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BOHN'S   CLASSICAL   LIBRARY 


HERODOTUS 


LITERALLY   TRANSLATED 


GEORGE  BELL  &   SONS 

LONDON  :  YORK  ST.,  COVENT  GARDEN 
NEW  YORK  :  66  FIFTH  AVENUE,  AND 
BOMBAY:  53  ESPLANADE  ROAD 
CAMBRIDGE  :     DEIGHTON     BELL    &    CO. 


6,6.]  CLIO.    I.  3 

tQ„i)lame.  for  that  they  levied  war  against  Asia  betore  the 
Asiatics  did  upon  Europe.  Now,  to  carry  off  women  by  vio- 
lence the  Persians  think  is  the  act  of  wicked  men,  but  to  trou* 
ble  oneself  about  avenging  them  when  so  carried  off  is  the 
act  of  foolish  ones  ;  and  to  pay  no  regard  to  them  when  car- 
ried off,  of  wise  men  :  for  that  it  is  clear,  that  if  they  had  not 
been  willing,  they  could  not  have  been  carried  off.  Accord- 
ingly the  Persians  say,  that  they  of  Asia  made  no  account  of 
women  that  were  carried  off ;  l^t  that  the  Greeks  for  the 
sake  of  a  Lacedaimonian  woman  assembled  a  mighty  fleet,  and 
then  having  come  to  Asia  overthrew  the  empij-e  of  Priam. 
That  from  this  event  they  had  always  considered  the  Greeks 
as  their  enemies :  for  the  Persians  claim  Asia  and  the  bar- 
barous nations  that  inhabit  it,  as  their  own,  and  consider 
Europe  and  the  people  of  Greece  as  totally  distinct. 

5.    Such  is   the  Persian  account  ;   and  to  the  capture  of 
<  Troy  they  ascribe  the  commencement  of  tlieir  enmity  to  the 
,  Greeks.  '  As  relates  to  lo,  the  Phoenicians  do  not  agree  with 
tins  liccount  of  the  Persians  :  for  they  affirm  that  they  did 
not  use  violence  to  carry  her  into  Egypt  ;  but  tliat  she  had 
connexion  at  Argos  with  the  master  of  a  vessel,  and  when  she 
found  herself  pregnant,  she,  tin-ough  dread  of  her  parents, 
voluntarily  sailed  away  with  the  Pliocnicians,  to  avoid  detec- 
tion.    Such  then  are  the  accounts  of  the  Persians  and  Phoc- 
nicians  :"^  however,  am  not  ^olng  to  inqurre~lvhenrer"the 
facts  were  so  or  not ;  but  having  pointed  out  the  person  whom 
I  myself  know  to  have  been  the  first  guilty  of  injustice  to- 
wards   the   Greeks,  I^^^nlLlhen    proceed   with  my  history, 
touching  as  well  on  tlie  smalTas  the  great  estates"  of  men  : 
i  f(rr  ofTtiTJse  that  were  formerly  powerful  many  have  become 
i  weak^,  an J"some  that  were  powerful  in  my  time  were  formerly 
I  weak.     iCnowing  therefore  the  precarious  nature  of  human 
i  prosperity,  I  shall  coniinemorate  both  alike. 

~t)r-6r0(5su3  was  a  Lydian  by  birth,  son  of  Alyattes,  and 

sovereipi  of  the  nations  on  this  .sidathe^-riv^-Haly^.     This 

river   llowing  from   the   ^uuth^   between    the   Syrians^    and 

'  Paphlagonians,  empties    itself  northwards  into  the    Euxine 

Sea.     This  Cra>sus  was  the  first  of  the  barbarians  whom  we 


*  The  Halys  luid  two  branches,  one  flowing  from  the  east,  ihe  other 
from  the  south  :  Herodotus  speaks  only  of  tlie  souiLern  one. 
'  Syria  was  at  that  time  the  name  of  Cappadocia.     See  I.  72. 
B  2 


4  HERODOTUS.  [7, « 

know  of  that  subjected  some  of  the  Greeks  to  the  payment  of 
; -ibate,  and  formed  alliances  with  others.  He  subdued  the 
lonians  and  iEolIans,  and  the  Dorians  settled  in  Asia,  and  he 
formed  an  alliance  with  the  Lacedaemonians  ;  but  before  the 
reign  of  Crcesus  all  the  Greeks  were  free  ;  for  the  incursion 
of  the  Cimmerians®  into  Ionia,  which  was  before  the  time  of 
Croesus,  was  not  for  the  purpose  of  subjecting  states,  but  an 
irruption  for  plunder.  7.  The  government,  which  formerly 
belonged  to  the  Heraclidae,  passed  in  the  following  manner  to 
the  family  of  Croesus,  who  were  called  Mermnadae.  Candaules, 
whom  the  Greeks  call  Myrsilus,  was  tyrant  ojLSaildiis,  and  a 
descendant  of  Alcaeus,  son  of  Hercules.  For  Agron,  son  of 
Ninus,  grandson  of  Belus,  great-grandson  of  Alcaeus,  was 
the  first  of  the  Heraclidae  who  became  king  of  Sardis  ;  and 
Candaules,  son  of  INIyrsus,  was  the  last.  They  who  ruled 
o^er  this  country  before  Agron  were  descendants  _of  Lydus, 
son  of  Atys,  from  whom  this  whole  people,  anciently  called 
Ma3onians,  derived  the  name  of  Lydians.  Tlie  Heraclidae,  de- 
scended from  a  female  slave  of  Jardanus  and  Hercules,  having 
been  intrusted  with  the  government  by  these  princes,  retained 
the  supreme  power  in  obedience  to  the  declaration  of  an 
oracle  :  they  reigned  for  twenty-two  generations,  a  space  of 
five  hundred  and  five  years,  the  son  succeeding  to  the  father 
to  the  time  of  Candaules,  son  of  Myrsus.  8.  This  Candaules 
then  was  ena,moured  of  his  own  wife,  and  being^  so,  thought 
that  she  was  by  far  the  most  beautiful  of  all  women.  Now 
being  of  this  opinion, — Gyges,  son  of  Dascylus,  one  of  his 
bod^V^uard,  happened  tone  his  especial  favourite,  and  to  him 
Caiidaules  confided  his  most  important  affairs,  and  moreover 
extolled  the  beauty  of  his  wife  in  exaggerated  terms.  In 
lapse  of  time  (for  Candaules  was  fated  to  be  miserable)  he  ad- 
dressed Gyges  as  follows  :  "  Gyges,  as  I  think  you  do  not  be- 
lieve me  when  I  speak  of  my  wife's  beauty,  (for  the  ears  of  men 
are  naturally  more  incredulous  than  their  eyes,)  you  must  con- 
trive  to  see  her  naked."  But  he,  exclaiming  loudly,  answered, 
'*  Sire,  what  a  shocking  proposal  do  you  make,  bidding  me  be- 
hold my  queen  naked !  With  her  clothes  a  woman  puts  off 
her  modesty.  Wise  maxims  have  been  of  old  laid  down  by 
men,  from  these  it  is  our  duty  to  learn  :  amongst  thera  is  the 

•  The  incursion  here  spoken  of  occurred  in  the  reim  of  the  Ltdian 
Ardys.     See  I.  15    and  IV.  12. 


9-ll.J  CLIO     I.  5 

following, — *  Let  every  man  look  to  the  thingf.  that  concern 
himself.'  I  am  persuaded  that  she  is  the  most  beiiutiful  of 
her  sex,  but  I  entreat  of  you  not  to  require  what  is  wicked," 
9.  Saying  thus,  Gyges  fought  off  the  proposal,  dreading 
lest  some  harm  should  befal  himself:  but  the  king  answered, 
"  Gyges,  take  courage,  and  be  not  afraid  of  me,  as  if  I  desired 
to  make  trial  of  you,  by  speaking  thus,  nor  of  my  wile,  h.'st 
any  liarm  should  befal  you  from  her.  For  from  the  outset  I 
will  so  contrive  that  she  shall  not  know  she  has  been  seen  by 
you.  I  will  place  you  behind  the  open  door  of  the  apartment 
in  which  we  sleep ;  as  soon  as  I  enter  my  wife  will  come  to 
bed  ;  there  stands  by  the  entrance  a  chair,  on  this  she  will  lay 
her  garments  one  by  one  as  she  takes  them  off,  and  then  she 
will  give  you  an  opportunity  to  look  at  her  at  your  leisure ; 
but  when  she  steps  from  the  chair  to  the  bed,  and  you  are  at 
her  back,  be  careful  that  she  does  not  see  you  as  you  are  going 
out  by  the  door."  10.  Gyges  therefore,  finding  he  could  not 
escape,  prepared  to  obey.  And  Candaules,  when  it  seemed  to 
be  time  to  go  to  bed,  led  him  to  the  chamber,  and  the  lady 
soon  afterwards  appeared,  and  Gyges  saw  her  enter  and  lay 
her  clothes  on  the  chair:  when  he  was  at  her  back,  as  the  lady 
was  going  to  the  bed,  he  crept  secretly  out,  but  she  saw  him 
as  he  was  going  away.  Perceiving  what  her  husband  had 
done,  she  neither  cried  out  through  modesty,  nor  appeared 
to  notice  it,  purposing  to  take  vengeance  on  Candaules ; 
for  among  the  Lydians  and  almost  all  the  barbarians,  it  is 
deemed  a  great  disgrace  even  for  a  man  to  be  seen  naked. 
11.  At  the  time  therefore,  having  shown  no  consciousness 
of  what  had  occurred,  she  held  her  peace,  and  as  soon  as  it 
was  day,  having  prepared  such  of  her  domestics  as  she  knew 
were  most  to  be  trusted,  slie_sent  for  Gyges.  He,  supposing 
that  she  knew  nothing  of  what  had  happened,  came  when  he 
was  sent  for,  for  he  had  been  before  used  to  attend  whenever 
the  queen  sent  for  him.  When  Gyges  came,  the  lady  thus 
addressed  him :  "  Gyges,  I  submit  two  proposals  to  your 
choice,  either  kill  Candaules  and  take  possession  of  me  and  of 
the  LydraiTkingaom,  or  expect  immediate  death,  so  that  you 
may  not,  from  your  obedience  to  Candaules  in  all  things, 
again  see  what  you  ought  not.  It  is  necessary  however  that 
he  who  planned  this,  or  that  you  who  have  seen  me  naked, 
Rnd  tave  done  what  is  not  decorous,  should  die.     Gyges  for  a 


6  HERODOTUS.  fl2-14. 

time  was  amazed  at  what  he  lieard  ;  but,  afterwards,  he  ini 
plored  her  not  to  compel  him  to  make  sucli  a  choice.  He  how  "? 
ever  could  not  persuade,  but  saw  a  necessity  imposed  on  hira, 
either  to  kill  his  master  Candaules  or  die  himself  by  the  hands 
of  others  ;  he  chose  therefore  to  survive,  and  made  the  follow- 
ing inquiry :  "  Since  you  compel  me  to  kill  my  master  against 
my  will,  tell  me  how  we  shall  lay  hands  on  liim."  She  an- 
swered, "  The  assault  shall  be  made  from  the  very  spot 
>thence  he  showed  me  naked ;  the  attack  shall  be  made  on 
^  him  while  asleep."  12.  When  they  had  concerted  their  plan, 
on  the  approach  of  niglit  he  followed  the  lady  to  the  chamber  : 
then  (for  Gyges  was  not  suffered  to  depart,  nor  was  there  any 
possibility  of  escape,  but  either  he  or  Candaules  must  needs 
perish)  she,  having  given  him  a  dagger,  concealed  him  be- 
hind the  same  door  :  and  after  this,  when  Candaules  was 
I  asleep,  Gyges  having  crept  stealthily  up  and  slain  him,  pos- 
\  sessed  himself  both  of  tlie  woman  and  the  kingdom.  Of 
^'  this  event,  also,  Archiloclius^  the  Parian,  who  lived  about 
the  same  time,  has  made  mention  in  a  trimeter  Iambic  poem. 
13.  Thus  Gyges  obtained  the  kingdom,  and  was  confirmed 
in  it  by  the  oracle  at  Delphi.  For  when  the  Lydians  re- 
sented the  murder  of  Candaules,  and  were  up  in  arms,  the 
partisans  of  Gyges  and  the  other  Lydians  came  to  the  follow- 
ing agreement,  that  if  the  oracle  should  pronounce  him  king 
of  the  Lydians,  he  should  reign  ;  if  not,  he  should  restore 
the  power  to  the  Heraclidaj.  The  oracle,  however,  answered 
accordingly,  and  so  Gyges  became  king.  But  the  Pythian 
^^ added  this,  "that  the  Heraclida3  should  be  avenged  on  the 
^  fifth  descendant  of  Gyges."  ^  Of  this  prediction  neither  the 
Lydians  nor  their  kings  took  any  notice  until  it  was  actually 
accomplished. 

14.  Thus  the  Mermnada^,  having  deprived  the  HeracHdae, 
possessed  themselves  of  the  supreme  power.  Gyges  liaving 
obtained  the  kingdom,  sent  many  offerings  to  Delphi ;  for 
most  of  the  silver  offerings  at  Delphi  are  his  :  and  besides  the 
silver,  he  gave  a  vast  quantity  of  gold;  and  among  the  rest, 
what  is  especially  worthy  of  mention,  the  bowls  of  gold,  six 
in  number,  were  dedicated  by  him :  these  now  stand  in  the  ' 

\ 
^  Archilochus  was  one  of  the  earliest  writers  of  Iambics.    All  that 
remains  of  his  is  to  be  met  with  in  Brunck's  Analecta. 
'  See  L  91. 


15—17  CLIO.    I.  7 

treasury  of  the  Corinthians,  and  are  thirty  talents  in  weight; 
though,  to  say  the  truth,  this  treasury  does  not  belong  to  the 
people  of  Corinth,  but  to  Cypselus  son  of  Eetion.  This  Gyges 
is  the  first  of  the  barbarians  whom  we  know  of  that  dedicated 
oflferings  at  Delphi ;  except  Midas,  son  of  Gordius,  king  of 
Phrygia,  for  Midas  dedicated  tlie  royal  throne,  on  which  lie 
used  to  sit  and  administer  justice,  a  piece  of  workmcmship 
deserving  of  admiration.  Tiiis  throne  stands  in  the  same 
place  as  the  bowls  of  Gyges.  This  gold  and  silver,  which 
Gyges  dedicated,  is  by  the  Delphians  called  Gygian,  from  the 
name  of  the  donor.  Now_this  prince,  when  he  obtained_the 
sovereignty,  led  an  al'my  against  IMyletus  and"  Smyrna,  and 
took  the  city  of  Colophon  ;  but  as  he  performed  no  other  great 
action  during  lits  reign  of  eight  and  thirty  years,  we  will  pass 
him  over,  having  made  this  mention  of  him.  15.  I  will  pro- 
ceed to  mention  Ardys,  the  son  and  successor  of  Gyges.  He 
took  Priene,  andnmided  Miletus.  During  the  time  that  he  jj 
r^ignecf  at  Sardis,  tKe^ Cimmerians,  being  driven  from  their  N 
seats  by  the  Scythian  nomades,  passed  into  Asia,  and  pos-  ▼ 
sessed  themselves  of  all  Sardis  except  the  citadel. 

16.  When  Ardys  had  reigned  forty-nine  years,  his  son 
Sadyattes  succeeded  him,  and  reigned  twelve  years;  and 
Al^attes  succeeded  Sadyattes.  He  made  war  upon  Cyaxares, 
a  descendant  of  Deioces,  and  upon  tlui_^^des.  He  drove  the 
Cimmerians  out  of  Asia  ;  took  Smyrna,  which  was  founded 
from  ColophoTl,  and  invaded  Clazomenas.  From  this  place  he 
departed,  not  as  he  could  wish,  but  signally  defeated.  He 
also  performed  in  the  course  of  his  reign  the  following  actions  ^ 
worthy  of  mention.  17.  He  continued  the  war  which,  his  \^ 
father  had  begun  against  tlie  iviiiesians  ;  and  leading  his  ^ 
army  against  Mnetusnie  mvaded  iFin~lt!re  following  manner. 
When  their  fruits  were  ripe  on  the  ground,  he  led  his  army 
into  their  territory,  attended  in  his  march  with  pipes,  harps, 
and  flutes,  masculine  and  feminine.  On  his  arrival  in  Mi- 
lesia,  he  neither  demolished  nor  burnt  their  country  houses, 
nor  forced  off  the  doors,  but  let  them  stand  as  they  were  ;  but 
when  he  had  destroyed  their  trees  and  the  fruits  on  the 
ground,  he  returned  home  ;  for  the  Milesians  were  masters 
of  the  sea,  so  that  there  was  no  use  in  the  army's  besieging 
it.  And  the  Lydian  king  would  not  destroy  their  houses, 
for  this  reason,  that  the  Milesians,  having  those  habitations, 


a  HERODOTUS.  Ua-2l 

might  come  out  to  sow  and  cultivate  the  gruuml,  and  when 
they  had  cultivated  it,  he  might  have  sometliing  to  ravage, 
when  he  should  invade  them  witii  his  army.  18.  In  this 
manner  he  carried  on  the  war.eleven  jears,  during  which  the 
Milesians  received  two  great  Llows,  one  in  a  battle  at  Li- 
meneion  in  their  own  territory,  the  other  in  the  plain  of  the 
Maeander.  Six  of  these  eleven  years  Sadyattes  the  son  of 
Ardys  was  still  king  of  the  Lydians,  and  during  those  he 
made  incursions  into  the  Milesian  territory  (for  this  Sa- 
dyattes was  the  person  that  began  the  war).  But  during 
the  five  years  that  succeeded  the  six,  Alyattes  the  son  of  Sa- 
dyattes, who  (as  I  have  before  mentioned)  received  it  from 
llisjather,  earnestly  applied  himself  to  it.  None  of  the  lonians, 
except  the  Chians,  assisted  the  Milesians  in  bearing  the  bur- 
den of  this  war  :  they  did  it  in  requital  for  succour  they  had 
received  ;  for  formerly  the  Milesians  had  assisted  the  Chians 
in  prosecuting  the  war  against  the  Erythraeans.  19.  In  the 
twelfth  j'ear,  when  the  corn  had  been  set  on  fire  by  the 
army,  an  accident  of  the  following  nature  occurred.  As 
soon  as  the  corn  had  caught  fire,  the  flames,  carried  by 
the  wind,  caught  a  temple  of  Minerva,  called  Assesian  ;^  and 
the  temple,  thus  set  on  fire,  wasn[jurnt  to  the  ground.  No 
notice  was  taken  of  this  at  the  time  ;  but  afterwards,  when 
tlie  army  had  returned  to  Sardis,  Alyattes  fell  sick.  When 
the  disease  continued  a  considerable  time,  he  sent  ihessengers 
to  Delphi  to  consult  the  oracle,  either  from  the  advice  of  some 
fi-iend,  or  because  it  appeared  right  to  himself  to  send  and 
make  inquiries  of  the  god  concerning  his  disorder.  The 
Pythian,  however,  refused  to  give  any  answer  to  the  mes- 
sengers when  they  arrived  at  Delphi,  until  they  had  rebuilt 
the  temple  of  Minerva  which  they  had  burnt  at  Assesu3  in 
the  territory  of  Milesiap^^O.  This  relation  I  had  from  the 
Delphians  :  but  tlip-'^lesians  add,  that  Periander  the  son 
of  Cypselus,  who  was  a  very  intimate  friend  of  Thrasybu- 
lus,  at  that  time  king  of  Miletus,  having  heard  of  the  an- 
swer given  to  Alyattes,  despatched  a  messenger  to  inform  him 
of  it,  in  order  that,  being  aware  of  it  beforehand,  he  might 
form  his  plans  according  to  present  circumstances.  This  ia 
the  Milesian  account.      21.    Alyq^ttes,  when  the  above  an- 

»  Assesus  was  a  small  town  dependent  on  Miletus,     Minerva  had  a 
temple  there,  and  hence  tooV  the  name  of  the  Assesian  Minerva     Larcher 


2:^-24  ]  CLIO.     I.  9 

swer  was  brought  to  him,  immediatiely  sent  a  herald  to  ^li- 
Ictus,  desiring  to  make  a  truce  with  Thrasybulus  and  the 
Milesians,  till  such  time  as  he  should  have  rebuilt  the  temple. 
The  herald  accordingly  went  on  this  mission  to  Miletua 
But  Thrasybulus  being  accurately  informed  of  the  whole 
matter,  and  knowing  the  design  of  Alyattes,  had  recourse  to 
the  following  artifice  :  having  collected  in  the  market-place 
all  the  corn  that  was  in  the  city,  both  his  own  and  what  be- 
longed to  private  persons,  he  made  a  {)roclaniation,  that  when 
he  gave  the  signal,  all  the  inhabitants  should  f(.^:ist  together. 
22r"Thrasybulus  contrived  and  ordered  this,  to  the  end  that 
the  Sardian  herald,  seeing  so  great  a  profusion  of  corn,  and 
the  people  enjoying  themselves,  might  report  accordingly 
to  Alyattes  ;  and  so  it  came  to  pass.  For  when  the  herald 
had  seen  these  things,  and  delivered  to  Thrasybulus  the  mes- 
sage of  the  Lydian  king,  he  returned  to  Sardis  ;  and,  as  I  am 
informed,  a  reconciliation  was  brought  about  for  no  other 
reason.  For  Alyattes  expecting  that  there  was  a  great  scar- 
city of  corn  in  Miletus,  and  that  the  people  were  reduced  to 
i-rtreme  distress,  received  from  the  herald  on  his  return  from 
Milei.'S  an  account  quite  contrary  to  what  he  expected.  Soon 
afterw  ards  a  reconciliation  took  place  between  them,  on  terms 
of  mutual  friendship  and  alliance.  And  Alyattes  built  two 
temples  to  Minerva  at  Assesus,  instead  of  one,  and  himself 
recovered  from*  sickness.  Such  were  the  circumstances  of 
the  war  that  Alyattes  made  against  the  Milesians  and  Thra- 
sybulus. 

23.  Periander  was  the  son  of  Cypselus, — he  it  was  who 
acquainted  Thrasybulus  with  the  answer  of  the  oracle.  Now, 
Periander  was  king  of  Corinth,  and  the  Corinthians  say, 
(and  the  Lesbians  confirm  their  account,)  that  a  wonderful 
prodigy  occurred  in  his  life-time.  They  say  that  Arion  of 
Methymna,  who  was  second  to  none  of  his  time  in  accom- 
panying the  harp,  and  who  was  the  first,  that  we  are  ac- 
quainted with,  who  composed,  named,  and  represented  the 
dithyrambus  at  Corinth,  was  carried  to  Toenarus  on  the  back 
of  a  dolphin.  24.  They  say  that  this  Arion,  having  continued 
a  long  time  with  Periander,  was  desirous  of  making  a  voyage  to 
Italy  and  Sicily ;  and  that  having  acquired  great  wealth,  he 
determined  to  return  to  Corinth  :  that  he  set  out  from  Taren- 
tum,  and  hired  a  shin  of  certain  Corinthiana.  because  he  put 


10  HERODOTUS  [26,  26. 

more  confidence  in  them  than  in  any  other  nation  ;  but  tliat 
these  men,  when  tliey  were  in  the  open  sea,  conspired  to- 
gether to  throw  him  overboard  and  seize  his  money,  and  lie 
being  aware  of  this,  offered  them  liis  money,  and  entreated 
them  to  spare  his  life.  However,  he  could  not  prevail  on 
them  ;  but  the  sailors  ordered  him  either  to  kill  himself,  that 
he  might  be  buried  ashore,  or  to  leap  immediately  into  the  sea. 
They  add^  that  Arion,  reduced  to  this  strait,  entreated  them, 
since  such  was  their  determination,  to  permit  him  to  stand  on 
the  poop  in  his  full  dress  and  sing,  and  he  promised  when  he 
had  sung  to  make  away  with  himself.  The  seamen,  pleased 
tliat  they  should  hear  the  best  singer  in  the  world,  retired 
from  the  stern  to  the  middle  of  the  vessel.  They  relate,  that 
Arion,  having  put  on  all  his  robes,  and  taken  his  harp,  stood 
on  the  rowing  benches  and  went  through  the  Orthian  strain  ; 
that  when  the  strain  was  ended  he  leaped  into  the  sea  as  he 
was,  in  his  full  dress  ;  and  the  sailors  continued  their  voyage 
to  Corinth  :  but  they  say  that  a  dolphin  received  him  on  his 
back,  and  carried  him  to  Ta^narus  ;  and  that  he,  having  landed, 
proceeded  to  Corinth  in  his  full  dress,  and  upon  his  arrival 
there,  related  all  that  had  happened ;  but  that  Periander,  giv- 
ing no  credit  to  his  relation,  put  Arion  under  close  confine- 
ment, and  watched  anxiously  for  the  seamen  :  that  when  they 
appeared,  he  summoned  them  and  inquired  if  they  could  give 
any  account  of  Arion  ;  but  when  they  answered,  that  he  was 
safe  in  Italy,  and  that  they  had  left  him  flourishing  at  Taren- 
tum,  Arion  in  that  instant  appeared  before  them  just  as  he 
was  when  he  leaped  into  the  sea  ;  at  which  they  were  so 
astonished,  that  being  fully  convicted,  they  could  no  longer 
deny  the  fact.  These  things  are  reported  by  the  Corinthians 
and  Lesbians  ;  and  there  is  a  small  brazen  statue  of  Arion  at 
Tajnarus,  representing  a  man  sitting  on  a  dolphin. 

25.  Alyattes  the  Lydian,  having  waged  this  long  war 
againstliie  IVliTesians,  afterwards  died,  when  he  had  reigned 
fiiity-seven  years.  On  his  recovery  from  sickness  he  was  the 
second  of  his  family  that  dedicated  at  Delphi  a  large  silver 
bowl,  with  a  saucer  of  iron  inlaid  ;  an  object  that  deserves  at- 
tention above  all  the  offerings  at  Delphi.  It  was  made  by 
Glaucus  the  Chian,  who  first  invented  the  art  of  inlaying  iron. 

26.  After  the  death  of  Alyattes,  his  son  Croesus,  who  was 
then  thirty-five  years   of  age,  succeeded  to  tKe  kingdom. 


27-29  CLIO.    I.  H 

He^attacked  the  Ephesians  before  any  other  Grecian  peopU). 
TheEphesians  then  being  besieged  by  liim,  consecrated  their 
city  to  Diana,  by  fastening  a  rope  from  the  temple  to  the  waH. 
The  distance  between  the  old  town,  which  was  then  besieged^ 
and  the  temple,  is  seven  stadia.  Croesus  then  attacked  these 
the  first,  and  afterwards  the  several  cities  of  the  lonians  and 
iEoljans  one  after  another,  alleging  different  pretences 
agaTnst  different  states,  imputing  graver  charges  against 
those  in  whom  lie  was  able  to  discover  greater  causes  ol 
blame,  and  against  some  of  them  alleging  frivolous  pretences. 
27.  After  he  had  reduced  tlie  Grecians  in  Asia  to  the  pay- 
ment of  tribute,  he  formed  a  design  to  build  ships  and  at- 
tack the  Islanders.  'But  when  all  things  were  ready  for  the 
building  of  ships,  Bms  of  Priene,  (or,  as  others  say,  Pittacus 
of  Mitylene,)  arriving  at  Sardis,  put  a  stop  to  his  ship-build- 
ing, by  making  this  reply,  when  Croesus  inquired  if  he  hcd 
any  news  from  Greece  :  "  O  king,  the  Islanders  are  enlisting 
a  large  body  of  cavalry,  with  intention  to  make  war  upon 
you  and  Sardis."  Croesus,  thinking  he  had  spoken  the  truth, 
said,  "  May  the  gods  put  such  a  thought  into  the  Islanders,  as 
to  attack  the  sons  of  the  Lydians  with  horse."  The  other 
answering  said,  "  Sire,  you  appear  to  wish  above  all  things 
to  see  the  Islanders  on  horseback  upon  the  continent ;  and 
not  without  reason.  But  what  can  you  imagine  the  Islanders 
more  earnestly  desire,. aHeFhaving  heard  of  your  resolution  to 
build  a  fleet  in  order  to  attack  them,  than  to  catch  the  Lydians 
at  "sea,  that  they  may  revenge  on  you  the  cause  of  those  Greeks 
wW dwell  on  the  continent,  wliom  you  hold  in  subjection  ?" 
//  is  related,  that  Croesus  was  very  mucli  pleased  with  the  con- 
clusion, and  that  being  convinced,  (for  he  appeared  to  speak 
to  tlie  purpose,)  he  put  a  stop  to  the  ship-building,  and  mad 3 
an  alliance  with  the  lonians  that  inhabit  the  islands. 

28.  In  course  of  time,  when  nearly  all  the  nations  that 
dwell  within  the  river  Halys,  except  the  Cilicians  and  Ly- 
cians,  were  subdued ;  for  Croesus  held  all  the  rest  in  subjec- 
tion :  and  they  were  the  following,  the  Lydians,  Phrygians, 
Mysians,  Mariandynians,  Chalybians,  Paphlagonians,  Thra- 
cians,  both  the  Thynians  and  Bithynians,  Carians,  lonians, 
j Dorians,  ^olians,  and  Pamphylians.  29.  When  these  na- 
tions were  subdued,  and  Croesus  had  added  them  to  the  Lydi  • 
ians,  all  the  other  wise  men  of  that  time,  as  each  had  op- 


//; 


12  HERODOTUS.  [30, 31. 


portunity,  came  iiom  Greece,  to  Sardis,  wliicli  had  then 
attained  to  the  highest  degree  of  prosperity  ;  and  amongst 
them  Solon  an  Athenian,  who  having  made  laws  for  the 
Athenians  at  their  request,  absented  himself  for  ten  years, 
having  sailed  away  under  pretence  of  seeing  the  world,  that 
he  might  not  be  compelled  to  abrogate  any  of  the  laws  he  had 
established  :  for  the  Athenians  could  not  do  it  themselves, 
since  they  were  bound  by  solemn  oaths  to  observe  for  ten 
years  whatever  laws  Solon  should  enact  for  them.  30.  Solon 
therefore  having  gone  abroad  for  these  reasons,  and  for  the 
purposes  of  observation,  arrived  in  Egypt  at  the  court  of 
Amasis,  and  afterwards  at  that  of  Croesus  at  Sardis.  On  his, 
arrival  he  was  hospitably  entertained  by  Croesus,  and  on 
the  third  or  fourth  day,  by  order  pf  the  king,  the  attend- 
ants conducted  him  round  the  treasury,  and  showed  him  all 
their  grand  and  costly  contents ;  and  when  he  had  seen 
and  examined  every  thing  sufficiently,  Croesus  asked  him 
this  question  "  My  Athenian  guest,  your  great  fame  has 
reached  even  to  us,  as  well  of  your  wisdom  as  of  your  travels, 
how  that  as  a  philosopher  you  have  travelled  through  various 
countries  for  the  purpose  of  observation ;  I  am  therefore  de- 
sirous of  asking  you,  who  is  the  most  happy  man  you  have 
seen?"  He  asked  this  question,  because  he  thought  himself 
tlie  most  happy  of  men.  But  Solon,  speaking  tlie  truth  freely, 
without  any  flattery,  answered,  "  Tellus  the  Athenian."  Croe- 
sus, astonished  at  his  answer,  eagerly^  asked  him,  "  On  what 
account  do  you  deem  Tellus  the  happiest?"  He  replied, 
"  Tellus,  in  the  first  place,  lived  in  a  well-governed  common- 
wealth ;  had  sons  who  were  virtuous  and  good  ;  and  he  saw 
children  born  to  them  all,  and  all  surviving :  in  the  next 
place,  when  he  had  lived  as  happily  as  the  condition  of  human 
affairs  will  permit,  he  ended  his  life  in  a  most  glorious  man- 
ner. For  coming  to  the  assistance  of  the  Athenians  in  a  battle 
with  their  neighbours  of  Eleusis,  he  put  the  enemy  to  flight, 
and  died  nobly.  The  Athenians  buried  him  at  the  public 
charge  in  the  place  where  he  fell,  and  honoured  him  greatly." 
31.  When  Solon  had  roused  the  attention  of  Croesus  by 
relating  many  and  happy  circumstances  concerning  Tellus, 
Croesus,  expecting  at  least  to  obtain  the  second  place,  askedi, 

*  *Eiri(7Tfl£(/)e'«s.    Baehr  translates  it  accural,  diligenter  ' 


I 


CLIO.    I.  13 


whom  he  had  seen  next  to  him.  "  Cleobis,"  said  he,  "  and 
Biton,  for  they  being  natives  of  Argos,  possessed  a  sufficient 
fortune,  and  had  withal  such  strength  of  body,  that  they  were 
both  alike  victorious  in  the  public  games ;  and  moreover  the 
ibilowing  story  is  related  of  them :  when  the  Argives  Avere 
celebrating  a  festival  of  Juno,  it  was  necessary  that  their 
mother  should  be  drawn  to  the  temple  in  a  chariot ;  but  the 
oxen  did  not  come  from  the  field  in  time,  the  young  men 
therefore,  being  pressed  for  time,  put  themselves  beneath  the 
yoke,  and  drew  the  car  in  which  their  mother  sate ;  and  having 
conveyed  it  forty-five  stades,  they  reached  the  temple.  After 
they  had  done  this  in  sight  of  the  assembled  people,  a  most 
happy  termination  was  put  to  their  lives ;  and  in  them  the 
Deity  clearly  showed,  that  it  is  better  for  a  man  to  die  than 
to  live.  For  the  men  of  Argos,  who  stood  round,  commended 
the  strength  of  the  youths,  and  the  women  blessed  her  as  the 
mother  of  such  sons ;  but  the  mother  herself,  transported  with 
joy  both  on  account  of  the  action  and  its  renown,  stood  before 
the  image  and  prayed,  that  the  goddess  would  grant  to  Cleobis 
and  Biton,  her  own  sons,  who  had  so  highly  honoured  her, 
the  greatest  blessing  man  could  receive.  After  this  prayer, 
when  they  had  sacrificed  and  partaken  of  the  feast,  the  youths 
fell  asleep  in  the  temple  itself,  and  never  awoke  more,  but 
met  with  such  a  termination  of  life.  Upon  this  the  Argives, 
in  commemoration  of  their  pietv,  caused  their  statues  to  be 
made  and  dedicated  at  Delphi. '^^o2.  Thus  Solon  adjudged  the 
second  place  of  felicity  to  these  youths.  ^^Ut,Cxocsus,Jbeing 
enraged,  said^  "  IVfy  Athenian  friend,  is  my  happiness  then  so. 
^ghted  by  you  as  nothing  wortli,  that  you  do  nut  think  nic  of 
s,9  much"  value~as  private  men  ?'*  He  answered  ;  "  Crajsus,  do 
you  inquire  of  me  concerning  human  affiiirs — of  me,  wlio^Cnow 
that^the  divinity  is  always  jealous,  and  delights  in  confusion. 
For  I'iTTapse  of  time  men  are  constrained  to  see  many  tliinga 
they  would  not  willingly  see,  and  to  suffer  many  things  theij 
would  not  willingly  suffer.  Now  I  put  the  term  of  jlian's  life 
at  seventy  years-j  these  seventy  years  then  give^t^venty-five 
thoi^nd  twoJiundred  days,  without  m'cluding  t]jt  intercalary 
molith  ;  an(^  if  we  add  that  montlv^to  every/other  year,  in 

*  If  the  first  number  25,200  is  cor/^ct,  it  follo-w;6  that  the  year  was 
360  days ;  if  the  number  of  intercalajy  days  1050  in  70  years,  there  will 
be  altogether  26,259,  which  will  give  375  days  to  Uie  year ;  so  tliat  in 


14  IIEllODOTUS.  r  ^• 

order  that  the  seasons  arriving  at  the  proper  time  may  agree, 
the  intercalary  months  will  be  thirty-five  more  in  the  seventy 
years,  and  the  days  of  these  months  will  be  one  thousand  and 
fifty.  Yet  in  all  this  number  of  twenty-six  thousand  two 
Jiundred  and  fifty  days,  that  compose  these  seventy  years,  one 
day  produces  nothing  exactly  the  same  as  another.  Tims, 
then,  0  Crcesus,  man  is  altogether  the  sport  of  fortune.  You 
appear  to  me  to  be  master  of  immense  treasures,  and  king  of 
many  nations  ;  but  as  relates  to  what  you  inquire  of  me,  I 
cannot  say,  till  I  hear  you  have  ended  your  life  happily.  For 
the  ricliest  of  men  is  not  more  happy  than  he  that  has  a  suffi- 
ciency for  a  day,  unless  good  fortune  attend  him  to  the  grave, 
eo  that  he  ends  his  life  in  happiness.  Many  men,  who  abound 
in  wealth,  are  unhappy  ;  and  many,  who  have  only  a  moderate 
competency,  are  fortunate.  He  that  abounds  in  wealth,  and 
is  yet  unhappy,  surpasses  the  other  only  in  two  things  ;  but 
the  other  surpasses  the  wealthy  and  the  miserable  in  many 
things.  The  former  indeed^  is  better  able  to  gratify  desire, 
and  to  bear  the  blow  of  adversity.  But  the  latter  surpasses 
him  in  this ;  he  is  not  indeed  equally  able  to  bear  misfortune 
or  satisfy  desire,  but  his  good  fortune  wards  off  these  things 
from  him  ;  and  he  enjoys  the  full  use  of  his  limbs,  he  is  free 
from  disease  and  misfortune,  he  is  blessed  with  good  children 
and  a  fine  form,  and  if,  in  addition  to  all  these  things,  he  shall 
end  his  life  well,  he  is  the  man  you  seek,  and  may  justly  be 
called  happy ;  but  before  he  die  we  ought  to  suspend  our 
judgment,  and  not  pronounce  him  happy,  but  fortunate.  Now 
it  is  impossible  for  any  one  man  to  comprehend  all  these  ad- 
vantages :  as  no  one  country  suffices  to  produce  every  thing 
for  itself,  but  affords  some  and  wants  others,  and  that  which 
affords  the  most  is  the  best ;  so  no  human  being  is  in  all  re- 
spects self-sufficient,  but  possesses  one  advantage,  and  is  in 
need  of  another  ;  he  therefore  who  has  constantly  enjoyed  the 
most  of  these,  and  then  ends  his  life  tranquilly,  this  man,  in  my 
judgment,  O  king,  deserves  the  name  of  happy.  We  ought 
therefore  to  consider  the  end  of  every  thing,  in  what  Avay  it 
will  terminate  ;  for  the  Deity  having  shown  a  glimpse  of 
"lappiness  to  many,  has  afterwards  utterly  overthrown  them."* 

spite  of  llie  precaution  the  seasons  will  be  confused. — W}  tteubach  alters 
the  number  of  intercalary  months  and  days  to  make  it  agree  with  truth. 
'Catcher. 


17-49.1  CIJO     I.  19 

Greece  as  of  that  in  Libya  ;  and  sent  different  per; on?;  to 
different  places,  some  to  Delphi,  some  to  Abse  of  Phocis,  and 
gome  to  Dodona ;  others  were  sent  to  Amphiaraus  and  Tro- 
phonius,  and  others  to  Branchidas  of  Milesia  :  these  were  the 
Grecian  oracles  to  which  Croesus  sent  to  consult.  He  s^jnt 
others  also  to  consult  that  of  Ammon  in  Libya.  And  he  sent 
them  different  ways,  designing  to  make  trial  of  what  the  ora- 
cles knew  ;  in  order  that  if  they  sliould  be  found  to  knov/  the 
truth,  he  might  send  a  second  time  to  inquire  whether  he 
should  venture  to  make  war  on  the  Persians.  47.  He  des- 
patched them  to  make  trial  of  the  oracles  with  the  follow- 
ing orders ;  that  computing  the  days  from  the  time  of  their 
departure  from  Sardis,  they  should  consult  the  oracles  on 
the  hundredth  day,  by  asking,  what  Croesus,  son  of  Alyattes 
and  king  of  the  Lydians,  was  then  doing ;  and  that  they 
should  bring  him  the  answer  of  each  oracle  in  writing. 
Now  what  were  the  answers  given  by  the  other  oracles,  is 
mentioned  by  none  ;  but  no  sooner  liad  the  Lydians  entered 
the  temple  of  Delphi  to  consult  the  god,  and  asked  the  ques- 
tion enjoined  them,  than  the  Pythian  thus  spoke  in  hexame- 
ter verse  :  "  I  know  the  number  of  the  sands,  and  the  measure 
of  the  sea  ;  I  understand  the  dumb,  and  hear  him  that  does 
not  speak ;  the  savour  of  the  hard-shelled  tortoise  boiled  in 
brass  with  the  flesh  of  lamb  strikes  on  my  senses  ;  brass  is 
laid  beneath  it,  and  brass  is  put  over  it."  48.  The  Lydians 
having  written  down  this  answer  of  the  Pythian,  returned  to 
Sardis.  And  when  the  rest,  who  had  been  sent  to  other  places, 
arrived  bringing  the  answers,  Crcesus  having  opened  each  of 
them  examined  their  contents  ;  but  none  of  them  pleased  him. 
When,  however,  he  heard  that  from  Delphi,  he  immediately 
adored  it,  and  approved  of  it,  being  convinced  that  the  oracle 
at  Delphi  alone  was  a  real  oracle,  because  it  had  discovered 
what  he  had  done.  For  when  he  had  sent  persons  to  consult 
the  different  oraclee,  watching  the  appointed  day,  he  had  re- 
course to  the  following  contrivance  ;  having  thought  of  what 
it  was  impossible  to  discover  or  guess  at,  he  cut  up  a  tortoise 
and  a  lamb,  and  boiled  them  himself  together  in  a  brazen 
caldron,  and  put  on  it  a  cover  of  brass.  49.  Such  then  was 
the  answer  given  to  Croesus  from  Delphi :  as  regards  the 
answer  of  the  craclo  of  Amphiaraus,  I  cannot  say  what 
answer  it  gave  to  the  Lydians,   who  nerformed   the  accus- 

c   2 


20  HERODOTUS  [50,  61. 

tomed  rites  at  the  temple  ;  for  nothing  else  is  related  than 
that  he  considered  thi*  also  to  be  a  true  oracle. 

50.  After  this  he  endeavoured  to  propitiate  the  god  at 
Delphi  by  magnificent  sacrifices  ;  for  he  offered  three  thou- 
sand head  of  cattle  of  every  kind  fit  for  sacritice,  and  having 
heaped  up  a  great  pile,  he  burnt  on  it  beds  of  gold  and  silver, 
vials  of  gold,  and  robes  of  purple  and  garments ;  hoping  by 
that  means  more  completely  to  conciliate  the  god :  he  also 
ordered  all  the  Lydians  to  offer  to  the  god  whatever  he  was 
able.  When  the  sacrifice  was  ended,  having  melted  down  a  vast 
quantity  of  gold,  he  cast  half-bricks  from  it ;  of  wliich  the 
longest  were  six  palms  in  length,  the  shortest  three,  and  in 
thickness  one  palm  :  their  number  was  one  hundred  and  seven- 
teen :  four  of  these,  of  pure  gold,  weighed  each  two  talents 
and  a  half;  the  other  half-bricks  of  pale  gold,  weighed  two 
talents  each.  He  made  also  the  figure  of  a  lion  of  fine  gold, 
weighing  ten  talents.  This  lion,  when  the  templo  of  Delphi 
was  burnt  down,  fell  from  the  half-bricks,  for  it  had  been 
placed  on  them  ;  and  it  now  lies  in  the  treasury  of  the  Co- 
rinthians, weighing  six  talents  and  a  half;  for  three  talents 
and  a  half  were  melted  from  it.  51.  Croesus,  having  finished 
these  things,  sent  them  to  Delphi,  and  with  them  these 
following ;  two  large  bowls,  one  of  gold,  the  other  of  silver : 
that  of  gold  was  placed  on  the  right  hand  as  one  enters  the 
temple,  and  that  of  silver  on  the  left ;  but  these  also  were 
removed  when  the  temple  was  burnt  down  ;  and  the  golden 
one,  weighing  eight  talents  and  a  half  and  twelve  mina3,  is 
placed  in  the  treasury  of  Clazomena? ;  the  silver  one,  contain- 
ing six  hundred  amphorae,  lies  in  a  corner  of  the  vestibule, 
and  is  used  by  the  Delphians  for  mixing  the  wine  on  the 
Theophanian  festival.  The  Delphians  say  it  was  the  work- 
manship of  Theodcrus  the  Samian  ;  and  I  think  so  too,  for 
it  appears  to  be  no  common  work.  He  also  sent  four  casks 
of  silver,  which  stand  in  the  treasury  of  the  Corinthians ; 
and  he  dedicated  two  lustral  vases,  one  of  gold,  the  other  ot 
silver  :  on  the  golden  one  is  an  inscription,  OF  THE  LACE- 
DEMONIANS, who  say  that  it  was  their  offering,  but 
wrongfully,  for  this  also  was  given  by  Croesus :  a  certain 
Delphian  made  the  inscription,  in  order  to  please  the  Lace- 
daemonians ;  I  know  his  name,  but  forbear  to  mention  it. 
The  boy  indeed,  through  whose  hand  the  water  flows,  is  theif 


CLIO      I.  21 

ift ;  but  neither  of  the  lustral  vases.  At  the  same  time 
'ojsus  sent  many   :)ther  offerings  without  an   inscription  : 

longst  them  some  round  silver  covers  ;  and  moreover  a 
tatue  of  a  woman  in  gold  three  cubits  high,  w^hich  the 
>elphians  say  is  the  image  of  Croesus's  baking  woman  ;  and 

all  these  things  he  added  the  necklaces  and  girdles  of  his 

rife. 

52.  These  were  the  offerings  he  sent  to  Delphi ;  and  to 
Lmphiaraus,  having  ascertained  his  virtue  and  sufferings,  he 

dedicated  a  shield  all  of  gold,  and  a  lance  of  solid  gold,  the 
shaft  as  well  as  the  points  being  of  gold ;  and  these  are  at 
Thebes  in  the  temple  of  Ismenian  Apollo. 

53.  To  the  Lydians  appointed  to  convey  these  presents 
to  the  temples,  Croesus  gave  it  in  charge  to  inquire  of  the 
oracles,  whether  he  should  make  war  on  the  Persians,  and  if 
he  should  unite  any  other  nation  as  an  ally.  Accordingly, 
when  the  Lydians  arrived  at  the  places  to  which  they  were 
Bent,  and  had  dedicated  the  offerings,  they  consulted  the 
oracles,  saying,  "  Croesus,  king  of  the  Lydians  and  of  other 
nations,  esteeming  these  to  be  the  only  oracles  among  men, 
sends  these  presents  in  acknowledgment  of  your  discoveries  ; 
and  now  asks,  whether  he  should  lead  an  army  against  the 
Persians,  and  whether  he  should  join  any  auxiliary  forces 
with  his  own  ?"  Such  were  their  questions  ;  and  the  opinions 
of  both  oracles  concurred,  foretelling,  "  That  if  Crossus  should 
make  war  on  the  Persians,  he  would  destroy  a  mighty  em- 
pire;" and  they  advised  him  to  engage  the  most  powerful  of 
the  Grecians  in  his  alliance.  54.  When  Croesus  heard  the 
answers  that  were  brought  back,  he  was  beyond  measure  de- 
lighted with  the  oracles ;  and  fully  expecting  that  he  should 
destroy  the  kingdom  of  Cyrus,  he  Jiy=iin  sent  to  Delphi,  and 
having  ascertained  the  number  of  the  inhabitants,  presented 
each  of  them  with  two  staters  of  gold.  In  return  for  this,  the 
~>elphians  gave  Croesus  and  the  Lydians  the  right  to  consult  the 
jracle  before  any  others,  and  exemption  from  tribute,  and  the 

•St  seats  in  the  temple,  and  the  privilege  of  being  made  citizens 
)f  Delphi,  to  as  many  as  should  desire  it  in  all  future  time. 
^5.  Croesus  having  made  these  presents  to  the  Delphians,  sent 

third  time  to  consult  the  oracle.  For  after  he  had  ascer- 
tained the  veracity  of  the  oracle,lie  had  frequent  recourse  f  o  ft. 
Hifl  demand  now  was  whether  he  ehould  long  enjoy  the  king- 


22  HERODOTUS.  [56, 57. 

dom  ?  to  which  the  Pythian  gave  this  answer :  "  When  a  mulo 
shall  become  king  of  the  Medes,  then,  tender-footed  Lydian, 
flee  over  pebbly  Hermus,  nor  tarry,  nor  blush  to  be  a  coward." 
66.  With  this  answer,  when  reported  to  him,  Croesus  was 
more  than  ever  delighted,  thinking  that  a  mule  sliould  never 
be  king  of  the  MeJ  )  instead  of  a  man,  and  consequently  that 
neither  he  nor  his  ^vosterity  should  ever  be  deprived  of  the 
kingdom.  In  the  next  place  he  began  to  inquire  carefully 
wlio  were  the  most  powerful  of  the  Greeks  whom  he  might 
gain  over  as  allies  ;  and  on  inquiry  found  that  the  Lacedas- 
monians  and  Athenians  excelled  the  rest,  the  former  being  of 
Dorian,  the  latter  of  Ionic  descent  :  for  these  were  in  ancient 
time  the  most  distinguished,  the  latter  being  a  Pelasgian,  the 
other  an  Hellenic  nation  ;  the  latter  had  never  emigrated,  but 
the  former  had  very  often  changed  their  seat ;  for  under  the 
reign  of  Deucalion  they  inhabited  the  country  of  Phthiotis  ; 
and  in  the  time  of  Dorus,  the  son  of  Hellen,  the  country  at 
the  foot  of  Ossa  and  Olympus,  called  Histiaeotis  :  when  they 
were  driven  out  of  Histiaeotis  by  the  Cadmoeans,  they  settled 
on  Mount  Pidnus,  at  a  place  called  Macednum  ;  thence  they 
again  removed  to  Dryopis  ;  and  at  length  coming  into  Pe- 
loponnesus, were  called  Dorians. 

57.  What  language  the  Pelasgians  used  I  cannot  with 
certainty  affirm  ;  but  if  I  may  form  a  conjecture  from  those 
Pelasgians  who  now  exist,  and  who  now  inhabit  the  town  of 
Crestona  above  the  Tyrrhenians,  and  who  were  formerly 
neighbours  to  those  now  called  Dorians,  and  at  that  time  oc- 
cupied the  country  at  present  called  Thessaliotis ;  and  if  1 
may  conjecture  from  those  Pelasgians  settled  at  Placia  and  Scy- 
lace  on  the  Hellespont,  and  who  once  dwelt  with  the  Atheni- 
ans,^ and  whatever  other  cities,  which,  though  really  Pelas- 
gian, have  changed  their  name  ;  if,  I  say,  I  may  be  permitted 
to  conjecture  from  these,  the  Pelasgians  spoke  a  barbarous 
languag'..  And  if  the  whole  Pelasgian  body  did  so,  the  Attic 
race,  being  Pelasgic,  must  at  the  time  they  changed  into 
Hellenes  have  altered  their  language.  For  neither  do  the 
Crestonians  use  the  same  language  with  any  of  their  neigh- 
bours, nor  do  the  people  of  Placia,  but  both  use  the  same 
language  ;  by  which  it  appears  they  have  taken  care  to  pre 

*  For  tlie  reason  cf  their  separation,  see  VI.  137. 


r 


58,59.]  CLIO.     I.  23 

serve  the  character  of  the  language  they  brought  with  them 
into  those  places.  58.  The  Hellenic  race,  however,  as  appears 
to  me,  from  the  time  they  became  a  people  have  used  the  same 
language :  though,  when  separated  from  the  Pelasgians,  they 
were  at  first  insignificant,  yet  from  a  small  beginning  they 
have  increased  to  a  multitude  of  nations,  chiefly  by  a  union 
with  many  other  barbarous  nations.  AVherefore  it  appears  to 
me,  that  the  Pelasgic  race,  being  barbarous,  never  increased 
to  any  great  extent.  /^  if  "  o  ^ 

59.  Of  these  nations  then  Croesus  learnt  that  the  Attic  was 
oppressed  and  distracted  by  Pisistratus  son  of  Hippocrates,  then 
reigning  in  Athens  :  to  this  Hippocrates,  who  was  at  the  time  a 
private  person,  and  a  spectator  at  the  Olympian  games,  a  great 
prodigy  occurred.  For  having  killed  a  victim,  the  caldrons, 
which  were  full  of  flesh  and  water,  bubbled  up  without  any  fire 
and  boiled  over.  Chilon  the  Lacedaemonian,  who  was  accident- 
ally there,  and  saw  the  prodigy,  advised  Hippocrates,  first  of  all, 
not  to  marry  any  woman  by  whom  he  might  have  children  ;  or, 
if  he  was  already  married,  then  to  put  away  his  wife  ;  and  if  he 
happened  to  have  a  son,  to  disown  him.  However,  Hippo- 
crates, when  Chilon  gave  this  advice,  woukrnot  be  persuaded  ; 
and  had  afterwards  this  same  Pisistratus  ^^ho^  when  a  quar- 
rel happened  between  those  who  dwelt/^  the  sea-coast  and 
the  Athenians,  the  former  headed  by  Megacles  son  of  Alc- 
maBon,  the  latter  by  Lycurgus  son  of  Aristolaides,  aiming  at 
the  sovereign  pnwpr.^rnif^d  a  third  party ;  antl  having  as- 
sembled his  partisans  under  colour  of  protecting  those  of  the 
mountains,  he  contrived  this  stratagem.^  Having  wounded 
himself  and  his  mules,  he  drove  his  chariot  into  the  public 
square,  as  if  he  had  escaped  from  enemies  that  designed  to 
murder  him  in  his  way  to  the  country  ;  and  besought  the 
people  to  grant  him  a  guard,  having  before  acquired  renown 
in  the  expedition  against  Megara,  by  taking  Nisaea,^  and  dis- 
playing other  illustrious  deeds.  The  people  of  Athens,  being 
deceived  by  this,  gave  him  such  of  the  citizens  as  he  selected, 
who  were  not  to  be  his  javelin  men,  but  club-bearers,  for  they 
attended  him  with  clubs  of  wood.  Jhese  men,  therefore^ 
joining;  in  revolt  with  Pisistratus,  seized  the  Acropolis,  and^ 
thcreupon^ljsistratus  assumed  the  government  of  the  Atheni- 

*  Niswa  was  {he  port  of  tlie  Meganuns,  about  two  miles  from  the  ci^. 


24  HERODOTUS.  [60,  61 

ji5^jtlieJaws_iJmtJie^d^  the  governrnenF^ccordfn^ 

totliii^esta^lishedj^  and  well_ 

/  '^oTNoFTong^fter,  the^artisans^ of  Megacles  and  Lycur- 
/  gus,  being  reconciled,  drove  liini  out.  In  this  manner  Pisis- 
tratus  first  made  himself  master  of  Athens,  and,  his  power  not 
being  very  firmly  rooted,  lost  it.  But  those  who  expelled 
Pisistratus  quarrelled  anew  with  one  another  ;  and  Megacles, 
liarassed  by  the  sedition,  sent  a  herald  to  Pisistratus  to  ask  if 
he  was  willing  to  marry  his  daughter,  on  condition  of  having 
the  sovereignty.  I'isistratus  having  accepted  the  proposal 
and  agreed  to  his  terms,  in  order  to  l»is  restitution,  they  con- 
trive tlie  most  ridiculous  project  that,  I  think,  was  ever 
imagined  ;  especially  if  we  consider,  that  the  Gi'eeks  have  . 
from  old  been  distinguished  from  the  barbarians  as  being  \ 
more  acute  and  free  from  all  foolish  simplicity,  and  more  par-  j 
ticularly  as  they  played  this  trick  upon  the  Athenians,  who  " 
are  esteemed  among  the  wisest  oCjlie  Grecians.  )In  the  Pa)- 
ancan  tribe  w.ls^a  wx^man  named  Phya,  four  cubits  high,  want- 
ing three  fingers,  and  in  other  respects  handsome  ;  having 
dressed  tliis  woman  in  a  complete  suit  of  armour,  and  [)laced 
her  on  a  chariot,  and  having  shown  her  beforehand  how  to 
assume  the  most  becoming  demeanour,  they  drove  her  to  tlie 
city,  having  sent  heralds  before,  who,  on  their  arrival  in 
tlie  city,  proclaimed  what  was  ordered  in  these  terms:  "O 
Athenians,  receive  with  kind  wishes  Pisistratus,  whom  Mi- 
nerva hei-self,  honouring  above  all  men,  now  conducts  back  to 
her  own  citadel."  They  then  went  about  proclaiming  this  ; 
and  a  report  was  presently  spread  among  the  people  that  Mi- 
nerva was  bringing  back  Pisistratus  ;  and  the  people  in  the 
city  believing  this  woman  to  be  the  goddess,  both  adored  a 
human  being,  and  received  Pisistratus. 

61.  Pisistratus  having  recovered  the  sovereignty  in  the 
manner  above  described,  married  the  daughter  of  Megacles  in 
accordance  with  his  agreement.  But  as  he  already  had  grown- 
up sons,  and  as  the  Alcmaeonidae  were  said  to  be  under  a  curse,', 
he,  wishing  not  to  have  any  children  by  his  newly-married 
wife,  had  intercourse  with  her  unnaturally.  The  woman  at 
first  kept  the  thing  a  secret,  but  afterwards,  whether  ques- 

'  See  the  cause  of  this.  B.  V.  71 


CLIO     I.  25 

joned  bj'  her  mothenJw:-»etr-»iie  disC0fefeiIl:t~te4ier,  and  she  I 
to  Jier  husbjind^  He  felt  liighlj  indignant  at  berng- -dift— ■» 
honoured  by  Pisistratus,  and  in  his  rage  instantly  reconciled 
liimself  to  those  of  the  opposite  faction  ;  ^  but  Pisistratus 
hearing  of  the  designs  that  were  being  formed  against  him, 
withdrew  entirely  out  of  the  iCOuntry.>  and  arriving  in  Erc- 
tria,^  consulted  with  his  sons.  ]  The  opinion  of  Hippias  pre- 
to  recbveFthe  kingdom,  they  immediately  began  to 
collect  contributions  from  those  cities  which  felt  any  gratitude 
for  benefits  received ;  and  though  many  gave  large 
the  Thebans  surpassed  the  rest  in  liberality.  At  length 
(not  to  give  a  detailed  account)  time  passed,  and  every  thing 
was  ready  for  their  return,  for  Argive  mercenaries  arrived 
from  Peloponnesus ;  and  a  man  of  Naxos,  named  Lygdamis, 
who  had  come  as  a  volunteer,  and  brought  both  men  amj 
jnonej^^^slmiicd  great  zeal  in  the  causey  62.  Having  set  out 
from  Eretria,  they  came  n5acir~rir-4he  eleventh  year  of  their 
exile,  and  first  of  all  possessed  themselves  of  Marathon. 
While  tliey  hiy  encamped  in  this  place,  both  their  partisans 
from  tlie  city  joined  them,  and  others  from  the  various  dis- 
tricts, to  whom  a  tyranny  was  more  welcome  than  lit)erty, 
crowded  to  them  ;  thus  they  were  collected  together.  The 
Athenians  of  the  city,  on  the  other  hand,  had  shown  very 
little  concern  all  the  time  Pisistratus  was  collecting  money,  or 
even  wlien  he  took  poesession  of  Marathon.  But  when  they 
heard  that  he  was  marching  from  Marathon  against  the 
city,  they  at  length  went  out  to  resist  him  ;  so  they  marched 
with  their  whole  force  against  the  invaders.  In  the  mean 
time  Pisistralus's  party,  having  set  out  from  Marathon,  ad- 
vanced towards  the  city,  and  arrived  in  a  body  at  the  temple 
of  the  Pallenian*  Minerva,  and  there  took  up  their  position. 
Here  Amphilytus,  a  prophet  of  Acarnania,  moved  by  divine 
impulse,  approached  Pisistratus,  and  pronounced  this  oracle 
in  hexameter  verse :  "  The  cast  is  thrown,  and  the  net 
is   spread  ;    by   the   moonlight    the   tunnies  will   rush   in.*' 

*  Schwc'iRhacuscr  translates  it  "  to  his  former  partisans."     See  Gary's 
Lexicon  to  Herodotus. 

*  There  were  two  places  of  this  name,  one  in  Thessaly  and  another  in 
Euboea.     Pisistratus  retired  to  this  last.     Larcher. 

*  Pallene  was  the  name  of  one  of  the  boroughs  of  Attica,  belonging  to 
the  tribe  Antio'-hides,  mi  the  road  from  Marathon  to  Athens. 


26  HERODOTUS  [63—65 

63.  He,  inspired  by  the  god,  uttered  t/iis  prophecy  $  and  Pi' 
sistratus,  comprehending  the  oracle,  and  saying  he  accepted 
tlie  omen,  led  on  his  army.  The  Athenians  of  the  city  were 
then  engaged  at  their  breakfast,  and  some  of  them  after 
breakf^ist  had  Ijetaken  themselves  to  dice,  others  to  sleep  ;  so 
that  the  army  of  Pisistratus,  falling  upon  them  by  surprise, 
soon  put  them  to  flight  ;  and  as  tliey  were  flying,  Pisistratus 
contrived  a  clever  stratagem  to  prevent  their  rallying  again, 
and  that  they  might  be  thoroughly  dispersed.  He  mounted 
his  sons  on  horseback  and  sent  them  forward  ;  and  they, 
having  overtaken  the  fugitives,  spoke  as  they  were  ordered 
b}-  Pisistratus,  bidding  them  be  of  good  cheer,  and  to  depart 
every  man  to  his  own  home.  64.  The  Athenians  yielded  a 
ready  obedience,  and  thus  Pisistratus,  having  a  third  time 
possessed  liimself  of  Atliens,  secured  his  power  more  firmly 
botli  by  the  aid  of  auxiliary  forces,  and  by  revenues  partly 
collected. at  home  and  partly  draw.n— &Qni  the  river  Stry- 
mon.j^'^IIe  also  seized  as  hos'tages  the  sons*Trf-4^  Athje»iltnT" 


^  wTTo  had  held  out  against  him,  and  had  not  immediately  flecL^;^ 
f  and  settled  them   at  Naxos  ;    which  island  Pisistratus  \iM 
y     formerly  subdued,  and   given  in  charge  to  Lygdarais  :    he, 

C moreover,  purified  the  island  of  Delos,  in  obedience  to  an  I 
oracle.  And  he  purified  it  in  the  following  manner  :  having  / 
dug  up  the  dead  bodies,  as  far  as  the  prospect  from  the- 
temple  reached,  he  removed  them  to  another  part  of  Delos^ 
Tlius  Pisistratus  ruled  despotically  over  the  Athenians  ;  but 
of  them,  some  liad  fiillen  in  the  battle,  and  others  fled  from 
their  homes  with  the  son  of  Alcmajon.^ 

65.  CrcEsus,  therefore,  was  informed  that  such  was,  at 
that  time,  the  condition  of  the  Athenians  ;  and  that  the  La^ 
c^dieinonhins,  having  extricated  themselves  out  of  great '^TiTf?^^*-* 
cuTties,  liaci  first  gained  the  mastery  over  the  Tegeans  in  war. 
For  during  the  reign  of  Leo  and  Hegesicles,  }5ft^»-of  Sparta, 
the  Laceda3monians  were  successful  in  all  other  wars,  and 
were  worsted  by  the  Tegeans  only.  And  long  before  their 
reign  they  had  been  governed  by  the  worst  laws  of  almost 
any  people  in  Greece,  both  as  regarded  their  dealings  with 
one  another,  and  in   holding  no  intercourse  with  strangers. 

^  The  counti-y  between  the  Strymon  and  the  Nossus  was  celebrated 
for  its  mines.     Larcher. 
^  Megacles. 


66.1  CLIO.    I.  27 

But  they  changed  to  a  good  government  in  the  following 
manner  :  Lycurguj,  a  man  much  esteemed  by  the  Spartans, 
huving  arrivedat  Delphi  to  consult  the  oracle,  no  sooner 
entered  the  temple,  than  the  Pythian  spoke  as  follows  :  "  Thou 
art  come,  Lycurgus,  to  my  wealthy  temple,  beloved  by  Jove 
and  all  that  inhabit  Olympian  mansions  :  I  doubt  whetlier  I 
shall  pronounce  thee  god  or  man  ;  but  rather  god,  I  think, 
Lycurgus."  Some  men  say  that,  besides  this,  the  Pythian 
also""  communicated  to  him  that  form  of  government  now 
established  among  the  Spartans.  But,  as  the  Lacedaunonians 
themselves  affirm,  Lycurgus,  being  appointed  guardian  to  his 
nepbj^W-Leobotas,'^  king  of  Sparta,  brought  those  institutions 
from  Crete.  For  as  soon  as  he  had  taken  the  guardianship, 
lie  altered  all  their  customs,  and  took  care  that  no  one  sliould 
transgress  them.  Afterwards  he  established  military  reguia- 
tions,ntTTe"'enomotia2,  the  triecades,  and  the  syssitia,*^  and 
besides  these  he  instituted  the  epliori  and  senators.  66. 
Thus,  having  changed  their  laws,  they  established  good 
institutions  in  their  stead  :  and  having  erected  a  temple 
to  Lycurgus  after  his  death,  they  held  him  in  the  highest 
rgyeren^e.  As  they  had  a  good  soil  and  abundant  popTila- 
tion,  they  quickly  sprang  up  and  flourished.  And  now  they 
were  no  longer  content  to  live  in  peace  ;  but  proudly  con- 
sidering themselves  superior  to  the  Arcadians,  they  sent  to 
consult  the  oracle  at  Delphi,  touching  the  conquest  of  the 
whole  country  of  the  Arcadians  ;  and  the  Pythian  gave  them 
this  answer  :  "  Dost  thou  ask  of  me  Arcadia  ?  thou  askest  a 
great  deal  ;  I  cannot  grant  it  thee.  There  are  many  acorn - 
eating  men  in  Arcadia,  who  will  hinder  thee.  But  I  do  not 
grudge  thee  all  ;  I  will  give  thee  Tegea  to  dance  on  with 
beating  of  the  feet,  and  a  fair  plain  to  measure  out  by  the 
rod."  Whe»  the  Lacedaemonians  heard  this  answer  reported, 
they  lajd  aside  their  design  against  all,  Arcadui  ;  and  relying 
on  an  equivocal  oracle,  led  an  army  against  Tegea  only,  carry- 
ing fetters  with  them,  as  if  tliey  would  surely  reduce  the 
Tegeans  to  slavery.  But  being  defeated  in  an  engagement, 
as  many  of  them  as  were  taken  alive,  were  compelled  to  work, 

*  It  is  generally  agreed  tliat  the  name  of  Lycurgus's  nephew  Avas  not 
Leobotas,  but  Charilaus. 

*  For  an  account  of  these  several  institutions  see  Smith's  Dictionary 
•f  Antiquities. 


28  HERODOTUS  [67, 68 

wearing  the  fetters  they  had  brought,  and  measuring  the  lands 
of  the  Tegeans  with  a  rod.  X^ose  fetters  in  which  they 
were  bound,  were,  even  in  my  fmie,  preserved  in  Tegea,  sus- 
pended around  the  temple  of  Alean  Minerva. 

67.  In  the  first  war,  therefore,  they  had  constantly  fought 
against  the  Tegeans'  with  ill  success;  but  in  the  time  of 
Croesus,  and  during  the  reign  of  Anaxandrides  and  Aris- 
ton  at  Lacedaemon,  they  had  at  length  become  superior  in  the 
war,  and  they  became  so  in  the  following  manner  :  when  they 
had  always  been  worsted  in  battle  by  the  Tegeans,  they  sent 
to  inquire  of  the  oracle  at  Delphi,  what  god  they  should  pro- 
pitiate, in  order  to  become  victorious  over  the  Tegeans.  The 
Pythian  answered,  they  should  become  so,  when  they  had 
brought  back  the  bones  of  Orestes  the  son  of  Agamemnon. 
But  as  they  were  unable  to  find  the  sepulchre  of  Orestes,  they 
sent  again  to  inquire  of  the  god  in  what  spot  Orestes  lay  in- 
terred, and  the  Pythian  gave  this  answer  to  the  inquiries  of 
those  who  came  to  consult  her :  "  In  the  level  plain  of  Arca- 
dia lies  Tegea,  where  two  winds  by  hard  compulsion  blow, 
and  stroke  answers  to  stroke,  and  woe  lies  on  woe.  There 
life-engendering  earth  contains  Agamemnon's  son  ;  convey 
him  home,  and  you  will  be  victorious  over  Tegea."  When 
tlie  Lacedaimonians  heard  thfs,  they  were  as  far  off  the  dis- 
covery as  ever,  tliough  they  searched  every  where  :  till  Li- 
chas,  one  of  tlie  Spartans  who  are  called  Agathoergi,  found  it. 
These  Agathoergi  consist  of  citizens  who  are  discharged  from 
serving  in  the  cavalry,  such  as  are  senior,  five  in  every  year ; 
it  is  their  duty  during  the  year  in  which  they  are  discharged 
from  the  cavalry,  not  to  remain  inactive,  but  go  to  different 
places  wliere  they  are  sent  by  the  Spartan  commonwealth. 
68.  Lichas,  wlio  was  one  of  these  persons,  discovered  it 
in  Tegea,  both  meeting  with  good  fortune  and  employing 
sagacity.  For  as  the  Lacedaemonians  had  at  that  time  inter- 
course with  the  Tegeans,  he,  coming  to  a  smithy,  looked  at- 
tentively at  the  iron  being  forged,  and  was  struck  with  wonder 
when  he  saw  what  was  done.  The  smith  perceiving  his 
astonishment  desisted  from  his  work,  and  said,  "  O  Laconian 
stranger,  you  would  certainly  have  iDeen  astonished  had  you 
seen  what  I  saw,  since  you  are  so  surprised  at  the  working  of 
iron.  For  as  I  was  endeavouring  to  sink  a  well  in  this  en- 
closure, in  digging,  I  came  to  a  coflfin  seven  cubits  long ;  and 


89  1  CLIO     I  29 

because  I  did  not  believe  that  men  were  ever  taller  than  they 
now  arc,  1  opened  it,  and  saw  that  the  body  was  equal  to  the 
coffin  in  length,  and  after  I  had  measured  it,  I  covered  it  up 
again.  The  man  told  him  what  he  had  seen,  but  Lichas,  re- 
flecftng  on  what  was  said,  conjectured  from  the  words  of  the 
oracle,  that  this  must  be  the  body  of  Orestes,  forming  his  con- 
jecture on  the  following  reasons :  seeing  the  smith's  two  bel- 
lows he  discerned  in  them  the  two  winds,  and  in  the  anvil 
and  hammer  the  stroke  answering  to  stroke,  and  in  the  iron  that 
^as  being  forged  the  woe  that  lay  on  woe  ;  representing  it  in 
tiiis  way,  that  iron  had  been  invented  to  the  injury  of  man. 
Having  made  this  conjecture,  he  returned  to  Spartn,  and  gave 
the  Laceda3monians  an  account  of  the  whole  matter ;  they, 
having  brought  a  feigned  charge  against  him,  sent  him  into 
banishment.  He  then,  going  back  to  Tcgen,  related  liis  mis- 
fortune to  the  smith,  and  wished  to  hire  the  enclosure  from 
him,  but  he  would  not  let  it.  But  in  time,  when  lie  had  per- 
suaded him,  he  took  up  his  abode  there;  and  having  opened 
the  sepulchre  and  collected  the  bones,  he  carried  them  away 
with  him  to  Sparta.  From  that  time,  whenever  they  made 
trial  of  each  other's  strength^^ie  Laceda3monians  were  by  far 
superior  in  war  ;  and  the  greater  part  of  Peloponnesus  had 
been  already  subdued  by  them. 

69.  Croesus  being  informed  of  all  these  things,  sent  am- 
bassadors to  Sparta,  wfth  presents,  and  to  request  their  alli- 
anceTTiaving  given  them  orders  what  to  say ;  and  when  they 
"vvere  arrived  they  spoke  as  follows :  "  Croesus,  king  of  the 
Lydians  and  of  other  nations,  has  sent  us  with  this  mes- 
sage ;  '  0  Lacednsmonians,  since  the  deity  has  directed  me 
by  an  oracle  to  unite  myself  to  a  Grecian  friend,  therefore 
(for  I  am  informed  that  you  are  pre-eminent  in  Greece)  T 
invite  yon  in  obedience  to  the  oracle,  being  desirous  of  be- 
coming your  friend  and  ally,  without  treachery  or  guile.'  ** 
CrccSustherefore  made  this  proposal  by  his  ambassadors.  But 
the  Lacedaemonians,  who  had  before  heard  of  the  answer  given 
by  the  oracle  to  Croesus,  were  gratified  at  the  coming  of  the 
Lydians,  and  exchanged  pledges  of  friendship  and  alliance  ; 
and  indeed  certain  favours  had  been  formerly  conferred  on 
them  by  Croesus  :  for  when  the  Lacedaemonians  sent  to  Sardis 
to  purchase  gold,  wishing  to  use  it  in  erecting  the  statue  of 
Apollo  that  now  stands  ^t  Thornax  in  Laconia,  Croesus  gave 


30  HERODOTUS.  [70, 71 

it  as  a  present  to  them,  when  they  were  desirous  of  pur- 
chasing it.  70.  For  this  reason  then,  and  because  he  had  se- 
lected them  from  all  the  Greeks,  and  desired  their  friendsliip,  the 
LacedaBmonians  accepted  his  offer  of  alliance  ;  and  in  the  first 
place  they  promised  to  be  ready  at  his  summons ;  and  in  the 
next,  having  made  a  braz£iiJbo\yl,  and  covered  it  outside  to  the 
rim  with  various  figuT^T^tl'capable  of  containing  three  hun 
dred  amphorae,  they  sent  it  to  him,  being  desirous  of  making 
Croesus  a  present  in  return.  B.iit_this^_bowl  never  readied 
SardiSj.  for  one  of  the  two  following  reasons!  The~Xa"cec[^ 
monians  say,  that  when  this  bowl,  on  its  way  to  Sardis,  was  off 
Samos,  the  Samians  liaving  heard  of  it,  sailed  out^injong 
ships,  and  took  'it  away  by  force.  Oi^i  tlie  other  hand  the 
Ij^aniians  affirm,  that  when  the  Lacedaemonians  who  were  con» 
veying  the  bowl  found  iliey  were  too  late,  amTlieard  that 
Sardis  was  taken,  and  Croesus  a  prisonerrtiiey^^old  the  bowl 
in  Samos,  and  that  some  private  persons,  who  bought  it,  dedi- 
cated it  in  the  temple  of  Juno.  And  perhaps  they  who  sold  it, 
when  they  returned  to  Sparta,  might  say  that  they  had  been 
robbed  of  it  by  the  Samians.  So  it  is  then  respecting  this 
bowl. 

71.  Croesus  then,  mistaking  the  oracle,  prepared  to  invade 
Cappudbcia,  hoping  to  oveTtlircrvv  Cyrus  and  the  power  of  the 
Persians."'  Whilst  Croesus  was  preparing  for  his  expedition 
against  the  Persians,  a  certain  Lydian,  who  before  that  time 
was  esteemed  a  wise  man,  nnd  on  this  occasion  acquired  a  very 
great  name  in  Lydia,  gave  him  advice  in  these  words  (the 
name  of  this  person  was  Sandanis) :  "  0  king,  you  are  pre- 
paring to  make  war  against  a  people  who  wear  leather 
trousers,  and  the  rest  of  their  garments  of  leather ;  whoin^ 
habit  a  barren  country,  and  feed  not  on  such  things  asHiey 
choose,  but  such  as  they  can  get.  Besides,  they  do  not  habit- 
ually use  wine,  but  drink  water ;  nor  have  they  figs  to  eat, 
nor  any  thing  that  is  good.  In  the  first  place,  then,  if  you 
should  conquer,  what  will  you  take  from  them,  since  they  have 
nothing  ?  On  the  other  hand,  if  you  slu  uld  be  conquered, 
consider  what  good  things  you  will  lose.  For  when  they  have 
tasted  of  our  good  things,  they  will  become  fond  of  them,  nor 
will  they  be  driven  from  them.  As  for  me,  I  thank  the  gods, 
that  they  have  not  put  it  into  the  thoughts  of  the  Persians 
to  make  war  on  the  Lydians."     In  saying  this,  he  did  o^ot 


72,73.  CLTO.    I.  81 

p^uade  Croesus.  Ijfow  before  they  subdued  tlie  Lydians,  the 
Persians  possessed  notbing  either  hixiirious  or  good.  72. 
Tlie  Cappadocians  are  by  the  Greeks  called  Syrians ;  these 
Syrians^  before  the  establishment  of  the  Persian  power,  were 
sutject  to  the  Medes;  but  then  to  Cyrus.  For  the  boundary 
of  tiie  Median  empire  and  the  Lydian  was  the  rij:er  Hajys, 
which  flows  from  the  mountains  of  Armenia  through  Cilicia  ; 
and  afterwards  has  the  Matienians  on  the  right  and  the 
Plirygians  on  the  other  side ;  then  passing  these  and  flowing 
up  towards  the  north,  it  skirts  the  Syrian  Cappadocians  on 
one  side,  and  the  Paphlagonians  on  the  left.  Tims  the  river 
Ilalys  divides  almost  the  whole  of  lower  Asia,  from  the  sea 
opposite  Cyprus  to  the  Euxine :  this  is  the  isthmus  of  that 
whole  country:  as  to  the  length  of  the  journey,  it  takes  five 
days  for  a  well-girt  man.*" 

73.  Croesus  invaded  Cappadocia  for  the  following  rea- 
sons;  as  well  from  a  desire  of  adding  it  to  his  own  domi- 
nions, as,  especially,  from  his  confidence  in  the  oracle,  and 
a  wish  to  punish  Cyrus  on  account  of  Astyages.  For  Cyrus, 
son  of  Carabyses,  liad^siil^ "g^t^'d  A ^^Y'^^g'^^ji  son  ot~Cyaxares, 
who  was  brother-in-law  of  Croesus,  and  king  of  the  Medes. 
lie  had  become  brother-in-law  to  Croesus  in  the  following 
manner :  a  band  of  Scythian  nomades  having  risen  in  rebel- 
lion, withdrew  into  Media :  at  that  time  Cyaxares,  son  of 
Phraortes,  grandson  of  Deioces,  ruled  over  the  Medes ;  he, 
at  first,  received  these  Scythians  kindly,  as  being  suppliants ; 
so  much  so,  that  esteeming  them  very  highly,  he  intrusted 
some  youths  to  them,  to  learn  their  language,  and  the  use  of 
the  bow.  In  course  of  time,  it  happened,  that  these  Scythians, 
who  were  constantly  going  out  to  hunt,  and  who  always 
brought  home  something,  on  one  occasion  took  nothing.  On 
their  returning  empty-handed,  Cyaxares  (for  he  was,  as  he 
proved,  of  a  violent  temper)  treated  them  with  most  oppro- 
brious language.  The  Scytliians,  having  met  with  this  treat- 
ment from  Cyaxares,  and  considering  it  undeserved  by  them, 
determined  to  kill  one  of  the  youths  that  were  being  educated 
under  their  care ;  and  having  prepared  the  flesh  as  they  used 
to  dress  the  beasts  taken  in  hunting,  to  serve  it  up  to  Cyaxares 
as  if  it  were  game ;  and  then  to  make  their  escape  immedi- 

•  The  long  flowing  dresses  of  the  ancients  made  it  necessary  to  gird 
them  up  when  they  wished  to  move  expeditiously. 


