son who survived she enjoined
him, in whatever way he could, to contrive means by which he might
take down and bring home the body of his dead brother; and if he should
neglect to do this, she earnestly threatened that she would go and give
information to the king that he had the money. (d) So as the mother
dealt hardly with the surviving son, and he though saying many things
to her did not persuade her, he contrived for his purpose a device as
follows:—Providing himself with asses he filled some skins with wine and
laid them upon the asses, and after that he drove them along: and when
he came opposite to those who were guarding the corpse hung up, he drew
towards him two or three of the necks 102 of the skins and loosened the
cords with which they were tied. Then when the wine was running out,
he began to beat his head and cry out loudly, as if he did not know to
which of the asses he should first turn; and when the guards saw the
wine flowing out in streams, they ran together to the road with drinking
vessels in their hands and collected the wine that was poured out,
counting it so much gain; and he abused them all violently, making as if
he were angry, but when the guards tried to appease him, after a time
he feigned to be pacified and to abate his anger, and at length he drove
his asses out of the road and began to set their loads right. Then more
talk arose among them, and one or two of them made jests at him and
brought him to laugh with them; and in the end he made them a present of
one of the skins in addition to what they had. Upon that they lay down
there without more ado, being minded to drink, and they took him into
their company and invited him to remain with them and join them in their
drinking: so he (as may be supposed) was persuaded and stayed. Then as
they in their drinking bade him welcome in a friendly manner, he made
a present to them also of another of the skins; and so at length having
drunk liberally the guards became completely intoxicated; and being
overcome by sleep they went to bed on the spot where they had been
drinking. He then, as it was now far on in the night, first took down
the body of his brother, and then in mockery shaved the right cheeks of
all the guards; and after that he put the dead body upon the asses and
drove them away home, having accomplished that which was enjoined him by
his mother. (e) Upon this the king, when it was reported to him that the
dead body of the thief had been stolen away, displayed great anger; and
desiring by all means that it should be found out who it might be who
devised these things, did this (so at least they said, but I do not
believe the account),—he caused his own daughter to sit in the stews,
and enjoined her to receive all equally, and before having commerce with
any one to compel him to tell her what was the most cunning and what the
most unholy deed which had been done by him in all his life-time; and
whosoever should relate that which had happened about the thief, him she
must seize and not let him go out. Then as she was doing that which was
enjoined by her father, the thief, hearing for what purpose this was
done and having a desire to get the better of the king in resource,
did thus:—from the body of one lately dead he cut off the arm at the
shoulder and went with it under his mantle: and having gone in to the
daughter of the king, and being asked that which the others also were
asked, he related that he had done the most unholy deed when he cut off
the head of his brother, who had been caught in a trap in the king's
treasure-chamber, and the most cunning deed in that he made drunk the
guards and took down the dead body of his brother hanging up; and she
when she heard it tried to take hold of him, but the thief held out to
her in the darkness the arm of the corpse, which she grasped and held,
thinking that she was holding the arm of the man himself; but the thief
left it in her hands and departed, escaping through the door. (f) Now
when this also was reported to the king, he was at first amazed at the
ready invention and daring of the fellow, and then afterwards he sent
round to all the cities and made proclamation granting a free pardon to
the thief, and also promising a great reward if he would come into his
presence. The thief accordingly trusting to the proclamation came to
the king, and Rhampsinitos greatly marvelled at him, and gave him this
daughter of his to wife, counting him to be the most knowing of all men;
for as the Egyptians were distinguished from all other men, so was he
from the other Egyptians.

122. After these things they said this king went down alive to that
place which by the Hellenes is called Hades, and there played at dice
with Demeter, and in some throws he overcame her and in others he was
overcome by her; and he came back again having as a gift from her a
handkerchief of gold: and they told me that because of the going down of
Rhampsinitos the Egyptians after he came back celebrated a feast, which
I know of my own knowledge also that they still observe even to my time;
but whether it is for this cause that they keep the feast or for
some other, I am not able to say. However, the priests weave a robe
completely on the very day of the feast, and forthwith they bind up the
eyes of one of them with a fillet, and having led him with the robe to
the way by which one goes to the temple of Demeter, they depart back
again themselves. This priest, they say, with his eyes bound up is led
by two wolves to the temple of Demeter, which is distant from the city
twenty furlongs, and then afterwards the wolves lead him back again from
the temple to the same spot.

123. Now as to the tales told by the Egyptians, any man may accept them
to whom such things appear credible; as for me, it is to be understood
throughout the whole of the history 103 that I write by hearsay that
which is reported by the people in each place. The Egyptians say that
Demeter and Dionysos are rulers of the world below; and the Egyptians
are also the first who reported the doctrine that the soul of man is
immortal, and that when the body dies, the soul enters into another
creature which chances then to be coming to the birth, and when it has
gone the round of all the creatures of land and sea and of the air, it
enters again into a human body as it comes to the birth; and that it
makes this round in a period of three thousand years. This doctrine
certain Hellenes adopted, some earlier and some later, as if it were
of their own invention, and of these men I know the names but I abstain
from recording them.

124. Down to the time when Rhampsinitos was king, they told me there
was in Egypt nothing but orderly rule, and Egypt prospered greatly; but
after him Cheops became king over them and brought them 104 to every
kind of evil: for he shut up all the temples, and having first kept them
from sacrificing there, he then bade all the Egyptians work for him.
So some were appointed to draw stones from the stone-quarries in the
Arabian mountains to the Nile, and others he ordered to receive the
stones after they had been carried over the river in boats, and to draw
them to those which are called the Libyan mountains; and they worked by
a hundred thousand men at a time, for each three months continually. Of
this oppression there passed ten years while the causeway was made by
which they drew the stones, which causeway they built, and it is a work
not much less, as it appears to me, than the pyramid; for the length
of it is five furlongs 105 and the breadth ten fathoms and the height,
where it is highest, eight fathoms, and it is made of stone smoothed
and with figures carved upon it. For this, they said, the ten years
were spent, and for the underground chambers on the hill upon which the
pyramids stand, which he caused to be made as sepulchral chambers for
himself in an island, having conducted thither a channel from the Nile.
For the making of the pyramid itself there passed a period of twenty
years; and the pyramid is square, each side measuring eight hundred
feet, and the height of it is the same. It is built of stone smoothed
and fitted together in the most perfect manner, not one of the stones
being less than thirty feet in length.

125. This pyramid was made after the manner of steps, which some call
"rows" 106 and others "bases": 107 and when they had first made it thus,
they raised the remaining stones with machines made of short pieces of
timber, raising them first from the ground to the first stage of the
steps, and when the stone got up to this it was placed upon another
machine standing on the first stage, and so from this it was drawn to
the second upon another machine; for as many as were the courses of the
steps, so many machines there were also, or perhaps they transferred
one and the same machine, made so as easily to be carried, to each stage
successively, in order that they might take up the stones; for let it be
told in both ways, according as it is reported. However that may be, the
highest parts of it were finished first, and afterwards they proceeded
to finish that which came next to them, and lastly they finished the
parts of it near the ground and the lowest ranges. On the pyramid it is
declared in Egyptian writing how much was spent on radishes and onions
and leeks for the workmen, and if I rightly remember that which the
interpreter said in reading to me this inscription, a sum of one
thousand six hundred talents of silver was spent; and if this is so, how
much besides is likely to have been expended upon the iron with which
they worked, and upon bread and clothing for the workmen, seeing that
they were building the works for the time which has been mentioned and
were occupied for no small time besides, as I suppose, in the cutting
and bringing of the stones and in working at the excavation under the
ground?

126. Cheops moreover came, they said, to such a pitch of wickedness,
that being in want of money he caused his own daughter to sit in the
stews, and ordered her to obtain from those who came a certain amount of
money (how much it was they did not tell me); but she not only obtained
the sum appointed by her father, but also she formed a design for
herself privately to leave behind her a memorial, and she requested each
man who came in to her to give her one stone upon her building: and of
these stones, they told me, the pyramid was built which stands in front
of the great pyramid in the middle of the three, 108 each side being one
hundred and fifty feet in length.

127. This Cheops, the Egyptians said, reigned fifty years; and after
he was dead his brother Chephren succeeded to the kingdom. This king
followed the same manner as the other, both in all the rest and also in
that he made a pyramid, not indeed attaining to the measurements of that
which was built by the former (this I know, having myself also measured
it), and moreover 109 there are no underground chambers beneath nor does
a channel come from the Nile flowing to this one as to the other, in
which the water coming through a conduit built for it flows round an
island within, where they say that Cheops himself is laid: but for a
basement he built the first course of Ethiopian stone of divers colours;
and this pyramid he made forty feet lower than the other as regards
size, 110 building it close to the great pyramid. These stand both upon
the same hill, which is about a hundred feet high. And Chephren they
said reigned fifty and six years.

128. Here then they reckon one hundred and six years, during which they
say that there was nothing but evil for the Egyptians, and the temples
were kept closed and not opened during all that time. These kings the
Egyptians by reason of their hatred of them are not very willing to
name; nay, they even call the pyramids after the name of Philitis 111
the shepherd, who at that time pastured flocks in those regions.

129. After him, they said, Mykerinos became king over Egypt, who was the
son of Cheops; and to him his father's deeds were displeasing, and he
both opened the temples and gave liberty to the people, who were ground
down to the last extremity of evil, to return to their own business and
to their sacrifices;: also he gave decisions of their causes juster
than those of all the other kings besides. In regard to this then they
commend this king more than all the other kings who had arisen in Egypt
before him; for he not only gave good decisions, but also when a man
complained of the decision, he gave him recompense from his own goods
and thus satisfied his desire. But while Mykerinos was acting mercifully
to his subjects and practising this conduct which has been said,
calamities befell him, of which the first was this, namely that his
daughter died, the only child whom he had in his house: and being above
measure grieved by that which had befallen him, and desiring to bury his
daughter in a manner more remarkable than others, he made a cow of
wood, which he covered over with gold, and then within it he buried this
daughter who, as I said, had died.

130. This cow was not covered up in the ground, but it might be seen
even down to my own time in the city of Saïs, placed within the royal
palace in a chamber which was greatly adorned; and they offer incense of
all kinds before it every day, and each night a lamp burns beside it all
through the night. Near this cow in another chamber stand images of the
concubines of Mykerinos, as the priests at Saïs told me; for there are
in fact colossal wooden statues, in number about twenty, made with naked
bodies; but who they are I am not able to say, except only that which is
reported.

131. Some however tell about this cow and the colossal statues the
following tale, namely that Mykerinos was enamoured of his own daughter
and afterwards ravished her; and upon this they say that the girl
strangled herself for grief, and he buried her in this cow; and her
mother cut off the hands of the maids who had betrayed the daughter to
her father; wherefore now the images of them have suffered that which
the maids suffered in their life. In thus saying they speak idly, as it
seems to me, especially in what they say about the hands of the statues;
for as to this, even we ourselves saw that their hands had dropped off
from lapse of time, and they were to be seen still lying at their feet
even down to my time.

132. The cow is covered up with a crimson robe, except only the head and
the neck, which are seen, overlaid with gold very thickly; and between
the horns there is the disc of the sun figured in gold. The cow is not
standing up but kneeling, and in size it is equal to a large living cow.
Every year it is carried forth from the chamber, at those times, I say,
the Egyptians beat themselves for that god whom I will not name upon
occasion of such a matter; at these times, I say, they also carry forth
the cow to the light of day, for they say that she asked of her father
Mykerinos, when she was dying, that she might look upon the sun once in
the year.

133. After the misfortune of his daughter it happened, they said,
secondly to this king as follows:—An oracle came to him from the city
of Buto, saying that he was destined to live but six years more, in the
seventh year to end his life: and he being indignant at it sent to the
Oracle a reproach against the god, 112 making complaint in reply that
whereas his father and uncle, who had shut up the temples and had not
only not remembered the gods, but also had been destroyers of men, had
lived for a long time, he himself, who practised piety, was destined to
end his life so soon: and from the Oracle there came a second message,
which said that it was for this very cause that he was bringing his life
to a swift close; 113 for he had not done that which it was appointed
for him to do, since it was destined that Egypt should suffer evils for
a hundred and fifty years, and the two kings who had risen before him
had perceived this, but he had not. Mykerinos having heard this, and
considering that this sentence had been passed upon him beyond recall,
procured many lamps, and whenever night came on he lighted these and
began to drink and take his pleasure, ceasing neither by day nor
by night; and he went about to the fen-country and to the woods and
wherever he heard there were the most suitable places for enjoyment.
This he devised (having a mind to prove that the Oracle spoke falsely)
in order that he might have twelve years of life instead of six, the
nights being turned into days.

134. This king also left behind him a pyramid, much smaller than that of
his father, of a square shape and measuring on each side three hundred
feet lacking twenty, built moreover of Ethiopian stone up to half the
height. This pyramid some of the Hellenes say was built by the courtesan
Rhodopis, not therein speaking rightly: and besides this it is evident
to me that they who speak thus do not even know who Rhodopis was,
for otherwise they would not have attributed to her the building of a
pyramid like this, on which have been spent (so to speak) innumerable
thousands of talents: moreover they do not know that Rhodopis flourished
in the reign of Amasis, and not in this king's reign; for Rhodopis lived
very many years later than the kings who left behind the pyramids. By
descent she was of Thrace, and she was a slave of Iadmon the son of
Hephaistopolis a Samian, and a fellow-slave of Esop the maker of fables;
for he too was once the slave of Iadmon, as was proved especially
in this fact, namely that when the people of Delphi repeatedly made
proclamation in accordance with an oracle, to find some one who would
take up 114 the blood-money for the death of Esop, no one else appeared,
but at length the grandson of Iadmon, called Iadmon also, took it up;
and thus it is shown that Esop too was the slave of Iadmon.

135. As for Rhodopis, she came to Egypt brought by Xanthes the Samian,
and having come thither to exercise her calling she was redeemed
from slavery for a great sum by a man of Mytilene, Charaxos son of
Scamandronymos and brother of Sappho the lyric poet. Thus was Rhodopis
set free, and she remained in Egypt and by her beauty won so much liking
that she made great gain of money for one like Rhodopis, 115 though not
enough to suffice for the cost of such a pyramid as this. In truth there
is no need to ascribe to her very great riches, considering that the
tithe of her wealth may still be seen even to this time by any one
who desires it: for Rhodopis wished to leave behind her a memorial of
herself in Hellas, namely to cause a thing to be made such as happens
not to have been thought of or dedicated in a temple by any besides, and
to dedicate this at Delphi as a memorial of herself. Accordingly with
the tithe of her wealth she caused to be made spits of iron of size
large enough to pierce a whole ox, and many in number, going as far
therein as her tithe allowed her, and she sent them to Delphi: these
are even at the present time lying there, heaped all together behind the
altar which the Chians dedicated, and just opposite to the cell of the
temple. 116 Now at Naucratis, as it happens, the courtesans are rather
apt to win credit; 117 for this woman first, about whom the story to
which I refer is told, became so famous that all the Hellenes without
exception come to know the name of Rhodopis, and then after her one
whose name was Archidiche became a subject of song over all Hellas,
though she was less talked of than the other. As for Charaxos, when
after redeeming Rhodopis he returned back to Mytilene, Sappho in an ode
violently abused him. 118 Of Rhodopis then I shall say no more.