32  HERODOTUS  [74,  78 

atcly  to  Alyattes,  son  of  Saiyattes,  at  Sardis.  This  was  ac- 
cordingly done  :  and  Cyaxares  and  his  guests  tasted  of  this 
flesh  ;  and  the  Scythians,  having  done  this,  became  supplianta 
to  Alyattes.  74.  After  this,  (for  Alyattes  refused  to  deliver  up 
the  Scythians  to  Cyaxares  when  he  demanded  them,)  war 
lasted  between  the  Lydians  and  the  Medes  for  five  years  : 
during  this  period  the  Medes  often  defeated  the  Lydians,  and 
often  the  Lydians  defeated  the  Medes  ;  and  during  this  time 
they  had  a  kind  of  nocturnal  engagement.  In  the  sixth  year, 
when  they  were  carrying  on  the  war  with  nearly  equal  suc- 
cess, on  occasion  of  an  engagement,  it  happened  that  in  the 
heat  of  the  battle  day  was  suddenly  turned  into  night.  This 
change  of  the  day  Thales  the  Milesian  had  foretold  to  the 
lonians,  fixing  beforehand  this  year  as  the  very  period,  in 
which  the  change  actually  took  place.  Tiie  Lydians  and 
Medes  seeing  night  succeeding  in  the  place  of  day,  desisted 
from  fighting,  and  both  showed  a  great  anxiety  to  make  peace. 
Syennesis^  the  Cilician,  and  Labynetus^  the  Babylonian,  were 
the  mediators  of  their  reconcihation  ;  these  were  they  who 
hastened  the  treaty  between  them,  and  made  a  matrimonial 
connexion  ;  for  they  persuaded  Alyattes  to  give  his  daughter 
Aryenis  in  marriage  to  Astyages,  son  of  Cyaxares.  For  with- 
out strong  necessity,  agreements  are  not  wont  to  remain  firm. 
These  nations  in  their  federal  contracts  observe  the  same  cere- 
monies as  the  Greeks  ;  and  in  addition,  when  they  have  cut 
tlieir  arms  to  the  outer  skin,  they  lick  up  one  another's  blood. 
75.  Cyrus  had  subdued  this  same  Astyages,  his  grandfather 
by  the  mother's  side,  for  reasons  which  I  shall  hereafter  re- 
late.^ Croesus,  alleging  this  against  him,  sent  to  consult  the 
oracle,  if  he  should  make  war  on  the  Persians  ;  and  when  an 
ambiguous  answer  came  back,  he-,  interpreting  it  to  liis  own 
advantage,  led  his  army  against  the  territory  of  the  Persians. 
"When  he  arrived  at  the  river  Halys,  Croesus  transported  his 
orces,  as  I  believe,  by  the  bridges  which  are  now  there.  But 
the  common  opinion  of  the  Grecians  is,  that  Thales  the  Mi- 
lesian procured  him  a  passage.     For,  whilst  Croesus  was  in 

'  Syeimesis  seems  to  have  been  a  name  common  to  the  kings  of  Cilicia. 
In  addition  to  the  one  here  mentioned,  we  meet  with  another  in  the  tiiht 
of  Darius  (V.  118),  and  a  third  in  the  time  of  Xerxes  (VII.  98). 

•  The  same,  says  Prideaux,  with  the  Nebuchadnezzar  of  Scripture. 

•  See  oh.  121—130. 


76,77.]  CLIO.     I.  3:3 

doubt  how  his  army  should  pass  over  the  river,  (for  ihcjj  say 
that  these  bridges  were  not  at  that  time  in  existence,)  Thales, 
wlio  was  in  the  camp,  caused  the  stream,  which  flowedliloiig 
the  JeFt  ofthe  army,  to  flow  likewise  on  the  riglit ;  and  he 
contrived  it  thus :  having  begun  above  the  camp,  he  dug  a 
deep  trench,  in  the  shape  of  a  lialf-moon,  so  that  the  river, 
being  turned  into  this  from  its  ohl  channel,  might  pass  in  the 
rear  of  the  camp  pitched  where  it  then  was,  and  afterwards, 
having  passed  by  the  camp,  might  fall  into  its  former  course ; 
SQ  that  as^soon  as  the  river  w«.is  divided  into  two  strean>*  it 
became~Jordable  in  both.  Some  say,  that  the  ancient  channel 
of  the  river  was  entirely  dried  up ;  but  this  I  cannot  assent 
to ;  for  how  then  could  they  have  crossed  it  on  their  return  ? 
76.  However,  Croesus,  having  passed  the  river  with  his 
army,  came  to  a  place  called  Pteria,  in  Cappadocia.  (Now 
Pteria  is  the  strongest  position  of  the  whole  of  this  country, 
aruTTs  situated  over  against  Sinope,  a  city  on  the  Euxine  Sea.) 
Here  he  encamped,  and  ravaged  the  lands  of  the  Syrians  :  and 
took  the  city  of  the  Pterians,  and  enslaved  the  inhabitants  ; 
he  also  took  all  the  adjacent  places,  and  expelled  the  inhabit- 
ants, who  had  given  him  no  cause  for  blame.  But  Cyrus, 
having  assembled  his  own  army,  and  having  taken  with  him 
all  who  inhabited  the  intermediate  country,  went  to  meet 
Croesus.  But_before  he  began  to  advance,  he  sent  heralds  to 
tlie  lonians,  to  persuade  them  to  revolt  from  Croesus  :  the 
lonians  however  refused.  When  Cyrus  had  come  up  and 
encamped  opposite  Croesus,  they  made  trial  of  each  other's 
strength  on  the  plains  of  Ptgjia  :  but  when  an  obstinate  battle 
took  place,  and  many  fell  on  both  sides,  they  at  last  parted,  on 
the  approach  of  night,  neither  having  been  victorious.  In 
this  manner  did  the  two  armies  engage. 

77.  But  Croesus  laying  the  blame  on  his  own  army  on 
account  of  the  stfiallness  of  its  numbers,  for  his  forces  that 
engaged  were  far  fewer  than  those  of  Cyrus, — laying  the  blame 
on  this,  when  on  the  following  day  Cyrus  did  not  attempt 
to  attack  him,  he  marched  back  to  Sardis,  designing  to  sum- 
mon the  Egyptians  according  to  treaty,  for  he  had  made  an 
alliance  with  Amasis  king  of  Egypt  before  he  had  with  the 
■Lacedaimonians  :  and  to  send  for  the  Babylonians,  (for  he  had 
madman  alliance  with  them  also,  and  Labynetus  at  this  time 
roigne3~6TerTBe  Babylonians,)  and  to  require  the  presence  of 


34  HERODOTUS.  f78. 79, 

the  LacediBmonians  at  a  fixed  time  :  having  collectctl  these 
together,  and  assembled  his  own  army,  lie  purposed,  wlien 
winter  was  over,  to  attack  the  Persians  in  the  beginning  of 
the  spring.  AVith  this  design,  when  he  reached  Sardis,  he 
despatched  ambassadors  to  his  ditFerent  allies,  requiring  them 
to  meet  at  Sardis  before  the  end  of  five  months  ;  but  the  army 
that  was  with  him,  and  that  had  fought  with  the  Persians, 
which  was  composed  of  mercenary  troops,  he  entirely  dis- 
banded, not  imagining  that  Cyrus,  who  had  come  oflf  on  such 
I  equal  terms,  would  venture  to  advance  upon  SairdTs^  TB- 
VV  hile^Crcjcsus  was  forming  these  plans  the  whole  suburbs 
were  filled  with  serpents,  and  when  they  appeared,  the  horses, 
forsaking  their  pastures,  came  and  devoured  them.  When 
Croesus  beheld  this,  he  considered  it  to  be,  as  it  really  was,  a 
prodigy,  and  sent  immediately  to  consult  the  interpreters  at 
Telmessus  ;  but  the  messengers  having  arrived  there,  and  learnt 
from  the  Telmessians  what  the  prodigy  portended,  were  un- 
able to  report  it  to  Croesus,  for  before  they  sailed  back  to  Sar- 
dis Croesus  had  been  taken  prisoner.  The  Telmessians  had 
pronounced  as  follows:  "that  Croesus  must  expect  a  foreign 
arjny  to  invade  his  country,  which,  on  its  arrival,  woulds^b- 
due  the  natives,  because,  they  said,  the  serpent  is  a  son  of  the 
earth,  but  the  horse  is  an  enemy  and  a  stranger."  This  answer 
the  Telmessians  gave  to  Croesus  when  he  had  been  already 
taken ;  yet  without  knowing  what  had  happened  with  respect 
to  Sardis  or  Croesus  himself. 

79.  But_X<^u;«s,  as  soon  as  Croesus  had  retreated  after 
the  battle  at  Pteria,  having  discovered  that  it  was  the  inten- 
tion of  Croesus  to  disband  his  army,  found,  upon  deliberation, 
that  it  would  be  to  his  advantage  to  march  with  all  possible 
expeditii2n,on  Sardig,  before  the  forces  of  the  Lydians  could 
be  a  second  time  assembled  ;  and  when  he  had  thus  deter- 
mined, he  put  his  plan  into  practice  with  all  possible  expedi- 
tion, for  having  marched  his  army  into  Lydia,  he  brought 
this  news  of  his  own  enterprise  to  Croesus.  Thereupon  Croesus, 
being  thrown  into  great  perplexity,  seeing  that  matters  had 
turned  out  contrary  to  his  expectations,  nevertheless  drew  out 
the  Lydians  to  battle  ;  and  at  that  time  no  nation  in  Asia  was 
more  vaUant  and  warlike  than  the  Lydians.  Their  mode  of 
fighting  was  from  on  horseback ;  they  were  armed  with  long 
lances,  and  manag-ed  their  horses  with  admirable  address 


80—82.3  OLIO.     I.  35 

80.  The  place  where  they  met  was  the  plain  that  lies  be 
fore  the  city  of  Sardis,  which  is  extensive  and  bare ;  several 
rivers,  as  well  as  the  Hyllus,  flowing  through  it,  force  a  pas- 
sage into  the  greatest,  called  the  Hermus,  which  flowing  from 
the  sacred  mountain  of  mother  Cybele,  falls  into  the  sea  near 
the  city  of  Phocasa.  Here  Cyrus,  when  he  saw  the  Lydians 
drawn  up  in  order  of  battle,  alarmed  at  the  cavalry,  had  re- 
course to  the  following  stratagem,  on  the  suggestion  of  Har- 
pagus,  a  Mede.  Having  collected  together  all  the  camels  that 
followed  his  army  with  provisions  and  baggage,  and  having 
caused  their  burdens  to  be  taken  off,  he  mounted  men  upon 
them  equipped  in  cavalry  accoutrements,  and  having  furnished 
them,  he  ordered  them  to  go  in  advance  of  the  rest  of  his 
army  against  the  Lydian  horse  ;  and  he  commanded  his  in- 
fantry to  follow  the  camels,  and  he  placed  the  wlwle  of  his 
cavalry  behind  the  infantry.  When  all  were  drawn  up  in 
order,  he  charged  them  not  to  spare  any  of  the  Lydians,  but  to 
kill  every  one  they  met ;  but  on  no  account  to  kill  Croesus, 
even  if  he  should  offer  resistance  when  taken.  Such  were  the 
orders  he  gave.  He  drew  up  the  camels  in  the  front  of  the 
cavalry,  for  this  reason  ;  a  horse  is  afraid  of  a  camel,  and  can- 
not endure  either  to  see  its  form  or  to  scent  its  smell :  for  this 
reason,  then,  he  had  recourse  to  this  stratagem,  that  the  cavalry 
might  be  useless  to  Croesus,  by  which  the  Lydian  expected  to 
signalize  himself.  Accordingly,  when  they  joined  battle,  the 
horses  no  sooner  smelt  the  camels  and  saw  them,  than  they 
wheeled  round,  and  the  hopes  of  Croesus  were  destroyed. 
Nevertheless  the  Lydians  were  not  therefore  discournged,  but 
when  they  perceived  what  had  happened,  leaped  from  their 
horses  and  engaged  with  the  Persians  on  foot :  at  last,  when 
many  had  fallen  on  both  sides,  the  Lydians  were  put  to  flight, 
and  being  shut  up  within  the  walls,  were  besieged  by  the 
Persians. 

81.  Siege  was  then  laid  to  them;  but  Croesus,  think- 
ing it  would  last  a  long  time,  sent  other  messengers  from 
the.  city  to  his  allies  ;  for  those  who  were  before  sent  requested 
them  to  assemble  at  Sardis  on  the  fifth  month,  but  ho  sent 
out  these  last  to  request  them  to  succour  him  with  all  speed, 
as  he  was  already  besieged.  82.  He  sent  therefore  to  the 
rest  of  his  allies,  and  especially  to  the  LnccdaemoDians ;  but 
at  that  very  time  the  Spartans  thcmselvesllappeiied  to  have  a 

D  2 


36  HERODOTUS  f33. 

quarrel  with  the  Argians  about  a  tract  called  Thyrea ;  for  thiij 
Thyrea,  which  properly  belongs  to  the  territory  of  Argos,  the 
Spartans  had  seized.  And  indeed  the  country  that  lies  west- 
ward as  far  as  Malea,  both  on  the  continent,  and  the  island 
Cythera  and  the  other  islands,  belongs  to  the  Argians.  The 
Argians  having  advanced  to  the  defence  of  tlieir  country  which 
had  been  thus  seized  upon,  both  parties,  upon  a  conference, 
agreed  that  three  hundred  men  on  each  side  should  engage,  and 
that  whichever  party  was  victorious  should  be  entitled  to  the 
disputed  territory:  but  it  was  stipulated^  tliatthe  main  body  of 
each  army  should  withdraw  to  their  own  country,  and  not  re*- 
main  while  tlie  engagement  was  going  on,  lest  if  the  armies 
were  present,  either  side  seeing  their  countrymen  in  distress, 
should  come  in  to  their  assistance.  Having  agreed  to  these 
terms,  the  armies  withdrew,  and  the  picked  men  on  eacli  side 
remaining  behind  engaged :  they  fought  with  such  equal  suc- 
cess, that  of  the  six  hundred,  three  men  only  were  left  alive ;  of 
the  Argians,  Alcenor  and  Chromius,  and  of  the  Lacedaemonians, 
Othryades  ;  these  survived  when  night  came  on.  The  two  Ar- 
gians thinking  themselves  victorious,  ran  to  Argos  with  tUe 
news;  but  Othryades,  the  Lacedaemonian,  having  stripped  tlio 
corpses  of  the  Argians,  and  carried  their  arms  to  his  own  cam^  - 
continued  at  his  post.  On  tlie  next  day  both  armies,  being  in- 
formed of  the  event,  met  again  in  the  same  place ;  and  for  f^  time 
both  laid  claim  to  the  victory ;  the  one  side  alleging  that  the 
greater  number  of  their  men  survived  ;  the  other  side  urging 
that  those  survivors  had  fled,  and  that  their  countryman  had 
kept  the  field  and  spoiled  their  dead.  At  length,  from  words 
they  betook  themselves  to  blows  ;  and  when  many  had  fallen  on 
both  sides,  the  Lacedaemonians  obtained  the  victory.  From  that 
time  the  Argians,  cutting  off  their  hair,  which  they  had  before 
been  compelled  to  wear  long,  enacted  a  law,  which  was  con- 
firmed by  a  curse,  that  no  Argian  should  suffer  his  hair  to 
grow,  nor  any  woman  wear  ornaments  of  gold,  till  they  should 
recover  Thyrea.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Lacedaemonians 
made  a  contrary  law,  enjoining  all  their  people  to  wear  long 
liair,  which  they  had  never  done  before.  As  to  Othryades, 
who  was  the  only  one  that  survived  of  the  three  hundred, 
they  say  that,  being  ashamed  to  return  to  Sparta  when  all 
Jiis  fellow  soldiers  had  perished,  he  put  an  end  to  himself  at 
Thyrea.     83.  When  the  affairs  of  the  Spartans  were  in  thia 


84  85.1  CLIO.    I.  37 

condition,  the  Sardian  ambassador  arrived,  ani  requested 
tliem  to  assist  Croesus,  who  was  besieged  in  Sardis;  they,  how- 
ever, no  sooner  heard  the  ambassadors'  report,  than  they  made 
preparations  to  succour  him.  But  when  they  were  now  pre- 
pared to  set  out,  and  their  ships  were  ready,  another  message 
reached  them  that  the  citadel  of  the  Lydians  was  taken,  and 
Croesus  made  prisoner ;  they  accordingly,  deeming  it  a  great 
misfortune,  desisted  from  their  enterprise. 

84.  Sardis  was  taken  in  the  following  manner.  On  the 
fourteenth  day  after  Croesus  liad  been  besiegeJ,  Cyrus  sent 
horsemen  throughout  his  army,  and  proclaimed  that  he 
would  liberally  reward  the  man  who  should  first  mount  the 
wall :  upon  this  several  attempts  were  made,  and  as  often 
failed  ;  till,  after  the  rest  had  desisted,  a  Mardian,  whose  name 
was  Hyrocades,  endeavoured  to  climb  up  on  that  part  of 
the  citadel  where  no  guard  was  stationed,  because  there  did 
not  appear  to  be  any  danger  that  it  would  be  taken  on  that 
part,  for  on  that  side  the  citadel  was  precipitous  and  imprac- 
ticable. Kound  this  part  alone,  Meles,  a  former  king  of  Sar- 
dis, had  not  brought  the  lion  which  his  concubine  bore  to  him, 
though  the  Telmessians  had  pronounced,  that  if  the  lion  were 
carried  round  the  wall,  Sardis  would  be  impregnable ;  but 
Meles,  having  caused  it  to  be  carried  round  the  rest  of  the 
wall,  where  the  citadel  was  exposed  to  assault,  neglected  this, 
as  altogether  unassailable  and  precipitous :  this  is  the  quarter 
of  the  city  that  faces  JMount  Tmolus.  Now  this  Hyrreades  the 
Mardian  having  seen  a  Lydian  come  down  this  precipicethe 
day  before,  lor  a  helmet  that  was  rolled  dowij,  and  carry  it  up 
again,  noticed  it  carefully,  and  reflected  on  it  in  his  mind :  he 
thereupon  ascended  the  same  way,  ^followed  by  divers  Per- 
sians ;  and  when  great  numbers  had  gone  up,  Sardis  was  thus 
taken,  and  the  wlwle  town  plundered. 

85.  l^ie  fpllQwinfr  incidents  befel  Croesus  himself.  He 
had  a  son  of  whom  1  have  before  made  mention,  who  was  in 
other  respects  proper  enough,  but  dumb.  Now,  in  the  tijne 
of  his  former  prosperity,  Croesus  had  done  every  thing  he  / 
could  for  him,  and  among  other  expedients  had  sent  to  consult 
the  oracle  of  Delphi  concerning  him ;  but  the  Pythian  gave 
him  this  answer :  "  O  Lydian  born,  king  of  many,  very  foolish 
Croesus,  wish  not  to  hear  the  longed-for  voice  of  thy  son 
speaking  within  thy  palace :  it  were  better  for  thee  that  this 


38'  HERODOTUS  [86 

should  be  far  off ;  for  he  will  first  speak  in  an  unhappy  day.* 
When  the  city  was  taken,  one  of  the  Persians,  not  knowing 
Croesus,  was  about  to  kill  him :  Croesus,  though  he  saw  him 
approach,  from  his  present  misfortune,  took  no  heed  of  him, 
nor  did  he  care  about  dying  by  the  blow ;  but  this  speechless 
son  of  his,  when  he  saw  the  Persian  advancing  against  him, 
through  dread  and  anguish,  burst  into  speech,  and  said,  "  Man, 
kill  not  Croesus."  These  were  the  first  words  he  ever  uttered  ; 
but  from  that  time  he  continued  to  speak  during  the  remainder 
of  his  life.  /  86.  So  the  Persians  got  possession  of  Sardis,  and 
made  Crogaii*  prisoner,  after  he  had  reigned  fourteen  years, 
been  besieged  fourteen  days,  and  lost  his  great  empire,  as  the 
oracle  had  predicted.  The  Persihris,  l7a\~ing  taken  him,  con- 
ducted liim  to  Cyrus ;  and  he,  having  heaped  up  a  great  pile, 
placed  Croesus  upon  it,  bound  with  fetters,  and  with  him 
fourteen  young  Lydians ;  designing  either  to  offer  this  sacri- 
fice to  some  god,  as  the  first-fruits  of  his  victory,  or  wishing 
to  perform  a  vow;  or  perhaps,  having  heard  that  Croesus  was 
a  religious  person,  he  placed  him  on  the  pile  for  the  purpose 
of  discovering  whether  any  deity  would  save  him  from  being 
burnt  alive.  He  accordingly  did  what  has  been  related  :  it  is 
added,  tliat  when  Croesus  stood  upon  the  pile,  notwithstanding 
the  weight  of  his  misfortunes,  the  words  of  Solon  recurred 
to  him,  as  spoken  by  inspiration  of  the  deity,  that  "  no  living 
man  could  be  justly  called  happy."  When  this  occurred  to 
hTm,  iriT'mtdf^^Har&Xter~aTor\g  silence  he  recovered  liimself, 
and  uttering  a  groan,  'thrice  pronounced  the  name  of  Solon  ; 
that  when  Cyrus  heard  him,  he  commanded  his  interpreters 
to  ask  Croesus,  whom  it  was  he  called  upon  ;  that  they  drew 
near  and  asked  him  ;  but  Croesus  for  some  time  kept  silence ; 
but  at  last,  being  constrained  to  speak,  said,  "  I  named  a  man, 
whose  discourses  I  more  desire  all  tyrants  might  hear,  thao- 
tobe  possessor  of  the  greatest  riches."  When  he  gave  them 
this  obscure  answer,  they  again  inquired  what  he  said :  and 
when  they  persisted  in  their  inquiries,  and  were  very  impor- 
tunate, he  at  length  told  them,  that  Solon,  an  Athenian,  for- 
merly visited  him,  and  having  viewed  all  his  treasures,  made 
no  account  of  them :  telling,  in  a  word,  how  every  thing  had 
befallen  him  as  Solon  had  warned  him,  though  h\^  discourse 
related  to^  all  mankind  as  much  as  to  himself,  and  especially 
to  those  who  imagine  themselves  happy.     77ie?/  say,  th«V-^ 


87, 88.J  CLIO.    1.  89 

Croesus  gave  this  explanation  ;  and  that  the  pile  being  now 
kindled,  the  outer  parts  began  to  burn  ;  and  that  Cyrus,  in- 
formed by  the  interpreters  of  what  Croesus  had  said,  relented, 
and  considering  that  being  but  a  man.  he  was  yet  going  to 
burn  another  man  alive,  who  had  been  no  way  inferior  to 
himself  in  prosperity ;  and  moreover  fearing  retribution,  and 
reflecting  that  nothing  human  is  constant,  commanded  the  lire 
to  be  instantly'^XElHguTshellTlind  Croesus,  with  those  who 
were  about  him,  to  be  taken  down ;  and  that  they  with  all 
their  endeavours  were  unable  to  master  the  fire.  87.  It  is 
related  by  the  Lydians,  that  Croesus,  perceiving  that  Cyrus 
had  altered  his  resolution,  when  he  saw  every  man  en- 
deavouring to  put  out  the  fire,  but  unable  to  get  the  better  of 
it,  shouted  aloud,  invoking  Apollo,  and  besought  him,  if  ever 
any  of  his  offerings  had  been  agreeable  to  him,  to  protect 
and  deliver  him  from  the  present  danger :  they  report^  that 
he  with  tears  invoked  the  god,  and  that  on  a  sudden  clouds 
were  seen  gathering  in  the  air,  which  before  was  serene, 
and  tliat  a  violent  storm  burst  forth  and  vehement  rain  fell 
and  extinguished  the  flames  ;  by  which  Cyrus  perceiving 
that  Croesus  was  beloved  by  the  gods,  and  a  good  man,  when 
he  had  had  him  taken  down  from  the  pile,  asked  him  the  fol- 
lowing question  :  "  Who  persuaded  you,  Croesus,  to  invade  my 
territories,  and  to  become  my  enemy  instead  of  my  friend?" 
He  answered :  "  O  king,  I  have  done  tl^s  for  your  good  but 
my  own  evil  fortune,  and  the  god  of  the  Greeks  who  encou- 
raged me  to  make  war  is  the  cause  of  all.  ^  For  no  man  is  so 
void  of  understanding  as  to  prefer  war  before  peace  ;  for  in 
the  latter  children  bury  their  fathers  ;  in  the  former,  fathers 
bury  their  children.  13 ut,  I  suppose,  it  pleased  the  gods  that 
these  things  should  be  so." 

88.  He  then  thus  spoke :  but  Cyrus,  having  set  him 
at  liberty,  placed  him  by  his  own  side,  and  showed  him 
great  respect  ;  and  both  he  and  all  those  tliat  were  witli  him 
were  astonished  at  what  they  saw.  But  Croesus,  absorbed  in 
thought,  remained  silent  ;  and  presently  turning  round  and 
beholding  the  Persians  sacking  the  city  of  the  Lydians,  he 
said,  "  Does  it  become  me,  O  king,  to  tell  you  what  is  pass- 
ing through  my  mind,  or  to  keep  silence  on  the  present 
occasion  ? "  Cyrus  bid  him  say  with  confidence  whatever 
he  wished;  upon  which  Croesus  asked  him,  saying,  "What 


40  IliCRODOlUS.  [89,  9a 

is  this  vast  crowd  so  earnestly  employed  about?"  He  an- 
swered, "  They  are  sacking  your  city,  and  plundering  your 
riches."  "  Not  so,"  Croesus  replied  ;  "  they  are  neitlier  sack- 
ing my  city,  nor  plundering  my  riches,  for  they  no  longer 
belong  to  me,  but  they  are  ravaging  what  belongs  to  you." 

89.  The  reply  of  Croesus  attracted  the  attention  of  Cyrus ; 
he  therefore  ordered  all  the  rest  to  withdraw,  and  asked 
Croesus  what  he  thought  should  be  done  in  the  present  con- 
juncture. He  answered  :  "  Since  the  gods  have  made  me 
your  servant,  I  tliink  it  my  duty  to  acquaint  you,  if  I  perceive 
any  thing  deserving  of  remark.  The  Persians,  who  are  by  na- 
ture overbearing,  are  poor.  If,  therefore,  you  permit  them  to 
plunder  and  possess  great  riches,  you  may  expect  the  follow- 
ing results  :  whoso  acquires  the  greatest  possessions,  be  assurei],_ 
will  be  ready  to  rebel.  Therefore,  if  you  approve  what  1  say, 
adopt  the  following"  plan  :  place  some  of  your  body-guard  as 
sentinels  at  every  gate,  with  orders  to  take  the  booty  from  all 
those  who  would  go  out,  and  to  acquaint  them  that  the  tenth 
must  of  necessity  be  consecrated  to  Jupiter  :  thus  you  will 
not  incur  the  odium  of  taking  away  their  property  ;  and  they, 
acknowledging  your  intention  to  be  just,  will  readily  obey." 

90.  Cyrus,  when  he  heard  this,  was  exceedingly  delighted, 
as  he  thought  the  suggestion  a  very  good  one  :  having  there- 
fore comm.ended  it  highly,  and  ordered  his  guards  to  do  what 
Cr(E3us  suggested,  he  addressed  Croesus  as  follows  :  "  Croesus, 
since  you  are  resolved  to  display  the  deeds  and  words  of  a 
true  king,  ask  whatever  boon  you  desire  on  the  instant." 
"  Sir,"  he  answered,  "  the  most  acceptable  favour  you  can 
bestow  upon  me  is,  to  let  me  send  my  fetters  to  the  god  of 
the  Grecians,  whom  1  have  honoured  more  than  any  other 
deity,  and  to  ask  him,  if  it  be  his  custom  to  deceive  those 
wlio  deserve  well  of  him."  Cyrus  asked  him  what  cause  ho 
had  to  complain,  that  induced  him  to  make  this  request :  upon 
Avhich  Croesus  recounted  to  him  all  his  projects,  and  the  an- 
swers of  tlie  oracles,  and  particularly  the  offerings  he  had 
})resented  ;  and  how  he  was  incited  by  the  oracle  to  make 
war  against  the  Persians.  When  he  had  said  this,  he  again 
besought  him  to  grant  him  leave  to  reproach  the  god  with 
tliese  things.  But  Cyrus,  smiling,  said,  "  You  shall  not  only 
receive  this  boon  from  me,  but  whatever  else  you  may  at  any 
time  desire."     When  Croesus  heard  this,  he  sent  certain  Ly* 


91.1  ^"I^IO.     I.  41 

dians  to  Delphi,  with  ord/?rs  to  lay  his  fetters  at  the  entrance 
of  the  temple,  and  to  ask  the  god,  if  he  were  not  ashamed  to 
have  encouraged  Croesus  by  his  oracles  to  make  war  on  the 
Persians,  assuring  him  that  he  would  put  an  end  to  the  power  of 
Cyrus,  of  which  war  such  were  the  first-fruits,  (commandirig 
them  at  these  ivords  to  show  the  fetters,)  and  at  the  same  time  to 
ask  if  it  were  the  custom  of  the  Grecian  gods  to  be  ungrateful. 
91.  When  the  Lydians  arrived  at  Delphi,  and  had  delivered 
tlieir  message,  the  Pythian  is  reported  to  have  made  this 
answer:  "The  god  himself  even  cannot  avoid  the  decrees 
of  fate  ;  and  Croesus  has  atoned  the  crime  of  his  ancestor  in 
the  fifth  generation,'  who,  being  one  of  the  body-guard  of  the 
HeraclidaB,  was  induced  by  the  artifice  of  a  woman  to  murder 
his  master,  and  to  usurp  his  dignity,  to  which  he  had  no  right. 
But  although  Apollo  was  desirous  that  the  fall  of  Sardis  might 
happen  in  the  time  of  the  sons  of  Crcesus,  and  not  during  his 
reign,  yet  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  avert  the  fates  ;  but  so 
far  as  they  allowed  he  accomplished,  and  conferred  the  boon 
on  him  ;  for  he  delayed  the  capture  of  Sardis  for  the  space  of 
three  years.  Let  Croesus  know,  therefore,  that  he  was  taken 
prisoner  three  years  later  than  the  fates  had  ordained  :  and  in 
the  next  place,  he  came  to  his  relief,  when  he  was  upon  the  point 
of  being  burnt  alive.  Then,  as  to  the  prediction  of  the  oracle, 
Croesus  has  no  right  to  complain  ;  for  Apollo  foretold  him 
that  if  he  made  war  on  the  Persians,  he  would  subvert  a  great 
empire  ;  and  had  he  desired  to  be  truly  informed,  he  ought  to 
have  sent  again  to  inquire,  whether  his  own  or  that  of  Cyrus 
was  meant.  But  since  he  neither  understood  the  oracle,  nor 
inquired  again,  let  hira  lay  the  blame  on  himself.  And  when 
he  last  consulted  the  oracle,  he  did  not  understand  the  answer 
concerning  the  mule  ;  for  Cyrus  was  that  mule ;  inasmuch  as 
he  was  born  of  parents  of  different  nations,  the  mother  su- 
perior, but  the  father  inferior.  For  she  was  a  Mede,  and 
daughter  of  Astyages  king  of  Media  ;  but  he  was  a  Persian, 
subject  to  the  Modes  ;  and  though  in  every  respect  inferior, 
be  married  his  own  mistress."  The  Pythian  gave  this  an- 
swer to  the  Lydians,  and  they  carried  it  back  to  Sardis,  and 
reported  it  to  Croesus,  and  lie,  when  he  heard  it,  acknowledged 

'  Croesus  was  the  fifth  descendant  of  Gyges,  if  we  include  tlie  two  ex- 
tremes y  for  the  house  of  the  Mermnado)  was  as  follows  .  Ciyges,  Ardys, 
Sadyattcs,  Alyattes,  Croesus.     See  chap.  13 


42  HERODOTUS.      ,  [92,93. 

the  fault  to  be  his,  and  not  the  god's.     Such  is  the  account  of 
the  kingdom  of  Croesus,  and  the  first  subjection  of  Ionia. 

92.  Many  oth^  offerings  were  also  consecrated  by  Croesus 
in  Greece,  besides  those  already  mentioned.  For  at  Thebes 
of  Bceotia  there  is  a  golden  tripod,  which  he  dedicated  to  Is- 
menian  Apollo ;  and  in  Ephesus,  the  golden  heifers,  and  several 
of  the  pillars ;  and  in  the  Pronaea  at  Delphi  a  large  golden 
shield.  All  these  were  in  existence  in  my  day  ;  but  others 
have  been  lost.  The  offerings  he  dedicated  in  Branchis,  a 
city  of  the  Milesians,  were,  as  I  am  informed,  equal  in  weight 
and  similar  to  those  at  Delphi.  Now  the  offerings  which  he 
made  to  Delphi  and  to  Amphiaraus,  were  his  own  property 
and  the  first-fruits  of  his  patrimonial  riches  ;  but  the  rest  were 
the  produce  of  the  property  of  an  enemy  who,  before  he  came 
to  the  throne,  had  set  up  an  adverse  faction,  endeavouring  to 
raise  Pantaleon  to  the  throne  :  now  Pantaleon  was  the  son  of 
Alyattes,  but  of  the  same  mother  as  Croesus  ;  for  Alyattes  had 
Croesus  by  a  Carian,  and  Pantaleon  by  an  Ionian  woman. 
When  therefore  Croesus  by  the  will  of  his  father  obtained  the 
kingdom,  he  put  his  opponent  to  death  by  tearing  his  flesh 
with  a  fuller's  thistle  ;  and  having  already  vowed  all  his  trea- 
sure to  the  gods,  he  dedicated  it  in  the  manner  above  described 
to  the  places  I  have  mentioned.  And  this  may  suffice  re- 
specting the  offerings. 

93.  The  Lydian  territory  does  not  present  many  wonders 
worthy  of  description,  like  some  other  countries,  except  the 
gold  dust  brought  down  from  Mount  Tmolus.  It  exhibits, 
however,  one  work  the  greatest  of  all,  except  those  of  the 
Egyptians  and  Babylonians.  There  is  there  a  monument 
to  Alyattes,  father  of  Croesus,  the  basis  of  which  is  composed 
of  large  stones,  the  rest  is  a  mound  of  earth.  This  fabric  was 
raised  by  merchants,  artificers,  and  prootitutes.  On  the  sum- 
mit of  this  monument  there  remained,  even  in  my  day,  five 
termini,  upon  which  were  inscriptions,  showing  how  much  of 
tlie  work  each  class  executed,  and  when  measured  the  work  of 
tlie  females  proved  to  be  the  greatest.  For  the  daughters  of 
tlie  Lydian  common  people  all  prostitute  themselves,  for  the 
purpose  of  providing  themselves  with  dowries  ;  and  they  con- 
tinue to  do  so  until  they  marry  ;  and  they  dispose  of  them- 
selves in  marriage.  This  monument  is  six  stades  and  two 
plethra  in  circumference,  and  in  breadth,  thirteen  plethra ; 


94,95.]  CLIO.    I.  43 

contiguous  to  it  is  a  large  lake,  which  the  Lydians  say  is  fed 
by  perpetual  springs,  and  it  is  called  the  Gygean  lake.  This 
may  suffice  for  this  subject. 

94.  The  customs  of  the  Lydians  differ  little  from  those 
of  the  Grecians,  except  that  they  prostitute  their  females. 
They  are  the  first  of  all  nations  we  know  of  that  introduced 
the  art  of  coining  gold  and  silver  ;  and  they  were  the  first  re- 
tailers. The  Lydians  themselves  say  that  the  games  which  are 
now  common  to  themselves  and  the  Greeks,  were  their  inven- 
tion ;  and  they  say  they  were  invented  about  the  time  they 
sent  a  colony  to  Tyrrhenia,  of  all  which  they  give  the  follow- 
ing account.  During  the  reign  of  Atys,  son  of  Manes  king  of 
Lydia,  a  great  scarcity  of  corn  pervaded  all  Lydia  :  for  some 
time  the  Lydians  supported  it  with  constancy  ;  but  when 
tliey  saw  the  evil  still  continuing  they  sought  for  remedies, 
and  some  devised  one  thing,  some  another ;  and  at  that  time 
the  games  of  dice,  hucklebones,  ball,  and  all  other  kinds  of 
games  except  draughts,  were  invented,  for  the  Lydians  do  not 
claim  the  invention  of  this  last ;  and  having  made  these  in- 
ventions to  alleviate  the  famine,  they  employed  them  as  fol- 
lows :  they  used  to  play  one  whole  day  that  they  might  not 
be  in  want  of  food  ;  and  on  the  next,  they  eat  and  abstained 
from  play  ;  thus  tliey  passed  eighteen  years  ;  but  v/hen  the 
evil  did  not  abate,  on  the  contrary  became  still  more  virulent, 
their  king  divided  the  whole  people  into  two  parts,  and  cast 
lots  which  should  remain  and  which  quit  the  country,  and 
over  that  part  whoso  lot  it  should  be  to  stay  he  appointed  him- 
self king  ;  and  over  that  part  which  was  to  emigrate  he  ap- 
pointed his  own  son,  whose  name  was  Tyrrhenus.  Those  to 
whose  lot  it  fell  to  leave  their  country  went  down  to  Smyrna, 
built  ships,  and  having  put  all  their  movables  which  were  of 
use  on  board,  set  sail  in  search  of  food  and  land,  till  having 
passed  by  many  nations,  they  reached  the  Ombrici,  where 
tlioy  built  towns,  and  dwell  to  this  day.  From  being  called 
Lydians,  they  clianged  their  name  to  one  after  the  king's  son, 
who  led  them  out ;  from  him  they  gave  themselves  the  appel- 
lation of  Tyrrhenians.  The  Lydians  then  were  reduced 
under  the  power  of  the  Persians. 

95.  My  history  hence  _proceeds  to  inquire  who  Cyrus 
was  that  overthrew  the  power  of  Croesus,  and  how  tlie  Per- 
■ians  became  masters  of  Asia.   In  which  narration  I  shall  fol- 


44 


HERODOTUS.  [96,  97. 


low  those  Persians,  who  do  not  wish  to  magnify  the  actions  of 
Cyrus,  but  to  relate  the  plain  truth ;  though  I  am  awafetilirt 
there  are  three  other  ways  of  relating  Cyrus's  liistory.  After 
the  Assyrians  had  ruled  over  Upper  Asia  five  hundred  and 
twenty^ars,  the  Medes  first  began  to  revolt  from  them  Jand 
they  it  seems,  in  'tlreir'slruggle  with  the  AssyriansTor  liberty, 
proved  themselves  brave  men  ;  and  having  shaken  oiF  the 
yoke,  became  free :  afterwards  the  otheFnaliohs  also  did  the 
saime  as  the  Mecles.  When  all  throughout  the  continent  were 
independent,  they  were  again  reduced  under  a  despotic  go- 
vernment in  the  following  manner.  96.  There  was  among 
the  Medes  a  man  famous  for  wisdom,  named  Deiqces,  son  of 
Phraorfes.  This  Deioces,  aiming  at  absolute  pov^er,  had  re- 
course to  the  following  plan.  The  Medes  were  at  that  time 
distributed  into  villages,  and  Deioces,  -who  was  already  highly 
esteemed  in  his  own  district,  applied  himself  with  great  zeal 
to  the  exercise  of  justice  ;  and  this  he  did,  since  great  law- 
lessness prevailed  throughout  the  whole  of  Media,  and  he 
knew  that  injustice  and  justice  are  ever  at  variance.  The 
Medes  of  the  same  village,  observing  his  conduct,  chose  him 
for  their  judge  ;  and  he,  constantly  keeping  the  sovereign 
power  in  view,  showed  himself  upright  and  just.  By  this 
conduct  he  acquired  no  slight  praise  from  his  fellow  citizens, 
so  much  so  that  the  inhabitants  of  other  villages,  hearing 
that  Deioces  v/as  the  only  one  who  judged  uprightly,  having 
before  met  with  unjust  sentences,  when  they  heard  of  him 
gladly  came  from  all  parts  to  Deioces,  in  order  to  submit 
their  quarrels  to  his  decision ;  and  at  last  they  would  commit 
the  decision  to  no  one  else.  97.  In  the  end,  when  the  number 
of  those  who  had  recourse  to  him  continually  increased  as  men 
heard  of  the  justice  of  his  decisions,  Deioces,  seeing  the  whole 
devolved  upon  himself,  would  no  longer  occupy  the  seat  where 
he  used  to  sit  to  determine  differences,  and  refused  to  act  as 
judge  any  more,  for  that  it  was  of  no  advantage  to  him  to  neg- 
lect his  own  affairs,  and  spend  the  day  in  deciding  the  quarrels 
of  others.  Upon  this,  rapine  and  lawlessness  growing  far  more 
frequent  throughout  the  villages  than  beforCj  the  Medes  called 
an  assembly  and  consulted  together  about  the  present  state  of 
things,  but,  as  I  suspect,  the  partisans  of  Deioces  spoke  to  the 
following  purpose  :  "  Since  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  inhabit 
the  country  if  we  continue  in  our  present  condition,  ht  us 


93,99.j     .  CLIO.     I.  45 

constitute  a  king  over  us,  and  so  the  country  will  be  go- 
verned by  good  laws,  and  we  ourselves  shall  be  able  to  attend 
to  our  business,  nor  be  any  longer  driven  from  our  homes  by 
lav/lessness."  By  some  such  words  they  persuaded  them  to 
submit  to  a  kingly  government.  98.  Upon  their  immediately 
putting  the  question,  whom  they  should  appoint  king,  Deioces 
was  unanimously  preferred  and  commended  ;  so  that  at  hist 
they  agreed  that  he  should  be  their  king.  But  he  required  them 
to  build  him  a  palace  suitable  to  the  dignity  of  a  king,  and 
guards  for  the  security  of  his  person.  The  Medes  accordingly 
did  so  •  and  built  him  a  spacious  and  strong  palace  in  the  part 
of  the  country  that  he  selected,  and  permitted  him  to  choose 
guards  for  his  person  out  of  all  the  Medes.  Being  thus  pos- 
sessed of  the  power,  lie  compelled  the  Medes  to  build  one  city, 
and  having  carefully  adorned  that,  to  pay  less  attention  to  the 
others.  And  as  the  Medes  obeyed  him  in  this  also,  he  built 
lofty  and  strong  walls,  which  now  go  under  the  name  of  Ecba- 
tana,'^  one  placed  in  a  circle  within  the  other  ;  and  this  fortill- 
cation  is  so  contrived,  that  each  circle  was  raised  above  the 
other  by  the  height  of  the  battlements  only.  The  situation  of 
the  ground,  rising  by  an  easy  ascent,  was  very  favourable  to  the 
design.  But  that  which  was  particularly  attended  to  is,  that 
there  being  seven  circles  altogether,  the  king's  palace  and  the 
treasury  are  situated  within  the  innermost  of  them.  The 
largest  of  these  walls  is  about  equal  in  circumference  to  the 
city  of  Athens  ;  the  battlements  of  the  first  circle  are  white, 
of  the  second  black,  of  the  third  purple,  of  the  fourth  blue,  of 
the  fifth  bright  red.  Thus  the  battlements  of  all  the  circles 
are  painted  with  different  colours  ;  but  the  two  last  have 
their  battlements  plaited,  the  one  with  silver,  the  other  with 

99.  Deioces  then  built  these  fortifications  for  himself, 
and  round  his  own  palace  ;  and  he  commanded  the  rest  of  the 
people  to  fix  their  habitations  round  the  fortification  ;  and 
when  all  the  buildings  were  completed  he,  for  the  first  time, 
established  the  following  regulations :  that  no  man  should  be 
admitted  to  the  king's  presence,  but  every  one  should  consult 
him  by  means  of  messengers,  and  that  none  should  be  per- 
mitted to  see  him  ;  and,  moreover,  that  it  should  be  accounted 

•  For  the  Scripture  account  of  Ecba^ift,  e«e  JadiCii.  i-»'jL 


i6  HERODOTUS.  [lOO-lOS 

indecency  for  any  to  iaugh  or  spit  before  him.  He  established 
such  ceremony  about  his  own  person,  for  this  reason,  that 
those  who  were  his  equals,  and  who  were  brought  up  with 
him,  and  of  no  meaner  family,  nor  inferior  to  him  in  manly 
qualities,  might  not,  when  they  saw  him,  grieve  and  conspire 
against  him  ;  but  that  he  might  appear  to  be  of  a  different 
nature  to  them  who  did  not  see  him.  100.  When  he  had 
established  these  regulations,  and  settled  himself  in  the  ty- 
ranny, he  was  very  severe  in  the  distribution  of  justice.  And 
the  parties  contending  were  obhged  to  send  him  their  case  in 
writing  ;  and  he  having  come  to  a  decision,  on  the  cases  so 
laid  before  him,  sent  them  back  again.  This  then  was  his 
plan  in  reference  to  matters  of  litigation.  And  all  other 
things  were  regulated  by  him  :  so  that,  if  he  received  informa- 
tion that  any  man  had  injured  another,  he  would  presently 
send  for  him,  and  punish  him  in  proportion  to  his  offence  ; 
and  for  this  purpose  he  had  spies  and  eves-droppers  in  every 
part  of  his  dominions. 

101.  Now  Deioces  collected  the  Medes  into  one  nation,  and 
ruled  over  that.  The  following  are  the  tribes  of  tlie  Medes,  the 
Buste,  Parataceni,  Struchates,  Arizanti,  Budii,  and  the  Magi. 
Such  are  the  tribes  of  the  Medes.  102.  Deioces  had  a  son, 
Phraortes,  who,  when  his  father  died,  after  a  reign  of  fifty- 
three  years,  succeeded  him  in  the  kingdom ;  but  having  so 
succeeded,  he  was  not  content  to  rule  over  the  Medes  only, 
but,  having  made  war  on  the  Persians,  he  attacked  them  first, 
and  reduced  them  under  the  dominion  of  the  Medes.  And 
afterwards  being  master  of  these  two  nations,  both  of  them 
powerful,  he  cnbdued  Asia,  attacking  one  nation  after  another ; 
till  at  last  he  invaded  the  Assyrians,  who  inhabited  the  city 
of  Nineveh,  and  who  had  before  been  supreme,  though  at  that 
time  they  were  abandoned  by  their  confederates,  (who  had  re- 
volted,) but  who  were  otherwise  in  good  condition  :  Phraortes 
tlien,  having  made  war  on  them,  perished  with  the  greater 
part  of  his  army,  after  he  had  reigned  twenty-two  years. 

103.  When  Phraortes  was  dead,  Cyaxares  his  son,  grand- 
son of  Deioces,  succeeded  him.  He  is  said  to  have  been  more 
warlike  than  his  ancestors.  He  first  divided  the  people  of 
Asia  into  cohorts,  and  first  divided  them  into  spearmen, 
archers,  and  cavalry  ;  whereas  before  they  had  been  confusedly 
mixed  together.     It  was  he  that  fought  with  the  Lydians, 


104— 160.J  CLIO     I.  47 

when  the  day  was  turned  into  night,^  as  they  were  fighting  j 
and  who  subjected  the  whole  of  Asia  above  the  river  Ilalys. 
He  assembled  the  forces  of  all  his  subjects,  and  nriarclied 
against  Nineveh  to  avenge  his  father,  and  destroy  that  city. 
However,  when  he  had  obtained  a  victory  over  the  Assyrians, 
and  while  he  was  besieging  Nineveh,  a  great  army  of  Scythi- 
ans came  upon  him,  under  the  conduct  of  their  king  Madyes, 
son  of  Protothyas.  These  Scythians  had  driven  the  Cimme- 
rians out  of  Europe,  and  pursuing  them  into  Asia,  by  that 
means  entered  the  territories  of  the  Medes.  104.  The  distance 
from  tlie  lake  Mseotis  to  the  river  Phasis  and  to  Colchis,  is  a 
journey  of  thirty  days  to  a  well-girt  man,'*  but  the  route  from 
Colchis  to  Media  is  not  long,  for  there  is  only  one  nation,  the 
Saspires,  between  them :  when  one  has  passed  over  this,  one 
finds  oneself  in  Media.  The  Scj^thians,  however,  did  not  pass 
by  this  way,  but  turned  to  the  higher  road  by  a  much  longer 
route,  having  Mount  Caucasus  on  the  right,^  and  there  the 
Medes  coming  to  an  engagement  with  the  Scythians,  and  being 
worsted  in  the  battle,  lost  their  dominion ;  but  the  Scythians 
became  masters  of  all  Asia.  105.  From  thence  they  pro- 
ceeded to  Egypt,  and  when  they  reached  Palestine  in  Syria> 
Psammitichus,  king  of  Egypt,  having  met  them  with  pre- 
sents and  prayers,  diverted  them  from  advancing  further. 
In  their  return,  however,  they  came  to  Ascalon,  a  city  of 
Syria,  and  when  most  of  them  had  marched  through  with- 
out doing  any  injury,  some  few,  who  were  left  behind,  pil- 
laged the  temple  of  Celestial  Venus.  This  temple,  as  I  find 
by  inquiry,  is  the  most  ancient  of  all  the  temples  dedicated 
to  this  goddess :  for  that  in  Cyprus  was  built  after  this,  as 
the  Cyprians  tliemselves  confess ;  and  that  in  Cythera  was 
erected  by  Phoenicians  who  came  from  the  same  part  of  Syria. 
However,  the  goddess  inflicted  on  the  Scythians  who  robbed 
lier  temple  at  Ascalon,  and  on  all  their  posterity,  a  female 
disease ;  so  that  the  Scythians  confess  that  they  are  aflfiicted 
with  it  on  this  account,  and  those  who  visit  Scythia  may  see 
in  what  a  state  they  are  whom  the  Scythians  call  Enarees. 
106.  For  twenty-eight  years,  then,  the  Scythians  governed 
Asia,  and  every  thing  was  overthrown  by  their  licentiousness 
and  iicglect  j  for  besides  the  usual  tribute,  they  exacted  from 

'  See  chap.  74.  *  See  chap.  72,  n. 

*  See  B   IV   chap.  12,  and  B.  VII.  chap.  20. 


48  HERODOTUS  [107,  108 

each  whatever  they  chose  to  impose ;  and.  in  addition  to  the 
tribute,  they  rode  round  the  country  and  plundered  them  of 
all  their  possessions.  Now  Cyaxares  and  the  Medes  invited 
the  greatest  part  of  them  to  a  feast,  and  having  made  them 
drunk,  put  them  to  death  ;  and  so  the  Medes  recovered  their 
former  power,  and  all  they  had  possessed  before  ;  and  they 
took  Nineveh,  (how  they  took  it,  I  will  relate  in  anothei 
M'ork,*^)  and  reduced  the  Assyrians  into  subjection,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Babylonian  district.  Having  accomplished  these 
things,  Cyaxares  died,  after  he  had  reigned  forty  years,  in- 
cluding the  time  of  the  Scythian  dominion. 

107.  Astyages  the  son  of  Cyaxares  succeeded  him  in  the 
kingdom.  He  had  a  daughter,  to  whom  he  gave  the  name  of 
Mandane.  He  dreamt  that  she  made  so  great  a  quantity  of 
water,  as  not  only  filled  his  own  city,  but  overflowed  all  Asia. 
And  having  communicated  this  dream  to  those  of  the  Magi 
who  interpret  dreams,  he  was  exceedingly  alarmed  when  in- 
formed by  them  of  every  particular  ;  and  he  afterwards  gave 
this  Mandane,  when  arrived  at  a  marriageable  age,  to  no  one 
of  the  Medes  who  was  worthy  of  her,  through  dread  of  the 
vision ;  but  to  a  Persian,  named  Cambyses,  whom  he  found 
descended  of  a  good  family,  and  of  a  peaceful  disposition, 
deeming  him  far  inferior  to  a  Mede  of  moderate  rank.  108. 
In  the  first  year  after  Mandane  was  married  to  Cambyses, 
Astyages  saw  another  vision :  it  appeared  to  him  that  a  vine 
grew  up  from  his  daughter's  womb,  and  that  the  vine  covered 
all  Asia.  Having  seen  this  and  communicated  it  to  the 
interpreters  of  dreams,  he  sent  to  Persia  for  his  daughter, 
wlio  was  then  near  her  time  of  delivery ;  and  upon  her  ar- 
rival lie  put  her  under  a  guard,  resolving  to  destroy  what- 
ever should  be  born  of  her ;  for  the  Magian  interpreters  had 
signified  to  him  from  his  vision,  that  the  issue  of  his  daugh- 
ter would  reign  in  his  stead.  Astyages  therefore,  guarding 
against  this,  as  soon  as  Cyrus  was  born,  sent  for  Harpagus, 
a  kinsman  of  his,  and  the  most  faithful  of  all  the  INIedes,  and 
the  manager  of  all  his  affairs,  and  said  to  him,  "  Harpagus, 
on  no  account  fail  to  perform  the  business  I  now  charge  you 

•  Several  passages  of  our  autlior  seem  to  prove  that  Herodotus  wrote 
other  histories  than  those  Avhich  have  come  down  to  us.  In  the  184tli 
chapter  of  this  book  he  speaks  of  his  Assyrian  history;  \n  the  iGlst  of 
the  2nd  of  the  Libyan. 


109;  1 10.  J  ULIO      I.  49 

with;  nor  expose  me  to  danger  by  deceiving  me;  nor,  by 
preferring  another,  draw  ruin  upon  thy  own  head.  Take  tho 
child  that  Mandane  has  given  birth  to,  carry  him  to  your  own 
house  and  kill  him,  and  afterwards  bury  him  in  whatever  way 
you  think  fit."  Harpagus  answered,  "  0  king,  you  have 
never  yet  observed  any  ingratitude  in  me,  and  I  shall  take 
care  never  to  oifend  you  for  the  future.  If  therefore  it  is 
your  pleasure  that  this  thing  should  be  done,  it  is  fitting  that 
I  readily  obey  you."  109.  Harpagus,  having  given  this 
answer,  when  the  child  had  been  put  into  his  hands,  adorned 
as  if  for  death,  returned  home  weeping  ;  and  upon  his  arrival 
lie  told  his  wife  all  that  Astyages  had  said.  She  asked  him, 
"What  then  do  you  purpose  to  do?"  He  answered,  "  Not 
as  Astyages  has  commanded ;  though  he  should  be  yet  more 
outrageous  and  mad  than  lie  is,  I  will  not  comply  with  his 
wishes,  nor  will  I  submit  to  him  by  perlonning  euch  a  murder  ; 
and  for  many  reasons  I  will  not  murder  the  child ;  both  be- 
cause he  is  my  own  relation,  and  because  Astyages  is  old,  and 
has  no  male  offspring  ;  besides,  if,  after  his  death,  the  sovereign- 
ty should  devolve  on  this  daughter,  wliose  son  lie  would  now 
murder  by  my  means,  what  else  remains  for  me  but  the 
greatest  danger  ?  It  is  necessary,  however,  for  my  safety  that 
the  child  should  die,  but  as  necessary  that  one  of  Astyages' 
people  should  be  the  executioner,  and  not  one  of  mine." 
110.  Thus  he  spoke,  and  immediately  sent  a  messenger  for 
one  of  Astyages'  herdsmen,  who  he  knew  grazed  his  cattle  on 
pastures  most  convenient  for  the  purpose,  and  on  mountains 
abounding  witli  wild  beasts.  His  name  was  Mitradates,  and  he 
had  married  his  fellow-servant.  The  name  of  the  woman  to 
whom  he  was  married,  in  the  language  of  Greece  was  CynOy 
and  in  that  of  the  INIedes  Spaco,  for  the  Medes  call  a  bitch 
Spaca.  The  foot  of  the  mountains  at  which  this  herdsman  grazed 
his  cattle,  lies  to  the  north  of  Ecbatana,  towards  the  Euxine 
Sea.  For  the  ]\Iedic  territory  on  this  side  towards  the  Saspires, 
is  very  mountainous,  lofty,  and  covered  with  forests  ;  whereas 
all  the  rest  of  Media  is  level.  When  therefore  the  herdsman,  be- 
ing summoned  in  great  haste,  arrived,  Harpagus  addressed  liini 
as  follows  :  "  Astyages  bids  thee  take  this  infant,  and  expose 
him  on  the  bleakest  part  of  the  mountains,  that  he  may 
speedily  perish  ;  and  has  charged  me  to  add,  that  if  thou 
by  any  means  shouldst  save  the  child,  thou  shalt  die  by  the 


50  HERODOTUS.  [111,112 

most  cruel  death ;  and  I  am  appointed  to  see  the  child  ex- 
posed." 111.  The  herdsman,  having  heard  these  words,  took 
the  infant,  returned  back  by  the  same  way,  and  reached  his 
cottage.  It  so  happened  that  his  own  wife,  whose  confinement 
had  beea  daily  expected,  was  brought  to  bed  whilst  he  was  ab- 
sent in  the  city.  And  each  had  been  in  a  state  of  anxiety  for 
the  other ;  he  being  alarmed  aV)ut  his  wife's  delivery ;  and 
the  woman,  because  Harpagus,  who  had  not  been  accustomed 
to  do  so,  had  sent  for  her  husband.  When  he  returned  and 
came  up  to  her,  she  seeing  him  thus  unexpectedly,  first  asked 
him  why  Harpagus  had  sent  for  him  in  such  haste.  "  Wife," 
said  he,  "when  I  reached  the  city,  I  saw  and  heard  what 
I  wish  I  had  never  seen,  nor  had  ever  befallen  our  masters. 
The  whole  house  of  Harpagus  was  filled  with  lamentations ; 
I,  greatly  alarmed,  went  in,  and  as  soon  as  I  entered,  I  saw  an 
infant  lying  before  me,  panting  and  crying,  dressed  in  gold 
and  a  robe  of  various  colours.  When  Harpagus  saw  me,  he 
ordered  me  to  take  up  the  child  directly,  and  carry  him  away, 
and  expose  him  in  the  part  of  the  mountain  most  fre(iuented 
by  wild  beasts ;  telling  me  at  the  same  time,  that  it  was 
Astyages  who  imposed  this  task  on  me,  and  threatening  the 
severest  punishment  if  I  should  fail  to  do  it.  I  took  up  the 
infant  and  carried  him  away,  supposing  him  to  belong  to 
one  of  the  servants ;  for  I  had  then  no  suspicion  whence  he 
came  ;  though  I  was  astonished  at  seeing  him  dressed  in  gold 
and  fine  apparel^  and  also  at  the  sorrow  which  evidently  pre- 
^vailed  in  theliouse  of  Harpagus.  But  soon  after,  on  my  way 
home,  I  learnt  the  whole  truth,  from  a  servant  who  accom- 
panied me  out  of  the  city,  and  delivered  the  child  into  my 
hands ;  that  he  was  born  of  Mandane,  Astyages*  daughter,  and 
of  Cambyses  son  of  Cyrus,  and  that  Astyages  had  commanded 
him  to  be  put  to  death." 

112.  As  the  herdsman  uttered  these  last  words,  he  un- 
covered the  child,  and  showed  it  to  his  wife ;  she  seeing  that 
the  child  was  large  and  of  a  beautiful  form,  embracad  the 
knees  of  her  husband,  and  with  tears  besought  him  by  no 
means  to  expose  it.  /He  said  that  it  was  impossible  to  do  other- 
wise ;  for  that  spies  would  come  from  Harpagus  to  see  the 
thing  done,  and  he  must  himself  die  the  most  cruel  death  if  he 
should  fail  to  do  it>y  The  woman,  finding  she  could  not  per- 
8uade  her  husband,  again  addressed  him  as  follows :  "  Since| 


li.,     4.j  CLIO.    I.  61 

then,  I  cannot  persuade  you  not  to  expose  the  child,  do  this  at 
least,  if  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  he  should  be  seen  ex- 
posed :  now  I  too  have  been  delivered,  and  delivered  of  a  still- 
born child,  then  take  this  and  expose  it,  and  let  us  bring  up 
the  son  'of  Astyages'  daughter  as  our  own.  Thus  you  will 
neither  be  convicted  of  having  wronged  our  masters,  nor  shall 
we  have  consulted  ill  for  our  own  interests  ;  for  the  child  that 
is  dead  will  have  a  royal  burial,  and  the  dne  tjiat  survives' will 
not  be  deprived  of  life."  113.  The  herdsman  thought  his  wife 
spoke  veryjnuch  to  the  purpose  under  existing  circumstances, 
and  immediately  proceeded  to  act  accordingly :  the  child  that  lie 
had  brought  for  the  purpose  of  putting  to  death  he  delivered  to 
his  wife ;  his  own,  which  was  dead,  he  put  into  the  basket  in 
which  he  had  brought  the  other,  and  having  dressed  it  in  all  the 
finery  of  the  other  child,  he  exposed  it  in  the  most  desolate  part 
of  the  mountains.  On  the  third  day  after  the  infant  had  been 
exposed,  the  herdsman,  having  left  one  of  liis  assistants  as  a 
guard,  went  to  the  city,  and  arriving  at  the  house  of  Harpagus, 
toW  him  he  was  ready  to  show  the  dead  body  of  the  infant. 
Harpagus  accordingly  sent  some  of  the  most  trusty  of  his 
guards,  and  by  that  means  saw  the  body,  and  buried  the 
lierdsman's  child.  Thus  this  cliild  was  buried.  The  other, 
who  afterwards  liad  the  name  of  Cyrus,  was  brought  up  by 
the  herdsman's  wife,  who  gave  him  some  other  name,  and  not 
that  of  Cyrus. 

114.  When  tlio  child  attained  the  age  of  ten  years,  a 
circumstance  of  tlie  following  nature  discovered  him.  He 
was  playing  in  the  village  in  which  the  ox-stalls  were,  with 
boys  of  his  own  age,  in  the  road..  The  boys  who  were  playing 
chose  this  reputed  son  of  the  herdsman  for  their  king. ,  But  he 
appointed  some  of  them  to  build  houses,  and  others  to  be  his 
body-guards  ;  oiie  of  them  to  be  the  King's  eye,  and  to  an- 
other he  gave  the  office  of  bringing  messages  to  him,  assigning 
to  each  his  proper  duty.  Now  one  of  these  boys  who  was 
playing  with  him,  being  son  of  Artembares,  a  man  of  rank 
among  the  M^des,  refused  to  obey  the  orders  of  Cyrus  ;  he 
therefore  commanded  the  Qthers  to  seize  him,  and  when  they 
obeyed,  Cyrus  scourged  the  boy  very  severely.  But  the'  boy, 
as  soon  as  he  was  let  loose,  considering  'that  he  had  been 
treated  with  great  indignHy,  took  it  very  much  to  heart,  and 
jiastening  to  I  he  city,**bmplained  to  his  father  of  the  treat- 


52  HERODOTUS.  [n^.  US- 

ment  he  had  met  with  from  Cyrus,  not  indeed  saying  from 
Cyrus,  (for  he  was  not  yet  known  by  tliat  name,)  but  from 
the  son  of  Astyages'  herdsman.  Artembares,  in  a  transport 
of  anger,  went  immediately  to  Astyages,  and  taking  his  son 
with  him,  said  that  he  suffered  treatment  that. was  not  to  be 
borne,  adding,  "Thus,  O  king,  are  we  insulted  by  your 
slave,  the  son  of  a  herdsman/*^  showing  the  boy's  shoulders. 
115.  Astyages  having  heai^cl  and  seen  what  was  done,  re- 
solving, on  account  of  the  rank  of  Artembares,  to  avenge 
the  indignity  offered  to  the  youth,  sent  for  the  herdsman  and 
his  son.  When  both  came  into  his  presence,  Astyages,  look- 
ing upon  Cyrus,  said,  "  Have  you,  who  are  the  son  of  such  a 
man  as  this,  dared  to  treat  the  son  of  one  of  the  principal  per- 
sons in  my  kingdom  with  such  indignity  ?  "  But  Cyrus  answer- 
ed, "  Sir,  I  treated  liira  as  I  did  witli  justice.  For  the  boys  of 
our  village,  of  whom  he  was  one,  in  their  play  made  me  their 
king,  because  I  appeared  to  them  the  most  fitted  to  that  office. 
Now,  all  the  other  boys  performed  what  they  were  ordered^ 
but  he  alone  refused  to  obey,  and  paid  no  attention  to  my  com- 
mands ;  wherefore  he  was  punished  :  if  then  on  this  account  1 
am  deserving  of  punishment,  here  I  am  ready  to  submit  to 
it."  116.  As  the  boy  was  speaking  thus,  Astyages  recognised 
who  he  was  ;  both  the  character  of  his  face  appeared  like  his 
own,  and  his  answer  more  free  than  accorded  with  his  con- 
dition ;  the  time  also  of  the  exposure  seemed  to  agree  with 
the  age  of  tlie  boy.  Alarmed  at  tliis  discovery,  he  was  for 
some  time  speechless  ;  and  at  last,  having  with  difficulty  re- 
covered himself,  (being  desirous  of  sending  Artembares  away 
in  order  that  he  might  examine  the  herdsman  in  private,)  he 
said,  "Artembares,  I  will  take  care  that  nether  you  nor  your 
son  shall  have  any  cause  of  complaint."/  Thus  he  dismissed 
Artembares  ;  but  the  servants,  at  the  command  of  Astyages, 
conducted  Cyrus  into  an  inner  room  ;  and  when  the  herds- 
man remained  alone,  he  asked  him  in  the  absence  of  wit- 
nesses, whence  he  had  the  boy,  and  from  whose  hands  he  re- 
ceived him  ?  He  affirmed  that  the  boy  was  his  own  son,  and 
that  the  mother  who  bore  him  was  still  living  with  him. 
Astyages  told  liim,  that  he  did  not  consult  his  own  safety 
in  wishing  to  be  put  to  the  torture  ;  and  as  he  said  this  he 
made  a  signal  to  iiis  guards  to  sa'izQ  him.  The  man,  when 
brought  to  the  torture,  discovered  tlie  whole  matter,  and  be- 


117-119]  CLIO.    I.  53 

ginning  from  tlie  outset  he  went  through  it,  speaking  the  truth 
throughout ;  and  concluded  with  prayers  and  entreaties  for 
pardon.  117.  Astyages,  Avhen  the  herdsman  had  confessed  the 
truth,  did  not  concern  liimself  much  about  him  afterwards  ; 
but  attaching  great  blame  to  Plarpagus,  he  ordered  his  guards 
to  summon  him  ;  and  when  Astyages  asked,  "  Harpagus,  by 
what  kind  of  death  did  you  disposfe  of  the  child  which  I  de-^ 
livered  to  you,  born  of  my  daughter?"  Harpagus,  seeing 
the  herdsman  present,  had  not  recourse  to  falsehood,  lest  he 
should  be  detected  and  convicted,  but  said,i  "  O  king,  wlien  I 
had  received  the  infant,  I  carefully  considered  liow  I  could  act 
according  to  your  wish  and  command,  and,  witliout  offending 
you,  I  might  be  free  from  tlie  crime  of  murder  both  in  your 
daughte(r's  sight  and  in  yours.  I  therefore  acted  as  follows  : 
having  sent  for  this  herdsman  I  gave  him  the  child,  saying 
that  you  had  commanded  him  to  put  it  to  death ;  and  in  say- 
ing this  I  did  not  speak  falsely,  for  such  indeed  were  your 
orders.  In  this  manner  I  delivered  the  infant  to  him,  charging 
Iiim  to  place  it  in  some  desert  mountain,  and  to  stay  and 
watch  till  the  child  was  dead,  threatening  the  severest  pun- 
ishment if  he  should  not  fully  carry  out  these  injunctions. 
When  he  had  executed  these  orders,  and  the  child  was  dead,  I 
sent  some  of  the  most  trusty  of  my  euiiuchs,  and  by  means 
of  them  beheld  the  body,  and  buried  it.  This  is  the  whole 
truth,  0  king,  and  such  was  the  fate  of  the  child." 

118.  Thus  Harpagus  told  the  real  truth;  but  Astyages, 
dissembling  the  anger  which  he  felt  on  account  of  what  had 
been  done,  again  related  to  Harpagus  the  whole  matter  as  he 
had  heard  it  from  the  herdsman  ;  and  afterwards,  when  he  had 
repeated  it  throughout,  he  ended  by  saying  that  the  child  was 
alive  and  all  was  welh  "For,"  he  added,  "I  suffered  much 
on  account  of  what  had  been  done  regarding  this  child,  and 
could  not  easily  bear  the  reproaches  of  my  daughter ;'  there- 
fore since  fortune  has  taken  a  morer  favourable  turn,  do  you, 
in  the  first  place,  send  your  own  son  to  accompany  the  boy  I 
have  recovered  ;  and,  in  the  next  place,  (for  I  purpose  to  offer 
a  sacrifice  for  the  preservation  of  tlie  child  to  the  gods,  to 
whom  that  honour  is  due,)  do  you  be  with  me  at  supper." 
119.  Harpagus,  on  hearing  these  words,  when  he  had  paid 
his  homage,  and  had  congratulated  himself  that  his  fault 
had  turned  to  so  good  account,  and  that  he  was  invited  to 


£4  HERODOTUS.  [120. 

tlie  fea^t  uLtler  such  auspicious  circumstcUices,  went  to  his 
own  home.  And  as  soon  as  he  entered  he  sent  his  only  son, 
who  was  about  thirteen  years  of  age,  and  bade  him  go  to 
Astyages,  and  do  Avhatever  he  should  command  ;  and  then, 
being  full  of  joy,  lie  told  his  wife  what  had  happened.  But 
when  tiie  son  of  Harpagus  arrived,  having  slain  him  and  cut 
him  into  joints,  Astyages  roasted  some  parts  of  his  flesh  and 
boiled  others,  and  having  had  them  well  dressed,  kept  tiiem  in 
readiness.  At  the  appointed  hour,  when  the  other  guests  and 
Harpagus  were  come,  tables  full  of  mutton  were  placed  be- 
ibre  the  rest  and  Astyages  himself,  but  before  Harpagus  all 
the  body  of  his  son,  except  the  head,  the  hands,  and  the  feet ; 
these  were  laid  apart  in  a  basket  covered  over.  When 
Harpagus  seemed  to  have  eaten  enough,  Astyages  asked  him 
if  he  was  pleaded  with  the  entertainment ;  and  when  Harpagus 
replied  that  he  was  highly  delighted,  the  officers  appointed 
for  the  purpose  brought  him  the  head  of  his  son  covered  up 
with  the  hands  and  feet,  and  standing  before  Harpagus,  they 
bade  him  uncover  the  basket  and  take  what  he  chose.  Har- 
pagus doing  as  they  desired,  and  uncovering  the  basket,  saw 
the  remains  of  his  son's  body,  but  he  expressed  no  alarm  at 
tlie  sight,  and  retained  his  presence  of  mind  ;  whereupon 
Astyages  asked  him  if  he  knew  of  what  animal  he  had  been 
eating.  He  said  he  knew  very  well,  and  that  whatever  a  king 
did  was  agreeable  to  him.  After  he  had  given  this  answer  he 
gathered  the  remains  of  the  flesh  and  went  home,  purposing, 
as  I  conjectare,  to  collect  all  he  could  and  bury  it. 

120.  Astyages  thus  punished  Harpagus;  and  then  con- 
sidering what  he  should  do  with  Cyrus,  summoned  the  Magi, 
who  had  formerly  interpreted  his  dream.  When  they  were 
come,  Astyages  asked  them  in  what  way  they  had  interpreted 
his  vision.  They  gave  the  same  answer  as  before ;  and  said,  that 
if  the  boy  was  still  alive,  and  had  not  already  died,  he  must  of 
necessity  be  king.  He  answered  them  as  follows  :  "  The  boy 
is  and  still  survives,  and  while  living  in  the  country,  the  boys 
of  the  village  made  him  king,  and  he  has  already  performed 
all  such  things  as  kings  really  do,  for  he  has  appointed  guards, 
door-Keepers,  messengers,  and  all  other  things  in  like  manner ; 
and  now  I  desire  to  know,  to  what  do  these  things  appear  to 
you  to  tend."  The  Magi  answered,  "  If  the  boy  be  living, 
and  has  already  been  a  king  by  no  settled  plan,  you  may  take 


121,122.}  CLIO.    I.  55 

courage  on  his  account  and  make  your  mind  easy,  for  he  will 
not  reign  a  second  time.  For  some  of  our  predictions  termi- 
nate in  trifling  results;  and  dreams,  and  things  like  them,  are 
fulfilled  by  slight  events."  To  this  Astyages  replied,  "I  too, 
0  Magi,  am  very  much  of  the  same  opinion,  that  since  the 
child  has  been  named  king,  the  dream  is  accomplished,  and 
that  the  boy  is  no  longer  an  object  of  alarm  to  me  ;  yet  con- 
sider well,  and  carefully  weigh  what  will  be  the  safest  course 
for  my  family  and  yourselves."  The  Magi  answered,  "0 
king,  it  is  of  great  importance  to  us  that  your  empire  should 
be  firmly  established,  for  otherwise  it  is  alienated,  passing 
over  to  this  boy,  who  is  a  Persian,  and  we,  who  are  Medes, 
shall  be  enslaved  by  Persians,  and  held  in  no  account  as  being 
foreigners ;  whereas  while  you,  who  are  of  our  own  country, 
are  king,  we  have  a  share  in  the  government,  and  enjoy  great 
honours  at  your  hands.  Thus,  then,  we  must  on  every  ac- 
count provide  for  your  safety  and  that  of  your  government ; 
and  now,  if  we  saw  any  thing  to  occasion  alarm  we  should  tell 
you  of  it  beforehand  ;  but  now,  since  the  dream  has  issued  in 
a  trifling  event,  we  ourselves  take  courage,  and  advise  you  to 
do  the  like,  and  to  send  the  boy  out  of  your  sight  to  his 
parents  in  Persia."  121.  When,  therefore,  Astyages  heard 
this  he  was  both  delighted,  and,  having  called  for  Cyrus, 
said  to  him,  "  Child,  I  have  been  unjust  to  you,  by  reason  of 
a  vain  dream  ;  but  you  survive  by  your  own  destiny.  Now 
go  in  happiness  to  Persia,  and  I  will  send  an  escort  to  attend 
you  :  when  you  arrive  there  you  will  find  a  father  and  mo- 
ther very  different  from  the  herdsman  Mitradates  and  his 
wife." 

122.  Astyages,  having  spoken  thus,  sent  Cyrus  away, 
and,  upon  his  arrival  at  the  house  of  Cambyses,  his  parents 
received  him  ;  and  having  received  him,  when  they  heard 
who  he  was  they  embraced  him  with  the  greatest  tenderness, 
having  been  assured  that  he  had  died  immediately  after  his 
birth  ;  and  they  inquired  of  him  by  what  means  his  life  had 
been  preserved.  He  told  them,  saying,  that  before  he  knew 
not,  but  had  been  very  much  mistaken  ;  however,  that  on 
his  road  he  had  heard  the  whole  case  j  for  that  till  that  time 
he  believed  he  was  the  son  of  Astyages'  herdsman.  He  re- 
lated that  he  had  been  brought  up  by  the  herdsman's  wife  ; 
and  he  went  on  constantly  praising  her  ;  and  Cyno  was  the 


66  HERODOTUS.  [123,  124. 

chief  subject  of  liis  talk.  His  parents  Laving  taken  up  this 
name,  (in  order  that  the  I'ersians  might  suppose  that  the 
child  was  somewhat  miraculously  preserved  for  them,)  spread 
about  a  report,  that  a  bitch  had  nourished  him  when  exposed  : 
hence  this  report  was  propagated.  123.  When  Cyrus  had 
reached  man's  estate,  and  proved  the  most  manly  and  beloved 
of  his  equals  in  age,  Harpagus  paid  great  court  to  him, 
sending  him  presents,  from  his  desire  to  be  avenged  on  As- 
tyages  ;  for  he  did  not  see  that  he  liimself,  who  was  but  a 
private  man,  could  be  able  to  take  vengeance  on  Astyages ; 
perceiving,  therefore,  that  Cyrus  was  growing  up  to  be  his 
avenger,  he  contracted  a  friendship  with  him,  comparing  the 
sufferings  of  Cyrus  with  his  own.  And  before  this  he  had 
made  the  following  prep<irations.  Seeing  Astyages  severe 
in  his  treatment  of  the  Medes,  Harpagus,  holding  intercourse 
with  the  chief  persons  of  the  nation,  one  after  another,  per- 
suaded them  that  they  ought  to  place  him  at  their  head, 
and  depose  Astyages.  When  he  had  effected  his  purpose 
in  this  respect,  and  all  was  ready,  Harpagus,  wishing  to  dis- 
cover his  designs  to  Cyrus,  who  resided  in  Persia,  and  hav- 
ing no  other  way  left,  because  the  roads  were  all  guarded, 
contrived  the  following  artifice.  Having  cunningly  con- 
trived a  hare,  by  opening  its  belly,  and  tearing  off  none  of 
the  hair,  he  put  a  letter,  containing  what  he  thought  neces- 
sary to  write,  into  the  body  ;  and  having  sewed  up  the  belly 
of  the  hare,  he  gave  it  with  some  nets  to  the  most  trusty 
of  his  servants,  dressed  as  a  hunter,  and  sent  him  to  Persia  ; 
having  by  word  of  mouth  commanded  him  to  bid  Cyrus,  as 
he  gave  him  the  hare,  to  open  it  with  his  own  hand,  and  not 
to  suffer  any  one  to  be  present  when  he  did  so.  124.  This 
was  accordingly  done,  and  Cyrus  having  received  the  hare, 
opened  it  ;  and  finding  the  letter  which  was  in  it,  he  read 
it ;  and  it  was  to  the  following  purport :  "  Son  of  Cam- 
byses,  seeing  the  gods  watch  over  you,  (for  otherwise  you 
could  never  have  arrived  at  your  present  fortune,)  do  you 
now  avenge  yourself  on  your  murderer  Astyages  ;/for  us 
■—'^Bx  as  regards  his  purpose  you  are  long  since  dead;  but  by 
the  care  of  the  gods  and  of  me  you  survive.  I  suppose  you 
have  been  long  since  informed  both  what  was  done  regard- 
ing yourself,  and  what  I  suffered  at  the  hands  of  Astyages, 
because  I  did  not  put  you  to  death,  but  gave  yon  to  the 


125,  126.]  CLIO.    I  57 

herdsman.  If,  then,  you  will  follow  my  counsel,  you  shall 
rule  over  the  whole  territory  that  Astyages  now  governs. 
Persuade  the  Persians  to  revolt,  and  invade  Media  ;  and 
whether  I  or  any  other  illustrious  Mede  be  appointed  to  com- 
mand the  army  opposed  to  you,  every  thing  will  turn  out  as 
you  wish ;  for  they,  on  the  first  onset,  having  revolted  from 
him,  and  siding  with  you,  will  endeavour  to  depose  him. 
Since,  then,  every  thing  is  ready  here,  do  as  I  advise,  and  do 
it  quickly." 

125.  Cyrus,  having  received  this  intelligence,  began  to 
consider  Dy  what  measures  he  could  best  persuade  the  Persians 
to  revolt ;  and  after  mature  consideration,  he  fixed  upon  the 
following  as  the  most  proper ;  and  accordingly  he  put  it  in 
practice.  Having  written  such  a  letter  as  he  thought  fit,  he 
called  an  assembly  of  the  Persians,  and  then,  having  opened 
the  letter  and  read  it,  he  said  that  Astyages  had  appointed 
him  general  of  the  Persians  :  "  Now,"  he  continued,  "  I  re- 
quire you  to  attend  me,  every  man  with  a  sickle."  Cyrus 
then  issued  such  an  order.  Now  the  Persians  are  divided  into 
many  tribes  ;  and  some  of  them  C^^s  nssemhled  together, 
and  persuaded  to  revolt  from  the  Medes  ;  these  are  they  upon 
whom  the  rest  of  the  TersTans  are  dependent :  the  Pasargada?, 
the  Maraphiuns,  and  the  Maspians  :  of  these  the  Pasargada^  are 
the  most  noble  ;  among  them  is  the  family  of  the  Achaimenida?, 
from  which  the  kings  of  Persia  are  descended.  The  rest  are 
as  follows  :  the  Panthiala3ans,  the  Derusiajans,  and  the  Ger- 
manians  ;  these  are  all  husbandmen  :  the  rest  are  pastoral  ; 
Daians,  Mardians,  Dropicians,  and  Sagartians.  126.  When 
all  were  come  with  their  sickles,  as  had  been  ordered,  Cy- 
rus selected  a  tract  of  land  in  Persia,  which  was  overgrown 
with  briers,  and  about  eighteen  or  twenty  stadia  square, 
and  directed  them  to  clear  it  during  the  day:  when  tlie 
Persians  had  finished  the  appointed  task,  he  next  told  them 
to  come  again  on  the  next  day,  having  first  washed  them- 
selves. In  the  mean  time  Cyrus,  having  collected  together 
all  his  father's  flocks  and  herds,  had  them  killed  and  dress 
ed,  as  purposing  to  entertain  the  Persian  forces,  and  he 
provided  wine  and  bread  in  abundance.  The  next  day, 
when  the  Persians  were  assembled,  he  made  them  lie  down 
on  the  turf,  and  feasted  them ;  and  after  the  repast  was  over, 
Cjrus  asked  them  whether  the  treatment  they  had  received 


58  HERODOTUS.  [127—129. 

tlie  day  before,  or  the  present,  were  preferable.  They  an- 
swered, that  the  difference  was  great ;  for  on  the  preceding 
day  they  had  every  hardship,  but  on  the  present  every  thing 
that  was  good.  Cyrus  therefore  having  received  this  answer, 
discovered  his  intentions,  and  said,  "  Men  of  Persia,  the  case 
stands  thus ;  if  you  will  hearken  to  me,  you  may  enjoy  these, 
and  numberless  other  advantages,  without  any  kind  of  servile 
labour ;  but  if  you  will  not  hearken  to  me,  innumerable  hard- 
ships, like  those  of  yesterday,  await  you.  Now,  therefore,  obey 
me,  and  be  free ;  for  I  am  persuaded  I  am  born  by  divine 
providence  to  undertake  this  work ;  and  I  deem  you  to  be 
men  in  no  way  inferior  to  the  Medes,  either  in  other  respects 
or  in  war:  since  then  these  things  are  so,  revolt  with  all 
speed  from  Astyages." 

127.  The  Persians  then  having  obtained  a  leader,  gladhr^ 
asserted  their  freedom,  having  for  a  long  time  telt  indig- 
nant at  being  governed  by  tlie  Medes.  Astyages,  being  ' 
informed  of  what  Cyrus  was  doing,  sent  a  m.essenger  and 
summoned  him  ;  but  Cyrus  bade  the  messenger  take  back 
word,  "  that  he  would  come  to  him  sooner  than  Astyages 
desired."  When  Astyages  heard  this,  he  armed  all  the  Medes  ; 
and,  as  if  the  gods  had  deprived  him  of  understanding,  made 
Harpagus  their  general,  utterly  forgetting  the  outrage  he  had 
done  him.  And  when  the  Medes  came  to  an  engagement  with 
tlie  Persians,  such  of  them  as  knew  nothing  of  the  plot,  fought ; 
but  others  went  over  to  the  Persians ;  and  the  far  greater 
part  purposely  behaved  as  cowards  and  Hed.  128.  The  army 
of  the  Medes  being  thus  shamefully  dispersed,  as  soon  as  the 
news  was  brought  to  Astyages,  he  exclaimed,  threatening 
Cyrus,  "Not  even  so  shall  Cyrus  have  occasion  to  rejoice." 
Having  so  said,  he  first  impaled  the  Magi,  who  had  interpreted 
his  dream,  and  advised  him  to  let  Cyrus  go  ;  then  he  armed  all 
the  Medes  that  were  left  in  the  city,  both  old  and  young ;  and 
leading  them  out,  he  engaged  the  Persians,  and  was  defeated. 
Astyages  himself  was  made  prisoner,  and  he  lost  all  the  Medes 
whom  he  had  led  out.  129.  Harpagus,  standing  by  Astyages 
after  he  was  taken,  exulted  over  him  and  jeered  him ;  and 
among  other  galling  words,  he  asked  him  also  about  the  supper, 
at  which  he  had  feasted  him  with  his  son's  flesh,  and  inquired 
"  how  he  liked  slavery  in  exchange  for  a  kingdom."  Astyages 
looking  Btedfastly  on  Harpagus,  asked  in  return,  whether  hie 


130.  131.J  CLIO.    I.  69 

thouglit  himself  the  author  of  Cyrus  s  success.  IJarpagus 
said,  lie  did,  for,  as  he  had  written,  the  achievement  was 
justly  due  to  himself.  Astyages  thereupon  proved  him  to  be 
"the  weakest  and  most  unjust  of  all  men:  the  weakest,  in 
giving  the  kingdom  to  another,  which  he  might  have  assumed 
to  himself,  if  indeed  he  had  effected  this  change ;  and  tlie 
most  unjust,  because  he  had  enslaved  the  Medes  on  account 
of  the  supper.  For  if  it  were  absolutely' necessary  to  transfer 
the  kingdom  to  some  one  else,  and  not  to  take  it  himself,  he 
might  with  more  justice  have  conferred  this  benefit  on  some 
one  of  the  Medes  than  on  a  Persian  :  whereas  now  the  Medes, 
who  were  not  at  all  in  fault,  had  become  slaves  instead  of 
masters ;  and  the  Persians,  who  before  were  slaves  to  the 
Medes,  had  now  become  their  masters." 

130.  So  Astyages,  after  he  had  reigned  thirty-five  years, 
was  thus  depps^d'rlind  by  reason  of  his  cruelty  the  Medes 
bent_  unSer  the  Persitm'  yoke,  after  they  had  ruled  over 
aliAsia  beyond  the  river  Ilalys  for  the  space  of  one  hun- 
(IiFe3^  and  twenty-eight  years,*^  excepting  the  interval  of  the 
Scytliian  dominion.  At  a  later  period,  however,  they  re- 
pented of  what  they  had  done,  and  revolted  from  Darius,  but 
being  conquered  in  battle,  were  again  subdued :  but  now  in 
the  time  of  Astyages,  tlie  Persians,  under  the  conduct  of 
Cyrus,  having  risen  against  the  Medes,  have  from  that  time 
been  masters  of  Asia.  As  for  Astyages,  Cyrus  kept  him 
with  liini  till  he  tiled,  without  doing  him  any  further  injury. 
Cyrus  therefore,  having  been  thus  born  and  educated,  came 
to  the  throne ;  and  after  these  events  he  conquered  Cra^sus, 
who  gave  the  first  provocation,  as  I  have  already  related,  and 
having  subdued  him,  he  became  master  of  all  Asia. 
/  131.  The  Persians,  according  to  my  own  knowledge,  ob* 
serve  the  following  customs.  It  is  not  their  practice  to  eject 
statues,  or  temples,  or  altars,  but  they  charge  those  with  folly 


^  According  to  Herodotus,  Deioces  reigned  53  years 
Phraortes    ...  22 
Cyaxares  ....  40 
Astyages  ....  35 


I^P  150 

If  from  this  number  we  subtract  28,  the  time  that  the  Scythians  re  g'.uvl, 
there  remain  but  122 ;  so  that  in  all  probability  a  mistake  has  been  mad« 
in  the  text  by  some  copyist. — Lurcher. 


60  HERODOTUS.  [132,  133. 

vN'lio  do  so;  because,  as  I  conjecture,  they  do  not  think  the 
gods  have  human  forms,  as  the  Greeks  do.  They  are  accus- 
tomed to  ascend  the  highest  parts  of  the  mountains,  and  offer 
sacrifice  to  Jupiter,  and  they  call  the  whole  circle  of  the  hea- 
vens by  the  name  of  Jupiter.  They  sacrifice  to  the  sun  and 
moon,  to  the  earth,  fire,  water,  and  the  winds.  To  these  alone 
they  have  sacrificed  from  the  earliest  times :  but  they  have 
since  learnt  from  the  Arabians  and  Assyrians  to  sacrifice  to 
Venus  Urania,  whom  the  Assyrians  call  Venus  Mylitta,  the 
Arabians,  Alitta,  and  the  Persians,  Mitra.  132.  The  fol- 
lowing is  the  established  mode  of  sacrifice  to  the  above- 
mentioned  deities :  they  do  not  erect  altars  nor  kindle  fires 
when  about  to  sacrifice ;  they  do  not  use  libations,  or  flutes, 
or  fillets,  or  cakes ;  but,  when  any  one  wishes  to  offer  sa- 
crifice to  any  one  of  these  deities,  he  leads  the  victim  to  a 
clean  spot,  and  invokes  the  god,  usually  having  his  tiara 
decked  with  myrtle.  He  that  sacrifices  is  not  permitted  to 
pray  for  blessings  for  himself  alone ;  but  he  is  obliged  to  offer 
prayers  for  the  prosperity  of  all  the  Persians,  and  the  king, 
for  he  is  himself  included  in  the  Persians.  When  he  has  cut 
tlie  victim  into  small  pieces,  and  boiled  the  flesh,  he  strews 
under  it  a  bed  of  tender  grass,  generally  trefoil,  and  then  lays 
all  the  flesh  upon  it:  when  he  has  put  every  thing  in  order, 
one  of  the  Magi  standing  by  sings  an  ode  concerning  the 
origmal  of  the  gods,  which  they  say  is  the  incantation ;  and 
without  one  of  the  Magi  it  is  not  lawful  for  them  to  sacrifice. 
After  having  waited  a  short  time,  he  that  has  sacrificed 
carries  away  the  flesh  and  disposes  of  it  as  he  thinks  fit. 
133.  It  is  their  custom  to  honour  their  birth-day  above 
all  other  days ;  and  on  this  day  they  furnish  their  table  in 
a  more  plentiful  manner  than  at  other  times.  The  rich  then 
produce  an  ox,  a  horse,  a  camel,  and  an  ass,  roasted  whole  in 
an  oven  ;  but  the  poor  produce  smaller  cattle.  They  are  mo- 
derate at  their  meals,  but  eat  of  many  after  dishes,  and  those 
not  served  up  together.  On  this  account  the  Persians  say, 
"  that  the  Greeks  rise  hungry  from  table,  because  nothing 
worth  mentioning  is  brought  in  after  dinner,  and  that  if  any 
thing  were  brought  in,  they  would  not  leave  off  eating."  The 
Persians  are  much  addicted  to  wine  ;  they  are  not  allowed  to 
vomit  or  make  water  in  presence  of  another.  These  customs 
are  observed  to  this  day.     They  are  used  to  debate  the  most 


134—136.]  CLIO.    1.  61 

important  affairs  when  intoxicated  ;  but  whatever  they 
have  determined  on  in  such  deliberations,  is  on  the  following 
day,  when  they  are  sober,  proposed  to  them  by  the  master 
cf  the  house  where  they  have  met  to  consult ;  and  if  they 
approve  of  it  when  sober  also,  then  they  adopt  it ;  if  not,  they 
reject  it.  And  whatever  they  have  first  resolved  on  when 
sober,  they  reconsider  when  intoxicated.  134.  When  they 
meet  one  another  in  the  streets,  one  may  discover  by  the 
following  custom,  whether  those  who  meet  are  equals.  For 
instead  of  accosting  one  another,  they  kiss  on  the  mouth ; 
if  one  be  a  little  inferior  to  the  other,  they  kiss  the  cheek ; 
but  if  he  be  of  a  much  lower  rank,  he  prostrates  himself 
before  the  other.  They  honour,  above  all,  those  who  live 
nearest  to  themselves  ;  in  the  second  degree,  those  that  are 
second  in  nearness  ;  and  after  that,  as  they  go  further  oil', 
they  honour  in  proportion  ;  and  least  of  all  they  honour  those 
who  live  at  the  greatest  distance  ;  esteeming  themselves  to  be 
by  far  the  most  excellent  of  men  in  every  respect ;  and  that 
others  make  approaclies  to  excellence  according  to  the  fore- 
going gradations,  but  that  they  are  the  worst  who  live 
farthest  from  them.  During  the  empire  of  the  Medes,  eacli 
nation  ruled  over  its  next  neighbour,  the  Medes  over  all,  and 
especially  over  those  that  were  nearest  to  them  ;  these  again, 
over  the  bordering  people,  and  the  last  in  like  manner  over 
their  next  neighbours ;  and  in  the  same  gradations  tlie  Per- 
sians honour;  for  that  nation  went  on  extending  its  govern- 
ment and  guardianship.  135.  The  JPersians  are  of  all  na- 
tions most  ready  to  adopt  foreign  customs;  for  they  wear 
the  Medic  costume,  thinking  it  handsomer  than  their  own  ; 
and  in  war  they  use  the  Egyptian  cuirass.  And  they 
practise  all  kinds  of  indulgences  with  which  they  become 
acquainted  ;  amongst  others,  they  have  learnt  from  the 
Greeks  a  passion  for  boys :  they  marry,  each  of  them, 
many  wives  ;  and  keep  a  still  greater  number  of  concu- 
bines. 136.  Next  to  bravery  in  battle,  this  is  considered 
the  greatest  proof  of  manliness,  to  be  able  to  exhibit  many 
children ;  and  to  such  as  can  exhibit  the  greatest  number, 
the  king  sends  presents  every  year  ;  for  numbers  are  consi- 
dered strength.  Beginning  from  the  age  of  five  years  to 
twenty,  they  instruct  their  sons  in  three  things  only  ;  to  ride, 
to  use  the  bow,  and  to  speak  trutli.     Before  he  is  five  years 


62  HERODOTUS.  [137—140 

of  age,  a  son  is  not  admitted  to  the  presence  of  his  father,  but 
lives  entirely  with  the  women  :  the  reason  of  this  custom  is, 
that  if  he  should  die  in  childhood,  he  may  occasion  no  grief 
to  his  father. 

137.  Now  I  much  approve  of  the  above  custom,  as  also  of 
the  following,  that  not  even  the  king  is  allowed  to  put  any  one 
to  death  for  a  single  crime,  nor  any  private  Persian  exercise 
extreme  severity  against  any  of  his  domestics  for  one  fault,  but 
if  on  examination  he  should  find  that  his  misdeeds  are  more 
numerous  and  greater  than  his  services,  he  may  in  that  case 
give  vent  to  his  anger.  They  say  that  no  one  ever  yet  killed 
his  own  father  or  mother,  but  whenever  such  things  have  hap- 
pened they  affirm,  that  if  the  matter  were  thoroughly  searched 
into,  they  would  be  found  to  have  been  committed  by  suppo- 
sititious children  or  those  born  in  adultery,  for  they  hold  it 
utterly  improbable  that  a  true  father  should  be  murdered  by 
his  own  son.  138.  They  are  not  allowed  even  to  mention  the 
things  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  them  to  do.  To  tell  a  lie  is 
considered  by  them  the  greatest  disgrace ;  next  to  that,  to  be 
in  debt ;  and  this  for  many  other  reasons,  but  especially  because 
they  think  that  one  who  is  in  debt  must  of  necessity  tell  lies. 
Whosoever  of  the  citizens  has  the  leprosy  or  scrofula,  is  not 
permitted  to  stay  within  a  town,  nor  to  have  communication 
with  other  Persians  ;  and  they  say  that  from  having  committed 
some  offence  against  the  sun  a  man  is  afflicted  with  these  dis- 
eases. Every  stranger  that  is  seized  with  these  distempers 
many  of  them  even  drive  out  of  the  country  ;  and  they  do  the 
same  to  white  pigeons,  making  the  same  charge  against  them. 
They  neither  make  water,  nor  spit,  nor  wash  their  hands  in  a 
river,  nor  defile  the  stream  with  urine,  nor  do  they  allow  any 
one  else  to  do  so,  but  they  pay  extreme  veneration  to  all 
rivers.  139.  Another  circumstance  is  also  peculiar  to  them, 
which  has  escaped  the  notice  of  the  Persians  themselves,  but 
not  of  us.  Their  names,  which  correspond  with  their  personal 
forms  and  their  rank,  all  terminate  in  the  same  letter  which 
the  Dorians  call  San,  and  the  lonians  Sigma  And  if  you 
inquire  into  this  you  will  find,  that  all  Persian  names,  with- 
out exception,  end  in  the  same  letter.  140.  These  things  1 
can  with  certainty  affirm  to  be  true,  since  I  mj'self  know  them. 
But  what  follows,  relating  to  the  dead,  is  only  secretly  men- 
tioned and  not  openly  ;  viz.  that  the  dead  body  of  a  Persian  ii^ 


141,  142.]  CLIO.     I.  03 

never  buried  until  it  has  been  torn  by  some  bird  or  dog ;  but 
I  know  for  a  certainty  that  the  Magi  do  this,  for  they  do  it 
openly.  The  Persians  then,  having  covered  the  body  with 
wax,  conceal  it  in  the  ground.  The  Magi  differ  very  much 
from  all  other  men,  and  particularly  from  the  Egyptian  priests, 
for  the  latter  hold  it  matter  of  religion  not  to  kill  any  thing 
that  has  life,  except  such  things  as  they  offer  in  sacrifice ; 
whereas  the  Magi  kill  every  thing  with  their  own  hands, 
except  a  dog  or  a  man  ;  and  they  think  they  do  a  meritorious 
thing,  when  they  kill  ants,  serpents,  and  other  reptiles  and 
birds.  And  with  regard  to  this  custom,  let  it  remain  as  it  ex- 
isted from  the  first.  I  will  now  return  to  my  former  subject. 
^  141.  The  lonians  and  jEolians,  as  soon  as  the  Lydians 
were  subdued  BytlT<5~"Fersians,  sent  ambassadors  to  Cyrus  at 
Sardis,  wTsTiing  to  become  subject  to  him,  on  the  same  t(M'ms 
as  they  Tiad'Tieen  to  Croesus.  13ut  he,  when  he  heard  their 
proposal^  told  them  this  story  :  "  A  piper  seeing  some  fishes 
in  the  sea,  began  to  pipe,  expecting  that  they  would  come  to 
shore ;  but  finding  his  hopes  disappointed,  he  took  a  casting- 
net,  and  enclosed  a  great  number  of  fishes,  and  drew  them  out. 
When  he  saw  them  leaping  about,  he  said  to  the  fishes, ,'  Cease 
your  dancing,  since  when  I  piped  you  would  not  come  ouFand 
dancg.***^  Cyrus  told  this  story  to  the  lonians  and  iEolians, 
because  the  lonians^wlien  Cyrus  pressed  tlieni  by  his  ambas- 
sador  to  revolt  from  Cro'sus,  refused  to  eonsent,  and  now, 
wGen  the  business"was'done,  were  ready  to  listen  to  liiin.  lie, 
theretore,  under  th6~in!Tuence  of  anger,  gave  them  this  an- 
swer. But  the  lonians,  when  they  heard  this  message  brought 
back  to  their  cities,  severally  fortified  themselves  with  walls, 
and  met  together  at  the  Panionium,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Milesians  ;  for  Cyrus  made  an  alliance  with  them  only,  on 
the  same  terms  as  the  Lydians  had  done.  The  rest  of  the 
lonians  resolved  unanimously  to  send  ambassadors  to  Sparta, 
to  implore  them  to  succour  the  lonians.  142.  These  lonians, 
to  whom  the  Panionium  belongs,  have  built  their  cities  under 
the  finest  sky  and  climate  of  the  world  that  we  know  of ;  for 
neither  the  regions  that  are  above  it,  nor  those  that  are  below, 
nor  the  parts  to  the  east  or  wes^  are  at  all  equal  to  Ionia  ; 
for  some  of  them  are  oppressed  by  cold  nnd  rain,  others  by 
heat  and  drought.  These  lonians  do  not  all  use  the  same  lan- 
guage, but  have  four  varieties  of  dialect.     Miletus,  the  first 


C4  HERODOTUS.  [143,  144 

of  them,  lies  towards  the  south  ;  next  are  Myus  and  Priene  • 
these  are  situate  in  Caria,  and  use  the  same  dialect.  The 
following  are  in  Lydia;  Ephesus,  Colophon,  Lebedus,  Teos, 
Clazomenag,  Phocaea :  these  cities  do  not  at  all  agree  with 
those  before  mentioned  in  their  language,  but  they  speak  a 
dialect  common  to  themselves.  There  are  three  remaining 
of  the  Ionian  cities,  of  which  two  inhabit  ishinds,  Samos 
and  Chios  ;  and  one,  Erythrae,  is  situated  on  the  continent. 
Now  the  Chians  and  Erythrieans  use  the  same  dialect,  but  the 
Samians  have  one  peculiar  to  themselves.  And  these  are 
the  four  different  forms  of  language. 

143.  Of  these  lonians,  the  Milesiaijs  were  sheltered  from 
danger,  as  they  had  made  an  Alliance.  The  ishmders  also__ 
had  nothing  to  fear ;  for  the  Phoenicians  were  not  yet  sub- 
ject to  the  Persians,  nor  were  the  Persians  themselves  at.__ 
all  acquainted  with  maritime  affairs.  Now  the  Milesiane 
had  seceded  from  the  rest  of  the  lonians  only  for  this  reason, 
that  weak  as  the  Grecian  race  then  was,  the  Ionian  was  weakest 
of  all,  and  of  least  account ;  for  except  Athens,  there  was  no 
other  city  of  note.  The  other  lonians,  therefore,  and  the 
Athenians  shunned  the  name,  and  would  not  be  called  lo- 
nians ;  and  even  now  many  of  them  appear  to  me  to  be 
ashamed  of  the  name.  But  these  twelve  cities  gloried  in  the 
name,  and  built  a  temple  for  their  own  use,  to  which  they 
gave  the  name  of  Panionium  ;  and  they  resolved  not  to  com- 
municate privileges  to  any  other  of  the  lonians  ;  nor  indeed 
have  any  others,  except  the  Smyrnaeans,  desired  to  participate 
in  them.  144.  In  the  same  manner,  the  Dorians  of  the 
present  Pentapolis,  which  was  before  called  Hexapolis,  take 
care  not  to  admit  any  of  the  neighbouring  Dorians  into  tlie 
temple  at  Triopium,  but  excluded  from  participation  such  oi 
tlieir  own  community  as  have  violated  the  sacred  laws.  For 
in  the  games  in  honour  of  Triopian  Apollo,  they  formerly  gave 
brazen  tripods  to  the  victors ;  and  it  was  usual  for  those  who 
gained  them  not  to  carry  them  out  of  the  temple,  but  to  dedi- 
cate them  there  to  the  god  :  liowever,  a  man  of  Halicarnassus, 
whose  name  was  Agasicles,  having  won  the  prize,  disregarded 
their  custom,  and  carrying  away  the  tripod  hung  it  up  in  his 
own  house  ;  for  this  offence,  the  five  cities,  Lindus,  lalyssus, 
Cameirus,  Cos,  and  Cnidus,  excluded  the  sixth  city,  Halicar- 
nassus, from  participation  ;  on  them,  therefore,  they  imposed 


145—147.]  OLIO.     I.  65 

this  punishment.  145.  Tlie  lonians  appear  to  me  to  have 
formed  themselves  into  twelve  cities,  and  to  have  refused  to 
admit  more,  for  the  following  reason,  because  when  they  dwelt 
in  Peloponnesus  there  were  twelve  divisions  of  them,  as  now 
there  are  twelve  divisions  of  the  Achaeans,  who  drove  out  the 
lonians.  Pellene  is  the  first  towards  Sicyon  ;  next  -^gyra 
and  JEige,  in  which  is  the  ever-flowing  river  Crathis,  from 
which  the  river  in  Italy  derived  its  name ;  then  Bura  and 
Helice,  to  which  the  lonians  fled  when  they  were  defeated 
by  the  Achteans ;  JEgium,  Rhypes,  Patrees,  Pharees,  and 
Olenus,  in  which  is  the  great  river  Pirus ;  lastly  Dyma  and 
Tritaees,  the  only  inland  places  among  them.  146.  These  now 
are  the  twelve  divisions  of  the  Achasans,  which  formerly  be- 
longed to  the  lonians  ;  and  on  tliat  account  the  lonians  erected 
twelve  cities.  For  to  say  that  these  are  more  properly  lonians, 
or  of  more  noble  origin  than  other  lonians,  would  be  great 
folly ;  since  the  Abantes  from  Euboea,  who  had  no  connexion 
even  in  name  with  Ionia,  are  no  inconsiderable  part  of  this 
colony ;  and  Minyan-Orchomenians  are  intermixed  with 
tliem,  and  Cadmjeans,  Dryopians,  Phocians,  (wlio  separated 
themselves  from  the  rest  of  their  countrymen,)  and  Molossians, 
Pelasgians  of  Arcadia,  Dorian  Epidaurians,  and  many  other 
people,  are  intermixed  with  them  ;  and  those  of  them  who  set 
out  from  the  Prytaneum  of  Athens,  and  who  deem  themselves 
the  most  noble  of  the  lonians,  brought  no  wives  with  them 
when  they  came  to  settle  in  this  country,  but  seized  a  numbei 
of  Carian  women,  after  they  had  killed  their  men  :  and  on  ac- 
count of  this  massacre  these  women  established  a  law  and 
imposed  on  themselves  an  oath,  and  transmitted  it  to  their 
daughters,  that  they  would  never  eat  with  their  husbands,  nor 
ever  call  them  by  the  name  of  husband ;  because  they  had 
killed  their  fathers,  their  husbands,  and  their  children,  and 
then  after  so  doing  had  forced  them  to  become  their  wives. 
This  was  done  in  Miletus.  147.  The  lonians  appointed  kings 
to  govern  them  ;  some  choosing  Lycians,  of  the  posterity 
of  Glaucus  son  of  Hippolochus  ;  others  Cauconian  Pylians,  de- 
scended from  Codrus  son  of  Melanthus  ;  others  again  from 
both  those  families.  However,  they  are  more  attached  to  tlie 
name  of  lonians  than  any  others  ;  let  it  be  allowed  then  that 
they  are  genuine  lonians :  still,  all  are  lonians,  who  derive 
their   original  from    Athens,   and    celebrate   the   Apaturian 


^Q  HERODOTUS.  tl48— 151. 

festival ;  but  all  do  so  except  the  Epliesians  and  Colophoniang  ; 
lor  these  alone  do  not  celebrate  the  Apaturian  festival,  on 
some  pretext  of  a  murder.  148.  The  Panionium  is  a  sacred 
place  in  Mycale,  looking  to  the  north,  and  by  the  lonians  con 
secrated  in  common  to  Heliconian  Neptune ;  and  Mjcale  is  a 
headland  on  the  continent,  stretching  westward  towards  Samos. 
At  this  place  the  lonians,  assembling  from  the  various  cities, 
were  accustomed  to  celebrate  the  festival  to  which  they  gave 
the  name  of  Panionia  ;  and  not  only  do  the  festivals  of  the 
lonians,  but  all  the  festivals  of  all  the  Greeks  terminate,  like 
the  Persian  names,^  in  the  same  letter.  These  then  are  the 
Ionian  cities.  "     '         -«•*—"       ■ 

— ^  149.  The  following  are  the  ^olian  ;  Cyme,  called  also 
Phriconis,  Larissse,  Neon-teichos,  Temnos,  Cilia,  Notium, 
iEgiroessa,  Pitane.  JEgadse,  Myrina,  and  Grynia  :  these  are 
eleven  of  the  ancient  cities  of  the  iEolians  ;  for  one  of  them, 
Smyrna,  was  taken  away  from  them  by  the  lonians  ;  for  they 
too  had  twelve  cities  on  the  continent.  These  jEolians  have 
settled  in  a  more  fertile  country  than  the  lonians,  but  not 
equal  in  climate.  150.  The  ^olians  lost  Smyrna  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner.  They  received  into  their  city  certain  Colo- 
phonians,  who  were  unsuccessful  in  a  sedition  and  driven  from 
their  country.  But  some  time  after,  the  Colophonian  exiles, 
having  watched  the  opportunity  while  the  Smyrnjeans  were 
celebrating  a  festival  to  Bacchus  outside  the  walls,  shut  to  the 
gates,  and  seized  the  city.  But  when  all  the  JEolians  came 
to  the  assistance  of  the  Smyrnaeans,  an  agreement  w^as  made,  , 
that  the  lonians  should  restore  the  moveable  property,  and 
that  the  ^olians  should  abandon  Smyrna.  When  the  Smyr- 
nasans  did  this,  the  other  eleven  cities  distributed  them  amongst 
themselves  and  gave  them  the  privilege  of  citizens.  151. 
These  then  are  the  ^olian  cities  on  the  continent ;  besides 
those  settled  on  Mount  Ida ;  for  these  are  altogether  distinct. 
But  of  those  that  occupy  islands,  five  cities  are  situated  in 
Lesbos  ;  for  the  sixth  in  Lesbos,  Arisba,  the  Methymnaeans  re- 
duced to  slavery,  although  they  were  of  kindred  blood  ;  one 
city  is  situated  in  Tenedos  ;  and  another  in  what  are  called  the 
Hundired  Islands.  Accordingly  the  Lesbians  and  Tenedians, 
as  well  as  the  loiiirais  of  the  Islands,  had  nothing  to  fear ;  but 

•  See  ch.  130. 


152-154.]  CLIO.    I.  €7 

^^Hl  the  other  cities  resolved  with  one  accord  to  follow  the 

^^Konians,  wherever  they  should  lead  the  way. 

^K  152.  When  the  ambassadors  of  the  lonians  and  iEoliana 

^^■rrivedyyt^piHaTX^EoFth     was  done  with  alT'possibTe  speed,; 

^HCeymadechoice  of  a  Phocaean,  whose  name  was  Pythermus. 

^Hp  speak  in  behalf  of  all ;  he  then,  having  put  on  a  purple  robe, 

^^n  order  that  as  many  as  possible  of  the  Spartans  might  hear 
of  it  and  assemble,  and  having  stood  forward,  addressed  them 
at  length,  imploring  their  assistance.  But  the  Lacedaemonians 
would  not  listen  to  him,  and  determined  not  to  assist  the 
lonians :  they  therefore  returned  home.  Nevertheless  the 
Lacedaemonians,  though  they  had  rejected  the  Ionian  ambas- 
sadors, despatched  men  in  a  penteconter,  as  I  conjecture,J;o 
keep  an  eye  upon  the  affairs  of  Cyrus  and  Ionia.  These  men 
arriving  in  Phocaea,  sent  the  most  eminent  person  among  them, 
whose  name  was  Lacrines,  to  Sardis,  to  warn  Cyrus  in  the 
name  of  the  Lacedaemonians,  "  not  to  injure  any  city  on  the 
Grecian  territory,  for  in  that  case  they  would  not  pass  it  by 
unnoticed."  153.  When  the  herald  gave  this  message,  it  is 
related  that  Cyrus  inquired  of  the  Grecians  who  were  present, 
who  tlie  Lacedaemonians  were,  and  how  many  in  number,  that 
they  sent  him  such  a  warning.  And  when  informed,  he  said 
to  the  Spartan  herald,  "  I  was  never  yet  afraid  of  those,  who  in 
the  midst  of  their  city  have  a  place  set  apai"t,  in  winch  fhey 
Collect  and  cheat  one  anotlier  by  false  oaths  ;  and  if  I  continue 
m  health,  not  the  calamities  of  the  lonians  shall  be  talked  about^ 
but  theTr"""own7'^  This  taunt  of  Cyrus  was  levelled  at  the 
Grecians  in  general,  who  have  markets  ibr  the  purposes  of 
buying  and  selling^;  for  theTersians  themselves  are  not  accus 
toin(3d  t6  use  marKets,  nor  have  they  such  a  thing  as  a  market 
After  this,  Cyrus,  having  intrusted  Tabalus  a  Persian  with  the 
government  of  Sardis,  and  appointed  Pactyas  a  Lydinn  to 
bring  away  the  gold,  both  that  belonging  to  Croesus  and  to  the 
other  Lydians,  took  Croesus  with  him,  and  departed  for  Ecba- 
tana,  for  from  the  first  he  took  no  account  of  the  lonians. 
But  Babylon  was  an  obstacle  to  him,  as  were  also  the  Bactri- 
ans,  the  Sacae,  and  the  Egyptians  ;  against  whom  he  resolved 
to  lead  an  army  in  person,  and  to  send  some  other  general 
against  the  lonians.  154.  But  as  soon  as  Cyrus  had  marched 
from  Sardis,  Pactyas  prevailed  on  the  Lydians  to  revolt  from 
Tabalus  and  Cyrus  j  and  going  down  to  the  sea-coast,  with  all 

r  2 


68  HERODOTUS.  [155,  16d 

the  gold  ij&kidn  from  Sardis  in  his  possession,  he  hired  merce- 
naries and  persuaded  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast  to  join  him  ; 
and  then  having  marched  against  Sardis,  he  besieged  Tabalus, 
who  was  shut  up  in  the  citadel. 
y  155.  When  Cyrus  heard  this  news  on  his  march,  he  said  to 

f  Croesus  ;  "  Croesus,  what  will  be  the  end  of  these  things  ?  the 
Lydians,  it  seems,  will  never  cease  to  give  trouble  to  me,  and 
to  themselves.  I  am  in  doubt  whether  it  will  not  be  better  to 
reduce  them  to  slavery ;  for  I  appear  to  have  acted  like  one 

.who,  having  killed  the  father,  has  spared  the  children  ;  so  I 
am  carrying  away  you,  who  have  been  something  more  than  a 
father  to  the  Lydians,  and  have  intrusted  their  city  to  tlie 
Lydians  themselves  :  and  then  I  wonder  at  their  rebellion  ! " 
Now  he  said  what  he  had  in  contemplation  to  do  :  but  Croesus, 
fearing  lest  he  should  utterly  destroy  Sardis,  answered,  "  Sir, 
you  have  but  too  much  reason  for  what  you  say  ;  yet  do  not 
give  full  vent  to  your  anger,  nor  utterly  destroy  an  ancient 
city,  which  is  innocent  as  well  of  the  former  as  of  the  present 
offence :  for  of  the  former  I  myself  was  guilty,  and  now  bear 
the  punishment  on  my  own  head ;  but  in  the  present  instance 
Pactyas,  to  whom  you  intrusted  Sardis,  is  the  culprit ;  let  him 
therefore  pay  the  penalty.  But  pardon  the  Lydians,  and  en- 
join them  to  observe  the  following  regulations,  to  the  end  that 
they  may  never  more  revolt,  nor  be  troublesome  to  you  :  send 
to  them  and  order  them  to  keep  no  weapons  of  war  in  theii 
possession  ;  and  enjoin  them  to  wear  tunics  under  their  cloaks. 
and  buskins  on  their  feet ;  and  require  them  to  teach  their 
sons  to  play  on  the  cithara,  to  strike  the  guitar,  and  to  sell  by 
retail ;  and  then  you  will  soon  soe  them  becoming  women  in- 
stead of  men,  so  that  they  will  never  give  you  any  apprehen- 
sions about  their  revolting."  156.  Croesus  suggested  this 
plan,  thinking  it  would  be  more  desirable  for  the  Lydians, 
than  that  they  should  be  sold  for  slaves  ;  and  being  persuaded, 
that  unless  he  could  suggest  some  feasible  proposal,  he  should 
not  prevail  with  him  to  alter  his  resolution :  and  he  di-caded 
ftlso,  lest  the  Lydians,  if  they  should  escape  the  present  danger, 
might  hereafter  revolt  from  the  Persians,  and  bring  utter  ruin 
on  themselves.  Cyrus,  pleased  with  the  expedient,  laid  aside 
his  anger,  and  said  that  he  would  follow  his  advice :  then  hav- 
ing sent  for  Mazares,  a  Mede,  he  commanded  him  to  order  the 
Lydians  to  conform  themselves  to  the  regulations  proposed  by 


167—159.]  OLIO.     I,  69 

Cpcesus,  and  moreover  to  enslave  aJ  the  rest  who  had  joined 
tlie~JLydians  in  the  attack  on  Sardis  ;  but  by  all  means  to  bring 
Pactyas  to  him  alive.  157.  Cyrus  then  having  given  these 
orders  on  his  way,  proceeded  to  the  settlements  of  the  Persians. 
But  Pactyas  hearing  that  the  army  which  was  coming  against 
him  was  close  at  hand,  fled  in  great  consternation  to  Cyme ; 
and  Mazares  the  Mede  having  marched  against  Sardis  with  an 
inconsiderable  division  of  Cyrus's  army,  when  he  found  that 
Pactyas  and  his  party  were  no  longer  there,  in  the  first  place 
compelled  the  Lydians  to  conform  to  the  injunctions  of  Cyrus  ; 
and  by  his  order  the  Lydians  completely  changed  their  mode 
of  life  :  after  this  Mazares  despatched  messengers  to  Cyme,  re- 
quiring them  to  deliver  up  Pactyas.  But  the  Cyma^ans,  in 
order  to  come  to  a  decision,  resolved  to  refer  the  matter  to  the 
deity  at  Branchidos,  for  there  was  there  an  oracular  shrine, 
erected  in  former  times,  which  all  the  lonians  and  iEolians 
were  in  the  practice  of  consulting :  this  place  is  situated  in 
Milesia,  above  the  port  of  Panormus.^  158.  The  Cymoeans 
tlierefore,  having  sent  persons  to  consult  the  oracle  at  Bran- 
chidfc,  asked  "what  course  they  should  pursue  respecting 
Pactyas,  that  would  be  most  pleasing  to  the  gods  :"  tiie  an- 
swer to  their  question  was,  that  they  should  deliver  up  Pactyas 
to  the  Persians.  When  the  Cyma^ans  heard  this  answer  re- 
ported, they  determined  to  give  him  up  ;  but  though  most  ot 
them  came  to  tliis  determination,  Aristodicus  the  son  of  Hera- 
clides,  a  man  of  high  repute  among  the  citizens,  distrusting 
the  oracle,  and  suspecting  the  sincerity  of  the  consulters,  pre- 
vented them  from  doing  so ;  till  at  last  other  messengers, 
among  whom  was  Aristodicus,  went  to  inquire  a  second  time 
concerning  Pactyas.  159.  When  they  arrived  at  Branchidte, 
Aristodicus  consulted  tlie  oracle  in  the  name  of  all,  inquiring 
in  these  words :  "  O  king,  Pactyas,  a  Lydian,  has  come  to  us 
as  a  suppliant,  to  avoid  a  violent  death  at  the  hands  of  the 
Persians.  They  now  demand  him,  and  require  the  Cymroans  to 
give  him  up.  We,  however,  though  we  dread  the  Persian  power, 
have  not  yet  dared  to  surrender  the  suppliant,  till  it  be  plainly 
declared  by  thee  what  we  ought  to  do."  Such  was  the  inquiry 
of  Aristodicus  ;  but  the  oracle  gave  the  same  answer  as  before, 

'  It  will  be  proper  to  remark,  that  there  were  two  places  of  that  name  ; 
and  that  this  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  part  of  Panormus,  in  lb* 
vii  inity  of  Kphesus.     Beloe, 


70  HERODOTUS.  -  [160-162. 

and  bade  them  surrender  Pactyas  to  the  Persians.  Upon  this 
Aristodicus  deliberately  acted  as  follows ;  walking  round  the 
temple,  he  took  away  the  sparrows  and  all  other  kinds  of  birds 
that  had  built  nests  in  the  temple ;  and  while  he  was  doing 
this,  it  is  reported,  that  a  voice  issued  from  the  sanctuary,  and 
addressing  Aristodicus,  spoke  as  follows :  "  O  most  impious  of 
men,  how  darest  thou  do  this  ?  Dost  thou  tear  my  suppliants 
from  my  temple?"  Aristodicus  without  hesitation  answered, 
"  0  king,  art  thou  then  so  careful  to  succour  thy  suppliants, 
but  biddest  the  Cymasans  to  deliver  up  theirs  ?"  The  oracle 
again  rejoined  :  "  Yes,  I  bid  you  do  so  ;  that  having  acted  im- 
piously, ye  may  the  sooner  perish,  and  never  more  come  and 
consult  the  oracle  about  the  delivering  up  of  suppliants."  160. 
When  the  Cymaeans  heard  this  last  answer,  they,  not  wishing 
to  bring  destruction  on  themselves  by  surrendering  Pactyas, 
or  to  subject  themselves  to  a  siege  by  protecting  him,  sent 
him  away  to  Mitylene.  But  the  Mitylenaeans,  when  Mazares 
sent  a  message  to  them  requiring  them  to  deliver  up  Pactyas, 
were  preparing  to  do  so  for  some  remuneration  ;  what,  I  am 
unable  to  say  precisely,  for  the  proposal  was  never  completed. 
For  the  Cymaeans,  being  informed  of  what  was  being  done  by 
the  Mitylenaeans,  despatched  a  vessel  to  Lesbos,  and  trans- 
ported Pactyas  to  Chios,  whence  he  was  torn  by  violence  from 
the  temple  of  Minerva  Poliuchus  by  the  Cliians,  and  delivered 
up.  The  Chians  delivered  him  up  in  exchange  for  Atarneus  ; 
this  Atarneus  was  a  place  situate  in  Mysia,  opposite  Lesbos 
In  this  manner  Pactyas  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Persians ; 
therefore  having  got  possession  of  Pactyas,  they  kept  him 
under  guard  in  order  that  they  might  deliver  him  up  to  Cyrus. 
And  for  a  long  time  ^fter  this,  none  of  the  Chians  would  oifer 
barley-meal  from  Atarneus  to  any  of  the  gods,  or  make  any 
cakes  of  the  fruit  that  came  from  thence  ;  but  all  the  produc- 
tions of  that  country  were  excluded  from  the  temples.  Thus 
the  Chians  gave  up  Pactyas.  161.  Mazares,  after  this, 
max'ched  against  those  who  had  assisted  in  besieging  Tabalus; 
and  in  the  first  place  he  reduced  the  Prienians  to  slavery,  and 
in  tlie  next  overran  the  whole  plain  of  the  Maeander,  and  gave 
it  to  his  army  to  pillage;  and  he  treated  Magnesia  in  the  same 
manner :  and  shortly  afterwards  he  fell  sick  and  died. 

162.  On  his  death  Harpagus  came  down  as  his  successor  in 
the  command  ;  he  also  was  by  birth  a  Mede,  the  same  whom 


163,  164.]  CLIO.    I.  71 

Astyages  king  of  the  Medes  entertained  at  an  impious  feast, 
and  who  assisted  Cyrus  in  ascending  the  throne.  This  man 
being  appointed  general  by  Cyrus,  on  his  arrival  in  Ionia,  took 
several  cities  by  means  of  earthworks  ;  for  he  forced  the  peo- 
ple to  retire  within  their  fortifications,  and  then,  having  heaped 
up  mounds  against  the  walls,  he  carried  the  cities  by  storm. 
Phocaia  was  the  first  place  in  Ionia  that  he  attacked. 

163.  These  Phocaeans  were  the  first  of  all  the  Grecians 
who  undertook  long  voyages,  and  they  are  the  people  who  dis- 
covered the  Adriatic  and  Tyrrhenian  seas,  and  Iberia,  and 
Tartessus.^  They  made  their  voyages  in  fifty-oared  galleys, 
and  not  in  merchant-ships.'^  When  they  arrived  at  Tartessus 
they  were  kindly  received  by  the  king  of  the  Tartessians, 
whose  name  was  Argantlionius  ;  he  reigned  eighty  years  over 
Tartessus,  and  lived  to  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  twenty. 
The  Phocaians  became  such  great  favourites  with  him,  tliat  he 
at  first  solicited  them  to  abandon  Ionia,  and  to  settle  in  any 
part  of  his  territory  they  should  choose  ;  but  afterwards,  find- 
ing he  could  not  prevail  with  the  Phocaeans  to  accept  his  offer, 
and  hearing  from  them  the  increasing  power  of  the  Mede,  he 
gave  tliem  money  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  wall  round  their 
city ;  and  he  gave  it  unsparingly,  for  the  wall  is  not  a  few 
stades  in  circumference,  and  is  entirely  built  of  large  and  well- 
compacted  stone.  164.  Now  the  wall  of  the  Phocaeans  had 
been  built  in  the  above  manner  ;  but  when  Harpagus  marched 
his  army  against  them,  he  besieged  them,  having  first  offered 
terms :  "  that  he  would  be  content  if  the  Phocajans  would 
throw  down  only  one  of  their  battlements,  and  consecrate  one 
house  to  the  king's  use."  The  Phocneans,  detesting  slavery, 
said,  "that  they  wished  for  one  day  to  deliberate,  and  would 
then  give  their  answer;"  but  while  they  were  deliberating 
they  required  him  to  draw  off  his  forces  from  the  wall.  Har- 
pagus said,  that  "  though  he  well  knew  their  design,  yet  he 
would  permit  them  to  consult  together."  In  the  interval,  then, 
during  which  Harpagus  withdrew  his  army  from  the  wall,  the 
Phocaeans  launched  their  fifty-oared  galleys,  and  having  put 
their  wives,  children,  and  goods  on  board,  together  with  the 
images  from  the  temples,  and  other  offerings,  except  works  of 

*  Tartessus  was  situated  between  the  two  branches  of  the  Boetis,  (novr 
Guadalquiver,)  through  which  it  discharges  itself  into  the  sea. 
»  See  Note  »,  B.  I.  c.  2. 


72  HERODOTUS.  [165-167. 

jrass  or  stone,  or  pictures, — with  these  exceptions,  having  put 
every  thing  on  board,  and  embarked  themselves,  they  set  sail 
for  Chios  :  and  the  Persians  took  possession  of  Phocaea,  aban- 
doned by  all  its  inhabitants.  165.  The  Phocaeans,  when  the 
Chians  refused  to  sell  them  the  (Enyssaj  islands,  for  fear  they 
should  become  the  seat  of  trade,  and  their  own  island  be  thereby 
excluded,  thereupon  directed  their  course  to  Cyrnus ;  where, 
by  the  admonition  of  an  oracle,  they  had  twenty  years  before 
built  a  city,  named  Alalia.  But  Arganthonius  was  at  that 
time  dead.  On  their  passage  to  Cyrnus,  having  first  sailed 
down  to  Phocjea,  they  put  to  death  the  Persian  garrison  which 
had  been  left  by  Harpagus  to  guard  the  city.  Afterwards, 
when  this  was  accomplished,  they  pronounced  terrible  impre- 
cations on  any  who  should  desert  the  fleet :  besides  this,  they 
sunk  a  mass  of  red-hot  iron,  and  swore  ''that  they  would 
never  return  to  Phocasa,  till  this  burning  mass  should  appear 
again."  Nevertheless,  as  they  were  on  their  way  towards 
Cyrnus,  more  than  one  half  of  the  citizens  were  seized  with 
regret  and  yearning  for  their  city  and  dwellings  in  the  country, 
and  violating  their  oaths,  sailed  back  to  Phocaea ;  but  such  of 
them  as  kept  to  their  oath,  weighed  anchor  and  sailed  from  the 
Q^nysriae  islands.  166.  On  tlieir  arrival  at  Cyrnus  they  lived 
for  five  years  in  common  with  the  former  settlers :  but  as  they 
ravaged  the  territories  of  all  their  neighbours,  the  Tyrrhenians 
and  Cartliaginians  combined  together  to  make  war  against 
them,  each  with  sixty  ships  :  and  the  Phocaeans,  on  their  part, 
liaving  manned  their  ships,  consisting  of  sixty  in  number,  met 
them  in  the  Sardinian  Sea ;  and  having  engaged,  the  Phocaeans 
obtained  a  kind  of  Cadmean  victory  \^  for  forty  of  their  own 
ships  were  destroyed,  and  the  twenty  that  survived  were  dis- 
abled, for  their  prows  were  blunted.  They  therefore  sailed 
oack  to  Alalia,  and  took  on  board  their  wives  and  children, 
with  what  property  their  ships  were  able  to  carry,  and  leaving 
Cyrnus,  sailed  to  Rhegium.  167.  As  to  the  men  belonging 
to  the  ships  destroyed,  most  of  them  fell  into  the  hands  ^  of  the 

'  A  proverbial  expression,  importing,  "  that  the  victors  suffered  more 
than  the  vanquished." 

^  I  have  ventured  to  depart  from  tlie  usiial  rendenng  of  this  passage 
even  thougli  it  has  the  sanction  of  Bachr.  It  is  commonly  inferred  froir 
the  use  of  the  word  ikaxov,  that  tlie  Carthaginians  and  Tyrrheniana 
"  divided  their  prisoners  by  lot/*  That  word  appears  to  me,  however, 
only  to  mean  that  "  they  happened  to  take  them," — "  it  was  their  cut  to 


f 


(68-170.  CLIO.    I.  73 

Carthaginians  and  Tyrrhenians,  who  took  them  on  shore,  and 
stoned  them  to  death.  But  afterwards  all  animals  belonging 
to  the  Agyllaeans  that  passed  by  the  spot  where  the  Phocceans 
who  had  been  stoned  lay,  became  distorted,  maimed,  and 
crippled,  as  well  sheep,  as  beasts  of  burden,  and  men.  The 
Agyllaeans  therefore,  being  anxious  to  expiate  the  guilt,  sent 
to  Delphi ;  and  the  Pythia  enjoined  them  to  use  those  rites 
which  tlie  Agyllaeans  still  observe ;  for  they  commemorate 
their  death  with  great  magnificence,  and  have  established 
gymnastic  and  equestrian  contests.  This  was  the  fate  of 
these  Phocaeans ;  but  the  otliers  who  fled  to  Rhegium,  left 
that  place,  and  got  possession  of  that  town  in  the  territory 
of  Q^^notria,  which  is  now  called  Hyela,  and  they  colonized 
this  town  by  the  advice  of  a  certain  Posidonian,  who  told  them 
the  Pythia  had  directed  them  to  establish  sacred  rites  to  Cyrnus 
as  being  a  hero,  but  not  to  colonize  the  island  of  that  name. 

168.  llie  Teisins  also  acted  nearly  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  Phocaeans?  For  when  Harpagus  by  means  of  his  earth- 
worksTTaxT'mlide  himself  master  of  their  walls,  they  all  went 
on  board  their  ships,  and  sailed  away  to  Thrace,  and  there  set- 
tled in  the  city  of  Abdera  ;  which  Timesius  of  Clazomenae 
having  formerly  founded,  did  not  enjoy,  but  was  driven  out  by 
the  Thracians,  and  is  now  honoured  as  a  hero  by  the  Tcians 
of  Abdera. 

169.  These  were  the  only  lonians  who  abandoned  their 
country  rsitlier  than  submit  to  servitude.  Th^  rest,  except 
tlie  IMilesians,  gave  battle  to  Harpagus,  and  as  well  as  tlio5-o 
wlio  abandoned  their  country,  proved  themselves  brave  men, 
each  fighting  for  his  own  ;  but  being  defeated  and  subdued, 
they  severally  remained  in  their  own  countries,  and  submitted 
to  the  commands  imposed  on  them.  But  the  Milesians,  as  1 
have  before  mentioned,^  having  made  a  league  with  Cyrus,  re- 
mained quiet.  Thus  then  was  Ionia  a  second  time  enslaved  ;^ 
and  when  Harpagus  had  subdued  the  lonians  on  the  continent, 
those  that  occupied  the  ishmds,  dreading  the  same  fate,  made 
tlieir  submission  to   Cyrus.       170.  When  the  lonians  were 

take  them."     Indeed  I  behove  that  wherever  Herodotus  speaks  of  an 
actual  casting  of  lots,  he  always  adds  some  word  that  expresses  the  ac- 
tion or  method  of  ailotting;,  as  KXvpw  Xa-x^ovra,  in.  83 ;    ■ira>.Xo/iit:/»r  Si 
\ayxavEi,  iii.  128  ;  tov  ttuKw  XaxofTa,  iv.  94,  and  15-3. 
»  Ch.  143.  6  .^nev;])    6  and  28. 


74  HERODOTUS.  [171. 

brought  to  this  wretched  condition,  and  nevertheless  still  held 
assemblies  at  PamoiduBa,  I  am  informed  that  Bias..of  Priene 
gave  them  mo^TsaTutary  advice,  which,  if  they  had  hear^n^d'"* 
to  him,  would  have  made  them  the  most  flourishing  of  all  the 
Grecians.     He  advised,  "that  the  lonians,  having  weighed, 
anchor,  should  sail  in  one  common  fleet  to  Sardinia,  jmd  then 
build  one  city  for  all  the  lonians  ;  thus  being  freed^lrom  servi- 
tude, they  would  flourish,  inhabiting  the  most  considerable  of 
the  islands,  and  governing  the  rest ;  whereas  if  they  remained 
in  Ionia,  he  saw  no  hope  of  recovering  their  liberty."     This 
was  the  advice  of  Bias  the  Prienean,  after  the  lonians  were 
'•uined.     But  before  Ionia  was  ruined,  the  advice  of  Thales^ 
(he  Milesian,  who  Avas  of  Phoenician  extraction,  was  also  good. 
Ha  advised  the  lonians  to  constitute  one  general  council  in 
TepSj  which  stands  in  the  centre  of  Ionia  ;    aiTJd'tTiaFtlfeTest 
if  the  inhabited  cities  should  nevertheless  be  governed  asin-^L. 
dependent  states.     Such  was  the  advice  they  severally  gave. 

171.  Ilarpagus  having  subdued  Ionia,  marchedjjgTunslthe__ 
Carians,  Caunians,  Lycians,  lonjans,  and  ^olians.  Of  these 
the  Carians  had  come  from  the  islands  to  the  continent.  For 
being  subjects  of  Minos,  and  anciently  called  Leleges,  they  oc- 
cupied the  islands  without  paying  any  tribute,  as  far  as  I  am 
able  to  discover  by  inquiring  into  the  remotest  times,  but, 
whenever  he  required  them,  they  manned  his  ships  ;  and  as 
Minos  subdued  a  large  territory,  and  was  successful  in  war, 
the  Carians  were  by  far  the  most  famous  of  all  nations  in  those 
times.  They  also  introduced  three  inventions  which  the 
Greeks  have  adopted.  For  the  Carians  set  the  example  of 
fastening  crests  upon  helmets,  and  of  putting  devices  on  shields ; 
they  are  also  the  first  who  put  handles  to  shields  ;  but  until 
their  time  all  who  used  shields  carried  them  without  handles, 
guiding  them  with  leathern  thongs,  having  them  slung  round 
their  necks  and  left  shoulders.  After  a  long  time  had  elapsed, 
the  Dorians  and  lonians  drove  the  Carians  out  of  the  islands, 
and  so  they  came  to  the  continent.  This  then  is  the  account 
that  the  Cretans  give  of  the  Carians :  the  Carians  themselves 
however  do  not  admit  its  correctness  ;  but  consider  themselves 
to  be  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the  continent,  and  always  to 
have  gone  under  the  same  name  as  they  now  do.  And  in 
testimony  of  this,  they  show  an  ancient  temple  of  Jupiter 
Carius  at  Mylasa,  which  the  Mysians  and  Lydians  share,  a« 


i 


172,173.]  CLIO.    I.  T5 

kinsmen  to  the  Carians,  for  they  say  that  Ljdus  and  Mysus 
were  brothers  to  Car.  Now  they  do  share  the  temple,  but 
none  who  are  of  a  different  nation,  though  of  the  same  lan- 
guage with  the  Carians,  are  allowed  to  share  it.  172.  The 
Caunians,  in  my  opinion,  are  aboriginals,  though  they  say 
they  are  from  Crete.  However,  they  have  assimilated  their 
language  to  that  of  the  Carians,  or  the  Carians  to  theirs ;  for 
this  I  cannot  determine  with  certainty.  Their  customs  ?ve 
totally  distinct  from  those  of  other  nations,  even  from  the  Cl 
rians  ;  for  they  account  it  very  becoming  for  men,  women, 
and  boys,  to  meet  together  to  drink  according  to  their  age 
and  intimacy.  They  had  formerly  erected  temples  to  foreign 
deities,  but  afterwards,  when  they  changed  their  minds,  (for 
they  resolved  to  have  none  but  their  own  national  deities,)  all 
the  Caunians  armed  themselves,  both  young  and  old,  and 
beating  the  air  with  their  spears,  marched  in  a  body  to  the 
Calindian  confines,  and  said  they  were  expelling  strange  gods. 
Tliey  then  have  such  customs.  173.  The  Lycians  were  origin- 
ally sprung  from  Crete,  for  in  ancient  time  Crete  was  entirely 
in  the  possession  of  barbarians.  But  a  dispute  having  arisen 
between  Sarpedon  and  Minos,  sons  of  Europa,  respecting  the 
sovereign  power,  when  Minos  got  the  upper  hand  in  the  strug- 
gle, he  drove  out  Sarpedon  with  his  partisans  ;  and  they  being 
expelled  came  to  the  land  of  Milyas  in  Asia :  for  the  country 
which  the  Lycians  now  occupy  was  anciently  called  Milyas  ; 
but  the  Milyans  were  then  called  Solymi.  So  long  as  Sarpedon 
reigned  over  them,  they  went  by  the  name  of  Termila^,  which 
they  brought  with  them,  and  the  Lycians  are  still  called  by 
that  name  by  their  neighbours.  But  when  Lycus  son  of  Pan- 
dion,  who  was  likewise  driven  out  by  his  brother  iEgeus, 
came  from  Athens,  the  Termilaj  under  Sarpedon,  in  course  of 
time,  got  to  be  called  Lycians  after  him.  Their  customs  are 
partly  Cretan  and  partly  Carian  ;  but  they  have  one  peculiar 
to  themselves,  in  which  they  differ  from  all  other  nations  ;  for 
they  take  their  name  from  their  mothers  and  not  from  their 
fathers  ;  so  that  if  any  one  ask  another  who  he  is,  he  will  de- 
scribe himself  by  his  mother's  side,  and  reckon  up  his  mater- 
nal ancestry  in  the  female  line.  And  if  a  free-born  woman 
marry  a  slave,  the  children  are  accounted  of  pure  birth  ;  but 
\f  a  man  who  is  a  citizen,  even  though  of  high  rank,  marry  a 


t6  HERODOTUS.  |174— 17«. 

foreignei    Dr  cohabit  with  a  concubine,  the  children  are  in« 
jpnous. 

f     174.  Now  the  Carians  were  subdued  by  Harpagus,  with- 
out having  done  any  memorable  action  in  their  own  defence 
and  not  only  the  Carians,  but  all  the   Grecians  that  inhabit 

l^hose  parts,  behaved  themselves  with  as  little  courage.     And 
among  others  settled  there,  are  the  Cnidians,  colonists  from 
the  Lacedagmonians,  whose  territory  juts  on  the  sea,  and  h 
called  the  Triopean  :  but  the  region  of  Bybassus  commencec 
from  the  peninsula,  for  all  Cnidia,  except  a  small  space,  ii 
surrounded  by  water  ;  (for  the  Ceramic  gulf  bounds  it  on  th< 
north,  and  on  tlie  south  the  sea  by  Syme  and  Rhodes  :  no^ 
this  small  space,  which  is  about  five  stades  in  breadth,  th^ 
Cnidians,  wishing  to  make  their  territory  insular,  designed  t< 
dig  through,  while  Harpagus  was  subduing  Ionia.     For  the 
whole  of  their  dominions  were  within  the  isthmus  ;  and  when 
the  Cnidian  territory  terminates  towards  the  continent,  there 
is  the  isthmus  that  they  designed  to  dig  through.  But  as  the] 
were  carrying  on  the  work  with  great  diligence,  the  workmei 
appeared  to  be  wounded  to  a  greater  extent  and  in  a  moi 
strange  manner  than  usual,  both  in  other  parts  of  the  body 
and  particularly  in  the  eyes,  by  the  chipping  of  the  rock  ;  the^ 
therefore  sent  deputies  to   Delphi  to  inquire  what  was  tli 
cause  of  the  obstruction  ;  and,  as  the  Cnidians  say,  the  Py< 
thia  answered  as  follows  in  trimeter  verse :    "  Build  not 
tower  on   the  isthmus,  nor  dig  it  through,  for  Jove  woulc 
have  made  it  an  island  had  he  so  willed."     When  the  Pythij 
had  given  this  answer,  the  Cnidians  desisted  from  their  worl 
and  surrendered  without  resistance  to  Harpagus,  as  soon  as 
he  approached  with  his   army.      175.  The  Pedasians  were 
situate  inland  above  Halicarnassus  ;   when  any   mischief  is 
about  to  befal  them  or  their  neighbours,  the  priestess  of  Mi- 
nerva has  a  long  beard  :  this  has  three  times  occurred.     Now 
these  were  the  only  people  about  Caria  who  opposed  Harpa- 
gus for  any  time,  and  gave  him  much  trouble,  by  fortifying  a 
mountain  called  Lyda.      176.  After  some  time,  however,  the 
Pedasians  were  subdued.   The  Lycians,  when  Harpagus  march- 
ed his  array  towards  the  Xanthian  plain,  went  out  to  meet  him, 
and  engaging  with  very  inferior  numbers,  displayed  great  feats 
of  valour.     But  being  defeated  and  shut  up  within  their  city, 


177—179.]  CLIO.     I.  77 

they  collected  their  wives,  children,  property,  and  servants 
within  the  citadel,  and  then  set  fire  to  it  and  burnt  it  to  the 
ground.  When  they  had  done  this,  and  engaged  themselves 
by  the  strongest  oaths,  all  the  Xanthians  went  out  and  died 
fighting.  Of  the  modern  Lycians,  who  are  said  to  be  Xan- 
thians, all,  except  eighty  families,  are  strangers  ;  but  these 
eighty  families  happened  at  the  time  to  be  away  from  home, 
and  so  survived.  Thus  Harpagus  got  possession  of  Xanthus 
and  Caunia  almost  in  the  same  manner  ;  for  the  Caunians 
generally  followed  the  example  of  the  Lycians. 

177.  Harpagus  therefore  reduced  the  lower  parts  of  Asia, 
but  Cyrus  colli]  uered  tlie  ujjpef  "par'ta,  SUbflumg  every  nation 
Without  ex^ption.  The  greatest  part  of  these  I  shall  pass 
By  without  notice;  but  I  will  make  mention  of  those  which 
gave  him  most  trouble,  and  are  most  worthy  of  being  re- 
corded. 

178.  When  Cyrus  had  reduced  all  the  other  parts  of  the 
continent,  he  attacked  the  Assyrians.  Now  Assyria  con- 
tains many  large  cities,  but  the  most  renowned  and  the 
strongest,  and  where  the  seat  of  government  was  estabhshed 
after  tlie  destruction  of  Nineveh,  was  Babylon,  which  is  of  the 
following  description.  The  city  stands  in  a  spacious  plain,  and 
is  quadrangular,  and  shows  a  front  on  every  side  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  stades  ;  these  stades  make  up  the  sum  of  four 
hundred  and  eighty  in  the  whole  circumference.  Such  is  the 
size  of  the  city  of  Babylon.  It  was  adorned  in  a  manner  sur- 
passing any  city  we  are  acquainted  with.  In  the  first  place, 
a  moat  deep,  wide,  and  full  of  water,  runs  entirely  round  it  ; 
next,  there  is  a  wall  fifty  royal  cubits  in  breadth,  and  in  height 
two  hundred,  but  the  royal  cubit  is  larger  than  the  common 
one  by  three  fingers'  breadth.  179.  And  here  I  tliink  I  ought 
to  explain  how  the  earth,  taken  out  of  the  moat,  was  consumed, 
and  in  what  manner  the  wall  was  built.  As  they  dug  tiie 
moat  they  made  bricks  of  the  earth  that  was  taken  out ;  and 
when  they  had  moulded  a  sufiicient  number  they  baked  tliem 
in  kilns.  Then  making  use  of  hot  asphalt  for  cement,  and 
laying  wattled  reeds  between  the  thirty  bottom  courses  of 
bricks,  they  first  built  up  the  sides  of  the  moat,  and  after- 
wards the  wall  itself  in  the  same  manner ;  and  on  the  top  of 
fhe  wall,  at  the  edges,  they  built  dwellings  of  one  story,  front- 
ing each  other,  and  they  left  a  space  between  these  dwellings 


78  HERODOTUS.  1180-181 

sufficient  for  turning  a  chariot  with  four  horses.  In  the  cir 
cumference  of  the  wall  there  were  a  hundred  gates,  all  oi 
brass,  as  also  are  the  posts  and  lintels.  Eight  days'  journej 
from  Babylon  stands  another  city,  called  Is,  on  a  small  rivei 
of  the  same  name,  which  discharges  its  stream  into  the 
Euphrates  ;  now,  this  river  brings  down  with  its  water  man3 
lumps  of  bitumen,  from  whence  the  bitumen  used  in  the  waf 
of  Babylon  was  brought.  180.  In  this  manner  Babylon  waj 
encompassed  with  a  wall.  And  the  city  consists  of  two  di 
visions,  for  a  river,  called  the  Euphrates,  separates  it  in  the 
middle:  this  river,  which  is  broad,  deep,  and  rapid,  flows 
from  Armenia,  and  falls  into  the  Red  Sea.  The  wall  there 
fore  on  either  bank  has  an  elbow  carried  down  to  the  river 
from  thence  along  the  curvatures  of  each  bank  of  the  river^ 
runs  a  wall  of  baked  bricks.  The  city  itself,  which  is  full  of 
houses  three  and  four  stories  high,  is  cut  up  into  straight 
streets,  as  well  all  the  other  as  the  transverse  ones  that  lead  to 
the  river.  At  the  end  of  each  street  a  little  gate  is  formed  in 
the  wall  along  the  river-side,  in  number  equal  to  the  streets ; 
and  they  are  all  made  of  brass,  and  lead  down  to  the  edge  of 
the  river.  181.  This  outer  wall  then  is  the  chief  defence,  but 
another  wall  runs  round  within,  not  »hiuch  inferior  to  the 
other  in  strength,  though  narrower.  In  the  middle  of  each  di- 
vision of  the  city  fortified  buildings  were  erected  ;  in  one,  the 
royal  palace,  with  a  spacious  and  strong  enclosure,  brazen- 
gated  ;  and  in  the  other,  the  precinct  of  Jupiter  Belus,  which 
in  my  time  was  still  in  existence,  a  square  building  of  two 
stades  on  every  side.  In  the  midst  of  this  precinct  is  built  a 
soHd  tower  of  one  stade  both  in  length  and  breadth,  and  on 
this  tower  rose  another,  and  another  upon  that,  to  the  number 
of  eight.  And  an  ascent  to  these  is  outside,  running  spirally 
round  all  the  towers.  About  the  middle  of  the  ascent  there 
is  a  landing-place  and  seats  to  rest  on,  on  which  those  who  go 
up  sit  down  and  rest  themselves  ;  and  in  the  uppermost  tower 
stands  a  spacious  temple,  and  in  this  temple  is  placed,  hand- 
somely furnished,  a  large  couch,  and  by  its  side  a  table  of  gold. 
No  statue  has  been  erected  within  it,  nor  does  any  mortal 
pass  the  night  there,  except  only  a  native  woman,  chosen  by 
the  god  out  of  the  whole  nation,  as  the  Chaldeans,  who  are 
priests  of  this  deity,  say.  182.  These  same  priests  assert, 
though  I  cannot  credit  what  they  say,  that  the  god  himself 


183—185.]  CLIO.     I.  79 

)mes  to  the  temple  and  reclines  en  the  bed,  in  the  same  man- 
ler  as  the  Egyptians  say  happens  at  Thebes  in  Egypt,  for 
there  also  a  woman  lies  in  the  temple  of  Theban  Jupitei-,  and 
>th  are  said  to  have  no  intercourse  with  men  ;  in  the 
ime  manner  also  the  priestess,  who  utters  the  oracles  at 
*ataraB  in  Lycia,  when  the  god  is  there,  for  there  is  not  an 
'acle  there  at  all  times,  but  when  there  she  is  shut  up  during 
the  night  in  the  temple  with  the  god.  1&3.  There  is  also  an- 
)ther  temple  below,  within  the  precinct  at  Babylon  ;  in  it  is  a 
large  golden  statue  of  Jupiter  seated,  and  near  it  is  placed  a 
large  table  of  gold,  the  throne  also  and  the  step  are  of  gold^ 
which  together  weigh  eight  hundred  talents,  as  the  Chaldaeans 
affirm.  Outside  the  temple  is  a  golden  altar ;  and  another 
large  altar,  where  full-grown  sheep  are  sacrificed  ;  for  on  the 
golden  altar  only  sucklings  may  be  offered.  On  the  great 
altar  the  Chaldaeans  consume  yearly  a  thousand  talents  of 
frankincense  when  they  celebrate  the  festival  of  this  god. 
Tiiere  was  also  at  that  time  within  the  precincts  of  this 
temple  a  statue  of  solid  gold,  twelve  cubits  high  :  I  indeed  did 
not  see  it,  I  only  relate  what  is  said  by  the  Chaldaeans.  Da- 
rius, son  of  riystaspes,  formed  a  design  to  take  away  this 
statue,  but  dared  not  il*  so ;  but  Xerxes,  son  of  Darius,  took 
it,  and  killed  the  priest  who  forbade  him  to  remove  it.  Thus, 
tlien,  this  temple  was  adorned ;  and  besides  there  are  many 
private  offerings. 

184.  There  were  many  others  who  reigned  over  Babylon, 
whom  I  shall  mention  in  my  Assyrian  history,  who  beau- 
tified the  walls  and  temples,  and  amongst  them  were  two 
women.  The  first  of  these,  named  Semiramia,  lived  five  gener- 
ations before  the  other  ;  she  raised  mounds  along  the  plain, 
which  are  worthy  of  admiration  ;  for  before,  the  river  used  to 
overflow  the  whole  plain  like  a  sea.  185.  But  the  other,  who 
was  queen  next  after  her,  and  whose  name  was  Nitocris,  (she 
was  much  more  sagacious  than  the  queen  before  her,)  in  the 
first  place  left  monuments  of  herself,  which  I  shall  presently 
describe ;  and  in  the  next  place,  when  she  saw  the  power  ot 
the  Medes  growing  formidable  and  restless,  and  that,  among 
other  cities,  Nineveh  was  captured  by  them,  she  took  every 
possible  precaution  for  her  own  defence.  First  of  all,  with  re- 
spect to  the  river  Euphrates,  which  before  ran  in  a  straiglit 
line,  and  which  flows  through  the  middle  of  the  city,  this,  by 


80  HERODOTUS.  [186, 

having  channels  dug  above,  she  made  so  winding,  that  in 
its  course  it  touches  three  times  at  one  and  the  same  village 
in  Assyria :  the  name  of  this  village  at  which  the  Euphrates 
touches,  is  Arderica :  and  to  this  day,  those  who  go  from  our 
sea  to  Babylon,  if  they  travel  by  the  Euphrates,  come  three 
times  to  this  village  on  three  successive  days.  She  also  raised 
on  either  bank  of  the  river  a  mound,  astonishing  for  its  mag- 
nitude and  height.  At  a  considerable  distance  above  Baby- 
lon, she  had  a  reservoir  for  a  lake  dug,  carrying  it  out  some 
distance  from  the  river,  and  in  depth  digging  down  to  water, 
and  in  width  making  its  circumference  of  four  hundred  and 
twenty  stades  :  she  consumed  the  soil  from  this  excavation 
by  heaping  it  up  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  when  it  was 
completely  dug,  she  had  stones  brought  and  built  a  casing  to 
it  all  round.  She  had  both  these  works  done,  the  river  made 
winding,  and  the  whole  excavation  a  lake,  in  order  that  the 
current,  being  broken  by  frequent  turnings,  might  be  more 
slow,  and  the  navigation  to  Babylon  tedious,  and  that  after- 
the  voyage,  a  long  march  round  the  lake  might  follow.  All 
this  was  done  in  that  part  of  tlic  country  where  the  approach 
to  Babylon  is  nearest,  and  where  is  the  shortest  way  for  the 
Medes  ;  in  order  that  the  Medes  might  not,  by  holding  inter- 
course with  her  people,  become  acquainted  with  her  affairs. 
186.  She  enclosed  herself,  therefore,  with  these  defences  by 
digging,  and  immediately  afterwards  made  the  following  ad- 
dition. As  the  city  consisted  of  two  divisions,  which  were 
separated  by  the  river,  during  the  reign  of  former  kings, 
when  any  one  had  occasion  to  cross  from  one  division  to  the 
other,  he  was  obliged  to  cross  in  a  boat :  and  this,  in  my 
opinion,  was  very  troublesome  :  she  therefore  provided  for 
this,  for  after  she  had  dug  the  reservoir  for  the  lake,  she  leJft 
this  other  monument  built  by  similar  toil.  She  had  large 
blocks  of  stone  cut,  and  when  they  were  ready  and  the  place 
was  completely  dug  out,  she  turned  the  whole  stream  of  the 
river  into  the  place  she  had  dug :  while  this  was  filled,  and 
the  ancient  channel  had  become  dry,  in  the  first  place,  she 
lined  with  burnt  bricks  the  banks  of  the  river  throughout  th< 
city,  and  the  descents  that  lead  from  the  gates  to  the  river, 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  walls.  In  the  next  place,  about  the 
middle  of  the  city,  she  built  a  bridge  with  the  stones  she  had 
prepared,  and  bound  them  tog^'ther  with  plates  of  lead  and 


187— 189  J  CLIO.     I.  81 

iron.  Upon  these  stones  she  laid,  during  the  day,  square 
planks  of  timber,  on  which  the  Babylonians  might  pass  over  ; 
but  at  night  these  planks  were  removed,  to  prevent  people 
from  crossing  by  night  and  robbing  one  another.  When  th* 
hollow  that  was  dug  had  become  a  lake  filled  by  the  river,  and 
the  bridge  was  finished,  she  brought  back  the  river  to  its  an- 
cient channel  from  the  lake.  And  thus,  the  excavation  hav- 
ing been  turned  into  a  marsh,  appeared  to  answer  the  purpose 
for  which  it  was  made,  and  a  bridge  was  built  for  the  use  of 
tiie  inhabitants. 

187.  This  same  queen  also  contrived  the  following  de- 
ception. Over  the  most  frequented  gate  of  the  city  she 
prepared  a  sepulchre  for  herself,  high  up  above  the  gate 
itself;  and  on  the  sepulchre  she  had  engraved.  Should  anv 

ONE  OF  MY  SUCCESSORS,  KINGS  OF  BaBYLON,  FIND  HIMSELF  IN 
WANT  OF  MONEY,  LET  HIM  OPEN  THIS  SEPULCHRE,  AND  TAKE 
AS  MUCH  AS    HE  CHOOSES  ;    BUT   IF   HE    BE   NOT   IN  WANT,  LET 

HIM  NOT  OPEN  iT  ;  FOR  THAT  WERE  NOT  AVELL.  This  monu- 
ment remained  undisturbed,  until  the  kingdom  fell  to  Darius  ; 
but  it  seemed  hard  to  Darius  that  this  gate  should  be  of  no 
use,  and  that  when  money  was  lying  there,  and  this  money 
inviting  him  to  take  it,  he  should  not  do  so  ;  but  no  use  was 
made  of  this  gate  for  this  reason,  that  a  dead  body  was  over 
the  head  of  any  one  who  passed  through  it.  He  therefore 
opened  the  sepulchre,  and  instead  of  money,  found  only  the 
body,  and  these  words  written  :  IIadst  tiiou  not  been  insa- 

TLVBLY  COVETOUS,  AND  GREEDY  OF  TIIE  MOST  SORDID  GAIN, 
THOU  WOULDEST    NOT   HAVE    OPENED  THE    CHAMBERS   OF  THE 

DEAD.      Such  then  is  the  account  given  of  this  queen. 