136. After Mykerinos the priests said Asychis became king of Egypt,
and he made for Hephaistos the temple gateway 119 which is towards the
sunrising, by far the most beautiful and the largest of the gateways;
for while they all have figures carved upon them and innumerable
ornaments of building 120 besides, this has them very much more than
the rest. In this king's reign they told me that, as the circulation of
money was very slow, a law was made for the Egyptians that a man might
have that money lent to him which he needed, by offering as security
the dead body of his father; and there was added moreover to this law
another, namely that he who lent the money should have a claim also to
the whole sepulchral chamber belonging to him who received it, and that
the man who offered that security should be subject to this penalty,
if he refused to pay back the debt, namely that neither the man himself
should be allowed to have burial when he died, either in that family
burial-place or in any other, nor should he be allowed to bury any one
of his kinsmen whom he lost by death. This king desiring to surpass the
kings of Egypt who had arisen before him left as a memorial of himself
a pyramid which he made of bricks, and on it there is an inscription
carved in stone and saying thus: "Despise not me in comparison with the
pyramids of stone, seeing that I excel them as much as Zeus excels the
other gods; for with a pole they struck into the lake, and whatever
of the mud attached itself to the pole, this they gathered up and made
bricks, and in such manner they finished me."

Such were the deeds which this king performed;

137, and after him reigned a blind man of the city of Anysis, whose
name was Anysis. In his reign the Ethiopians and Sabacos the king of the
Ethiopians marched upon Egypt with a great host of men; so this blind
man departed, flying to the fen-country, and the Ethiopian was king
over Egypt for fifty years, during which he performed deeds as
follows:—whenever any man of the Egyptians committed any transgression,
he would never put him to death, but he gave sentence upon each man
according to the greatness of the wrong-doing, appointing them work at
throwing up an embankment before that city from whence each man came of
those who committed wrong. Thus the cities were made higher still than
before; for they were embanked first by those who dug the channels in
the reign of Sesostris, and then secondly in the reign of the Ethiopian,
and thus they were made very high: and while other cities in Egypt also
stood 121 high, I think in the town at Bubastis especially the earth was
piled up. In this city there is a temple very well worthy of mention,
for though there are other temples which are larger and built with more
cost, none more than this is a pleasure to the eyes. Now Bubastis in the
Hellenic tongue is Artemis,

138, and her temple is ordered thus:—Except the entrance it is
completely surrounded by water; for channels come in from the Nile, not
joining one another, but each extending as far as the entrance of the
temple, one flowing round on the one side and the other on the other
side, each a hundred feet broad and shaded over with trees; and the
gateway has a height of ten fathoms, and it is adorned with figures six
cubits high, very noteworthy. This temple is in the middle of the city
and is looked down upon from all sides as one goes round, for since the
city has been banked up to a height, while the temple has not been moved
from the place where it was at the first built, it is possible to look
down into it: and round it runs a stone wall with figures carved upon
it, while within it there is a grove of very large trees planted round
a large temple-house, within which is the image of the goddess: and the
breadth and length of the temple is a furlong every way. Opposite the
entrance there is a road paved with stone for about three furlongs,
which leads through the market-place towards the East, with a breadth
of about four hundred feet; and on this side and on that grow trees of
height reaching to heaven: and the road leads to the temple of Hermes.
This temple then is thus ordered.

139. The final deliverance from the Ethiopian came about (they said)
as follows:—he fled away because he had seen in his sleep a vision, in
which it seemed to him that a man came and stood by him and counselled
him to gather together all the priests of Egypt and cut them asunder in
the midst. Having seen this dream, he said that it seemed to him that
the gods were foreshowing him this to furnish an occasion against him,
122 in order that he might do an impious deed with respect to religion,
and so receive some evil either from the gods or from men: he would not
however do so, but in truth (he said) the time had expired, during
which it had been prophesied to him that he should rule Egypt before
he departed thence. For when he was in Ethiopia the Oracles which the
Ethiopians consult had told him that it was fated for him to rule Egypt
fifty years: since then this time was now expiring, and the vision of
the dream also disturbed him, Sabacos departed out of Egypt of his own
free will.

140. Then when the Ethiopian had gone away out of Egypt, the blind man
came back from the fen-country and began to rule again, having lived
there during fifty years upon an island which he had made by heaping up
ashes and earth: for whenever any of the Egyptians visited him bringing
food, according as it had been appointed to them severally to do without
the knowledge of the Ethiopian, he bade them bring also some ashes for
their gift. 123 This island none was able to find before Amyrtaios; that
is, for more than seven hundred years 124 the kings who arose before
Amyrtaios were not able to find it. Now the name of this island is Elbo,
and its size is ten furlongs each way.

141. After him there came to the throne the priest of Hephaistos, whose
name was Sethos. This man, they said, neglected and held in no regard
the warrior class of the Egyptians, considering that he would have no
need of them; and besides other slights which he put upon them, he also
took from them the yokes of corn-land 125 which had been given to them
as a special gift in the reigns of the former kings, twelve yokes
to each man. After this, Sanacharib king of the Arabians and of the
Assyrians marched a great host against Egypt. Then the warriors of the
Egyptians refused to come to the rescue, and the priest, being driven
into a strait, entered into the sanctuary of the temple 126 and bewailed
to the image of the god the danger which was impending over him; and as
he was thus lamenting, sleep came upon him, and it seemed to him in his
vision that the god came and stood by him and encouraged him, saying
that he should suffer no evil if he went forth to meet the army of
the Arabians; for he himself would send him helpers. Trusting in
these things seen in sleep, he took with him, they said, those of the
Egyptians who were willing to follow him, and encamped in Pelusion, for
by this way the invasion came: and not one of the warrior class followed
him, but shop-keepers and artisans and men of the market. Then after
they came, there swarmed by night upon their enemies mice of the fields,
and ate up their quivers and their bows, and moreover the handles of
their shields, so that on the next day they fled, and being without
defence of arms great numbers fell. And at the present time this king
stands in the temple of Hephaistos in stone, holding upon his hand a
mouse, and by letters inscribed he says these words: "Let him who looks
upon me learn to fear the gods."

142. So far in the story the Egyptians and the priests were they who
made the report, declaring that from the first king down to this
priest of Hephaistos who reigned last, there had been three hundred and
forty-one generations of men, and that in them there had been the same
number of chief-priests and of kings: but three hundred generations
of men are equal to ten thousand years, for a hundred years is three
generations of men; and in the one-and-forty generations which remain,
those I mean which were added to the three hundred, there are one
thousand three hundred and forty years. Thus in the period of eleven
thousand three hundred and forty years they said that there had arisen
no god in human form; nor even before that time or afterwards among the
remaining kings who arose in Egypt, did they report that anything of
that kind had come to pass. In this time they said that the sun had
moved four times from his accustomed place of rising, and where he now
sets he had thence twice had his rising, and in the place from whence he
now rises he had twice had his setting; 127 and in the meantime nothing
in Egypt had been changed from its usual state, neither that which comes
from the earth nor that which comes to them from the river nor that
which concerns diseases or deaths.

143. And formerly when Hecataios the historian was in Thebes, and had
traced his descent and connected his family with a god in the sixteenth
generation before, the priests of Zeus did for him much the same as they
did for me (though I had not traced my descent). They led me into the
sanctuary of the temple, which is of great size, and they counted up the
number, showing colossal wooden statues in number the same as they said;
for each chief-priest there sets up in his lifetime an image of himself:
accordingly the priests, counting and showing me these, declared to me
that each one of them was a son succeeding his own father, and they went
up through the series of images from the image of the one who had
died last, until they had declared this of the whole number. And when
Hecataios had traced his descent and connected his family with a god in
the sixteenth generation, they traced a descent in opposition to this,
besides their numbering, not accepting it from him that a man had been
born from a god; and they traced their counter-descent thus, saying that
each one of the statues had been piromis son of piromis, until they had
declared this of the whole three hundred and forty-five statues, each
one being surnamed piromis; and neither with a god nor a hero did
they connect their descent. Now piromis means in the tongue of Hellas
"honourable and good man."

144. From their declaration then it followed, that they of whom the images were had been of form like this, and far removed from being gods: but in the time before these men they said that gods were the rulers in Egypt, not mingling 128 with men, and that of these always one had power at a time; and the last of them who was king over Egypt was Oros the son of Osiris, whom the Hellenes call Apollo: he was king over Egypt last, having deposed Typhon. Now Osiris in the tongue of Hellas is Dionysos.

145. Among the Hellenes Heracles and Dionysos and Pan are accounted the
latest-born of the gods; but with the Egyptians Pan is a very ancient
god, and he is one of those which are called the eight gods, while
Heracles is of the second rank, who are called the twelve gods, and
Dionysos is of the third rank, namely of those who were born of the
twelve gods. Now as to Heracles I have shown already how many years old
he is according to the Egyptians themselves, reckoning down to the
reign of Amasis, and Pan is said to have existed for yet more years than
these, and Dionysos for the smallest number of years as compared with
the others; and even for this last they reckon down to the reign of
Amasis fifteen thousand years. This the Egyptians say that they know for
a certainty, since they always kept a reckoning and wrote down the years
as they came. Now the Dionysos who is said to have been born of Semele
the daughter of Cadmos, was born about sixteen hundred years before my
time, and Heracles who was the son of Alcmene, about nine hundred years,
and that Pan who was born of Penelope, for of her and of Hermes Pan is
said by the Hellenes to have been born, came into being later than the
wars of Troy, about eight hundred years before my time.

146. Of these two accounts every man may adopt that one which he shall
find the more credible when he hears it. I however, for my part, have
already declared my opinion about them. 129 For if these also, like
Heracles the son of Amphitryon, had appeared before all men's eyes and
had lived their lives to old age in Hellas, I mean Dionysos the son of
Semele and Pan the son of Penelope, then one would have said that these
also 130 had been born mere men, having the names of those gods who had
come into being long before: but as it is, with regard to Dionysos the
Hellenes say that as soon as he was born Zeus sewed him up in his thigh
and carried him to Nysa, which is above Egypt in the land of Ethiopia;
and as to Pan, they cannot say whither he went after he was born. Hence
it has become clear to me that the Hellenes learnt the names of these
gods later than those of the other gods, and trace their descent as if
their birth occurred at the time when they first learnt their names.

Thus far then the history is told by the Egyptians themselves;

147, but I will now recount that which other nations also tell, and the
Egyptians in agreement with the others, of that which happened in this
land: and there will be added to this also something of that which I
have myself seen.

Being set free after the reign of the priest of Hephaistos, the
Egyptians, since they could not live any time without a king, set up
over them twelve kings, having divided all Egypt into twelve parts.
These made intermarriages with one another and reigned, making agreement
that they would not put down one another by force, nor seek to get an
advantage over one another, but would live in perfect friendship: and
the reason why they made these agreements, guarding them very strongly
from violation, was this, namely that an oracle had been given to them
at first when they began to exercise their rule, that he of them who
should pour a libation with a bronze cup in the temple of Hephaistos,
should be king of all Egypt (for they used to assemble together in all
the temples).

148. Moreover they resolved to join all together and leave a memorial of
themselves; and having so resolved they caused to be made a labyrinth,
situated a little above the lake of Moiris and nearly opposite to that
which is called the City of Crocodiles. This I saw myself, and I found
it greater than words can say. For if one should put together and reckon
up all the buildings and all the great works produced by the Hellenes,
they would prove to be inferior in labour and expense to this labyrinth,
though it is true that both the temple at Ephesos and that at Samos are
works worthy of note. The pyramids also were greater than words can say,
and each one of them is equal to many works of the Hellenes, great
as they may be; but the labyrinth surpasses even the pyramids. It has
twelve courts covered in, with gates facing one another, six upon the
North side and six upon the South, joining on one to another, and the
same wall surrounds them all outside; and there are in it two kinds of
chambers, the one kind below the ground and the other above upon these,
three thousand in number, of each kind fifteen hundred. The upper set
of chambers we ourselves saw, going through them, and we tell of them
having looked upon them with our own eyes; but the chambers under ground
we heard about only; for the Egyptians who had charge of them were
not willing on any account to show them, saying that here were the
sepulchres of the kings who had first built this labyrinth and of the
sacred crocodiles. Accordingly we speak of the chambers below by what we
received from hearsay, while those above we saw ourselves and found them
to be works of more than human greatness. For the passages through the
chambers, and the goings this way and that way through the courts, which
were admirably adorned, afforded endless matter for marvel, as we went
through from a court to the chambers beyond it, and from the chambers
to colonnades, and from the colonnades to other rooms, and then from the
chambers again to other courts. Over the whole of these is a roof made
of stone like the walls; and the walls are covered with figures carved
upon them, each court being surrounded with pillars of white stone
fitted together most perfectly; and at the end of the labyrinth, by
the corner of it, there is a pyramid of forty fathoms, upon which large
figures are carved, and to this there is a way made under ground.

149. Such is this labyrinth; but a cause for marvel even greater than
this is afforded by the lake, which is called the lake of Moiris, along
the side of which this labyrinth is built. The measure of its circuit is
three thousand six hundred furlongs 131 (being sixty schoines), and this
is the same number of furlongs as the extent of Egypt itself along the
sea. The lake lies extended lengthwise from North to South, and in depth
where it is deepest it is fifty fathoms. That this lake is artificial
and formed by digging is self-evident, for about in the middle of the
lake stand two pyramids, each rising above the water to a height of
fifty fathoms, the part which is built below the water being of just the
same height; and upon each is placed a colossal statue of stone sitting
upon a chair. Thus the pyramids are a hundred fathoms high; and these
hundred fathoms are equal to a furlong of six hundred feet, the fathom
being measured as six feet or four cubits, the feet being four palms
each, and the cubits six. The water in the lake does not come from the
place where it is, for the country there is very deficient in water, but
it has been brought thither from the Nile by a canal: and for six months
the water flows into the lake, and for six months out into the Nile
again; and whenever it flows out, then for the six months it brings
into the royal treasury a talent of silver a day from the fish which are
caught, and twenty pounds 132 when the water comes in.

150. The natives of the place moreover said that this lake had an
outlet under ground to the Syrtis which is in Libya, turning towards the
interior of the continent upon the Western side and running along by
the mountain which is above Memphis. Now since I did not see anywhere
existing the earth dug out of this excavation (for that was a matter
which drew my attention), I asked those who dwelt nearest to the lake
where the earth was which had been dug out. These told me to what place
it had been carried away; and I readily believed them, for I knew by
report that a similar thing had been done at Nineveh, the city of the
Assyrians. There certain thieves formed a design once to carry away the
wealth of Sardanapallos son of Ninos, the king, which wealth was very
great and was kept in treasure-houses under the earth. Accordingly they
began from their own dwelling, and making estimate of their direction
they dug under ground towards the king's palace; and the earth which was
brought out of the excavation they used to carry away, when night came
on, to the river Tigris which flows by the city of Nineveh, until at
last they accomplished that which they desired. Similarly, as I heard,
the digging of the lake in Egypt was effected, except that it was done
not by night but during the day; for as they dug the Egyptians carried
to the Nile the earth which was dug out; and the river, when it received
it, would naturally bear it away and disperse it. Thus is this lake said
to have been dug out.

151. Now the twelve kings continued to rule justly, but in course of
time it happened thus:—After sacrifice in the temple of Hephaistos
they were about to make libation on the last day of the feast, and the
chief-priest, in bringing out for them the golden cups with which they
had been wont to pour libations, missed his reckoning and brought eleven
only for the twelve kings. Then that one of them who was standing last
in order, namely Psammetichos, since he had no cup took off from his
head his helmet, which was of bronze, and having held it out to receive
the wine he proceeded to make libation: likewise all the other kings
were wont to wear helmets and they happened to have them then. Now
Psammetichos held out his helmet with no treacherous meaning; but they
taking note of that which had been done by Psammetichos and of the
oracle, namely how it had been declared to them that whosoever of them
should make libation with a bronze cup should be sole king of Egypt,
recollecting, I say, the saying of the Oracle, they did not indeed deem
it right to slay Psammetichos, since they found by examination that he
had not done it with any forethought, but they determined to strip him
of almost all his power and to drive him away into the fen-country, and
that from the fen-country he should not hold any dealings with the rest
of Egypt.