188.  Cyrus  made  war  against  the  son  of  this  queen,  who 
bore  the  name  of  his  father  Labynetus,  and  had  the  empire  of 
Assyria.  Now  when  the  great  king  leads  his  army  in  person, 
he  carries  with  him  from  home  provisions  well  prepared  and 
cattle  ;  and  he  takes  with  him  water  from  the  river  Choaspes, 
which  flows  past  Susa,  of  which  alone,  and  no  other,  the 
king  drinks.  A  great  number  of  four-wheeled  carriages 
drawn  by  mules  carry  the  water  of  this  river,  after  it  has 
been  boiled  in  silver  vessels,  and  follow  him  from  place  to 
place  wherever  he  marches.  189.  When  Cyrus,  in  his  march 
against  Babylon,  arrived  at  the  river  Gyndes,  whose  fountains 
are  in  Hie,  Matianian  mountains,  and  which  flows  through  th« 

a 


82  HERODOTUS.  [190,  191. 

land  of  the  Dardanians,  and  falls  into  another  river,  the  Ti- 
gris ;  which  latter,  flowing  by  the  city  of  Opis,  discharges 
itself  into  the  Red  Sea  : — now,  when  Cyrus  was  endeavouring 
to  cross  this  river  Gyndes,  which  can  be  passed  only  in 
boats,  one  of  the  sacred  white  horses  through  wantonness 
plunged  into  the  stream,  and  attempted  to  swim  over,  but  the 
stream  having  carried  him  away  and  drowned  him,  Cyrus 
was  much  enraged  with  the  river  for  this  affront,  and  threat 
ened  to  make  his  stream  so  weak,  that  henceforth  women 
should  easily  cross  it  without  wetting  their  knees.  After  this 
menace,  deferring  his  expedition  against  Babylon,  he  divided 
his  army  into  two  parts  ;  and  having  so  divided  it,  he  marked 
out  by  lines  one  hundred  and  eighty  channels,  on  each  side  of 
the  river,  diverging  every  way  ;  then  having  distributed  his 
army,  he  commanded  them  to  dig.  His  design  was  indeed 
executed  by  the  great  numbers  he  employed  ;  but  they  spent 
the  whole  summer  in  the  work.  190.  When  Cyrus  liad 
Avenged  himself  on  the  river  Gyndes,  by  distributing  it  into 
three  hundred  and  sixty  channels,  and  the  second  spring  be- 
gan to  shine,  he  then  advanced  against  Babylon.  But  the 
Babylonians,  having  taken  the  field,  awaited  his  coming  ;  and 
when  he  had  advanced  near  the  city,  the  Babylonians  gave 
battle,  and,  being  defeated,  were  shut  up  in  the  city.  But  as 
they  had  been  long  aware  of  the  restless  spirit  of  Cyrus,  and  saw 
that  he  attacked  all  nations  alike,  they  had  laid  up  provisions 
for  many  years  ;  and  therefore  were  under  no  apprehensions 
about  a  siege.  On  the  other  hand,  Cyrus  found  himself  in 
difficulty,  since  much  time  had  elapsed,  and  his  affairs  were 
not  at  all  advanced.  191.  Whether  therefore  some  one  else 
made  the  suggestion  to  him  in  his  perplexity,  or  whetlier 
he  himself  devised  the  plan,  he  had  recourse  to  the  following 
stratagem.  Having  stationed  the  bulk  of  his  army  near  the 
passage  of  the  river  where  it  enters  Babylon,  and  again  hav- 
ing stationed  another  division  beyond  the  city,  where  tlie 
river  makes  its  exit,  he  gave  orders  to  his  forces  to  enter  the 
city  as  soon  as  they  should  see  the  stream  fordable.  Having 
thus  stationed  his  forces,  and  given  these  directions,  he  him- 
self marched  away  with  the  ineffective  part  of  his  army  ;  and 
having  come  to  the  lake,  Cyrus  did  the  same  with  respect  to 
the  river  and  the  lake  as  the  queen  of  the  Babylonians  had 
done.     For  having  diverted  the  river,  by  means  of  a  caua)» 


>1, 192.]  CLIO.     I.  83 

to  the  lake,  which  was  before  a  swamp,  he  made  the  an- 
ient channel  fordable  by  the  sinking  of  the  river.     When 
;his  took  place,  the  Persians  who  were  appointed  to  that  pur- 
se close  to  the  stream  of  the  river,  which  had  now  subsided 
about  the  middle  of  a  man's  thigh,  entered  Babylon  by  this 
assage.     If,  however,  the  Babylonians  had  been  aware  of  it 
forehand,  or  had  known  what  Cyrus  was  about,  they  would 
ot  have  suflfered  the  Persians  to  enter  the  city,  but  would 
ave  utterly  destroyed  them  ;  for  having  shut  all  the  little 
ates  that  lead  down  to  the  river,  and  mounting  the  walls 
at  extend  along  the  banks  of  the   river,  they  would  have 
ught  them  as  in  a  net ;  whereas  the  Persians  came  upon 
em  by  surprise.     It  is  related  by  the  people  who  inhabited 
is  city,  that  by  reason  of  its  great  extent,  when  they  who 
ere  at  the  extremities  were  taken,  those  of  the  Babylonians 
ho  inhabited  the  centre  knevv  nothing  of  the  capture  ;  (for 
happened  to  be  a  festival ;/ but  they  were  dancing  at  the 
ime,  and  enjoying  tliemselves,  till  they  received  certain  in- 
formation of  the  truth  :  and  thus  Babylon  was  taken  for  lUe. 
''rst  time."^ 

.  How  great  was  the  power  of  the  Babylonians,  I  can 
rove  by  many  other  circumstances,  and  especially  by  the  fol- 
lowing. The  whole  territory  over  which  the  great  king  reigns, 
is  divided  into  districts  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  subsistence 
:or  him  and  his  army,  in  addition  to  the  usual  tribute ;  now, 
whereas  there  are  twelve  months  in  the  year,  the  Babylonian 
territory  provides  him  with  subsistence  for  four  months,  and 
all  the  rest  of  Asia  for  the  remaining  eight :  thus  the  territory 
of  Assyria  amounts  to  a  third  part  of  the  power  of  all  Asia, 
and  the  government  of  this  region,  which  the  Persians  call  a 
satrapy,  is  considerable  ;  since  it  yielded  a  full  artabe  of  silver 
every  day  to  Tritaechmes  son  of  Artabazus,  who  held  this  dis- 
trict from  the  king  ;  the  artabe  is  a  Persian  measure,  contain- 
ing three  Attic  choenice&  iiore  than  the  Attic  medimnus.  And 
he  had  a  private  stud  of  i>orses,  in  addition  to  those  used  in 
war,  of  eight  hundred  stallions,  and  sixteen  thousand  mares  ; 
for  each  stallion  served  twenty  mares.  He  kept  too  such  a 
number  of  Indian  dogs,  that  four  considerable  towns  in  the 
plain  were  exempted  from  all  other  taxes,  and  appointed  to 
find  food  for  the  dogs.     Such  were  the  advantages  accruing 

'  It  was  again  taken  by  Darms.     See  Book  III.  chap.  159. 
fi  2 


84:  HEIIODOTUS  [193,  i&l 

to  the  governor  of  Babylon.  193.  The  land  of  Assyria  is  bu( 
little  watered  by  rain,  and  that  little  nourishes  the  root  of  thi 
corn  ;  however,  the  stalk  grows  up,  and  the  grain  comes  to 
maturity,  by  being  irrigated  from  the  river,  not,  as  in  Egypt, 
by  the  river  overflowing  the  fields,  but  it  is  irrigated  by  fhe 
hand  and  by  engines.  For  the  Babylonian  territory,  like 
Egypt,  is  intersected  by  canals  ;  and  the  largest  of  these  is 
navigable,  stretching  in  the  direction  of  the  winter  sunrise;* 
and  it  extends  from  the  Euphrates  to  another  river,  the  river 
Tigris,  on  which  the  city  of  Nineveh  stood.  This  is,  of  all 
lands  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  by  far  the  best  for  the 
growth  of  corn :  but  it  does  not  carry  any  show  of  producing 
trees  of  any  kind,  neither  the  fig,  nor  the  vine,  nor  the  olive ; 
yet  it  is  so  fruitful  in  the  produce  of  corn,  that  it  yields  con- 
tinually two  hundred-fold,  and  when  it  produces  its  best,  it 
yields  even  three  hundred-fold.  The  blades  of  wheat  and 
barley  grow  there  to  full  four  fingers  in  breadth  ;  and 
though  I  well  know  to  what  a  height  millet  and  sesama 
grow,  I  shall  not  mention  it ;  for  I  am  well  assured,  that 
to  those  who  have  never  been  in  the  Babylonian  country, 
what  has  been  said  concerning  its  productions  will  appear  to 
many  incredible.  They  use  no  other  oil  than  such  as  is  drawn 
from  sesama.  They  have  palm  trees  growing  all  over  the 
plain  ;  most  of  these  bear  fruit  from  which  they  make 
bread,  wine,  and  honey.  Tiiese  they  cultivate  as  fig  trees, 
both  in  other  respects,  and  they  also  tie  the  fruit  of  that 
which  the  Grecians  call  the  male  palm,  about  those  trees  that 
bear  dates,  in  order  that  the  fly  entering  the  date  may  ripen 
it,  lest  otherwise  the  fruit  fall  before  maturity ;  for  the  male? 
have  flies  in  the  fruit,  just  like  wild  fig  trees. 

194.  The  most  wonderful  thing  of  all  here,  next  to  the 
city  itself,  is  what  I  now  proceed  to  describe :  their  vessels 
that  sail  down  the  river  to  Babylon  are  circular,  and  made  of 
leather.  For  when  they  have  cut  the  ribs  out  of  willows  that 
grow  in  Armenia  above  Babylon,  they  cover  them  with  hides 
extended  on  the  outside,  by  way  of  a  bottom  ;  neither  mak- 
ing any  distinction  in  the  stern,  nor  contracting  the  prow,  but 
making  them  circular  like  a  buckler  ;  then  having  lined  this 
vessel  throughout  with  reeds,  they  suffer  it  to  be  carried  down 
by  the  river  freighted  with  merehandise,  but  they  chiefly 

•  That  is,  south-east. 


95.  196.  J 


CLIO.     I. 


ike  down  casks  of  palm  wine.  The  vessel  is  steered  by  two 
jpars,  and  two  men  standing  upright,  one  of  whom  draws  his 
spar  in  and  the  other  thrusts  liis  out.    Some  of  these  vessels  are 

lade  very  large,  and  otlicrs  of  a  smaller  size  ;  but  the  largest  of 
them  carry  a  cargo  of  five  thousand  talents.    Every  vessel  has 

live  ass  on  board,  and  the  larger  ones  more.     For  after  they 

•rive  at  Babylon,  and  have  disposed  of  their  freight,  they  sell 
Jhe  ribs  of  the  boat  and  all  the  reeds  by  public  auction  ;  then 
laving  piled  the  skins  on  the  asses,  they  return  by  land  to 

.rmenia,  for  it  is  not  possible  by  any  means  to  sail  up  the 
river  by  reason  of  the  rapidity  of  the  current :  and  for  this 

;ason  they  make  their  vessels  of  skins  and  not  of  wood,  and 
it  their  return  to  Armenia  with  their  asses,  they  construct 
)ther  vessels  in  the  same  manner.  Such,  then,  is  the  descrip- 
tion of  their  boats.  19o.  For  their  dress,  they  wear  a  linen 
tunic  that  reaches  down  to  the  feet,  over  this  they  put  an- 
)ther  garment  of  wool,  and  over  all  a  short  white  cloak  ;  they 
have  sandals  peculiar  to  the  country,  very  like  the  Boeotian 
jlogs.  They  wear  long  hair,  binding  their  heads  with  turbans, 
ind  anoint  the  whole  body  with  perfumes.     Every  man  hna 

seal,  and  a  staff  curiously  wrought ;  and  on  every  staff  ia 

irved  either  an  apple,  a  rose,  a  lily,  an  eagle,  or  something  of 
|he  kind  ;  for  it  is  not  allowable  to  wear  a  stick  without  a  de- 
dce.     Such,  then,  is  their  manner  of  adorning  the  body. 

196.  The  following  customs  prevail  amongst  them.     This, 
\ji  my  opinion,  is  the  wisest,  which  I  hear  the  Venetians,  of 
llyria,   also    practise.      Once    in    every   year    the    following 

)urse  is  pursued  in  every  village.  Wluitever  maidens  were 
)f  a  marriageable  age,  they  used  to  collect  together  and  bring 
pn  a  body  to  one  place  ;  around  them  stood  a  crowd  of  men. 
Then  a  crier  having  made  them  stand  up  one  by  one,  offered 
them  for  sale,  beginning  with  the  most  beautiful ;  and  when 
she  had  been  sold  for  a  large  sum,  he  put  up  another  who 
was  next  in  beauty.  They  were  sold  on  condition  that  they 
should  be  married.  Such  men  among  the  Babylonians  as  were 
ricli  and  desirous  of  marrying,  used  to  bid  against  one  another, 
md  purchase  the  handsomest.  But  such  of  the  lower  classes 
were  desirous  of  marr^^ing,  did  not  require  a  beautiful 
form,  but  were  willing  to  take  the  plainer  damsels  with  a  Hum 
)f  money.  For  when  the  crier  had  finished  selling  the  hand- 
iest of  the  maidens,  he  made  the  ugliest  stand  up,  or  one 


86  HERODOTUS.  [197—199. 

that  was  a  cripple,  and  put  her  up  to  auction,  for  the  person 
who  would  marry  her  with  the  least  sura,  until  she  was  adjudged 
to  the  man  who  offered  to  take  the  smallest  sum.  This  money 
was  obtained  from  the  sale  of  the  handsome  maidens ;  and 
thus  the  beautiful  ones  portioned  out  the  ugly  and  the  crip- 
pled. A  father  was  not  allowed  to  give  his  daughter  in  mar- 
riage to  whom  he  pleased,  neither  might  a  purchaser  carry 
off  a  maiden  without  security,  but  he  was  first  obliged  to  give 
security  that  he  would  certainly  marry  her,  and  then  he  might 
take  her  away.  If  they  did  not  agree,  a  law  was  enacted  that 
the  money  should  be  repaid.  It  was  also  lawful  for  any  one 
who  pleased,  to  come  from  another  village  and  purchase.  Such 
was  their  best  institution ;  it  has  not,  however,  continued  to 
exist.  They  have  lately  adopted  another  regulation  to  pre- 
vent them  from  ill-treating  the  women,  or  carrying  them  away 
to , another  city ;  for  now  that,  since  the  taking  of  the  city, 
they  have  been  harshly  treated,  and  ruined  in  fortune,  all  the 
meaner  sort,  from  want  of  a  livelihood,  prostitute  their  daugh- 
ters. 197.  They  have  also  this  other  custom,  second  to  the 
former  in  wisdom.  They  bring  out  their  sick  to  the  market- 
place, for  they  have  no  physicians ;  then  those  who  pass  by  the 
sick  person,  confer  with  him  about  the  disease,  to  discover 
whether  they  have  themselves  been  afflicted  with  the  same 
disease  as  the  sick  person,  or  have  seen  others  so  afflicted : 
thus  the  passers-by  confer  with  him,  and  advise  him  to  have 
recourse  to  the  same  treatment  as  that  by  which  they  escaped 
a  similar  disease,  or  as  they  have  known  cure  others.  And 
they  are  not  allowed  to  pass  by  a  sick  person  in  silence,  with- 
out inquiring  into  the  nature  of  his  distemper.  198.  They 
embalm  the  dead  in  honey,  and  their  funeral  lamentations  are 
like  those  of  the  Egyptians.  As  often  as  a  Babylonian  has 
had  intercourse  with  his  wife,  he  sits  over  burning  incense, 
and  his  wife  does  the  same  in  some  other  place  ;  at  break  of 
day  both  wash,  for  they  will  not  touch  any  vessel  till  they  have 
washed.     The  same  practice  is  observed  by  the  Arabians. 

199.  The  most  disgraceful  of  the  Babylonian  customs  is  the 
following  :  every  native  woman  is  obliged,  once  in  her  life,  to 
sit  in  the  temple  of  Venus,  and  have  intercourse  with  some 
stranger.  And  many  disdaining  to  mix  with  the  rest,  being 
p>roud  on  account  of  their  wealth,  come  in  covered  carriagee, 
and  take  up  their  station  at  the  temple  with  a  numerous  train 


I.J  CLIO.     I.  87 

»f  servants  attending  them.  But  the  far  greater  part  do  thus : 
lany  sit  down  in  the  temple  of  Venus,  wearing  a  crown  of 
;ord  round  their  heads  ;  some  are  continually  coming  in,  and 
>thers  are  going  out.  Passages  marked  out  in  a  straight  line 
;ad  in  every  direction  through  the  women,  along  which 
Strangers  pass  and  make  their  choice.  When  a  woman  has 
once  seated  herself,  she  must  not  return  home  till  some  stran^\r 
has  thrown  a  piece  of  silver  into  her  lap,  and  lain  with  her 
outside  the  temple.  He  who  throws  the  silver  must  say  thus  : 
"  I  beseech  the  goddess  Mylitta  to  favour  thee :"  for  the  As- 
syrians call  Venus  Mylitta.  The  silver  may  be  ever  so  small, 
for  she  will  not  reject  it,  inasmuch  as  it  is  not  lawful  for  her 
to  do  so,  for  such  silver  is  accounted  sacred.  The  woman 
follows  the  first  man  that  throws,  and  refuses  no  one.  But 
when  she  has  had  intercourse  and  hES  absolved  herself  from 
her  obligation  to  the  goddess,  she  returns  home ;  and  after 
that  time,  however  great  a  sum  you  may  give  her  you  will  not 
gain  possession  of  her.  Those  that  are  endowed  with  beauty 
and  symmetry  of  shape  are  soon  set  free ;  but  the  deformed 
are  detained  a  long  time,  from  inability  to  satisfy  the  law,  for 
some  wait  for  a  space  of  three  or  four  years.  In  some  parts 
of  Cyprus  there  is  a  custom  very  similar.  200.  These  cus- 
toms, then,  prevail  amongst  the  Babylonians.  There  are  three 
tribes  among  them  that  eat  nothing  but  fish  ;  these,  when  they 
have  taken  and  dried  them  in  the  sun,  they  treat  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner :  they  put  them  into  a  mortar,  and  having 
pounded  them  with  a  pestle,  sift  them  through  a  fine  cloth  ; 
then,  whoever  pleases,  kneads  them  into  a  cake,  or  bakes  them 
like  bread. 

201.  When  Cyrus  had  conquered  this  nation,  he  was  anx- 
ious to  recluce"the  Massagetse  to  subjectjon.  I^ow,  this  nation 
is  said  to  be  both  powerful  and  valiant,  dwelling  towards  the 
east  and  the  rising  sun  beyond  the  river  Araxes,  over  against 
the  Issedonians  ;  there  are  some  who  say  that  this  nation  is 
Scythian.  202.  The  Araxes  is  reported  by  some  persons  to 
be  greater,  by  others  less,  than  the  Ister  ;  they  say  that  there 
are  many  islands  in  it,  some  nearly  equal  in  size  to  Lesbos  ; 
and  that  in  them  are  men,  who  during  the  summer  feed  upon 
all  manner  of  roots,  which  they  dig  out  of  the  ground  ;  and 
that  they  store  up  for  food  ripe  fruits  which  they  find  on  the 
trees,  and  feed  'Jipon  these  during  the  winter.       They  add. 


88  HERODOTUS  [203,  201 

til  at  they  have  discovered  other  trees  that  produce  fruit  of 
a  peculiar  kind,  which  the  inhabitants,  when  they  meet  toge- 
tlier  in  companies,  and  have  lit  a  fire,  throw  on  the  fire,  as  the} 
sit  round  in  a  circle  ;  and  that  by  inhaling  the  fumes  of  tho 
burning  fruit  that  has  been  thrown  on,  they  become  intoxi- 
cated by  the  odour,  just  as  the  Greeks  do  by  wine  ;  and  that 
tiie  more  fruit  is  thrown  on,  the  more  intoxicated  they  be- 
come, until  they  rise  up  to  dance  and  betake  themselves  to 
singing.  In  this  manner  these  islanders  are  reported  to  live. 
The  river  Araxes  flows  from  the  Matienian  mountains, 
whence  also  springs  the  river  Gyndes,  which  Cyrus  distri- 
buted into  the  three  hundred  and  sixty  trenches  ;  and  it 
gushes  out  from  forty  springs,  all  of  which,  except  one,  dis- 
charge themselves  into  fens  and  swamps,  in  which  it  is  said 
men  live  who  feed  on  raw  fish,  and  clothe  themselves  in  the 
skins  of  sea-calves  ;  but  the  one  stream  of  the  Araxes  flows 
through  an  unobstructed  channel  into  the  Caspian  Sea.  The 
Caspian  is  a  sea  by  itself,  having  no  communication  with  any 
other  sea  ;  for  the  whole  of  that  which  the  Grecians  navigate, 
and  that  hoyond  the  Pillars,  called  the  Atlantic,  and  the  Red 
Sea,  are  jUI  one.  203.  But  the  Caspian  is  a  separate  sea  of  it- 
self;  being  in  length  a  fifteen  days'  voyage  for  a  rowing  boat  ; 
and  in  breadth,  where  it  is  widest,  an  eight  days'  voyage.  On 
the  western  shore  of  this  sea  stretches  the  Caucasus,  which  is 
in  extent  the  largest,  and  in  height  the  loftiest  of  all  moun- 
tains ;  it  contains  within  itself  many  and  various  nations  of 
men,  who  for  the  most  part  live  upon  the  produce  of  wild 
fruit  trees.  In  this  country,  it  is  said,  there  are  trees  which 
produce  leaves  of  such  a  nature,  that  by  rubbing  them  and 
mixing  them  with  water  the  people  paint  figures  on  their 
garments  ;  these  figures  they  say  do  not  wash  out,  but  grow 
eld  with  the  wool,  as  if  they  had  been  woven  in  from  the 
first.  It  is  said  that  sexual  intercourse  among  these  people 
takes  place  openly,  as  with  cattle.  204.  The  Caucasus,  then, 
bounds  the  western  side  of  this  sea,  which  is  called  the  Cas- 
pian ;  and  on  the  east,  towards  the  rising  sun,  succeeds  a  plain 
in  extent  unbounded  in  the  prospect.  A  great  portion  of  this 
extensive  i)lain  is  inhabited  by  the  Massagetai,  against  whom 
Cyrus  resolved  to  make  war  ;  for  the  motives  that  urged  and 
incited  him  to  this  enterpnse  were  many  and  powerful ;  first 
of  all  his  birth,  which  he  thought  was  something  more  tlian 


^05-207.)  CLIO.    I  89 

iman  ;  and  secondly,  the  good  fortune  which  had  attended 
in  liis  wars  ;  for  wherever  Cyrus  directed  his  arms,  it 

^as  impossible  for  that  nation  to  escape. 

I  205.  A  woman  whose  husband  was  dead,  was  queen  of  the 
[sissagetaB ;  her  name  was  Tomyris  ;  and  Cyrus  sent  am- 
bassadors un^^r  pretence  of  wooing  her,  and  made  her  an  offer 
of  marriage.  But  Tomyris,  being  aware  that  he  was  not  woo- 
ing her,  but  the  kingdom  of  the  Massageta),  forbade  their  ap- 
proach. Upon  this  Cyrus,  perceiving  his  artifice  ineffectual, 
marched  to  the  Araxes,  and  openly  prepared  to  make  war  on 
the  Massagetae,  by  tlirowing  bridges  over  the  river,  and 
building  turrets  on  the  boats  which  carried  over  his  army. 
206.  While  he  w3,a_«mployed  in  this  work,  Tomyris  sent  a 
liorald  to  him  with  this  message  :  "  King  of  the  Medes,  desist 
from  your  great  exertions  ;  for  you  cannot  know  if  they  will 
terminate  to  your  advantage  ;  and  having  desisted,  reign  over 
your  own  dominions,  and  bear  to  see  me  governing  what  is 
mine.  But  if  }0u  will  not  attend  to  my  advice,  and  prefer 
every  thing  before  peace  ;  in  a  word,  if  you  are  very  anxious 
to  make  trial  of  the  Massagetae,  toil  no  longer  in  throwing  a 
bridge  over  the  river  ;  but  do  you  cross  over  to  our  side, 
wliilc  we  retire  three  days'  march  from  the  river ;  or  if  you 
had  rather  receive  us  on  your  side,  do  you  the  like."  When 
Cyrus  heard  this  proposal,  he  called  a  council  of  the  principal 
Persians  ;  and  having  assembled  them,  he  laid  the  matter  be- 
fore them,  and  demanded  their  opinion  as  to  what  he  should 
do :  they  unanimously  advisecL^him  to  let  Tomyris  pass  with 
her  army  into  his  territory</''^207.  But  Croisus  the  Lydiau, 
who  was  present  and  disapproved  this  advice,  delivered  a  con- 
trary opinion  to  that  which  was  put  forward,,  and  said  :  "  0 
king,  I  assured  you  long  agQ,  that  since  Jupiter  delivered  me 
into  your  hands,  I  would  to  the  utmost  of  my  power  avert 
whatever  misfortune  I  should  see  impending  over  your  house  ; 
and  my  own  calamities,^  sad  as  they  are,  have  been  lessoiis'To' 
me.  If  you  think  yourself  immortal,  and  that  you  command  an 
army  that  is  so  too,  it  were  needless  for  me  to  make  known  to 
you  my  opinion.  But  if  you  know  that  you  too  are  a  man,  anc' 
that  you  command  such  as  are  men,  learn  this  first  of  till,  that 
there  is  a  wheel  in  human  affairs,  which,  continually  revolv- 

•This  appears  t«  have  been  a  proverb  Tradr.naTa  ua6nua'. a 


90  HERODOTUS.  [208, 20&J 

ing,  does  not  suffer  the-  same  persons  to  be  alwajs  successfuL 
Now,  therefore,  I  hold  an  opinion  touching  the  matter  before 
us,  wholly  at  variance  with  that  already  given.  For  if  we 
shall  receive  the  enemy  into  this  country,  there  is  this  danger 
in  so  doing,  if  you  are  defeated,  you  will  lose,  besides,  your 
whole  empire ;  for  it  is  plain  that  if  the  Massagetoe  are  victo- 
rious, they  will  not  flee  home  again,  but  will  march  upon  your 
territories  :  and  if  you  are  victorious,  your  victory  is  not  so 
complete,  as  if,  having  crossed  over  into  their  territory,  you 
should  conquer  the  Massagetae,  and  pursue  them  in  their  fliglvj;,,^ 
for  I  will  carry  the  comparison  throughout,  it  is  plain,  that  if 
you  are  victorious  over  your  adversaries  you  will  marcli  di- 
rectly into  the  dominions  of  Tomyris.  In  addition  to  what 
has  been  now  stated,  it  were  a  disgrace  and  intolerable,  tliat 
Cyrus  the  son  of  Cambyses  should  give  way  and  retreat  before 
a  woman.  My  opinion  therefore  is,  that  you  should  pass  over 
and  advance  as  far  as  they  retire ;  and  then  by  the  following 
stratagem  endeavour  to  get  the  better  of  them.  As  I  hear,  the 
Massagetse  are  unacquainted  with  the  Persian  luxuries,  and 
are  unused  to  the  comforts  of  life.  Mi/  opinion  then  is,  that 
having  cut  up  and  dressed  abundance  of  cattle,  you  should  lay 
out  a  feast  in  our  camp  for  these  meni;  and  besides,  bowls  of 
urTnTtXecTwine^vvithout  stint,  and  alFother  provisions  ;  and  that 
having  done  this,  and  having  left  the  weakest  part  of  your 
army  behind,  the  rest  should  return  again  towards  the  river ; 
for  the  Massagetae,  if  I  mistake  not,  when  they  see  so  much 
excellent  fare,  will  turn  to  immediately,  and  after  that  there 
remains  for  us  the  display  of  mighty  achievements." 

208.  Now  these  two  contrary  opinions  were  given.  Cyrus, 
rejecting  the  former,  and  approving  that  of  Croesus,  bade 
Tomyris  retire,  for  that  he  would  cross  over  to  her.  She 
accordingly  retired,  as  she  had  promised  at  first.  But 
Cyrus  having  placed  Croesus  in  the  hands  of  his  son  Cam- 
byses, to  whom  he  also  intrusted  the  kingdom,  and  having 
strictly  charged  him  to  honour  CroRsus,  and  treat  him  well,  in 
case  his  inroad  on  the  Massagetse  should  fail ;  having  given 
these  injunctions,  and  Sent  them  back  to  Persia,  he  himself 
crossed  the  river  with  his  army.  209.  When  he  had  passed 
the  Araxes,  and  night  came  on,  he  saw  the  following  vision, 
as  he  was  sleeping  in  the  country  of  the  Massagetae.  Cyrus 
fancied  in  his  sleep  that  he  saw  the  eldest  son  of  Ilystiuspcs 


>,2ll.]  CLIO.    I.  91 


m 

I^Kth  wings  on  his  shoulders ;  and  that  with  one  of  these  he 
f"|wer shadowed  Asia,  and  with  the  other  Europe.  Now  Darius, 
who  was  then  about  twenty  years  of  age,  was  the  eldest  son 
of  Hystaspes  son  of  Arsames,  one  of  the  Achaemenides ;  and 
he  had  been  left  in  Persia,  for  he  had  not  yet  attained  the  age 
of  military  service.     When  therefore  Cyrus  awoke,  he  con- 
.    sidered  his  dream  with  attention ;  and  as  it  seemed  to  him  of 
great  moment,  he  summoned  Hystaspes,  and  taking  him  aside, 
if    said,  "  Hystaspes,  your  son  has  been  detected  plotting  against 
i     me  and  my  empire  ;  and  I  will  show  you  how  I  know  it  for  a 
i    certainty.     The  gods  watch  over  me,  and  forewarn  me  of 
;    every  thing  that   is  about   to  befal  me.     Now,  in  the  past 
.    night,  as  I  was  sleeping,  I  saw  the  eldest  of  your  sons  with 
.;     wings  on  his  shoulders,  and  with  one  of  these  he  overshadowed 
(     Asia,  and  Europe  with  the  other ;  from  this  vision,  it  cannot 
be  otherwise  than  that  your  son  is  forming  designs  against 
me  ;  do  you  therefore  go  back  to  Persia  with  all  speed,  and 
take  care,  that  when  I  have  conquered  these  people,  and  re- 
turn home,  you  bring  your  son  before  me  to  be  examined." 
210.  Cyrus  spoke  thus  under  a  persuasion  that  Darius  was 
plotting  against  him ;  but  the  deity  forewarned  him  that  he 
himself  would  die  in  that  very  expedition,  and  that  his  kingdom 
would  devolve  on  Darius.     Hystaspes  however  answered  in 
these  words :    "  God  forbid,   O  king,  that  a  Persian  should 
be  born  who  would  plot  against  you  !     But  if  any  such  there 
be,  may  sudden  destruction  overtake  him,  for  you  have  made 
the  Persians  free  instead  of  being  slaves,  and  instead  of  being 
ruled  over  by  others,  to  ru4e  over  all :  but  if  any  vision  informs 
you  that  my  son  is  forming  any  plot  against  you,  I  freely  sur- 
render him  to  you  to  deal  with  as  you  please."     Hystaspes, 
having  given  this  answer,  repassed  the  Araxes  and  went  to 
Persia,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  his  son  Darius  in  custody 
f^  Cyrus. 

211.  Cyrus  having  advanced  one  day's  march  from  the 
Araxes,  proceeded  to  act  according  to  the  suggestion  of  Croesus. 
After  this,  when  Cyrus  and  the  effective  part  of  the  Persian 
army  had  marched  back  to  the  Araxes,  leaving  the  ineffective 
part  behind  ;  a  third  division  of  the  army  of  the  Massagetae 
attacked  those  of  Cyrus's  forces  that  had  been  left  behind,  and 
after  some  resistance,  put  them  to  death.  Then,  seeing  the 
feaet  laid  out,  as  soon  as  ♦hey  had  overcome  their  enemies  they 


92  HERODOTUS.  [212— 21*. 

lay  down  and  feasted ;  and  being  filled  with  food  and  wine, 
fell  asleep.  But  the  Persians  having  attacked  them,  put 
many  of  them  to  death,  and  took  a  still  greater  number 
prisoners,  and  among  them  the  son  of  Queen  Tomyris,  who 
commanded  the  Massageta?,  and  whose  name  was  Spargapises. 
212.  She,  when  she  heard  what  had  befallen  her  army  and 
her  son,  sent  a  herald  to  Cyrus  with  the  following  message : 
"  Cyrus,  insatiate  with  blood,  be  not  elated  with  what  has 
now  happened,  that  by  the  fruit  of  the  vine,  with  whicli  ye 
yourselves,  when  filled  with  it,  so  rave,  that  when  it  de- 
scends into  your  bodies,  evil  words  float  on  your  lips,  be  not 
elated^  that  by  such  a  poison  you  have  deceived  and  con 
quered  my  son,  instead  of  by  prowess  in  battleJ  Now, 
however,  take  the  good  advice  that  I  offer  you.  J  Restore 
my  son  ;  depart  out  of  this  country  unpunished  for  hav- 
ing insolently  disgraced  a  third  division  of  the  army  of  the 
MassagetiB.  But  if  you  will  not  do  this,  I  swear  by  the 
sun,  the  Lord  of  the  Massagetce,  that,  insatiable  as  you  are, 
I  will  glut  you  with  blood."  213.  Cyrus,  however,  paid 
no  attention  to  this  message ;  but  Spargapises,  the  son  of 
Queen  Tomyris,  as  soon  as  he  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the 
wine,  and  perceived  in  what  a  plight  he  was,  begged  of  Cyrus 
that  he  might  be  freed  from  his  fetters ;  but  as  soon  as  he 
was  set  free,  and  found  his  hands  at  liberty,  he  put  himself  to 
death.  Such  was  the  end  he  met  with.  214.  But  Tomyris, 
finding  Cyrus  did  not  listen  to  her,  assembled  all  her  forces, 
and  engaged  with  him.  I  think  that  this  battle  was  the  most 
obstinate  that  was  ever  fought  between  barbarians.  And  1 
am  informed  that  it  took  place  in  the  following  manner :  it  is 
related,  that,  first  of  all,  they  stood  at  a  distance  and  used  their 
bows,  and  that  afterwards,  when  they  had  emptied  their 
quivers,  they  engaged  in  close  fight  with  their  swords  and 
spears,  and  that  thus  they  continued  fighting  for  a  long  time, 
and  neither  were  willing  to  give  M^ay  ;  but  at  length  the  Massa- 
getiB got  the  better,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  Persian  army 
was  cut  in  pieces  on  the  spot,  and  Cyrus  himself  killed,  after 
he  had  reigned  twenty-nine  years.  But  Tomyris,  having 
filled  a  skin  with  human  blood,  sought  for  the  body  of  Cyrus 
among  the  slain  of  the  Persians,  and  having  found  it,  thrust 
the  head  into  the  skin,  and  insulting  the  dead  body,  said : 
"  Thou  hast  indeed  ruined  me  though  alive  and  victorious  in 


216.1  CLIO     I.  93 

battle,  since  thou  hast  taken  my  son  by  stratagem ;  but  I  will 
now  glut  thee  with  blood,  as  I  threatened."  Of  the  many 
accounts  given  of  the  end  of  Cyrus,  this  appears  to  me  most 
worthy  of  credit. 

215.  The  Massagetae  resemble  the  Scythians  in  their  dress 
and  mode  of  living  ;  they  have  both  horse  and  foot  ;  for  they 
have  some  of  each  ;  and  bow-men,  and  javclin-men,  who  are 
nccustomed  to  carry  battle-axes  :  they  use  gold  and  Ijrass  foi 
every  thing  ;  for  in  whatever  concerns  spears,  and  arrow- 
points,  and  battle-axes,  they  use  brass  ;  but  for  the  head,  and 
belts,  and  shoulder-pieces,  tliey  are  ornamented  with  gold. 
In  like  manner  with  regard  to  the  chests  of  horses,  they  put 
on  breastplates  of  brass  ;  but  the  bridle-bit  and  cheek-pieces 
are  ornamented  with  gold.  They  make  no  use  of  silver  or 
iron,  for  neither  of  those  metals  are  found  in  their  country, 
Dut  they  have  brass  and  gold  in  abundance.  216.  Their 
manners  are  as  follows  :  each  man  marries  a  wife,  but  they 
use  the  women  promiscuously  ;  for  what  the  Grecians  say  the 
Scythians  do,  is  a  mistake,  for  they  do  it  not,  but  the  Mas- 
sagetae ;  for  when  a  Massagetan  desires  to  have  the  company 
of  a  woman  he  hangs  up  his  quiver  in  front  of  her  chariot,  and 
has  intercourse  with  her  without  shame.  No  particular  term 
of  life  is  prescrihed  to  them  ;  but  when  a  man  has  attained 
a  great  age,  all  his  kinsmen  meet,  and  sacrifice  him,  together 
with  cattle  of  several  kinds  ;  and  when  they  have  boiled  the 
flesh,  tliey  feast  on  it.  This  death  tliey  account  the  most 
happy  ;  but  they  do  not  eat  the  bodies  of  those  who  die  of  dis- 
ease ;  but  bury  them  in  the  earth,  and  think  it  a  great  mis- 
fortune that  they  did  not  reach  the  age  to  be  sacrificed.  They 
sow  nothing,  but  live  on  cattle  and  fish,  which  the  river 
Araxes  yields  in  abundance,  and  they  are  drinkers  of  milk. 
They  w^orship  the  sun  only  of  all  the  gods,  and  sacrifice 
horses  to  him  ;  and  this  is  the  reason  of  this  custom  ;  they 
think  it  right  to  offer  the  swiftest  of  all  animals  to  the 
swiftest  of  all  the  gods 


BOOK    II. 


EUTERPE. 


After  the  death  of  Cyrus,  Cambyses  succeeded  to  the  king 
dom :  he  was  son  of  Cyrus,  and  Cassandane  the'^^ghter  o 
Fharnaspes ;  who  having  died  some  time  before,  Cyrus  botl 
deeply  mourned  for  her  liimself,  and  commanded  all  his  subject 
to  mourn.  Cambyses  then,  being  son  of  this  lady  and  Cyrus 
considered  the  lonians  and  ^olians  as  his  hereditary  slavesj 
when,  therefore,  he  made  an  expedition  against  Egypt,  he  tool 
with  him  others  of  his  subjects,  and  also  some  of  the  Greeki 
over  whom  he  bore  rule. 

2.  The  Egyptians,  before  the  reign  of  Psammitichus,  coi 
sidered  themselves  to  be  the  most  ancient  of  mankind.  Bu 
after  Psammitichus,  having  come  to  the  throne,  endeavoured 
to  ascertain  who  were  the  most  ancient,  from  that  time  they 
consider  the  Phrygians  to  have  been  before  them,  and  them- 
selves before  all  others.  Now,  when  Psammitichus  was 
unable,  by  inquiry,  to  discover  any  solution  of  this  question, 
who  were  the  most  ancient  of  men,  he  devised  the  following 
expedient.  He  gave  two  new-born  children  of  poor  parents 
to  a  shepherd,  to  be  brought  up  among  his  flocks  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner  :  he  gave  strict  orders  that  no  one  should  utter 
a  word  in  their  presence,  that  they  should  lie  in  a  solitary 
room  by  themselves,  and  that  he  should  bring  goats  to  them 
at  certain  times,  and  that  when  he  had  satisfied  them  with 
milk  he  should  attend  to  his  other  employments.  Psaii.miti- 
chus  contrived  and  ordered  this,  for  the  purpose  of  hearing 
what  word  tha  children  would  first  articulate,  after  they  had 
given  over  their  insignificant  mewlings  ;  and  such  accordingly 
was  the  result.  For  when  the  shepherd  had  pursued  this 
plan  for  the  space  of  two  years,  one  day  as  he  opened  the  door 
and  went  in,  both  the  children  falling  upon  him,  and  holding 


f 


8,4.J  EUTERPE.    II.  95 

out  their  hands,  cried  "  Becos."  The  shepherd,  when  he  first 
heard  it,  said  nothing ;  but  when  this  same  word  was  con- 
stantly repeated  to  him  whenever  he  went  and  tended  the 
children,  he  at  length  acquainted  his  master,  and  by  his  com- 
mand brought  the  children  into  his  presence.  When  Psam- 
mitichus  heard  the  same,  he  inquired  what  people  call  any  thing 
by  the  name  of  "  Becos  ;"  and  on  inquiry  he  discovered  that 
the  Phrygians  call  bread  by  that  name.  Thus  the  Egyptians, 
convinced  by  the  above  experiment,  allowed  that  the  Phrygi- 
ans were  more  ancient  than  themselves.  3.  This  relation  I 
had  from  the  priests  of  Vulcan  at  Memphis.  But  the  Greeks 
tell  many  other  foolish  things,  and  moreover  that  Psammiti- 
chus,  having  had  the  tongues  of  some  women  cut  out.  then  had 
the  children  brought  up  by  these  women.  Such  is  the  ac- 
count they  gave  of  the  nurture  of  the  children.  I  heard 
other  things  also  at  Memphis  in  conversation  with  the  priests 
of  Vulcan.  And  on  this  very  account  I  went  also  to  Thebes, 
and  to  Heliopolis,  in  order  to  ascertain  whether  they  would 
agree  with  the  accounts  given  at  Memphis  ;  for  the  Heliopoli- 
tans  are  esteemed  the  most  learned  in  history  of  all  the  Egyp- 
tians. The  parts  of  the  narration  that  I  heard  concerning  di- 
vine things,  I  am  not  willing  to  relate,  except  only  their 
names  ;  and  with  these  I  suppose  all  men  are  equally  well  ac- 
quainted :  but  what  more  I  shall  relate  of  these  matters,  I 
shall  relate  from  a  necessity  to  keep  up  the  thread  of  my  story. 
4.  But  as  concerns  human  affairs,  they  agree  with  one  another 
in  the  following  account :  that  the  Egyptians  were  the  first  to 
discover  the  year,  which  they  divided  into  twelve  parts  ;  and 
they  say  that  they  made  this  discovery  from  the  stars :  and  so 
far,  I  think,  they  act  more  wisely  than  the  Grecians,  in  that 
the  Grecians  insert  an  intercalary  month  every  third  year,  on 
account  of  the  seasons ;  whereas  the  Egyptians,  reckoning 
twelve  months  of  thirty  days  each,  add  five  days  each  year 
above  that  number,  and  so  with  them  tlie  circle  of  thr^  seasons 
comes  round  to  the  same  point.  They  say  also,  that  the 
Egyptians  were  the  first  who  introduced  the  names  of  tlie 
twelve  gods,  and  that  the  Greeks  borrowed  those  names  from 
them ;  that  they  were  the  first  to  assign  altars,  images,  and 
temples  to  the  gods,  and  to  carve  the  figures  of  animals  on  stone ; 
and  most  of  these  things  they  proved  were  so  in  fact.  They 
•ddedy  that  Menes  was  the  first  mortal  who  reigned  (ver 


96  HERODOTUS.  [5—8 

Egypt,  and  that  in  his  time  all  Egypt,  except  the  district  of, 
Thebes,  was  a  morass,  and  that  no  part  of  the  land  that  now', 
exists  below  Lake  Myris  was  then  above  water :  to  this  place 
from  the  sea  is  a  seven  days'  passage  up  the  river.  5.  And 
they  seemed  to  me  to  give  a  good  account  of  this  region.  For' 
it  is  evident  to  a  man  of  common  understanding,  who  has  not 
heard  it  before,  but  sees  it,  that  the  part  of  Egypt  which  the 
Greeks  frequent  with  their  shipping,  is  land  acquired  by  the 
Egyptians,  and  a  gift  from  the  river  ;  and  the  parts  above  this 
lake,  during  a  three  days'  passage,  of  which,  however,  they 
said  nothing,  are  of  the  same  description^  For  the  nature  of 
the  soil  of  Egypt  is  of  this  kind  ;  when  you  are  first  sailing  to 
it,  and  are  at  the  distance  of  a  day's  sail  from  land,  if  you  cast 
the  lead  you  will  bring  up  mud,  and  will  find  yourself  in  eleven . 
fiithoms  water :  this  so  far  shows  that  there  is  an  alluvial  deposit. 
6.  The  length  of  Egypt  along  the  sea-coast  is  sixty  schoeni, 
according  as  we  reckon  it  to  extend  from  the  Flinthinetic  bay  to 
Lake  Serbonis,  near  which  Mount  Casius  stretches  :  from  this 
point  then  the  length  is  sixty  schceni.  Now,  all  men  who  are 
short  of  land  measure  their  territory  by  fathoms  ;  but  those  who 
are  less  short  of  land,  by  stades  ;  and  those  who  have  much,  by 
parasangs ;  and  such  as  have  a  very  great  extent,  by  schceni. 
Now,  a  parasang  is  equal  to  thirty  stades,  and  each  schoenus, 
which  is  an  Egyptian  measure,  is  equal  to  sixty  stades.  So  the 
whole  coast  of  Egypt  is  three  thousand  six  hundred  stades  in 
length.  7.  From  thence,  as  ftir  as  Heliopolis,  inland,  Egypt 
is  wide,  being  all  flat,  without  water,  and  a  swamp.  The  dis- 
tance to  Heliopolis,  as  one  goes  up  from  the  sea,  is  about  equal 
In  length  to  the  road  from  Athens,  t/taf  is  to  say,  from  the 
altar  of  the  twelve  gods,  to  Fisa  and  the  temple  of  Olympian 
Jupiter.  For  whoever  will  compare  these  roads  will  find,  by 
computation,  that  the  difference  between  them  is  but  little, 
not  exceeding  fifteen  stades,  for  the  road  from  Athens  to  Fisa 
is  only  fifteen  stades  short  of  one  thousand  five  hundred 
stades ;  but  the  road  from  the  sea  to  Pleliopolis  amounts  to 
just  that  number.  8.  From  Heliopolis  upwards  Egypt  is 
narrow,  for  on  one  side  the  mountain  of  Arabia  extends  from 
north  to  south  and  south-west,  stretching  up  continuously  to 
that  wliich  is  called  the  Red  Sea.  In  this  mountain  are  the 
stone  quarries  which  were  cut  for  the  pyramids  at  Memphis ; 
here,  then  the  mruntain,  deviating,  turns  to  the  pai'ts  above 


9—11.3  EUIT.RPB.     11.  97 

mentioned.  But  where  its  length  is  the  greatest,  1  have 
lieard  that  it  is  a  two  months'  journey  from  east  to  west ;  and 
that  eastward  its  confines  produce  frankincense.  On  that  side 
of  Egypt  which  borders  upon  Libya  extends  another  rocky 
mountain,  and  covered  with  sand,  on  which  the  pyramids  stand  ; 
and  this  stretches  in  the  same  direction  as  that  part  of  the 
Arabian  mountain  that  runs  southward.  So  that  from  HcH- 
opoHs,  the  territory  which  belongs  to  Egypt  is  not  very  ex- 
tensive ;  but  for  four  days'  sail  up  the  river  it  is  very  narrow, 
lietween  the  mountains  before  mentioned  the  land  is  level,  and 
in  the  narrowest  part  appeared  to  me  to  be  not  more  than  two 
liundred  stades  in  breadth,  from  the  Arabian  mountain  to  that 
railed  the  Libyan  ;  but  above  this  Egypt  again  becomes  wide. 
Such  then  is  the  character  of  this  country.  9.  From  He- 
liopolis  to  Thebes  is  a  voyage  up  of  nine  days ;  the  length  of 
this  journey  is  in  stades  four  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty,  which  amount  to  eighty-one  schoeni.  Now,  if  we  com- 
pute these  stades  together,  the  coast  of  Egypt,  as  I  before 
explained,  contains  in  length  three  thousand  and  six  hundred 
stades :  how  fiir  it  is  from  the  sea  inland  as  far  as  Tliebes,  I 
will  next  show,  namely,  six  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty 
stades ;  and  from  Thebes  to  the  city  called  Elephantine,  one 
thousand  eight  hundivd  stades. 

10.  The  greater  part  of  all  this  country,  as  the  priests  in- 
formed me,  and  as  appeared  to  me  also  to  be  the  case,  has  been 
ac(iuired  by  tlie  Egyptians.  For  the  space  between  the  above- 
mentioned  mountains,  that  are  situate  beyond  the  city  of 
Mempiiis,  seem  to  me  to  have  been  formerly  a  bay  of  tiie  sea  ; 
as  is  the  case  also  with  the  parts  about  Ilium,  Teuthrania, 
Ephesus,  and  the  plain  of  the  Maeander,  if  I  may  be  per- 
mitted to  compare  small  things  with  great;  for  of  the  rivers 
that  have  thrown  up  the  soil  that  forms  these  countries,  not 
one  can  justly  be  brought  into  comparison,  as  to  size,  Avith 
any  one  of  the  five  mouths  of  the  Nile.  But  there  are  other 
rivers  not  equal  in  size  to  the  Nile,  which  have  wrought  great 
works  ;  of  these  I  could  mention  the  names,  and  amongst  tliem 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  is  the  Achelous,  which,  flow- 
ing through  Acarnania,  and  falling  into  the  sea,  has  already 
?onverted  one-half  of  the  Echinades  islands  into  continent. 
11.  There  is  also  in  the  Arabian  territory,  not  far  from 
Egypt,  branching  from  the  Red  Sea,  a  bay  of  the  sea,  of  tha 


98  HERODOTUS.  [12,18 

length  and  width  I  shall  here  describe :  the  length  of  the 
vojcage,  beginning  from  the  innermost  part  of  this  bay  t6  the 
broad  sea,  occupies  forty  days  for  a  vessel  with  oars  ;  and  the 
width,  where  the  bay  is  widest,  half  a  day's  passage :  and  in 
it  an  ebb  and  flow  takes  place  daily ;  and  I  am  of  opinion 
that  Egypt  was  formerly  a  similar  bay ;  this  stretching  from 
the  Northern  Sea  towards  Ethiopia ;  and  the  Arabian  Bay, 
which  I  am  describing,  from  the  south  towards  Syria ;  and  that 
they  almost  perforated  their  recesses  so  as  to  meet  each  other, 
overlapping  *  to  some  small  extent.  Now,  if  the  Nile  were  to 
turn  its  stream  into  this  Arabian  gulf,  what  could  hinder  it 
from  being  filled  with  soil  by  the  river  within  twenty  thousand 
years  ?  for  my  part,  I  think  it  would  be  filled  within  ten 
thousand.  How  then,  in  the  time  that  has  elapsed  before  I 
was  born,  might  not  even  a  much  greater  bay  than  this 
have  been  filled  up  by  such  a  great  and  powerful  river  ? 
12.  I  therefore  both  give  credit  to  those  who  relate  these 
things  concerning  Egypt,  and  am  myself  persuaded  of  their 
truth,  when  I  see  that  Egypt  projects  beyond  the  adjoin- 
ing land ;  that  shells  are  found  on  the  mountains  ;  that  a 
saline  humour  forms  on  the  surface  so  as  even  to  corrode  tlie 
pyramids  ;  and  that  this  mountain  which  is  above  Memi)his  is 
the  only  one  in  Egypt  that  abounds  in  sand :  add  to  whicl), 
that  Egypt,  in  its  soil,  is  neither  like  Arabia  or  its  confines, 
nor  Libya,  nor  Syria,  (Syrians  occupy  the  sea-coast  of  Arabia,) 
but  is  black  and  crumbling,  as  if  it  were  mud  and  alluvial  de- 
posit, brought  down  by  the  river  from  Ethiopia ;  whereas  we 
know  that  the  earth  of  Libya  is  reddish,  and  somewhat  more 
sandy ;  and  that  of  Arabia  and  Syria  is  more  clayey  and  flinty. 
13.  The  priests  told  me  this  also,  as  a  great  proof  of  wliat 
they  related  concerning  this  country,  that  in  the  reign  of 
Moeris,  when  the  river  rose  at  least  eight  cubits,  it  irrigated  all 
Egypt  below  Memphis ;  and  yet  Moeris  had  not  been  nine 
hundred  years  dead  when  I  received  this  information.  But 
now,  unless  the  river  rises  sixteen  cubits,  or  fifteen  at  least,  it 
does  not  overflow  the  country.  It  appears  to  me,  therefore, 
that  if  the  soil  continues  to  grow  in  height,  in  the  same  pro- 
portion, and  to  contribute  in  like  manner  towards  its  increase, 

•  I  have  adopted  the  meaning  given  to  irapaWacrcrovrai  by  Liddell 
and  Scott,  instead  of  the  usual  interpretation,  that  "  the  two  bays  were 
but  little  distant  from  each  other." 


44,  15.]  EUTERPE,    II.  99 

those  Egyptians  below  Lake  Mceris,  who  inhabit  other  districts 
and  that  which  is  called  Delta,  must,  by  reason  of  the  Nile  not 
overflowing  their  land,  for  ever  suffer  the  same  calamity  which 
they  used  to  say  the  Greeks  would  suffer  from.  For  having 
leard  that  all  the  lands  of  Greece  were  watered  by  rain,  and 
'not  by  rivers,  as  their  own  was,  they  said  "  that  the  Grecians 
at  some  time  or  other  would  be  disappointed  in  their  great 
expectations,  and  suffer  miserably  from  famine ; "  meaning, 
"  that  if  the  deity  should  not  vouchsafe  rain  to  them,  but  visit 
them  with  a  long  drought,  the  Greeks  must  perish  by  famine, 
since  they  had  no  other  resource  for  water,  except  from  Jupiter 
only."  14.  And  the  Egyptians  are  right  in  saying  this  to  the 
Greeks  ;  but  now  let  me  state  how  the  matter  stands  with  the 
Egyptians  themselves :  if,  as  I  said  before,  the  land  below 
Memphis  (for  this  it  is  that  increases)  should  continue  to  in- 
crease in  height  in  the  same  proportion  as  it  has  in  time  past, 
what  else  will  happen  but  that  the  Egyptians  who  inhabit  this 
part  will  starve,  if  their  land  shall  neither  be  watered  by 
rain,  nor  the  river  be  able  to  inundate  the  fields  ?  Now  indeed 
they  gather  in  the  fruits  of  the  earth  with  less  labour  than  any 
other  people,  and  than  the  rest  of  the  Egyptians,  for  they  have 
not  tj^e  toil  of  breaking  up  the  furrows  with  the  plough,  nor 
of  hoeing,  nor  of  any  other  work  which  all  other  men  must 
labour  at  to  obtain  a  crop  of  corn  ;  but  when  the  river  lias 
come  of  its  own  accord  and  irrigated  their  fields,  and  having 
irrigated  them  has  subsided,  then  each  man  sows  his  own  land 
and  turns  swine  into  it ;  and  when  the  seed  has  been  trodden 
in  by  the  swine,  he  afterwards  waits  for  harvest-time :  tlien 
having  trod  out  the  corn  with  his  swine,  he  gathers  it  in 

15.  But  if  we  should  adopt  the  opinion  of  the  louians  re- 
specting Egypt,  who  say  that  the  Delta  alone  is  properly 
Egypt,  stating  that  its  sea-coast  extends  from  what  is  called 
the  tower  of  Perseus  to  the  Tarichaea  of  Pelusium,  forty 
schoeni  in  length ;  and  who  say  that  from  the  sea  inland  it 
stretches  to  the  city  of  Cercasorus,  where  the  Nile  divides, 
and  flows  towards  Pelusium  and  Canopus  ;  and  who  attribute 
the  rest  of  Egypt,  partly  to  Libya,  and  partly  to  Arabia, — if 
we  adopted  this  account,  we  should  show  that  the  Egyptians 
had  not  formerly  any  country  of  their  own ;  for  the  Delta,  as 
the  Egyptians  themselves  acknowledge,  and  as  I  think,  is 
alluvial,  and  (if  I  may  so  express  niyselt)  has  lately  come  to 

H  2 


100  HEflODOTUS.  [16.  17. 

light.  If  tlien  they  formerly  had  no  country,  how  foolish  they 
were  to  think  themselves  the  most  ancient  of  all  people  !  nor 
was  there  any  use  in  their  having  recourse  to  the  experiment 
of  the  children,  to  ascertain  what  language  they  would  first 
speak.  For  my  own  part,  I  am  not  of  opinion  that  the 
Egyptians  commenced  their  existence  with  the  country  which 
the  lonians  call  Delta  ;  but  that  they  always  were,  since  men 
have  been  ;  and  that  as  the  soil  gradually  increased,  many  of 
them  remained  in  their  former  habitations,  and  many  came 
lower  down.  For,  anciently,  Thebes  was  called  Egypt,  and 
is  six  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty  stades  in  circum- 
ference.  16.  If,  therefore,  I  j  udge  correctly  of  these  things,  the 
lonians  are  mistaken  with  respect  to  Egypt ;  but  if  their 
opinion  is  correct,  then  I  will  show  that  neither  the  Greeks 
nor  the  lonians  themselves  know  how  to  reckon,  when  they 
say,  that  the  whole  earth  consists  of  three  divisions,  Europe, 
Asia,  and  Libya  ;  for  they  ought  to  add  a  fourth,  the  Delta  of 
Egypt,  if  it  be  not  a  part  either  of  Asia  or  of  Libya.  For,  by 
this  account,  the.  Nile  does  not  separate  Asia  from  Libya,  but 
is  divided  at  the  point  of  Delta,  so  that  it  must  be  between 
Asia  and  Libya.  But  I  will  dismiss  the  opinion  of  the 
lonians,  and  proceed  to  give  my  own  account  of  the  matter. 
17.  I  consider  that  the  whole  country  inhabited  by  Egyptians 
is  Egypt,  as  that  inhabited  by  Cilicians  is  Cilicia,  and  that  by 
Assyrians,  Assyria.  And,  strictly  speaking,  I  know  of  no 
other  boundary  to  Asia  and  Libya,  except  the  frontier  of 
Egypt.  But  if  we  follow  the  opinion  received  by  the  Greeks, 
we  shall  sui)pose  tliat  all  Egypt,  beginning  from  the  cata- 
racts and  the  city  o(:'  Elephantine,  is  divided  into  two  parts, 
and  partakes  of  both  names  ;  and  that  one  part  belongs  to 
Libya,  and  the  other  to  Asia.  For  the  Nile,  beginning  from  the 
cataracts,  flows  to  the  sea,  dividing  Egypt  in  the  middle.  Now, 
as  far  as  the  city  of  Cercasorus,  the  Nile  flows  in  one  stream  ; 
but  from  that  point  it  is  divided  into  three  channels  :  and  that 
which  runs  eastward  is  called  the  Pelusiac  mouth  ;  anothcT 
of  the  channels  bends  westward,  and  is  called  the  Canopic 
mouth  ;  but  the  direct  channel  of  the  Nile  is  the  following  : 
descending  from  above,  it  comes  to  the  point  of  the  Delta, 
and  after  this  it  divides  the  Delta  in  the  middle,  and  dis- 
charges itself  into  the  sea,  supplying  by  this  channel,  not  by 
Ciuy  means  the  least  quantity  of  water,  nor  that  the  least  re- 


-20 


EUTERPE.    II.  101 


I 


lowned ;  this  is  called  the  Sebennytic  mouth.     There  ar^ 

30  two  other  mouths,  that  diverge  from  the  Sebennytic  and 

low  into  the  sea ;  to  these  the  following  names  are  given,  to 

me  the    Saitic,  to  the  other  tne  Mendesian  mouth.      The 

Bolbitine  and  Bucolic  mouths  are  not  natural,  but  artificial 

8.  My  opinion  that  Egypt  is  of  the  extent  I  have  above  de- 

lared  it  to  be,  is  confirmed  by  an  oracle  delivered  at  Ammon. 

hich  I  heard  after  I  had  formed  my  own  opinion  respecting 

gypt.     For  the  people  who  inhabit  the  cities  of  Marea  and 

pis,    in   the  part  of  Egypt  bordering  on  Libya,  deeming 

hemselves  Libyans  and  not  Egyptians,  and  being  discontented 

ith  the  institutions  regarding  victims,  were  desirous  not  to 

e  restricted  from  the  use  of  cow's  flesh,  and  therefore  sent  to 

Ammon,  saying,  ''that  they  had  no  relation  to  the  Egyptians, 

because  they  lived  out  of  Delta,  and  did  not  speak  the  same 

language  with  them  ;    and  desired  to  be  allowed  to  eat  all 

manner  of  food."      Tlie  god,  however,  did  not  permit  them  to 

do  so,  saying,  "that  all  the  country  which  the  Nile  irrigated 

as  Egypt,  and  that  all  those  were  Egyptians  who  dwell  be- 

ow  the^  city   Elephantine,  and  drink  of  that  river.      Such 

as  the  answer  given  them.     19.  But  the  Nile,  when  full, 

inundates  not  only  Delta,  but  also  part  of  the  country  said  to 

belong  to  Libya  and  Arabia,  to  the  extent  of  about  two  days* 

journey  on  either  side,  more  or  less. 

Respecting  the  nature  of  this  river,  I  was  unable  to  gain 
any  information,  either  from  the  priests  or  any  one  else.  I 
was  very  desirous,  however,  of  learning  from  them  why  the 
Nile,  beginning  at  the  summer  solstice,  fills  and  overflows  for 
hundred  days ;  and  when  it  has  nearly  completed  this  num 
er  of  days,  falls  short  in  its  stream,  and  retires ;  so  that  it 
continues  low  all  the  winter,  until  the  return  of  the  summer 
solstice.  Of  these  particulars  I  could  get  no  information  from 
the  Egyptians,  though  I  inquired  whether  this  river  have 
any  peculiar  quality  that  makes  it  differ  in  nature  from  other 
rivers.  Being  anxious,  then,  of  knowing  what  was  said  ^bout 
this  matter,  I  made  inquiries,  and  also  how  it  comes  to  pass, 
that  this  is  the  only  one  of  all  rivers  that  does  not  send  forth 
breezes  from  its  surface.  20.  Nevertheless,  some  of  the 
Greeks,  wishing  to  be  distinguished  for  their  wisdom,  have 
attempted  to  account  for  these  inundations  in  three  different 
ways :  two  of  these  ways  are  scarcely  worth  mentioning,  ox- 


102  HERODOTUS.  [21—24, 

cept  that  I  wish  to  show  what  they  are.  One  of  them  saya 
that  the  Etesian  winds  are  the  cause  of  the  swelling  of  the 
river,  by  preventing  the  Nile  from  discharging  itself  into  the 
sea.  But  frequently  the  Etesian  winds  have  not  blown,  yet 
the  Nile  produces  the  same  effects  ;  besides,  if  the  Etesian 
winds  were  the  cause,  all  other  rivers  that  flow  opposite  to 
the  same  winds,  must  of  necessity  be  equally  affected  and  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  Nile  ;  and  even  so  much  the  more,  as 
they  are  less  and  have  weaker  currents  :  yet  there  are  many 
rivers  in  Syria,  and  many  in  Libya,  which  are  not  all  affected 
as  the  Nile  is.  21.  The  second  opinion  shows  still  more 
ignorance  than  the  former,  but,  if  I  may  so  say,  is  more  mar- 
vellous. It  says  that  the  Nile,  flowing  from  the  ocean,  pro- 
duces this  effect ;  and  that  the  ocean  flows  all  round  the  earth. 
22.  The  third  way  of  resolving  this  difliculty  is  by  far  the 
most  specious,  but  most  untrue.  For  by  saying  that  the  Nile 
flows  from  melted  snow,  it  says  nothing,  for  this  river  flows 
from  Libya  through  the  middle  of  Ethiopia  and  discharges 
itself  into  Egypt ;  how  therefore,  since  it  runs  from  a  very 
hot  to  a  colder  region,  can  it  flow  from  snow  ?  Many  reasons 
w^ill  readily  occur  to  men  of  good  understanding,  to  show  the 
improbability  of  its  flowing  from  snow.  The  first  and  chief 
proof  is  derived  from  the  winds,  which  blow  hot  from 
those  regions :  the  second  is,  that  the  country,  destitute  of 
rain,  is  always  free  from  ice  ;  but  after  snow  has  fallen,  it 
must  of  necessity  rain  within  five  days ;  so  that  if  snow  fell, 
it  would  also  rain  in  these  regions.  In  the  third  place,  the 
inhabitants  become  black  from  the  excessive  heat ;  kites  and 
swallows  continue  there  all  the  year  ;  and  the  cranes,  to  avoid 
the  cold  of  Scythia,  migrate  to  these  parts  as  winter  quarters  : 
if  then  ever  so  little  snow  fell  in  this  country  through  which  the 
Nile  flows,  and  from  which  it  derives  its  source,  none  of  these 
things  would  happen,  as  necessity  proves.  23.  But  the  per- 
son who  speaks  about  the  ocean,  since  he  has  referred  his  ac- 
count to  some  obscure  fable,  produces  no  conviction  at  all ; 
for  I  do  not  know  any  river  called  the  Ocean  ;  but  suppose 
that  Homer,  or  some  other  ancient  poet,  having  invented  the 
name,  introduced  it  into  poetry. 

24.  Yet  if,  after  I  have  found  fault  with  the  opinions  ad- 
vanced hy  other Sy  it  becomes  me  to  declare  my  own  concern- 
ing so  obscure  a  question,  I  will  describe  what,  in  my  opinion, 


«,26.J  El'IERPE.    II.  10^ 

causes  the  Nile  to  overflow  in  summer.     During  the  winter 
season,  the  sun,  being  driven  by  storms  from  his  former  course, 
retires  to  the  upper  parts  of  Libya :  this  in  few  words  com- 
prehends the  whole  matter  ;  for  it  is  natural  that  that  country 
which  this  god  is  nearest  to,  and  over  which  he  is,  should  be 
most  in  want  of  water,   and  that  the  native   river  streams 
should  be  dried  up.     25.  But  to  explain  my  meaning  more  at 
length,  the  case  is  this  :  the  sun  passing  over  the  upper  parts 
of  Libya,  produces  the  following  effect ;  as  the  air  in  these  re- 
gions is  always  serene,  and  the  soil  always  hot,  since  there  are 
no   cold  winds  passing    over,    he    produces  just    the    same 
effect,  as  he  usually  does  in  the  summer,  when  passing  througli 
the  middle  of  the  firmament ;  for  he  attracts  the  water  to  liini^ 
self,  and  having  so  attracted  it,  throws  it  back  upon  the  higher 
regions  ;  there  the  winds,  taking  it  up  and  dispersing  it,  melt 
it :  and  therefore,  with  good  reason,  the  winds  that  blow  from 
this  country,  from  the  south  and  south-west,  are  by  far  the  most 
rainy  of  all.     I  do  not  think,  however,  that  the  sun  on  each- 
occasion  discharges  the  annual  supply  of  water  from  the  Nile, 
but  that  some  remains  about  him.  When,  however,  the  wintei 
;rows  mild,  the  sun  returns  again  to  the  middle  of  the  hea 
rens,  and  from  that  time  attracts  water  equally  from  all  rivers 
Tp  to  this  time  those  other  rivers,  having  much  rain-watei 
lixed  with  them,  flow  with  full  streams :  but  as  the  coun 
ry  has  been  watered  by  showers  and  torn  up  by  torrents 
^hen  the  showers  fail  them,  and  they  are  attracted  in  summer 
the  sun,  they  become  weak,  but  the  Nile,  being  destitute 
rain,  and  attracted  by  the  sun,  is  the  only  river  that  with 
^ood   reason  flows  much  weaker,   than  usual  at  this  time 
than  in  summer ;  for  in  summer  it  is  attracted  equally  with 
11  other  waters,  but  in  winter  it  alone  is  hard  pressed.  Thus 
consider  that  the  sun  is  the  cause  of  these  things.     26.  The 
ime  cause  in  my  opinion  occasions  also  the  dryness  of  the 
jir  in  these  parts,  the  sun  scorching  every  thing  in  his  passage  * 
consequence  of  this,   heat  always  prevails  in  the    upper 
>arts  of  Libya.  But  if  the  order  of  the  seasons  were  changed, 
id  that  part  of  the  heaven  where  the  north  and  winter  are 
jow  placed  could  be  made  the  position  of  the  south  and  mid- 
ly,  and  the  north  were  transferred  to  the  south,  if  such  a 
lange  were  made,  the  sun,  driven  from  the  middle  of  the  fir- 
lament  by  the  winter  and  the  north  wind,  would  go  to  the 
ipper  parts  of  Europe,  as  he  now  does  through  those  of  Libya  j 


104  HERODOTUS  [27-29 

and  I  suppose  he  would  produce  in  his  passage  the  same  ciFecta 
on  the  Ister,  which  he  now  does  on  the  Nile.  27.  Then  with 
regard  to  the  reason  why  no  breezes  blow  from  the  Nile  ;  my 
opinion  is,  that  it  is  very  improbable  they  should  blow  from 
hot  countries,  for  they  generally  blow  from  some  cold  one. 

28.  But  I  leave  these  things  as  they  are,  and  as  they  were 
al  the  beginning.  With  respect  to  the  sources  of  the  Nile,  no 
man  of  all  the  Egyptians,  Libyans,  or  Grecians  with  whom  1 
liavc  conversed,  ever  pretended  to  know  any  thing  ;  except 
the  registrar  of  Minerva's  treasury  at  Sais  in  Egypt.  He  indeed 
seemed  to  be  trifling  with  me,  when  he  said  he  knew  perfectly 
well ;  yet  his  account  was  as  follows  :  "  That  there  are  twc 
mountains  rising  into  a  sharp  peak,  situated  between  the  city 
of  Syene  in  Thebais  and  Elephantine  ;  the  names  of  these  moun- 
tains are,  the  one  Crophi,  the  other  Mophi ;  that  the  sources  of 
the  Nile,  which  are  bottomless,  flow  from  between  these  moun- 
tains ;  and  that  half  of  the  water  flows  over  Egypt,  and  to  the 
north,  the  other  half  over  Ethiopia  and  the  south.  That  the 
fountains  of  the  Nile  are  bottomless,  he  said,  Psammitichus  king 
of  Egypt  proved  by  experiment ;  for  having  caused  a  line  to  be 
twisted  many  thousand  fathoms  in  length,  he  let  it  down,  but 
could  not  find  a  bottom."  Such  then  was  the  opinion  the  regis- 
trar gave,  if  indeed  he  spoke  the  real  truth  ;  proving^  in  my 
opinion,  that  there  are  strong  whirlpools  and  an  eddy  here  ;  so 
that  the  water  beating  against  the  rocks,  a  sounding  line,  when 
let  down,  cannot  reach  the  bottom.  29.  I  was  unable  to  learn 
any  thing  more  from  any  one  else.  But  thus  much  I  learnt  by 
carrying  my  researches  as  far  as  possible,  having  gone  and  made 
my  own  observations  as  far  as  Elephantine,  and  beyond  that 
obtaining  information  from  hearsay.  As  one  ascends  the  river 
above  the  city  of  Elephantine,  the  country  is  steep ;  here 
therefore  it  is  necessary  to  attach  a  rope  on  both  sides  of  a 
boat  as  one  does  with  an  ox  in  a  plough,  and  so  proceed  ;  but 
if  the  rope  should  happen  to  break,  the  boat  is  carried  away 
by  the  force  of  the  stream.  This  kind  of  country  lasts  for  a 
four  days'  passage,  and  the  Nile  here  winds  as  much  as  the 
Mceander.  Tiiere  are  twelve  schoeni,  which  it  is  necessary  to 
sail  through  in  this  manner ;  and  after  that  you  will  come  to 
a  level  plain,  where  the  Nile  flows  round  an  island ;  its  name 
is  Tachompso.  Ethiopians  inhabit  the  country  immediately 
above  Elephantine,  and  one  half  of  the  island  ;  the  other  half 


EUTERPE.    11.  105 

inhabited  bj  Egyptians.  Near  to  this  island  lies  a  vast  lake, 
m  the  borders  of  which  Ethiopian  nomades  dwell ;  after  sail- 
\g  through  this  lake,  you  will  come  to  the  channel  of  the 
file,  which  flows  into  it :  then  you  will  have  to  land  and 
•avel  forty  days  by  the  side  of  the  river,  for  sharp  rocks  rise 
the  Nile,  and  there  are  many  sunken  ones,  through  which 
is  not  possible  to  navigate  a  boat :  having  passed  this  coun- 
:y  in  the  forty  days,  you  must  go  on  board  another  boat,  and 
111  for  twelve  days ;  and  then  you  will  arrive  at  a  large  city, 
died  Meroe  :  this  city  is  said  to  be  the  capital  of  all  Ethiopia, 
i'iie  inhabitants  worship  no  other  gods  than  Jupiter  and  Bac- 
chus ;  but  these  they  honour  with  great  magnificence  ;  they 
lave  also  an  oracle  of  Jupiter  ;  and  they  make  war,  whenever 
that  god  bids  them  by  an  oracular  warning,  and  against  what- 
jver  country  he  bids  them.     30.   Sailing  from  this  city,  you 
n\\  arrive  at  the  country  of  the  Automoli,  in  a  space  of  time 
[ual  to  that  which  you  took  in  coming  from  Elephantine  to 
the  capital  of  the  Ethiopians.     These  Automoli  are  called  by 
[the  name  of  Asmak,  which  in  the  language  of  Greece  signi- 
"  those  that  stand  at  the  left  hand  of  the  king."     These, 
Ito  the  number  of  two  hundred  and   forty  thousand  of  the 
{Egyptian  war-tribe,  revolted  to  the  Ethiopians  on  the  follow- 
ing occasion.     In  the  reign  of  king  Psammitichus  garrisons 
rere  stationed  at  Elephantine  against  the  Ethiopians,   and 
^another  at  the  Pelusian  Daphnaj   against  the  Arabians  and 
Syrians,  and  another  at  Marca  against  Libya  ;    and  even  in 
ly  time  garrisons  of  the  Persians  are  stationed  in  the  same 
[places  as  they  were  in  the  time  of  Psammitichus,  for  they 
maintain  guards  at  Elephantine  and  Daphnaj.     Now  these 
Egyptians,  after  they  had  been  on  duty  three  years,  were  not 
relieved  ;  therefore  having  consulted  together,  and  come  to  an 
unanimous  resolution,  they  all  revolted  from  Psammitichus, 
and  went  to  Ethiopia.     Psammitichus,  hearing  of  this,  pur- 
sued them  :  and  when  he  overtook  them,  he  entreated  them, 
by  many  arguments,  and  adjured  them  not  to  forsake  the  gods 
of  their  fathers,  and  their  children  and  wives.     But  one  of 
them  is  reported  to  have  uncovered  his  private  parts,  and  to 
have  said,  "that  wheresoever  these  were,  there  they  should 
find  both  children  and  wives."    These  men,  when  they  arrived 
in  Ethiopia,  offered  their  services  to  the  king  of  the  Ethiopi- 
ADS,  who  made  them  the  following  recompence.     There  were 


106  HERODOTUS.  [31,32^ 

certain  Ethiopiins  disafiected  towards  him  ;  these  he  bade 
them  expel,  and  take  possession  of  their  land :  by  the  settle- 
ment of  these  men  among  the  Ethiopians,  the  Ethiopians  be-, 
came  more  civilized,  and  learned  the  manners  of  the  Egyptians. 
31.  Now  for  a  voyage  and  land  journey  of  four  months, 
the  Nile  is  known,  in  addition  to  the  part  of  the  stream  that 
is  in  Egypt.  For  upon  computation,  so  many  months  are, 
known  to  be  spent  by  a  person  who  travels  from  Elephantine 
to  the  Automoli.  This  river  flows  from  the  west  and  the  set- 
ting of  the  sun  ;  but  beyond  this  no  one  is  able  to  speak  with 
certainty,  for  the  rest  of  the  country  is  desert  by  reason  of  the 
excessive  heat.  32.  But  I  have  heard  the  following  account 
from  certain  Cyrenceans,  who  say  that  they  went  to  the  oracle 
of  Ammon,  and  had  a  conversation  with  Etearchus  king  of  tho 
Ammonians ;  and  that,  among  other  subjects,  they  happened 
to  discourse  about  the  Nile, — that  nobody  knew  its  sources : 
whereupon  Etearchus  said,  that  certain  Nasamonians  once 
came  to  him ;  this  nation  is  Lybian  and  inhabits  the  Syrtis, 
and  the  country  for  no  great  distance  eastward  of  the  Syrtis ; 
and  that  when  these  Nasamonians  arrived,  and  were  asked  if 
they  could  give  any  further  information  touching  the  deserts 
of  Libya,  they  answered,  that  there  were  some  daring  youths 
amongst  them,  sons  of  powerful  men  ;  and  that  they,  having 
reached  man's  estate,  formed  many  other  extravagant  plans, 
and  moreover  chose  five  of  their  number  by  lot  to  explore  the 
deserts  of  Libya,  to  see  if  they  could  make  any  further  dis- 
covery than  those  who  had  penetrated  the  farthest.  (For  as 
respects  the  parts  of  Libya  along  the  Northern  Sea,  beginning 
from  Egypt  to  the  promontory  of  Solois,  where  is  the  extrem- 
ity of  Libya,  Libyans  and  various  nations  of  Libyans  reach  all 
along  it,  except  those  parts  which  are  occupied  by  Grecians 
and  Phoenicians  :  but  as  respects  the  parts  alDove  the  sea,  and 
those  nations  which  reach  down  to  the  sea,  in  the  upper  parts 
Libya  is  infested  by  wild  beasts  ;  and  all  beyond  that  is  sand, 
dreadfully  short  of  water,  and  utterly  desolate.)  They  further 
related^  "that  when  the  young  men  deputed  by  their  com 
panions  set  out,  well  furnished  with  water  and  provisions, 
they  passed  first  through  the  inhabited  country  ;  and  having 
traversed  this,  they  came  to  the  region  infested  by  wild  beasts ; 
and  after  this  th8y  crossed  the  desert,  making  their  way  to- 
wards the  west ;   and  when  they  had  traversed  much  sandy 


^M.]  EUTERPE.    II  107 


I 

^■ound,  during  a  journey  of  many  days,  they  at  length  saw 

^^me  trees  growing  in  a  plain ;  and  that  they  approached  and 
began  to  gather  the  fruit  that  grew  on  the  trees ;  and  while 
they  were  gathering,  some  diminutive  men,  less  than  men  of 

*  middle  stature,  came  up,  and  having  seized  them  carried  them 
away ;    and  that  the  Nasamonians  did  not  at  all  understand 

j  their  language,  nor  those  who  carried  them  off  the  language 
of  the  Nasamonians.    However,  they  conducted  them  through 

(  vast  morasses,  and  when  they  had  passed  these,  they  came  to 
a  city,  in  which  all  the  inhabitants  were  of  the  same  size  as 
their  conductors,  and  black  in  colour  :  and  by  the  city  flowed 
a  great  river,  running  from  the  west  to  the  east,  and  that 

:  crocodiles  were  seen  in  it."  33.  Thus  far  I  have  set  forth  the 
account  of  Etearchus  the  Ammonian  ;  to  which  may  be  added, 
as  the  Cyrenoeans  assured  me,  "  that  he  said  the  Nasamonians 

;      all  returned  safe  to  their  own  country,  and  that  the  men  whom 

'  they  came  to  were  all  necromancers."  Etearchus  also  conjee 
tured  that  this  river,  which  flows  by  their  city,  is  the  Nile  ; 
and  reason  so  evinces  :  for  the  Nile  flows  from  Libya,  and  in- 
tersects it  in  the  middle ;  and  (as  I  conjecture,  inferring  things 

j  unknown  from  things  known)  it  sets  out  from  a  point  corre- 
sponding with  the  Ister.  For  the  Ister,  beginning  from  the 
Celts,  and  the  city  of  Pyrene,  divides  Europe  in  its  course  : 
but  the  Celts  are  beyond  the  pillars  of  Hercules,  and  border 
on  the  territories  of  the  Cynesians,  who  lie  in  the  extremity 
of  Europe  to  the  westward  ;  and  the  Ister  terminates  by  flow- 
ing through  all  Europe  into  the  Euxine  Sea,  where  a  Milesian 
colony  is  settled  in  lijtria.  34.  Now  the  Ister,  as  it  flows 
through  a  well-peopled  country,  is  generally  known  ;  but  no  one 
is  able  to  speak  about  the  sources  of  the  Nile,  because  Libya, 
through  which  it  flows,  is  uninhabited  and  desolate.  Respect- 
ing this  stream,  therefore,  as  far  as  I  was  able  to  reach  by  in- 
quiry, I  have  already  spoken.  It  however  discharges  itself 
into  Egypt ;  and  Egypt  lies,  as  near  as  may  be,  opposite  to 
the  mountains  of  Cilicia  ;  from  whence  to  Sinope,  on  the 
Euxine  Sea,  is  a  five  days'  journey  in  a  straight  line  to  an 
active  man  ;  and  Sinope  is  opposite  to  the  Ister,  where  it  dis- 
charges itself  into  the  sea.  So  I  think  that  the  Nile,  traversing 
the  whole  of  Libya,  may  be  properly  compared  with  the  Ister. 
Such,  then,  is  the  account  that  I  am  able  to  give  respecting 
the  Nile. 