152. This Psammetichos had formerly been a fugitive from the Ethiopian
Sabacos who had killed his father Necos, from him, I say, he had
then been a fugitive in Syria; and when the Ethiopian had departed in
consequence of the vision of the dream, the Egyptians who were of the
district of Saïs brought him back to his own country. Then afterwards,
when he was king, it was his fate to be a fugitive a second time
on account of the helmet, being driven by the eleven kings into the
fen-country. So then holding that he had been grievously wronged by
them, he thought how he might take vengeance on those who had driven
him out: and when he had sent to the Oracle of Leto in the city of Buto,
where the Egyptians have their most truthful Oracle, there was given to
him the reply that vengeance would come when men of bronze appeared from
the sea. And he was strongly disposed not to believe that bronze men
would come to help him; but after no long time had passed, certain
Ionians and Carians who had sailed forth for plunder were compelled to
come to shore in Egypt, and they having landed and being clad in bronze
armour, one of the Egyptians, not having before seen men clad in bronze
armour, came to the fen-land and brought a report to Psammetichos that
bronze men had come from the sea and were plundering the plain. So he,
perceiving that the saying of the Oracle was coming to pass, dealt in a
friendly manner with the Ionians and Carians, and with large promises he
persuaded them to take his part. Then when he had persuaded them, with
the help of those Egyptians who favoured his cause and of these foreign
mercenaries he overthrew the kings.

153. Having thus got power over all Egypt, Psammetichos made for
Hephaistos that gateway of the temple at Memphis which is turned towards
the South Wind; and he built a court for Apis, in which Apis is kept
when he appears, opposite to the gateway of the temple, surrounded all
with pillars and covered with figures; and instead of columns there
stand to support the roof of the court colossal statues twelve cubits
high. Now Apis is in the tongue of the Hellenes Epaphos.

154. To the Ionians and to the Carians who had helped him Psammetichos
granted portions of land to dwell in, opposite to one another with
the river Nile between, and these were called "Encampments": 133 these
portions of land he gave them, and he paid them besides all that he had
promised: moreover he placed with them Egyptian boys to have them taught
the Hellenic tongue; and from these, who learnt the language thoroughly,
are descended the present class of interpreters in Egypt. Now the
Ionians and Carians occupied these portions of land for a long time, and
they are towards the sea a little below the city of Bubastis, on that
which is called the Pelusian mouth of the Nile. These men king Amasis
afterwards removed from thence and established them at Memphis, making
them into a guard for himself against the Egyptians: and they being
settled in Egypt, we who are Hellenes know by intercourse with them
the certainty of all that which happened in Egypt beginning from king
Psammetichos and afterwards; for these were the first men of foreign
tongue who settled in Egypt: and in the land from which they were
removed there still remained down to my time the sheds where their ships
were drawn up and the ruins of their houses.

Thus then Psammetichos obtained Egypt:

155, and of the Oracle which is in Egypt I have made mention often
before this, and now I will give an account of it, seeing that it is
worthy to be described. This Oracle which is in Egypt is sacred to Leto,
and it is established in a great city near that mouth of the Nile which
is called Sebennytic, as one sails up the river from the sea; and the
name of this city where the Oracle is found is Buto, as I have said
before in mentioning it. In this Buto there is a temple of Apollo and
Artemis; and the temple-house 134 of Leto, in which the Oracle is, is
both great in itself and has a gateway of the height of ten fathoms: but
that which caused me most to marvel of the things to be seen there, I
will now tell. There is in this sacred enclosure a house of Leto made of
one single stone as regards both height and length, and of which all the
walls are in these two directions equal, each being forty cubits; and
for the covering in of the roof there lies another stone upon the top,
the cornice measuring four cubits. 135

156. This house then of all the things that were to be seen by me in
that temple is the most marvellous, and among those which come next is
the island called Chemmis. This is situated in a deep and broad lake
by the side of the temple at Buto, and it is said by the Egyptians
that this island is a floating island. I myself did not see it either
floating about or moved from its place, and I feel surprise at hearing
of it, wondering if it be indeed a floating island. In this island of
which I speak there is a great temple-house of Apollo, and three several
altars are set up within, and there are planted in the island many
palm-trees and other trees, both bearing fruit and not bearing fruit.
And the Egyptians, when they say that it is floating, add this story,
namely that in this island, which formerly was not floating, Leto, being
one of the eight gods who came into existence first, and dwelling in the
city of Buto where she has this Oracle, received Apollo from Isis as a
charge and preserved him, concealing him in the island which is said now
to be a floating island, at that time when Typhon came after him seeking
everywhere and desiring to find the son of Osiris. Now they say that
Apollo and Artemis are children of Dionysos and of Isis, and that Leto
became their nurse and preserver; and in the Egyptian tongue Apollo is
Oros, Demeter is Isis, and Artemis is Bubastis. From this story and from
no other Æschylus the son of Euphorion took 136 this which I shall say,
wherein he differs from all the preceding poets; he represented namely
that Artemis was the daughter of Demeter. For this reason then, they
say, it became a floating island.

Such is the story which they tell;

157, but as for Psammetichos, he was king over Egypt for four-and-fifty
years, of which for thirty years save one he was sitting before Azotos,
a great city of Syria, besieging it, until at last he took it: and this
Azotos of all cities about which we have knowledge held out for the
longest time under a siege.

158. The son of Psammetichos was Necos, and he became king of Egypt.
This man was the first who attempted the channel leading to the
Erythraian Sea, which Dareios the Persian afterwards completed: the
length of this is a voyage of four days, and in breadth it was so dug
that two triremes could go side by side driven by oars; and the water is
brought into it from the Nile. The channel is conducted a little above
the city of Bubastis by Patumos the Arabian city, and runs into the
Erythraian Sea: and it is dug first along those parts of the plain of
Egypt which lie towards Arabia, just above which run the mountains which
extend opposite Memphis, where are the stone-quarries,—along the base of
these mountains the channel is conducted from West to East for a great
way; and after that it is directed towards a break in the hills and
tends from these mountains towards the noon-day and the South Wind
to the Arabian gulf. Now in the place where the journey is least and
shortest from the Northern to the Southern Sea (which is also called
Erythraian), that is from Mount Casion, which is the boundary between
Egypt and Syria, the distance is exactly 137 a thousand furlongs to the
Arabian gulf; but the channel is much longer, since it is more winding;
and in the reign of Necos there perished while digging it twelve myriads
13701 of the Egyptians. Now Necos ceased in the midst of his digging,
because the utterance of an Oracle impeded him, which was to the effect
that he was working for the Barbarian: and the Egyptians call all men
Barbarians who do not agree with them in speech.

159. Thus having ceased from the work of the channel, Necos betook
himself to waging wars, and triremes were built by him, some for the
Northern Sea and others in the Arabian gulf for the Erythraian Sea; and
of these the sheds are still to be seen. These ships he used when he
needed them; and also on land Necos engaged battle at Magdolos with the
Syrians, and conquered them; and after this he took Cadytis, which is
a great city of Syria: and the dress which he wore when he made these
conquests he dedicated to Apollo, sending it to Branchidai of the
Milesians. After this, having reigned in all sixteen years, he brought
his life to an end, and handed on the kingdom to Psammis his son.

160. While this Psammis was king of Egypt, there came to him men sent by
the Eleians, who boasted that they ordered the contest at Olympia in the
most just and honourable manner possible and thought that not even the
Egyptians, the wisest of men, could find out anything besides, to be
added to their rules. Now when the Eleians came to Egypt and said that
for which they had come, then this king called together those of the
Egyptians who were reputed the wisest, and when the Egyptians had come
together they heard the Eleians tell of all that which it was their part
to do in regard to the contest; and when they had related everything,
they said that they had come to learn in addition anything which the
Egyptians might be able to find out besides, which was juster than this.
They then having consulted together asked the Eleians whether their own
citizens took part in the contest; and they said that it was permitted
to any one who desired it, both of their own people and of the other
Hellenes equally, to take part in the contest: upon which the Egyptians
said that in so ordering the games they had wholly missed the mark of
justice; for it could not be but that they would take part with the man
of their own State, if he was contending, and so act unfairly to the
stranger: but if they really desired, as they said, to order the games
justly, and if this was the cause for which they had come to Egypt, they
advised them to order the contest so as to be for strangers alone to
contend in, and that no Eleian should be permitted to contend. Such was
the suggestion made by the Egyptians to the Eleians.

161. When Psammis had been king of Egypt for only six years and had made
an expedition to Ethiopia and immediately afterwards had ended his life,
Apries the son of Psammis received the kingdom in succession. This man
came to be the most prosperous of all the kings up to that time except
only his forefather Psammetichos; and he reigned five-and-twenty years,
during which he led an army against Sidon and fought a sea-fight with
the king of Tyre. Since however it was fated that evil should come upon
him, it came by occasion of a matter which I shall relate at greater
length in the Libyan history, 138 and at present but shortly. Apries
having sent a great expedition against the Kyrenians, met with
correspondingly great disaster; and the Egyptians considering him
to blame for this revolted from him, supposing that Apries had with
forethought sent them out to evident calamity, in order (as they said)
that there might be a slaughter of them, and he might the more securely
rule over the other Egyptians. Being indignant at this, both these men
who had returned from the expedition and also the friends of those who
had perished made revolt openly.

162. Hearing this Apries sent to them Amasis, to cause them to cease
by persuasion; and when he had come and was seeking to restrain the
Egyptians, as he was speaking and telling them not to do so, one of the
Egyptians stood up behind him and put a helmet 139 upon his head, saying
as he did so that he put it on to crown him king. And to him this
that was done was in some degree not unwelcome, as he proved by his
behaviour; for as soon as the revolted Egyptians had set him up as king,
he prepared to march against Apries: and Apries hearing this sent to
Amasis one of the Egyptians who were about his own person, a man of
reputation, whose name was Patarbemis, enjoining him to bring Amasis
alive into his presence. When this Patarbemis came and summoned Amasis,
the latter, who happened to be sitting on horseback, lifted up his leg
and behaved in an unseemly manner, 140 bidding him take that back to
Apries. Nevertheless, they say, Patarbemis made demand of him that he
should go to the king, seeing that the king had sent to summon him; and
he answered him that he had for some time past been preparing to do
so, and that Apries would have no occasion to find fault with him. Then
Patarbemis both perceiving his intention from that which he said, and
also seeing his preparations, departed in haste, desiring to make known
as quickly as possible to the king the things which were being done:
and when he came back to Apries not bringing Amasis, the king paying
no regard to that which he said, 141 but being moved by violent anger,
ordered his ears and his nose to be cut off. And the rest of the
Egyptians who still remained on his side, when they saw the man of most
repute among them thus suffering shameful outrage, waited no longer but
joined the others in revolt, and delivered themselves over to Amasis.

163. Then Apries having heard this also, armed his foreign mercenaries
and marched against the Egyptians: now he had about him Carian and
Ionian mercenaries to the number of thirty thousand; and his royal
palace was in the city of Saïs, of great size and worthy to be seen.
So Apries and his army were going against the Egyptians, and Amasis and
those with him were going against the mercenaries; and both sides came
to the city of Momemphis and were about to make trial of one another in
fight.

164. Now of the Egyptians there are seven classes, and of these one
class is called that of the priests, and another that of the
warriors, while the others are the cowherds, swineherds, shopkeepers,
interpreters, and boatmen. This is the number of the classes of the
Egyptians, and their names are given them from the occupations
which they follow. Of them the warriors are called Calasirians and
Hermotybians, and they are of the following districts, 142—for all Egypt
is divided into districts.

165. The districts of the Hermotybians are those of Busiris, Saïs,
Chemmis, Papremis, the island called Prosopitis, and the half of
Natho,—of these districts are the Hermotybians, who reached when most
numerous the number of sixteen myriads. 14201 Of these not one has
learnt anything of handicraft, but they are given up to war entirely.

166. Again the districts of the Calasirians are those of Thebes,
Bubastis, Aphthis, Tanis, Mendes, Sebennytos, Athribis, Pharbaithos,
Thmuïs Onuphis, Anytis, Myecphoris,—this last is on an island opposite
to the city of Bubastis. These are the districts of the Calasirians;
and they reached, when most numerous, to the number of five-and-twenty
myriads 14202 of men; nor is it lawful for these, any more than for the
others, to practise any craft; but they practise that which has to do
with war only, handing down the tradition from father to son.

167. Now whether the Hellenes have learnt this also from the Egyptians,
I am not able to say for certain, since I see that the Thracians also
and Scythians and Persians and Lydians and almost all the Barbarians
esteem those of their citizens who learn the arts, and the descendants
of them, as less honourable than the rest; while those who have got free
from all practice of manual arts are accounted noble, and especially
those who are devoted to war: however that may be, the Hellenes have all
learnt this, and especially the Lacedemonians; but the Corinthians least
of all cast slight upon those who practise handicrafts.

168. The following privilege was specially granted to this class and to
none others of the Egyptians except the priests, that is to say, each
man had twelve yokes 143 of land specially granted to him free from
imposts: now the yoke of land measures a hundred Egyptian cubits every
way, and the Egyptian cubit is, as it happens, equal to that of Samos.
This, I say, was a special privilege granted to all, and they also had
certain advantages in turn and not the same men twice; that is to say, a
thousand of the Calasirians and a thousand of the Hermotybians acted as
body-guard to the king during each year; 144 and these had besides their
yokes of land an allowance given them for each day of five pounds weight
14401 of bread to each man, and two pounds of beef, and four half-pints
145 of wine. This was the allowance given to those who were serving as
the king's bodyguard for the time being.

169. So when Apries leading his foreign mercenaries, and Amasis at
the head of the whole body of the Egyptians, in their approach to one
another had come to the city of Momemphis, they engaged battle: and
although the foreign troops fought well, yet being much inferior in
number they were worsted by reason of this. But Apries is said to have
supposed that not even a god would be able to cause him to cease from
his rule, so firmly did he think that it was established. In that battle
then, I say, he was worsted, and being taken alive was brought away to
the city of Saïs, to that which had formerly been his own dwelling but
from thenceforth was the palace of Amasis. There for some time he was
kept in the palace, and Amasis dealt well with him; but at last, since
the Egyptians blamed him, saying that he acted not rightly in keeping
alive him who was the greatest foe both to themselves and to him,
therefore he delivered Apries over to the Egyptians; and they strangled
him, and after that buried him in the burial-place of his fathers: this
is in the temple of Athene, close to the sanctuary, on the left hand as
you enter. Now the men of Saïs buried all those of this district who had
been kings, within the temple; for the tomb of Amasis also, though it is
further from the sanctuary than that of Apries and his forefathers,
yet this too is within the court of the temple, and it consists of
a colonnade of stone of great size, with pillars carved to imitate
date-palms, and otherwise sumptuously adorned; and within the colonnade
are double-doors, and inside the doors a sepulchral chamber.

170. Also at Saïs there is the burial-place of him whom I account it not
pious to name in connexion with such a matter, which is in the temple of
Athene behind the house of the goddess, 146 stretching along the whole
wall of it; and in the sacred enclosure stand great obelisks of stone,
and near them is a lake adorned with an edging of stone and fairly made
in a circle, being in size, as it seemed to me, equal to that which is
called the "Round Pool" 147 in Delos.

171. On this lake they perform by night the show of his sufferings, and
this the Egyptians call Mysteries. Of these things I know more fully in
detail how they take place, but I shall leave this unspoken; and of the
mystic rites of Demeter, which the Hellenes call thesmophoria, of these
also, although I know, I shall leave unspoken all except so much as
piety permits me to tell. The daughters of Danaos were they who brought
this rite out of Egypt and taught it to the women of the Pelasgians;
then afterwards when all the inhabitants of Peloponnese were driven out
by the Dorians, the rite was lost, and only those who were left behind
of the Peloponnesians and not driven out, that is to say the Arcadians,
preserved it.

172. Apries having thus been overthrown, Amasis became king, being of
the district of Saïs, and the name of the city whence he was is Siuph.
Now at the first the Egyptians despised Amasis and held him in no
great regard, because he had been a man of the people and was of no
distinguished family; but afterwards Amasis won them over to himself by
wisdom and not wilfulness. Among innumerable other things of price which
he had, there was a foot-basin of gold in which both Amasis himself and
all his guests were wont always to wash their feet. This he broke up,
and of it he caused to be made the image of a god, and set it up in the
city, where it was most convenient; and the Egyptians went continually
to visit the image and did great reverence to it. Then Amasis, having
learnt that which was done by the men of the city, called together the
Egyptians and made known to them the matter, saying that the image had
been produced from the foot-basin, into which formerly the Egyptians
used to vomit and make water, and in which they washed their feet,
whereas now they did to it great reverence; and just so, he continued,
had he himself now fared, as the foot-basin; for though formerly he
was a man of the people, yet now he was their king, and he bade them
accordingly honour him and have regard for him.

173. In such manner he won the Egyptians to himself, so that they
consented to be his subjects; and his ordering of affairs was thus:—In
the early morning, and until the time of the filling of the market he
did with a good will the business which was brought before him;
but after this he passed the time in drinking and in jesting at his
boon-companions, and was frivolous and playful. And his friends being
troubled at it admonished him in some such words as these: "O king,
thou dost not rightly govern thyself in thus letting thyself descend
to behaviour so trifling; for thou oughtest rather to have been sitting
throughout the day stately upon a stately throne and administering thy
business; and so the Egyptians would have been assured that they were
ruled by a great man, and thou wouldest have had a better report: but as
it is, thou art acting by no means in a kingly fashion." And he answered
them thus: "They who have bows stretch them at such time as they wish to
use them, and when they have finished using them they loose them again;
148 for if they were stretched tight always they would break, so that
the men would not be able to use them when they needed them. So also
is the state of man: if he should always be in earnest and not relax
himself for sport at the due time, he would either go mad or be struck
with stupor before he was aware; and knowing this well, I distribute a
portion of the time to each of the two ways of living." Thus he replied
to his friends.

174. It is said however that Amasis, even when he was in a private
station, was a lover of drinking and of jesting, and not at all
seriously disposed; and whenever his means of livelihood failed him
through his drinking and luxurious living, he would go about and steal;
and they from whom he stole would charge him with having their property,
and when he denied it would bring him before the judgment of an Oracle,
whenever there was one in their place; and many times he was convicted
by the Oracles and many times he was absolved: and then when finally he
became king he did as follows:—as many of the gods as had absolved
him and pronounced him not to be a thief, to their temples he paid no
regard, nor gave anything for the further adornment of them, nor even
visited them to offer sacrifice, considering them to be worth nothing
and to possess lying Oracles; but as many as had convicted him of being
a thief, to these he paid very great regard, considering them to be
truly gods, and to present Oracles which did not lie.

175. First in Saïs he built and completed for Athene a temple-gateway
which is a great marvel, and he far surpassed herein all who had done
the like before, both in regard to height and greatness, so large
are the stones and of such quality. Then secondly he dedicated great
colossal statues and man-headed sphinxes very large, and for restoration
he brought other stones of monstrous size. Some of these he caused to
be brought from the stone-quarries which are opposite Memphis, others
of very great size from the city of Elephantine, distant a voyage of not
less than twenty days from Saïs: and of them all I marvel most at this,
namely a monolith chamber which he brought from the city of Elephantine;
and they were three years engaged in bringing this, and two thousand men
were appointed to convey it, who all were of the class of boatmen. Of
this house the length outside is one-and-twenty cubits, the breadth is
fourteen cubits, and the height eight. These are the measures of the
monolith house outside; but the length inside is eighteen cubits and
five-sixths of a cubit, 149 the breadth twelve cubits, and the height
five cubits. This lies by the side of the entrance to the temple; for
within the temple they did not draw it, because, as it said, while the
house was being drawn along, the chief artificer of it groaned aloud,
seeing that much time had been spent and he was wearied by the work; and
Amasis took it to heart as a warning and did not allow them to draw it
further onwards. Some say on the other hand that a man was killed by it,
of those who were heaving it with levers, and that it was not drawn in
for that reason.

176. Amasis also dedicated in all the other temples which were of
repute, works which are worth seeing for their size, and among them also
at Memphis the colossal statue which lies on its back in front of the
temple of Hephaistos, whose length is five-and-seventy feet; and on the
same base made of the same stone 150 are set two colossal statues, each
of twenty feet in length, one on this side and the other on that side of
the large statue. 151 There is also another of stone of the same size in
Saïs, lying in the same manner as that at Memphis. Moreover Amasis was
he who built and finished for Isis her temple at Memphis, which is of
great size and very worthy to be seen.

177. In the reign of Amasis it is said that Egypt became more prosperous
than at any other time before, both in regard to that which comes to the
land from the river and in regard to that which comes from the land
to its inhabitants, and that at this time the inhabited towns in it
numbered in all twenty thousand. It was Amasis too who established the
law that every year each one of the Egyptians should declare to the
ruler of his district, from what source he got his livelihood, and if
any man did not do this or did not make declaration of an honest way
of living, he should be punished with death. Now Solon the Athenian
received from Egypt this law and had it enacted for the Athenians, and
they have continued to observe it, since it is a law with which none can
find fault.

178. Moreover Amasis became a lover of the Hellenes; and besides other
proofs of friendship which he gave to several among them, he also
granted the city of Naucratis for those of them who came to Egypt to
dwell in; and to those who did not desire to stay, but who made voyages
thither, he granted portions of land to set up altars and make sacred
enclosures for their gods. Their greatest enclosure and that one which
has most name and is most frequented is called the Hellenion, and this
was established by the following cities in common:—of the Ionians Chios,
Teos, Phocaia, Clazomenai, of the Dorians Rhodes, Cnidos, Halicarnassos,
Phaselis, and of the Aiolians Mytilene alone. To these belongs this
enclosure and these are the cities which appoint superintendents of the
port; and all other cities which claim a share in it, are making a claim
without any right. 152 Besides this the Eginetans established on their
own account a sacred enclosure dedicated to Zeus, the Samians one to
Hera, and the Milesians one to Apollo.

179. Now in old times Naucratis alone was an open trading-place, and
no other place in Egypt: and if any one came to any other of the Nile
mouths, he was compelled to swear that he came not thither of his own
will, and when he had thus sworn his innocence he had to sail with his
ship to the Canobic mouth, or if it were not possible to sail by reason
of contrary winds, then he had to carry his cargo round the head of the
Delta in boats to Naucratis: thus highly was Naucratis privileged.

180. Moreover when the Amphictyons had let out the contract for building
the temple which now exists at Delphi, agreeing to pay a sum of three
hundred talents, (for the temple which formerly stood there had been
burnt down of itself), it fell to the share of the people of Delphi to
provide the fourth part of the payment; and accordingly the Delphians
went about to various cities and collected contributions. And when they
did this they got from Egypt as much as from any place, for Amasis gave
them a thousand talents' weight of alum, while the Hellenes who dwelt in
Egypt gave them twenty pounds of silver. 153

181. Also with the people of Kyrene Amasis made an agreement for
friendship and alliance; and he resolved too to marry a wife from
thence, whether because he desired to have a wife of Hellenic race,
or apart from that, on account of friendship for the people of Kyrene:
however that may be, he married, some say the daughter of Battos, others
of Arkesilaos, 154 and others of Critobulos, a man of repute among the
citizens; and her name was Ladike. Now whenever Amasis lay with her he
found himself unable to have intercourse, but with his other wives he
associated as he was wont; and as this happened repeatedly, Amasis said
to his wife, whose name was Ladike: "Woman, thou hast given me drugs,
and thou shalt surely perish 155 more miserably than any other woman."
Then Ladike, when by her denials Amasis was not at all appeased in his
anger against her, made a vow in her soul to Aphrodite, that if Amasis
on that night had intercourse with her (seeing that this was the remedy
for her danger), she would send an image to be dedicated to her at
Kyrene; and after the vow immediately Amasis had intercourse, and from
thenceforth whenever Amasis came in to her he had intercourse with her;
and after this he became very greatly attached to her. And Ladike paid
the vow that she had made to the goddess; for she had an image made
and sent it to Kyrene, and it was still preserved even to my own time,
standing with its face turned away from the city of the Kyrenians. This
Ladike Cambyses, having conquered Egypt and heard from her who she was,
sent back unharmed to Kyrene.

182. Amasis also dedicated offerings in Hellas, first at Kyrene an image
of Athene covered over with gold and a figure of himself made like by
painting; then in the temple of Athene at Lindson two images of stone
and a corslet of linen worthy to be seen; and also at Samos two wooden
figures of himself dedicated to Hera, which were standing even to my own
time in the great temple, behind the doors. Now at Samos he dedicated
offerings because of the guest-friendship between himself and Polycrates
the son of Aiakes; at Lindos for no guest-friendship but because the
temple of Athene at Lindos is said to have been founded by the daughters
of Danaos, who had touched land there at the time when they were fleeing
from the sons of Aigyptos. These offerings were dedicated by Amasis; and
he was the first of men who conquered Cyprus and subdued it so that it
paid him tribute.

—————

NOTES TO BOOK II

1 [ Some write "Psammitichos" with less authority.]

2 [ {tou en Memphi}: many Editors read {en Memphi}, "I heard at Memphis from the priests of Hephaistos," but with less authority.]

3 [ {'Eliou polin} or {'Elioupolin}, cp. {'Elioupolitai} below.]

4 [ {exo e ta ounamata auton mounon}. Some understand "them" to mean
"the gods"; rather perhaps the meaning is that accounts of such things
will not be related in full, but only touched upon.]

5 [ {ison peri auton epistasthai}.]

6 [ {anthropon}, emphatic, for the rulers before him were gods (ch. 144).]

7 [ {Mina}: others read {Mena}, but the authority of the MSS. is strong for {Mina} both here and in ch. 99.]

8 [ {tou Thebaikou nomou}, cp. ch. 164.]

9 [ {tautes on apo}: some MSS. omit {apo}, "this then is the land for which the sixty schoines are reckoned."]

10 [ For the measures of length cp. ch. 149. The furlong ({stadion}) is equal to 100 fathoms ({orguiai}), i.e. 606 feet 9 inches.]

11 [ Or "without rain": the word {anudros} is altered by some Editors to {enudros} or {euudros}, "well watered."]

12 [ I have followed Stein in taking {es ta eiretai} with {legon},
meaning "at the Erythraian Sea," {taute men} being a repetition of {te
men} above. The bend back would make the range double, and hence partly
its great breadth. Others translate, "Here (at the quarries) the range
stops, and bends round to the parts mentioned (i.e. the Erythraian
Sea)."]

13 [ {os einai Aiguptou}: cp. iv. 81. Others translate, "considering
that it belongs to Egypt" (a country so vast), i.e. "as measures go in
Egypt." In any case {Aiguptos eousa} just below seems to repeat the same
meaning.]

14 [ Some Editors alter this to "fourteen."]

15 [ {pentastomou}: some less good MSS. have {eptastomou}, "which has seven mouths."]

16 [ See note on i. 203.]

17 [ {ton erkhomai lexon}: these words are by many Editors marked as spurious, and they certainly seem to be out of place here.]

18 [ {kou ge de}: "where then would not a gulf be filled up?"]

19 [ {katarregnumenen}: some Editors read {katerregmenen} ("broken up by cracks") from {katerregnumenen}, which is given by many MSS.]

1901 [ Or possibly "with rock below," in which case perhaps {upopsammoteren} would mean "rather sandy underneath."]

20 [ We do not know whether these measurements are in the larger
Egyptian cubit of 21 inches or the smaller (equal to the ordinary
Hellenic cubit) of 18½ inches, cp. i. 178.]

21 [ {kai to omoion apodido es auxesin}, "and to yield the like return
as regards increased extent." (Mr. Woods); but the clause may be only a
repetition of the preceding one.]

22 [ i.e. Zeus.]

23 [ i.e. of the district of Thebes, the Thebaïs.]

24 [ {te Libue}.]

25 [ The meaning seems to be this: "The Ionians say that Egypt is the
Delta, and at the same time they divide the world into three parts,
Europe, Asia, and Libya, the last two being divided from one another by
the Nile. Thus they have left out Egypt altogether; and either they must
add the Delta as a fourth part of the world, or they must give up the
Nile as a boundary. If the name Egypt be extended, as it is by the other
Hellenes, to the upper course of the Nile, it is then possible to retain
the Nile as a boundary, saying that half of Egypt belongs to Asia and
half to Libya, and disregarding the Delta (ch. 17). This also would be
an error of reckoning, but less serious than to omit Egypt together."
The reasoning is obscure because it alludes to theories (of Hecataios
and other writers) which are presumed to be already known to the
reader.]

26 [ {Katadoupon}, i.e. the first cataract.]

27 [ "and it gives us here, etc." ({parekhomenos}).]

28 [ {logo de eipein thoumasiotere}. Or perhaps, "and it is more marvellous, so to speak."]

29 [ {ton ta polla esti andri ke k.t.l.} I take {ton} to refer to the
nature of the country, as mentioned above; but the use of {os} can
hardly be paralleled, and the passage probably requires correction. Some
Editors read {ton tekmeria polla esti k.t.l.} "wherein there are many
evidences to prove, etc." Stein omits {ton} and alters the punctuation,
so that the clauses run thus, "when it flows from the hottest parts to
those which for the most part are cooler? For a man who is capable of
reasoning about such matters the first and greatest evidence to prove
that it is not likely to flow from snow, is afforded by the winds,
etc."]

30 [ {ouk ekhei elegkhon}, "cannot be refuted" (because we cannot
argue with him), cp. Thuc. iii. 53, {ta de pseude elegkhon ekhei}. Some
translate, "does not prove his case."]

31 [ {tes arkhaies diexodou}, "his original (normal) course."]

32 [ {ouk eonton anemon psukhron}: the best MSS. read {kai anemon
psukhron} ("and there are cold winds"), which Stein retains, explaining
that the cold North winds would assist evaporation.]

33 [ {autos eoutou peei pollo upodeesteros e tou thereos}.]

34 [ {diakaion ten diexodon auto}, i.e. {to reri}. Some Editors read {autou} (with inferior MSS.) or alter the word to {eoutou}.]

35 [ "set forth, so far as I understood."]

36 [ {epi makrotaton}, "carrying the inquiry as far as possible," cp. ch. 34.]

37 [ I have little doubt that this means the island of Elephantine; for
at this point only would such a mixture of races be found. To this the
writer here goes back parenthetically, and then resumes the account of
the journey upwards from Tachompso. This view is confirmed by the fact
that Strabo relates the same thing with regard to the island of Philai
just above Elephantine.]

3701 [ Cp. i. 72, note 86.]

38 [ {oleureon}.]

39 [ {zeias}.]

40 [ i.e. the hieratic and the demotic characters.]

41 [ {murias, os eipein logo}.]

42 [ Referring apparently to iii. 28, where the marks of Apis are given. Perhaps no animal could be sacrificed which had any of these marks.]

43 [ {kephale keine}, "that head," cp. {koilien keinen} in the next chapter.]

44 [ {katharon}.]

45 [ {baris}, cp. ch. 96.]

46 [ Or, "descended from Aigyptos."]

4601 [ Or, "assuming that in those days as now, they were wont to make voyages, and that some of the Hellenes were seafaring folk."]

47 [ {stelai}, "upright blocks."]

48 [ {lampontos tas nuktas megathos}: some Editors alter {megathos} to {megalos} or {mega phos}.]

49 [ {enagizousi}.]

50 [ {uon}: some Editors read {oion} "sheep," on the authority of one MS.]

51 [ {ta ounamata}, which means here rather the forms of personification than the actual names.]

52 [ {ai pramanteis}.]

53 [ {phegon}.]

54 [ {upo phego pephukuie}, i.e. the oak-tree of the legend was a real growing tree, though the dove was symbolical.]