108  HERODOTUS.  [35—37 

35.  I  now  proceed  to  give  a  more  particular  account  o! 
Egypt ;  it  possesses  more  wonders  than  any  other  country,  an< 
exiiibits  works  greater  than  can  be  described,  in  comparison 
with  all  other  regions  ;  therefore  more  must  be  said  about  it 
Tlie  Egyptians,  besides  having  a  climate  peculiar  to  them*' 
selver-,  and  a  river  differing  in  its  nature  from  all  other  rivers 
liave  adopted  customs  and  usages  in  almost  every  respect  dif 
Ferent  from  the  rest  of  mankind.  Amongst  them  the  womei 
attend  markets  and  traffic,  but  the  men  stay  at  home  an< 
weave.  Other  nations,  in  weaving,  throw  the  wool  upwards 
the  Egyptians,  downwards.  The  men  carry  burdens  on  theii 
heads  ;  the  women,  on  their  shoulders.  The  women  stand  uj 
when  they  make  water,  but  the  men  sit  down.  They  eas< 
themselves  in  their  houses,  but  eat  out  of  doors  ;  alleging  that, 
whatever  is  indecent,  though  necessary,  ought  to  be  done  ii 
private  ;  but  what  is  not  indecent,  openly.  No  woman  cai 
serve  the  office  for  any  god  or  goddess  ;  but  men  are  em- 
ployed for  both  offices.  Sons  are  not  compelled  to  suppoii 
their  parents  unless  they  choose,  but  daughters  are  compellec 
to  do  so,  whether  they  choose  or  not.  36.  In  other  countriej 
the  priests  of  the  gods  wear  long  hair ;  in  Egypt  they  hav( 
it  shaved.  With  other  men  it  is  customary  in  mourning  foi 
the  nearest  relations  to  have  their  heads  shorn;  the  Egyp< 
tians,  on  occasions  of  death,  let  the  hair  grow  both  on  th< 
head  and  face,  though  till  then  used  to  shave.  Other  mei 
live  apart  from  beasts  ;  but  the  Egyptians  live  with  them. 
Others  feed  on  wheat  and  barley,  but  it  is  a  very  great  disgrac 
for  an  Egyptian  to  make  food  of  them  ;  but  they  make  breac 
from  spelt,  which  some  call  zea.  They  knead  the  dough  witl 
their  feet ;  but  mix  clay  and  take  up  dung  with  their  hands* 
Otlier  men  leave  their  private  parts  as  they  are  formed  bj 
nature,  except  those  who  have  learnt  otherwise  from  them 
but  the  Egyptians  are  circumcised.  Every  man  wears  tw< 
garments  ;  the  women,  but  one.  Other  men  fasten  the  rings 
and  sheets  of  tlieir  sails  outside ;  but  the  Egyptians,  inside. 
The  Grecians  write  and  cipher,  moving  the  hand  from  left 
to  right ;  but  the  Egyptians,  from  right  to  left :  and  doing  so 
they  say  they  do  it  right-ways,  and  the  Greeks  left-way* 
They  have  two  sorts  of  letters,  one  of  which  is  called  sacred, 
the  other  common. 

37.  They  are  of  all  men  the  most  excessively  attentive 


I 


39.]  EUTERPE.    II. 

the  worship  of  the  gods,  and  observe  the  following  ceremo- 
nies. They  drink  from  cups  of  brass,  which  they  soour  every 
day ;  nor  is  this  custom  practised  by  some  and  neglected  by 
others,  but  all  do  it.  They  wear  linen  garments,  constantly 
fresh  washed,  and  they  pay  particular  attention  to  this.  I'hey 
are  circumcised  for  the  sake  of  cleanliness,  thinking  it  better 
to  be  clean  than  handsome.  The  priests  shave  their  whole 
body  every  third  day,  that  neither  lice  nor  any  other  impurity 
may  be  found  upon  them  when  engaged  in  the  service  of  the 
gods.  The  priests  wear  linen  only,  and  shoes  of  byblus,  and 
are  not  permitted  to  wear  any  other  garments,  or  other  shoes. 
They  wash  themselves  in  cold  water  twice  every  day,  and 
twice  every  night  ;  and,  in  a  word,  they  use  a  number  of  ce- 
remonies. On  the  other  hand,  they  enjoy  no  slight  advantages, 
for  they  do  not  consume  or  expend  any  of  their  private 
property ;  but  sacred  food  is  cooked  for  them,  and  a  great 
quantity  of  beef  and  geese  is  allowed  each  of  them  every  day, 
and  wine  from  the  grape  is  given  them  ;  but  they  may  nol 
taste  of  fish.  Beans  the  Egyptians  do  not  sow  at  all  in  their 
country,  neither  do  they  eat  those  that  happen  to  grow  there, 
nor  taste  them  when  dressed.  The  priests,  indeed,  abhor  the 
fight  of  that  pulse,  accounting  it  impure.  The  service  of  each 
god  is  performed,  not  by  one,  but  by  many  priests,  of 
wliom  one  is  chief  priest ;  and,  when  any  one  of  them  dies,  his 
son  is  put  in  his  place.  38.  The  male  kine  they  deem  sacred 
to  Epaphus,  and  to  that  end  prove  them  in  the  following 
manner.  If  the  examiner  finds  one  black  hair  upon  him,  he 
adjudges  him  to  be  unclean  ;  and  one  of  the  priests  appointed 
for  this  purpose  makes  this  examination,  botli  when  the  ani- 
mal is  standing  up  and  lying  down  ;  and  he  draws  out  the 
tongue,  to  see  if  it  is  pure  as  to  the  prescribed  marks,  which  I 
sliall  mention  in  another  part  of  my  history.  He  also  looks 
at  the  hairs  of  his  tail,  whether  they  grow  naturally.  If  tlie 
beast  is  found  pure  in  all  these  respects,  he  marks  it  by  roll- 
ing a  piece  of  byblus  round  the  horns,  and  then  having  put  on  it 
some  sealing  earth,  he  impresses  it  with  his  signet ;  and  so  they 
drive  him  away.  Any  one  who  sacrifices  one  that  is  unmark- 
ed, is  punished  with  death.  In  this  manner  the  animal  is 
proved.  39.  The  established  mode  of  sacrifice  is  this  :  having 
led  the  victim,  properly  marked,  to  the  altar  where  they  in- 
tend to  sacrifice,  they  kindle  a  fire.     Then   having  poured 


110  HERODOTUS.  [40,41 

wine  upon  the  altar,  near  the  victim,  and  having  invoked 
the  god,  they  kill  it ;  and  after  they  have  killed  it,  they  cut 
off  the  head  ;  but  they  flay  the  body  of  the  animal :  then  hav- 
ing pronounced  many  imprecations  on  the  head,  they  who 
have  a  market  and  Grecian  merchants  dwelling  amongst  them, 
carry  it  there,  and  having  so  done,  they  usually  sell  it ;  but 
they  who  have  no  Grecians  amongst  them,  throw  it  into  the 
river  :  and  they  pronounce  the  following  imprecations  on  the 
head  :  "  If  any  evil  is  about  to  befal  either  those  that  now 
sacrifice,  or  Egypt  in  general,  may  it  be  averted  on  this 
liead."  With  respect,  then,  to  the  heads  of  beasts  that  are  sa- 
crificed, and  to  the  making  libations  of  wine,  all  the  Egyptians 
observe  the  same  customs  in  all  sacrifices  alike  :  and  from 
this  custom  no  Egyptian  will  taste  of  the  head  of  any  animal. 
40.  But  a  different  mode  of  disembowelling  and  burning  the 
victims  prevails  in  different  sacrifices.  I  proceed  therefore 
to  speak  of  the  practice  with  regard  to  the  goddess  whom  they 
consider  tlie  greatest,  and  in  whose  honour  they  celebrate  the 
most  magnificent  festival.  When  they  have  flayed  the  bul- 
locks, having  first  offered  up  prayers,  they  take  out  all  the 
intestines,  and  leave  the  vitals  with  the  fat  in  the  carcass  : 
and  they  then  cut  off  the  legs  and  the  extremity  of  the  hip, 
with  the  shoulders  and  neck,  and  having  done  this,  they  fill 
tlie  bocty  of  tlie  bullock  with  fine  breads  honey,  raisins,  figs, 
frankincense,  myrrh,  and  other  perfumes  ;  and  after  they 
have  filled  it  with  these,  they  burn  it,  pouring  on  it  a  great 
quantity  of  oil.  They  sacrifice  after  they  have  fasted  ;  and 
while  the  sacred  things  are  being  burnt,  they  all  beat  them- 
selves ;  and  when  they  have  done  beating  themselves,  they 
spread  a  banquet  of  what  remains  of  the  victims. 

41.  All  the  Egyptians  therefore  sacrifice  the  pure  male 
kine  and  calves,  but  they  are  not  allowed  to  sacrifice  the  fe- 
males, for  they  are  sacred  to  Isis  ;  for  the  image  of  Isis  is 
made  in  the  form  of  a  woman  with  the  horns  of  a  cow,  as  the 
Grecians  represent  lo  ;  and  all  Egyptians  alike  pay  a  far 
greater  reverence  to  cows  than  to  any  other  cattle.  So  that 
no  Egyptian  man  or  woman  will  kiss  a  Grecian  on  the  mouth  ; 
or  use  the  knife,  spit,  or  caldron  of  a  Greek,  or  taste  of  the 
flesh  of  a  pure  ox  that  has  been  divided  by  a  Grecian  knife. 
They  bury  the  kine  that  die  in  the  following  manner  ;  the 
females  they  throw  into  the  river,  and  the  males  they  sever* 


^.]  EUTERPE.     II.  Ill 

y  inter  in  the  suburbs,  with  one  horn,  or  both,  appearing 
ve  the  ground,  for  a  mark.  When  it  m  putrified  and 
e  appointed  time  arrives,  a  raft  comes  to  each  city  from 
e  island  called  Prosopitis ;  this  island  is  in  the  Delta,  and  is 
ine  schoeni  in  circumference  :  now  in  this  island  Prosopitis 
there  are  several  cities  ;  but  that  from  which  the  rafts  come 
to  take  away  the  bones  of  the  oxen,  is  called  Atarbcchis  ;  in 
it  a  temple  of  Venus  has  been  erected.  From  this  city  then 
many  persons  go  about  to  other  towns  ;  and  having  dug  up 
the  bones,  all  carry  them  away,  and  bury  them  in  one  place ; 
and  they  bury  all  other  cattle  that  die  in  the  same  way  that 
they  do  the  oxen  ;  for  they  do  not  kill  any  of  them.  42.  All 
tiiose  who  have  a  temple  erected  to  Theban  Jupiter,  or  be- 
long to  the  Theban  district,  abstain  from  sheep,  and  sacrifice 
goats  only.  For  the  Egyptians  do  not  all  worship  the  same 
gods  in  the  same  manner,  except  Isis  and  Osiris,  who,  they 
say,  is  Bacchus  ;  but  these  deities  they  all  worship  in  the 
same  manner.  On  the  other  hand,  those  who  frequent  the 
temple  of  Mendes,  and  belong  to  the  Mendesian  district,  ab- 
stain from  goats,  and  sacrifice  sheep.  Now  the  Thebans,  and 
such  as  abstain  from  sheep  after  their  example,  say,  that  this 
custom  was  established  among  them  in  the  following  way  : 
that  Hercules  was  very  desirous  of  seeing  eJupiter,  but  Ju- 
piter was  unwilling  to  be  seen  by  him  ;  at  last,  liowevei*,  as 
Hercules  persisted,  Jupiter  had  recourse  to  the  following  con- 
trivance :  having  flayed  a  ram,  he  cut  oflf  the  head,  and  held 
it  before  himself,  and  then  having  put  on  the  fleece,  he  in 
that  form  showed  himself  to  Hercules."  From  this  circum- 
stance the  Egj'^ptians  make  the  image  of  Jupiter  with  a  ram's 
face  ;  and  from  the  Egyptians  the  Ammonians,  who  are  a 
colony  of  Egyptians  and  Ethiopians,  and  who  speak  a  lan- 
guage between  both,  have  adopted  the  saine  practice ;  and,  as 
I  conjecture,  the  Ammonians  from  hence  derived  their  name, 
for  the  Egyptians  call  Jupiter,  Ammon.  The  Thebans  then 
do  not  sacrifice  rams,  but  they  are  for  the  above  reason  ac- 
counted sacred  by  them  ;  on  one  day  in  the  year,  however,  at 
the  festival  of  Jupiter,  they  kill  and  flay  one  ram,  and  put  it 
on  the  image  of  Jupiter,  and  then  they  bring  another  image 
of  Hercules  to  it  ;  when  they  have  done  this,  all  who  are  in 
the  temple  beat  themselves  in  mourning  for  the  ram,  and  then 
bury  him  in  a  sacred  vault. 


112  HERODOTUS  [43.44 

43.  Of*  this  Hercules  I  have  heard  this  account,  that  he  ia 
one  of  the  twelve  gods  ;  but  of  the  other  Hercules,  who  ia 
known  to  the  Grecians,  I  could  never  hear  in  any  part  oi 
Egypt  And  that  the  Egyptians  did  not  derive  the  name  of 
Hercules  from  the  Grecians,  but  rather  the  Grecians  (and  espe- 
cially those  who  gave  the  name  of  Hercules  to  the  son  of  Am- 
phitryon) from  the  Egyptians,  I  have  both  many  other  proofs 
to  show,  and  moreover  the  following,  that  the  parents  of  this 
Hercules,  Amphitryon  and  Alcmene,  were  both  of  Egyptian 
descent,  and  because  the  Egyptians  say  they  do  not  know  the 
names  of  Neptune  and  the  Dioscuri,  and  that  they  have  never 
been  admitted  into  the  number  of  their  gods  ;  yet  if  they  had 
derived  the  name  of  any  deity  from  the  Grecians,  they  would 
certainly  have  mentioned  these  above  all  others,  since  even  at 
that  time  they  made  voyages,  and  some  of  the  Grecians  were 
sailors,  so  that  I  believe,  and  am  persuaded,  that  the  Egyp- 
tians must  have  learnt  the  names  of  these  gods,  rather  than 
that  of  Hercules.  But  Hercules  is  one  of  the  ancient  gods  of 
the  Egyptians ;  and  as  they  say  themselves,  it  was  seventeen 
thousand  years  before  the  reign  of  Amasis,  when  the  number 
of  their  gods  was  increased  from  eight  to  twelve,  of  whom 
Hercules  was  accounted  one.  44.  And  being  desirous  of  ob- 
taining certain  information  from  whatever  source  I  could,  I 
sailed  to  Tyre  in  Phoenicia,  having  heard  that  there  was  there 
a  temple  dedicated  to  Hercules ;  and  I  saw  it  richly  adorned 
witli  a  great  variety  of  offerings,  and  in  it  were  two  pillars,; 
one  of  fine  gold,  the  other  of  emerald  stone,  both  shining  ex- 
ceedingly* at  night.  Conversing  with  the  priests  of  this 
god,  I  inquired  how  long  this  temple  had  been  built,  and  1 
found  that  neither  did  they  agree  with  the  Greeks.  For  they 
said  that  the  temple  was  built  at  the  time  when  Tyre  was 
founded,  and  that  two  thousand  three  hundred  years  had 
elapsed  since  the  foundation  of  Tyre.  In  this  city  I  also  saw 
another  temple  dedicated  to  Hercules  by  the  name  of  Thasian  ; 
1  went  therefore  to  Thasos,  and  found  there  a  temple  of  Her- 
cules built  by  the  Phoenicians,  who,  having  set  sail  in  search 
of  Europa,  founded  Thasos  ;  and  this  occurred  five  generations 
before  Hercules  the  son  of  Amphitryon  appeared  in  Greece. 
Tlie  researches  then  that  I  have  made  evidently  prove,  that 

*  MtyaCos  must  be  here  construed  as  an  adverb     but  Baehr  thinks 
Ihat  the  text  is  corrupt. 


4B--47.]  EUTERPE.     U,  113 

Jlercuies  is  a  god  of  great  antiquity,  and  therefore  those 
Grecians  appear  to  me  to  have  acted  most  correctly,  who 
have  built  two  kinds  of  temples  sacred  to  Hercules,  and  who 
sacrificed  to  one  as  an  immortal,  under  the  name  of  Olympian, 
and  paid  honour  to  the  other  as  a  hero.  45.  But  the  Grecians 
say  many  other  things  on  this  subject  inconsiderately;  for 
instance,  this  i«  a  silly  story  of  theirs  which  they  tell  of  Her- 
cules :  that,  "  when  he  arrived  in  Egypt,  the  Egyptians,  having 
crowned  him  with  a  garland,  led  him  in  procession,  as  design- 
ing to  sacrifice  him  to  Jupiter,  and  that  for  some  time  he  re- 
mained quiet,  but  when  they  began  the  preparatory  ceremo- 
nies upon  him  at  the  altar,  he  set  about  defending  himself  and 
slew  every  one  of  them."  Now  the  Greeks  who  tell  this  story 
appear  to  me  to  be  utterly  ignorant  of  the  character  and  cus- 
toms of  the  Egyptians.  For  how  can  they  who  are  forbidden 
to  sacrifice  any  kind  of  animal,  except  swine,  and  such  bulls 
and  calves  as  are  without  blemish,  and  geese,  sacrifice  human 
beings  ?  Moreover,  since  Hercules  was  but  one,  and  besides  a 
mere  man,  as  they  confess,  how  is  it  probable  that  he  should 
shiy  many  thousands  ?  And  in  thus  speaking  of  them  may  I 
niect  with  indulgence  both  from  gods  and  heroes. 

46.  The  reason  why  the  Egyptians  above  mentioned  do  not 
sacrifice  tlie  goat,  either  male  or  female,  is  as  follows :  the 
IMendesians  consider  Pan  one  of  the  eight  gods,  and  they  say, 
that  these  eight  existed  prior  to  the  twelve  gods.  And  indeed 
their  painters  and  sculptors  represent  Pan  with  the  face  and 
legs  of  a  goat,  as  the  Grecians  do :  not  that  they  imagine  this 
to  be  his  real  form,  for  they  think  him  like  other  gods ;  but 
why  they  represent  him  in  this  way  I  had  rather  not  mention. 
However,  the  Mendesians  pay  reverence  to  all  goats,  and  more 
to  tlie  males  than  to  the  females,  (and  the  goatherds  who  tend 
them  receive  greater  honour,)  and  particularly  one  he-goat,  oil 
whose  death  public  mourning  is  observed  throughout  tlie 
whole  Mendcsian  district.  In  the  language  of  Egypt,  both  a 
goat  and  Pan  are  called  Mendes ;  and  in  my  time  the  follow- 
ing prodigy  occurred  in  this  district :  a  goat  had  connexion 
with  a  woman  in  open  day  :  this  came  to  the  knowledge  of  all 
men.  47.  The  Egyptians  consider  the  pig  to  be  an  impure 
beast,  and  therefore  if  a  man  in  passing  by  a  pig  should  touch 
him  only  with  his  garments,  he  forthwith  goes  to  the  river 
and  plunges  in  :  and  in  the  next  place,  swineherds,  although 

I 


114  HERODOTUS  [48,49. 

native  Egyptians,  are  the  only  men  who  are  not  allowed  to 
enter  any  of  their  temples;  neither  will  any  man  give  his 
daughter  in  marriage  to  one  of  them,  nor  take  a  wife  from 
among  them ;  but  the  swineherds  intermarry  among  them* 
selves.  Tiie  Egyptians  therefore  do  not  think  it  right  to 
sacrifice  swine  to  any  other  deities  ;  but  to  the  moon  and 
Bacchus  they  do  sacrifice  them,  at  the  same  time,  that  is,  at 
the  same  full  moon,  and  then  they  eat  of  the  flesh.  A  tradi 
tion  is  related  by  the  Egyptians  in  relation  to  this  matter, 
giving  an  account  why  they  abhor  swine  on  all  other  festivals, 
and  sacrifice  them  in  that ;  but  it  is  more  becoming  for  me, 
though  I  know  it,  not  to  mention  it.  This  sacrifice  of  pigs  to 
the  moon  is  performed  in  the  following  manner:  when  the 
sacrificer  has  slain  the  victim,  he  puts  together  the  tip  of  tlie 
tail,  with  the  spleen  and  the  caul,  and  then  covers  them  with 
the  fat  found  about  the  belly  of  the  animal ;  and  next  he  con- 
sumes them  with  fire  :  the  rest  of  the  flesh  they  eat  during  th( 
full  moon  in  which  they  offer  the  sacrifices  ;  but  in  no  other 
(lay  would  any  one  even  taste  it.  The  poor  amongst  them, 
through  want  of  means,  form  pigs  of  dough,  and  having  baked 
them,  offer  them  in  sacrifice.  48.  On  the  eve  of  the  festival 
of  Bacclius,  every  one  slays  a  pig  before  his  door,  and  titer 
restores  it  to  the  swineherd  that  sold  it,  that  he  may  carry  il 
away.  The  rest  of  this  festival  to  Bacchus,  except  as  regards 
the  pigs,  the  Egyptians  celebrate  much  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  Greeks  do,  but  only,  instead  of  phalli,  they  have  invented 
certain  images,  as  much  as  a  cubit  in  height,  moved  by  strings, 
which  women  carry  about  the  villages,  and  which  have  the 
member  nodding,  in  size  not  much  less  than  the  rest  of  th( 
body ;  a  pipe  leads  the  way,  and  the  women  follow,  singing 
the  praises  of  Bacchus.  But  why  it  has  the  member  so  large, 
and  -uoves  no  other  part  of  the  body,  is  accounted  for  by  a 
sacred  story.  49.  Now  Melampus,  son  of  Amytheon,  appears 
to  me  not  to  have  been  ignorant  of  this  sacrifice,  but  per- 
fectly well  acquainted  with  it ;  for  Melampus  is  the  person 
who  first  introduced  among  the  Greeks  the  name  and  sacri- 
fices of  Bacchus,  and  the  procession  of  the  phallus  ;  he  did  not, 
however,  fully  explain  every  particular,  but  other  learned  per- 
sons who  lived  after  him  revealed  them  more  accurately 
Melampus,  then,  is  the  person  who  introduced  the  procession 
'jC  the  phallus  in  honour  of  Bacchus,  and  from  him  the  Greekj 


EUTERPE.     IL  115 

having  learnt  it,  do  as  they  do.  For  my  part  I  think  that 
Melampus,  being  a  wise  man,  both  acquired  the  art  of  divina- 
tion, and  having  learnt  many  other  things  in  Egypt,  intro- 
duced them  among  the  Greeks,  and  particularly  the  worship 
of  Bacchus,  changing  only  some  few  particulars  ;  for  I  cannot 
admit  that  the  ceremonies  adopted  in  Egypt  in  honour  of  this 
god.  and  those  among  the  Greeks,  coincide  by  chance  ;  in  that 
case  they  would  be  conformable  to  Grecian  customs,  and  not 
have  been  lately  introduced ;  neither  can  I  admit  that  the 
Egyptians  borrowed  either  this  or  any  other  usage  from  tiie 
Greeks.  But  I  am  of  opinion  that  Melampus  obtained  his 
information  respecting  the  ceremonies  of  Bacchus,  chiefly  from 
Cadmus  tlie  Tyrian,  and  those  who  accompanied  him  from 
Phoenicia  to  the  country  now  called  Boeotia. 

50.  And  indeed  the  names  of  almost  all  the  gods  came  from 
Egypt  into  Greece  ;  for  that  they  came  from  barbarians  I 
tind  on  inquiry  to  be  the  case ;  and  I  think  they  chiefly  pro- 
ceeded {rom  Egypt.  For  with  the  exception  of  Neptune  and 
the  Dioscuri,  as  I  before  mentioned,  and  Juno,  Vesta,  Themis, 
tha  Graces,  and  the  Nereids,  the  names  of  all  the  others  have 
always  existed  among  the  Egyptians :  in  this  I  repeat  what 
the  Egyptians  themselves  affirm ;  but  the  gods  whose  names 
they  say  they  are  not  acquainted  with,  I  think,  derived  their 
names  from  tlie  Pelasgians,  with  the  exception  of  Neptune ; 
this  god  tliey  learned  from  the  Libyans,  for  no  people,  except 
the  Libyans,  originally  possessed  the  name  of  Neptune,  and 
they  have  always  worshipped  him.  Moreover  the  Egyptians 
pay  no  religious  honour  to  heroes.  51.  These,  and  other 
customs  besides,  which  I  shall  hereafter  mention,  the  Grecians 
received  from  the  Egyptians.  The  practice  of  making  the 
images  of  Mercury  with  the  member  erect,  they  did  not  learn 
from  the  Egyptians,  but  from  the  Pelasgians :  the  Athenians 
were  the  first  of  all  the  Greeks  who  adopted  this  practice,  and 
others  from  them ;  for  the  Pelasgians  dwelt  in  the  same 
country  as  the  Athenians,  who  were  already  ranked  among 
Greeks,  whence  they  also  began  to  be  reckoned  as  Gre- 
cians. Whoever  is  initiated  in  the  mysteries  of  the  Cabiii, 
which  the  Samotliracians  have  adopted  from  the  Pelasgians, 
knows  wliat  I  mean.  For  these  Pelasgians  dwelt  in  the 
same  country  as  the  Athenians  formerly  inhabited,  Samo- 
thrace,  and  from  them  the  Samothracians  learnt  the  mysteries  : 

i2 


116  HERODOTUS.  \6^-65. 

the  Athenians  therefore  were  the  first  of  the  Grecians  who, 
having  learnt  the  practice  from  the  Pelasgians,  made  the 
images  of  Mercury  with  the  member  erect ;  but  the  Pelasgians 
assign  a  certain  sacred  reason  for  this,  which  is  explained  in 
the  mysteries  of  Samothrace.  52.  Formerly  the  Pelasgians 
sacrificed  all  sorts  of  victims  to  the  gods  with  prayer,  as  I  was 
informed  at  Dodona,  but  they  gave  no  surname  or  name  to 
any  of  them,  for  they  had  not  yet  heard  of  them ;  but  they 
called  them  gods,  because  they  had  set  in  order  and  ruled 
over  all  things.  Then,  in  course  of  time,  they  learnt  the 
names  of  the  other  gods  that  were  brought  from  Egypt,  and 
after  some  time,  that  of  Bacchus.  Concerning  the  names  they 
consulted  the  oracle  of  Dodona,  for  this  oracle  is  accounted 
the  most  ancient  of  those  that  are  in  Greece,  and  was  then  the 
only  one.  When  therefore  the  Pelasgians  inquired  at  Dodona 
"  whether  they  should  receive  the  names  that  came  from  bar- 
barians," the  oracle  answered,  "that  they  should/'  From  that 
time  therefore  they  adopted  the  names  of  the  gods  in  their 
sacrifices,  and  the  Grecians  afterwards  received  them  from 
the  Pelasgians.  53.  AVhence  each  of  the  gods  sprung, 
whether  they  existed  always,  and  of  what  form  they  were, 
M\is,  so  to  speak,  unknown  till  yesterday.  For  I  am  of 
opinion  that  Hesiod  and  Homer  lived  four  hundred  years  be- 
fore my  time,  and  not  more,  and  these  were  they  wlio  framed 
a  theogony  for  the  Greeks,  and  gave  names  to  the  gods,  and 
assigned  to  them  honours  and  arts,  and  declared  their  several 
forms.  15  ut  the  poets,  said  to  have  been  before  them,  in  my 
opinion,  were  after  them.  The  first  part  of  the  above  state- 
ment is  derived  from  the  Dodonaean  priestesses  ;  but  the  latter, 
that  relates  to  Hesiod  and  Homer,  I  say  on  my  own  authority. 
54.  Concerning  the  two  oracles,  one  in  Greece,  the  other  in 
Libya,  the  Egyptians  give  the  following  account.  The  priests 
of  the  Theban  Jupiter  say,  "  that  two  women,  employed  in 
the  temple,  were  carried  away  from  Thebes  by  certain  Phoeni- 
cians, and  that  one  of  them  was  discovered  to  have  been  sold 
into  Libya,  the  other  to  the  Greeks ;  and  that  these  two 
women  were  the  first  who  established  oracles  in  the  nations 
above  mentioned."  When  I  inquired  how  they  knew  this  for 
a  certainty,  they  answered,  "  that  they  made  diligent  search 
for  these  women,  and  were  never  able  to  find  them  ;  but  had 
afterwards  heard  the  account  they  gave  of  them."     55,  This, 


6ft-ViB]  EUTERPE,    II.  117 

then  is  the  account  I  heard  from  the  priests  at  Thebes ;  but 
the  prophetesses  at  Dodona  say,  '"  that  two  black  pigeons  flew 
away  from  Thebes  in  Egypt ;  that  one  of  them  went  to  Libya, 
and  the  other  to  them  ;  that  this  last,  sitting  perched  on  an 
oak  tree,  proclaimed  in  a  human  voice,  that  it  was  fitting  an 
oracle  should  be  erected  there  to  Jupiter  ;  and  that  the  people 
believed  this  to  be  a  divine  message  to  them,  and  did  accord- 
ingly. They  add,  that  the  other  pigeon,  which  flew  into 
Libya,  commanded  the  Libyans  to  found  the  oracle  of  Am- 
mon;"  this  also  belongs  to  Jupiter.  The  priestesses  of 
Dodona,  of  whom  the  eldest  is  named  Promenia,  the  second 
Timarete,  and  the  youngest  Nicandra,  gave  this  account ;  and 
tlie  rest  of  the  Dodonasans,  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  tem- 
ple, agreed  with  them.  56.  My  opinion  of  these  things  ia 
this  :  if  the  Phoenicians  did  really  carry  oif  the  women  em- 
ployed in  the  temple,  and  sold  the  one  of  them  into  Libya  and 
the  other  into  Greece,  this  last  woman,  as  I  think,  was  sold  to 
some  Thesprotians,  in  that  part  which  is  now  called  Plellas, 
but  was  formerly  called  Pelasgia  :  then,  being  reduced  to 
slavery,  she  erected  a  temple  to  Jupiter,  under  an  oak  that 
grew  there  ;  nothing  being  more  natural,  than  that  she,  who 
ha^  been  an  attendant  in  the  temple  of  Jupiter  at  Thebes, 
should  retain  the  memory  of  it  wherever  she  came.  And 
after  this,  when  she  had  learned  the  Greek  language,  she  in- 
stituted an  oracle  ;  and  she  said  that  her  sister  in  Libya  had 
been  sold  by  the  same  Phoenicians  by  whom  she  herself  was 
sold.  57.  The  women,  I  conjecture,  were  called  doves  by  the 
Dodona3ans,  because  they  were  barbarians,  and  they  seemed  to 
them  to  chatter  like  birds ;  but  after  a  time,  when  the  woman 
spoke  intelligibly  to  them,  they  presently  reported  that  the 
dove  had  spoken  with  a  human  voice  ;  for  as  long  as  she  used 
a  barbarous  language,  she  appeared  to  them  to  cliatter  like  a 
bird  :  for  how  could  a  dove  speak  with  a  human  voice  ?  But 
in  saying  tliat  the  dove  was  black,  they  show  that  the  woman 
was  an  Egyptian.  Tiie  manner  in  which  oracles  are  delivered 
at  Thebes  in  Egypt,  and  at  Dodona,  is  very  similar  ;  and  the 
art  of  divination  from  victims  came  likewise  from  Egypt. 

58.  The  Egyptians  were  also  the  first  who  introduced  pub- 
lic festivals,  processions,  and  solemn  supplications  ;  and  the 
Greeks  learnt  them  from  them  :  for  these  rites  appear  to 
have  been  established  fa*"  ^  very  long  time,  but  those  in  Greece 


118  HEEODOTUS.  »-e2 

have  been  lately  introduced.  59.  The  Egyptians  hold  public 
festivals  not  only  on  >3  in  a  year,  but  several  times  :  that  which 
is  best  and  most  rigidly  observed,  is  in  the  city  of  Bubastis,  in 
honour  of  Diana ;  the  second,  in  the  city  of  Busiris,  is  in 
honour  of  Isis ;  for  in  this  city  is  the  largest  temple  of  Isis, 
and  it  is  situated  in  the  middle  of  the  Egyptian  Delta.  Isis 
is  in  the  Grecian  language  called  Demeter.  The  third  festi- 
val is  held  at  Sais,  in  honour  of  Minerva  ;  the  fourth,  at  He- 
liopolis,  in  honour  of  the  sun  ;  the  fifth,  at  the  city  of  Buto, 
in  honour  of  Latona ;  the  sixth,  at  the  city  of  Papremis,  in 
honour  of  Mars.  60.  Now,  when  they  are  being  conveyed  to 
the  city  Bubastis,  they  act  as  follows :  for  men  and  women 
embark  together,  and  great  numbers  of  both  sexes  in  every 
barge  :  some  of  the  women  have  castanets  on  wliich  they  play, 
and  the  men  play  on  the  flute  during  the  whole  voyage ;  the 
rest  of  the  women  and  men  sing  and  clap  their  hands  together 
at  the  same  time.  When  in  the  course  of  their  passage  they 
come  to  any  town,  they  lay  their  barge  near  to  land,  and  do  as 
follows  :  some  of  the  women  do  as  I  have  described  ;  others  shout 
and  scoff  at  the  women  of  the  place  5  some  dance,  and  others 
stand  up  and  pull  up  their  clothes  :  this  they  do  at  every  town  by 
the  river-side.  When  they  arrive  at  Bubastis,  they  celebrate  tlie 
feast,  offering  up  great  sacrifices ;  and  more  wine  is  consumed  at 
this  festival  than  in  all  the  rest  of  the  year.  What  with  men 
and  women,  besides  children,  they  congregate,  as  the  inhabit- 
ants say,  to  the  number  of  seven  hundred  thousand.  61.  I 
have  already  related  how  they  celebrate  the  festival  of  Isis  in 
the  city  of  Busiris ;  and  besides,  all  the  men  and  women,  to 
the  number  of  many  myriads,  beat  themselves  after  the  sacri- 
fice ;  but  for  whom  they  beat  themselves  it  were  impious  for 
me  to  divulge.  All  the  Carians  that  are  settled  in  Egypt  do 
still  more  than  this,  in  that  they  cut  their  foreheads  with 
knives,  and  thus  show  themselves  to  be  foreigners  and  not 
Egyptians.  62.  When  they  are  assembled  at  the  sacrifice,  in 
the  city  of  Sais,  they  all  on  a  certain  night  kindle  a  great 
number  of  lamps  in  the  open  air,  around  their  houses  ;  the 
lamps  are  flat  vessels  filled  with  salt  and  oil,  and  the  wick 
floats  on  the  surface,  and  this  burns  all  night ;  and  the  festival 
is  thence  named  "the  lighting  of  lamps."  The  Egyptians  whc 
do  not  come  to  this  public  assembly  observe  the  rite  of  sacrifice, 
and  all  kindle  lamps,  and  this  not  only  in  Sais,  but  throughout 


63,64,]  EUTERPE.    II.  119 

all  Egypt.  A  religious  reason  is  given  why  this  night  is  illumin- 
ated and  so  honoured.  63.  Those  who  assemble  at  Heliopolis 
and  Buto  perform  sacrifices  only.  But  in  Papremis  they  offer 
sacrifices  and  perform  ceremonies,  as  in  other  places  ;  but, 
when  the  sun  is  on  the  decline,  a  few  priests  are  occupied 
about  the  image,  but  the  greater  number  stand,  with  wooden 
clubs,  at  the  entrance  of  the  temple  ;  while  others  accomplish- 
ing their  vows,  amounting  to  more  than  a  thousand  men,  each 
armed  in  like  manner,  stand  in  a  body  on  the  opposite  side. 
But  the  image,  placed  in  a  small  wooden  temple,  gilded  all 
over,  they  carry  out  to  another  sacred  dwelling :  then  the  few 
who  were  left  about  the  image  draw  a  four-wheeled  carriage, 
containing  the  temple  and  the  image  that  is  in  it.  But  the 
priests,  who  stand  at  the  entrance,  refuse  to  give  them  admit- 
tance ;  and  the  votaries,  bringing  succour  to  the  god,  oppose, 
and  then  strike,  whereupon  an  obstinate  combat  with  clubs 
ensues,  and  they  break  one  another's  heads,  and,  as  I  conjec- 
ture, many  die  of  their  wounds  ;  though  the  Egyptians  deny 
that  any  one  dies.  64.  The  inhabitants  say  they  instituted  this 
festival  on  the  following  occasion  :  they  say,  that  the  mother 
of  Mars  dwelt  in  this  temple,  and  that  Mars,  who  had  been 
educated  abroad,  when  he  reached  to  man's  estate,  came,  and 
wished  to  converse  with  his  mother ;  and  that  his  mother's 
attendants,  as  they  had  never  seen  him  before,  did  not  allow 
him  to  pass  them,  but  repelled  him  ;  whereupon  he,  having 
collected  men  from  another  city,  handled  the  servants  roughly, 
and  got  access  to  his  mother.  In  consequence  of  this,  they 
say  that  they  have  instituted  this  combat  on  this  festival  in 
honour  of  Mars. 

The  Egyptians  were  likewise  the  first  who  made  it  a  point 
of  religion  that  men  should  abstain  from  women  in  the  sacred 
precincts  ;  and  not  enter  unwashed  after  the  use  of  a  woman. 
For  almost  all  other  nations,  except  the  Egyptians  and  Gre- 
cians, have  intercourse  in  sacred  places,  and  enter  them  unwash- 
ed ;  thinking  mankind  to  be  like  other  animals  :  therefore, 
since  they  see  other  animals  and  birds  coupling  in  the  shrines  * 
and  temples  of  the  gods,  they  conclude  that  if  this  were  dis  • 
pleasing  to  the  god,  the  brute  creatures  even  would  not  do  it. 
Now,  they  who  argue  thus,  act  in  a  manner  that  I  canncl 
approve.  The  Egyptians,  then,  are  beyond  neasure  scru- 
»  See  Book  I.  ch.  199. 


120  HERODOTUS.  [65, 66, 

pulous  in  all  things  concerning  religion,  and  especially  in  the 
above-mentioned  particulars. 

65.  Egypt,  though  bordering  on  Libya,  does  not  abound  in 
wild  beasts  ;  but  all  that  they  have  are  accounted  sacred,  as 
well  those  that  are  domesticated  as  those  that  are  not.  But 
if  I  should  give  the  reasons  why  they  are  consecrated,  I  must 
descend  in  my  history  to  religious  matters,  which  I  avoid  re- 
lating as  much  as  I  can  ;  and  such  as  I  have  touched  upon  in 
the  course  of  my  narrative,  I  have  mentioned  from  necessity. 
They  have  a  custom  relating  to  animals  of  the  following  kind. 
Superintendents,  consisting  both  of  men  and  women,  are  ap- 
pointed to  feed  every  kind  separately ;  and  the  son  succeeds 
the  father  in  this  office.  All  the  inhabitants  of  the  cities  per- 
form their  vows  to  the  superintendents  in  the  following  man- 
ner :  having  made  a  vow  to  the  god  to  whom  the  animal 
belongs,  they  shave  either  the  whole  heads  of  their  children, 
or  a  half,  or  a  third  part  of  the  head,  and  then  weigh 
the  hair  in  a  scale  against  silver,  and  whatever  the  weight 
may  be,  they  give  to  the  superintendent  of  the  animals  ;  and 
she  in  return  cuts  up  some  fish,  and  gives  it  as  food  to  the 
ai.imals  :  such  is  the  usual  mode  of  feeding  them.  Should 
an/  one  kill  one  of  these  beasts,  if  wilfully,  death  is  the  punish- 
ment ;  if  by  accident,  he  pays  such  fine  as  the  priests  choose 
to  impose.  But  whoever  kills  an  ibis  or  a  hawk,  whether 
wilfully  or  by  accident,  must  necessarily  be  put  to  death. 
66.  Although  the  domesticated  animals  are  many,  they  would 
be  much  more  numerous,  were  it  not  for  the  following  acci- 
dents which  befal  the  cats.  When  the  females  have  littered, 
they  no  longer  seek  the  company  of  the  males,  and  they,  being 
desirous  of  having  intercourse  with  them,  are  not  able  to  do 
so  ;  wherefore  they  have  recourse  to  the  following  artifice : 
having  taken  the  young  from  the  females,  and  carried  them 
away  secretly,  they  kill  them  ;  though  when  they  have  killed 
them,  they  do  not  eat  them.  The  females  being  deprived  of 
their  young,  and  desirous  of  others,  again  seek  the  com- 
pany of  the  males  ;  for  this  animal  is  very  fond  of  its  young. 
When  a  conflagration  takes  place,  a  supernatural  impulse 
seizes  on  the  cats.  For  the  Egyptians,  standing  at  a  distance, 
take  care  of  the  cats,  and  neglect  to  put  out  the  fire  ;  but  the 
cats,  making  their  escape,  and  leaping  over  the  men,  throw 
themselves  into  the  fire  \  and  when  this  happens  great  lament- 


57— 69J  BUTKftPB.    H.  121 

ations  are  made  among  the  Egyptians.  In  whatever  house  a 
cat  dies  of  a  natural  death,  all  the  family  shave  their  eye- 
brows only ;  but  if  a  dog  die,  they  shave  the  whole  body  and 
the  head.  67.  All  cats  that  die  are  carried  to  certain  sacred 
houses,  where  being  first  embalmed,  they  are  buried  in  the 
city  of  Bubastis.  All  persons  bury  their  dogs  in  sacred 
vaults  within  their  own  city ;  and  ichneumons  are  buried  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  dogs  :  but  field-mice  and  hawks 
they  carry  to  the  city  of  Bute  ;  the  ibis  to  Hermopolis  ;  the 
bears,  which  are  few  in  number,  and  the  wolves,  which  are 
not  much  larger  than  foxes,  they  bury  wherever  they  are 
found  lying. 

68.  The  following  is  the  nature  of  the  crocodile.  During 
the  four  coldest  months  it  eats  nothing,  and  though  it  has 
four  feet,  it  is  amphibious.  It  lays  its  eggs  on  land,  and  there 
hatches  them.  It  spends  the  greater  part  of  the  day  on  the 
dry  ground,  but  the  whole  night  in  the  river  ;  for  the  water 
is  then  warmer  than  the  air  and  dew.  Of  all  living  things 
with  which  we  are  acquainted,  this,  from  the  least  beginning, 
grows  to  be  the  largest.  For  it  lays  eggs  little  larger  than 
those  of  a  goose,  and  the  young  is  at  first  in  proportion  to  the 
egg  ;  but  when  grown  up  it  reaches  to  the  length  of  seven- 
teen cubits,  and  even  more.  It  has  the  eyes  of  a  pig,  large 
teeth,  and  projecting  tusks,  in  proportion  to  the  body  :  it  is 
the  only  animal  that  has  no  tongue  ;  it  does  not  move  the 
lower  jaw,  but  is  the  only  animal  that  brings  down  its  upper 
jaw  to  the  under  one.  It  has  strong  claws,  and  a  skin  cover- 
ed with  scales,  tliat  cannot  be  broken  on  the  back.  It  is  blind 
in  the  water,  but  very  quick-sighted  on  land  ;  and  because  it 
lives  for  the  most  part  in  the  water,  its  mouth  is  fdled  with 
leeches.  All  other  birds  and  beasts  avoid  him,  but  he  is  at 
peace  with  the  trochilus,  because  he  receives  benefit  from 
that  bird.  For  when  the  crocodile  gets  out  of  the  water  on 
land,  and  then  opens  its  jaws,  which  it  does  most  commonly 
towards  the  west,  the  trocliilus  enters  its  mouth  and  swallows 
the  leeches  :  the  crocodile  is  so  well  pleased  with  this  service 
that  it  never  hurts  the  trochilus.  69.  With  some  of  the 
Egyptians  crocodiles  are  sacred  ;  with  others  not,  but  they 
treat  them  as  enemies.  Those  who  dwell  about  Thebes,  and 
Lake  Moeris,  consider  them  to  be  very  sacred  ;  and  they  each 
of  them  ti'uin   up  a  crocodile,  which  is  taught  to  be  quite 


122^  HERODOTUS.  [70—73 

X&me  ;  and  they  put  crystal  and  gold  ear-rings  into  their  ears, 
and  bracelets  on  their  fore  paws  ;  and  they  give  them  ap- 
pointed and  sacred  food,  and  treat  them  as  well  as  possible 
while  alive,  and  when  dead  they  embalm  them,  and  bury 
them  in  sacred  vaults.  But  the  people  who  dwell  about  the 
city  of  Elephantine  eat  them,  not  considering  them  sacred. 
They  are  not  called  crocodiles  by  the  Egyptians,  but  "champ- 
sa2 ;"  the  lonians  gave  them  the  name  of  crocodiles,  because 
they  thought  they  resembled  lizards,  tvhich  are  also  so  called, 
and  which  are  found  in  the  hedges  in  their  country.  70. 
The  modes  of  taking  the  crocodile  are  many  and  various,  but 
I  shall  only  describe  that  which  seems  to  me  most  worthy  of 
relation.  When  the  fisherman  has  baited  a  hook  with  the 
chine  of  a  pig,  he  lets  it  down  into  the  middle  of  the  river, 
and  holding  a  young  live  pig  on  the  brink  of  the  river, 
beats  it ;  the  crocodile,  hearing  the  noise,  goes  in  its  direction, 
and  meeting  with  the  chine,  swallows  it ;  but  the  men  draw 
it  to  land  :  when  it  is  drawn  out  on  shore,  the  sportsman  first 
of  all  plasters  its  eyes  with  mud  ;  and  having  done  this,  after- 
wards manages  it  very  easily  ;  but  until  he  has  done  this,  he 
has  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  71.  The  hippopotamus  is  esteem- 
ed sacred  in  the  district  of  Papremis,  but  not  so  by  the  rest  of 
the  Egyptians.  This  is  the  nature  of  its  shape.  It  is  a  qua- 
druped, cloven-footed,  with  the  hoofs  of  an  ox,  snub-nosed, 
has  the  mane  of  a  horse,  projecting  tusks,  and  the  tail  and 
neigh  of  a  horse.  In  size  he  is  equal  to  a  very  large  ox  :  his 
hide  is  so  thick  that  spear-handles  are  made  of  it  when  dry. 
72.  Otters  are  also  met  with  in  the  river,  which  are  deemed 
sacred  :  and  amongst  fish,  they  consider  that  which  is  called 
the  lepidotus,  and  the  eel,  sacred  ;  these  they  say  are  sacred 
to  the  Nile  ;   and  among  birds,  the  vulpanser. 

73.  There  is  also  another  sacred  bird,  called  the  phoenix, 
which  I  have  never  seen  except  in  a  picture  ;  for  it  seldom 
makes  its  appearance  amongst  them,  only  once  in  five  hundred 
years,  as  the  Heliopolitans  affirm :  they  say  that  it  comes  on 
the  death  of  its  sire.  If  he  is  like  the  picture,  he  is  of  the  fol- 
lowing size  and  description  :  the  plumage  of  his  wings  is 
partly  golden-coloured,  and  partly  red  ;  in  outline  and  size  he 
is  very  like  an  eagle.  They  say  that  he  has  the  following  con- 
trivance, which  in  my  opinion  is  not  credible.  They  say  that 
he  PQmes  from  Arabia,  and  brings  the  body  of  his  father  to 


74—76  EUTERPE.    II.  128 

the  temple  of  the  sun,  having  enclosed  him  in  myrrh,  and  there 
buries  him  in  the  temple,  He  brings  him  in  this  manner  :  first 
he  moulds  an  egg  of  myrrh  as  large  as  he  is  able  to  carry ; 
then  he  tries  to  carry  it,  and  when  he  has  made  the  experi- 
ment, he  hollows  out  the  egg,  and  puts  his  parent  into  it,  and 
stops  up  with  some  more  myrrh  the  hole  through  which  he 
had  introduced  the  body,  so  when  his  father  is  put  inside, 
Uie  weight  is  tlie  same  as  before :  then,  having  covered  it 
over,  he  carries  him  to  the  temple  of  the  sun  in  Egypt.  This 
they  say  is  done  by  this  bird. 

74.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Thebes  there  are  sacred  ser- 
pents not  at  all  hurtful  to  men  :  they  are  diminutive  in  size, 
and  carry  two  horns  that  grow  on  the  top  of  the  head.  When 
these  serpents  die  they  bury  them  in  the  temple  of  Jupiter, 
for  they  say  they  are  sacred  to  that  god.  75.  There  is  a 
place  in  Arabia,  situated  very  near  the  city  of  Buto,  to  whicli 
I  went,  on  hearing  of  some  winged  serpents  ;  and  when  I  ar- 
rived there,  I  saw  bones  and  spines  of  serpents,  in  such  quan- 
tities as  it  would  be  impossible  to  describe :  there  were  heaps 
of  these  spinal  bones,  some  large,  some  smaller,  and  others 
still  less  ;  and  there  were  great  numbers  of  them.  The  place 
in  which  these  spinal  bones  lie  scattered,  is  of  the  following 
description  :  it  is  a  narrow  pass  between  two  mountains  into  a 
spacious  plain  ;  this  plain  is  contiguous  to  the  plain  of  Egypt : 
it  is  reported,  that  at  the  beginning  of  spring,  winged  serpents 
fly  from  Arabia  towards  Egypt ;  but  that  ibises,  a  sort  of  bird, 
meet  them  at  the  pass,  and  do  not  allow  the  serpents  to  go  by, 
but  kill  them :  for  this  service  the  Arabians  say  that  the  ibis 
is  highly  reverenced  by  the  Egyptians  ;  and  the  Egyptians 
acknowledge  that  they  reverence  these  birds  for  this  reason. 
76.  The  ibis  is  of  the  following  description :  it  is  all  over  a 
deep  black,  it  has  the  legs  of  a  crane,  its  beak  is  much  curved, 
and  it  is  about  the  size  of  the  crex.  Such  is  the  form  of  the 
black  ones,  that  fight  with  the  serpents.  But  those  that  are 
commonly  conversant  among  men,  (for  there  are  two  species,) 
are  bare  on  the  head  and  the  whole  neck  ;  have  white  plum- 
age, except  on  the  head,  the  throat,  and  the  tips  of  the  wings 
*nd  extremity  of  the  tail ;  in  all  these  parts  that  I  have  men- 
tioned, they  are  of  a  deep  black ;  in  their  legs  and  beak  they 
are  like  the  otlier  kind.     The  form  of  th^?  serpent  is  like  that 


124  HERODOTUS.  [77— 7» 

of  the  water-snake ;  but  he  has  wings  without  feathers,  and  as 
like  as  possible  to  the  wings  of  a  bat.  This  must  suffice  for 
the  description  of  sacred  animals. 

77.  Of  the  Egyptians,  those  who  inhabit  that  part  of  Egypt 
which  is  sown  with  corn,  in  that  they  cultivate  the  memory 
of  past  events  more  than  any  other  men,  are  the  best  informed 
of  all  with  whom  I  have  had  intercourse.  Their  manner  of 
life  is  this.  They  purge  themselves  every  month,  three  days 
successively,  seeking  to  preserve  health  by  emetics  and  clys- 
ters, for  they  suppose  that  all  diseases  to  which  men  are  sub- 
ject proceed  from  the  food  they  use.  And  indeed  in  other 
respects  the  Egyptians,  next  to  the  Libyans,  are  the  most 
healthy  people  in  the  world,  as  I  think,  on  account  of  tire  sea- 
sons, because  they  are  not  liable  to  change ;  for  men  are  most 
subject  to  disease  at  periods  of  change,  and  above  all  others  at 
the  change  of  the  seasons.  They  feed  on  bread  made  into 
loaves  of  spelt,  which  they  call  cyllestis  ;  and  they  use  wine 
made  of  barley,  for  they  have  no  vines  in  that  country.  Some 
fish  they  dry  in  the  sun,  and  eat  raw,  others  salted  with  brine ; 
and  of  birds  they  eat  quails,  ducks,  and  smaller  birds  raw, 
having  first  salted  them  :  all  other  things,  whether  birds  or 
fishes,  tliat  they  have,  except  such  as  are  accounted  sacred, 
they  eat  either  roasted  or  boiled.  78.  At  their  convivial  ban- 
quets, among  the  wealthy  classes,  when  they  have  finished 
Slipper,  a  man  carries  round  in  a  coffin  the  image  of  a  dead  body 
carved  in  wood,  made  as  like  as  possible  in  colour  and  workman- 
ship, and  in  size  generally  about  one  or  two  cubits  in  length  ; 
and  showing  this  to  each  of  the  company,  he  says,  "  Look  up- 
on this,  then  drink  and  enjoy  yourself ;  for  when  dead  you  will 
be  like  this."  This  practice  they  have  at  their  drinking  parties. 

79.  They  observe  their  ancient  customs,  but  acquire  no 
new  ones.  Among  other  memorable  customs,  they  have  one 
song,  Linus,  which  is  sung  in  Phoenicia,  Cyprus,  and  else- 
where ;  in  different  nations  it  bears  a  different  name,  but  it 
agrees  so  exactly  as  to  be  the  same  which  the  Greeks  sing, 
under  the  name  of  Linus.  So  that  among  the  many  wonder- 
ful things  seen  in  Egypt,  this  is  especially  wonderful,  whence 
they  got  this  Linus  ;  for  they  seem  to  have  sung  it  from  time 
immemorial.  The  Linus  in  the  Egyptian  language  is  called 
Maneros  ;  and  the  Egyptians  say  that  lip  •«'%?  tbe  oaJy  «w  of 


80- -M.]  EUTERPE.    II.  125 

ibe  first  kiiig  of  Egypt,  and  that  happening  to  die  prematurely, 
he  was  honoured  by  the  Egyptians  in  this  mourning  dirge : 
and  this  is  the  first  and  only  song  they  have.  80.  In  this 
other  particular  the  Egyptians  resemble  the  Lacedaemonians 
only  among  all  the  Grecians  :  the  young  men  when  they  meet 
tlieir  elders  give  way  and  turn  aside  ;  and  when  they  approach, 
rise  up  from  their  seats.  In  the  following  custom,  however, 
they  do  not  resemble  any  nation  of  the  Greeks  ;  instead  of 
addressing  one  another  in  the  streets,  they  salute  by  letting 
the  hand  fall  down  as  far  as  the  knee.  81.  They  wear  linen 
tunics  fringed  round  the  legs,  which  they  call  calasiris,  and 
over  these  they  throw  white  woollen  mantles  ;  woollen  clothes 
however  are  not  carried  into  the  temples,  nor  are  they  buried 
with  them,  for  that  is  accounted  profane.  In  this  respect  they 
agree  with  the  worshippers  of  Orplieus  and  Bacchus,  who  are 
Egyptians  and  Pythagoreans.  For  it  is  considered  profane  for 
one  who  is  initiated  in  these  mysteries  to  be  buried  in  woollen 
garments,  and  a  religious  reason  is  given  for  this  custom, 

82.  These  other  things  were  also  invented  by  the  Egyp- 
tians. Each  month  and  day  is  assigned  to  some  particular 
god ;  and  according  to  the  day  on  which  each  person  is  born, 
they  determine  what  will  befal  him,  how  he  will  die,  and  wiint 
kind  of  person  he  will  be.  And  these  things  the  Grecian 
poets  have  made  use  of.  They  have  also  discovered  more 
prodigies  than  all  the  rest  of  the  world  ;  for  when  any  prodigy 
occurs,  they  carefully  observe  and  write  down  the  result ;  and 
if  a  similar  occurrence  should  happen  afterwards  they  tiiink 
the  result  will  be  the  same.  83.  The  art  of  divination  is  in 
this  condition  :  it  is  attributed  to  no  human  being,  but  only  to 
some  of  the  gods.  For  they  have  amongst  them  an  oracle  of 
Hercules,  Apollo,  Minerva,  Diana,  Mars,  and  Jupiter ;  and 
that  which  they  honour  above  all  others,  is  the  oracle  of  La- 
tona  in  the  city  of  Buto.  Their  modes  of  delivering  oracles 
however  are  not  all  alike,  but  differ  from  each  other.  84. 
The  art  of  medicine  is   thus  divided  amongst  them :    each 

lysician  applies  himself  to  one  disease  only,  and  not  more. 

11  places  abound  in  physicians ;  some  physicians  are  for 
the  eyes,  others  for  the  head,  others  for  the  teeth,  others  for 
the  parts  about  the  belly,  and  others  for  internal  disorders. 

85.  Their  manner  of  mourning  and  burying  is  as  follows. 
"When  in  a  famiU'  a  mar.  of  any  consideration  dies,  all  the 


126  HERODOTUS.  [86, 87. 

females  of  that  family  besmear  their  heads  and  faces  with  mud, 
and  then  leaving  the  body  in  the  house,  they  wander  about 
the  city,  and  beat  themselves,  having  their  clothes  girt  up, 
and  exposing  their  breasts,  and  all  their  relations  accompany 
them.  On  the  other  hand,  the  men  beat  themselves,  being 
girt  up,  in  like  manner.  When  they  have  done  this,  they 
carry  out  the  body  to  be  embalmed.  86.  There  are  persons  who 
are  appointed  for  this  very  purpose  ;  they,  when  the  dead  body 
is  brought  to  them,  show  to  the  bearers  wooden  models  of 
corpses,  made  exactly  like  by  painting.  And  they  show  that 
which  they  say  is  the  most  expensive  manner  of  embalming, 
the  name  of  w^hich  I  do  not  think  it  right  to  mention  on  such 
an  occasion  ;  they  then  show  the  second,  which  is  inferior  and 
less  expensive;  and  then  the  third,  which  is  the  cheapest. 
Having  explained  them  all,  they  learn  from  them  in  what  way 
they  wish  the  body  to  be  prepared  ;  then  the  relations,  when 
they  have  agreed  on  the  price,  depart ;  but  the  embalmers  re- 
maining in  the  workshops  thus  proceed  to  embalm  in  the  most 
expensive  manner.  First  they  draw  out  the  brains  through 
the  nostrils  with  an  iron  hook,  taking  part  of  it  out  in  this 
manner,  the  rest  by  the  infusion  of  drugs.  Then  with  a  sharp 
Ethiopian  stone  they  make  an  incision  in  the  side,  and  take 
out  all  the  bowels ;  and  having  cleansed  the  abdomen  and 
rinsed  it  witli  palm-wine,  they  next  sprinkle  it  with  pounded 
perfumes.  Then  liaving  filled  the  belly  with  pure  myrrh 
pounded,  and  cassia,  and  other  perfumes,  frankincense  ex- 
cepted, they  sew  it  up  again ;  and  when  they  have  done  this, 
they  steep  it  in  natrum,  leaving  it  under  for  seventy  days  ;  for 
a  longer  time  than  this  it  is  not  lawful  to  steep  it.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  the  seventy  days  they  wash  the  corpse,  and  wrap 
the  whole  body  in  bandages  of  flaxen  cloth,  smearing  it  with 
gum,  which  the  Egyptians  commonly  use  instead  of  glue. 
After  this  the  relations,  having  taken  the  body  back  again, 
make  a  wooden  case  in  the  shape  of  a  man,  and  having 
made  it,  they  enclose  the  body ;  and  thus,  having  fastened  it 
up,  they  store  it  in  a  sepulchral  chamber,  setting  it  upright 
against  the  wall.  In  this  manner  they  prepare  the  bodies 
that  are  embalmed  in  the  most  expensive  way.  87.  Those 
who,  avoiding  great  expense,  desire  the  middle  way,  they  pre- 
pare, in  the  following  manner.  Wh(^n  they  have  charged 
their  syringes  with  oil  made  from  cedar,  thej  fill  the  abdomen 


88—91,1  EUTERPE.    II.  127 

of  the  corpse  without  making  any  incision  or  taking  out  the 
bowels,  but  inject  it  at  the  fundament ;  and  having  prevented  the 
injection  from  escaping,  they  steep  the  body  in  natrum  for  the 
prescribed  number  of  days,  and  on  the  last  day  they  let  out 
from  the  abdomen  the  oil  of  cedar  which  they  had  before  in- 
jected, and  it  has  such  power  that  it  brings  away  the  intes- 
tines and  vitals  in  a  state  of  dissolution  ;  the  natrum  dissolves 
the  flesh,  and  nothing  of  the  body  remains  but  the  skin  and 
the  bones.  When  they  have  done  this  they  return  the  body 
without  any  further  operation.  88.  The  third  method  of 
embalming  is  this,  which  is  used  only  for  the  poorer  sort  : 
having  thoroughly  rinsed  the  abdomen  in  syrmaea,  they  steep 
it  with  natrum  for  the  seventy  days,  and  then  deliver  it  to  be 
carried  away.  89.  But  the  wives  of  considerable  persons, 
when  they  die,  they  do  not  immediately  deliver  to  be  em- 
balmed, nor  such  women  as  are  very  beautiful  and  of  cele- 
brity, but  when  they  have  been  dead  three  or  four  days  they 
then  deliver  them  to  the  embalmers  ;  and  they  do  this  for  the 
following  reason,  that  the  embalmers  may  not  abuse  the  bodies 
of  such  women  ;  for  they  say  that  one  man  was  detected  in 
abusing  a  body  that  was  fresh,  and  that  a  fellow-workman  in- 
formed against  him.  90.  Should  any  person,  whether  Egyp- 
tian or  stranger,  no  matter  which,  be  found  to  have  been 
seized  by  a  crocodile,  or  drowned  in  the  river,  to  whatever 
city  the  body  may  be  carried,  the  inhabitants  are  by  law 
compelled  to  have  the  body  embalmed,  and  having  adorned  it 
in  the  handsomest  manner,  to  bury  it  in  the  sacred  vaults. 
Nor  is  it  lawful  for  any  one  else,  whether  relations  or  friends, 
to  touch  him  ;  but  the  priests  of  the  Nile  bury  the  corpse  with 
their  own  hands,  as  being  something  more  than  human. 

91.  They  avoid  using  Grecian  customs  ;  and,  in  a  word, 
the  customs  of  all  other  people  whatsoever.  AU  the  other 
Egyptians  are  particular  in  this.  But  there  is  a  large  city 
called  Chemmis,  situate  in  the  Thebaic  district,  near  Neapo- 
lis,  in  which  is  a  quadrangular  temple  dedicated  to  Perseus 
the  son  of  Danae  ;  palm  trees  grow  round  it,  and  the  portico 
is  of  stone,  very  spacious,  and  over  it  are  placed  two  large 
stone  statues.  In  this  enclosure  is  a  temple,  and  in  it  is 
placed  a  statue  of  Perseus.  The  Chemmitae  affirm,  that  Per- 
•eus  has  frequently  appeared  to  them  on  earth,  and  frequently 
within  the  temple,  and  that  a  sandal  worn  by  him  is  sometimen 


b 


i28  HERODOTUS.  [9i. 

found,  which  is  two  cubits  in  length ;  and  that  after  its  ap- 
pearance, all  Egypt  flourishes.  This  they  affirm.  They  adopt 
the  following  Grecian  customs  in  honour  of  Perseus  :  they 
celebrate  gymnastic  games,  embracing  every  kind  of  contest ; 
and  they  give  as  prizes,  cattle,  cloaks,  and  skins.  When  I 
inquired  why  Perseus  appeared  only  to  them,  and  why  they 
differed  from  the  rest  of  the  Egyptians,  in  holding  gymnastic 
games  ;  they  answered,  "  that  Perseus  derived  his  origin  from 
their  city  ;  for  that  Danaus  and  Lynceus,  who  were  both 
natives  of  Chemmis,  sailed  from  them  into  Greece  ;"  and 
tracing  the  descent  down  from  them,  they  came  to  Perseus  ; 
"  and  that  he  coming  to  Egypt,  for  the  same  reason  as  the 
Greeks  allege,  in  order  to  bring  away  the  Gorgon's  head  from 
Libya,  they  affirmed  that  he  came  to  them  also  and  acknow- 
ledged all  his  kindred  ;  and  that  when  he  came  to  Egypt  he 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  name  of  Chemmis,  having  heard 
it  from  his  mother :  they  add,  that  by  his  order  they  insti- 
tuted gymnastic  games  in  honour  of  him." 

92.  The  Egyptians  who  dwell  above  the  morasses,  observe 
all  these  customs  ;  but  those  who  live  in  the  morasses,  have 
the  same  customs  as  the  rest  of  the  Egyptians,  and  as  in 
other  things,  so  in  this,  that  each  man  has  but  one  wife,  like 
the  Greeks.  But  to  obtain  food  more  easily,  they  have  the 
following  inventions  :  when  the  river  is  full,  and  has  made 
the  plains  like  a  sea,  great  numbers  of  lilies,  which  the 
Egyptians  call  lotus,  spring  up  in  the  water  :  these  they 
gather  and  dry  in  the  sun  ;  then  having  pounded  the  middle 
of  the  lotus,  which  resembles  a  poppy,  they  make  bread  of  it 
and  bake  it.  The  root  also  of  this  lotus  is  fit  for  food,  and  is 
tolerably  sweet ;  and  is  round,  and  of  the  size  of  an  apple. 
There  are  also  other  lilies,  like  roses,  that  grow  in  the  river, 
the  fruit  of  which  is  contained  in  a  separate  pod,  that  springs 
up  from  the  root  in  form  very  like  a  wasp's  nest ;  in  this 
there  are  many  berries  fit  to  be  eaten,  of  the  size  of  an 
olive  stone,  and  they  are  eaten  both  fresh  and  dried.  The 
Dyblus,  which  is  an  annual  plant,  when  they  have  pulled  it 
np  in  the  fens,  they  cut  off  the  top  of  it  and  put  to  some 
otli€r  uses,  but  the  lower  part  that  is  left,  to  the  length  of 
a  cubit,  they  eat  and  selL  Those  who  are  anxious  to  eat 
the  byblus  dressed  in  the  most  delicate  manner,  stew  it  in 
a  hot  pan  and  then  eat  it.     Some  of  them  live  entirely  qd 


98-95.]  EUTERPE.    II.  129 

fish,  which  they  catch,  and  gut,  and  dry  in  the  sun,  and  then 
eat  them  dried. 

93.  Fishes  that  are  gregarious  are  seldom  found  in  the 
rivers,  but  being  bred  in  the  lakes,  they  proceed  as  follows  : 
when  the  desire  of  engendering  comes  upon  them,  they  swim 
out  in  shoals  to  the  sea ;  the  males  lead  the  way,  scattering  the 
sperm  ;  and  the  females  following  swallow  it,  and  are  thus 
impregnated.  "When  they  find  themselves  full  in  the  sea,  they 
swim  back,  each  to  their  accustomed  haunts ;  however,  the 
males  no  longer  take  the  lead,  but  this  is  done  by  females : 
they,  leading  the  way  in  shoals,  do  as  the  males  did  before  ; 
for  they  scatter  their  spawn  by  degrees,  and  the  males  follow- 
ing devour  them ;  but  from  the  spawn  that  escapes  and  is  not 
devoured,  the  fish  that  grow  up  are  engendiered.  Any  of  these 
fish  that  happen  to  be  taken  in  their  passage  towards  the  sea, 
are  found  bruised  on  the  left  side  of  the  head ;  but  those  that 
are  taken  on  their  return,  are  bruised  on  the  right ;  and  this 
proceeds  from  the  following  cause :  they  swim  out  to  the  sea 
keeping  close  to  the  land  on  the  left  side,  and  when  they  swim 
back  again,  they  keep  to  the  same  shore,  hugging  it  and  touch- 
ing it  as  much  as  possible,  for  fear  of  losing  their  way  by  the 
stream.  "When  the  Nile  begins  to  overflow,  the  hollow  parts 
of  the  land  and  the  marshes  near  the  river  first  begin  to  be 
filled  by  the  water  oozing  through  from  the  river ;  and  as  soon 
as  they  are  full,  they  are  immediately  filled  with  little  fishes  ; 
the  reason  of  which,  as  I  conjecture,  is  this  :  in  the  preceding 
year,  when  the  Nile  retreated,  the  fish  that  had  deposited 
their  eggs  in  the  marshy  ground,  went  away  with  the  last  of 
the  waters ;  but  when,  as  the  time  came  round,  the  water  has 
risen  again,  fishes  are  immediately  produced  from  these  eggs. 
Thus  it  happens  with  respect  to  the  fishes. 

94.  The  Egyptians  who  live  about  the  fens  use  an  oil  drawn 
from  the  fruit  of  the  sillicypria,  which  they  call  cici ;  and  they 
make  it  in  the  following  manner  :  they  plant  these  sillicypria, 
which  in  Greece  grow  spontaneous  and  wild,  on  the  banks  of 
the  rivers  and  lakes :  these,  when  planted  in  Egypt,  bear 
abundance  of  fruit,  though  of  an  offensive  smell.  When  they 
have  gathered  it,  some  bruise  it  and  press  out  the  oil ;  others 
boil  and  stew  it,  and  collect  the  liquid  that  flows  from  it ;  this 
18  fat,  and  no  less  suited  for  lamps  than  olive  oil ;  but  k  emits 
tui  offensive  smell.     95.  They  have  the  following  contrivanco 


130  HERODOTUS.  [96,  97. 

to  protect  themselves  from  the  musquitoes,  which  abound  very 
much.  The  towers  are  of  great  service  to  those  who  inhabit 
the  upper  parts  of  the  marshes ;  for  the  musquitoes  are  pre- 
vented by  the  winds  from  flying  high :  bat  those  who  live 
round  the  marshes  have  contrived  another  expedient  inster^d 
of  the  towers.  Every  man  has  a  net,  with  which  in  the  day 
he  takes  fish,  and  at  night  uses  it  in  the  following  manner : 
in  whatever  bed  he  sleeps,  he  throws  the  net  around  it,  and 
then  getting  in,  sleeps  under  it :  if  he  should  wrap  himself  up 
in  his  clothes  or  in  linen,  the  musquitoes  would  bite  through 
them,  but  they  never  attempt  to  bite  through  the  net. 

96.  Their  ships  in  which  they  convey  merchandise  are 
made  of  the  acacia,  which  in  shape  is  very  like  the  Cyrena^an 
lotus,  and  its  exudation  is  gum.  From  this  acacia  they  cut 
planks  about  two  cubits  in  length,  and  join  them  together  like 
bricks,  building  their  ships  in  the  following  manner.  They 
fasten  tlie  planks  of  two  cubits  length  round  stout  and  long 
ties :  when  they  have  thus  built  the  hulls,  they  lay  benches 
across  them.  They  make  no  use  of  ribs,  but  caulk  the  seams 
inside  with  byblus.  They  make  only  one  rudder,  and  that  is 
driven  through  the  keel.  They  use  a  mast  of  acacia,  and  sails 
of  byblus.  These  vessels  are  unable  to  sail  up  the  stream  un- 
less a  fair  wind  prevails,  but  are  towed  from  the  shore.  They 
are  tlius  carried  doivn  the  stream  :  there  is  a  hurdle  made  of 
tamarisk,  wattled  with  a  band  of  reeds,  and  a  stone  bored 
through  the  middle,  of  about  two  talents  in  weight ;  of  these 
two,  the  hurdle  is  fastened  to  a  cable,  and  let  down  at  the 
prow  of  the  vessel  to  be  carried  on  by  the  stream  ;  and  the 
stone  by  another  cable  at  the  stern  ;  and  by  this  means  the 
hurdle,  by  the  stream  bearing  hard  upon  it,  moves  quickly  and 
draws  along  "  the  baris,"  (for  this  is  the  name  given  to  these 
vessels,)  but  the  stone  being  dragged  at  the  stern,  and  sunk 
to  the  bottom,  keeps  the  vessel  in  its  course.  They  have  very 
many  of  these  vessels,  and  some  of  them  carry  many  thousand 
talents.  97.  When  the  Nile  inundates  the  country,  the  cities 
alone  are  seen  above  its  surface,  very  like  the  islands  in  tlie 
JEgean  Sea ;  for  all  the  rest  of  Egypt  becomes  a  sea,  and  the 
cities  alone  are  above  the  surface.  "When  this  happens,  they 
navigate  no  longer  by  the  channel  of  the  river,  but  across  the 
plain.  To  a  person  sailing  from  Naucratis  to  Memphis,  the 
passage  is  by  tho  j^>Yi-nmids  ;    this,  however,  is  not  the  usual 


98—100.1  Eaxt.RtE.   n.  131 

course,  but  by  the  point  of  tlie  Delta  and  the  city  of  Cerca- 
sorus  ;  and  in  sailing  from  the  sea  and  Canopus  to  Naucratis 
across  the  plain,  you  will  pass  by  the  city  of  Anthylla  and 
that  called  Archandropolis.  98.  Of  these,  Anthylla,  which  is 
a  city  of  importance,  is  assigned  to  purchase  shoes  for  the  wife 
of  the  reigning  king  of  Egypt ;  and  this  has  been  so  as  long 
as  Egypt  has  been  subject  to  the  Persians.  The  other  city 
appears  to  me  to  derive  its  name  from  the  son-in-law  of 
Danaus,  Archander,  son  of  Phthius,  and  grandson  of  Achaeus  ; 
for  it  is  called  Archandropolis.  There  may  indeed  have  been 
another  Archander ;  but  the  name  is  certainly  not  Egyptian. 
99.  Hitherto  I  have  related  what  I  have  seen,  what  I 
have  thought,  and  what  I  have  learnt  by  inquiry :  but  from 
this  point  I  proceed  to  give  the  Egyptian  account  accord- 
inpj  to  what  I  heard  ;  and  there  is  added  to  it  somethin«]j 
also  of  my  own  observation.  The  priests  informed  me,  that 
IVIenes,  who  first  ruled  over  Egypt,  in  the  first  place  pro- 
tected Memphis  by  a  mound  ;  for  the  whole  river  formerly  ran 
close  to  the  sandy  mountain  on  the  side  of  Libya  ;  but  Menes, 
beginning  about  a  hundred  stades  above  Memphis,  filled  in 
the  elbow  towards  the  soutli,  dried  up  the  old  channel,  and 
conducted  the  river  into  a  canal,  so  as  to  make  it  flow  between 
the  mountains  '?  this  bend  of  the  Nile,  which  flows  excluded 
from  its  ancient  course,  is  still  carefully  upheld  by  the  Per- 
sians, being  made  secure  every  year  ;  for  if  the  river  should 
break  through  and  overflow  in  this  part,  there  would  be  dan- 
ger lest  all  Memphis  should  be  flooded.  When  the  part  cut 
off  had  been  made  firm  land  by  this  Menes,  who  was  first 
king,  lie  in  the  first  place  built  on  it  the  city  that  is  now 
called  Mefl^phis  ;  for  Memphis  is  situate  in  the  narrow  part 
of  Egypt ;  and  outside  of  it  he  excavated  a  lake  from  the 

Iver  towards  the  north  and  the  west ;  for  the  Nile  itself 
)unds  it  towards  the  east.  In  the  next  place,  they  relate 
lat  he  built  in  it  the  temple  of  Vulcan,  which  is  vast  and  well 
orthy  of  mention.  100.  After  this  the  priests  enumerated 
from  a  book  the  names  of  three  hundred  and  thirty  other  kings. 
In  so  many  generations  of  men,  there  were  eighteen  Ethiopians 
and  one  native  queen,  the  rest  were  Egyptians.  The  name 
of  this  woman  who  reigned,  was  the  same  as  that  of  the  Baby- 
lonian queen^  Nitocris :  they  said  that  she  avenged  her  brother, 
*  That  IS,  those  of  Arabia  and  Libya 
K  2 


132  HERODOTUS.  (101—103. 

whom  f  lie  Egyptians  liai  slain,  while  reigning  over  them  ;  and 
after  they  had  slain  him,  they  then  delivered  the  kingdom  to 
her  ;  and  she,  to  avenge  him,  destroyed  many  of  the  Egyp- 
tians by  stratagem :  for  having  caused  an  extensive  apartment 
to  be  made  under  ground,  she  pretended  that  she  was  going 
to  consecrate  it,  but  in  reality  had  another  design  in  view  : 
and  having  invited  those  of  the  Egyptians  whom  she  knew  to 
have  been  principally  concerned  in  the  murder,  she  gave  a 
great  banquet,  and  when  they  were  feasting,  she  let  in  the 
river  upon  them,  through  a  large  concealed  channel.  This  is 
all  they  related  of  her,  except  that,  when  she  had  done  this, 
she  threw  herself  into  a  room  full  of  ashes  in  order  that  she 
might  escape  punishment.  101.  Of  the  other  kings  they  did 
not  mention  any  memorable  deeds,  nor  that  they  were  in  any 
respect  renowned,  except  one,  the  last  of  them,  Moeris  ;  but  he 
accomplished  some  memorable  works,  as  the  portal  of  Vulcan's 
temple,  facing  the  north  wind  ;  and  dug  a  lake,  (the  dimensions 
of  which  I  shall  describe  hereafter,)  and  built  pyramids  in  it, 
the  size  of  which  I  shall  also  mention  when  I  come  to  speak 
oi"  tne  lake  itself.  He,  then,  achieved  these  several  works,  but 
none  of  the  others  achieved  any  thing. 

102.  Having  therefore  passed  them  by,  I  shall  proceed  to 
make  mention  of  the  king  that  came  after  them,  whose  name 
was  Sesostris.  The  priests  said  that  he  was  the  first  who,  setting 
out  in  ships  of  war^  from  the  Arabian  Gulf,  subdued  those 
nations  that  dwell  by  the  Red  Sea ;  until  sailing  onwards,  he 
arrived  at  a  sea  which  was  not  navigable  on  account  of  the 
shoals ;  and  afterwards,  when  he  came  back  to  Egypt,  accord- 
ing to  the  report  of  the  priests,  he  assembled  a  large  army, 
and  marched  through  tlie  continent,  subduing  every  nation 
tliat  he  fell  in  with  ;  and  wherever  he  met  with  any  who 
were  valiant,  and  who  were  very  ardent  in  defence  of  their 
liberty,  he  erected  columns  in  their  territory,  with  inscriptions 
declaring  his  own  name  and  country,  and  how  he  had  con- 
quered them  by  liis  power :  but  when  he  subdued  any 
cities  without  fighting  and  easily,  he  made  inscriptions  on 
columns  in  the  same  way  as  among  the  nations  that  had 
proved  themselves  valiant ;  and  he  had  besides  engraved  on 
them  the  secret  parts  of  a  woman,  wishing  to  make  it  known 
that  they  were  cowardly.  103.  Thus  doing,  he  traversed  the 
'  See  Book  I.  chap  2,  note  •. 


104.  1  »5.]  EUTERPE.    II.  133 

continent,  until,  having  crossed  from  Asia  into  Europe,  he 
subdued  the  Scythians  and  Thracians :  to  these  the  Egyp- 
tian army  appears  to  me  to  have  reached,  and  no  farther ;  for 
in  their  country  the  columns  appear  to  have  been  erected,  but 
no  where  beyond  them.  From  thence,  wheeling  round,  he 
went  back  again ;  and  when  he  arrived  at  the  river  Phasis, 
I  am  unable  after  this  to  say  with  certainty,  whether  king 
Sesostris  himself,  having  detached  a  portion  of  his  army,  left 
them  there  to  settle  in  that  country,  or  whether  some  of  the 
soldiers,  being  wearied  with  his  wandering  expedition,  of 
their  own  accord  remained  by  the  river  Phasis.  104.  For 
the  Colchians  were  evidently  Egyptians,  and  I  say  this  having 
myself  observed  it  before  I  heard  it  from  others ;  and  as  it 
was  a  matter  of  interest  to  me  I  inquired  of  both  people, 
and  the  Colchians  had  more  recollection  of  the  Egyptians 
than  the  Egyptians  had  of  the  Colchians  ;  yet  the  Egyptians 
said  that  they  thought  the  Colchians  were  descended  from  the 
army  of  Sesostris  ;  and  I  formed  my  conjecture,  not  only  be- 
cause they  are  swarthy  and  curly- headed,  for  this  amounts  to 
nothing,  because  others  are  so  likewise,  but  chiefly  from  the 
following  circumstances,  because  the  Colchians,  Egyptians, 
and  Ethiopians,  are  the  only  nations  of  the  world  who,  from 
the  first,  have  practised  circumcision.  For  the  Phoenicians, 
and  the  Syrians  in  Palestine,  acknowledge  that  they  learnt 
the  custom  from  the  Egyptians  ;  and  the  Syrians  about  Ther- 
modon  and  the  river  Parthenius,  with  their  neighbours  the 
Macrones,  confess  that  they  very  lately  learnt  the  same  custom 
from  the  Colchians.  And  these  are  the  only  nations  that  are 
circumcised,  and  thus  appear  evidently  to  act  in  the  same  man 
ner  as  the  Egyptians.  But  of  the  Egyptians  and  Ethiopians 
I  am  unable  to  say  which  learnt  it  from  the  other,  for  it  is 
evidently  a  very  ancient  custom.  And  tliis  appears  to  me  a 
strong  proof  that  the  Phoenicians  learnt  this  practice  througli 
their  intercourse  with  the  Egyptians,  for  all  the  Phoenicians 
who  have  any  commerce  with  Greece  no  longer  imitate  the 
Egyptians  in  this  usage,  but  abstain  from  circumcising  their 
children.  105.  I  will  now  mention'*  another  fact  respecting 
the  Colchians,  how  they  resemble  the  Egyptians.  They  alone 
and  the  Egyptians  manufacture^  linen  in  the  same  manner ;  and 
the  whole  way  of  living,  and  the  language,  is  similar  in  both 
*  "  Couio  now,  I  will  also  mention."  '  See  chap  35. 