55 [ {panegurias}.]

56 [ {prosagogas}, with the idea of bringing offerings or introducing persons.]

57 [ {epoiethesan}, "were first celebrated."]

58 [ So B.R.]

59 [ {sumphoiteousi}.]

5901 [ i.e. 700,000.]

60 [ See ch. 40.]

61 [ {tesi thusiesi, en tini nukti}: some MSS. give {en te nukti}: hence
several Editors read {tes thusies en te nukti}, "on the night of the
sacrifice."]

62 [ Or, "for what end this night is held solemn by lighting of lamps" (B.R.), making {phos kai timen} one idea.]

63 [ {alexomenous}: this, which is adopted by most Editors, is the
reading of some less good MSS.; the rest have {alexomenoi}, "strike them
and defend themselves."]

6301 [ {eousa e Aiguptos k.t.l.}: the MSS. have {eousa de Aiguptos}: Stein reads {eousa gar Aiguptos}.]

64 [ {theia pregmata katalambanei tous aielourous}, which may mean only, "a marvellous thing happens to the cats."]

65 [ {es 'Ermeo polin}.]

66 [ {dikhelon, oplai boos}, "he is cloven-footed, and his foot is that of an ox." The words {oplai boos} are marked as spurious by Stein.]

67 [ i.e. above the marshes, cp. ch. 92.]

68 [ {pante}, which by some is translated "taken all together," "at
most." Perhaps there is some corruption of text, and the writer meant to
say that it measured two cubits by one cubit.]

6801 [ The reading of the Medicean MS. is {en esti}, not {enesti} as hitherto reported.]

69 [ Or, "calling the song Linos."]

70 [ {ton Linon okothen elabon}: the MSS. have {to ounoma} after
{elabon}, but this is omitted by almost all Editors except Stein, who
justifies it by a reference to ch. 50, and understands it to mean "the
person of Linos." No doubt the song and the person are here spoken off
indiscriminately, but this explanation would require the reading {tou
Linou}, as indeed Stein partly admits by suggesting the alteration.]

71 [ The words "and Bacchic (which are really Egyptian)," are omitted by several of the best MSS.]

72 [ {epezosmenai}.]

73 [ In connexion with death apparently, cp. ch. 132, 170. Osiris is meant.]

74 [ {sindonos bussines}.]

75 [ {to kommi}.]

76 [ {nros}.]

77 [ Or, "a pleasant sweet taste."]

78 [ {apala}, "soft."]

79 [ {kat oligous ton kegkhron}.]

80 [ {apo ton sillikuprion tou karpou}.]

81 [ {zuga}, to tie the sides and serve as a partial deck.]

82 [ {esti de oud' outos}: a few MSS. have {ouk} instead of {oud'}, and
most Editors follow them. The meaning however seems to be that even here
the course in time of flood is different, and much more in the lower
parts.]

83 [ {os apergmenos ree}: the MSS. mostly have {os apergmenos reei},
in place of which I have adopted the correction of Stein. Most other
Editors read {os apergmenos peei} (following a few inferior MSS.), "the
bend of the Nile which flows thus confined."]

84 [ Not therefore in the Delta, to which in ch. 15 was assigned a later origin than this.]

85 [ {kat' ouden einai lamprotetos}: Stein reads {kai} for {kat'}, thus
making the whole chapter parenthetical, with {ou gar elegon} answered
by {parameipsamenos on}, a conjecture which is ingenious but not quite
convincing.]

86 [ {stratien pollen labon}: most of the MSS. have {ton} after {pollen}, which perhaps indicates that some words are lost.]

87 [ {kai prosotata}: many MSS. have {kai ou prosotata}, which is
defended by some Editors in the sense of a comparative, "and not
further."]

88 [ {Suroi} in the better MSS.; see note in i.6.]

89 [ {Surioi}.]

90 [ {kata tauta}: the better MSS. have {kai kata tauta}, which might
be taken with what follows, punctuating after {ergazontai} (as in the
Medicean MS.): "they and the Egyptians alone of all nations work flax;
and so likewise they resemble one another in their whole manner of
living."]

91 [ {polon}, i.e. the concave sun-dial, in shape like the vault of heaven.]

92 [ The gnomon would be an upright staff or an obelisk for observation of the length of the shadow.]

93 [ i.e. Red Clod.]

94 [ {Turion stratopedon}, i.e. "the Tyrian quarter" of the town: cp. ch. 154.]

95 [ {ten sen}, or {tauten}, "this land."]

96 [ {es o meteke auton}, "until at last he dismissed it"; but the
construction is very irregular, and there is probably some corruption of
text. Stein reads {ekon} by conjecture for {es o}.]

97 [ {delon de kata per epoiese}: a conjectural emendation of {delon
de' kata gar epoiese}, which some editors retain, translating thus, "and
this is clear; for according to the manner in which Homer described the
wanderings of Alexander, etc., it is clear how, etc."]

98 [ Il. vi. 289. The sixth book is not ordinarily included in the {Diomedeos aristeia}.]

99 [ Od. iv. 227. These references to the Odyssey are by some thought to
be interpolations, because they refer only to the visit of Menelaos to
Egypt after the fall of Troy; but Herodotus is arguing that Homer, while
rejecting the legend of Helen's stay in Egypt during the war, yet has
traces of it left in this later visit to Egypt of Menelaos and Helen, as
well as in the visit of Paris and Helen to Sidon.]

100 [ Od. iv. 351.]

101 [ {kai tode to khorion}: probably {to khorion} ought to be struck out: "this also is evident."]

102 [ {podeonas}, being the feet of the animals whose skins they were.]

103 [ Cp. vii. 152.]

104 [ {elasai}, which may be intransitive, "rushed into every kind of evil."]

105 [ {stadioi}.]

106 [ {krossas}.]

107 [ {bomidas}.]

108 [ i.e. the three small pyramids just to the East of the great pyramid.]

109 [ {oute gar k.t.l.}, "for there are no underground chambers," etc.
Something which was in the mind of the writer has been omitted either
by himself or his copyists, "and inferior to it also in other respects,
for," etc. unless, as Stein supposes, we have here a later addition
thrown in without regard to the connexion.]

110 [ {touto megathos}, "as regards attaining the same size," but
probably the text is corrupt. Stein reads {to megathos} in his later
editions.]

111 [ Or, "Philition."]

112 [ {to theo}, the goddess Leto, cp. i. 105.]

113 [ {suntakhunein auton ton bion}: some MSS. and Editors read {auto} for {auton}, "that heaven was shortening his life."]

114 [ More literally, "bidding him take up the blood-money, who would."
The people of Delphi are said to have put Esop to death and to have been
ordered by the Oracle to make compensation.]

115 [ {os an einai 'Podopin}: so the MSS. Some Editors read {'Podopios}, others {'Podopi}.]

116 [ {antion de autout tou neou}.]

117 [ {epaphroditoi ginesthai}.]

118 [ {katekertomese min}: Athenæus says that Sappho attacked the
mistress of Charaxos; but here {min} can hardly refer to any one
but Charaxos himself, who doubtless would be included in the same
condemnation.]

119 [ {propulaia}.]

120 [ "innumerable sights of buildings."]

121 [ {tassomenon}, "posted," like an army; but the text is probably
unsound: so also in the next line, where the better MSS. have {men
Boubasti poli}, others {e en Boubasti polis}. Stein reads {e en Boubasti
poli}, "the earth at the city of Bubastis." Perhaps {e en Boubasti
polis} might mean the town as opposed to the temple, as Mr. Woods
suggests.]

122 [ Cp. ch. 161, {egeneto apo prophasios, ton k.t.l.} Perhaps however
{prophasin} is here from {prophaino} (cp. Soph. Trach. 662), and it
means merely "that the gods were foreshowing him this in order that,"
etc. So Stein.]

123 [ i.e. for their customary gift or tribute to him as king.]

124 [ The chronology is inconsistent, and some propose, without authority, to read "three hundred years."]

125 [ {tas arouras}, cp. ch. 168, where the {aroura} is defined as a hundred Egyptian units square, about three-quarters of an acre.]

126 [ {es to megaron}.]

127 [ Not on two single occasions, but for two separate periods of time
it was stated that the sun had risen in the West and set in the East;
i.e. from East to West, then from West to East, then again from East
to West, and finally back to East again. This seems to be the meaning
attached by Herodotus to something which he was told about astronomical
cycles.]

128 [ {ouk eontas}: this is the reading of all the best MSS., and also
fits in best with the argument, which was that in Egypt gods were
quite distinct from men. Most Editors however read {oikeontas} on
the authority of a few MSS., "dwelling with men." (The reading of the
Medicean MS. is {ouk eontas}, not {oukeontas} as stated by Stein.)]

129 [ i.e. that the Hellenes borrowed these divinities from Egypt, see
ch. 43 ff. This refers to all the three gods above mentioned and not (as
Stein contended) to Pan and Dionysos only.]

130 [ {kai toutous allous}, i.e. as well as Heracles; but it may mean
"that these also, distinct from the gods, had been born," etc. The
connexion seems to be this: "I expressed my opinion on all these cases
when I spoke of the case of Heracles; for though the statement there
about Heracles was in one respect inapplicable to the rest, yet in the
main conclusion that gods are not born of men it applies to all."]

131 [ {stadioi}.]

132 [ {mneas}, of which 60 go to the talent.]

133 [ Cp. ch. 112.]

134 [ {neos}.]

135 [ I understand that each wall consisted of a single stone, which
gave the dimensions each way: "as regards height and length" therefore
it was made of a single stone. That it should have been a monolith,
except the roof, is almost impossible, not only because of the size
mentioned (which in any case is suspicious), but because no one would
so hollow out a monolith that it would be necessary afterwards to put on
another stone for the roof. The monolith chamber mentioned in ch. 175,
which it took three years to convey from Elephantine, measured only
21 cubits by 14 by 8. The {parorophis} or "cornice" is not an "eave
projecting four cubits," but (as the word is explained by Pollux) a
cornice between ceiling and roof, measuring in this instance four cubits
in height and formed by the thickness of the single stone: see Letronne,
Recherches pour servir, etc. p. 80 (quoted by Bähr).]

136 [ {erpase}, "took as plunder."]

137 [ {aparti}: this word is not found in any MS. but was read here by the Greek grammarians.]

13701 [ i.e. 120,000.]

138 [ Cp. iv. 159.]

139 [ {kuneen}, perhaps the royal helmet or Pschent, cp. ch. 151.]

140 [ {apemataise}, euphemism for breaking wind.]

141 [ {oudena logon auto donta}: many Editors change {auto} to {eouto},
in which case it means "taking no time to consider the matter," as
elsewhere in Herodotus; but cp. iii. 50 {istoreonti logon audena
edidou}.]

142 [ {nomon}, and so throughout the passage.]

14201 [ i.e. 160,000.]

14202 [ i.e. 250,000.]

143 [ {arourai}, cp. ch. 141.]

144 [ {ekaston}: if {ekastoi} be read (for which there is more MS.
authority) the meaning will be that "a thousand Calasirians and a
thousand Hermotybians acted as guards alternately, each for a year," the
number at a time being 1000 not 2000.]

14401 [ {pente mneai}.]

145 [ {arusteres},={kotulai}.]

146 [ {tou neou}.]

147 [ {e trokhoiedes kaleomene}, "the Wheel."]

148 [ The last words, "and when—again," are not found in the best MSS.,
and are omitted by Stein. However their meaning, if not expressed, is
implied.]

149 [ {pugonos}.]

150 [ {tou autou eontes lithou}: some MSS. and many Editors have
{Aithiopikou} for {tou autou}, "of Ethiopian stone." For {eontes} the
MSS. have {eontos}, which may be right, referring to {tou bathrou}
understood, "the base being made of," etc.]

151 [ {tou megalou}, a conjecture founded upon Valla's version, which
has been confirmed by a MS. The other MSS. have {tou megarou}, which is
retained by some Editors, "on each side of the sanctuary."]

152 [ "are claiming a share when no part in it belongs to them."]

153 [ Or possibly of alum: but the gift seems a very small one in any case. Some propose to read {eikosi mneas khrusou}.]

154 [ Or, according to a few MSS., "Battos the son of Arkesilaos."]

155 [ "thou hast surely perished."]

1. Against this Amasis then Cambyses the son of Cyrus was making his
march, taking with him not only other nations of which he was ruler,
but also Hellenes, both Ionians and Aiolians: 1 and the cause of the
expedition was as follows:—Cambyses sent an envoy to Egypt and asked
Amasis to give him his daughter; and he made the request by counsel of
an Egyptian, who brought this upon Amasis 2 having a quarrel with him
for the following reason:—at the time when Cyrus sent to Amasis and
asked him for a physician of the eyes, whosoever was the best of those
in Egypt, Amasis had selected him from all the physicians in Egypt and
had torn him away from his wife and children and delivered him up
to Persia. Having, I say, this cause of quarrel, the Egyptian urged
Cambyses on by his counsel bidding him ask Amasis for his daughter, in
order that he might either be grieved if he gave her, or if he refused
to give her, might offend Cambyses. So Amasis, who was vexed by the
power of the Persians and afraid of it, knew neither how to give nor how
to refuse: for he was well assured that Cambyses did not intend to have
her as his wife but as a concubine. So making account of the matter
thus, he did as follows:—there was a daughter of Apries the former king,
very tall and comely of form and the only person left of his house, and
her name was Nitetis. This girl Amasis adorned with raiment and with
gold, and sent her away to Persia as his own daughter: but after a time,
when Cambyses saluted her calling her by the name of her father, the
girl said to him: "O king, thou dost not perceive how thou hast been
deceived by Amasis; for he adorned me with ornaments and sent me
away giving me to thee as his own daughter, whereas in truth I am the
daughter of Apries against whom Amasis rose up with the Egyptians and
murdered him, who was his lord and master." These words uttered and this
occasion having arisen, led Cambyses the son of Cyrus against Egypt,
moved to very great anger.

2. Such is the report made by the Persians; but as for the Egyptians
they claim Cambyses as one of themselves, saying that he was born of
this very daughter of Apries; for they say that Cyrus was he who sent to
Amasis for his daughter, and not Cambyses. In saying this however they
say not rightly; nor can they have failed to observe (for the Egyptians
fully as well as any other people are acquainted with the laws and
customs of the Persians), first that it is not customary among them for
a bastard to become king, when there is a son born of a true marriage,
and secondly that Cambyses was the son of Cassandane the daughter of
Pharnaspes, a man of the Achaimenid family, and not the son of the
Egyptian woman: but they pervert the truth of history, claiming to be
kindred with the house of Cyrus. Thus it is with these matters;

3, and the following story is also told, which for my part I do not
believe, namely that one of the Persian women came in to the wives of
Cyrus, and when she saw standing by the side of Cassandane children
comely of form and tall, she was loud in her praises of them, expressing
great admiration; and Cassandane, who was the wife of Cyrus, spoke
as follows: "Nevertheless, though I am the mother of such children of
these, Cyrus treats me with dishonour and holds in honour her whom he
has brought in from Egypt." Thus she spoke, they say, being vexed by
Nitetis, and upon that Cambyses the elder of her sons said: "For this
cause, mother, when I am grown to be a man, I will make that which is
above in Egypt to be below, and that which is below above." This he is
reported to have said when he was perhaps about ten years old, and the
women were astonished by it: and he, they say, kept it ever in mind, and
so at last when he had become a man and had obtained the royal power, he
made the expedition against Egypt.