4  HERODOTUS.  [106—108. 

nations ;  but  the  Colchian  linen  is  called  by  the  Greeks  Sar- 
donic, though  that  which  comes  from  Egypt  is  called  Egyp- 
tian. 106.  As  to  the  pillars  which  Sesostris  king  of  Egypt 
erected  in  the  different  countries,  most  of  them  are  evidently 
no  longer  in  existence,  but  in  Syrian  Palestine  I  myself  saw 
some  still  remaining,  and  the  inscriptions  before  mentioned 
still  on  them,  and  the  private  parts  of  a  woman.  There  are 
also  in  Ionia  two  images  of  this  king,  carved  on  rocks,  one  on 
the  way  0:-om  Ephesia  to  Phocaea,  the  other  from  Sardis  to 
Smyrna.  In  both  places  a  man  is  carved,  four  cubits  and  a 
half  high,  holding  a  spear  in  his  right  hand,  and  in  his  left  a 
bow,  and  the  rest  of  his  equipment  in  unison,  for  it  is  partly 
Egyptian  and  partly  Ethiopian ;  from  one  shoulder  to  the 
other  across  the  breast  extend  sacred  Egyptian  characters  en- 
graved, which  have  the  following  meaning  :  "I  acquired  this 
REGION  BY  MYOAVN  SHOULDERS."  Wlioor  whence  he  is,  he  does 
not  here  show,  but  has  elsewhere  made  known.  Some,  how- 
ever, who  have  seen  these  monuments  have  conjectured  them 
to  be  images  of  Memnon,  herein  being  very  far  from  the  truth. 
107.  The  priests  said  moreover  of  this  Egyptian  Sesostris, 
that  returning  and  bringing  with  him  many  men  from  the  na- 
tions whose  territories  he  had  subdued,  when  he  arrived  at  the 
Pelusian  Daphnte,  his  brother,  to  whom  he  had  committed  the 
government  of  Egypt,  invited  him  to  an  entertainment,  and 
his  sons  with  him,  and  caused  wood  to  be  piled  up  round  the 
house,  and  having  caused  it  to  be  piled  up,  set  it  on  fire :  but 
that  Sesostris,  being  informed  of  this,  immediately  consulted 
with  his  wife,  for  he  took  his  wife  with  him  ;  and  she  advised 
him  to  extend  two  ©f  his  six  sons  across  the  fire,  and  form  a 
bridge  over  the  burning  mass,  and  that  the  rest  should  step 
on  them  and  make  their  escape.  Sesostris  did  so,  and  two  of 
his  sons  were  in  this  manner  burnt  to  death,  but  the  rest,  to- 
gether with  their  father,  were  saved.  108.  Sesostris  having 
returned  to  Egypt,  and  taken  revenge  on  his  brother,  em- 
ployed the  multitude  of  prisoners  whom  he  brought  from 
the  countries  he  had  subdued,  in  the  following  works :  these 
were  the  persons  who  drew  the  huge  stones  which,  in  the 
time  of  this  king,  were  conveyed  to  the  temple  of  Vulcan ; 
they,  too,  were  compelled  to  dig  all  the  canals  now  seen  in 
Egypt ;  by  their  involuntary  labour  they  made  Egypt,  which 
before  was  throughout  .practicable  for  horses  and  carriage^ 


109—111.]  EUTERPE.      II.  135 

unlit  for  tlieso  purposes ;  for  from  that  time  Egypt,  tLough  it 
was  one  level  plain,  became  impassable  for  horses  or  carriages  ; 
and  this  is  caused  by  the  canals,  which  are  numerous  and  in 
every  direction.  But  the  king  intersected  the  country  for 
this  reason :  such  of  the  Egyptians  as  occupied  the  cities  not 
on  the  river,  but  inland,  when  the  river  receded,  being  in 
want  of  water,  were  forced  to  use  a  brackish  beverage  which 
they  drew^  from  wells  ;  and  for  this  reason  Egypt  was  inter- 
sected. 109.  They  said  also  that  this  king  divided  the  coun- 
try amongst  all  the  Egyptians,  giving  an  equal  square  allot- 
ment to  each  ;  and  from  thence  he  drew  his  revenues,  having 
required  them  to  pay  a  fixed  tax  every  year  ;  but  if  the  river 
happened  to  take  away  a  part  of  any  one's  allotment,  he  was 
to  come  to  him  and  make  known  what  had  happened  ;  Avhere- 
upon  the  king  sent  persons  to  inspect  and  measure  how  much 
the  land  was  diminished,  that  in  future  he  might  pay  a  pro- 
portionate part  of  the  appointed  tax.  Hence  land-measurinoj 
appears  to  me  to  have  had  its  beginning,  and  to  have  passed 
over  into  Greece  :  for  the  pole '^  and  the  sun-dial,  and  the  di- 
vision of  the  day  into  twelve  parts,  the  Greeks  learnt  from  the 
Babylonians.  110.  This  king  then  was  the  only  Egyptian 
that  ruled  over  Ethiopia  ;  and  he  left  as  memorials  before 
Vulcan's  temple,  statues  of  stone  ;  two  of  thirty  cubits,  him- 
self and  his  wife  ;  and  his  four  sons,  each  of  twenty  cubits. 
A  long  time  after,  the  priest  of  Vulcan  would  not  suffer  Da- 
rius the  Persian  to  place  his  statue  before  them,  saying,  "  that 
deeds  had  not  been  achieved  by  him  equal  to  those  of  Sesos- 
tris  the  Egyptian  :  for  that  Sesostris  had  subdued  other  na- 
tions, not  fewer  than  Darius  had  done,  and  the  Scythians 
besides  ;  but  that  Darius  was  not  able  to  conquer  the  Scy- 
thians ;  wherefore  it  was  not  right  for  one  who  had  not  sur- 
passed him  in  achievements  to  place  his  statue  before  his 
offerings."  They  relate,  however,  that  Darius  pardoned  these 
observations. 

111.  After  the  death  of  Sesostris,  they  said  that  his  son 
Pheron  succeeded  to  the  kingdom  ;  that  he  undertook  no 
military  expedition,  and  happened  to  become  blind  through  the 
following  occurrence :   the  river  having  risen  a  very  great 

•  Literally,  "  using  it  from  wells." 

'  rio'Xos  here  means  *'  a  concave  dial,"  shaped  like  the  rault  of  hea- 
ven,- -See  Baehr. 


136  HERODOTUS.  [112. 

heigh;  for  that  time,  to  eighteen  cubits,  when  it  overflowed 
the  fields,  a  storm  of  wind  arose,  and  the  river  was  tossed 
about  in  waves  ;  whereupon  they  say  that  the  king  with 
great  arrogance  laid  hold  of  a  javelin,  and  threw  it  into  the 
midst  of  the  eddies  of  t!ie  river  ;  and  that  immediately  after- 
wards he  was  seized  with  a  pain  in  his  eyes,  and  became 
blind.  He  continued  blind  for  ten  years  ;  but  in  the  eleventh 
year  an  oracle  reached  him  from  the  city  of  Buto,  importing 
*'  that  the  time  of  his  punishment  was  expired,  and  he  should 
recover  his  sight,  by  washing  his  eyes  with  the  urine  of  a 
woman  who  had  had  intercourse  with  her  own  husband  only, 
and  had  known  no  other  man.  He  therefore  made  trial  of 
his  own  wife  first,  and  afterwards,  when  he  did  not  recover 
his  sight,  he  made  trial  of  others  indifferently  ;  and  at  length 
having  recovered  his  sight,  he  collected  the  women  of  whom 
he  had  made  trial,  except  the  one  by  washing  with  whose 
urine  he  had  recovered  his  sight,  into  one  city,  which  is  now 
called  Erythrebolus,  and  when  he  had  assembled  them  to- 
gether he  had  them  all  burnt,  together  with  the  city ;  but  the 
woman,  by  washing  in  whose  urine  he  recovered  his  sight, 
he  took  to  himself  to  wife.  Having  escaped  from  this  cala- 
mity in  his  eyes,  he  dedicated  other  offerings  throughout  all 
the  celebrated  temples,  and,  what  is  most  worthy  of  mention, 
he  dedicated  to  the  temple  of  the  sun  works  worthy  of  ad- 
miration, two  stone  obelisks,  each  consisting  of  one  stone, 
and  each  a  hundred  cubits  in  length  and  eight  cubits  in 
breadth. 

112.  They  said  that  a  native  of  Memphis  succeeded  him 
in  the  kingdom,  whose  name  in  the  Grecian  language  is  Pro- 
teus :  there  is  to  this  day  an  enclosure  sacred  to  him  at  Mem- 
phis, which  is  very  beautiful  and  richly  adorned,  situated  to  the 
south  side  of  the  temple  of  Vulcan.  Tyrian  Phoenicians 
dwell  round  this  enclosure,  and  the  whole  tract  is  called  the 
Tyrian  camp.®  In  this  enclosure  of  Proteus,  is  a  temple  which 
is  called  after  the  foreign  Venus  ;  and  I  conjecture  that  thi? 
is  the  temple  of  Helen  the  daughter  of  Tyndarus,  both  be- 
cause I  have  heard  that  Helen  lived  with  Proteus,  and  also 
because  it  is  named  from  the  foreign  Venus  :  for  of  all  the 
other  temples  of  Venus,  none  is  any  where  called  by  the  name 

^  In  cLap.  154,  we  meet  with  "  the  camp  of  the  lonians  and  Ca- 

riuns." 


113—115.]  EUTERPE.    II.  137 

of  foreign.  HZ,  When  I  inquired  about  Helen,  the  priests 
told  me  that  the  case  was  thus  :  that  when  Paris  had  carried 
Helen  off  from  Sparta,  he  sailed  away  to  his  own  country, 
and  when  he  was  in  the  -^gean,  violent  winds  drove  him  out 
of  his  course  into  the  Egyptian  sea,  and  from  thence  (for  the 
gale  did  not  abate)  he  came  to  Egypt,  and  in  Egypt  to  that 
which  is  now  called  the  Canopic  mouth  of  the  Nile,  and  to  Ta- 
richese.  On  that  shore  stood  a  temple  of  Hercules,  which  re- 
mains to  this  day  ;  in  which,  if  the  slave  of  any  person  what- 
soever takes  refuge,  and  has  sacred  marks  impressed  on  him, 
so  devoting  himself  to  the  god,  it  is  not  lawful  to  lay  hands  on 
him.  This  custom  continues  the  same  to  my  time  as  it  was 
from  the  first.  The  attendants  of  Paris  therefore,  when  in- 
formed of  the  custom  that  prevailed  respecting  the  temple, 
revolted  from  him,  and  sitting  as  suppliants  of  the  god,  ac- 
cused Paris  with  a  view  to  injure  him,  relating  the  whole 
account,  how  tilings  stood  with  regard  to  Helen,  and  his 
injustice  towards  Menelaus.  These  accusations  were  made  to 
vlie  priests,  and  the  governor  of  that  mouth,  whose  name  was 
Thonis.  114.  Thonis  having  heard  this,  immediately  sends  a 
3iessage  to  Proteus  at  Memphis,  to  the  following  effect :  "  A 
stranger  of  Trojan  race  has  arrived,  after  having  committed  a 
nefarious  deed  in  Greece  ;  for  having  beguiled  the  wife  of  his 
own  host,  he  has  brought  her  with  him,  and  very  great 
treasures,  having  been  driven  by  winds  to  this  land.  Whether 
then  shall  we  allow  him  to  depart  unmolested,  or  shall  we  seize 
what  he  has  brought  with  him  ? "  Proteus  sends  back  a 
messenger  with  the  following  answer  :  "  Seize  this  man,  who- 
ever he  may  be,  that  has  acted  so  wickedly  towards  his  host, 
and  bring  him  to  me,  that  I  may  know  what  he  will  say 
for  himself."  115.  Thonis,  having  received  this  message, 
seizes  Paris,  and  detains  his  ships  ;  and  then  sent  him  up 
to  Memphis  with  Helen  and  his  treasures,  and  besides  the 
suppliants  also.  When  all  were  carried  up,  Proteus  asked 
Paris  who  he  was,  and  whence  he  had  sailed  ;  and  he  gave 
him  an  account  of  his  family,  and  told  him  the  name  of  his 
country,  and  moreover  described  his  voyage  and  from  whence 
he  had  set  sail.  Then  Proteus  asked  him  whence  he  got 
Helen  ;  and  when  Paris  prevaricated  in  his  account,  and  did 
not  speak  the  truth,  they  who  had  become  suppliants  accused 
him,  relatinjr  the  whole  account  of  his  crime.    At  last  Proteus 


138  HERODOTUS. 


1116 


pronounced  tiiis  judgment,  saying  ;  "  If  I  did  not  think  it  of 
great  moment,  not  to  put  any  stranger  to  death  who,  being 
prevented  by  the  winds  from  pursuing  his  course,  has  come  to 
my  territory,  I  would  take  vengeance  on  you  on  behalf  of  the 
Grecian,  you  basest  of  men,  who,  after  you  had  met  with 
hospitable  treatment,  have  committed  the  most  nefarious  deed  : 
you  seduced  the  wife  of  your  host,  and  this  did  not  content 
you,  but  having  excited  her  passions,^  you  have  taken  her 
away  by  stealth.  Nor  even  did  this  content  you,  but  you 
have  also  robbed  the  house  of  your  host,  and  come  hither  with 
tlie  spoils  :  now  therefore,  since  I  deem  it  of  great  moment  not 
to  put  a  stranger  to  death,  I  will  not  suffer  you  to  carry  away 
this  woman,  or  this  treasure,  but  I  will  keep  them  for  your 
Grecian  host,  until  he  please  to  come  himself  and  take  them 
away ;  as  for  you  and  your  shipmates,  I  bid  you  depart  out 
of  my  territory  to  some  other  within  three  days  ;  if  not,  you 
shall  be  treated  as  enemies." 

116.  The  priests  gave  this  account  of  the  arrival  of  Helen 
at  the  court  of  Proteus.  And  Homer  appears  to  me  to  have 
heard  this  relation  ;  but  it  was  not  equally  suited  to  epic 
poetry  as  the  other  which  he  has  made  use  of,  wherefore  he 
has  rejected  it,  though  he  has  plainly  shown  that  he  was  ac- 
quainted with  this  account  also.  And  this  is  evident ;  since 
he  has  described  in  the  Iliad  (and  has  no  where  else  retraced 
his  steps)  the  wanderings  of  Paris,  how,  while  he  was  carry- 
ing off  Helen,  he  was  driven  out  of  his  course,  and  wandered 
to  other  places,  and  how  he  arrived  at  Sidon  of  Phoenicia : 
and  he  has  mentioned  it  in  the  exploits  of  Diomede,  his  verses 
are  as  follows  :  "  Where  were  the  variegated  robes,  works  of 
Sidonian  women,  which  god-like  Paris  himself  brought  from 
Sidon,  sailing  over  the  wide  sea,  along  the  course  by  which  he 
conveyed  high-born  Helen."  ^  He  mentions  it  also  in  the 
Odyssey,  in  the  following  lines  :  "  Such  well-chosen  drugs 
liad  the  daughter  of  Jove,  of  excellent  quality,  which  Poly- 
damna  gave  her,  the  Egyptian  wife  of  Thonis,  where  the 
fruitful  earth  produces  many  drugs,  many  excellent  when 
mixed,  and  many  noxious."^  Menelaus  also  says  the  fol- 
lowing to  Telemachus  :    "  The  gods*  detained  me  in  Egypt, 

•  Literally,  "  having  raised  the  wings.** 

»  Ili^d,  vi.  289.  '  Odyssey,  iv.  ^" 


117—119.]  EUTERPE.    II.  139 

though  anxious  to  return  hither,  because  I  did  not  offer  per- 
fect hecatombs  to  them."  ^  He  shows  in  these  verses,  that  he 
was  acquainted  with  the  wandering  of  Paris  in  Egypt ; 
for  Syria  borders  on  Egypt,  and  the  Phoenicians,  to  whom 
Sidon  belongs,  inhabit  Syria.  117.  From  these  verses,  and 
this  first  passage  especially,  it  is  clear  that  Homer  was  not 
the  author  of  the  Cyprian  verses,  but  some  other  person.  For 
in  the  Cyprian  verses  it  is  said,  that  Paris  reached  Ilium  from 
Sparta  on  the  third  day,  when  he  carried  off  Helen,  having  met 
with  a  favourable  wind  and  a  smooth  sea  ;  whereas  Homer  in 
the  Iliad  says  that  he  wandered  far  while  taking  her  with  him. 
And  now  I  take  my  leave  of  Homer  and  the  Cyprian  verses. 
118.  When  I  asked  the  priests  whether  the  Greeks  tell  an 
idle  story  about  the  Trojan  war,  or  not ;  they  gave  me  the 
following  answer,  saying  that  they  knew  it  by  inquiry  from 
Menelaus  himself :  That  after  the  rape  of  Helen,  a  vast  army 
of  Grecians  came  to  the  land  of  Teucria  to  assist  Menelaus  ;  and 
that  when  the  army  had  landed  and  pitched  their  camp,  they 
sent  ambassadors  to  Ilium,  and  that  Menelaus  himself  went  with 
them :  when  they  reached  the  walls,  they  demanded  the  resti- 
tution of  Helen,  and  the  treasures  that  Paris  had  stolen  from 
him,  and  satisfaction  for  the  injuries  done  :  that  the  Trojans 
told  the  same  story  then  and  ever  after,  both  when  put  to  the 
oath  and  when  not  swearing,  that  they  had  neither  Helen  nor 
the  treasures  about  which  they  were  accused,  but  that  they 
were  all  in  Egypt ;  and  that  they  could  not  with  justice  be 
answerable  for  what  Proteus  the  Egyptian  king  had  in  his 
possession :  but  the  Greeks,  thinking  they  were  derided  by 
them,  therefore  besieged  them  until  they  took  their  city. 
When,  however,  after  they  had  taken  the  fortifications,  Helen 
was  no  where  found,  but  they  heard  the  same  story  as  before, 
then  they  gave  credit  to  the  first  account,  and  sent  Menelaus 
himself  to  Proteus.  119.  When  Menelaus  reached  Egypt, 
he  sailed  up  to  Memphis,  and  related  the  real  truth  :  he 
both  met  with  very  hospitable  entertainment,  and  received 
back  Helen  unharmed,  and  besides  all  his  treasures.  Mene- 
laus, however,  though  he  met  with  this  treatment,  behaved 
very  iniquitously  to  the  Egyptians :  for  when  he  was  de- 
sirous of  sailing  away,  contrary  winds  detained  him  ;   and 


I 


*  Odyssey,  iv   351. 


140  HERODOTUS.  [120. 

when  this  continued  the  same  for  a  long  time,  he  had  recourse 
to  a  nefarious  expedient ;  for  having  taken  two  children  of  the 
people  of  the  country,  he  sacrificed  them;"*  but  afterwards, 
when  it  was  discovered  that  he  had  done  this  deed,  he  was 
detested  and  persecuted  by  the  Egyptians,  and  ^ed  with  his 
ships  to  Libya :  whither  he  bent  his  course  from  thence,  the 
Egyptians  were  unable  to  say  ;  but  of  the  above  particulars 
they  said  they  knew  some  by  inquiry,  and  others,  having  taken 
place  among  themselves,  they  were  able  from  their  own 
knowledge  to  speak  of  with  certainty.  120.  These  things 
the  priests  of  the  Egyptians  related  ;  and  I  myself  agree  with 
the  account  that  is  given  respecting  Helen,  from  the  following 
considerations.  If  Helen  had  been  in  Ilium,  she  would  have 
been  restored  to  the  Grecians,  whether  Paris  were  willing  or 
not.  For  surely  Priam  could  not  have  been  so  infatuated,  nor 
the  others  his  relatives,  as  to  be  willing  to  expose  their  own 
persons,  their  children,  and  the  city  to  danger,  in  order  that 
Paris  might  cohabit  with  Helen.  But  even  if  at  first  they 
had  taken  this  resolution,  yet  seeing  that  many  of  the  other 
Trojans  perished,  whenever  they  engaged  with  the  Greeks, 
and  that  on  every  occasion  when  a  battle  took  place,  two  or 
three  or  even  more  of  Priam's  own  sons  fell,  if  we  may  speak 
on  the  authority  of  the  epic  poets  ; — when  such  things  hap- 
pened, I  think,  that  if  Priam  himself  were  cohabiting  with 
Helen,  he  would  have  restored  her  to  the  Greeks,  in  order  to 
be  delivered  from  such  present  evils.  Neither  would  the 
kingdom  devolve  upon  Paris,  so  that  when  Priara  was  now 
old,  the  administration  of  affairs  should  fall  upon  him  ;  but 
Hector,  who  was  both  older  and  more  a  man  than  he  was, 
would  succeed  to  the  throne  on  the  death  of  Priam  ;  nor  did 
it  become  him  to  give  way  to  his  brother  when  acting  un- 
justly, and  this  too  when  through  his  means  so  many  evils 
were  falling  on  himself,  and  on  all  the  rest  of  the  Trojans. 
But  indeed  they  had  it  not  in  their  power  to  restore  Helen, 
nor,  when  they  spoke  the  truth,  did  the  Greeks  give  credit  to 
them  :  providence  ordaining,  as  1  am  of  opinion,  that  they,  by 
utterly  perishing,  should  make  it  clear  to  all  men,  that  for 
great  crimes  great  punishments  at  the  hands  of  the  gods  are 

*  Literally,    "  he   made   victims   of  them  : "    by  ivrofxa    are  mt'ROl 
''victims  slain  to  appease  the  infernfil  deiti«es." 


121.]  EUTERPE.     II.  141 

m  store.  Thus  these  things  have  been  rehited  as  they  appear 
to  me. 

121.  The  priests  also  informed  me,  that  Rhampsinitus  suc- 
ceeded Proteus  in  the  kingdom  :  he  left  as  a  monument  the 
portico  of  the  temple  of  Vulcan,  fronting  to  the  west ;  and  he 
erected  two  statues  before  the  portico,  twenty-five  cubits 
high.  Of  these,  the  one  standing  to  the  north  the  Egyptians 
call  Summer  ;  and  that  to  the  south.  Winter  :  and  the  one 
that  they  call  Summer,  they  worship  and  do  honour  to ;  but 
the  one  called  Winter,  they  treat  in  a  quite  contrary  way. 

1.  This  king,  they  said,  possessed  a  great  quantity  of 
money,  such  as  no  one  of  the  succeeding  kings  was  able  to 
surpass,  or  even  nearly  come  up  to  ;  and  he,  wishing  to  trea- 
sure up  his  wealth  in  safety,  built  a  chamber  of  stone,  of 
which  one  of  the  walls  adjoined  the  outside  of  the  palace. 
But  the  builder,  forming  a  plan  against  it,  devised  the  follow- 
ing contrivance  ;  he  fitted  one  of  the  stones  so  that  it  might 
be  easily  taken  out  by  two  men,  or  even  one.  When  the 
chamber  was  finished,  the  king  laid  up  his  treasures  in  it ;  but 
in  course  of  time  the  builder,  finding  his  end  approaching,  called 
his  sons  to  him,  for  he  had  two,  and  described  to  them  how  (pro- 
viding for  them  that  they  might  have  abundant  sustenance)  he 
had  contrived  when  building  the  king's  treasury ;  and  having 
clearly  explained  to  them  every  thing  relating  to  the  removal 
of  the  stone,  he  gave  them  its  dimensions,  and  told  them,  if 
they  would  observe  his  instructions,  they  would  be  stewards 
of  the  king's  riches.  He  accordingly  died,  and  the  sons  were 
not  long  in  applying  themselves  to  the  work  ;  but  having 
come  by  night  to  the  palace,  and  having  found  the  stone  in 
the  building,  they  easily  removed  it,  and  carried  off  a  great 
quantity  of  treasure.  2.  When  the  king  happened  to  open 
tlie  chamber,  he  was  astonished  at  seeing  the  vessels  deficient 
in  treasure  ;  but  he  was  not  able  to  accuse  any  one,  as  the 
seals  were  unbroken,  and  the  chamber  well  secured.  When 
tiierefore,  on  his  opening  it  two  or  three  times,  the  treasures 
were  always  evidently  diminished,  (for  the  thieves  did  not 
cease  plundering,)  he  adopted  the  following  plan  ;  he  ordered 
traps  to  be  made,  and  placed  them  round  the  vessels  in  which 
the  treasures  were.  But  when  the  thieves  came  as  before, 
and  one  of  them  had  entered,  as  soon  as  he  went  near  a  ves- 
sel, he  was  straightway  caught  in  the  trap ;  perceiving,  there- 


1^2  HERODOTUS.  im 

fore,  in  what  a  preduament  lie  was,  he  immediately  called  to 
his  brother,  and  told  him  what  had  happened,  and  bade  him 
enter  as  quick  as  possible,  and  cut  off  his  head,  lest,  if  he  was 
seen  and  recognised,  he  should  ruin  him  also ;  the  other 
thought  that  he  spoke  well,  and  did  as  he  was  advised ;  then, 
having  fitted  in  the  stone,  he  returned  home,  taking  with  him 
his  brother's  head.  3.  When  day  came,  the  king  having  en- 
tered the  chamber,  was  astonished  at  seeing  the  body  of  the 
thief  in  the  trap  without  the  head,  but  the  chamber  secure, 
and  without  any  means  of  entrance  or  exit.  In  this  perplex- 
ity he  contrived  the  following  plan  ;  he  hung  up  the  body  of 
the  thief  from  the  wall,  and  having  placed  sentinels  there,  he 
ordered  them  to  seize  artd  bring  before  him  whomsoever  they 
should  see  weeping  or  expressing  commiseration  at  the 
spectacle.  The  mother  was  greatly  grieved  at  the  body  being 
suspended,  and  coming  to  words  with  her  surviving  son,  com- 
manded him,  by  any  means  he  could,  to  contrive  how  he 
might  take  down  and  bring  away  the  corpse  of  his  brother  ; 
but,  should  he  neglect  to  do  so,  she  threatened  to  go  to  the 
king,  and  inform  him  that  he  had  the  treasures.  4.  When 
the  mother  treated  her  surviving  son  harshly,  and  when  with 
many  entreaties  he  was  unable  to  persuade  her,  he  contrived 
the  following  plan  ;  having  got  some  asses,  and  having  filled 
some  skins  with  wine,  he  put  them  on  the  asses,  and  then 
drove  them  along  ;  but  when  he  came  near  the  sentinels  that 
guarded  the  suspended  corpse,  having  drawn  out  two  or  three 
of  the  necks  ot  the  skins  that  hung  down,  he  loosened  them  ; 
and  when  the  wine  ran  out,  he  beat  his  head,  and  cried  out 
aloud,  as  if  he  knew  not  to  which  of  the  asses  he  should  turn 
first :  but  the  sentinels,  when  they  saw  wine  flowing  in  abund- 
ance, ran  into  the  road,  with  vessels  in  their  hands,  caught 
the  wine  that  was  being  spilt,  thinking  it  all  their  own  gain  ; 
but  the  man,  feigning  anger,  railed  bitterly  against  them  all ; 
however,  as  the  sentinels  soothed  him,  he  at  length  pretended 
to  be  pacified,  and  to  forego  his  anger  ;  at  last  he  drove  his 
rxsses  out  of  the  road,  and  set  them  to  rights  again.  When 
more  conversation  passed,  and  one  of  the  sentinels  joked  with 
him  and  moved  him  to  laughter,  ho  gave  them  another  of  the 
skins ;  and  they,  just  as  they  were,  lay  down  and  set  to  to 
drink,  and  joined  him  to  their  party,  and  invited  him  to  stay 
and  drink  with  them  ;   he  was  persuaded,  forsooth,  and  re- 


121.J  EUTEllPE.     II.  M3 

mained  with  them ;  and  a^  they  treated  him  kindly  during 
the  drinking,  he  gave  them  another  of  the  skins  ;  and  the 
sentinels,  having  taken  very  copious  draughts,  became  exceed- 
ingly drunk,  and  being  overpowered  by  the  wine,  fell  asleep 
on  the  spot  where  they  had  been  drinking.  But  he,  as  the 
night  was  far  advanced,  took  down  the  body  of  his  brother^ 
and  by  way  of  insult  shaved  the  right  cheeks  of  all  the  senti- 
nels ;  then  having  laid  the  corpse  on  the  asses,  he  drove  home> 
having  performed  his  mother's  injunctions.  5.  The  king, 
when  he  was  informed  that  the  body  of  the  thief  had  been 
stolen,  was  exceedingly  indignant,  and,  resolving  by  any 
means  to  find  out  the  contriver  of  this  artifice,  had  recourse, 
as  it  is  said,  to  the  following  plan,  a  design  which  to  me 
seems  incredible :  he  placed  hi«  own  daughter  in  a  brothel, 
and  ordered  her  to  admit  all  alike  to  her  embraces,  but  before 
they  had  intercourse  with  her,  to  compel  each  one  to  tell  her 
what  he  had  done  during  his  life  most  clever  and  most  wicked, 
and  whosoever  should  tell  her  the  facts  relating  to  the  thief, 
she  was  to  seize,  and  not  suffer  him  to  escape.  When,  there- 
fore, the  daughter  did  what  her  father  commanded,  the  thief, 
having  ascertained  for  what  purpose  this  contrivance  was  had 
recourse  to,  and  being  desirous  to  outdo  the  king  in  craftiness, 
did  as  follows  :  having  cut  off  the  arm  of  a  fresh  corpse  at  the 
shoulder,  he  took  it  with  him  under  his  cloak,  and  having 
gone  in  to  the  king's  daughter,  and  being  asked  the  same  ques- 
tions as  all  the  rest  were,  he  related  that  he  had  done  tlie  most 
wicked  thing  when  he  cut  off  his  brother's  head  who  was 
caught  in  a  trap  in  the  king's  treasury ;  and  the  most  clever 
thing,  when,  having  made  the  sentinels  drunk,  he  took  away 
the  corpse  of  his  brother  that  was  hung  up :  she,  when  she 
heard  this,  endeavoured  to  seize  him,  but  the  thief  in  the  dark 
held  out  to  her  the  dead  man's  arm,  and  she  seized  it  and  held 
it  fast,  imagining  that  she  had  got  hold  of  the  man's  own  arm  ; 
then  the  thief,  having  let  it  go,  made  his  escape  through  the 
door.  6.  When  this  also  was  reported  to  the  king,  he  was 
astonished  at  the  shrewdness  and  daring  of  the  man  ;  and  at 
last,  sending  throughout  all  the  cities,  he  caused  a  proclama- 
tion to  be  made,  offering  a  free  pardon,  and  promising  great 
reward  to  the  man,  if  he  would  discover  himself.  The  thief, 
relying  on  this  promise,  went  to  the  king's  palace ;  and  Rhamp- 
nitus  greatly  admired  him  and  ^ave  him  his  daughter  ia 


144  HERODOTUS.  [122—124. 

marriage,  accounting  him  the  most  knowing  of  all  men ;  for 
that  the  Egyptians  are  superior  to  all  others,  but  he  was  su- 
perior to  the  Egyptians. 

122.  After  this,  they  said,  that  this  king  descended  alive 
into  the  place  which  the  Greeks  call  Hades,  and  there  played 
at  dice  with  Ceres,  and  sometimes  won,  and  other  times 
lost ;  and  that  he  came  up  again  and  brought  with  him  as 
a  present  from  her  a  napkin  of  gold.  On  account  of  the 
descent  of  Rhampsinitus,  since  he  came  back  again  they  said 
that  the  Egyptians  celebrated  a  festival:  this  I  know  they 
observed  even  in  my  time ;  but  whether  they  held  this  feast 
for  some  other  reason,  or  for  that  above  mentioned^  I  am  un- 
able to  say.  However,  on  that  same  day,  the  priests,  having 
woven  a  cloak,  bind  the  eyes  of  one  of  their  liomber  with  a 
scarf,  and  having  conducted  him  with  the  cloak  on  him  to  the 
way  that  leads  to  the  temple  of  Geres,  they  then  return  :  upon 
which  they  say,  this  priest  with  his  eyes  bound  is  led  by  two 
wolves  to  the  temple  of  Ceres,  twenty  stades  distant  from 
the  city,  and  afterwards  the  wolves  lead  him  back  to  the 
same  place.  123.  Any  person  to  whom  such  things  appear 
credible  may  adopt  the  accounts  given  by  the  Egyptians ;  it 
is  my  object,  however,  throughout  the  whole  history,  to  write 
what  I  hear  from  each  people.  The  Egyptians  say  that 
Ceres  and  Bacchus  hold  the  chief  sway  in  the  infernal  regions  ; 
and  the  Egyptians  also  were  the  first  who  asserted  the  doctrine 
that  the  soul  of  man  is  immortal,  and  that  when  the  body 
perishes  it  enters  into  some  other  animal,  constantly  springing 
into  existence ;  and  when  it  has  passed  through  the  different 
kinds  of  terrestrial,  marine,  and  aerial  beings,  it  again  enters 
into  the  body  of  a  man  that  is  born ;  and  that  this  revolution 
is  made  in  three  thousand  years.  Some  of  the  Greeks  have 
adopted  this  opinion,  some  earlier,  others  later,  as  if  it  were 
their  own  ;  but  although  I  knew  their  names  I  do  not  mention 
them. 

124.  Now,  they  told  me,  that  to  the  reign  of  Rhampsinitus 
there  was  a  perfect  distribution  of  justice,  and  that  all  Egypt 
was  in  a  high  state  of  prosperity ;  but  that  after  him  Cheops, 
coming  to  reign  over  them,  plunged  into  every  kind  of  wick- 
edness. For  that,  having  shut  up  all  the  temples,  he  first  of 
all  forbade  them  to  offer  sacrifice,  and  afterwards  he  ordered 
ell  the  Egyptians  to  work  for  himself;  some,  accordingly,  wcro 


125.]  EUTEKPE.     II.  145 

appointed  to  draw  «tone.s  from  the  (juarries  in  tlie  Arabian 
mountain  down  to  the  Nile,  others  he  ordered  to  receive  the 
stones  when  transported  in  vessels  across  the  river,  and  to 
'Irag  thenri  to  the  mountain  called  the  Libyan.  And  they 
worked  to  the  number  of  a  hundred  thousand  men  at  a  time, 
each  party  during  three  months.  The  time  during  which  the 
people  were  thus  harassed  by  toil,  lasted  ten  years  on  the  road 
which  they  constructed,  along  which  they  drew  the  stones,  a 
work,  in  my  opinion,  not  much  less  than  the  pyramid  :  for  its 
length  is  five  stades,  and  its  width  ten  orgyae,  and  its  height, 
where  it  is  the  highest,  eight  orgyae  ;  and  it  is  of  polished 
stone,  with  figures  carved  on  it :  on  this  road  then  ten  years 
were  expended,  and  in  forming  the  subterraneous  apartments 
on  the  hill,  on  which  the  pyramids  stand,  which  he  had  made 
as  a  burial  vault  for  himself,  in  an  island,  formed  by  draining 
a  canal  from  the  Nile.  Twenty  years  were  spent  in  erecting 
the  pyramid  itself:  of  this,  which  is  square,  each  face  is 
eight  plethra,  and  the  height  is  the  same  ;  it  is  composed  of 
polished  stones,  and  jointed  with  the  greatest  exactness  ;  none 
of  the  stones  are  less  than  thirty  feet.  125.  This  pyramid 
was  built  thus  ;  in  the  form  af  steps,  which  some  call  crossse, 
others  bomides.  When  they  had  first  built  it  in  this  manner, 
they  raised  the  remaining  stones  by  machines  made  of  short 
pieces  of  wood  ;  having  lifted  them  from  the  ground  to  the 
ilrst  range  of  steps,  when  the  stone  arrived  there,  it  was  put  on 
another  machine  that  stood  ready  on  the  first  range  ;  and 
from  this  it  was  drawn  to  the  second  range  on  another  ma- 
chine ;  for  the  machines  were  equal  in  number  to  the  ranges 
of  steps  ;  or  they  removed  the  machine,  which  was  only  one, 
and  portable,  to  each  range  in  succession,  whenever  they 
wished  to  raise  the  stone  higher  ;  for  I  should  relate  it  in 
both  ways,  as  it  is  related.  Tlie  liighest  parts  of  it,  therefore, 
were  first  finished,  and  afterwards  they  completed  the  parts 
next  following  ;  but  last  of  all  they  finished  the  parts  on  tl»e 
ground,  and  that  were  lowest.  On  the  pyramid  is  shown 
an  inscription,  in  Egyptian  characters,  how  much  was  ex- 
pended in  radishes,  onions,  and  garlic,  for  the  workmen  ; 
which  the  interpreter,  as  I  well  remember,  reading  the  in- 
scription, told  me  amounted  to  one  thousand  six  hundred 
talents  of  silver.  And  if  this  be  really  the  case,  how  much 
more  was;  probably  expended  in  iron  tools,  in  bread,  and  in 

L 


146  HEuoBOTtJs.  n^^m 

clothes  for  the  labourers,  since  they  occupied  in  building  the 
works  the  time  which  I  mentioned,  and  no  short  lime  besides, 
as  I  think,  in  cutting  and  drawing  the  stones,  and  in  forming 
the  subterraneous  excavation.  126.  It  is  related  that  Cheoips 
reached  such  a  degree  of  infamy,  that  being  in  want  of  money, 
he  prostituted  his  own  daughter  in  a  brothel,  and  ordered  her 
to  extort,  they  did  not  say  how  much  ;  but  she  exacted  a 
certain  sum  of  money,  privately,  as  much  as  her  father  or- 
dered her  ;  and  contrived  to  leave  a  monument  of  herself,  and 
asked  every  one  that  came  in  to  her  to  give  her  a  stone  to- 
wards the  edifice  she  designed  :  of  these  stones  they  said  tlie 
pyramid  was  built  that  stands  in  the  middle  of  the  three,  be- 
fore the  great  pyramid,  each  side  of  which  is  a  plethron  and 
a  half  in  length.  127.  The  Egyptians  say  that  this  Cheops 
reigned  fifty  years  ;  and  when  he  died,  his  brother  Chephren 
succeeded  to  the  kingdom  ;  and  he  followed  the  same  prac- 
tices as  the  other,  both  in  other  respects,  and  in  building  a 
pyramid  ;  which  does  not  come  up  to  the  dimensions  of  his 
brother's,  for  I  myself  measured  them  ;  nor  has  it  subter- 
raneous chambers ;  nor  does  a  channel  from  the  Nile  flow  to 
it,  as  to  the  other  ;  but  this  flows  through  an  artificial  aque- 
duct round  an  island  within,  in  which  they  say  the  body  of 
Cheops  is  laid.  Having  laid  the  first  course  of  variegated 
Ethiopian  stones,  less  in  height  than  the  other  by  forty  feet, 
lie  built  it  near  the  large  pyramid.  They  both  stand  on  the 
same  hill,  which  is  about  a  hundred  feet  high.  Chephren,  they 
said,  reigned  fifty-six  years.  128.  Thus  one  hundred  and 
six  years  are  reckoned,  during  which  the  Egyptians  suffered 
all  kinds  of  calamities,  and  for  this  length  of  time  the  temples 
were  closed  and  never  opened.  From  the  hatred  they  bear 
them,  the  Egyptians  are  not  very  willing  to  mention  their 
names  ;  but  call  the  pyramids  after  Philition,  a  shepherd,  who 
at  that  time  kept  his  cattle  in  those  parts. 

129.  They  said  that  after  him,  Mycerinus,  son  of  Cheops, 
reigned  over  Egypt ;  that  the  conduct  of  his  father  was  dis- 
pleasing to  him  ;  and  that  he  opened  the  temples,  and  per- 
mitted the  people,  who  were  worn  down  to  the  last  extremity, 
to  return  to  their  employments,  and  to  sacrifices  ;  and  that  he 
made  the  most  just  decisions  of  all  their  kings.  On  this  ac- 
count, of  all  the  kings  that  ever  reigned  in  Egypt,  they  praise 
him  most,  for  he  both  judged  well   in  other  respects,  and 


130-132.]  EUTERPE.    It.  147 

moreover,  when  any  man  complained  of  his  decision,  he  used 
to  make  him  some  present  out  of  his  own  treasury  and  pacify 
liis  anger.  To  this  Mycerinus,  who  was  thus  beneficent  to- 
wards his  subjects,  and  who  followed  these  practices,  the  first 
beginning  of  misfortunes  was  the  death  of  his  daughter,  who 
was  his  only  child  :  whereupon  he,  being  extremely  afilicted 
with  the  calamity  that  had  befallen  him,  and  wishing  to  bury 
her  in  a  more  costly  manner  than  usual,  caused  a  hollow 
wooden  image  of  a  cow  to  be  made,  and  then,  having  covered 
it  with  gold,  he  put  the  body  of  his  deceased  daughter  into  it. 
130.  This  cow  was  not  interred  in  the  ground,  but  even  in 
my  time  was  exposed  to  view,  being  in  the  city  of  Sais, 
placed  in  the  royal  palace,  in  a  richly  furnished  chamber  ; 
and  they  burn  near  it  all  kinds  of  aromatics  every  day,  and  a 
lamp  is  kept  burning  by  it  throughout  each  night.  In  another 
chamber  near  to  this  cow  are  placed  the  images  of  Mycerinus's 
concubines,  as  the  priests  of  Sais  affirmed  ;  and  indeed  wooden 
statues,  about  twenty  in  number,  all  formed  naked,  are  placed 
there ;  however,  as  to  who  they  are,  I  am  unable  to  say,  except 
what  was  told  me.  131.  Some  people  however  give  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  this  cow  and  these  statues  :  that  Mycerinus 
fell  in  love  with  his  own  daughter,  and  had  intercourse  with 
her  against  her  will ;  but  afterwards,  they  say,  that  the  girl 
strangled  herself  through  grief,  and  he  entombed  her  in  this 
cow  ;  but  her  mother  cut  off  the  hands  of  the  servants  who 
had  betrayed  her  daughter  to  the  father  ;  and  that  now  their 
images  have  suffered  the  same  that  they  did  when  alive.  But 
these  things,  as  I  conjecture,  are  trifling  fables,  both  in  other 
respects  and  in  what  relates  to  the  hands  of  the  statues,  for  I 
myself  saw  that  they  had  lost  their  hands  from  age,  which 
were  seen  lying  at  their  feet  even  in  my  time.  132.  The 
ow  is  in  other  parts  covered  with  a  purple  cloth,  but  shows 
e  liead  and  the  neck,  covered  over  with  very  thick  gold  ; 
and  the  orb  of  the  sun  imitated  in  gold  is  placed  between  the 
horns.  The  cow  is  not  standing  up,  but  kneeling ;  in  size  it 
is  equal  to  a  large  living  cow.  It  is  carried  every  year  out  of 
the  chamber.  When  the  Egyptians  beat  ^  themselves  for  the 
god  that  is  not  to  be  named  by  me  on  this  occasion,  they  then 
carry  out  the  cow  to  the  light ;  for  they  say  that  she,  whoo 

»  See  Chap,  61. 
L  2 


143  HERODOTUS,  flSs,  131 

she  was  dying,  entreated  her  father  Mjccrlnus  to  permit  lier 
to  see  the  sun  once  erery  year.  133.  After  the  loss  of  his 
daughter,  this  second  calamity  befel  this  king :  an  oracle 
reached  him  from  the  city  of  Buto,  importing,  "  that  he  had  no 
more  than  six  years  to  live,  and  should  die  in  the  seventh  : " 
but  he,  thinking  this  very  hard,  sent  a  reproachful  message 
to  the  god,  complaining,  "  that  his  father  and  uncle,  who  had 
shut  up  the  temples,  and  paid  no  regard  to  the  gods,  and  more- 
over had  oppressed  men,  had  lived  long  ;  whereas  he  who  was 
religious  must  die  so  soon.'*  But  a  second  message  came  to 
him  from  the  oracle,  stating,  "  that  for  this  very  reason  his 
life  was  shortened,  because  he  had  not  done  what  he  ought  to 
have  done ;  for  it  was  needful  that  Egypt  should  be  afflicte^l 
during  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ;  and  the  two  who  were  kings 
before  him  understood  this,  but  he  did  not."  When  Mycerinus 
heard  this,  seeing  that  this  sentence  was  now  pronounced  against 
him,  he  ordered  a  great  number  of  lamps  to  be  made,  and  hav- 
ing lighted  them,  whenever  night  came  on,  he  drank  and  enjoyed 
himself,  never  ceasing  night  or  day,  roving  about  the  marshes 
and  groves,  wherever  he  could  hear  of  places  most  suited  for 
pleasure :  and  he  had  recourse  to  this  artifice  for  the  purpose 
of  convicting  the  oracle  of  falsehood,  that  by  turning  the 
nights  into  days,  he  might  have  twelve  years  instead  of  six. 

134.  This  king  also  left  a  pyramid  much  less  than  that  of 
his  father,  being  on  each  side  twenty  feet  short  of  three  ple- 
thra  ;  it  is  quadrangular,  and  built  half-way  up  of  Ethiopian 
stone.  Some  of  the  Grecians  erroneously  say  that  this  pyra- 
mid is  the  work  of  the  courtesan  Rhodopis ;  but  they 
evidently  appear  to  me  ignorant  who  Rhodopis  was  ;  for  they 
would  not  else  have  attributed  to  her  the  building  such  a 
pyramid,  on  which,  so  to  speak,  numberless  thousands  of 
talents  were  expended  ;  besides,  Rhodopis  flourished  in  the 
reign  of  Amasis,  and  not  at  this  time  ;  for  she  was  very  many 
years  later  than  those  kings  who  left  these  pyramids.  By 
birth  she  was  a  Thracian,  servant  to  ladmon,  son  of  He- 
pha3stopolis,  a  Samian,  and  fellow -servant  with  ^sop,  the 
writer  of  fables,  for  he  too  belonged  to  ladmon,  as  is  clearly 
proved  by  this  circumstance.  When  the  Delphians  frequently 
made  proclamation,  in  obedience  to  the  oracle,  for  "  any  one 
who  would  require  satisfaction  for  the  death  of  -^sop,"  no  one 
else  appeared,  but  another  ladmon,  the  grandson  of  this  lad- 


135,  13G.]  EUTERPE.     II.  149 

mon,  required  it ;  thus  JEsop  must  have  belonged  to  ladmon. 
135.  Rhodopis  came  to  Egypt,  under  the  conduct  of  Xanthus 
the  Samian  ;  and  having  come  to  gain  money  by  her  person, 
she  was  ransomed  for  a  large  sum  by  Charaxus  of  Mitylene, 
son  to  Scamandronyraus,  and  brother  of  Sappho  the  poetess. 
Thus  Rhodopis  was  made  free,  and  continued  in  Egypt,  and 
being  very  lovely,  acquired  great  riches  for  a  person  of  her 
condition,  though  no  way  sufficient  to  erect  such  a  pyramid. 
For  as  any  one  who  wishes  may  to  this  day  see  the  tenth  of 
her  wealth,  there  is  no  need  to  attribute  any  great  wealth  to 
her.  For  Rhodopis  was  desirous  of  leaving  a  monument  to 
herself  in  Greece,  and,  having  had  such  a  work  made  as  no  one 
ever  yet  devised  and  dedicated  in  a  temple,  to  offer  it  at  Del- 
phi as  a  memorial  of  herself :  having  therefore  made  from  the 
tenth  of  her  wealth  a  great  number  of  iron  spits  for  roasting 
oxen,  as  far  as  the  tentli  allowed,  she  sent  them  to  Delphi ; 
which  are  still  piled  up  behind  the  altar,  which  the  Chians 
dedicated  opposite  the  temple  itself.  The  courtesans  of  Nau- 
cratis  are  generally  very  lovely :  for  in  the  first  place  this 
one,  of  whom  this  account  is  given,  became  so  famous  that  all 
the  Greeks  became  familiar  with  the  name  of  Rhodopis  ;  and 
in  the  next  place,  after  her,  another,  whose  name  was  Archi- 
dice,  became  celebrated  throughout  Greece,  though  less  talked 
about  than  the  former.  As  for  Charaxus,  when,  having  ran- 
somed Rhodopis,  he  returned  to  Mitylene,  Sappho  gibed  him 
very  much  in  an  ode.  Now  I  have  done  speaking  of  Rho- 
dopis. 

136.  After  Mycerinus,  the  priests  said,  that  Asychis  became 
king  of  Egypt,  and  that  he  built  tlie  eastern  portico  to  the 
temple  of  Vulcan,  which  is  far  the  most  beautiful  and  the 
hirgest :  for  all  the  porticos  have  sculptured  figures,  and  an  infi- 
nite variety  of  architecture,  but  this  most  of  all.  They  related, 
tliat  during  his  reign,  there  being  a  great  want  of  circulation 
of  money,  a  law  was  made  by  the  Egy})tians,  that  a  man,  hy 
giving  the  dead  body  of  his  father  in  pledge,  might  borrow 
money  ;  and  it  was  also  added  to  this  law,  that  the  lender 
sliould  have  power  over  the  whole  sepulchre  of  the  borrower  ; 
n,rid  that  on  any  one  who  gave  this  pledge,  the  following  pun- 
isliment  should  be  inflicted,  if  he  afterwards  refused  to  repay 
tlie  debt,  that  neither  ha  himself,  when  he  died,  should  be 
buried  in  his  family  sepulchre,  or  in  any  other,  nor  have  the 
liberty  of  burying  any  other  of  his  own  dead.     This  ktng 


150  HERODOTUS.  [137,  138. 

being  desirous  of  surpassing  his  predecessors  who  were  kings 
of  Egypt,  left  a  pyramid,  as  a  memorial,  made  of  bricks  ;  on 
which  is  an  inscription  carved  on  stone,  in  the  following  words : 
"  Do  not  despise  me  in  comparison  with  the  pyramids  of 
stone,  for  I  excel  them  as  much  as  Jupiter  the  other  gods. 
For  by  plunging  a  pole  into  a  lake,  and  collecting  the  mire 
that  stuck  to  the  pole,  men  made  bricks,  and  in  this  manner 
built  me."     Such  were  the  works  that  this  king  performed. 

137.  After  him,  there  reigned  a  blind  man  of  the  city  of 
Anysis,  whose  name  was  Anysis.  During  his  reign,  the 
Ethiopians,  and  Sabacon,  king  of  the  Ethiopians,  invaded 
Egypt  with  a  large  force  ;  whereupon  this  blind  king  fled  to 
the  fens  ;  and  the  Ethiopian  reigned  over  Egypt  for  fifty 
years,  during  which  time  he  performed  the  following  actions. 
When  any  Egyptian  committed  any  crime,  he  would  not  have 
any  of  them  put  to  death,  but  passed  sentence  upon  each  ac- 
cording to  the  magnitude  of  his  offence,  enjoining  them  to 
heap  up  mounds  against  their  own  city  to  which  each  of  the 
offenders  belonged  :  and  by  this  means  the  cities  were  made 
much  higher  ;  for  first  of  all  they  had  been  raised  by  those 
who  dug  the  canals  in  the  time  of  king  Sesostris,^  and  secondly, 
under  the  Ethiopian  they  were  made  very  high.  Although 
other  cities  in  Egypt  were  carried  to  a  great  height,  in  my 
opinion,  the  greatest  mounds  were  thrown  up  about  the  city 
of  Bubastis,  in  which  is  a  temple  of  Bubastis  well  worthy  of 
mention  ;  for  though  other  temples  may  be  larger  and  more 
costly,  yet  none  is  more  pleasing  to  look  at  than  this.  Bu- 
bastis, in  the  Grecian  language,  answers  to  Diana.  138. 
Her  sacred  precinct  is  thus  situated  :  all  except  the  entrance 
is  an  island  ;  for  two  canals  from  the  Nile  extend  to  it,  not 
mingling  with  each  other,  but  each  reaches  as  far  as  the  en- 
trance of  the  precinct,  one  flowing  round  it  on  one  side,  the 
other  on  the  other.  Each  is  a  hundred  feet  broad,  and  shaded 
with  trees.  The  portico  is  ten  orgyae  in  height,  and  is  adorned 
with  figures  six  cubits  high,  that  are  deserving  of  notice. 
This  precinct,  being  in  the  middle  of  the  city,  is  visible  on 
every  side  to  a  person  going  round  it :  for  as  the  city  has  been 
mounded  up  to  a  considerable  height,  but  the  temple  has  not 
been  moved,  it  is  conspicuous  as  it  was  originally  built.  A 
wall  sculptured  with  figures  runs  round  it ;  and  within  is  a 
grove  of  lofty  trees,  planted  round  a  large  temple  in  which  the 
e     Sec  II.  108 


139—141.]  EUTERPE.    II.  131 

image  is  placed.  The  width  and  ieiigth  of  the  precinct  is  each 
way  a  stade.  Along  the  entrance  is  a  road  paved  wit^  stone, 
about  three  stades  in  length,  leading  through  the  square  east- 
ward ;  and  in  width  it  is  about  four  plethra :  on  each  side  of 
the  road  grow  trees  of  enormous  height :  it  leads  to  the  tem- 
ple of  Mercury.  Such  then  is  the  situation  of  this  precinct. 
139.  They  related  that  the  final  departure  of  ^he  Ethiopian 
occurred  in  the  following  manner  :  that  he,  having  seen  a 
vision  of  the  following  kind  in  his  sleep,  fled  away  :  it  appear- 
ed to  him  that  a  man,  standing  by  him,  advised  him  to  assem- 
ble all  the  priests  in  Egypt,  and  to  cut  them  in  two  down  t!ie 
middle  ;  but  he,  having  seen  this  vision,  said,  that  he  thought 
the  gods  held  out  this  as  a  pretext  to  him,  in  order  that  he, 
having  been  guilty  of  impiety  in  reference  to  sacred  things, 
might  draw  down  some  evil  on  himself  from  gods  or  from 
men  ;  he  would  not  therefore  do  so  ;  but  as  the  time  was  ex- 
pired during  whicli  it  was  foretold  that  he  should  reign  over 
Egypt,  he  would  depart  from  the  country  ;  for  while  he  was 
yet  in  Ethiopia,  the  oracles  which  the  Ethiopians  have  re- 
course to  answered,  that  he  was  fated  to  reign  over  Egypt 
fifty  years.  Since,  then,  this  period  had  elapsed,  and  the 
vision  of  the  dream  troubled  him,  Sabacon  of  his  own  accord 
withdrew  from  Egypt.  140.  When  therefore  the  Ethiopian 
departed  from  Egypt,  the  blind  king  resumed  the  govern- 
ment, having  returned  from  the  fens,  where  he  had  lived  fifty 
years,  having  formed  an  island  of  ashes  and  earth.  For  when 
any  of  the  Egyptians  came  to  him  bringing  provisions,  as 
they  were  severally  ordered  unknown  to  the  Ethiopian,  he 
bade  them  bring  some  ashes  also  as  a  present.  No  one  before 
Amyrtaeus  was  able  to  discover  this  island  ;  but  for  more 
than  seven  hundred  years,  the  kings  who  preceded  Amyrtasus 
were  unable  to  find  it  out :  the  name  of  this  island  was  Elbo  ; 
its  size  is  about  ten  stades  in  each  direction. 

141.  After  him  reigned  the  priest  of  Vulcan,  whose  name 
was  Sethon  :  he  held  in  no  account  and  despised  the  military 
taste  of  the  Egyptians,  as  not  having  need  of  their  services  ; 
and  accordingly,  among  other  indignities,  he  took  away  their 
lands  ;  to  each  of  whom,  under  former  kings,  twelve  chosen 
acres  ^  had  been  assigned     After  this,  Senacherib,  king  of  the 

^  The  arura,  here  rendered  "acre,"  was  an  Egyptian  measure,  con« 
toiining  a  square  of  100  Egyptian  cubits. 


io2  IIEIIODOTUS  [142,143. 

Arabians  and  Assyrians,  marclied  a  large  army  against  Egypt 
whereupon  the  Egyptian  warriors  refused  to  assist  him  ;  and 
the  priest,  being  reduced  to  a  strait,  entered  the  temple,  and 
bewailed  before  the  image  the  calamities  he  was  in  danger  ol 
suffering.  While  he  was  lamenting,  sleep  fell  upon  him,  and 
it  appeared  to  him  in  a  vision,  that  the  god  stood  by  and  en  ■ 
couraged  him,  assuring  him  that  he  should  suffer  nothing  dis- 
agreeable in  meeting  the  Arabian  army,  for  he  would  himself 
send  assistants  to  him.  Confiding  in  this  vision,  he  took  with 
him  such  of  the  Egyptians  as  were  willing  to  follow  him,  and 
encamped  in  Pelusium,  for  here  the  entrance  i7ito  Egypt  is  ; 
but  none  of  the  military  caste  followed  him,  but  tradesmen, 
mechanics,  and  sutlers.  When  they  arrived  there,  a  number 
of  field  mice,  pouring  in  upon  their  enemies,  devoured  their 
quivers  and  their  bows,  and  moreover,  the  handles  of  their 
sliields ;  so  that  on  the  next  day,  when  they  fled  bereft  of 
their  arms,  many  of  them  fell.  And  to  this  day,  a  stone  statue 
of  this  king  stands  in  the  temple  of  Vulcan,  with  a  mouse  in 
his  hand,  and  an  inscription  to  the  following  effect:  "Who- 
ever looks  on  me,  let  him  revere  the  gods." 

142.  Thus  much  of  the  account  the  Egyptians  and  the 
priests  related,  showing  that  from  the  first  king  to  this  priest 
of  Vulcan  who  last  reigned,  were  three  hundred  forty  and  one 
generations  of  men  ;  and  during  these  generations,  there  were 
the  same  number  of  chief  priests  and  kings.  Now,  three  hun- 
dred generations  are  equal  to  ten  thousand  years,  for  three 
generations  of  men  are  one  hundred  years :  and  the  forty-one 
remaining  generations  that  were  over  the  three  hundred, 
make  one  thousand  three  hundred  and  forty  years.  Thus, 
they  said,  in  eleven  thousand  three  hundred  and  forty  years, 
no  god  had  assumed  the  form  of  a  man  ;  neither,  they  said, 
had  any  such  thing  happened  before,  or  afterwards,  in  the 
time  of  the  remaining  kings  of  Egypt.  During  this  time,  thej 
related,  that  the  sun  had  four  times  risen  out  of  his  usual 
quarter,  and  that  he  had  twice  risen  where  he  now  sets,  and 
twice  set  where  he  now  rises ;  yet,  that  no  change  in  the 
things  in  Egypt  was  occasioned  by  this,  either  with  regard  to  the 
productions  of  the  earth  or  the  river,  or  with  regard  to  dis 
eases,  or  with  respecv,  ^  deaths.  143.  In  former  time,  the 
priests  of  Jupiter  did  to  Hecatieus  the  historian,  when  hs 
was  tracing  his  own  genealogy,  and  connecting  his  family 


144,145.]  EUTEIJPE.     II.  153 

with  a  god  in  the  sixteenth  degree,  the  same  as  they  did  t< 
me,  though  I  did  not  trace  my  genealogy.  Conducting  ms 
into  the  interior  of  an  edifice  that  was  spacious,  and  showing 
nie  wooden  colossuses  to  the  number  I  have  mentioned,  they 
reckoned  them  up ;  for  every  liigli  priest  places  an  image  of 
himself  there  during  his  lifetime  ;  the  priests,  therefore,  reck- 
oning them  and  showing  them  to  me,  pointed  out  that  each 
was  the  son  of  his  own  father ;  going  through  them  all,  from 
the  image  of  him  that  died  last,  until  they  had  pointed  them 
all  out.  But  when  Hecatoeus  traced  his  own  genealogy,  and 
connected  himself  with  a  god  in  the  sixteenth  degree,  they 
controverted  his  genealogy  by  computation,  not  admitting  that 
a  man  could  be  born  from  a  god ;  and  they  thus  controverted 
his  genealogy,  saying  that  each  of  the  colossuses  was  a  Pi- 
romis,  sprung  from  a  Piromis  ;  until  they  pointed  out  the 
three  hundred  and  forty-five  colossuses,  each  a  Piromis 
sprung  from  a  Piromis,  and  they  did  not  connect  them  with 
any  god  or  hero.  Piromis  means,  in  tlie  Grecian  language, 
"  a  noble  and  good  man."  144.  They  pointed  out  to  me  there- 
fore, that  all  those  of  whom  there  were  images,  were  of  tliat 
character,  but  were  very  far  from  being  gods  ;  that,  indeed,  be- 
fore the  time  of  these  men,  gods  had  been  the  rulers  of  Egypt, 
and  had  dwelt  amongst  men  ;  and  that  one  of  them  always 
had  the  supreme  power,  and  that  Orus,  the  son  of  Osiris,  whom 
the  Greeks  call  Apollo,  Avas  the  last  who  reigned  over  it ;  he, 
having  deposed  Typhon,  was  the  last  who  reigned  over  Egypt. 
Now,  Osiris  in  the  Grecian  language  means  Bacchus. 

145.  Among  the  Greeks,  the  most  recent  of  the  gods  are 
thought  to  be  Hercules,  Bacchus,  and  Pan  ;  but  by  the 
Egyptians  Pan  is  esteemed  the  most  ancient,  and  one  of  the 
eight  gods  called  original ;  but  Hercules  is  among  the  second, 
among  those  called  the  twelve  ;  and  Bacchus  is  of  the  third, 
who  were  sprung  from  the  twelve  gods.  I  have  already  de- 
clared^ how  many  years  the  Egyptians  say  there  were  from 
Hercules  to  the  reign  of  Amasis  ;  but  from  Pan  a  still  greater 
number  of  years  are  said  to  have  intervened,  and  from  Bac- 
chus fewest  of  all ;  and  from  him  there  are  computed  to  have 
been  fifteen  thousand  years  to  the  reign  of  Amasis.  The 
Egyptians  say  they  know  these  things  with  accuracy,  because 
Ihey  alwny?  ^-ompute  and  register  the  years.    Now  from  Ba^;- 

*  Sli.  ciiaj).  4'J. 


154  HERODOTUS.  [14&-U8. 

chus,  who  is  said  to  have  been  born  of  Semele  the  daughter  of 
Cadmus,  to  my  time,  is  about  sixteen  hundred  years,  and  from 
Hercules  the  son  of  Alcmena,  about  nine  hundred  years  ;  but 
from  Pan,  born  of  Penelope,  (for  Pan  is  said  by  the  Greeks  to 
have  sprung  from  her  and  Mercury,)  is  a  less  number  of 
years  than  from  the  siege  of  Troy,  about  eight  hundred,  to  my 
time.  146.  Of  these  two  accounts,  each  person  may  adopt  that 
which  he  thinks  most  credible  ;  I  have  therefore  declared  my 
own  opinion  respecting  them.  For  if  these  deities  had  been 
well  known,  and  had  grown  old  in  Greece,  as  Hercules,  who 
was  sprung  from  Amphitryon,  and  especially  Bacchus  the 
son  of  Semele,  and  Pan  who  was  borne  by  Penelope,  some 
one  might  say,  that  these  later  ones,  though  mere  men,  bore 
the  names  of  the  gods  who  were  long  before  them.  Now,  the 
Greeks  say  of  Bacchus,  that  Jupiter  sewed  him  into  his  thigli 
as  soon  as  he  was  born,  and  carried  him  to  Nyssa,  which  is 
above  Egypt  in  Ethiopia  ;  and  concerning  Pan,  they  are  un- 
able to  say  whither  he  was  taken  at  his  birth.  It  is  evident 
to  me,  therefore,  that  the  Grecians  learnt  their  names  later 
than  those  of  the  other  gods  ;  and  from  the  time  when  they 
learnt  them  they  trace  their  origin,  therefore  they  ascribe 
their  generation  to  that  time,  and  not  higher.  These  things 
then  the  Egyptians  themselves  relate. 

147.  What  things  both  other  men  and  the  Egyptians  agree 
in  saying  occurred  in  this  country,  I  shall  now  proceed  to 
relate,  and  shall  add  to  them  some  things  of  my  own  observ- 
ation. The  Egyptians  having  become  free,  after  the  reign  of 
the  priest  of  Vulcan,  for  they  were  at  no  time  able  to  live 
without  a  king,  established  twelve  kings,  having  divided  all 
Egypt  into  twelve  parts.  These  having  contracted  inter- 
marriages, reigned,  adopting  the  following  regulations  :  that 
they  would  not  attempt  the  subversion  of  one  another,  nor 
one  seek  to  acquire  more  than  another,  and  that  they  should 
maintain  the  strictest  friendship.  They  made  these  regula- 
tions and  strictly  upheld  them,  for  the  following  reason  :  it 
had  been  foretold  them  by  an  oracle  when  they  first  assumed 
the  government,  "  that  whoever  among  them  should  offer  a 
libation  in  the  temple  of  Vulcan  from  a  brazen  bowl,  should 
be  king  of  all  Egypt ;"  for  they  used  to  assemble  in  all  the 
temples.  148.  Now,  they  determined  to  leave  in  common  a 
memorial  of  themselves ;  and  having  so  determined,  they 
built  a  labyrinth,  a  little  above  the  lake  of  Moeris,  situated 


149.J  EUTERPE.    II.  165 

near  that  called  the  city  of  Crocodiles  ;  this  I  have  myself 
seen,  and  found  it  greater  than  can  be  described.  For  if  any 
one  should  reckon  up  the  buildings  and  public  works  of  the 
Grecians,  they  would  be  found  to  have  cost  less  labour  and 
expense  than  this  labyrinth  ;  though  the  temple  in  Ephesus  is 
deserving  of  mention,  and  also  that  in  Samos.  The  pyramids 
likewise  were  beyond  description,  and  each  of  them  com- 
parable to  many  of  the  great  Grecian  structures.  Yet  the 
labyrinth  surpasses  even  the  pyramids.  For  it  has  twelve 
courts  enclosed  with  walls,  with  doors  opposite  each  other,  six 
facing  the  north,  and  six  the  south,  contiguous  to  one  another  ; 
and  the  same  exterior  wall  encloses  them.  It  contains  two 
kinds  of  rooms,  some  under  ground  and  some  above  ground 
over  them,  to  the  number  of  three  thousand,  fifteen  hundred 
of  each.  The  rooms  above  ground  I  myself  went  through 
and  saw,  and  relate  from  personal  inspection.  But  the  under- 
ground rooms  I  only  know  from  report ;  for  the  Egyptians  who 
have  charge  of  the  building  would,  on  no  account,  show  me 
them,  saying,  that  there  were  the  sepulchres  of  the  kings  who 
originally  built  this  labyrinth,  and  of  the  sacred  crocodiles.  I 
can  therefore  only  relate  what  I  have  learnt  by  hearsay  con- 
cerning tiie  lower  rooms ;  but  the  upper  ones,  which  surpass 
all  human  works,  1  myself  saw ;  for  the  passages  through  the 
corridors,  and  the  windings  through  the  courts,  from  their 
great  variety,  presented  a  thousand  occasions  of  wonder,  as  I 
passed  from  a  court  to  the  rooms,  and  from  the  rooms  to  halls, 
ar^  to  other  corridors  from  the  halls,  and  to  other  courts  from 
the  rooms.  The  roofs  of  all  these  are  of  stone,  as  also  are  the 
walls ;  but  the  walls  are  full  of  sculptured  figures.  Each 
court  is  surrounded  with  a  colonnade  of  white  stone,  closely 
fitted.  And  adjoining  the  extremity  of  the  labyrinth  is  a 
pyramid,  forty  orgyae  in  height,  on  which  large  figures  are 
carved,  and  a  way  to  it  has  been  made  under  ground. 

149.  Although  this  labyrinth  is  such  as  I  have  descrihed^ 
yet  the  lake  named  from  Moeris,  near  which  this  labyrinth  is 
built,  occasions  greater  wonder  :  its  circumference  measures 
three  thousand  six  hundred  stades,  or  sixty  schoenes,  equal  to 
the  sea-coast  of  Egypt.  The  lake  stretches  lengthways, 
north  and  south,  being  in  depth  in  the  deepest  part  fifty 
orgyaa.  That  it  is  made  by  hand  and  dry,  this  circumstance 
proves,  for  about  the  middle  of  the  lake  stand  two  pyramids, 


156  HKlinDOTUS.  [150,  1.51 

each  rising  fifty  orgyue  above  the  surface  of  the  water,  and 
the  part  built  under  water  extends  to  an  equal  depth :  on  each 
of  these  is  placed  a  stone  statue,  seated  on  a  throne.  Thus 
these  pyramids  are  one  hundred  orgyaa  in  height ;  and  a  hun- 
dred orgyae  are  equal  to  a  stade  of  six  plethra;  the  orgya 
measuring  six  feet,  or  four  cubits  ;  the  foot  being  four  palms, 
and  the  cubit  six  palms.  The  water  in  this  lake  does  not 
spring  from  the  soil,  for  these  parts  are  excessively  dry,  but 
it  is  conveyed  through  a  channel  from  the  Nile,  and  for  six 
months  it  flows  into  the  lake,  and  six  months  out  again  into  the 
Nile.  And  during  the  six  months  that  it  Hows  out  it  yields  a 
talent  of  silver  every  day  to  the  king's  treasury  from  the  fish  ; 
but  when  the  water  is  flowing  into  it,  twenty  minas.  150.  The 
people  of  the  country  told  me  that  this  lake  discharges  itself 
under  ground  into  the  Syrtis  of  Libya,  running  westward  to- 
wards the  interior  by  the  mountain  above  Memphis.  But 
when  I  did  not  see  any  where  a  heap  of  soil  from  this  excava- 
tion, for  this  was  an  object  of  curiosity  to  me,  I  inquired  of  the 
people  who  lived  nearest  the  lake,  where  the  soil  that  had  been 
(lug  out  was  to  be  found;  they  told  me  where  it  had  been 
carried,  and  easily  persuaded  me,  because  I  had  heard  that  a 
similar  thing  had  been  done  at  Nineveh,  in  Assyria.  For 
certain  thieves  formed  a  design  to  carry  away  the  treasures  oi 
Sardanapalus,  king  of  Nineveh,  which  were  very  large,  and 
preserved  in  subterraneous  treasuries ;  the  thieves  therefore, 
beginning  from  their  own  dwellings,  dug  under  ground  by 
estimated  measurement  to  the  royal  palace,  and  the  soil  that 
was  taken  out  of  the  excavations,  when  night  came  on,  they 
threw  into  the  river  Tigris,  that  flows  by  Nineveh ;  and  so 
they  proceeded  until  they  had  effected  their  purpose.  The 
same  method  I  heard  was  adopted  in  digging  the  lake  in 
Egypt,  except  that  it  was  not  done  by  night,  but  during  the 
day ;  for  the  Egyptians  wlio  dug  out  the  soil  carried  it  to  the 
Nile,  and  the  river  receiving  it,  soon  dispersed  it.  Now,  this 
lake  is  said  to  have  been  excavated  in  this  way. 

151.  While  the  twelve  kings  continued  to  observe  justice 
in  course  of  time,  as  they  were  sacrificing  in  the  temple  of  Vul- 
can, and  were  about  to  offer  a  libation  on  the  last  day  of  the 
festival,  the  high  priest,  mistaking  the  number,  brought  out 
eleven  of  the  twelve  golden  bowls  with  which  he  used  to  mak<' 
the  libation.     Whereupon  he  who  stood  last  of  them,  I^sam- 


162]  EUTERPE.    II.  157 

iiiiticlias,  since  he  bad  not  a  bowl,  liaving  tak°.n  of!'  bis  Iiebiiot, 
which  was  of  brass,  held  it  out  and  made  the  libation.  All 
the  other  kings  were  in  the  habit  of  weanng  helmets,  and  at 
that  time  had  them  on.  Psammitichus  therefore,  without  any 
sinister  intention,  held  out  his  helmet :  but  they  having  taken 
into  consideration  what  was  done  by  Psammitichus,  and  the 
oracle  that  had  foretold  to  them,  "  that  whoever  among  them 
should  offer  a  libation  from  a  brazen  bowl,  should  be  sole  king 
of  Egypt ;"  calling  to  mind  tlie  oracle,  they  did  not  think  it 
right  to  put  him  to  death,  since  upon  examination  they  found 
that  he  had  done  it  by  no  premeditated  design.  But  they  de- 
termined to  banish  him  to  the  marshes,  having  divested  liim 
of  the  greatest  part  of  his  power ;  and  they  forbade  him  to  leave 
the  marshes,  or  have  any  intercourse  with  the  rest  of  Egypt. 
152.  This  Psammitichus,  who  had  before  fled  from  Sabacon 
the  Ethiopian,  who  had  killed  his  father  Neco — having  at 
that  time  fled  into  Syria,  the  Egyptians,  who  belong  to  tlie 
Saitic  district,  brought  back  when  the  Ethiopian  withdrew  in 
consequence  of  the  vision  in  a  dream.^  And  afterwards,  hav- 
ing been  made  king,  he  was  a  second  time  constrained  ^  by  the 
eleven  kings  to  go  into  exile  among  the  marshes  on  account  of 
the  helmet.  Knowing,  then,  that  he  had  been  exceedingly  in- 
jured by  them,  he  entertained  the  design  of  avenging  himself 
on  his  persecutors ;  and  when  he  sent  to  the  city  of  Buto  to 
consult  the  oracle  of  Latona,  where  is  the  truest  oracle  that 
the  Egyptians  have,  an  answer  came,  "  that  vengeance  would 
come  from  the  sea,  when  men  of  brass  should  appear."  He, 
however,  was  very  incredulous-  that  men  of  brass  would  come 
to  assist  him.  But  when  no  long  time  had  elapsed,  stress  of 
weather  compelled  some  lonians  and  Carians,  who  had  sailed 
out  for  the  purpose  of  piracy,  to  bear  away  to  Egypt ;  and 
when  they  had  disembarked  and  were  clad  in  brazen  armour, 
an  Egyptian,  who  had  never  before  seen  men  clad  in  brass, 
went  to  the  marshes  to  Psammitichus,  and  told  him  that  men 
of  brass,  having  arrived  from  the  sea,  were  ravaging  the  plains. 
He  perceiving  that  the  oracle  was  accomplished,  treated  these 
lonians  and  Carians  in  a  friendly  manner,  and  having  promised 
them  great  things,  persuaded  them  to  join  with  liim :  and 
when  he  had  succeeded  in  persuading  them,  he  thus,  wit/i  the 

*  See  II.  139.  »  Literafly,  "it  befel  him." 

'  Literally  "great  incredulity  was  poured  secretly  into  him." 


158  HERODOTUS.  [153—156 

help  of  such  Egyptians  as  w  ere  well  affected  to  him,  and  witl: 
these  allies,  overcame  the  other  kings. 

153.  Psammitichus,  having  made  himself  master  of  aU 
Egypt,  constructed  the  portico  to  Vulcan's  temple  at  Memphis, 
that  faces  the  south  wind  ;  and  he  built  a  court  for  Apis,  in 
which  he  is  fed  whenever  he  appears,  opposite  the  portico,  sur- 
rounded by  a  colonnade,  and  full  of  sculptured  figures ;  and  in 
stead  of  pillars,  statues  twelve  cubits  high  are  placed  under 
the  piazza.  Apis,  in  the  language  of  the  Greeks,  means 
Epaphus.  154.  To  the  lonians,  and  those  who  with  them 
had  assisted  him,  Psammitichus  gave  lands  opposite  each 
other,  with  the  Nile  flowing  between  ;  to  these  lands  was 
given  the  name  of  Camps.  And  besides  these  lands  he  gave 
tliem  all  that  he  had  promised  ;  and  he  moreover  put  Egyp- 
tian children  under  their  care,  to  be  instructed  in  the  Greek 
language  ;  and  from  those  who  learnt  the  language  the  pre- 
sent interpreters  in  Egypt  are  descended.  The  lonians  and 
the  Carians  continued  for  a  long  time  to  inhabit  these  lands, 
»nd  they  are  situated  near  the  sea,  a  little  below  the  city  of 
Bubastis,  on  that  which  is  called  the  Pelusiac  mouth  of  the 
Nile  ;  these,  in  after-time,  king  Amasis  removed  and  settled  at 
Memphis,  making  them  his  body-guard  against  the  Egyptians. 
From  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  these  people  in  Egypt,  we 
Greeks  have  had  such  constant  communication  with  them, 
that  we  are  accurately  informed  of  all  that  has  happened  in 
Egypt,  beginning  from  the  reign  of  Psammitichus  to  the  pre- 
sent time.  These  were  the  first  people  of  a  different  language 
wlio  settled  in  Egypt.  The  docks  for  their  ships,  and  the 
ruins  of  their  buildings,  were  to  be  seen  in  my  time  in  the 
places  from  which  they  were  removed.  Thus  then  Psammi- 
tichus became  master  of  Egypt. 