4. Another thing also contributed to this expedition, which was as
follows:—There was among the foreign mercenaries 3 of Amasis a man who
was by race of Halicarnassos, and his name was Phanes, one who was both
capable in judgment and valiant in that which pertained to war. This
Phanes, having (as we may suppose) some quarrel with Amasis, fled away
from Egypt in a ship, desiring to come to speech with Cambyses: and as
he was of no small repute among the mercenaries and was very closely
acquainted with all the affairs of Egypt, Amasis pursued him and
considered it a matter of some moment to capture him: and he pursued by
sending after him the most trusted of his eunuchs with a trireme, who
captured him in Lykia; but having captured him he did not bring him back
to Egypt, since Phanes got the better of him by cunning; for he made
his guards drunk and escaped to Persia. So when Cambyses had made his
resolve to march upon Egypt, and was in difficulty about the march, as
to how he should get safely through the waterless region, this man
came to him and besides informing of the other matters of Amasis, he
instructed him also as to the march, advising him to send to the king
of the Arabians and ask that he would give him safety of passage through
this region.

5. Now by this way only is there a known entrance to Egypt: for from
Phenicia to the borders of the city of Cadytis belongs to the Syrians 4
who are called of Palestine, and from Cadytis, which is a city I suppose
not much less than Sardis, from this city the trading stations on the
sea-coast as far as the city of Ienysos belong to the king of Arabia,
and then from Ienysos again the country belongs to the Syrians as far as
the Serbonian lake, along the side of which Mount Casion extends towards
the Sea. After that, from the Serbonian lake, in which the story goes
that Typhon is concealed, from this point onwards the land is Egypt. Now
the region which lies between the city of Ienysos on the one hand and
Mount Casion and the Serbonian lake on the other, which is of no small
extent but as much as a three days' journey, is grievously destitute of
water.

6. And one thing I shall tell of, which few of those who go in ships to
Egypt have observed, and it is this:—into Egypt from all parts of Hellas
and also from Phenicia are brought twice every year earthenware jars
full of wine, and yet it may almost be said that you cannot see there
one single empty 5 wine-jar.

7. In what manner, then, it will be asked, are they used up? This also I
will tell. The head-man 6 of each place must collect all the earthenware
jars from his own town and convey them to Memphis, and those at Memphis
must fill them with water and convey them to these same waterless
regions of Syria: this the jars which come regularly to Egypt and are
emptied 7 there, are carried to Syria to be added to that which has come
before. It was the Persians who thus prepared this approach to Egypt,
furnishing it with water in the manner which has been said, from the
time when they first took possession of Egypt: but at the time of which
I speak, seeing that water was not yet provided, Cambyses, in accordance
with what he was told by his Halicarnassian guest, sent envoys to the
Arabian king and from him asked and obtained the safe passage, having
given him pledges of friendship and received them from him in return.

8. Now the Arabians have respect for pledges of friendship as much as
those men in all the world who regard them most; and they give them in
the following manner:—A man different from those who desire to give the
pledges to one another, standing in the midst between the two, cuts
with a sharp stone the inner parts of the hands, along by the thumbs,
of those who are giving the pledges to one another, and then he takes a
thread from the cloak of each one and smears with the blood seven
stones laid in the midst between them; and as he does this he calls upon
Dionysos and Urania. When the man has completed these ceremonies, he who
has given the pledges commends to the care of his friends the stranger
(or the fellow-tribesman, if he is giving the pledges to one who is
a member of his tribe), and the friends think it right that they also
should have regard for the pledges given. Of gods they believe in
Dionysos and Urania alone: moreover they say that the cutting of their
hair is done after the same fashion as that of Dionysos himself; and
they cut their hair in a circle round, shaving away the hair of the
temples. Now they call Dionysos Orotalt 8 and Urania they call Alilat.

9. So then when the Arabian king had given the pledge of friendship to
the men who had come to him from Cambyses, he contrived as follows:—he
took skins of camels and filled them with water and loaded them upon the
backs of all the living camels that he had; and having so done he drove
them to the waterless region and there awaited the army of Cambyses.
This which has been related is the more credible of the accounts given,
but the less credible must also be related, since it is a current
account. There is a great river in Arabia called Corys, and this runs
out into the Sea which is called Erythraian. From this river then it is
said that the king of the Arabians, having got a conduit pipe made by
sewing together raw ox-hides and other skins, of such a length as
to reach to the waterless region, conducted the water through these
forsooth, 9 and had great cisterns dug in the waterless region, that
they might receive the water and preserve it. Now it is a journey of
twelve days from the river to this waterless region; and moreover the
story says that he conducted the water by three 10 conduit-pipes to
three different parts of it.

10. Meanwhile Psammenitos the son of Amasis was encamped at the Pelusian
mouth of the Nile waiting for the coming of Cambyses: for Cambyses did
not find Amasis yet living when he marched upon Egypt, but Amasis had
died after having reigned forty and four years during which no great
misfortune had befallen him: and when he had died and had been embalmed
he was buried in the burial-place in the temple, which he had built for
himself. 11 Now when Psammenitos son of Amasis was reigning as king,
there happened to the Egyptians a prodigy, the greatest that had ever
happened: for rain fell at Thebes in Egypt, where never before had rain
fallen nor afterwards down to my time, as the Thebans themselves say;
for in the upper parts of Egypt no rain falls at all: but at the time of
which I speak rain fell at Thebes in a drizzling shower. 12

11. Now when the Persians had marched quite through the waterless region
and were encamped near the Egyptians with design to engage battle, then
the foreign mercenaries of the Egyptian king, who were Hellenes and
Carians, having a quarrel with Phanes because he had brought
against Egypt an army of foreign speech, contrived against him as
follows:—Phanes had children whom he had left behind in Egypt: these
they brought to their camp and into the sight of their father, and they
set up a mixing-bowl between the two camps, and after that they brought
up the children one by one and cut their throats so that the blood ran
into the bowl. Then when they had gone through the whole number of the
children, they brought and poured into the bowl both wine and water, and
not until the mercenaries had all drunk of the blood, did they engage
battle. Then after a battle had been fought with great stubbornness, and
very many had fallen of both the armies, the Egyptians at length turned
to flight.

12. I was witness moreover of a great marvel, being informed of it by
the natives of the place; for of the bones scattered about of those
who fell in this fight, each side separately, since the bones of the
Persians were lying apart on one side according as they were divided
at first, and those of the Egyptians on the other, the skulls of the
Persians are so weak that if you shall hit them only with a pebble
you will make a hole in them, while those of the Egyptians are so
exceedingly strong that you would hardly break them if you struck them
with a large stone. The cause of it, they say, was this, and I for my
part readily believe them, namely that the Egyptians beginning from
their early childhood shave their heads, and the bone is thickened by
exposure to the sun: and this is also the cause of their not becoming
bald-headed; for among the Egyptians you see fewer bald-headed men
than among any other race. This then is the reason why these have their
skulls strong; and the reason why the Persians have theirs weak is that
they keep them delicately in the shade from the first by wearing tiaras,
that is felt caps. So far of this: and I saw also a similar thing to
this at Papremis, in the case of those who were slain together with
Achaimenes the son of Dareios, by Inaros the Libyan.

13. The Egyptians when they turned to flight from the battle fled in
disorder: and they being shut up in Memphis, Cambyses sent a ship of
Mytilene up the river bearing a Persian herald, to summon the Egyptians
to make terms of surrender; but they, when they saw the ship had
entered into Memphis, pouring forth in a body from the fortress 13 both
destroyed the ship and also tore the men in it limb from limb, and so
bore them into the fortress. After this the Egyptians being besieged, in
course of time surrendered themselves; and the Libyans who dwell on the
borders of Egypt, being struck with terror by that which had happened to
Egypt, delivered themselves up without resistance, and they both laid
on themselves a tribute and sent presents: likewise also those of Kyrene
and Barca, being struck with terror equally with 14 the Libyans, acted
in a similar manner: and Cambyses accepted graciously the gifts which
came from the Libyans, but as for those which came from the men of
Kyrene, finding fault with them, as I suppose, because they were too
small in amount (for the Kyrenians sent in fact five hundred pounds'
weight 15 of silver), he took the silver by handfuls and scattered it
with his own hand among his soldiers.

14. On the tenth day after that on which he received the surrender
of the fortress of Memphis, Cambyses set the king of the Egyptians
Psammenitos, who had been king for six months, to sit in the suburb of
the city, to do him dishonour,—him I say with other Egyptians he set
there, and he proceeded to make trial of his spirit as follows:—having
arrayed his daughter in the clothing of a slave, he sent her forth with
a pitcher to fetch water, and with her he sent also other maidens chosen
from the daughters of the chief men, arrayed as was the daughter of the
king: and as the maidens were passing by their fathers with cries and
lamentation, the other men all began to cry out and lament aloud, 16
seeing that their children had been evilly entreated, but Psammenitos
when he saw it before his eyes and perceived it bent himself down to the
earth. Then when the water-bearers had passed by, next Cambyses sent his
son with two thousand Egyptians besides who were of the same age, with
ropes bound round their necks and bits placed in their mouths; and these
were being led away to execution to avenge the death of the Mytilenians
who had been destroyed at Memphis with their ship: for the Royal Judges
17 had decided that for each man ten of the noblest Egyptians should
lose their lives in retaliation. He then, when he saw them passing out
by him and perceived that his son was leading the way 18 to die, did
the same as he had done with respect to his daughter, while the other
Egyptians who sat round him were lamenting and showing signs of grief.
When these also had passed by, it chanced that a man of his table
companions, advanced in years, who had been deprived of all his
possessions and had nothing except such things as a beggar possesses,
and was asking alms from the soldiers, passed by Psammenitos the son of
Amasis and the Egyptians who were sitting in the suburb of the city: and
when Psammenitos saw him he uttered a great cry of lamentation, and he
called his companion by name and beat himself upon the head. Now there
was, it seems, men set to watch him, who made known to Cambyses all that
he did on the occasion of each going forth: and Cambyses marvelled
at that which he did, and he sent a messenger and asked him thus:
"Psammenitos, thy master Cambyses asks thee for what reason, when thou
sawest thy daughter evilly entreated and thy son going to death, thou
didst not cry aloud nor lament for them, whereas thou didst honour with
these signs of grief the beggar who, as he hears from others, is not
in any way related to thee?" Thus he asked, and the other answered
as follows: "O son of Cyrus, my own troubles were too great for me to
lament them aloud, but the trouble of my companion was such as called
for tears, seeing that he has been deprived of great wealth, and has
come to beggary upon the threshold of old age." When this saying was
reported by the messenger, it seemed to them 19 that it was well spoken;
and, as is reported by the Egyptians, Croesus shed tears (for he also,
as fortune would have it, had accompanied Cambyses to Egypt) and the
Persians who were present shed tears also; and there entered some pity
into Cambyses himself, and forthwith he bade them save the life of the
son of Psammenitos from among those who were being put to death, and
also he bade them raise Psammenitos himself from his place in the suburb
of the city and bring him into his own presence.

15. As for the son, those who went for him found that he was no longer
alive, but had been cut down first of all, but Psammenitos himself they
raised from his place and brought him into the presence of Cambyses,
with whom he continued to live for the rest of his time without
suffering any violence; and if he had known how to keep himself from
meddling with mischief, he would have received Egypt so as to be ruler
of it, since the Persians are wont to honour the sons of kings, and even
if the kings have revolted from them, they give back the power into the
hands of their sons. Of this, namely that it is their established rule
to act so, one may judge by many instances besides and especially 20
by the case of Thannyras the son of Inaros, who received back the power
which his father had, and by that of Pausiris the son of Amyrtaios, for
he too received back the power of his father: yet it is certain that no
men ever up to this time did more evil to the Persians than Inaros and
Amyrtaios. As it was, however, Psammenitos devised evil and received the
due reward: for he was found to be inciting the Egyptians to revolt; and
when this became known to Cambyses, Psammenitos drank bull's blood and
died forthwith. Thus he came to his end.

16. From Memphis Cambyses came to the city of Saïs with the purpose of
doing that which in fact he did: for when he had entered into the palace
of Amasis, he forthwith gave command to bring the corpse of Amasis forth
out of his burial-place; and when this had been accomplished, he gave
command to scourge it and pluck out the hair and stab it, and to do to
it dishonour in every possible way besides: and when they had done this
too until they were wearied out, for the corpse being embalmed held out
against the violence and did not fall to pieces in any part, Cambyses
gave command to consume it with fire, enjoining thereby a thing which
was not permitted by religion: for the Persians hold fire to be a god.
To consume corpses with fire then is by no means according to the
custom of either people, of the Persians for the reason which has been
mentioned, since they say that it is not right to give the dead body
of a man to a god; while the Egyptians have the belief established that
fire is a living wild beast, and that it devours everything which it
catches, and when it is satiated with the food it dies itself together
with that which it devours: but it is by no means their custom to give
the corpse of a man to wild beasts, for which reason they embalm it,
that it may not be eaten by worms as it lies in the tomb. Thus then
Cambyses was enjoining them to do that which is not permitted by the
customs of either people. However, the Egyptians say that it was not
Amasis who suffered this outrage, but another of the Egyptians who was
of the same stature of body as Amasis; and that to him the Persians did
outrage, thinking that they were doing it to Amasis: for they say that
Amasis learnt from an Oracle that which was about to happen with regard
to himself after his death; and accordingly, to avert the evil which
threatened to come upon him, he buried the dead body of this man who was
scourged within his own sepulchral chamber near the doors, and enjoined
his son to lay his own body as much as possible in the inner recess of
the chamber. These injunctions, said to have been given by Amasis with
regard to his burial and with regard to the man mentioned, were not
in my opinion really given at all, but I think that the Egyptians make
pretence of it from pride and with no good ground.

17. After this Cambyses planned three several expeditions, one against
the Carthaginians, another against the Ammonians, and a third against
the "Long-lived" Ethiopians, who dwell in that part of Libya which is by
the Southern Sea: and in forming these designs he resolved to send
his naval force against the Carthaginians, and a body chosen from his
land-army against the Ammonians; and to the Ethiopians to send spies
first, both to see whether the table of the Sun existed really, which is
said to exist among these Ethiopians, and in addition to this to spy out
all else, but pretending to be bearers of gifts for their king.

18. Now the table of the Sun is said to be as follows:—there is a meadow
in the suburb of their city full of flesh-meat boiled of all four-footed
creatures; and in this, it is said, those of the citizens who are in
authority at the time place the flesh by night, managing the matter
carefully, and by day any man who wishes comes there and feasts himself;
and the natives (it is reported) say that the earth of herself produces
these things continually.

19. Of such nature is the so-called table of the Sun said to be. So when
Cambyses had resolved to send the spies, forthwith he sent for those men
of the Ichthyophagoi who understood the Ethiopian tongue, to come from
the city of Elephantine: and while they were going to fetch these
men, he gave command to the fleet to sail against Carthage: but the
Phenicians said that they would not do so, for they were bound not to
do so by solemn vows, and they would not be acting piously if they
made expedition against their own sons: and as the Phenicians were not
willing, the rest were rendered unequal to the attempt. Thus then the
Carthaginians escaped being enslaved by the Persians; for Cambyses did
not think it right to apply force to compel the Phenicians, both because
they had delivered themselves over to the Persians of their own accord
and because the whole naval force was dependent upon the Phenicians. Now
the men of Cyprus also had delivered themselves over to the Persians,
and were joining in the expedition against Egypt.

20. Then as soon as the Ichthyophagoi came to Cambyses from Elephantine,
he sent them to the Ethiopians, enjoining them what they should say and
giving them gifts to bear with them, that is to say a purple garment,
and a collar of twisted gold with bracelets, and an alabaster box of
perfumed ointment, and a jar of palm-wine. Now these Ethiopians to whom
Cambyses was sending are said to be the tallest and the most beautiful
of all men; and besides other customs which they are reported to have
different from other men, there is especially this, it is said, with
regard to their regal power,—whomsoever of the men of their nation
they judge to be the tallest and to have strength in proportion to his
stature, this man they appoint to reign over them.