155.  Of  the  oracle  that  is  in  Egypt,  I  have  already  made 
frequent  mention  ;^  and  I  shall  now  give  an  account  of  it,  as 
well  deserving  notice.  This  oracle  in  Egypt  is  a  temple  sacred 
to  Latona,  situated  in  a  large  city,  near  that  which  is  called 
the  Sebennytic  mouth  of  the  Nile,  as  one  sails  upwards  fronc. 
the  sea.  The  name  of  this  city,  where  the  oracle  is,  is  Buto, 
as  I  have  already  mentioned.  There  is  also  in  this  Buto  a 
precinct  sacred  to  Apollo  and  Diana :  and  the  temple  of  La- 
tona, in  which  the  oracle  is,  is  spacious,  and  has  a  portico  ten 
3  See  II.  83,  133,  152 


156-158.]  BTJTERPK.    II.  169 

orgyae  in  height.  But  of  all  the  things  I  saw  there,  I  wil) 
describe  that  which  occasioned  most  astonishment.  There  is 
in  this  enclosure  a  temple  of  Latona  made  from  one  stone, 
both  in  height  and  length ;  and  each  wall  is  equal  to  them  :* 
each  of  these  measures  forty  cubits  :  for  the  roof,  another 
stone  is  laid  over  it,  having  a  cornice  four  cubits  deep.^  156. 
This  temple,  then,  is  the  most  wonderful  thing  that  I  saw 
about  this  precinct :  next  to  it,  is  the  island  called  Chemmis, 
situated  in  a  deep  and  broad  lake  near  the  precinct  in  Buto. 
Tliis  is  said  by  the  Egyptians  to  be  a  floating  island,  but  I 
myself  saw  it  neither  floating  nor  moving,  and  I  was  astonished 
when  I  heard  that  there  really  was  a  floating  island.  In  this, 
then,  is  a  spacious  temple  of  Apollo,  and  in  it  three  altars  are 
placed;  and  there  grow  in  it  great  numbers  of  palms,  and 
many  other  trees,  both  such  as  produce  fruit,  and  such  as  do 
not.  The  Egyptians,  when  they  aflirm  that  it  floats,  add  the  fol- 
lowing story  :  they  say  tliat  in  this  island,  which  before  did  not 
float,  Latona,  wlio  was  one  of  the  eight  primary  deities,  dwell- 
ing in  Buto,  where  this  oracle  of  hers  now  is,  received  Apollo 
as  a  deposit  from  the  hands  of  Isis,  and  saved  him,  by  conceal- 
ing him  in  this,  which  is  now  called  the  floating  island,  when 
Typhon  arrived,  searching  every  where,  and  hoping  to  find 
the  son  of  Osiris.  For  they  say  that  Apollo  and  Diana  are  the 
oiTspring  of  Bacchus  and  Isis,  and  that  Latona  was  their 
nurse  and  preserver :  in  the  language  of  Egypt,  Apollo  is 
called  Orus ;  Ceres,  Isis ;  and  Diana,  Bubastis.  Now,  from 
this  account,  and  no  other,  ^schylus,  the  son  of  Euphorion, 
alone  among  the  earlier  poets,  derived  the  tradition  that  I  will 
mention  ;  for  he  made  Diana  to  be  the  daughter  of  Ceres.  On 
this  account  they  say  that  the  island  was  made  to  float.  Such 
is  the  account  they  give. 

157.  Psammitichus  reigned  in  Egypt  fifty-four  years  ; 
during  twenty-nine  of  which  he  sat  down  before  and  besieged 
Azotus,  a  large  city  of  Syria,  until  he  took  it.  This  Azotus, 
of  all  the  cities  we  know  of,  held  out  against  a  siege  the 
longest  period.  158.  Neco  was  son  of  Psammitichus,  and 
became  king  of  Egypt :  he  first  set  about  the  canal  that  leads 

*  That  is  to  say,  its  external  surface  forms  a  perfect  oube. 
^  This  -5  uff'ially  translated  "having  a  projecting  rocf  to  the  extent  of 
four  cuoits ;"   but  see  Letronne's  remark  in  Bf.ehr.     Cary't  Lexicon 


160  UMKObOttS.  [159,  ir;6 

to  the  Ked  Sea,  wliicli  Darius  the  Persian  afterwards  com- 
pleted. Its  length  is  a  voyage  of  four  days,  and  in  width  it 
was  dug  so  that  two  triremes  might  sail  rowed  abreast.  The 
water  is  drawn  into  it  from  the  Nile,  and  it  enters  it  a  little 
above  the  city  Bubastis,/?rtM<?5  near  the  Arabian  city  Patumos, 
and  reaches  to  the  Red  Sea.  The  parts  of  the  Egyptian  plain 
that  lie  towards  Arabia  were  dug  first ;  above  this  plain  is 
situated  the  mountain  that  stretches  towards  Memphis,  in 
which  are  the  quarries.  Along  the  base  of  this  mountain 
therefore  the  canal  is  carried  lengthways  from  the  west  to  the 
east,  and  then  it  stretches  to  the  defiles,  passing  from  the 
mountain  towards  the  meridian  and  the  south  inward,  as  far  as 
the  Arabian  Gulf.  But  in  the  part  where  is  the  shortest  and 
most  direct  passage  from  the  northern  sea  to  the  southern, 
which  is  the  same  as  that  called  the  Red  Sea,  namely,  from 
Mount  Casius,  that  separates  Egypt  from  Syria,  from  this 
point  the  distance  is  a  thousand  stades  to  the  Arabian  Gulf: 
this,  then,  is  the  most  direct  way  ;  but  the  canal  is  very  much 
longer,  in  that  it  is  more  winding,  in  the  digging  of  which  one 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  Egyptians  perished  in  the  reign 
of  Neco.  Now,  Neco  stopped  digging  it  in  the  middle  of  the 
work,  the  following  oracle  having  caused  an  impediment, 
*'  that  he  was  working  for  a  barbarian ;"  for  the  Egyptians 
call  all  men  barbarians  who  do  not  speak  the  same  language 
as  themselves.  159.  But  Neco,  having  put  a  stop  to  his  ex- 
cavation, turned  his  attention  to  military  affairs  ;  and  triremes 
were  constructed,  some  on  the  northern  sea,  and  others  in  the 
Arabian  Gulf,  or  the  Red  Sea,  of  which  the  docks  are  still 
to  be  seen.  These  he  used  as  he  had  occasion  ;  and  Neco, 
having  come  to  an  engagement  with  the  Syrians  on  land  at 
^lagdolus,  conquered  them,  and  after  the  battle  took  Cadytis, 
which  is  a  large  city  in  Syria.  The  garments  he  wore  during 
these  actions  he  consecrated  to  Apollo,  having  sent  them  to 
Branchidaj  of  the  Milesians.  Afterwards,  having  reigned 
sixteen  years  in  all,  he  died  and  left  the  kingdom  to  his  son, 
Psammis. 

160.  While  this  Psammis  was  reigning  over  Egypt,  am- 
bassadors arrived  from  the  Eleans,  boasting  that  they  hcd 
established  the  Olympian  games  under  the  most  just  and  ex- 
cellent regulations  in  the  world,  and  believing  that  not  even 
the  Egypt  'an??,  the  wisest  of  mankind,  could  invent  any  thing 


(61,  162.]  EUTERPE.     II.  161 

surpassing  them.  When  the  Eleans,  having  arrived  in  Egypt, 
mentioned  for  what  purpose  they  had  come,  this  king  there- 
upon summoned  those  who  were  reputed  to  be  the  wisest 
among  the  Egyptians  ;  and  the  Egyptians,  having  met  together, 
heard  the  Eleans  relate  what  was  settled  for  them  to  do  with 
regard  to  the  games  ;  and  they,  having  mentioned  every  thing, 
said,  they  had  come  to  inquire  "  whether  the  Egyptians  could 
invent  any  thing  more  equitable."  And  they,  having  con- 
sulted together,  asked  the  Eleans  whether  their  own  citizens 
were  permitted  to  enter  the  lists  ;  they  said  that  they  and  all 
other  Grecians,  who  wished,  were  allowed  to  contend  ;  but  tlic 
Egyptians  replied,  "that  in  making  such  enactments  they  had 
totally  deviated  *Tom  the  rules  of  justice,  for  that  they  could 
not  contrive  so  as  not  to  favour  a  citizen  of  their  own  to  the 
prejudice  of  a  stranger.  But  if  they  really  wished  to  make 
just  enactments,  and  had  come  into  Egypt  for  this  purpose, 
they  advised  them  to  establish  games  for  foreign  candidates, 
and  to  allow  no  Elean  to  enter  the  lists."  Such  was  the  sug- 
gestion that  the  Egyptians  made  to  the  Eleans. 

161.  WheJi  Psammis  had  reigned  only  six  years  over  Egypt, 
and  made  an  expedition  into  Ethiopia,  and  shortly  afterwards 
died,  Apries  his  son  succeeded  to  the  kingdom.  He,  next  to  his 
grandfather  Psammitichus,  enjoyed  greater  prosperity  than 
any  of  the  former  kings,  during  a  reign  of  five  and  twenty 
years,  in  which  period  he  marched  an  army  against  Sidon,  and 
engaged  the  Tyrian  by  sea.  But  when  it  was  destined  for 
him  to  meet  v/ith  adversity,  it  happened  on  an  occasion,  which 
1  shall  narrate  more  fully  irt  my  Libyan  history,®  and  briefly 
in  this  place.  For  Apries,  having  sent  an  army  against  the 
Cyrenseans,  met  with  a  signal  defeat ;  but  the  Egyptians,  com- 
l)laining  of  this,  revolted  from  him,  suspecting  that  Apries 
liad  designedly  sent  them  to  certain  ruin,  in  order  that  they 
might  be  destroyed,  and  he  might  govern  the  rest  of  the 
Egyptians  with  greater  security ;  both  those  that  returned 
and  the  friends  of  those  who  perished,  being  very  indignant 
at  this,  openly  revolted  against  him.  162.  Apries,  having 
heard  of  this,  sent  Amasis  to  appease  them  by  persuasion. 
But  when  he,  having  come  to  them,  was  endeavouring  to  re- 
strain them,  as  he  was  urging  them  to  desist  from  their  eiit^^r- 
prise,  one  of  the  Egyptians  standing  behind  him  placetl  '\ 
•  See  B.  IV.  chap.  159* 


162  HERODOTUS  [163—165 

helmei  on  his  head,  and  as  he  put  it  on  said,  "that  he  put  it 
on  hint  to  make  him  king."  And  this  action  was  not  at  all 
disagreeable  to  Amasis,  as  he  presently  showed.  For  whep 
the  revolters  had  appointed  him  king  of  the  Egyptians,  he 
prepared  to  lead  an  army  against  Apries ;  but  Apries,  being 
informed  of  this,  sent  to  Amasis  a  considerable  person  among 
the  Egyptians  that  adhered  to  him,  whose  name  was  Patarbe- 
mis,  with  orders  to  bring  Amasis  alive  into  his  presence. 
When  Patarbemis  arrived  and  summoned  Amasis,  Amasis, 
raising  his  leg,  (for  he  happened  to  be  on  horseback,)  broke 
wind  and  bade  him  carry  that  to  Apries.  Nevertheless  Pa- 
tarbemis begged  of  him,  since  the  king  had  sent  for  him,  to  go 
to  him ;  but  he  answered,  "  that  he  had  been  some  time  pre- 
paring to  do  so,  and  that  Apries  should  have  no  cause  of  com- 
plaint, for  that  he  would  not  only  appear  himself,  but  would 
bring  others  with  him."  Patarbemis,  perceiving  his  design 
from  what  was  said,  and  seeing  preparations  being  made,  re- 
turned in  haste,  as  he  wished  to  inform  the  king  as  soon  as 
possible  of  what  was  going  on :  when,  however,  he  came  to 
Apries  without  bringing  Amasis,  Apries,  taking  no  time  for 
deliberation,  in  a  transport  of  passion  commanded  his  ears  and 
nose  to  be  cut  off.  The  rest  of  the  Egyptians,  who  still  ad- 
hered to  him,  seeing  one  of  the  most  distinguished  among 
them  treated  in  so  unworthy  a  manner,  did  not  delay  a  mo- 
ment, but  went  immediately  over  to  the  others  and  gave  them- 
selves to  Amasis.  163.  When  Apries  heard  of  this,  he  armed 
his  auxiliaries  and  marched  against  the  Egyptians ;  but  lie 
had  with  him  Carian  and  Ionian  auxiliaries  to  the  number  of 
thirty  thousand ;  and  he  had  a  palace  in  the  city  of  Sais,  that 
was  spacious  and  magnificent.  Now  Apries'  party  advanced 
against  the  Egyptians,  and  the  party  of  Amasis  against  the 
foreigners.  They  met  near  the  city  Momemphis,  and  pre- 
pared to  engage  with  each  other. 

164.  Tht-re  are  seven  classes  of  Egyptians,  and  of  these 
some  are  called  priests,  others  warriors,  others  herdsmen, 
others  swineherds,  others  tradesmen,  others  interpreters,  and 
lastly,  pilots ;  such  are  t^ie  classes  of  Egyptians ;  they  take 
their  names  from  the  employments  they  exercise.  Their 
warriors  are  called  Calasiries  or  Hermotybies,  and  they  are  of 
the  following  districts,  for  all  Egypt  is  divided  into  districts. 
165.  The   following  are  the   districts  of  the  Hermotybien, 


166— 169.J  EUTERPE.    II  168 

Busiris,  Sais,  Chemniis,  Papremis,  tlie  island  called  Prosopiti{\ 
and  the  half  of  Natho.  From  these  districts  are  the  Hermo- 
tybies,  being  in  number,  when  they  are  most  numerous,  a 
hundred  and  sixty  thousand.  None  of  these  learn  any  me- 
chanical art,  but  apply  themselves  wholly  to  military  affairs. 

166.  These  next  are  the  districts  of  the  Calasiries ;  Thebes, 
Bubastis,  Aphthis,  Tanis,  Mendes,  Sebennys,  Athribis,  Phar- 
baethis,  Thmuis,  Onuphis,  Anysis,  Mycephoris  ;  this  district  is 
situated  in  an  island  opposite  the  city  Bubastis.  These  are  the 
districts  of  the  Calasiries,  being  in  number,  when  they  are  most 
numerous,  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men :  neither  are 
these  allowed  to  practise  any  art,  but  they  devote  themselves 
to  military  pursuits  alone,  the  son  succeeding  to  his  father. 

167.  Whether  the  Greeks  learnt  this  custom  from  the  Egyp- 
tians I  am  unable  to  determine  with  certainty,  seeing  that  the 
Thracians,  Scythians,  Persians,  Lydians,  and  almost  all  bar- 
barous nations,  hold  in  less  honour  than  their  other  citizens, 
those  who  learn  any  art  and  their  descendants,  but  deem  such 
to  be  noble  as  abstain  from  handicrafts,  and  particularly  those 
who  devote  themselves  to  war.  Ail  the  Greeks,  moreover, 
have  adopted  the  same  notion,  and  especially  the  Lacedaemo- 
nians ;  but  the  Corinthians  hold  handicraftsmen  in  least  dis- 
esteem.  168^  To  these  alone  of  all  the  Egyptians,  besides  the 
priests,  the  following  special  privileges  are  attached ;  to  each 
twelve  chosen  acres  "^  free  from  tribute :  the  acre  contains  a 
square  of  one  hundred  Egyptian  cubits,  and  the  Egyptian 
cubit  is  equal  to  that  of  Samos  :  these  privileges  were  attached 
to  them  all,  but  others  enjoyed  them  by  turns,  and  the  same 
persons  never  7nore  than  once.  A  thousand  of  the  Calasiries, 
and  as  many  of  the  Hermotybies,  each  served  for  a  year  as 

Pe  king's  body-guard:  to  these  accordingly  was  given  the 
Uowing  allowance  daily,  in  addition  to  the  acres,  to  each  five 
inae  in  weight  of  baked  bread,  two  minas  of  beef,  and  four 
ysters  of  wine.  This  was  the  constant  allowance  of  the 
>dy-guard. 
169.  When  therefore  Apries,  leading  his  auxiliaries,  and 
Amasis,  all  the  Egyptians,  met  together  at  Momemphis,  they 
came  to  an  engagement,  and  the  foreigners  fought  well,  but 
being  far  inferior  in  numbers,  were,  on  that  account,  defeated. 

See  chap.  141,  and  note  there. 
M  2 


164  HERODOTUS.  [170,  171. 

Apries  is  said  to  have  been  of  opinion  that  not  even  a  god 
could  deprive  hirn  of  his  kingdom,  so  securely  did  he  think 
himself  established :  now,  however,  when  he  came  to  an  en- 
gagement he  was  beaten,  and  being  taken  prisoner,  he  was 
carried  back  to  Sais,  to  that  which  was  formerly  his  own 
palace,  but  which  now  belonged  to  Amasis:  here  he  was 
maintained  for  some  time  in  the  royal  palace,  and  Amasis 
treated  him  well.  But  at  length  the  Egyptians  complaining 
that  he  did  not  act  rightly  in  preserving  a  man  who  was  the 
greatest  enemy  both  to  them  and  to  him,  he  thereupon  de- 
livered Apries  to  the  Egyptians  ;  but  they  strangled  him,  and 
afterwards  buried  him  in  his  ancestral  sepulchre  ;  this  is  in  the 
sacred  precinct  of  Minerva,  very  near  the  temple,  on  the  left 
hand  as  you  enter.  The  Saita3  used  to  bring  all  the  kings 
sprung  from  this  district  within  the  sacred  precinct ;  however, 
the  tomb  of  Amasis  is  further  from  the  temple  than  that  of 
Apries  and  his  progenitors,  but  even^  this  is  in  the  court  of  the 
sacred  precinct,  consisting  of  a  large  stone  chamber,  adorned 
with  columns,  made  in  imitation  of  palm-trees,  and  with 
other  ornaments  ;  inside  this  chamber  are  placed  folding  doors, 
and  within  the  doors  is  the  sepulchre.  170.  At  Sais  also,  in 
the  sacred  precinct  of  Minerva,  behind  the  chapel  and  joining 
the  whole  of  the  wall,  is  the  tomb  of  one  whose  name  I  con- 
sider it  impious  to  divulge  on  such  an  occasion.  And  in  the  en- 
closure stand  large  stone  obelisks,  and  there  is  a  lake  near,  or- 
namented with  a  stone  margin,  formed  in  a  circle,  and  in  size, 
as  appeared  to  me,  much  the  same  as  that  in  Delos,  which  is 
called  the  Circular.  171.  In  this  lake  they  perform  by  night 
the  representation  of  that  person's  adventures,  which  they  call 
mysteries.  On  these  matters,  however,  though  accurately 
acquainted  with  the  particulars  of  them,  I  must  observe  a 
discreet  silence.  And  respecting  the  sacred  rites  of  Ceres, 
which  the  Greeks  call  Thesmophoria,  although  I  am  ac- 
quainted with  them,  I  must  observe  silence  except  so  far 
as  it  is  lawful  for  me  to  speak  of  them.  The  daughters  of 
Danaus  were  they  who  introduced  these  ceremonies  from 
Egypt,  and  taught  them  to  the  Pelasgian  women  :  but  after- 
wards, when  almost  the  whole  Peloponnese  was  depopulated 
by  the  Dorians,  these  rites  were  lost ;  but  the  Arcadians,  who 

*  All  former  translators  of  Herodotus  have  misconstrued  this  parsnge, 
1iy  neglecting  to  give  the  force  of  the  word  /tievroi. 


sit 


172,  173.  EUTERPE.     II.  165 

were  the  only  Peloponnesians  lift,  and  not  expelled,  alone 
preserved  them. 

172.  Apries  being  thus  dethroned,  Amasis,  who  was  of  the 
Saitic  district,  reigned  in  his  stead ;  the  name  of  the  city 
from  whicli  he  came  was  Siuph.  At  first  the  Egyptians  de- 
spised, and  held  him  in  no  great  estimation,  as  having  been 
formerly  a  private  person,  and  of  no  illustrious  family  ;  but 
afterwards  he  conciliated  them  by  his  address,  without  any 
arrogance.  He  had  an  infinite  number  of  other  treasures,  and 
besides  a  golden  foot-pan,  in  which  Amasis  himself,  and  all 
his  guests,  were  accustomed  to  wash  their  feet.  Having  then 
broken  this  in  pieces,  he  had  made  from  it  the  statue  of  a  god, 
and  placed  it  in  the  most  suitable  part  of  the  city ;  but  the 
Egyptians,  flocking  to  the  image,  paid  it  the  greatest  reverence. 
But  Amasis,  informed  of  their  behaviour,  called  the  Egyp- 
tians together,  and  explained  the  matter  to  them,  saying,  "  thai 
the  statue  was  made  out  of  the  foot-pan  in  which  the  Egyp- 
tians formerly  vomited,  made  v^ater,  and  washed  their  feet,  and 
which  they  then  so  greatly  reverenced  ;  now  then,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  say,  the  same  had  happened  to  him  as  to  the  foot- 
pan  ;  for  though  he  was  before  but  a  private  person,  yet  he 
was  now  their  king  ;"  he  therefore  required  them  to  honour 
and  respect  him  :  by  this  means  he  won  over  the  Egyptian  ;, 
so  that  they  thought  fit  to  obey  him.  173.  He  adopted 
the  following  method  of  managing  his  affairs  :  early  in  the 
morning,  until  the  time  of  full-market,  he  assiduously  des- 
patched the  business  brought  before  him  ;  after  that  he  drank 
and  jested  with  his  companions,  and  he  talked  loosely  and 
sportively.  But  his  friends,  offended  at  this,  admonished 
him,  saying,  "  You  do  not,  O  king,  control  yourself  properly, 
in  making  yourself  too  common.  For  it  becomes  you,  who 
sit  on  a  venerable  throne,  to  pass  the  day  in  transacting  pub- 
ic business  ;  thus  the  Egyptians  would  know  that  they  are 
verned  by  a  great  man,  and  you  would  be  better  spoken  of. 
ut  now  you  act  in  a  manner  not  at  all  becoming  a  king." 
iut  he  answered  tliem  as  follows  :  "  They  who  have  bows, 
when  they  want  to  use  them,  bend  them  ;  but  when  they 
have  done  using  them,  they  unbend  them  ;  for  if  it  were 
kept  always  bent,  it  would  break,  so  that  he  could  not  use  it 
when  he  had  need.  Such  is  the  condition  of  man  ;  if  he 
phould  incessantly  attend  to  serious  business,  and  not  give 


166  HERODOTUS.  [174,  175. 

himself  up  sometimes  to  sport,  he  would  unawares  become 
mad  or  stupified.  I,  being  well  aware  of  this,  give  up  &  por- 
tion of  my  time  to  each."  Thus  he  answered  his  friends. 
174.  Amasis  is  said  to  have  been,  even  when  a  private  per- 
son, fond  of  drinking  and  jesting,  and  by  no  means  inclined 
to  serious  business  ;  and  when  the  means  failed  him  for 
drinking  and  indulging  himself,  he  used  to  go  about  pilfering. 
Sucli  persons  as  accused  him  of  having  their  property,  on  his 
denying  it,  used  to  take  him  to  the  oracle  of  the  place,  and 
lie  was  oftentimes  convicted  by  the  oracles,  and  oftentimes 
acquitted.  When,  therefore,  he  came  to  the  throne,  he  acted 
as  follows  :  whatever  gods  had  absolved  him  from  the  charge 
of  theft,  of  their  temples  he  neither  took  any  heed,  nor  con- 
tributed any  thing  towards  their  repair  ;  neither  did  he  fre- 
quent them,  and  oiFer  sacrifices,  considering  them  of  no  con- 
sequence at  all,  and  as  having  only  lying  responses  to  give. 
But  as  many  as  had  convicted  him  of  the  charge  of  theft,  to 
them  he  paid  the  highest  respect,  considering  them  as  truly 
gods,  ant]  delivering  authentic  responses. 

175.  Moreover,  he  built  an  admirable  portico  to  the  temple 
of  Minerva  at  Sais,  far  surpassing  all  others  both  in  heiglit 
and  size,  as  well  as  in  the  dimensions  and  quality  of  the  stones  ; 
he  likewise  dedicated  large  statues,  and  huge  andro-sphinxes, 
and  brought  other  stones  of  a  prodigious  size  for  repairs  :  of 
these  he  brought  some  from  the  quarries  near  Memphis  ;  but 
those  of  the  greatest  magnitude,  from  the  city  of  Elephantine, 
distant  from  Sals  a  passage  of  twenty  days.  But  of  these, 
that  which  I  .ioi;  tho  least,  rather  the  most  admire,  is  this  ;  he 
brought  a  building  of  one  stone  from  the  city  of  Elephantine, 
and  two  thousand  men,  who  were  appointed  to  convey  it, 
were  occupied  three  whole  years  in  its  transport,  and  these 
men  were  all  pilots.  The  length  of  this  chamber,  outside,  is 
twenty-one  cubits,  the  breadth  fourteen,  and  the  height 
eight.  This  is  the  measure  of  the  outside  of  the  one-stoned 
chamber.  But  inside,  the  length  is  eighteen  cubits  and 
twenty  digits,  and  the  width  twelve  cubits,  and  the  heiglit 
five  cubits.  This  chamber  is  placed  near  the  entrance  of  the 
fiacred  precinct ;  for  they  say  that  he  did  not  draw  it  within 
the  precinct  for  the  following  reason :  the  architect,  as  the 
chamber  was  being  drawn  along,  heaved  a  deep  sigh,  being 
vrearied  with  the  work,  over  which  so  Ion?  a  time  had  beea 


176-178.]  EUTERPE.    II.  167 

spent ;  whereupon  Amasig,  making  a  religious  scruple  of  this, 
would  not  suffer  it  to  be  drawn  any  farther.  Some  persons 
however  say,  that  one  of  the  men  employed  at  the  levers  was 
crushed  to  death  by  it,  and  that  on  that  account  it  was  not 
drawn  into  the  precinct.  176.  Amasis  dedicated  in  all  the 
most  famous  temples  works  admirable  for  their  magnitude  ; 
and  amongst  them  at  Memphis,  the  reclining  colossus  before 
the  temple  of  Vulcan,  of  which  the  length  is  seventy-five 
feet  ;  and  on  the  same  base  stand  two  statues  of  Ethiopian 
stone,  each  twenty  feet  in  height,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
temple.  There  is  also  at  Sais  another  similar  statue,  lying  in 
the  same  manner  as  that  at  Memphis.  It  was  Amasis  also 
who  built  the  temple  to  Isis  at  Memphis,  which  is  spacious 
and  well  worthy  of  notice. 

177.  XJnder  thg_reign  of  Amasis JEgy^t^ is  said  to  have  en- 
jo^edjhe  greatest  p~r6sJDerity,Toth  in  respect  to  the  benefits 
derived  from  the  river  to  the  land,  and  from  the  land  to  the 
people  ;  and  it  is  said  to  have  contained  at  that  time  twenty 
thousand  inhabited  cities.  Amasis  it  was  who  established 
the  law  among  the  Egyptians,  that  every  Egyptian  should 
annually  declare  to  the  governor  of  his  district,  by  what 
means  he  maintained  himself ;  and  if  he  failed  to  do  this,  or 
did  not  show  that  he  lived  by  honest  means,  he  should  be 
punished  with  death.  Solon  the  Athenian,  having  brought 
this  law  from  Egypt,  established  it  at  Athens ;  and  that  peo- 
ple still  continue  to  observe  it,  as  being  an  unobjectionable 
regulation.  178.  Amasis,  being  partial  to  the  Greeks,  both 
bestowed  other  favours  on  various  of  the  Greeks,  and  more- 
over gave  the  city  of  Naucratis  for  such  as  arrived  in  Egypt 
to  dwell  in ;  and  to  such  as  did  not  wish  to  settle  there,  but 
only  to  trade  by  sea,  he  granted  places  where  they  might  erect 
altars  and  temples  to  the  gods.  Now,  the  most  spacious  of 
tliese  sacred  buildings,  which  is  also  the  most  renowned  and 
frequented,  called  the  Hellenium,  was  erected  at  the  common 
charge  of  the  following  cities :  of  the  lonians,  Chios,  Teos, 
Phocaea,  and  Clazomenae ;  of  the  Dorians,  Rhodes,  Cnidus, 
Halicarnassus,  Phaselis ;  and  of  the  -iEolians,  Mitylene  alone. 
So  that  this  temple  belongs  to  them,  and  these  cities  appoint 
officers  to  preside  over  the  mart :  and  whatever  other  cities 
claim  a  share  in  it,  claim  what  does  not  belong  to  them. 
Besides  this,  the  people  of  ^Egina  built  a  tenvvle  to  Jupiter 


168  HEROT)OTtJS.  [179-181 

for  themselves ;  and  the  Samians  another  to  Juno,  and  the 
Milesians  one  to  Apollo.  179.  Naucratis  was  anciently  the 
only  place  of  resort  for  merchants,  and  there  was  no  other  in 
Egypt :  and  if  a  man  arrived  at  any  other  mouth  of  the  Nile, 
he  was  obliged  to  swear  "  that  he  had  come  there  against  his 
will  ; "  and  having  taken  such  an  oath,  he  must  sail  in  the 
same  ship  to  the  Canopic  mouth ;  but  if  he  should  be  pre> 
vented  by  contrary  winds  from  doing  so,  he  was  forced  to  un- 
load his  goods,  and  carry  them  in  barges  round  the  Delta 
until  he  reached  Naucratis.  So  great  were  the  privileges  of 
Naucratis.  180.  When  the  Amphyctions  contracted  to  build 
the  temple  that  now  stands  at  Delphi  for  three  Imndred 
talents,  (for  the  temple  that  was  formerly  there  had  been 
burnt  by  accident,  and  it  fell  upon  the  Delphians  to  supply  a 
fourth  part  of  the  sum,)  the  Delphians  went  about  from  city 
to  city  and  solicited  contributions  ;  and  doing  this  they  brought 
home  no  small  amount  from  Egypt.  For  Amasis  gave  them 
a  thousand  talents  of  alum,  and  the  Grecians  who  were  settled 
in  Egypt  twenty  minae. 

181.  Amasis  also  contracted  a  friendship  and  an  alliance 
with  the  Cyrenaeans ;  and  resolved  to  take  a  wife  from  that 
country,  either  out  of  a  desire  of  having  a  Grecian  woman,  or 
from  some  peculiar  affection  to  the  Cyrenaeans.  He  therefore 
married,  as  some  say,  the  daughter  of  Battus  ;  others,  of  Ar- 
cesilaus  ;  though  others,  of  Critobulus,  a  person  of  distinction 
among  the  citizens ;  her  name  was  Ladice.  Whenever 
Amasis  lay  with  her  he  was  unable  to  have  connexion  with 
her,  which  was  not  the  case  with  respect  to  other  women : 
upon  the  continuance  of  this  for  a  long  time,  Amasis  said  to 
this  woman,  who  was  called  Ladice  ;  "  O  woman,  you  have 
used  charms  against  me,  and  no  contrivance  can  prevent  your 
perishing  by  the  most  cruel  death  of  all  women."  But  La- 
dice, finding  that  Amasis  was  not  at  all  appeased  by  her  denial 
of  the  fact,  made  a  mental  vow  to  Venus,  that  if  Amasis  should 
liave  intercourse  with  her  that  night,  (for  this  was  the  only 
remedy  left,)  she  would  send  a  statue  of  the  goddess  to  Gy- 
rene. Immediately  after  tlie  vow,  Amasis  had  intercourse 
with  her ;  and  from  that  time  forward,  whenever  he  came  to 
her,  he  was  able  to  have  connexion  ;  and  after  this  he  was  ex- 
ceedingly fond  of  her.  But  Ladice  performed  her  vow  to  tlie 
goddess,  for  having  caused  a  statue  to  be  made,  she  sent  it  tn 


182.] 


EUTERPE.    II. 


169 


Cyrene,  and  it  was  still  safe  in  my  time,  facing  out  of  the  city 
of  Cyrene.  When  Cambyses  had  conquered  Egypt,  and  learnt 
v.'ho  this  Ladice  was,  he  sent  her  back  unharmed  to  Cyrene. 
I  '"'•2.  Amasis  also  dedicated  offerings  in  Greece.  In  the  first 
place,  a  gilded  statue  of  Minerva  at  Cyrene,  and  his  own  por- 
trait painted;  secondly,  to  Minerva  in  Lindus  two  stone 
statues  and  a  linen  corselet  well  worthy  of  notice  ;  thirdly,  to 
Juno  at  Samos  two  images  of  himself  carved  in  wood,  which 
stood  in  the  large  temple  even  in  my  time,  behind  the  doors. 
Now  he  made  this  offering  at  Samos,  on  account  of  the  friend- 
ship that  subsisted  between  himself  and  Polycrates  the  son  of 
.^aces  ;  but  those  at  Lindus,  not  on  account  of  any  friendship, 
but  because  it  is  reported  that  the  daughters  of  Danaus 
founded  the  temple  of  Minerva  at  Lindus,  when  they  touched 
there  in  their  flight  from  the  sons  of  Egyptus  :  and  these  were 
the  offerings  that  Amasis  made.  He  was  the  first  who  con- 
quered Cyprus,  and  subjected  it  to  the  payment  of  tribute 


(K 


BOOK   IIL 

^    I A      "'  THALIA* 


Oc 


AGAINST  this  Amasis,  Cambyses,  son  of  Cyrus,  made  war, 
leading  with  him  both  others,  his  own  subjects,'an3ror~the 
Grecians,  lonians  and  -Cohans.  The  cause  of  the  war"was 
this  :  Cambyses,  having  sent  a  herald  into  Egypt,  demanded 
the  daughter  of  Amasis  ;  and  he  made  this  demand  at  the 
suggestion  of  an  Egyptian  physician,  who  out  of  spite  served 
Amasis  in  this  manner,  because,  having  selected  him  out  of 
all  the  physicians  in  Egypt,  and  torn  him  from  his  wife  and 
(iliildren,  he  had  sent  him  as  a  present  to  the  Persians,  when 
Cyrus,  having  sent  to  Amasis,  required  of  him  the  best  ocu- 
list in  Egypt.  The  Egyptian  tlK;rcfore,  having  this  spite 
against  him,  urged  on  Cambyses  by  his  suggestions,  bidding 
him  demand  the  daughter  of  Amasis,  in  order  that  if  he  should 
comply  he  might  be  grieved,  or  if  he  refused  he  might  incur 
the  hatred  of  Cambyses.  But  Amasis,  dreading  the  power  of 
the  Persians,  and  being  alarmed,  knew  not  whether  to  give 
or  to  deny  ;  for  he  was  well  aware  that  Cambyses  purposed  to 
take  her,  not  as  his  wife,  but  his  mistress.  Having  consider- 
ed these  things,  he  did  as  follows.  There  was  a  daughter  of 
Apries,  the  former  king,  very  tall  and  beautiful,  the  only  sur- 
vivor of  the  family ;  her  name  was  Nitetis.  This  damsel, 
Amasis,  having  adorned  with  cloth  of  gold,  sent  to  Persia  as 
his  own  daughter.  After  a  time,  when  Cambyses  saluted  her, 
addressing  her  by  her  father's  name,  the  damsel  said  to  him, 
"  O  king,  you  do  not  perceive  that  you  have  been  imposed 
upon  by  Amasis,  who,  having  dressed  me  in  rich  attire,  sent 
me  to  you,  presenting  me  as  his  own  daughter  ;  whereas,  in 
truth,  I  am  the  daughter  of  Apries,  whom  he,  though  he  was 
his  own  master,  put  to  death,  after  he  had  incited  the  Egyp- 
tians to  revolt."     These  words,  and  this  accusation,  induced 


2-4.]  THALIA.    III.  171 

Cambyses,  the  son  of  Cj^-us,  being  greatly  enraged,  to  invade 
Egypt.  Such  is  the  account  the  Persians  give.  2.  But  the 
Egyptians  claim  Cambyses  as  their  own,  saying,  that  he  was 
born  from  this  daughter  of  Apries  ;  for  that  it  was  Cyrus,  and 
not  Cambyses,  who  sent  to  Amasis  for  his  daughter  ;  but  in 
saying  this  they  err.  Nor  indeed  could  it  escape  their  no- 
tice, (for  if  any  people  are  well  acquainted  with  the  Persian 
customs,  the  Egyptians  are  so,)  that  first  of  all,  it  i.s  not  cus- 
tomary with  them  for  a  natural  son  to  reign,  when  there  is  a 
legitimate  son  living ;  and  secondly,  that  Cambyses  was  the 
son  of  Cassandane,  daughter  of  Pharnaspes,  one  of  the  Achae- 
menidae,  and  not  of  the  Egyptian  woman.  But  they  pervert 
the  truth,  claiming  to  be  related  to  the  family  of  Cyrus.  And 
this  is  the  real  state  of  the  case.  3.  This  other  story  is  also 
told,  which  to  me  seems  incredible.  A  certain  Persian  lady 
visited  Cyrus's  women,  and  when  she  saw  the  children  of 
Cassandane,  beautiful  and  tall,  standing  by  her,  praised  them 
highly,  being  exceedingly  struck  with  them  ;  but  Cassandane, 
wife  of  Cyrus,  said,  "  Though  I  am  the  mother  of  such  chil- 
dren, Cyrus  holds  me  in  disdain,  and  honours  her  whom  he 
has  obtained  from  Egypt."  This  she  said  through  envy  of 
Nitetis  ;  but  the  eldest  of  her  sons,  Cambyses,  said,  "  There- 
fore, mother,  when  I  am  a  man,  I  will  turn  all  Egypt  upside 
down."  He  said  this  when  he  was  about  ten  years  of  age, 
and  the  women  were  much  astonished  ;  but  he,  bearing  it  in 
mind  when  he  grew  up  and  was  possessed  of  the  kingdom, 
accordingly  invaded  Egypt. 

4.  The  following  other  incident  also  occurred  to  promote 
this  invasion.  There  was  among  the  auxiliaries  of  Amasis  a 
man  by  birth  an  Halicarnassian,  whose  name  was  Phanes,  one 
able  in  counsel  and  valiant  in  war.  This  Phanes,  owing  some 
spite  to  Amasis,  escaped  in  a  ship  from  Egypt,  with  a  design 
to  confer  with  Cambyses.  But  as  he  was  a  man  of  no  small 
consequence  among  the  auxiliaries,  and  was  very  accurately 
acquainted  with  the  affairs  of  Egypt,  Amasis  sent  in  pursuit 
of  him,  making  every  effort  to  take  him  ;  and  he  sent  the 
most  trusty  of  his  eunuchs  in  pursuit  of  him,  with  a  tri- 
reme, who  caught  him  in  Lycia,  but  having  taken  him,  did 
not  bring  him  back  to  Egypt,  for  Phanes  overreached  him  by 
artifice  ;  for  having  intoxicated  his  guards,  he  got  away  to  the 
Persians  ;  and  coming  over  to  Cambyses  as  he  was  preparini? 


172  HERODOTUS.  [5-8. 

to  marcli  against  Egypt,  and  was  in  doubt  about  his  route,  how 
he  should  pass  the  arid  desert,  he  informed  him  both  of  other 
affairs  of  Amasis,  and  explained  to  him  the  route,  thus  ad- 
vising him  :  to  send  to  the  king  of  the  Arabians,  and  ask 
liim  to  grant  him  a  safe  passage  through  his  territories.  5. 
By  this  way  only  is  there  an  open  passage  into  Egypt.  For 
from  Phoenicia  to  the  confines  of  the  city  of  Cadytis,  which 
belongs  to  those  who  are  called  the  Syrians  of  Palestine,  and 
from  Cadytis,  which  is  a  city  in  my  opinion  not  much  less 
than  Sardis,  the  sea-ports  as  far  as  the  city  of  Jenysus 
belong  to  the  Arabian  king:  and  again,  from  Jenysus,  as 
far  as  the  lake  Serbonis,  near  which  Mount  Casius  stretches 
to  the  sea,  belongs  to  the  Syrians  :  and  from  the  lake  Ser- 
bonis, in  which  Typhon  is  reported  to  have  been  concealed, 
Egypt  begins.  Now,  the  country  between  the  city  of  Jenysus, 
Mount  Casius,  and  the  lake  Serbonis,  which  is  no  small  tract, 
but  about  a  three  days'  journey,  is  utterly  destitute  of  water. 
6.  A  circumstance  that  few  of  those  who  have  made  voyages  to 
Egypt  have  noticed,  I  shall  now  proceed  to  mention.  From  every 
part  of  Greece,  and  also  from  Phoenicia,  earthen  vessels  filled 
with  wine  are  imported  into  Egypt  twice  every  year,  and  yet,  so 
to  speak,  not  a  single  one  of  these  wine  jars  is  afterwards  to  be 
seen.  In  what  way  then,  some  one  may  ask,  are  they  disposed 
of  ?  This  I  will  also  relate.  Every  magistrate  is  obliged  to 
collect  all  the  vessels  from  his  own  city,  and  send  them  to 

Memphis ;  but  the  people  of  that  city,  having  filled  them  with 

water,   convey  them  to  those    arid   parts  of   Syria ;    so  the 

■    earthen  vessels  continually  imported  and  landed  in  Egypt,  are 

added  to  those  already  in  Syria.     7.  Thus  the  Persians,  as 

"-Sipon  as  they  became  masters  of  Egypt,  facilitated  th©  passage 

4nto  that  country,  by  supplying  it  with  water  in  the  manner 
above  mentioned.  But  as,  at  that  time,  water  was  not  pro- 
vided, Cambyses,  by  the  advice  of  the  Halicarnassian  stranger, 
sent  ambassadors  to  the  Arabian,  and  requested  a  safe  passage, 
which  he  obtained,  giving  to  and  receiving  from  him  pledges 
of  faith. 

8.  The  Arabians  observe  pledges  as  religiously  as  any 
people  ;  and  they  make  them  in  the  following  manner  :  ^w^jen 
any  wish  to  pledge  their  faith,  a  third  person,  standing  'be- 
tween the  two  parties,  makes  an  incision  with  a  sharp  stone 
in  the  palm  of  the  hand,  near  the  longest  fingers,  of  both  the 


9,  lO.J  THALIA     III.  173 

contractors;  then  taking  some  of  the  nap  from  the  garment 
of  each,  he  smears  seven  stones,  placed  between  them,  with 
the  blood;  and  as  he  does  this,  he  invokes  Bacchus  and 
Urania.  When  this  ceremony  is  completed,  the  person  wlu> 
pledges  his  faith,  binds  his  friends  as  sureties  to  the  stranger, 
or  the  citizen,  if  the  contract  be  made  with  a  citizen,  and  the 
friends  also  hold  themselves  obliged  to  observe  the  engage- 
ment. They  acknowledge  no  other  gods  than  Bacchus  and 
Urania,  and  they  say  that  their  hair  is  cut  in  the  same  way  as 
Bacchus's  is  cut ;  but  they  cut  it  in  a  circular  form,  shearing 
it  round  the  temples.  They  call  Bacchus,  Orotal ;  and 
Urania,  Alilat.  9.  When  therefore  the  Arabian  had  ex- 
clianged  pledges  with  the  ambassadors  who  came  from  Cam  • 
byses,  he  adopted  the  following  contrivance:  having  filled 
camels'  skins  with  water,  he  loaded  them  on  all  his  living 
camels ;  and  having  done  this,  he  drove  them  to  the  arid 
region,  and  there  awaited  the  army  of  Cambyses.  This  is 
the  most  credible  of  the  accounts  that  are  given ;  yet  it  is 
right  that  one  less  credible  should  be  mentioned,  since  it  is 
likewise  affirmed.  There  is  a  large  river  in  Arabia  called 
Corys,  which  discharges  itself  into  that  called  the  Red  Sea. 
From  this  river  then  it  is  said  that  the  king  of  the  Arabians, 
having  sewn  together  a  pipe  of  ox-hides  and  other  skins, 
reaching  in  length  to  the  arid  region,  conveyed  the  water 
through  it ;  and  that  in  the  arid  region  he  dug  large  reser- 
voirs, to  receive  and  preserve  the  water.  It  is  a  twelve  days* 
journey  from  the  river  to  the  arid  region  ;  he  therefore  con- 
veyed water  through  three  several  pipes  into  three  different 
places. 

10.  Psammenitus  the  son  of  Amasis  lay  encamped  &t  that 
called  th~e~Pelusiac  mouth  of  the  Nile,  awaiting  Cambyses  ; 
for  Canibyses^'dM' not  find  Amasis  alive  when  "Tie  marched 
ngaiilst  Egypt  ;  but  Amasis  died  after  a  reign  of  forty-four 
years,  during  which  no  great  calamity  had  befallen  him.  But 
having  died,  and  being  embalmed,  he  was  buried  in  the  sepulchre 
that  is  in  the  sacred  precinct,  which  he  himself  had  built.' 
During  the  reign  of  Psammenitus  son  of  Amasis,  a  most  re- 
markable prodigy  befel  the  Egyptians  ;  for  rain  fell  at 
Egj^ptiar.  Thebes,  which  had  never  happened  before,  nor 
Bince,  to  ny  time,  as  the  Thebans  themselves  affirm.  For  no 
»  See  Book  II.  chap,  1G9. 


174  HERODOTUS.  [11—18. 

rain  ever  falls  in  the  upper  regy&ns  of  Egypt ;  but  at  that 
time  rain  feU  in  drops  at  ThebejTf  11.  The  P^.."sians,  having 
marched  through  the  arid  region,  EaTted  nCitr  Jie  Egyptians,  \ 
as  if  with  a  design  of  engaging  ;  there  the  auxiliaries  of  tlie 
Egyptians,  consisting  of  Greeks  and  Carians,  condemning 
Phanes  because  he  had  led  a  foreign  army  against  Egypt, 
adopted  the  following  expedient  against  him  :  Phanes  had  left 
his  sons  in  Egypt ;  these  they  brought  to  the  camp,  within 
sight  of  their  father,  and  placed  a  bowl  midway  between  the 
two  armies,  then  dragging  the  children  one  by  one,  they  slew 
them  over  the  bowl.  When  they  slaughtered  all  the  children, 
they  poured  wine  and  water  into  the  bowl ;  and,  after  all  thr 
auxiharios  had  drank  of  the  blood,  they  immediately  joined 
battle.  (A  hard  battle  having  been  fought,  and  when  great 
numbers  had  fallen  on  both  sides,  the  Egyptians  were  put  to 
flight.  J  12.  Here  I  saw  a  very  surprising  fact,  which  the 
peopTte  of  the  country  informed  me  of.  For  as  the  bones  of 
those  who  were  killed  in  that  battle  lie  scattered  about  separ- 
ately, (for  the  bones  of  the  Persians  lay  apart  in  one  place,  as 
tliey  did  at  first,  and  those  of  the  Egyptians  in  another,)  the 
skulls  of  the  Persians  were  so  weak,  that  if  you  should  hit 
them  only  with  a  single  pebble,  you  would  break  a  hole  in 
them  ;  whereas  those  of  the  Egyptians  are  so  hard,  that  you 
could  scarcely  fracture  them  by  striking  them  with  a  stone 
The  cause  of  this,  they  told  me,  is  as  follows,  and  I  readily  as- 
sented ;  that  the  Egyptians  begin  from  childhood  and  shave 
their  heads,  and  the  bone  is  thickened  by  exposure  to  the  sun  : 
from  the  same  cause  also  they  are  less  subject  to  baldness,  for 
one  sees  fewer  persons  bald  in  Egypt  than  in  any  other  country. 
This,  then,  is  the  cause  of  their  having  such  strong  skulls  : 
and  the  reason  why  the  Persians  have  weak  skulls  is  this ; 
they  shade  them  from  the  first,  wearing  tiaras  for  hats.  Now, 
I  myself  saw  that  such  was  the  case ;  and  I  also  observed  the 
same  thing  at  Papremis,  with  respect  to  those  who  were  slain 
with  Achaemenes  ^  son  of  Darius,  by  Inarus  the  Libyan. 
/l3.  The  Egyptians,  when  they  were  defeated,  fled  in  com- 
plete disorder  from  the  battle.  When  they  had  shut  them- 
selves up  in  Memphis,  Cambyses  sent  a  Mitylenaean  bark  up 
the  river,  with  a  Persian  herald  on  board,  to  invite  the 
Egyptians  to  terms.  But  they,  when  they  saw  the  bark 
«  See  Book  VII.  chap.  7 


14.  THALIA.    III.  175 

entering  Memphis,  ruslied  in  a  mass  from  the  wall,  destroyed  the 
ship,  and  having  torn  the  crew  to  pieces,  limb  by  limb,  they  car- 
ried them  into  the  citadel.  After  this  the  Egyptians  were  be- 
sieged, and  at  length  surrendered.  The  neighbouring  Libyans, 
fearing  what  had  befallen  Egypt,  gave  themselves  up  without 
resistance ;  and  submitted  to  pay  a  tribute,  and  sent  presents.  In 
like  manner  the  Cyrenaeans  and  Barcaeans,  being  equally  alarm- 
ed with  the  Libyans,  did  as  they  had  done»  But  Cambyses  re- 
ceived very  graciously  the  presents  that  came  from  the  Libyans  ; 
but  was  displeased  with  those  of  the  Cyrengeans,  as  I  suppose, 
because  they  were  inconsiderable.  For  the  Cyrenasans  sent  only 
five  hundred  minae  of  silver,  which  he  gra'sped  and  dispersed 
with  his  own  hand  among  the  soldiers*  14.  On  the  tenth  day 
after  Cambyses  had  taken  the  citadel  of  Memphis,  having  seated 
Psammenitus,  the  king  of  the  Egyptians,  who  had  reigned 
only  six  months,  at  the  entrance  of  the  city,  by  way  of  insult, 
— having  seated  him  with  other  Egyptians,  he  made  trial  of 
his  courage  by  the  following  means.  Having  dreSsed  his 
daughter  in  the  habit  of  a  slave,  he  sent  her  with  a  pitcher  to 
fetch  water. ;  and  he  sent  with  her  other  virgins  selected  from 
the  principal  families,  dressed  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
king's  daughter.  As  the  virgins,  with  loud  lamentation  and 
weeping,  came  into  the  presence  of  their  fathers,  all  the  other 
fathers  answered  them  with  wailing  and  weeping,  when  they 
beheld  their  children  thus  humiliated.  But  Psammenitus 
alone,  when  he  saw  and  knew  what  was  going  on,  only  bent 
his  eyes  to  the  ground.  When  these  water-carriers  had 
passed  by,  he  next  sent  his  son,  with  two  thousand  Egyptians 
of  the  same  age,  with  halters  about  their  necks,  and  a  bridle 
in  their  mouths  ;  and  they  were  led  out  to  suffer  retribution 
for  those  Mitylenaeans  who  had  perished  at  Memphis  with  the 
ship.  For  the  royal  judges  had  given  sentence,  that  for  each 
man  ten  of  the  principal  Egyptians  should  be  put  to  death.  Yet 
he,  when  he  saw  them  passing  by,  and  knew  that  his  son  was 
being  led  out  to  death,  though  all  the  rest  of  the  Egyptians 
«vho  sat  round  him  wept  and  made  loud  lamentations,  did  the 
same  as  he  had  done  in  his  daughter's  case.  (  When  these  had 
passed  by,  it  happened  that  one  of  his  boon-companions,  a  man 
somewhat  advanced  in  years,  who  had  lost  his  all,  and  possessed 
nothing  but  such  things  as  a  beggar  has,  asking  alms  of  the 
eoldiery,  passed  by  Psammenitus  the  son  of  Amasis,  aixd  the 


176  HERODOTUS.  [15. 

Egyptians  seated  in  the  suburbs  ;  but  Psammenitus,  when  he 
saw  him,  weeping  bitterly,  and  calling  his  companion  by 
name,  smote  his  head.  There  were,  however,  spies  there  who 
coramunicated  to  Cambyses  every  thing  that  was  done  by  him 
at  each  procession  :  but  Cambyses,  surprised  at  this  behaviour, 
sent  a  messenger  and  inquired  of  him  as  follows :  "  Psamme- 
nitus,  your  master  Cambyses  inquires  why,  when  you  saw 
your  daughter  humiliated  and  your  son  led  to  execution,  you 
did  not  bewail  or  lament ;  and  have  been  so  highly  concerned 
for  a  beggar,  who  is  no  way  related  to  you,  as  he  is  informed/' 
He  then  asked  this  question,  but  Psamnienitus  answered  as  fol- 
lows :  "  Son  of  Cyrus,  the  calamities  of  my  family  are  too  great 
to  be  expressed  by  lamentation  ;  but  the  griefs  of  my  friend 
were  worthy  of  tears,  who,  having  fallen  from  abundance  and 
prosperity,  has  come  to  beggary  on  the  threshold  of  old  age." 
When  this  answer  was  brought  back  by  the  messenger,  it  ap-^ 
peared  to  Cambyses  to  be  well  said  ;  and,  as  the  Egyptians  re,- 
late,  Croesus  wept,  for  he  had  attended  Cambyses  into  Egypt, 
and  the  Persians  that  were  present  wept  also ;  and  Cambyses 
himself  was  touched  with  pity,  and  gave  immediate  orders  to 
preserve  his  son  out  of  those  who  were  to  perish,  and  to  re- 
move him  and  bring  him  from  the  suburbs  into  his  presence. 
15.  Those  who  were  sent  found  the  son  no  longer  alive, 
having  been  the  first  that  suffered ;  but  having  removed 
Psammenitus  himself  they  conducted  him  to  Cambyses,  with 
whom  he  afterwards  lived,  without  experiencing  any  violence 
And  had  it  not  been  suspected  ^  that  he  was  planning  innova- 
tions, he  would  probably  have  recovered  Egypt,  so  as  to, have 
the  government  intrusted  to  him.  For  the  Persians  are  ac- 
customed to  honour  the  sons  of  kings,  and  even  if  they  have 
revolted  from  them,  nevertheless  bestow  the  government  upon 
their  children ;  that  such  is  their  custom  may  be  proved  from 
many  other  examples,  and  amongst  them  by  that  of  Than- 
nyras,  the  son  of  Inarus  the  Libyan,  who  recovered  the  govern- 
ment which  his  father  had ;  and  by  that  of  Pausiris,  son 
of  AmyrtiBus,  for  he  also  recovered  his  father's  government : 
yet  none  ever  did  more  mischief  to  the  Persians  than  Inarus 
and  Amyrtaeus.  But  now  Psammenitus,  devising  mischief, 
received  his  reward,  for  he  was  discovered  inciting  the  Egyp- 
tians to  revolt ;  and  when  he  was  detected  by  Cambyses  h^ 
'  Sea  Gary*f  Lexiccu,  v.  'A-n-iirrittp 


16,17.1  THALIA.    HI.  177 

was  compelled  to  drink  the  blood  of  a  bull,  and  died  imme- 
diately.    Such  then  was  his  end. 

16.  Cambyses  proceeded  from  Memphis  to  the  city  of  Sais, 
purposing  lo  do  what  he  did  etiect ;  tor  when  he  entereT'the 
palace  of  Amasis,  he  presently  commanded  the  dead  body  of 
Anlasis  io'be'brought  out  of  the  sepulchre ;  and  when  this  was 
done  he  gave  orders  to  scourge  it,  to  pull  off  the  hair,  to  prick 
it,  and  to  abuse  it  in  every  possible  manner.  But  when  they 
were  wearied  with  this  employment,  (for  the  dead  body,  since 
it  was  embalmed,  resisted,  and  did  not  at  all  fall  in  pieces, ) 
Cambyses  gave  orders  to  burn  it,  commanding  what  is  im- 
pious. For  the  Persians  consider  fire  to  be  a  god  ;  therefore 
to  burn  the  dead  is  on  no  account  allowed  by  either  nation  ; 
not  by  the  Persians,  for  the  reason  above-mentioned,  for  they 
say  it  is  not  right  to  offer  to  a  god  the  dead  body  of  a  man  ; 
and  by  the  Egyptians  fire  is  held  to  be  a  living  beast,  and  that 
it  devours  every  thing  it  can  lay  hold  of,  and  when  it  is  glutted 
with  food  it  expires  with  what  it  has  consumed;  therefore  it 
is  their  law,  on  no  account  to  give  a  dead  body  to  wild  beasts, 
and  for  that  reason  they  embalm  them,  that  they  may  not  lie 
and  be  eaten  by  worms.  Cambyses,  therefore,  commanded  a 
tiling  repugnant  to  the  customS"  of  bOttPnations.  However, 
as  the  Egyptians  say,  it  was  not  Amasis  that  was  thus  treated, 
but  some  other  Egyptian  of  the  same  stature  as  Amasis  whom 
the  Persians  insulted,  thinking  they  insulted  Amasis.  For 
they  say,  that  Amasis,  having  been  informed  by  an  oracle  of 
what  should  happen  to  him  after  death,  in  order  to  remedy  the 
impending  evil,  buried  the  body  of  this  very  man  who  was 
scourged,  near  the  door  of  his  own  sepulchre,*  and  charged  his 
son  to  deposit  his  own  in  the  remotest  part  of  the  vault.  Now, 
these  commands  of  Amasis,  touching  his  own  burial,  and  this 
man,  appear  to  me  never  to  have  been  given,  but  the  Egyp- 
tians falsely  boast  of  them. 

17.  After_this^.^mbyses  planned  three  several  expeditions  ; 
one  against  theCarthagi  mans,  another  against  the  Am- 
niohians,  and  a"tHTr J  against  the  Macrobian  Ethiopians,  who 
iiihabU;  that  part 'Of  Libya  vrhich  lies  upon  the  South  Sea. 
And  in  forming  his  plans  he  determined  to  send  a  naval  force 
against  the  Carthaginians,  and  against  the  Ammonians  a  de- 
tachment of  his  land  forces  ;  and  against  tli«  EthiopiAn.%  Rpi** 

«  «cc  Book  II.  ch.  169 
« 


178  HERODOTUS.  18-21] 

in  the  first  instance,  who  were  to  see  the  table  of  the  sun, 
which  was  said  to  exist  among  the  Ethiopians,  and  besides  to 
explore  other  things,  and  to  cover  their  design  they  were  tc 
okrrj  presents  to  the  king.  18.  The  table  of  the  sun  is  said 
to  be  of  the  following  description  :  there  is  a  raeadow  in  the 
suburbs  filled  with  the  cooked  flesh  of  all  sorts  of  quadrupeds  ; 
in  this  the  several  magistrates  of  the  city,  for  some  purpose, 
place  the  flesh  at  night,  and  in  the  day-time  whoever  chooses 
comes  and  feasts  on  it.  The  inhabitants  say  that  the  earth 
itself,  from  time  to  time,  produces  these  things.  Such  is  the 
description  given  of  what  is  called  the  table  of  the  sun.  19. 
AVhen  Cambyses  had  determined  to  send  the  spies,  he  imme- 
diately sent  to  Elephantine  for  some  of  the  Ichthyophagi,  who 
understood  the  Ethiopian  language  ;  and  while  they  were 
fetching  these,  he  commanded  the  naval  force  to  sail  against 
Carthage.  But  the  Phoenicians  refused  to  obey,  for  that  they 
were  bound  by  solemn  oaths,  and  that  they  should  act  im- 
piously if  they  made  war  against  their  own  descendants.  As 
the  Phoenicians  would  not  go,  the  rest  were  not  fit  for  such 
an  enterprise :  thus,  therefore,  the  Carthaginians  escaped 
slavery  at  the  hands  of  the  Persians.  For  Cambyses  did  not 
think  it  right  to  employ  force  towards  the  Phoenicians,  bc' 
cause  they  had  voluntarily  submitted  to  the  Persians,  and  the 
whole  naval  force  depended  on  them.  The  Cyprians  too, 
having  given  themselves  up  to  the  Persians,  joined  the  expe- 
dition against  Egypt.  20.  When  the  Ichthyophagi  came  to 
Cambyses  from  Elephantine,  he  despatched  them  to  the 
Ethiopians,  having  instructed  them  what  to  say,  carrying 
presents,  consisting  of  a  purple  cloak,  a  golden  necklace, 
bracelets,  an  alabaster  box  of  ointment,  and  a  cask  of  palm 
wine.  These  Ethiopians,  to  whom  Cambyses  sent,  are  said 
to  be  the  tallest  and  handsomest  of  all  men  ;  and  they  say 
that  they  have  customs  different  from  those  of  other  nations, 
and  especially  the  following,  with  regard  to  the  regal  power ; 
for  they  confer  the  sovereignty  upon  the  man  whom  they 
consider  to  be  of  the  largest  stature,  and  to  possess  strength 
proportionable  to  his  size. 

21.  When  therefore  the  Ichthyophagi  arrived  among  this 
people,  they  gave  the  presents  to  the  king,  and  addressed 
him  as  follows  :  "  Cambyses,  king  of  the  Persians,  desirous 
of  becoming  your  friend  and  ally,  has  sent  us,  bidding  us 


22,  23.]  THALIA.    III.  179 

oonfer  with  you,  and  he  presents  you  with  these  gifts,  which  are 
such  as  he  himself  most  delights  in."  But  the  Ethiopian,  know- 
ing that  they  came  as  spies,  spoke  thus  to  them  :  "  Neither 
lias  the  king  of  the  Persians  sent  you  with  presents  to  me,  be- 
cause he  valued  my  alliance  ;  nor  do  you  speak  the  truth  ; 
for  ye  are  come  as  spies  of  my  kingdom.  Nor  is  he  a  just 
man  ;  for  if  he  were  just,  he  would  not  desire  any  other  terri- 
tory than  his  own  ;  nor  would  he  reduce  people  into  servi- 
tude who  have  done  him  no  injury.  However,  give  him  this 
bow,  and  say  these  words  to  him  :  '  The  king  of  the  Ethiopians 
adviaes  the  king  of  the  Persians,  when  the  Persians  can  thus 
easily  draw  a  bow  of  this  size,  then  to  make  war  on  the  Ma- 
crobian  Ethiopians  with  more  numerous  forces  ;  but  until 
that  time  let  him  thank  the  gods,  who  have  not  inspired  the 
sons  of  the  Ethiopians  with  a  desire  of  adding  another  land 
to  their  own.'"  22.  Having  spoken  thus  and  unstrung  the 
bow,  he  delivered  it  to  the  comers.  Then  taking  up  the  pur- 
ple cloak,  he  asked  what  it  was,  and  how  made  ;  and  when 
the  Ichthyophagi  told  him  the  truth  respecting  the  purple, 
and  the  manner  of  dyeing,  he  said  that  the  men  are  de- 
cej  u\  e,  and  their  garments  are  deceptive  also.  Next  he  in- 
quired about  the  necklace  and  bracelets,  and  when  the  Ich- 
tliyophagi  explained  to  him  their  use  as  ornaments,  the  king 
laughing,  and  supposing  them  to  be  fetters,  said  that  they  have 
stronger  fetters  than  these.  K  Thirdly,  he  inquired  about  the 
ointment ;  and  when  they  told  him  about  its  composition  and 
use,  he  made  the  same  remark  as  he  had  on  the  cloak.  But 
when  he  came  to  the  wine,  and  inquired  how  it  was  made, 
being  very  much  delighted  with  the  draught,  he  further  ask- 
ed what  food  the  king  made  use  of,  and  what  was  the  longest 
age  to  which  a  Persian  lived.  They  answered,  that  he  fed 
on  bread,  describing  the  nature  of  wheat ;  and  l^at  the  long- 
est period  of  the  life  of  a  Persian  was  eighty  years.  Upon 
this  the  Ethiopian  said,  that  he  was  not  at  all  surprised  if 
men  who  fed  on  dung  lived  so  few  years  ;  and  they  would  not 
be  able  to  live  so  many  years,  if  they  did  not  refresh  them- 
selves with  this  beverage,  showing  the  wine  to  the  Ichthyo- 
phagi :  for  in  this  he  admitted  they  were  surpassed  by  the 
Persians.  28.  The  Ichthyophagi  inquiring  in  turn  of  the 
king  concerning  the  life  and  diet  of  the  Ethiopians,  he  said, 
thut  most  of  them  attained  to  a  hundred  and  twentj'  years, 

N    ^ 


180  HERODOTUS.  [24,25 

and  some  eveu  exceeded  that  term,  and  that  their  food  was 
boiled  flesh,  and  their  drink  milk.  And  when  the  spies  express- 
ad  their  astonishment  at  the  number  of  years,  he  led  them  to  a 
fountain,  by  washing  in  which  they  became  more  sleek,  as  it' 
it  had  been  of  oil,  and  an  odour  proceeded  from  it  as  of  violets. 
The  water,  of  this  fountain,  the  spies  said,  is  so  weak,  that 
nothing  is  able  to  float  upon  it,  neither  wood,  nor  such  things 
as  are  lighter  than  wood ;  but  every  thing  sinks  to  the  bottom. 
If  this  water  is  truly  such  as  it  is  said  to  be,  it  may  be  they  are 
long-lived  by  reason  of  the  abundant  use  of  it.  Leaving  this 
fountain,  he  conducted  them  to  the  common  prison,  where  all 
were  fettered  with  golden  chains ;  for  among  these  Ethiopians 
brass  is  the  most  rare  and  precious  of  all  metals.  After  having 
viewed  the  prison,  they  next  visited  that  which  is  called  the 
table  of  the  sun.  24.  After  this,  they  visited  last  of  all  tlieir 
sepulchres,  which  are  said  to  be  prepared  from  crystal  in  the 
following  manner.  When  they  have  dried  the  body,  either  as 
the  Egyptians  do,  or  in  some  other  way,  they  plaster  it  :ill 
over  with  gypsum,  and  paint  it,  making  it  as  much  as  possi- 
ble resemble  real  life;  they  then  put  round  it  a  hollow  column 
made  of  crystal,  which  they  dig  up  in  abundance,  and  is 
easily  wrought.  The  body  being  in  the  middle  of  the  column 
is  plainly  seen,  nor  does  it  emit  an  unpleasant  smell,  nor  is  it 
in  any  way  offensive :  and  it  is  all  visible^  as  the  body  itself. 
The  nearest  relations  keep  the  column  in  their  houses  for  a 
year,  offering  to  it  the  first-fruits  of  all,  and  performing 
sacrifices  ;  after  that  time  they  carry  it  out  and  place  it  some 
where  near  the  city. 

25.  The  spies,  having  seen  every  thing,  returnejiJiOHUH- 
^  '  -^Ji£^  t^®y  ^^^  reported  all  that  had  passe^Uambyses, 
beinggrCalljr  "<!)Ufaged,  llliffiediaLely  marched  against  the 
Ethiopians,  without  making  any  provision  for  the  subsistence 
of  his  arm?/,  or  once  considering  that  he  was  going  to  carry 
his  arms  to  the  remotest  parts  of  the  world  ;  but  as  a  madman, 
and  not  in  possession  of  his  senses,  as  soon  as  he  heard  the 
report  of  the  Icthyophagi,  he  set  out  on  his  march,  ordering 
the  Greeks  who  were  present  to  stay  behind,  and  taking  with 
him  all  his  land  forces.     When  the  army  reached  Thebes,  he 

*  The  Egyptian  mummies  could  only  be  seen  in  front,  the  back  being 
covered  by  a  box  or  coffin  ;  the  Ethiopian  bodies  could  be  »eea  all  xoxuiA 
*fl  iliKi  co)\tmn  of  glft-r!  *^ft:!  tranaparent. 


26,27.1  THALIA.     HI.  181 

detached  about  fifty  thousand  men,  and  ordered  them  to  reduce 
the  Ammonians  to  slavery,  and  to  burn  the  oracular  temple  of 
Jupiter,  while  he  with  the  rest  of  his  army  marched  against 
the  Ethiopians.  But  before  the  army  had  passed  over  a  fifth 
part  of  the  way,  all  the  provisions  ^  that  they  had  were  ex- 
liausted,  and  after  the  provisions,  the  beasts  of  burden  were 
eaten  and  likewise  failed.  Now  if  Cambyses,  when  he  learnt 
tliis,  had  altered  his  purpose,  and  had  led  back  his  army,  even 
after  his  first  error,  he  would  have  proved  himself  to  be  a  wise 
man.  But  now,  without  any  reflection,  he  still  continued  ad- 
vancing. The  soldiers,  as  long  as  they  could  gather  any  from 
the  earth,  supported  life  by  eating  herbs />4)ut  when  they 
reached  the  sands,  some  of  them  had  recourse  to  a  horrid  ex- 
pedient, for  taking  one  man  in  ten  by  lot,  they  devoured  him  : 
when  Cambyses  heard  this,  shocked  at  their  eating  one 
another,  he  abandoned  his  expedition  against  the  Ethi- 
opians, marched  back  and  reached  Thebes,  after  losing  a 
great  part  from  his  army.  From  Thebes  he  went  down  to 
Memphis,  and  suffered  the  Greeks  to  sail  away.  Thus  ended 
the  expedition  against  the  Ethiopians.  26.  Those  who  had 
been  ^sent  on  the  expedition  against  the  Ammonians,  after 
liaving  set  out  from  Thebes,  marched  under  the  conduct  of 
guides,  and  are  known  to  have  reached  the  city  Oasis,  which 
is  inhabited  by  Samians,  said  to  be  of  the  jEschrionian  tribe ; 
and  they  are  distant  seven  days'  march  from  Thebes,  across 
the  sands.  This  country  in  the  Greek  language  is  called  the 
Island  of  the  Blessed.  It  is  said  then  that  the  army  reached 
this  country ;  but  afterwards  none,  except  the  Ammonians  and 
those  who  have  heard  their  report,  are  able  to  give  any  ac- 
count of  them ;  for  they  neither  reached  the  Ammonians,  nor 
returned  back.  But  the  Ammonians  make  the  following  re- 
port: when  they  had  advanced  from  this  Oasis  towards  them 
across  the  san&s,  and  were  about  half-way  between  them  and 
Oasis,  as  they  were  taking  dinner,  a  strong  and  vehement 
south  wind  blew,  and  carrying  with  it  heaps  of  sand,  covered 
them  over,  and  in  this  manner  they  disappeared.  The  Am- 
monians say  that  such  was  the  fate  of  this  army. 

27.  When  Cambyses  arrived  at  Memphis,  Apis,  whom  the 

'  The  Greek  is  (ririwv  ixofttva.  This  expression  is  very  common  in 
Herodotus  So  Book  I.  120,  rd  twi;  6vt.ipa.Twv  ixofiiva,  dreams.  So  als9 
V  41.  and  Viri   142. 


182  HERODOTUS.  [28-30. 

Greeks  call  Epapbus,  appeared  to  the  Egyptians ;  and  when 
this  manifestation  took  place,  the  Egyptians  immediately  put 
on  their  richest  apparel,  and  kept  festive  holiday.  Cambyses, 
seeing  them  thus  occupied,  and  concluding  that  they  made 
these  rejoicings  on  account  of  his  ill  success,  summoned  the 
magistrates  of  Memphis ;  and  when  they  came  into  his  pre- 
sence, he  asked  "  why  the  Egyptians  had  done  nothing  of  the 
kind  when  he  was  at  Memphis  before,  but  did  so  now,  when 
he  had  returned  with  the  loss  of  a  great  part  of  his  army." 
They  answered,  that  their  god  appeared  to  them,  who  was  ac- 
customed to  manifest  himself  at  distant  intervals,  and  that 
when  he  did  appear,  then  all  the  Egyptians  were  used  to  re- 
joice and  keep  a  feast.  Cambyses,  having  heard  this,  said  they 
lied,  and  as  liars  he  put  thom  to  death.  28.  Having  slain  them^ 
he  next  summoned  the  priests  into  his  presence ;  and  when  the 
priests  gave  the  same  account,  he  said,  that  he  would  find  out 
whether  a  god  so  tractable  had  come  among  the  Egyptians ; 
and  having  said  this,  he  commanded  the  priests  to  bring  Apis^ 
to  him  ;  they  therefore  went  away  to  fetch  him.  This  Apis, 
or  Epaphus,  is^  the  calf  of  a  cow  incapable  of  conceiving  an- 
other offspring  ;  and  the  Egyptians  say,  that  lightning  descends 
upon  the  cow  from  heaven,  and  that  from  thence  it  brings 
forth  Apis.  This  calf,  which  is  called  Apis,  has  the  following 
marks  :  it  is  black,  and  has  a  square  spot  of  white  on  the  fore- 
head ;  and  on  the  back  the  figure  of  an  eagle ;  and  in  the  tail 
double  hairs ;  and  on  the  tongue  a  beetle.  29.  When  the 
priests  brought  Apis,  Cambyses,  like  one  almost  out  of  his 
senses,  drew'  his  dagger,  meaning  to  strike  the  belly  of  Apis, 
but  hit  the  thigh  ;  then  falling  into  a  fit  of  laughter,  he  said  to 
the  priests,  "  Ye  blockheads,  are  there  such  gods  as  these, 
consisting  of  blood  and  flesh,  and  sensible  of  steel?  This, 
truly,  is  a  god  worthy  of  the  Egyptians.  But  you  shall  not 
mock  me  with  impunity."  Having  spoken  thus,  he  com- 
manded those,  whose  business  it  was,  to  scourge  the  priests, 
and  to  kill  all  the  Egyptians  whom  they  should  find  feasting. 
Thus  the  festival  of  the  Egyptians  was  put  an  6nd  to,  and  the 
priests  were  punished.  But  Apis,  being  wounded  in  the  thigh, 
lay  and  languished  in  the  temple ;  and  at  length,  when  he  had 
died  of  the  wound,  the  priests  buried  him  without  the  know- 
ledge of  Cambyses. 
3G.  But  Cambyses,  as  the  Egyptians  say,  immediately  became 


SUl  THALIA,     in.  183 

niiwi  in  flonsequence  cf  this  atrocity,  though  indeed  he  was  not 
ofsound  mind  before.  His  first  crime  he  committed  against  hi.? 
brother  Smerdis,  who  was  born  of  the  same  father  and  mother ; 
him  he  sent  back  from  Egypt  to  Persia  through  envy,  because 
he  alone  of  all  the  Persians  had  drawn  the  bow,  which  the 
Ichthyophagi  brought  from  the  Ethiopian,  within  two  fingers' 
breadtli :  of  the  other  Persians  no  one  was  able  to  do  this. 
After  the  departure  of  Smerdis  for  Persia,  Cambyses  saw  the 
following  vision  in  his  sleep :  he  imagined  that  a  messenger 
arrived  from  Persia  and  informed  him  that  Smerdis  was  seated 
on  the  royal  throne,  and  touched  the  heavens  with  his  head. 
Upon  this,  fearing  for  himself,  lest  his  brother  should  kill  him, 
and  reign,  he  sent  Prexaspes,  who  was  a  man  the  most  faitli- 
ful  to  him  of  the  Persians,  to  Persia,  with  orders  to  kill 
Smerdis.  And  he,  having  gone  up  to  Susa,  killed  Smerdis  ; 
some  say,  when  he  had  taken  him  out  to  hunt ;  but  otlieitf, 
that  he  led  him  to  the  Red  Sea  and  drowned  him.  31.  This 
they  say  was  the  first  of  the  crimes  of  Cambyses :  the  second 
he  committed  against  his  sister,  who  had  accompanied  him 
into  Egypt,  and  whom  he  married,  and  who  was  his  sister  by 
both  parents.  He  married  her  in  the  following  way :  for  be- 
fore, the  Persians  were  on  no  account  accustomed  to  inter- 
marry with  their  sisters.  Cambyses  became  enamoured  of 
one  of  his  sisters,  and  then  being  desirous  of  making  her  his 
wife,  because  he  purposed  doing  what  was  not  customary, 
he  summoned  the  royal  judges,  and  asked  them  if  there  was 
any  law  permitting  one  who  wished  to  marry  his  sister.  The 
royal  judges  are  men  chosen  from  among  Persians,  who  con- 
tinue in  office  until  they  die,  or  are  convicted  of  some  in- 
justice. They  determine  causes  between  the  Persians,  and 
are  the  interpreters  of  the  ancient  constitutions,  and  all  ques- 
tions are  referred  to  them.  When,  therefore,  Cambyses  put 
the  question,  they  gave  an  answer  that  was  both  just  and  safe  ; 
saying  that  they  could  find  no  law  permitting  a  brother  to 
marry  his  sister,  but  had  discovered  another  law  which  per- 
mitted the  king  of  Persia  to  do  whatever  he  pleased.  Thus 
they  did  not  abrogate  the  law  through  fear  of  Cambyses  ;  but 
that  they  might  not  lose  their  lives  by  upholding  the  law,  they 
found  out  another  that  favoured  his  desire  of  marrying  his 
gister.  Thereupon,  Cambyses  married  her  of  whom  he  was 
enamoured,  and  shortly  afterwards  he  had  another  sister.    Tlio 


184  HERODOTUS.  [32—34, 

youngest  of  these,  then,  who  followed  him  into  Egypt,  he  put 
to  death.  32.  With  respect  to  her  death,  as  well  as  that  of 
Sraerdis,  a  twofold  account  is  given.  The  Greeks  say,  that 
Cambyses  made  the  whelp  of  a  lion  fight  with  a  young  dog  ; 
and  that  this  wife  was  also  looking  on  ;  and  that  the  dog 
being  over-matched,  another  puppy  of  the  same  litter  broke 
liis  chain,  and  came  to  his  assistance,  and  thus  the  two  dogs 
united  got  the  better  of  the  whelp.  Cambyses  was  delighted 
at  the  sight,  but  she,  sitting  by  him,  shed  tears.  Cambyses 
observing  this,  asked  her  why  she  wept.  She  answered,  that 
she  wept  seeing  the  puppy  come  to  the  assistance  of  his  bro- 
ther, remembering  Smerdis,  and  knowing  that  there  was  no 
one  to  avenge  him.  The  Greeks  say,  that  for  this  speech  she 
was  put  to  deatli  by  Cambyses.  But  the  Egyptians  say,  that 
as  they  were  sitting  at  table,  his  wife  took  a  lettuce,  and  strip- 
ped off  its  leaves,  and  then  asked  her  husband,  "  "Whether  the 
lettuce  stripped  of  its  leaves,  or  thick  with  foliage,  was  the 
handsomer  :  "  he  said,  "  When  thick  with  foliage  : "  where- 
upon she  remarked,  "  Then  you  have  imitated  this  lettuce,  in 
dismembering  the  house  of  Cyrus."  Whereupon  he,  being 
enraged,  kicked  her  when  she  was  with  child  ;  and  she  mis- 
carried and  died. 

33.  Thus  madly  did  Cambyses  behave  towards  his  own 
family  ;  whether  on  account  of  Apis,  or  from  some  other 
cause,  from  which,  in  many  ways,  misfortunes  are  wont  to  be- 
fal  mankind.  For  Cambyses  is  said,  even  from  infancy, 
to  have  been  afflicted  with  a  certain  severe  malady,  which 
some  called  the  sacred  disease.*^  In  that  case,  it  was  not  at 
all  surprising  that,  when  his  body  was  so  diseased,  his  mind 
should  not  be  sound.  34.  And  towards  the  other  Persians 
he  behaved  madly  in  the  following  instances :  for  it  is  report- 
ed that  he  said  to  Prexaspes,  whom  he  highly  honoured,  and 
whose  office  it  was  to  bring  messages  to  him,  and  whose  son 
was  cup-bearer  to  Cambyses,  and  this  is  no  trifling  honour  : 
he  is  reported  to  have  spoken  as  follows  :  "  Prexaspes,  what 
sort  of  a  man  do  the  Persians  think  me  ?  and  what  remarks 
do  they  make  about  me  ?"  He  answered,  "  Sir^  you  are  highly 
extolled  in  every  other  respect,  but  they  say  you  are  too 
much  addicted  to  wine."  Prexaspes  said  this  of  the  Persians, 
but  the  kin<j,  enraged,  answered  as  follows :  "Do  the  Persians 
'  Epilepsy, 


M,  36.]  THALIA.    III. 

indeed  say  that,  by  being  addicted  to  wine,  I  am  beside  my- 
self, and  am  not  in  my  senses  ?  tlien  their  former  words' were 
not  true."  For,  on  a  former  occasion,  when  the  Persians  and 
Crcesus  were  sitting  with  him,  Cambyses  asked,  what  sort  of 
a  man  he  appeared  to  be  in  comparison  with  his  father  Cyrus  ; 
tliey  answered,  that  he  was  superior  to  his  father,  for  that 
he  held  all  that  Cyrus  possessed,  and  had  acquired  besides 
ICgypt  and  the  empire  of  the  sea.  Croesus,  being  present,  not 
being  pleased  with  this  decision,  spoke  thus'  to  Cambyses  : 
"  To  me  now,  O  son  of  Cyrus,  you  do  not  appear  comparable 
to  your  father,  for  you  have  not  yet  such  a  son  "as  he  left  be- 
hind him."'  Cambyses  was  delighted  at  hearing  this,  and 
commended  the  judgment  of  Croesus.  35.  Therefore,  remem- 
bering this,  he  said  in  anger  to  Prexaspes,  "  Observe  now 
yourself,  whether  the  Persians  have  spoken  the  truth,  or 
whether  they  who  say  such  things  are  not  out  of  their  senses : 
for  if  I  shoot  that  son  of  yours  who  stands  under  the  portico, 
and  hit  him  in  the  heart,  the  Persians  will  appear  to  have 
fcaid  nothing  to  the  purpose  ;  but  if  I  miss,  then  say  that  the 
Persians  have  spoken  truth^  and  that  I  am  not  of  Sound 
mind."  Having  said  this,  and  bent  his  bow,  he  hit  the  boy  ; 
and  when  the  boy  had  fallen,  he  ordered  them  to  open  him 
and  examine  the  wound  ;  and  when  the  arrow  was  found  in 
the  heart,  he  said  to  the  boy's  father,  laughing,' "  Prexaspes, 
it  has  been  clearly  shown  to  you  that  I  am  not  mad,  but  that 
the  Persians  are  out  of  their  senses.  Now  tell  hie,  did  you 
ever  see  a  man  take  so  true  an  aim  ?  "  But  Prexaspes,  per- 
ceiving him  to  be  out  of  his  mind,  and  being  in  fear  for  hie 
own  life,  said,  "  Sir,  I  believe  that  a  god  himself  could  not 
liave  shot  so  well."  At  that  time  he  committed  such  an 
atrocity ;  and  at  another  time,  having,  without  any  just 
cause,  seized  twelve  Persians  of  the  first  rank,  he  had  them 
buried  alive  up  to  the  head. 