21. So when the Ichthyophagoi had come to this people they presented
their gifts to the king who ruled over them, and at the same time they
said as follows: "The king of the Persians Cambyses, desiring to become
a friend and guest to thee, sent us with command to come to speech with
thee, and he gives thee for gifts these things which he himself most
delights to use." The Ethiopian however, perceiving that they had
come as spies, spoke to them as follows: "Neither did the king of the
Persians send you bearing gifts because he thought it a matter of great
moment to become my guest-friend, nor do ye speak true things (for ye
have come as spies of my kingdom), nor again is he a righteous man; for
if he had been righteous he would not have coveted a land other than his
own, nor would he be leading away into slavery men at whose hands he has
received no wrong. Now however give him this bow and speak to him these
words: The king of the Ethiopians gives this counsel to the king of the
Persians, that when the Persians draw their bows (of equal size to mine)
as easily as I do this, then he should march against the Long-lived
Ethiopians, provided that he be superior in numbers; but until that time
he should feel gratitude to the gods that they do not put it into the
mind of the sons of the Ethiopians to acquire another land in addition
to their own."

22. Having thus said and having unbent the bow, he delivered it to those
who had come. Then he took the garment of purple and asked what it was
and how it had been made: and when the Ichthyophagoi had told him the
truth about the purple-fish and the dyeing of the tissue, he said that
the men were deceitful and deceitful also were their garments. Then
secondly he asked concerning the twisted gold of the collar and the
bracelets; and when the Ichthyophagoi were setting forth to him the
manner in which it was fashioned, the king broke into a laugh and said,
supposing them to be fetters, that they had stronger fetters than those
in their country. Thirdly he asked about the perfumed ointment, and when
they had told him of the manner of its making and of the anointing with
it, he said the same as he had said before about the garment. Then when
he came to the wine, and had learned about the manner of its making,
being exceedingly delighted with the taste of the drink he asked besides
what food the king ate, and what was the longest time that a Persian
man lived. They told him that he ate bread, explaining to him first the
manner of growing the wheat, and they said that eighty years was the
longest term of life appointed for a Persian man. In answer to this the
Ethiopian said that he did not wonder that they lived but a few years,
when they fed upon dung; for indeed they would not be able to live
even so many years as this, if they did not renew their vigour with the
drink, indicating to the Ichthyophagoi the wine; for in regard to this,
he said, his people were much behind the Persians.

23. Then when the Ichthyophagoi asked the king in return about the
length of days and the manner of life of his people, he answered that
the greater number of them reached the age of a hundred and twenty
years, and some surpassed even this; and their food was boiled flesh
and their drink was milk. And when the spies marvelled at the number of
years, he conducted them to a certain spring, in the water of which they
washed and became more sleek of skin, as if it were a spring of oil; and
from it there came a scent as it were of violets: and the water of this
spring, said the spies, was so exceedingly weak that it was not possible
for anything to float upon it, either wood or any of those things which
are lighter than wood, but they all went to the bottom. If this water
which they have be really such as it is said to be, it would doubtless
be the cause why the people are long-lived, as making use of it for all
the purposes of life. Then when they departed from this spring, he led
them to a prison-house for men, and there all were bound in fetters of
gold. Now among these Ethiopians bronze is the rarest and most precious
of all things. Then when they had seen the prison-house they saw also
the so-called table of the Sun:

24, and after this they saw last of all their receptacles of dead
bodies, which are said to be made of crystal in the following
manner:—when they have dried the corpse, whether it be after the
Egyptian fashion or in some other way, they cover it over completely
with plaster 21 and then adorn it with painting, making the figure as
far as possible like the living man. After this they put about it a
block of crystal hollowed out; for this they dig up in great quantity
and it is very easy to work: and the dead body being in the middle of
the block is visible through it, but produces no unpleasant smell nor
any other effect which is unseemly, and it has all its parts visible
like the dead body itself. For a year then they who are most nearly
related to the man keep the block in their house, giving to the dead man
the first share of everything and offering to him sacrifices: and after
this period they carry it out and set it up round about the city.

25. After they had seen all, the spies departed to go back; and when
they reported these things, forthwith Cambyses was enraged and proceeded
to march his army against the Ethiopians, not having ordered any
provision of food nor considered with himself that he was intending to
march an army to the furthest extremities of the earth; but as one who
is mad and not in his right senses, when he heard the report of the
Ichthyophagoi he began the march, ordering those of the Hellenes who
were present to remain behind in Egypt, and taking with him his whole
land force: and when in the course of his march he had arrived at
Thebes, he divided off about fifty thousand of his army, and these he
enjoined to make slaves of the Ammonians and to set fire to the seat of
the Oracle of Zeus, but he himself with the remainder of his army went
on against the Ethiopians. But before the army had passed over the
fifth part of the way, all that they had of provisions came to an end
completely; and then after the provisions the beasts of burden also were
eaten up and came to an end. Now if Cambyses when he perceived this had
changed his plan and led his army back, he would have been a wise man
in spite of 22 his first mistake; as it was, however, he paid no regard,
but went on forward without stopping. The soldiers accordingly, so long
as they were able to get anything from the ground, prolonged their lives
by eating grass; but when they came to the sand, some did a fearful
deed, that is to say, out of each company of ten they selected by lot
one of themselves and devoured him: and Cambyses, when he heard it,
being alarmed by this eating of one another gave up the expedition
against the Ethiopians and set forth to go back again; and he arrived
at Thebes having suffered loss of a great number of his army. Then from
Thebes he came down to Memphis and allowed the Hellenes to sail away
home.

26. Thus fared the expedition against the Ethiopians: and those of the
Persians who had been sent to march against the Ammonians set forth
from Thebes and went on their way with guides; and it is known that they
arrived at the city of Oasis, which is inhabited by Samians said to
be of the Aischrionian tribe, and is distant seven days' journey from
Thebes over sandy desert: now this place is called in the speech of the
Hellenes the "Isle of the Blessed." It is said that the army reached
this place, but from that point onwards, except the Ammonians themselves
and those who have heard the account from them, no man is able to say
anything about them; for they neither reached the Ammonians nor
returned back. This however is added to the story by the Ammonians
themselves:—they say that as the army was going from this Oasis through
the sandy desert to attack them, and had got to a point about mid-way
between them and the Oasis, while they were taking their morning meal
a violent South Wind blew upon them, and bearing with it heaps of the
desert sand it buried them under it, and so they disappeared and were
seen no more. Thus the Ammonians say that it came to pass with regard to
this army.

27. When Cambyses arrived at Memphis, Apis appeared to the Egyptians,
whom the Hellenes call Epaphos: and when he had appeared, forthwith the
Egyptians began to wear their fairest garments and to have festivities.
Cambyses accordingly seeing the Egyptians doing thus, and supposing that
they were certainly acting so by way of rejoicing because he had fared
ill, called for the officers who had charge of Memphis; and when they
had come into his presence, he asked them why when he was at Memphis on
the former occasion, the Egyptians were doing nothing of this kind, but
only now, when he came there after losing a large part of his army.
They said that a god had appeared to them, who was wont to appear at
intervals of long time, and that whenever he appeared, then all the
Egyptians rejoiced and kept festival. Hearing this Cambyses said that
they were lying, and as liars he condemned them to death.

28. Having put these to death, next he called the priests into his
presence; and when the priests answered him after the same manner, he
said that it should not be without his knowledge if a tame god had come
to the Egyptians; and having so said he bade the priests bring Apis away
into his presence: so they went to bring him. Now this Apis-Epaphos is a
calf born of a cow who after this is not permitted to conceive any other
offspring; and the Egyptians say that a flash of light comes down from
heaven upon this cow, and of this she produces Apis. This calf which is
called Apis is black and has the following signs, namely a white square
23 upon the forehead, and on the back the likeness of an eagle, and in
the tail the hairs are double, and on 24 the tongue there is a mark like
a beetle.

29. When the priests had brought Apis, Cambyses being somewhat affected
with madness drew his dagger, and aiming at the belly of Apis, struck
his thigh: then he laughed and said to the priests: "O ye wretched
creatures, are gods born such as this, with blood and flesh, and
sensible of the stroke of iron weapons? Worthy indeed of Egyptians
is such a god as this. Ye however at least shall not escape without
punishment for making a mock of me." Having thus spoken he ordered those
whose duty it was to do such things, to scourge the priests without
mercy, and to put to death any one of the other Egyptians whom they
should find keeping the festival. Thus the festival of the Egyptians had
been brought to an end, and the priests were being chastised, and Apis
wounded by the stroke in his thigh lay dying in the temple.

30. Him, when he had brought his life to an end by reason of the wound,
the priests buried without the knowledge of Cambyses: but Cambyses, as
the Egyptians say, immediately after this evil deed became absolutely
mad, not having been really in his right senses even before that time:
and the first of his evil deeds was that he put to death his brother
Smerdis, who was of the same father and the same mother as himself. This
brother he had sent away from Egypt to Persia in envy, because alone
of all the Persians he had been able to draw the bow which the
Ichthyophagoi brought from the Ethiopian king, to an extent of about two
finger-breadths; while of the other Persians not one had proved able
to do this. Then when Smerdis had gone away to Persia, Cambyses saw a
vision in his sleep of this kind:—it seemed to him that a messenger came
from Persia and reported that Smerdis sitting upon the royal throne had
touched the heaven with his head. Fearing therefore with regard to
this lest his brother might slay him and reign in his stead, he sent
Prexaspes to Persia, the man whom of all the Persians he trusted most,
with command to slay him. He accordingly went up to Susa and slew
Smerdis; and some say that he took him out of the chase and so slew him,
others that he brought him to the Erythraian Sea and drowned him.

31. This they say was the first beginning of the evil deeds of Cambyses;
and next after this he put to death his sister, who had accompanied
him to Egypt, to whom also he was married, she being his sister by both
parents. Now he took her to wife in the following manner (for
before this the Persians had not been wont at all to marry their
sisters):—Cambyses fell in love with one of his sisters, and desired to
take her to wife; so since he had it in mind to do that which was not
customary, he called the Royal Judges and asked them whether there
existed any law which permitted him who desired it to marry his sister.
Now the Royal Judges are men chosen out from among the Persians, and
hold their office until they die or until some injustice is found in
them, so long and no longer. These pronounce decisions for the Persians
and are the expounders of the ordinances of their fathers, and all
matters are referred to them. So when Cambyses asked them, they gave him
an answer which was both upright and safe, saying that they found no law
which permitted a brother to marry his sister, but apart from that they
had found a law to the effect that the king of the Persians might do
whatsoever he desired. Thus on the one hand they did not tamper with
the law for fear of Cambyses, and at the same time, that they might not
perish themselves in maintaining the law, they found another law beside
that which was asked for, which was in favour of him who wished to marry
his sisters. So Cambyses at that time took to wife her with whom he was
in love, but after no long time he took another sister. Of these it was
the younger whom he put to death, she having accompanied him to Egypt.

32. About her death, as about the death of Smerdis, two different
stories are told. The Hellenes say that Cambyses had matched a lion's
cub in fight with a dog's whelp, and this wife of his was also a
spectator of it; and when the whelp was being overcome, another whelp,
its brother, broke its chain and came to help it; and having become two
instead of one, the whelps then got the better of the cub: and Cambyses
was pleased at the sight, but she sitting by him began to weep; and
Cambyses perceived it and asked wherefore she wept; and she said that
she had wept when she saw that the whelp had come to the assistance of
its brother, because she remembered Smerdis and perceived that there was
no one who would come to his 25 assistance. The Hellenes say that it was
for this saying that she was killed by Cambyses: but the Egyptians say
that as they were sitting round at table, the wife took a lettuce and
pulled off the leaves all round, and then asked her husband whether the
lettuce was fairer when thus plucked round or when covered with
leaves, and he said "when covered with leaves": she then spoke thus:
"Nevertheless thou didst once produce the likeness of this lettuce, when
thou didst strip bare the house of Cyrus." And he moved to anger leapt
upon her, being with child, and she miscarried and died.

33. These were the acts of madness done by Cambyses towards those of his
own family, whether the madness was produced really on account of Apis
or from some other cause, as many ills are wont to seize upon men; for
it is said moreover that Cambyses had from his birth a certain grievous
malady, that which is called by some the "sacred" disease: 26 and it
was certainly nothing strange that when the body was suffering from a
grievous malady, the mind should not be sound either.

34. The following also are acts of madness which he did to the other
Persians:—To Prexaspes, the man whom he honoured most and who used to
bear his messages 2601 (his son also was cup-bearer to Cambyses, and
this too was no small honour),—to him it is said that he spoke as
follows: "Prexaspes, what kind of a man do the Persians esteem me to be,
and what speech do they hold concerning me?" and he said: "Master, in
all other respects thou art greatly commended, but they say that thou
art overmuch given to love of wine." Thus he spoke concerning the
Persians; and upon that Cambyses was roused to anger, and answered thus:
"It appears then that the Persians say I am given to wine, and that
therefore I am beside myself and not in my right mind; and their former
speech then was not sincere." For before this time, it seems, when the
Persians and Croesus were sitting with him in council, Cambyses asked
what kind of a man they thought he was as compared with his father
Cyrus; 27 and they answered that he was better than his father, for
he not only possessed all that his father had possessed, but also in
addition to this had acquired Egypt and the Sea. Thus the Persians
spoke; but Croesus, who was present and was not satisfied with their
judgment, spoke thus to Cambyses: "To me, O son of Cyrus, thou dost not
appear to be equal to thy father, for not yet hast thou a son such as
he left behind him in you." Hearing this Cambyses was pleased, and
commended the judgment of Croesus.

35. So calling to mind this, he said in anger to Prexaspes: "Learn then
now for thyself whether the Persians speak truly, or whether when they
say this they are themselves out of their senses: for if I, shooting at
thy son there standing before the entrance of the chamber, hit him in
the very middle of the heart, the Persians will be proved to be speaking
falsely, but if I miss, then thou mayest say that the Persians are
speaking the truth and that I am not in my right mind." Having thus said
he drew his bow and hit the boy; and when the boy had fallen down, it
is said that he ordered them to cut open his body and examine the place
where he was hit; and as the arrow was found to be sticking in the
heart, he laughed and was delighted, and said to the father of the boy:
"Prexaspes, it has now been made evident, as thou seest, that I am not
mad, but that it is the Persians who are out of their senses; and now
tell me, whom of all men didst thou ever see before this time hit the
mark so well in shooting?" Then Prexaspes, seeing that the man was not
in his right senses and fearing for himself, said: "Master, I think that
not even God himself could have hit the mark so fairly." Thus he did at
that time: and at another time he condemned twelve of the Persians, men
equal to the best, on a charge of no moment, and buried them alive with
the head downwards.

36. When he was doing these things, Croesus the Lydian judged it right
to admonish him in the following words: "O king, do not thou indulge the
heat of thy youth and passion in all things, but retain and hold thyself
back: it is a good thing to be prudent, and forethought is wise. Thou
however are putting to death men who are of thine own people, condemning
them on charges of no moment, and thou art putting to death men's sons
also. If thou do many such things, beware lest the Persians make revolt
from thee. As for me, thy father Cyrus gave me charge, earnestly bidding
me to admonish thee, and suggest to thee that which I should find to
be good." Thus he counselled him, manifesting goodwill towards him; but
Cambyses answered: "Dost thou venture to counsel me, who excellently
well didst rule thine own country, and well didst counsel my father,
bidding him pass over the river Araxes and go against the Massagetai,
when they were willing to pass over into our land, and so didst utterly
ruin thyself by ill government of thine own land, and didst utterly
ruin Cyrus, who followed thy counsel. However thou shalt not escape
punishment now, for know that before this I had very long been desiring
to find some occasion against thee." Thus having said he took his bow
meaning to shoot him, but Croesus started up and ran out: and so since
he could not shoot him, he gave orders to his attendants to take and
slay him. The attendants however, knowing his moods, concealed Croesus,
with the intention that if Cambyses should change his mind and seek
to have Croesus again, they might produce him and receive gifts as the
price of saving his life; but if he did not change his mind nor feel
desire to have him back, then they might kill him. Not long afterwards
Cambyses did in fact desire to have Croesus again, and the attendants
perceiving this reported to him that he was still alive: and Cambyses
said that he rejoiced with Croesus that he was still alive, but that
they who had preserved him should not get off free, but he would put
them to death: and thus he did.

37. Many such acts of madness did he both to Persians and allies,
remaining at Memphis and opening ancient tombs and examining the dead
bodies. Likewise also he entered into the temple of Hephaistos and very
much derided the image of the god: for the image of Hephaistos very
nearly resembles the Phenician Pataicoi, which the Phenicians carry
about on the prows of their triremes; and for him who has not seen
these, I will indicate its nature,—it is the likeness of a dwarfish man.
He entered also into the temple of the Cabeiroi, into which it is not
lawful for any one to enter except the priest only, and the images there
he even set on fire, after much mockery of them. Now these also are like
the images of Hephaistos, and it is said that they are the children of
that god.

38. It is clear to me therefore by every kind of proof that Cambyses
was mad exceedingly; for otherwise he would not have attempted to deride
religious rites and customary observances. For if one should propose
to all men a choice, bidding them select the best customs from all the
customs that there are, each race of men, after examining them all,
would select those of his own people; thus all think that their own
customs are by far the best: and so it is not likely that any but a
madman would make a jest of such things. Now of the fact that all men
are thus wont to think about their customs, we may judge by many other
proofs and more specially by this which follows:—Dareios in the course
of his reign summoned those of the Hellenes who were present in his
land, and asked them for what price they would consent to eat up their
fathers when they died; and they answered that for no price would
they do so. After this Dareios summoned those Indians who are called
Callatians, who eat their parents, and asked them in presence of the
Hellenes, who understood what they said by help of an interpreter, for
what payment they would consent to consume with fire the bodies of
their fathers when they died; and they cried out aloud and bade him
keep silence from such words. Thus then these things are established by
usage, and I think that Pindar spoke rightly in his verse, when he said
that "of all things law is king." 28

39. Now while Cambyses was marching upon Egypt, the Lacedemonians also
had made an expedition against Samos and against Polycrates the son
of Aiakes, who had risen against the government and obtained rule over
Samos. At first he had divided the State into three parts and had given
a share to his brothers Pantagnotos and Syloson; but afterwards he put
to death one of these, and the younger, namely Syloson, he drove
out, and so obtained possession of the whole of Samos. Then, being in
possession, 29 he made a guest-friendship with Amasis the king of Egypt,
sending him gifts and receiving gifts in return from him. After this
straightway within a short period of time the power of Polycrates
increased rapidly, and there was much fame of it not only in Ionia,
but also over the rest of Hellas: for to whatever part he directed his
forces, everything went fortunately for him: and he had got for himself
a hundred fifty-oared galleys and a thousand archers, and he plundered
from all, making no distinction of any; for it was his wont to say that
he would win more gratitude from his friend by giving back to him that
which he had taken, than by not taking at all. 30 So he had conquered
many of the islands and also many cities of the continent, and besides
other things he gained the victory in a sea-fight over the Lesbians, as
they were coming to help the Milesians with their forces, and conquered
them: these men dug the whole trench round the wall of the city of Samos
working in chains.

40. Now Amasis, as may be supposed, did not fail to perceive that
Polycrates was very greatly fortunate, and 31 it was to him an object
of concern; and as much more good fortune yet continued to come to
Polycrates, he wrote upon a paper these words and sent them to Samos:
"Amasis to Polycrates thus saith:—It is a pleasant thing indeed to hear
that one who is a friend and guest is faring well; yet to me thy great
good fortune is not pleasing, since I know that the Divinity is jealous;
and I think that I desire, both for myself and for those about whom I
have care, that in some of our affairs we should be prosperous and in
others should fail, and thus go through life alternately faring 32 well
and ill, rather than that we should be prosperous in all things: for
never yet did I hear tell of any one who was prosperous in all things
and did not come to an utterly 33 evil end at the last. Now therefore
do thou follow my counsel and act as I shall say with respect to thy
prosperous fortunes. Take thought and consider, and that which thou
findest to be the most valued by thee, and for the loss of which thou
wilt most be vexed in thy soul, that take and cast away in such a manner
that it shall never again come to the sight of men; and if in future
from that time forward good fortune does not befall thee in alternation
with calamities, 34 apply remedies in the manner by me suggested."

41. Polycrates, having read this and having perceived by reflection that
Amasis suggested to him good counsel, sought to find which one of his
treasures he would be most afflicted in his soul to lose; and seeking
he found this which I shall say:—he had a signet which he used to wear,
enchased in gold and made of an emerald stone; and it was the work of
Theodoros the son of Telecles of Samos. 35 Seeing then that he thought
it good to cast this away, he did thus:—he manned a fifty-oared galley
with sailors and went on board of it himself; and then he bade them
put out into the deep sea. And when he had got to a distance from the
island, he took off the signet-ring, and in the sight of all who were
with him in the ship he threw it into the sea. Thus having done he
sailed home; and when he came to his house he mourned for his loss.

42. But on the fifth or sixth day after these things it happened to
him as follows:—a fisherman having caught a large and beautiful fish,
thought it right that this should be given as a gift to Polycrates. He
bore it therefore to the door of the palace and said that he desired to
come into the presence of Polycrates, and when he had obtained this he
gave him the fish, saying: "O king, having taken this fish I did not
think fit to bear it to the market, although I am one who lives by the
labour of his hands; but it seemed to me that it was worthy of thee and
of thy monarchy: therefore I bring it and present it to thee." He
then, being pleased at the words spoken, answered thus: "Thou didst
exceedingly well, and double thanks are due to thee, for thy words and
also for thy gift; and we invite thee to come to dinner." The fisherman
then, thinking this a great thing, went away to this house; and the
servants as they were cutting up the fish found in its belly the
signet-ring of Polycrates. Then as soon as they had seen it and taken it
up, they bore it rejoicing to Polycrates, and giving him the signet-ring
they told him in what manner it had been found: and he perceiving that
the matter was of God, wrote upon paper all that he had done and all
that had happened to him, and having written he despatched it to Egypt.
36

43. Then Amasis, when he had read the paper which had come from
Polycrates, perceived that it was impossible for man to rescue man from
the event which was to come to pass, and that Polycrates was destined
not to have a good end, being prosperous in all things, seeing that he
found again even that which he cast away. Therefore he sent an envoy to
him in Samos and said that he broke off the guest-friendship; and this
he did lest when a fearful and great mishap befell Polycrates, he might
himself be grieved in his soul as for a man who was his guest.

44. It was this Polycrates then, prosperous in all things, against whom
the Lacedemonians were making an expedition, being invited by those
Samians who afterwards settled at Kydonia in Crete, to come to their
assistance. Now Polycrates had sent an envoy to Cambyses the son of
Cyrus without the knowledge of the Samians, as he was gathering an army
to go against Egypt, and had asked him to send to him in Samos and to
ask for an armed force. So Cambyses hearing this very readily sent to
Samos to ask Polycrates to send a naval force with him against Egypt:
and Polycrates selected of the citizens those whom he most suspected
of desiring to rise against him and sent them away in forty triremes,
charging Cambyses not to send them back.

45. Now some say that those of the Samians who were sent away by
Polycrates never reached Egypt, but when they arrived on their voyage at
Carpathos, 37 they considered with themselves, and resolved not to sail
on any further: others say that they reached Egypt and being kept under
guard there, they made their escape from thence. Then, as they were
sailing in to Samos, Polycrates encountered them with ships and engaged
battle with them; and those who were returning home had the better and
landed in the island; but having fought a land-battle in the island,
they were worsted, and so sailed to Lacedemon. Some however say that
those from Egypt defeated Polycrates in the battle; but this in my
opinion is not correct, for there would have been no need for them to
invite the assistance of the Lacedemonians if they had been able by
themselves to bring Polycrates to terms. Moreover, it is not reasonable
either, seeing that he had foreign mercenaries and native archers very
many in number, to suppose that he was worsted by the returning Samians,
who were but few. Then Polycrates gathered together the children and
wives of his subjects and confined them in the ship-sheds, keeping them
ready so that, if it should prove that his subjects deserted to the side
of the returning exiles, he might burn them with the sheds.

46. When those of the Samians who had been driven out by Polycrates
reached Sparta, they were introduced before the magistrates and spoke
at length, being urgent in their request. The magistrates however at the
first introduction replied that they had forgotten the things which had
been spoken at the beginning, and did not understand those which were
spoken at the end. After this they were introduced a second time, and
bringing with them a bag they said nothing else but this, namely that
the bag was in want of meal; to which the others replied that they had
overdone it with the bag. 38 However, they resolved to help them.

47. Then the Lacedemonians prepared a force and made expedition to
Samos, in repayment of former services, as the Samians say, because the
Samians had first helped them with ships against the Messenians; but the
Lacedemonians say that they made the expedition not so much from desire
to help the Samians at their request, as to take vengeance on their own
behalf for the robbery of the mixing-bowl which they had been bearing as
a gift to Croesus, 39 and of the corslet which Amasis the king of Egypt
had sent as a gift to them; for the Samians had carried off the corslet
also in the year before they took the bowl; and it was of linen with
many figures woven into it and embroidered with gold and with cotton;
and each thread of this corslet is worthy of admiration, for that being
itself fine it has in it three hundred and sixty fibres, all plain to
view. Such another as this moreover is that which Amasis dedicated as an
offering to Athene at Lindos.

48. The Corinthians also took part with zeal in this expedition against
Samos, that it might be carried out; for there had been an offence
perpetrated against them also by the Samians a generation before 40 the
time of this expedition and about the same time as the robbery of the
bowl. Periander the son of Kypselos had despatched three hundred sons of
the chief men of Corcyra to Alyattes at Sardis to be made eunuchs; and
when the Corinthians who were conducting the boys had put in to Samos,
the Samians, being informed of the story and for what purpose they were
being conducted to Sardis, first instructed the boys to lay hold of the
temple of Artemis, and then they refused to permit the Corinthians to
drag the suppliants away from the temple: and as the Corinthians cut the
boys off from supplies of food, the Samians made a festival, which they
celebrate even to the present time in the same manner: for when night
came on, as long as the boys were suppliants they arranged dances of
maidens and youths, and in arranging the dances they made it a rule of
the festival that sweet cakes of sesame and honey should be carried, in
order that the Corcyrean boys might snatch them and so have support; and
this went on so long that at last the Corinthians who had charge of the
boys departed and went away; and as for the boys, the Samians carried
them back to Corcyra.

49. Now, if after the death of Periander the Corinthians had been on
friendly terms with the Corcyreans, they would not have joined in the
expedition against Samos for the cause which has been mentioned; but as
it is, they have been ever at variance with one another since they first
colonised the island. 41 This then was the cause why the Corinthians had
a grudge against the Samians.

50. Now Periander had chosen out the sons of the chief men of Corcyra
and was sending them to Sardis to be made eunuchs, in order that he
might have revenge; since the Corcyreans had first begun the offence and
had done to him a deed of reckless wrong. For after Periander had killed
his wife Melissa, it chanced to him to experience another misfortune
in addition to that which had happened to him already, and this was as
follows:—He had by Melissa two sons, the one of seventeen and the other
of eighteen years. These sons their mother's father Procles, who was
despot of Epidauros, sent for to himself and kindly entertained, as was
to be expected seeing that they were the sons of his own daughter; and
when he was sending them back, he said in taking leave of them: "Do
ye know, boys, who it was that killed your mother?" Of this saying
the elder of them took no account, but the younger, whose name was
Lycophron, was grieved so greatly at hearing it, that when he reached
Corinth again he would neither address his father, nor speak to him when
his father would have conversed with him, nor give any reply when he
asked questions, regarding him as the murderer of his mother. At length
Periander being enraged with his son drove him forth out of his house.

51. And having driven him forth, he asked of the elder son what his
mother's father had said to them in his conversation. He then related
how Procles had received them in a kindly manner, but of the saying
which he had uttered when he parted from them he had no remembrance,
since he had taken no note of it. So Periander said that it could not be
but that he had suggested to them something, and urged him further with
questions; and he after that remembered, and told of this also. Then
Periander taking note of it 42 and not desiring to show any indulgence,
sent a messenger to those with whom the son who had been driven forth
was living at that time, and forbade them to receive him into their
houses; and whenever having been driven away from one house he came to
another, he was driven away also from this, since Periander threatened
those who received him, and commanded them to exclude him; and so being
driven away again he would go to another house, where persons lived who
were his friends, and they perhaps received him because he was the son
of Periander, notwithstanding that they feared.

52. At last Periander made a proclamation that whosoever should either
receive him into their houses or converse with him should be bound
to pay a fine 43 to Apollo, stating the amount that it should be.
Accordingly, by reason of this proclamation no one was willing either to
converse with him or to receive him into their house; and moreover
even he himself did not think it fit to attempt it, since it had been
forbidden, but he lay about in the porticoes enduring exposure: and
on the fourth day after this, Periander seeing him fallen into squalid
misery and starvation felt pity for him; and abating his anger he
approached him and began to say: "Son, which of these two is to be
preferred, the fortune which thou dost now experience and possess, 44 or
to inherit the power and wealth which I possess now, by being submissive
to thy father's will? Thou however, being my son and the prince 45 of
wealthy Corinth, didst choose nevertheless the life of a vagabond by
making opposition and displaying anger against him with whom it behoved
thee least to deal so; for if any misfortune happened in those matters,
for which cause thou hast suspicion against me, this has happened to me
first, and I am sharer in the misfortune more than others, inasmuch as I
did the deed 46 myself. Do thou however, having learnt by how much to be
envied is better than to be pitied, and at the same time what a grievous
thing it is to be angry against thy parents and against those who are
stronger than thou, come back now to the house." Periander with these
words endeavoured to restrain him; but he answered nothing else to his
father, but said only that he ought to pay a fine to the god for having
come to speech with him. Then Periander, perceiving that the malady of
his son was hopeless and could not be overcome, despatched a ship to
Corcyra, and so sent him away out of his sight, for he was ruler also of
that island; and having sent him away, Periander proceeded to make war
against his father-in-law Procles, esteeming him most to blame for the
condition in which he was; and he took Epidauros and took also Procles
himself and made him a prisoner.

53. When however, as time went on, Periander had passed his prime and
perceived within himself that he was no longer able to overlook and
manage the government of the State, he sent to Corcyra and summoned
Lycophron to come back and take the supreme power; for in the elder of
his sons he did not see the required capacity, but perceived clearly
that he was of wits too dull. Lycophron however did not deign even to
give an answer to the bearer of his message. Then Periander, clinging
still in affection to the youth, sent to him next his own daughter, the
sister of Lycophron, supposing that he would yield to her persuasion
more than to that of others; and she arrived there and spoke to him
thus: "Boy, dost thou desire that both the despotism should fall to
others, and also the substance of thy father, carried off as plunder,
rather than that thou shouldest return back and possess them? Come
back to thy home: cease to torment thyself. Pride is a mischievous
possession. Heal not evil with evil. Many prefer that which is
reasonable to that which is strictly just; and many ere now in seeking
the things of their mother have lost the things of their father.
Despotism is an insecure thing, and many desire it: moreover he is now
an old man and past his prime. Give not thy good things unto others."
She thus said to him the most persuasive things, having been before
instructed by her father: but he in answer said, that he would never
come to Corinth so long as he heard that his father was yet alive. When
she had reported this, Periander the third time sent an envoy, and said
that he desired himself to come to Corcyra, exhorting Lycophron at the
same time to come back to Corinth and to be his successor on the throne.
The son having agreed to return on these terms, Periander was preparing
to sail to Corcyra and his son to Corinth; but the Corcyreans, having
learnt all that had taken place, put the young man to death, in order
that Periander might not come to their land. For this cause it was that
Periander took vengeance on those of Corcyra.