36.  While  he  was  acting  in  this  manner,  Croesus  the  Ly- 
dian  thought  fit  to  admonish  him  in  the  following  terms  :  "  O 
king,  do  not  yield  entirely  to  your  youthful  impulses  and 
anger,  but  possess  and  restrain  yourself.  It  is  a  good  thing 
to  be  provident,  and  wise  to  have  forethought.  You  put  men 
to  death  who  are  your  own  subjects,  having  seized  them  with- 
out any  just  cause  ;  and  you  slay  their  children.  If  you  per- 
eint  in  such  a  course,  beware  lest  the  Persians  revolt  from 


196  HERODOTUS  [37,  38; 

you.  Your  father  Cyrus  strictly  .harged  me  to  admonish 
you,  and  suggest  whatever  I  might  discovei  for  your  good." 
He  then  manifested  his  good  will,  in  giving  this  advice  ;  but 
Cambyses  answered,  "Do  you  presume  to  give  me  advice, 
you,  who  so  wisely  managed  your  own  country  ;  and  so  well 
advised  my  father,  when  you  persuaded  him  to  pass  the 
river  Araxes,  and  advance  against  the  Massagetse,  when  thoy 
were  willing  to  cross  over  into  our  territory  ?  You  have  first 
ruined  yourself  by  badly  governing  your  own  country,  and 
then  ruined  Cyrus,  who  was  persuaded  by  your  advice.  But 
you  shall  have  no  reason  to  rejoice  ;  for  I  have  long  wanted 
to  find  a  pretext  against  you."  So  saying,  he  took  up  his 
bow  for  the  purpose  of  shooting  him  ;  but  Croesus  jumped  up 
and  ran  out.  Cambyses,  when  he  was  unable  to  shoot  him, 
commanded  his  attendants  to  seize  him,  and  put  him  to  death. 
But  the  attendants,  knowing  his  temper,  concealed  Croesus  for 
the  following  reason,  that  if  Cambyses  should  repent,  and  in- 
quire for  Croesus,  they,  by  producing  him,  might  receive  re- 
wards for  preserving  him  alive  ;  or  if  he  should  not  repent, 
or  regret  him,  then  they  would  put  him  to  death.  Not  long 
afterwards  Cambyses  did  regret  Croesus,  and  the  attendants, 
knowing  this,  acquainted  him  that  he  was  still  living  ;  on 
which  Cambyses  said,  "I  am  rejoiced  that  Croesus  is  still 
alive ;  they,  however,  who  saved  him,  shall  not  escape  with 
impunity,  but  I  will  have  them  put  to  death."  And  he  made 
good  his  word. 

37.  He,  then,  committed  many  such  mad  actions,  both 
against  the  Persians  and  his  allies,  while  he  staid  at  Mem- 
phis, both  opening  ancient  sepulchres,  and  examining  the  dead 
bodies ;  he  also  entered  the  temple  of  Vulcan,  and  derided  the 
image,  for  the  image  of  Vulcan  is  very  like  the  Phoenician 
Pataici,  which  the  Phoenicians  place  at  the  prows  of  their  tri- 
remes. For  the  benefit  of  any  one  who  has  not  seen  them,  I 
will  describe  them  ;  it  is  a  representation  of  a  pigmy.  He 
likewise  entered  the  temple  of  the  Cabeiri,  (into  which  it  is 
unlawful  for  any  one  except  the  priest  to  enter,)  and  these 
images  he  burnt,  after  he  had  ridiculed  them  in  various  ways : 
these  also  are  like  that  of  Vulcan  ;  and  they  say  that  they  are 
the  sons  of  this  latter.  38.  It  is  then  in  every  way  clear  to 
me  that  Cambyses  was  outrageously  mad  ;  otherwise  he  would 
not  have  attempted  to  deride  things  sacred  and  established 


39,40.)  THALIA.    III.  187 

customs.  For  if  any  one  should  propose  to  all  men,  to  select 
the  best  institutions  of  all  that  exist,  each,  after  considering 
them  all,  would  choose  their  own  ;  so  certain  is  it  that  each 
thinks  his  own  institutions  by  far  the  best.  It  is  not  there- 
fore probable,  that  any  but  a  madman  would  make  such  things 
the  subject  of  ridicule.  That  all  men  are  of  this  mind  re- 
specting their  own  institutions,  may  be  inferred  from  many 
and  various  proofs,  and  amongst  them  by  the  following.  Da- 
rius having  summoned  some  Greeks  under  his  sway,  who 
were  present,  asked  them  "for  what  sum  they  would  feed 
upon  the  dead  bodies  of  their  parents."  They  answered,  that 
they  would  not  do  it  for  any  sum.  Darius  afterwards  having 
summoned  some  of  the  Indians  called  Callatians,  who  are  ac- 
customed to  eat  their  parents,  asked  them  in  the  presence  of 
the  Greeks,  and  who  were  informed  of  what  was  said  by  an 
interpreter,  "  for  what  sum  they  would  consent  to  burn  their 
fathers  when  they  die  ?"  but  they,  making  loud  exclamations, 
begged  he  would  speak  words  of  good  omen.  Such  then  is 
the  effect  of  custom  :  and  Pindar  appears  to  me  to  have  said 
rightly,  "  That  custom  is  the  king  of  all  men." 

39.  Whilst  Cambyses  was  invading  Egypt,  the  Lacedas- 
monians  made  an  cj^peditwn  against  Samos  and  Polycrates, 
the^ph  of  ^j2Caces,  who  had  made  an  insurrection  and  seized 
on^^mos.  At  first,  havmg  divided  the  state  into  three  parts, 
he'sharecl  it  with  his  brothers  Pantagnotus  and  Syloson  ;  but 
afterwards,  having  put  one  of  them  to  death,  and  expelled 
Syloson,  the  younger,  he  held  the  whole  of  Samos  j  and  hold- 
ing it,  made  a  treaty  of  friendship  with  Amasis  king  of 
Egypt,  sending  presents,  and  receiving  others  from  him  in 
return^^jRi  a  very  short  time  the  power  of  Polycrates  in- 
crease^and  wa's  noised  abroad  throughout  Ionia  and  the  rest 
of  Greece  ;  for  wherever  he  turned  his  arms,  every  thing 
turned  out  prosperously.  He  had  a  hundred  fifty-oared  gal- 
leys, and  a  thousand  archers.  And  he  plundered  all  without 
distinction  ;  for  he  said  that  he  gratified  a  friend  more  by 
restoring  what  he  had  seized,  than  by  taking  nothing  at 
all.  He  accordingly  took  many  of  the  islands,  and  many 
cities  oiTlhTcontinent ;  he  moreover  overcame  in  a  sea-fight, 
and  took  prisoners,  the  Lesbians,  who  came  to  assist  the  Mi- 
l^tans^lth  air  their  forces :  these,  being  put  in  chains,  dug  the 
whole  trench  that  surrounds  the  walls  of  Samosr"  40.  Some* 


188  HERODOTUS  [41, 42. 

how  the  exceeding  good  fortune  of  Polycrates  did  not  escape 
the  notice  of  Amasis,  but  was  the  cause  of  uneasiness  to  him : 
and  when  his  successes  continued  to  increase,  having  written 
a  letter  in  the  following  terms,  he  despatched  it  to  Samos : 
*' Amasis  to  Polycrates  says  thus  :  It  is  pleasant  to  hear  of 
the  successes  of  a  friend  and  ally.  But  your  too  great  good 
fortune  does  not  please  me,  knowing,  as  I  do,  that  the  divinity 
is  jealous.  As  for  me,  I  would  ratlieFchoose  that  bath-t-and- 
tKoseTor  whom  I  am  solicitous,  should  be  partly  successful  in 
our  undertakings,  and  partly  suffer  k-e-rerses  ;  and  so  pass  life, 
meeting  with  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  than  being  prospertmS^h 
all  things.  For  1  cannot  remember  that  I  ever  heard  of  any 
man,  who,  having  been  constantly  successful,  did  not  at  last 
utterly  perish.  Be  advised  therefore  by  me,  and  act  thus 
with  regard  to  your  good  fortune.  Having  considered  what 
you  can  find  that  you  value  most,  and  the  loss  of  which  would 
most  pain  your  soul ;  this  so  cast  away,  that  it  may  never 
more  be  seen  of  man  :  and  if  after  this  successes  are  not 
mingled  interchangeably  with  reverses,  again  have  recourse 
to  the  remedy  I  have  suggested."  41.  Polycrates,  having 
read  this  letter,  and  conceived  that  Amasis  had  given  him 
good  advice,  inquired  of  himself  by  the  loss  of  which  of 
his  valuables  he  should  most  afflict  his  soul ;  and  on  inquiry, 
he  discovered  the  following  :  be  had  a  seal  which  he  wore,  set 
in  gold,  made  of  an  emerald,  and  it  was  the  workmanship  of 
Theodorus,  the  son  of  Telecles,  a  Samian  ;  when  therefore  he 
had  determined  to  cast  this  away,  he  did  as  follows.  Having 
manned  a  fifty-oared  galley,  he  went  on  board  it,  and  then 
ordered  to  put  out  to  sea  ;  and  when  he  was  a  considerable  dis- 
tance from  the  island,  he  took  off  the  seal,  and  in  the  sight  of 
all  on  board,  threw  it  into  the  sea.  This  done,  he  sailed  back 
again  ;  and  having  reached  his  palace,  he  mourned  it  as  a 
great  misfortune.  42.  But  on  the  fifth  or  sixth  day  after  this, 
the  following  circumstance  occurred  :  a  fisherman,  having 
caught  a  large  and  beautiful  fish,  thought  it  a  present  worthy  to 
be  given  to  Polycrates  ;  he  accordingly  carried  it  to  the  gates, 
and  said  that  he  wished  to  be  admitted  to  the  presence  of  Po- 
lycrates ;  and  when  this  was  granted,  he  presented  the  fish, 
and  said,  "  O  king,  having  caught  this,  I  did  not  think  it 
right  to  take  it  to  market,  although  I  get  my  living  by  hard 
labour  ;  but  't  seemed  to  me  worthy  of  you  and  your  em- 


43-46.1  THALIA.     III.  189 

pire :  I  taring  it  therefore,  and  present  it  to  you."  lie, 
pleased  with  these  words,  replied,  "  You  have  done  well,  and 
I  give  you  double  thanks  for  your  speech  and  your  present,  and 
I  invite  you  to  supper."  The  fisherman,  thinking  a  great  deal 
of  this,  went  away  to  his  own  home  ;  but  the  servants,  open- 
ing the  fish,  found  the  seal  of  Poly  crates  in  its  belly  ;  and 
as  soon  as  they  had  seen  it,  and  taken  it  out,  they  carried  it 
with  great  joy  to  Polycrates,  and  as  they  gave  him  the  seal  tliey 
acquainted  him  in  what  manner  it  had  been  found.  But  when 
it  occurred  to  him  that  the  event  was  superhuman,  he  wrote 
an  account  of  what  he  had  done,  and  of  what  had  happened, 
and  having  written,  he  despatched  the  account  t6  Egypt. 
43.  But  Amasis,  having  read  the  letter  that  came  from  Poly- 
crates, felt  persuaded  that  it  was  impossible  for  man  to  rescue 
man  from  the  fate  that  awaited  him,  and  that  Polycrates 
would  not  come  to  a  good  end,  since  he  was  fortunate  in 
every  thing,  and  even  found  what  he  had  thrown  away  ; 
having  therefore  sent  a  herald  to  Samos,  he  said  that  he  must 
renounce  his  friendship.  He  did  this  for  the  following  rea*" 
son,  lest  if  some  dreadful  and  great  calamity  befel  Polycrates, 
he  might  himself  be  grieved  for  him,  as  for  a  friend. 

44.  ^^nin''*'  *^'^'^  Pnlyr»^pt^g^  then,  who  was  so  universally 
prosperous,  the  Lacedaemonian^made.  war,  at  the__solicita- 
tion  of  tlioae  SamTans  who  afterwards  founded  Cydonia  in 
GftepI'  Polycrates,  having  sent  to  Cambyses  the  son  of  Cy- 
rus, as  he  was  collecting  an  army  for  the  invasion  of  Egypt, 
begged  that  he  would  send  to  him  at  Samos  and  demand 
some  troops.  When  Cambyses  heard  this,  he  readily  sent  to 
Samos,  rQc^uesting  Polycrates  to  furnish  a  naval  force  to  at- 
tend him  in  his  invasion  of  Egypt.  Whereupon  he,  having 
selected  those  citizens  whom  he  most  suspected  of  seditious 
designs,  sent  them  away  in  forty  galleys,  enjoining  Cambyses 
not  to  send  them  home  again.  45.  Now,  some  say  that 
these  Samians  who  were  sent  out  by  Polycrates  never  reached 
Egypt,  bujt  when  they  were  off.CMPathius,  they  conferred  to- 
gether and  resolved  to  sail  no  fiirther.  Others  say,  that  hav- 
ing arrived  in  Egypt^  and  finding  themselves  watched,  they 
made  their  escape  from  thence  ;  and  as  they  were  sailing  back 
to  Samos,  Polycrates  met  them  with  a  fleet,  aoi  came  to  an  en* 

*  Ses  chap.  59. 


190  HERODOTUS.  [46, 47 

(gagement ;  and  they  who  were  returning  gaiiied  th_e_yictorj 
and  landed  on  tEe  island,  and  there  having  fougEt  on  land, 
/  they  were  worsted,  and  so  set  sail  for  Lacedaemon.  There  are 
some  who  say  that  the  party  from  Egypt  conquered  Poly- 
crates  ;  in  my  opinion,  giving  an  erroneous  account :  for  there 
would  have  been  no  need  for  their  calling  in  the  Lacedasmoni- 
ans,  if  they  were  themselves  able  to  get  the  better  of  Polycrates. 
Besides,  it  is  not  at  all  probable  that  one  who  had  a  numerous 
body  of  foreign  mercenaries,  and  of  native  archers,  should  be 
beaten  by  the  Samians  who  returned,  who  were  few  in  number. 
Moreover,  Polycrates,  having  shut  up  together  in  the  arsenals 
the  cTiildren  and  wives  of  the  citizens  who  v/ere  subject  to 
him,  had  them  ready  to  burn,  together  wilh  the  arsenals  them- 
selves, in  case  they  should  go  over  to  those  who  were  return- 
ing. 46.  When  the  Samians,  expelled  by  Polycrates,  arrived 
at  Sparta,  liavingj^resented  themselves  be foreTEe"m agi strategy, 
tliey  made  a  long  harangue,  as  people  very  much  in  earnest^ 
But  they,  at  this  first  audience,  answered  them,  that  they  had 
forgotten  the  first  part  of  their  speech,  and  did  not  understand 
the  last.  After  this,  having  presented  themselves  a  second 
time,  they  brought  a  sack,  and  said  nothing  else  than  "  the 
sack  wants  meal ;"  but  the  Lacedcemonians  replied,  tliat  the 
word  "5ac^"  was  superfluous  :  it  was,  however,  decreed  that 
they  should  assist  them.  47.  Then  the  LacedBenioiiianSj  hav-_ 
ing  made  preparations,  set  out  with  an  army  against  Samos  j^ 
as  the  Samians  say,  requiting  a  former  kindness,  because  they 
had  formerly  assisted  them  with  some  ships  against  the  Mes- 
senians  ;  but  as  the  Lacedaemonians  say,  they  undertook  this 
expedition,  not  so  much  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  tlie 
Samians  who  entreated  them,  as  from  a  desire  to  revenge  the 
seizure  of  the  bowP  which  they  sent  to  Croesus,  and  the 
corselet  which  Amasis  king  of  Egypt  had  sent  to  them  as  a 
present ;  for  the  Samians  had  robbed  them  of  the  corselet  the 
year  before  they  took  the  bowl.  This  corselet  was  made  of 
linen,  with  many  figures  of  animals  inwrought,  and  adorned 
with  gold  and  cotton-wool :  and  on  this  account  each  thread 
of  the  corselet  makes  it  worthy  of  admiration  ;  for  though  it 
is  fine,  it  contains  three  hundred  and  sixty  threads,  all  distinct. 
Such  another  is  that  which  Amasis  dedicated  to  Minerva  at 
Lindus.^ 

»  See  Book  I.  ch.  70.  ^  See  Book  II.  ch.  182. 


48—50.^  THALIA     III.  191 

48.  Tl^  Corinthians^eadily  assisted  ^n  abetting  the  expe- 
dition agamsFE^^sT^because  an  injuryliad  Ueeri  also  done~ 
to  them  byTRe  Samians  in  the  age  preceding  this  expedition, 
done  about  the  same  time  as  the  seizure  of  the  bowl.  For 
Periander,  son  of  Cypselus,  had  sent  three  hundred  youths,  of 
the  noblest  families  of  the  Corcyraeans,  to  Alyattes  at  Sardis, 
lor  the  purpose  of  emasculation ;  but  when  the  Corinthians 
who  were  conducting  the  youths  touched  at  Saraos,  the  Sami- 
ans,  having  ascertained  for  what  purpose  they  were  being  con- 
ducted to  Sardis,  first  of  all  instructed  the  youths  to  touch  the 
temple  of  Diana,  and  afterwards  would  not  suffer  the  Corin- 
thians to  remove  the  suppliants  from  the  sanctuary ;  and  when 
the  Corinthians  denied  ike  youths  any  sustenance,  the  Samians 
instituted  a  festival,  which  they  still  observe  in  the  same  way. 
For  when  night  came  on,  as  long  as  the  youths  continued 
suppliants,  they  instituted  choruses  of  virgins  and  young  men, 
and  made  a  law  that  they  should  carry  cakes  of  sesame  and 
honey,  in  order  that  the  Corcyrasan  youths  might  seize  them 
and  have  food.  This  was  continued  until  the  Corinthians, 
who  had  charge  of  the  youths,  went  away  and  left  them  ;  then 
tlie  Samians  sent  home  the  youths  to  Corcyra.  49.  Now  if, 
after  the  death  of  Periander,  the  Corinthians  had  been  on 
friendly  terms  with  the  Corcyraeans,  they  would  not  Imve  as- 
sisted in  the  expedition  against  Samos  for  the  above-mentioned 
cause :  but  in  fact,  from  the  first  colonization  of  the  island, 
they  have  always  been  at  variance  with  one  another  :  for  tliis 
reason,  therefore,  the  Corinthians  remembered  their  grudge 
against  the  Samians.  "But  Periander  had  selected  the  sons  of 
the  CorcyTjsaa  nobles,  and  sent  them  to  Sardis  to  be  emascu- 
lated^Jn^rsxenge  of  an  insult  offered  him  ;  for  the  Corcyraeans 
had  first  committed  an  outrageous  deed  against  him.  50. 
When  Perian3er  had  killed  his  own  wife  Melissa,  it  happened 
that  anothpr  calamity  succeeded  the  former.  He  had  two  sons 
by  Melissa,  one  seventeen,  the  other  eighteen  years  of  age. 
These  their  maternal  grandfather,  Procles,  who  was  tyrant  of 
Epidaurus,  sent  for,  and  treated  affectionately,  as  was  natural, 
they  being  the  sons  of  his  own  daughter.  But  when  he  sent 
them  home,  as  he  escorted  them  on  their  way,  he  said,  "Do  you 
know,  my  sons,  who  killed  your  mother  ?  "  The  elder  of  theip. 
took  no  notice  of  these  words ;  but  the  younger,  whose  name^ 
was  Lycophron,  when  he  heard  ifc,  was  so  grieved  at  hearing 


192  UERODOTUS.  j^Sl,  57. 

this,  that  on  his  return  at  Corinth,  he  neither  addressed  his 
father,  regarding  him  as  the  murderer  of  his  mother,  nor  en- 
tei'ed  into  conversation  with  him,  nor  answered  a  word  to  his 
questions.  At  last  Periander,  being  exceedingly  angry,  drove 
him  from  the  palace.  51.  Having  driven  him  out,  he  inquired 
of  the  elder  one  what  their  grandfather  had  said  to  them.  He 
related  to  him  how  kindly  he  had  received  them  ;  but  he  did 
not  mention  the  words  Procles  said  as  he  was  escorting  them, 
for  he  had  paid  no  attention  to  them.  But  Periander  affirmed 
that  it  was  impossible  but  that  he  had  suggested  something  to 
them  ;  and  he  persevered  in  his  inquiries,  till  the  young  man 
recovered  his  memory,  and  mentioned  this  also.  Periander, 
reflecting  on  this,  and  resolving  not  to  show  any  indulgence, 
sent  a  messenger  to  the  persons  by  whom  the  son  who  was 
driven  out  was  entertained,  and  forbade  them  to  receive  him 
in  their  houses.  But  he,  when  being  driven  out  from  one 
house  he  came  to  another,  was  driven  from  this  also,  since  Pe- 
riander threatened  all  that  received  him,  and  required  them  to 
expel  him.  Being  thus  driven  about,  he  went  to  some  other 
of  his  friends  ;  and  they,  though  in  dread,  yet  received  him  as 
the  son  of  Periander.  52.  At  last  Periander  made  a  pro- 
clamation, that  whoever  should  either  receive  him  in  his  house, 
or  converse  with  him,  should  pay  a  sacred  fine  to  Apollo,  men- 
tioning the  amount.  In  consequence  of  this  proclamation, 
therefore,  no  one  would  either  converse  with  him,  or  receive 
him  into  their  houses  ;  besides  he  himself  did  not  think  it  right 
to  attempt  what  was  forbidden,  but  persisting  in  his  purpose 
strayed  among  the  porticoes.  On  the  fourth  day  Periandei', 
seeing  him  reduced  to  a  state  of  filth  and  starvation,  felt  com- 
passion, and  relaxing  his  anger  approached  him,  and  said, 
*'  My  son,  which  of  these  is  preferable,  your  present  mode  of 
life,  or  by  accommodating  yourself  to  your  father's  wishes,  to 
succeed  to  the  power  and  riches  which  I  now  possess  ?  You, 
who  are  my  son,  and  a  princo  of  wealthy  Corinth,  have  chosen 
a  vagabond  life,  by  opposing  and  showing  anger  towards  him, 
whom,  least  of  all,  you  ought  so  to  treat.  For  if  any  calamity 
has  occurred  in  our  family  on  account  of  which  you  have  con- 
ceived any  suspicion  of  me,  it  has  fallen  upon  me,  and  I  bear 
the  chief  burden  of  it,  inasmuch  as  I  murdered  her.  Dc  you, 
therefore,  having  learnt  how  much  bettor  it  is  to  be  envied  than 
pitied,  fkud  at  the  sam@  time  what  it  is  %o  bd  aogry  with  parents 


53.]  THALIA.     IH.  198 

and  superiors,  return  to  your  home."  With  these  words 
Periander  endeavoured  to  restrain  him.  He,  however,  gave 
his  father  no  other  answer,  but  said,  that  he  had  made  hims-elf 
liable  to  pay  the  sacred  fine  to  the  god,  by  having  spoken  to 
him.  Periander  therefore  perceiving  that  the  distemper  of 
his  son  was  impracticable  and  invincible,  put  him  on  board  a 
ship,  and  sent  him  out  of  his  sight  to  Corcyra,  for  he  was  also 
master  of  that  island.  Periander  having  sent  him  away, 
made  war  on  his  father-in-law,  Procles,  as  being  the  principal 
author  of  the  present  troubles ;  and  he  took  Epidaurus,  and 
took  Procles  himself  and  kept  him  prisoner.  53.  But  when, 
in  lapse  of  time,  Periander  grew  old,  and  became  conscious 
that  he  was  no  longer  able  to  superintend  and  manage 
public  affairs,  having  sent  to  Corcyra,  he  recalled  Lycophron 
to  assume  the  government,  for  he  did  not  perceive  in  his 
eldest  son  any  capacity  for  government^  but  he  appeared  to 
him  dull  of  intellect.  But  Lycophron  did  not  deign  to  give 
an  answer  to  the  bearer  of  the  message.  Nevertheless  Peri- 
ander, having  a  strong  affection  for  the  youth,  next  sent  to 
him  his  sister,  who  was  his  own  daughter,  thinking  she  would 
be  most  likely  to  persuade  him.  On  her  arrival  she  thus  ad- 
dressed him:  "Brother,  would  you  that  the  government 
should  pass  to  others,  and  that  your  father's  family  should  be 
utterly  destroyed,  rather  than  yourself  return  and  possess  it  ? 
Come  home,  then,  and  cease  to  punish  yourself  Obstinacy  is  a 
sorry  possession  :  think  not  to  cure  ope  evil  by  another.  Many 
have  preferred  equity  to  strict  justice;  and  many,  ere  this,  in 
seeking  their  mother's  rights  have  lost  their  father's  inherit- 
ance. A  kingdom  is  an  uncertain  possession,  and  many  are 
suitors  for  it.  He  is  now  old,  and  past  the  vigour  of  life.  Do 
not  give  your  own  to  others.'*  Thus  she,  having  been  in- 
structed by  her  father,  said  what  was  most  likely  to  persuade 
him.  But  he  in  answer  said,  that  he  would  never  return  to 
Corinth  so  long  as  he  should  hear  his  father  was  living.  When 
she  brought  back  this  answer,  Periander  sent  a  third  time  by  a 
herald  to  say^  that  he  himself  intended  to  go  to  Corcyra ;  and 
urged  him  to  return  to  Corinth  and  become  his  successor  in 
the  kingdom.  The  son  consenting  to  this  proposal,  Periander 
prepared  to  set  out  for  Corcyra,  and  his  son  for  Corinth ;  but 

*  After  ivedpaf  rh  eluai  dvvarhu  rii  irpdyixara  ii4ir€iv,  must  bo  sup- 
plied to  complete  the  seutcncc. 

o 


194  HERODOTUS  [H—51: 

the  Corcyrasans  being  informed  of  each  particular,  in  order 
that  Periander  might  not  come  to  their  country,  killed  the 
young  man :  and  in  return  for  tliis,  Periander  took  vengeance 
on  Hie  Corcyra^ans. 

54.  The  Lacedcemonians,  arriving  with  a  great  armament, 
besieged  Samos,  and  having  attacked  the  Tortifications,  they  had 
passed  beyond  the  tower  that  faced  tlie  sea  near  the  suburbs ; 
but  afterwards,  when  Polycrates  himself  advanced  with  a  large 
Ibrce,  they  were  driven  back.  Immediately  after,  the  auxiliaries 
and  many  of  the  Samians  poured  down  from  the  upper  tower, 
which  stands  on  the  ridge  of  the  mountain  ;  and  having  with- 
stood the  Lacedaemonians  for  a  short  time,  they  fled  back 
again,  and  the  enemy  pursued  them  with  great  slaughter. 
65.  Now,  if  all  the  Lacedaemonians  who  were  present  on  that 
day  had  behaved  as  well  as  Archias  and  Lycopas,  Samos 
would  have  been  taken.  For  Archias  and  Lycopas  alone 
rushing  on  with  the  Samians  as  they  fled  to  the  wall,  and  be- 
ing shut  out  from  retreat,  died  in  the  city  of  the  Samians. 
Another  Archias,  the  son  of  Samius,  son  of  Archias,  the  third 
in  descent  from  this  Archias,  I  myself  met  with  in  Pitane,  for 
he  was  of  that  tribe.  He  esteemed  the  Samians  above  all 
other  strangers,  and  said,  that  the  surname  of  Samian  was 
given  to  his  father,  because  he  was  son  to  that  Archias  who 
fell  so  gloriously  at  Samos  ;  and  he  said  that  he  honoured  the 
Samians,  because  his  grandfather  had  been  buried  by  them  at 
the  public  charge.  56.  The  Lacedaemonians,  after  forty  days 
had  been  spent  in  besieging  Samos,  finding  their  affairs  were 
not  at  all  advanced,  returned  to  Peloponnesus  ;  though  a  ground- 
less report  has  gone  abroad,  for  it  is  said  that  Polycrates, 
having  coined  a  large  quantity  of  the  country  money  in  lead, 
had  it  gilt  and  gave  it  to  them  ;  and  that  they,  having  received 
it,  thereupon  took  their  departure.  This  was  the  first  ex- 
pedition that  the  Lacedaemonian  Dorians  undertook  against 
Asia. 

57.  Those  of  the  Samians  who  had  fomented  tlie  war 
against  Polycrates,  when  the  Lacedtemonians  were  about  to 
abandon  them,  set  sail  for  Siphnus,  for  they  were  in  want  of 
money.  The  affairs  of  the  Siphnians  were  at  that  time  in  a 
flourishing  condition,  and  they  were  the  richest  of  all  the 
islanders,  having  in  the  island  gold  and  silver  mines,  so  that 
"from  the  tenth  of  the  money  accruing  from  thence,  a  trea.sure 


5b    66.^  tHALIA.    m.  195 

is  laid  up  at  Delphi  equal  to  the  richest ;  and  they  used  every 
year  to  divide  the  riches  that  accrued yVow  the  mines.  When^ 
therefore,  they  established  this  treasure,  they  consulted  the 
oracle,  whether  tlieir  present  prosperity  should  continue  with 
them  for  a  long  time  ;  but  the  Pythian  answered  as  follows  : 
"When  the  Prytaneum  in  Siphnus  shall  be  white,  and  the 
market  white-fronted,  then  there  is  need  of  a  prudent  man 
to  guard  against  a  wooden  ambush  and  a  crimson  herald.** 
The  market  and  Prytaneum  of  the  Siphnians  were  then 
adorned  with  Parian  marble.  58.  This  response  they  were 
unable  to  comprehend,  either  then  on  the  moment,  or  when 
the  Samians  arrived.  For  as  soon  as  the  Samians  reached 
Siphnus,  they  sent  one  of  their  ships  conveying  ambassadors 
to  the  city.  Formerly,  all  ships  were  painted  red.  And  this 
it  was  that  the  Pythian  forewarned  the  Siphnians,  bidding 
them  beware  of  a  wooden  ambush  and  a  crimson  herald.  These 
ambassadors  then,  having  arrived,  requested  the  Siphnians  to 
lend  them  ten  talants  ;  but  when  the  Siphnians  refused  the  loan, 
the  Samians  ravaged  their  territory.  But  the  Siphnians  having 
heard  of  it,  came  out  to  protect  their  property,  and  having 
engaged  were  beaten,  and  many  of  them  were  cut  off  from  the 
city  by  the  Samians ;  and  they  afterwards  exacted  from  them 
a  hundred  talents.  59.  From  the  Hermionians  they  received 
an  island  instead  of  money,  Thyrea,  near  Peloponnesus,  and 
gave  it  in  charge  to  the  Trojzenians ;  and  they  themselves 
founded  Cydonia  in  Crete ;  though  they  did  not  sail  thitiier 
for  that  purpose,  but  to  expel  the  Zacynthians  from  the  island. 
They  continued  in  this  settlement,  and  were  prosperous  for 
five  years ;  so  much  so  that  these  are  the  people  who  erected 
tlie  sacred  precincts  that  are  now  in  Cydonia,  and  the  temple 
of  Dictynna.  But  in  the  sixth  year  the  JEgineta?,  having 
vanquished  them  in  a  sea-fight,  reduced  them  to  slavery,  to- 
gether with  the  Cretans  ;  and  they  cut  off  the  prows  of  their 
ships,  which  represented  the  figure  of  a  boar,  and  dedicatt:(l 
them  in  the  temple  of  Minerva,  in  JEgina.  The  JEginetaa 
id  this  on  account  of  a  grudge  they  bore  the  Samians ;  for 
brmer  Samians,  when  Amphicrates  reigned  in  Samos,  having 
made  war  against  ^gina,  did  the  -^ginetse  much  mischief, 
and  suffered  in  return.     This,  then,  was  the  cause. 

60.  I  have  dwelt  longer  on  the  affairs  of  the  Samians,  be- 
^-Qause  they  have  three  works  the  greatest  that  havo  been  ac- 

o  2 


196  HERODOTUS.  f61, 61 

complished  by  all  the  Greeks.  The  first  is  of  a  mountain, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  orgyae  in  height ;  in  this  is  dug  a  tunnel, 
beginning  from  the  base,  with  an  opening  at  each  side.  The 
length  of  the  excavation  is  seven  stades,  and  the  height  and 
breadth  eight  feet  each ;  through  the  whole  length  of  it  is  dug 
another  excavation  twenty  cubits  deep,  and  three  feet  broad, 
through  which  the  water  conveyed  by  pipes  reaches  the  city, 
drawn  from  a  copious  fountain.  The  architect  of  this  excava- 
tion was  a  Megarian,  Eupalinus,  son  of  Naustrophus.  This, 
then,  is  one  of  the  three.  The  second  is  a  mound  in  the  sea 
round  the  harbour,  in  depth  about  one  hundred  orgyae ;  and 
the  length  of  the  mound  is  more  than  two  stades.  The  third 
work  of  theirs  is  a  temple,  the  largest  of  all  we  have  ever 
seen ;  of  this,  the  first  architect  was  Rhoecus,  son  of  Phileus, 
a  native.  On  account  of  these  things  I  have  dwelt  longer  on 
the  affairs  of  the  Samians. 

61.  While  Carabyses,  son  of  Cyrus,  tarried  in  Egypt,  and 
was  acting  madly,  two  magi,  who  were  brothers,  revolted. 
One  of  these,  Cambyses  had  left  steward  of  his  palace.  He 
accordingly  revolted,  having  been  informed  of  the  death  oi 
Smerdis,  and  that  it  was  kept  secret,  and  that  there  were  few 
of  the  Persians  who  were  acquainted  with  it,  for  the  general- 
ity thought  him  still  alive.  Therefore,  having  formed  the 
following  design,  he  determined  to  make  an  attempt  on  the 
throne.  He  had  a  brother,  who,  I  have  said,  joined  him  in 
the  revolt,  in  person  very  like  Smerdis,  son  of  Cyrus,  whom 
Cambyses,  although  he  was  his  own  brother,  bad  put  to 
death.  The  magus  Patizithes,  having  persuaded  this  man 
that  he  would  manage  every  thing  for  him,  set  him  on  the 
throne  ;  and  having  done  this,  he  sent  heralds  in  various  di- 
rections, and  particularly  to  Egypt,  to  proclaim  to  the  army, 
that  they  must  in  future  obey  Smerdis,  son  of  Cyrus,  and  not 
Cambyses.  62.  The  other  heralds,  therefore,  maHe  this  pro- 
clamation ;  and  he,  moreover,  who  was  appointed  to  Egypt, 
finding  Cambyses  and  his  army  at  Ecbatana  in  Syria,  stand- 
ing in  the  midst,  proclaimed  what  had  been  ordered  by  the 
magus.  Cambyses  having  heard  this  from  the  herald,  and 
believing  that  he  spoke  the  truth,  and  that  he  had  himself 
been  betrayed  by  Prexaspes,  (for  that  he,  when  sent  to  kill 
Smerdis,  had  not  done  so,)  looked  towards  Prexaspes,  and 
said, "  Prexaspes,  hast  thou  thus  performed  the  business  I  en- 


158,64.]  THALIA.    III.  197 

joined  thee  ?"  But  ne  answered,  "Sir,  it  is  not  true  that youi 
brother  Smerdis  has  revolted  against  you,  nor  that  you  can 
have  any  quarrel,  great  or  small,  with  him.  For  I  myself  put 
your  order  in  execution,  and  buried  him  with  my  own  hands. 
If,  however,  the  dead  rise  again,  expect  that  Astyages  the 
Mede  will  rise  uf)  against  you.  But  if  it  is  now  as  formerly, 
nothing  new  can  spring  up  to  you  from  him.  It  appears  to 
me,  however,  that  we  should  pursue  the  herald,  and  find  out 
by  inquiry  from  whom  he  comes  to  proclaim  to  us  that  we 
are  to  obey  king  Smerdis."  63.  When  Prexaspes  had  spoken 
thus,  as  the  advice  was  approved  by  Cambyses,  the  herald 
was  immediately  pursued,  and  brought  back.  When  he 
arrived,  Prexaspes  questioned  him  as  follows  :  "Friend,  since 
you  say  that  you  come  as  the  messenger  of  Smerdis,  son  of 
Cyrus,  now  speak  the  truth,  and  depart  in  peace.  Whether 
did  Smerdis  himself  appear  in  person  before  you,  and  give 
these  orders,  or  some  one  of  his  ministers  ?  "  He  answered, 
"  I  have  not  so  much  as  seen  Smerdis,  son  of  Cyrus,  since 
king  Cambyses  marched  for  Egypt  ;  but  the  magus  whom 
Cambyses  appointed  steward  of  his  palace  gave  me  these 
orders,  saying  that  Smerdis,  son  of  Cyrus,  was  the  person 
who  charged  me  to  deliver  this  message  to  you."  Thus  tlie 
man  spoke  without  adding  any  untruth.  But  Cambyses  said, 
"  Prexaspes,  you,  like  a  faithful  man,  having  executed  your 
instructions,  have  escaped  all  blame :  but  what  Persian  can 
this  be,  who  has  revolted  against  me,  usurping  the  name  of 
Smerdis  ? "  He  replied,  "  I  think  I  understand  the  whole 
matter,  O  king  :  the  magi  are  the  persons  who  have  revolted 
against  you,  Patizithes,  whom  you  left  steward  of  the  palace, 
and  his  brother  Smerdis."  64.  When  Cambyses  heard  the 
name  of  Smerdis,  the  truth  of  this  account  and  of  the  dream  ^ 
struck  him  :  for  he  fancied  in  his  sleep  that  some  one  an- 
nounced to  him  that  Smerdis,  seated  on  the  royal  throne, 
touched  the  /jeavens  with  his  head.  Perceiving,  therefore, 
that  he  haJ  destroyed  his  brother  without  a  cause,  he  wept 
for  Smerdis  ;  and  after  he  had  lamented  him,  and  bitterly  de- 
plored the  whole  calamity,  he  leapt  upon  his  horse,  resolving 
with  all  speed  to  march  to  Susa  against  the  magus.  But 
as  he  was  leaping  on  his  horse,  the  chape  of  his  sword's 
scabbard  fell  off,  and  the  blade,  being  laid  bare,  struck  the 
'  See  chap.  30 


199  HERODOTUS  fdU. 

thigh  ;  being  wounded  in  that  part  where  he  himself  had  for- 
merly smitten  the  Egyptian  god  Apis  Cambyses,  when  he 
thought  that  he  was  mortally  wounded,  asked  what  was  the 
name  of  the  city.  They  said  it  was  Ecbatana.  And  it  had 
been  before  prophesied  to  him  from  the  city  of  Buto,  that  he 
should  end  his  life  in  Ecbatana.  He  therefore  imagined  he 
should  die  an  old  man  in  Ecbatana  of  Media,  where  all  his 
treasures  were  ;  but  the  oracle  in  truth  meant,  in  Ecbatana  of 
Syria.  When  he  had  thus  been  informed,  on  inquiry,  of  the 
name  of  the  city,  though  smitten  by  his  misfortune,  as  well 
that  proceeding  from  the  magus  as  from  the  wound,  he  re- 
turned to  his  right  mind ;  and  comprehending  the  oracle,  said, 
"  Here  it  is  fated  that  Cambyses,  son  of  Cyrus,  should  die." 
65.  So  much  he  said  at  that  time  ;  but  about  twenty  days 
after,  having  summoned  the  principal  men  of  the  Persians 
wlio  were  with  him,  he  addressed  them  as  follows  :  "I  am 
constrained  to  disclose  to  you  a  matter,  which  above  all  others 
I  desired  to  conceal.  When  I  was  in  Egypt  I  saw  a  vision  in 
my  sleep,  which  I  wish  I  had  never  seen.  I  thought  that  a 
messenger  arrived  from  my  palace  and  announced  to  me  that 
Smerdis,  seated  on  the  royal  throne,  touched  the  heavens  with 
his  head.  Fearing  lest  I  should  be  deprived  of  my  kingdom 
by  my  brother,  I  acted  with  more  precipitation  than  wisdom  ; 
for  in  truth  it  belongs  not  to  human  nature  to  avert  what  is 
destined  to  happen.  But  I  foolishly  sent  Prexaspes  to  Susa 
to  put  Smerdis  to  death  :  since  that  crime  was  perpetrated  I 
have  lived  in  security,  never  considering  whether,  now 
that  Smerdis  was  removed,  some  other  mortal  might  not  rise 
up  against  me.  But  utterly  mistaking  what  was  about  to 
happen,  I  became  a  fratricide  to  no  purpose,  and  am  never- 
theless deprived  of  my  kingdom.  For  Smerdis  the  magus 
was  the  person  whom  the  deity  forewarned  me  in  the  vision 
would  rise  up  against  me.  The  deed,  then,  has  been  perpe- 
trated by  me ;  consider,  therefore,  that  Smerdis,  son  of 
Cyrus,  is  no  more  ;  but  the  magi  have  possessed  them- 
selves of  the  throne,  he  whom  I  left  steward  of  my  palace 
and  his  brother  Smerdis.  Now,  he,  who  of  right  should  have 
revenged  the  indignity  I  suffer  from  the  magi,  has  perished 
impiously  by  the  hand  of  his  nearest  relation.  Since,  therefore, 
he  is  no  more,  in  the  next  place,  of  the  other  injunctions  that 
I  have  to  lay  upon  you,  O  Persians,  the  most  necessary  is,  to 


66-68.]  THALIA.     III.  1C9 

let  you  Know  what  ^  would  have  you  do  after  my  death.  I 
therefore,  in  tlie  name  of  the  gods  who  protect  tlie  throne, 
charge  you,  and  all  of  you,  especially  those  of  the  Achaemeni- 
dae  who  are  present,  never  to  permit  the  government  to  re- 
turn into  the  hands  of  the  Medes  :  and  if  they  have  possessed 
themselves  of  it  by  craft,  by  craft  be  it  recovered  by  you  ;  or 
if  they  accomplish  it  by  force,  by  force  to  the  utmost  win  it 
back  again.  And  if  you  do  thus,  may  the  earth  bring  forth  her 
increase ;  may  your  wives  and  your  flocks  be  fruitful,  and  you 
remain  for  ever  free.  But  if  you  do  not  win  back,  nor  attempt 
to  win  back  the  sovereign  power,  I  imprecate  upon  you  the  con- 
trary of  all  these  things :  and  moreover,  may  such  an  end  befal 
eveiy  Persian  as  has  befallen  me."  When  Cambyses  had  spoken 
thus,  he  deplored  his  whole  fortunes.  66.  The  Persians,  when 
they  saw  their  king  weep,  all  rent  the  garments  they  had  on,  and 
gave  themselves  to  abundant  lamentation.  But  afterwards, 
when  the  bone  became  infected  and  the  thigh  mortified,  it  car- 
ried off  Cambyses,  son  of  Cyrus,  after  he  had  reigned  in  all 
seven  years  and  five  months,  having  never  had  any  children, 
either  male  or  female.  Great  incredulity  stole  over  the  Persians 
who  were  present,  as  to  the  stori/ that  the  magi  had  possession  of 
the  government ;  but  they  thought  that  Cambyses  said  what  he 
did  calumniously,  respecting  the  death  of  Smerdis,  in  order 
tliat  the  whole  Persian  nation  might  be  made  hostile  to  him. 
They  therefore  believed  that  Smerdis,  son  of  Cyrus,  had  risen 
up  and  seized  the  kingdom  :  Prexaspes,  moreover,  vehement- 
ly denied  that  he  had  killed  Smerdis  ;  for  it  was  not  safe  for 
him,  now  that  Cambyses  was  dead,  to  own  that  he  had  killed 
the  son  of  Cyrus  with  his  own  hand. 

67.  Accordingly,  the  magus,  after  the  death  of  Cambyses, 
relying  on  his  having  the  same  name  as  Smerdis  the  son  of 
Cyrus,  reigned  securely  during  the  seven  months  that  remaiur 
ed  to  complete  the  eighth  year  of  Cambyses ;  in  which  time 
lie  treated  all  his  subjects  with  such  beneficence,  that  at  his 
death,  all  the  people  of  Asia,  except  the  Persians,  regretted 
his  loss.  For  the  magus,  having  despatched  messengers  to 
every  nation  he  ruled  over,  proclaimed  a  general  exemption 
from  military  service  and  tribute  for  the  space  of  three  years  : 
and  he  made  this  proclamation  immediately  on  assuming  the 
sovereignty.     68    But  in  the  eighth  month  he  was  discovered 


2()0  HERODOTUS.  [9». 

in  the  following  manner.  Otanes^  son  of  Pharnaspes,  was 
by  birth  and  fortune  equal  to  the  first  of  the  Persians. 
This  Otanes  first  suspected  the  magus  not  to  be  Smerdis 
the  son  of  Cyrus,  but  the  person  who  he  really  was  ; 
forming  his  conjecture  from  this  circumstance,  that  he  never 
went  out  of  the  citadel,  and  that  he  never  summoned  any  of 
the  principal  men  of  Persia  to  his  presence.  Having  con- 
ceived suspicion  of  him,  he  contrived  the  following  artifice. 
Cambyses  had  married  his  daughter,  whose  name  was  Phoe- 
dyma ;  the  magus  therefore  had  her  as  his  wife,  and  cohabited 
with  her,  as  well  as  with  all  the  rest  of  the  wives  of  Cam- 
bysea.  Otanes  therefore,  sending  to  this  daughter,  inquired 
with  what  man  she  lay,  whether  with  Smerdis  son  of  Cyrus, 
or  some  other  person  :  she  sent  back  word  to  him,  saying,  that 
she  did  not  know,  for  that  she  had  never  seen  Smerdis  son  of 
Cyrus,  nor  knew  who  it  was  that  cohabited  with  her.  Otanes 
sent  a  second  time,  saying,  "  If  you  do  not  yourself  know 
Smerdis  son  of  Cyrus,  then  inquire  of  Atossa  who  this 
man  is,  with  whom  she  as  well  as  you  cohabits,  for  she  must 
of  necessity  know  her  own  brother."  To  this  his  daughter 
replied,  "  I  can  neither  have  any  conversation  with  Atossa, 
nor  see  any  of  the  women  who  used  to  live  with  me ;  for  as 
soon  as  this  man,  whoever  he  is,  succeeded  to  the  throne,  he 
dispersed  us  all,  assigning  us  separate  apartments."  69.  When 
Otanes  heard  this,  the  matter  appeared  much  more  plain ; 
and  he  sent  a  third  message  to  her  in  these  words  :  "  Daughter, 
it  becomes  you,  being  of  noble  birth,  to  undertake  any  peril 
that  your  father  may  require  you  to  incur.  For  if  this 
Smerdis  is  not  the  son  of  Cyrus,  but  the  person  whom  I  sus- 
pect, it  is  not  fit  that  he,  lying  with  you  and  possessing  the 
empire  of  the  Persians,  should  escape  with  impunity,  but  suf'^ 
fer  the  punishment  due  to  his  offences.  Now  therefore 
follow  my  directions  :  when  he  sleeps  with  you,  and  you  know 
him  to  be  sound  asleep,  touch  his  ears  ;  and  if  you  find  he  has 
ears,  be  assured  that  you  cohabit  with  Smerdis  son  of  Cyrus  ; 
but  if  he  has  none,  with  Smerdis  the  magus."  To  this 
message  Phaedyma  answered,  saying,  "  that  she  should  incur 
very  great  danger  by  doing  so  ;  for  if  he  had  no  ears,  and  she 
should  be  discovej'ed  touching  him,  she  well  knew  that  he 
would  put  her  to  death     nevertheless  she  would  make  tlw 


I 


.7t),7!.J  niAIJA.    ITI  ^?W 

attempt."  She  accordingly  promised  to  accomplish  this  for 
her  father.  Now  Cyrus,  son  of  Cambyses,  during  his  reign, 
had  cut  off  the  ears  of  this  Smerdis,  the  magus,  for  some  grave 
offence.  This  Phgedyma,  daughter  of  Otanes,  therefore,  de- 
termining to  execute  all  that  she  had  promised  her  father, 
when  her  turn  came  to  approach  the  magus,  (for  in  Persia  the 
wives  visit  their  husbands  in  regular  succession,)  went  and 
slept  with  him  :  and  when  the  magus  was  sound  asleep,  she 
felt  for  his  ears,  and  perceiving  without  any  difficulty  that  the 
man  had  no  ears,  as  soon  as  it  was  day,  she  sent  and  made 
known  to  her  father  what  the  case  was. 

70.  Thereupon  Otanes,  having  taken  with  him  Aspa- 
tliines  and  Gobryas,  who  were  the  noblest  of  the  Persians,  and 
persons  on  whom  he  could  best  rely,  related  to  them  the  whole 
affair :  they  too  had  themselves  suspected  that  the  case  was 
80 ;  and  when  Otanes  had  adduced  his  reasons,  they  admitted 
their  force  ;  and  they  agreed  that  each  should  associate  with 
himself  a  Persian  in  whom  he  could  place  most  relianof. 
Otanes  accordingly  introduced  Intaphernes  ;  Gobryas,  Mega- 
byzus ;  and  Aspathines,  Hydarnes.  The^e  six  being  associ- 
ated, Darius  son  of  Hystaspes  arrived  at  Susa  from  Persia, 
where  his  father  was  governor.  When  therefore  he  arrived, 
the  six  Persians  determined  to  admit  Darius  to  the  confederacy. 
71.  These  seven  having  met,  exchanged  pledges  with  each 
other  and  conferred  together.  When  it  came  to  the  turn  of 
Darius  to  declare  his  opinion,  he  addressed  them  as  follows : 
"  I  thought  that  I  was  the  only  person  who  knew  that  it  was 
the  magus  who  reigns,  and  that  Smerdis  son  of  Cyrus  is  dead  ; 
and  for  this  very  reason  I  hastened  hither  in  order  to  contrive 
the  death  of  the  magus.  But  since  it  proves  that  you  also  are 
acquainted  with  the  fact,  and  not  I  only,  it  appears  to  me  that 
we  should  act  immediately,  and  not  put  it  off;  for  that  would 
be  of  no  advantage."  Otanes  said  to  this,  "  Son  of  Hystas- 
pes, you  are  born  of  a  noble  father,  and  show  yourself  not  at 
all  inferior  to  him ;  do  not  however  so  inconsiderately  hasten 
this  enterprise,  but  set  about  it  with  more  caution  :  for  we 
must  increase  our  numbers,  and  then  attempt  it."  Darius  re- 
plied to  this,  "Be  assured,  ye  men  who  are  here  piesent,  if 
you  adopt  the  plan  proposed  by  Otanes,  you  will  all  miserably 
perish :  for  some  one  will  discover  it  to  the  magus,  consulting 


902  HERODOTUS  [72, 73. 

his  own  private  advantage :  and  indeed  you  ought  to  have 
carried  out  your  project  immediately,  without  communicating 
it  to  any  one  else  ;*  but  since  you  have  thought  fit  to  refer  it 
to  others,  and  ye  have  disclosed  it  to  me,  let  us  carry  it  out 
this  very  day,  or  be  assured,  that  if  this  day  passes  over,  no 
one  shall  be  beforehand  with  me  and  become  my  accuser,  but 
I  myself  will  denounce  you  to  the  magus."  72.  Otanes,  see- 
ing Darius  so  eager,  replied,  "  Since  you  compel  us  to  pre- 
cipitate our  enterprise,  and  will  not  permit  us  to  defer  it, 
come,  do  you  tell  us  in  what  way  we  are  to  enter  the  palace 
and  attack  them  ;  for  you  yourself  know,  if  not  having  seen 
them,  yet  surely  by  report,  that  guards  are  stationed  at  inter- 
vals ;  and  how  shall  we  pass  them  ? "  Darius  answered 
Otanes,  "There  are  many  things  that  cannot  be  made  clear  by 
words,  but  may  by  action  :  and  there  are  other  things  that 
seem  practicable  in  description,  but  no  signal  effect  proceeds 
from  them.  Be  assured  that  the  guards  stationed  there  will  not 
be  at  all  difficult  to  pass  by  :  for  in  the  first  place,  seeing  our 
rank,  there  is  no  one  who  will  not  allow  us  to  pass,  partly 
from  respect,  and  partly  from  fear  ;  and  in  the  next  place,  I 
have  a  most  specious  pretext  by  which  we  sliall  gain  admis- 
sion, for  I  will  say  that  I  am  just  arrived  from  Persia,  and 
wish  to  report  a  message  to  the  king  from  my  father.  For 
when  a  lie  must  be  told,  let  it  be  told  :  for  we  all  aim  at  the 
same  ends,  both  they  who  tell  lies,  and  they  wlio  keep  to  the 
truth.  Some  tell  lies  when,  by  persuading  with  falsehoods, 
they  are  likely  to  gain  some  advantage  ;  whilst  others  speak  the 
truth,  in  order  that,  by  the  truth,  tliey  may  acquire  some  ad- 
vantage, and  something  further  may  be  intrusted  to  them :  thus 
by  different  processes  we  aim  at  the  same  end.  But  if  nothing 
were  likely  to  be  gained,  as  well  he  who  speaks  truth  would  lie, 
and  he  who  lies  would  speak  truth.  "Whoever  of  the  doorkeep- 
ers, therefore,  shall  willingly  let  us  pass,  shall  be  rewarded  in 
due  time ;  but  whoever  offers  to  oppose  us  must  instantly  be 
treated  as  an  enemy ;  and  when  we  have  forced  our  passage,  we 
must  accomplish  our  work."  73.  After  this  Gobryas  said : 
"  Friends,  shall  we  ever  have  a  better  opportunity  to  recover 
the  sovereign  power,  or  if  we  shall  be  unable  to  do  so,  to  die  ? 

*  More  literally,  "deliberating  upon  it  by  yourselves,"  or  "having 
kept  your  own  counsel," 


74,75.]  THALIA.     III.  208 

seeing  we  who  are  Persians,  are  governed  by  a  Medic  magus, 
and  one  without  ears.  Those  among  you  who  were  present 
with  Cambyses  when  he  lay  sick,  well  remember  the  impreca- 
tions he  uttered  at  the  point  of  death  against  the  Persians,  if 
they  should  not  attempt  to  repossess  themselves  of  the  sove- 
reign power  :  we  did  not  then  believe  his  story,  but  thought 
that  Cambyses  spoke  from  ill-will.  I  therefore  give  my  voice 
that  we  yield  to  Darius,  and  that  on  breaking  up  this  confer- 
ence we  go  no  where  else  than  direct  to  the  magus."  Thus 
spoke  Gobryas,  and  all  assented  to  his  proposal. 

74.  "Whilst  they  were  deliberating  on  these  things,  the  fol- 
lowing events  happened  to  take  place.  The  magi,  on  consult- 
ation, determined  to  make  Prexaspes  their  friend  ;  both  be- 
cause he  had  suffered  grievous  wrong  from  Cambyses,  who 
shot  his  son  dead  with  an  arrow ;  and  because  he  alone  of  all 
the  Persians  knew  of  the  death  of  Smerdis,  son  of  Cyrus, 
having  despatched  him  with  his  own  hand ;  and  moreover,  be- 
cause Prexaspes  was  in  high  repute  with  the  Persians.  For 
these  reasons,  therefore,  having  sent  for  Prexaspes,  they  en- 
deavoured to  win  his  friendship,  binding  him  by  pledges  and 
oaths,  that  he  would  keep  to  himself,  and  never  divulge  to  any 
man,  the  cheat  they  had  put  upon  the  Persians,  assuring  him 
that  they  would  give  him  every  thing  in  abundance.  AVhen 
Prexaspes  had  promised  that  he  would  do  as  the  magi  per- 
suaded him,  they  made  a  second  proposal,  saying,  that  they 
would  assemble  all  the  Persians  under  the  walls  of  the  palace, 
and  desired  that  he  would  ascend  a  tower,  and  harangue  them, 
assuring  them  that  they  were  governed  by  Smerdis  son  of 
Cyrus,  and  by  no  one  else.  This  they  enjoined  him,  as  being 
a  man  most  trusted  by  the  Persians,  and  as  having  frequently 
affirmed  his  belief,  that  Smerdis  son  of  Cyrus  was  still  living, 
and  having  utterly  denied  his  murder.  75.  When  Prexaspes 
said  that  he  was  ready  to  do  that  also,  the  magi,  having 
convoked  the  Persians,  placed  him  on  the  top  of  a  turret, 
and  commanded  him  to  harangue  tlie  people.  But  he  pur- 
posely forgot  what  they  desired  him  to  say,  and,  beginning  | 
from  Achaemenes,  described  the  genealogy  of  Cyrus's  family  ;  \W 
and  afterwards,  when  he  came  down  to  him,  he  ended  by  tell-  ^ 
ing  them  what  great  benefits  Cyrus  had  done  the  Persians  : 
and  having  gone  through  these,  he  declared  the  whole  truth, 
Baying,  that  he  bad  before  concealed  it,  as  it  was  not  safe  for 


204  HERODOTUS.  176— 7» 

him  to  tell  what  had  happened;  but  that  in  the  present 
emergency,  necessity  constrained  him  to  make  it  known.  He 
accordingly  told  them  that  he,  being  compelled  by  Cambyses, 
had  put  Smerdis,  son  of  Cyrus,  to  death,  and  that  the  magi 
then  reigned.  After  he  had  uttered  many  imprecations  against 
the  Persians,  if  they  should  not  recover  back  the  sovereign 
power,  and  punish  the  magi,  he  threw  himself  headlong  from 
the  tower.  Thus  died  Prexaspes,  a  man  highly  esteemed 
during  the  course  of  his  whole  life. 

76.  The  seven  Persians,  having  resolved  to  attack  the  magi 
without  delay,  set  out  after  they  had  offered  prayers  to  the 
gods  ;  and  while  they  were  in  the  midst  of  their  way  they  were 
informed  of  all  that  had  occurred  with  respect  to  Prexaspes  ; 
whereupon,  standing  aside  out  of  the  way,  they  again  con- 
ferred together;  and  some  with  Otanes  strongly  advised  to 
defer  the  enterprise,  and  not  to  attempt  it  while  affairs  were 
in  such  a  ferment ;  but  others,  with  Darius,  urged  to  proceed 
at  once,  and  to  do  what  had  been  determined  on,  and  on  no  ac- 
count to  defer  it.  While  they  were  hotly  disputing  there  ap- 
peared seven  pairs  of  hawks  pursuing  two  pairs  of  vultures,  and 
plucking  and  tearing  them.  The  seven,  on  seeing  this,  all  ap- 
proved the  opinion  of  Darius,  and  forthwith  proceeded  to  the 
palace,  emboldened  by  the  omen.  77.  When  they  approached  the 
gates,  it  happened  as  Darius  had  supposed :  for  the  guards,  out 
of  respect  for  men  of  highest  rank  among  the  Persians,  and  not 
Suspecting  any  such  design  on  their  part,  let  them  pass  by, 
moved  as  they  were  by  divine  impulse  ;  nor  did  any  one  ques- 
tion them.  But  when  they  reached  the  hall,  they  fell  in  with 
tiie  eunuchs  appointed  to  carry  in  messages,  who  inquired  of 
them  for  what  purpose  they  had  come ;  and  at  the  same  time 
that  they  questioned  them  they  threatened  the  doorkeepers 
for  permitting  them  to  pass,  and  endeavoured  to  prevent  the 
seven  from  proceeding  any  farther.  But  they,  having  ex- 
horted each  other,  and  drawn  their  daggers,  stabbed  all  that 
opposed  their  passage  on  the  spot,  and  then  rushed  to  the 
men's  apartment.  78.  The  magi  happened  to  be  both  within 
at  the  time,  and  were  consulting  about  the  conduct  of  Prex- 
aspes. When,  therefore,  they  saw  the  eunuchs  in  conlUsioUj^ 
and  heard  their  outcry,  they  both  hurried  out,  and  when  they 
perceived  what  was  going  on,  put  themselves  on  the  defensive. 
One  of  them  accordingly  snatched  up  a  bow  and  the  other 


7«,8U.J  THALIA.    III.  205 

had  recoui'se  to  a  javelin,  and  thereupon  the  parties  engaged 
with  eacli  other.  The  one  who  had  taken  up  the  bow,  seeing 
his  enemies  were  near  and  pressing  upon  them,  found  it  of  no 
use ;  but  the  other  made  resistance  with  his  spear,  and  first 
wounded  Aspathines  in  the  thigh,  and  next  Intaphernes  in  the 
eye ;  and  Intaphernes  lost  his  eye  from  the  wound,  but  did  not 
die.  Thus  one  of  the  magi  wounded  those  two  ;  but  the  other, 
when  he  found  his  bow  of  no  service,  fled  to  a  chamber  ad- 
joining the  men's  apartment,  purposing  to  shut  to  the  door, 
and  two  of  the  seven,  Darius  and  Gobryas,  rushed  in  with 
him ;  and  as  Gobryas  was  grappling  with  the  magus,  Darius 
standing  by  was  in  perplexity,  fearing  lest  he  should  strike 
Gobryas  in  the  dark ;  but  Gobryas,  seeing  that  he  stood  by 
inactive,  asked  him  why  he  did  not  use  his  hand  ;  he  answered, 
"  Fearing  for  you,  lest  I  should  strike  you."  But  Gobryas 
replied,  "Drive  your  sword  even  through  both  of  us."  Da- 
rius obeying,  made  a  thrust  with  his  dagger,  and  by  good  for- 
tune hit  the  magus. 

79.  Having  slain  the  magi,  and  cut  off  their  heads,  they 
left  the  wounded  of  their  own  party  there,  as  well  on  account 
of  their  exhaustion  as  to  guard  the  acropolis  ;  but  the  other 
five  of  them,  carrying  the  heads  of  the  magi,  ran  out  with 
shouting  and  clamour,  and  then  called  upon  the  rest  of  the  Per- 
sians, relating  what  they  had  done,  and  showing  them  the  heads  ; 
and  at  the  same  time  they  slew  every  one  of  the  magi  that 
came  in  their  way.  Tiie  Persians,  informed  of  what  had  been 
done  by  the  seven,  and  of  the  fraud  of  the  magi,  determined 
themselves  also  to  do  the  like ;  and  having  drawn  their  da«r- 
gers,  they  slew  every  magus  they  could  find ;  and  if  night 
coming  on  had  not  prevented,  they  would  not  have  left  a 
single  magus  alive.  This  day  the  Persians  observe  in  com- 
mon more  than  any  other,  and  in  it  they  celebrate  a  great 
festival,  which  they  call  "  The  slaughter  of  the  magi."  On 
that  day  no  magus  is  allowed  to  be  seen  in  public,  but  they 
shut  themselves  up  in  their  own  houses  during  the  whole  of 
that  day. 

80.  When  the  tumult  had  subsided,   and  five  days   had 
elapsed,  those  who  had  risen  up  against  the  magi  deliberated  on 
the  state  of  affairs  ;  and  speeches  were  made  that  are  disbelieved 
by  some  of  the  Greeksriiowever  they  were  made.     Otanes' 
aavised  that  they  should  commit  the  government  to  the  Per- 


20^  HERODOTUS*  t84v 

sians  at  large,  speaking  as  follows  :  "It  appears  that  ro  on5 
of  us  should  henceforward  be  a  monarch,  for  it  is  neither  agree- 
able nor  good.  For  you  know  to  what  a  pitch  the  insolence 
of  Cambyses  reached,  and  you  have  experienced  the  insolence 
ci  the  magus.  And  indeed  how  can  a  monarchy  be  a  well- 
constituted  government,  where  one  man  is  allowed  to  do  what- 
ever he  pleases  witliout  control  ?  for  if  even  the  best  of  men' 
were  placed  in  such  power,  he  would  depart  from  his  wonted 
thoughts.  For. insolence  is  engendered,iD.Jixim.Jjj;-  tlie  advan- 
tages  that  surround  him,  and^nvy  is  implanted  in  man  from 
his  birth,  and  having  these  two,  he  has  every  vice  ;  for  puffed 
upjjy  insolence  he  commits  many  nefarious  actions,  and  others^ 
through  envy.  One  would  think  that  a  man  wlio  holds  sove- 
reign power  should  be  free  from  envy,  since  he^  piossessej" 
every  advantage  ;  but  the  contrary  to  this  takes  place  in  his  con- 
duct towards  the  citizens,  for  he  envies  the  best  who  continue 
to  live,  and  delights  in  the  worst  men  of  the  nation  ;  he  very 
readily  listens  to  calumny,  and  is  tlie  most  inconsistent  of  all 
men  ;  for  if  you  show  him  respect  in  moderation  he  is  offended 
because  he  is  not  sufficiently  honoured  ;  and  if  any  one  honours 
him  very  much  he  is  offended  as  with  a  flatterer.  But  I  pro-' 
cej  1  to  relate  what  is  most  important.  He  changes  the  insti- 
tutions of  our  ancestors,  violates  women,  and  puts  men  to  death 
without  trial.  But  a  popular  government  bears  the  fairest  name 
of  all,  equality  of  rights ;  and  secondly,  is  guilty  of  none  of  those 
excesses  that  a  monarch  is.  The  magistral  obtains  his  office 
by  lot,  and  exercises  it  under  responsibility,  and  refers  all  plan* 
to  the  public.  I  therefore  give  my  opinion,  that  wo  should  do 
away  with  monarchy,  and  exalt  the  people,  for  in  the  nUrff^ 
all  tilings  are  found."  Otanes  accordingly  advanced  this* 
opinion.  81.  Megabyzus  advised  them  to  intrust  the  govern-- 
ment  to  an  oligarchy,  aifcl  spoke  as  follows  :  "  I  concur  with- 
what  Otanes  has  said  about  abolishing  tyranny ;  but  in  bid- 
ding us  transfer  the  power  to  the  people,  he  has  erred  froiii 
the  best  opinion;  for  nothing  is  more  foolish,  and  insolenXtluUl;-, 
a  useless  crowd,  therefore  it  is  on  no  account  to  be  endured^' 
tliaTmeh^  wlio*are  endeavouring  to  avoid  the  insolence  of  a 
tyrant,  should  fiill  under  the  insolence  of  an  unrestrained  mul-;^_ 
tifude.  The  former,  when  he  does  any  thing,  does  it  know- 
ingly, but  the  latter  have  not  the  means  of  knowing,  ior  how 
should  they  know  who  have  neither  been  taught,  nor  are  ac^^ 


f^,  8aj  *rHALiA.    lit  207 

quainted  with  any  thing  good  or  fitting ;  they  who,  rushing 
on  without  reflection,  precipitate  aifairs  like  a  winter  tor  • 
'r^nt:  i^et  those,  then,  wfio  desire  tHerutn  oftKe  Persians 
"  a^opt  jLd£iaaffli:acy ;  butJl§L"s,  having  chosen  an  association 
of  tne  best  men,  commit  the  sovereign  power  to  them,  for 
among  t^mvve  ourselves  sliall  be  included,  and  it  is  reason- 
able  to  expect  that  the  best  counsels  will  proceed  from  the  best 
men."  Megafiyzus  accordingly  advanced  this  opinion.  82. 
rSlus  expressed  his  opinion  the  third,  saying :  *^In  what 
jNIegabyzus  has  said  concerning  the  people,  he  appears  to  me 
to  EavegpoEeii  rightly ;  but  concerning  an  oligarchy,  not  so. 
For  if  three  forms  are  proposed,  and  each  of  these  which  I  al- 
lude to  thST)est  in  its  kind,  the  best  democracy,  and  oligarchy, 
and  monarchy,  I  affirm  that  the  last  is  far  superior.  For 
nothing  can  be  found  better  than  one  man,  who  is  the  best.; 
since  acting  upon  equally  wise  plans,  iie  would  govern  the 
people  without  blame,  and  would  keep  his  designs  most  secret 
from  the  ill-affected.  But  in  an  oligarchy,  whilst  many  are  ex- 
erting  their  energies  for  the  public  gobdj  strong^^rivate  enmi- 
tie^^  commonly  spring  up;  for  each  wlshin^tobe  chief,  an  J  to 
caS^y  his  OWH'dpinions,  they  come  to  deep  animosities  one 
against  another,  from  wlience  seditions  arise  ;  and  from  sedi- 
tions, murder  ;  and  from  murder  it  results  in  monarchy :  and 
thus  it  is  proved  how  much  this  form  of  government  is  the 
best.  But  when  the  people  rule,  it  is  impossible  but  that  evil 
should  spring  up  ;  when,  therefore,  evil  springs  up,  mutual 
enmities  do  not  arise  among  the  bad,  but  powerful  combina- 
tions, for  they  who  injure  the  commonwealth  act  in  concert ; 
And  this  lasts  until  some  one  of  the  people  stands  forward  and 
puts  them  down  ;  and  on  this  account  he  is  admired  by  the 
people,  and  being  admired,  he  becomes  a  monarch  ;  and  in 
tiiis  he  too  shows  that  a  monarchy  is  best.  But  to  com- 
prehend all  in  one  word,  whence  came  our  freedom  ?  and 
who  gave  it  ?  was  it  from  the  people,  or  an  oligarchy,  oir 
a  monarch  ?  My  opinion  therefore  is,  that  as  we  were  made 
free  by  one  man,  we  should  maintain  the  same  kind  of  go- 
vernment ;  and  moreover,  that  we  should  not  subvert  the 
institutions  of  our  ancestors,  seeing  they  are  good  ;  for  tliat 
were  not  well." 

83.  These  three  orinions  were  proposed,  and  four  of  the  sevca 


"206  HERODOTUS.  184,  M 

adhered  to  the  last.  When  the  opinion  of  Otanes,  who  was  anx  • 
ious  to  introduce  equality  among  the  Persians,  was  overruled,  he 
thus  spoke  in  the  midst  of  them :  "Associates,  since  it  is  evident 
that  some  one  of  us  must  be  made  king,  either  appointed  by- 
lot,  or  by  the  body  of  the  Persians,  intrusting  the  government 
to  whom  they  may  choose,  or  by  some  other  way  ;  now  I  will 
not  enter  into  competition  with  you  ;  for  I  wish  neither  to 
govern  nor  be  governed.  But  on  this  condition  I  give  up  all 
claim  to  the  government,  that  neither  I  nor  any  of  my  pos- 
terity may  be  subject  to  any  one  of  you."  When  he  had  said 
this,  and  the  six  had  agreed  to  these  terms,  he  did  not  join  in 
the  contest,  but  withdrew  from  the  assembly ;  and  this  family 
alone,  of  all  the  Persians,  retains  its  liberty  to  this  day,  and 
yields  obedience  only  so  far  as  it  pleases,  but  without  trans- 
gressing the  laws  of  the  Persians.  84.  The  rest  of  the  seven 
consulted  how  they  might  appoint  a  king  on  the  most  equit- 
able terms  ;  and  they  determined  that  to  Otanes  and  his  pos- 
terity for  ever,  if  the  kingdom  should  devolve  on  any  other 
of  the  seven,  should  be  given  a  Median  vest  yearly,  by  way 
of  distinction,  together  with  all  such  presents  as  are  account- 
ed most  honourable  among  the  Persians.  They  decreed  that 
these  things  should  be  given  him  for  this  reason,  because  he 
first  advised  the  enterprise,  and  associated  them  together. 
These  honours  were  conferred  on  Otanes  by  way  of  distinc- 
tion. And  they  made  the  following  resolutions  with  regard 
to  the  whole  body :  that  every  one  of  the  seven  should  have 
liberty  to  enter  into  the  palace  without  being  introduced,  un- 
less the  king  should  happen  to  be  in  bed  with  one  of  his 
wives  ;  and  that  the  king  should  not  be  allowed  to  marry 
a  wife  out  of  any  other  family  than  of  the  conspirators. 
With  regard  to  the  kingdom,  they  came  to  the  following  de- 
termination, that  he  whose  horse  should  first  neigh  in  the 
suburbs  at  sunrise,  while  they  were  mounted,  should  have 
the  kingdom. 

85.  Darius  had  a  groom,  a  shrewd  man,  whose  name  was 
CEbares  ;  to  this  person,  when  the  assembly  had  broken  up, 
Darius  spoke  as  follows :  "  CEbares,  we  have  determined  with 
respect  to  the  kingdom  to  do  in  this  manner  ;  he  whose  horse 
Bhall  neigh  first  at  sunrise,  when  we  ourselves  are  mounted, 
is  to  have  the  kinfidom,     Now   therefore*  if  you  have  any 


I 


9^^.]  THALIA.    III.  209 

ingenuity,  contrive  that  I  may  obtain  this  honour,  and  not 
another."  (Ebares  answered,  "If,  sir,  it  indeed  depends  on 
this,  whether  you  shall  be  king  or  not,  be  confident  on  this 
point,  and  keep  up  your  spirits  ;  for  no  one  else  shall  be  king 
before  you  ;  I  have  a  charm  for  the  occasion."  Darius  said, 
"  If  you  have  any  such  contrivance,  it  is  time  to  put  it  in 
practice,  and  not  to  delay  ;  for  to-morrow  our  trial  is  to  be." 
OGbares  having  heard  this,  did  as  follows  :  as  soon  as  it  was 
night,  he  led  the  mare  which  Darius's  horse  was  most  fond 
of,  to  the  suburbs,  tied  her  up,  and  led  Darius's  horse  to  her  ; 
and  he  led  him  several  times  round  near  the  mare,  gradually 
bringing  him  nearer,  and  at  last  let  the  horse  cover  her.  86. 
At  dawn  of  day,  the  six,  as  they  had  agreed,  met  together 
on  horseback  ;  and  as  they  were  riding  round  the  suburbs, 
•.vhen  they  came  to  the  spot  where  the  mare  had  been  tied  the 
preceding  night,  Darius's  horse  ran  forward  and  neighed  ; 
and  as  the  horse  did  this,  liglitning  and  thunder  came  from  a 
clear  sky.  These  things  happening  to  Darius,  consummated 
the  auspices,  as  if  done  by  appointni(j;it.  The  others,  dis- 
mounting from  their  horses,  did  obeigan<fe  to  Darius  as  king. 
87.  Some  say  that  QEbares  had  recourse  to  the  foregoing 
f  rtifice  ;  others,  to  the  following  ;  (for  the  story  is  told  both 
ways  by  the  Persians  ;)  that  having  rubbed  his  hand  upon  the 
genital  part  of  the  mare,  he  kept  it  concealed  under  his 
trowsers,  and  at  sun-rise,  when  the  horses  were  about  to 
start,  QEbares  drew  out  his  hand  and  put  it  to  the  nostrils  of 
Darius's  horse,  and  thai  he,  taking  the  scent,  began  to  snort 
and  neigh. 

88.  Accqrding|ly  Dariu^.  son  of  Hystaspes,  was  declared 
king,  anci  all  tlie  people  of  Asia,  except  the  Arabians,  were 
su^ect  toTnm7T^yrus  having  iirst  subdued  theni^  and  afier- 
\^rds''  Uahibyses.  The  Arabians  never  submitted  to  the 
Persiiin  joke,  but  were  on  friendly  terms,  and  gave  Cam- 
^yses  a^free  passage  into  Egypt ;  for  without  the  consent  of 
the  Arabians  the  Persians  could  not  have  penetrated  into 
Egypt.  Darius  contracted  his  first  marriages  with  Per- 
sians ;  ?ie  married  two  daughters  of  Cyrus,  Atossa  and  Arty- 
stona  :  Atossa  had  been  before  married  to  her  brother  Cam- 
by3es,  and  afterwards  to  the  magus,  but  Artystona  was  a 
virgin.  He  married  another  also,  daughter  of  Smerdis,  son 
of  Cyrus,  whose  n&me  was  Parmys  ;  and  he  had  besides  the 

P 


2 1 ' »  HEKODOTUS.,  [89,  90. 

daughter  of  Otanes  who  detected  the  magus.  His  power  was 
fully  established  on  all  sides.  Having  then  first  of  all  made  a 
stone  statue,  he  had  it  erected  ;  and  a  figure  was  upon  it  re- 
presenting  a  man  on  horseback  ;  and  he  had  engraved  on  it 
the  following  inscription,  Darius,  son  of  Hystaspes,  by  the 
SAGACITY  OF  HIS  HORSE,  (here  mentioning  the  name,)  and  by 

THE  ADDRESS  OF  OEbARES,  HIS  GROOM,  OBTAINED  THE  EM- 
PIRE OF  THE  Persians.  89.  Hgyin^  done  this  in  Persia,  lie. 
constituted  twenty  governments,  which  they  call  satrapies  ; 
and  having  constituted  the  governments  and  set  governors 
over  them,  he  appointed  tributes  to  be  paid  to  him  from  each ^ 
nation,  both  connecting  the  adjoining  people  with  ttie  Severer 
nations,  and  omitting  some  neighbouring  people,  he  annexed 
to  some  others  that  were  more  remote.  He  distributed  the 
governments,  and  the  annual  payment  of  tribute,  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner.  Such  of  them  as  contributed  silver,  were 
required  to  pay  it  according  to  the  standard  of  the  Baby- 
lonian talent ;  and  such  as  contributed  gold,  according  to 
the  Euboic  talent.  The  Babylonian  talent  is  equal  to  seventy 
Euboic  minae.  During  the  reign  of  Cyrus,  and  afterwards  of 
Cambyses,  there  was  no  fixed  regulation  with  regard  to  tri- 
bute, but  they  brought  in  presents.  In  consequence  of  this 
imposition  of  tribute,  and  other  things  of  a  similar  kind,  the 
Persians  say  Darius  was  a  trader,  Cambyses  a  master,  and 
Cyrus  a  father.  The  first,  because  he  made  profit  of  every 
thing  ;  the  second,  because  he  was  severe  and  arrogant ;  the 
latter,  because  he  was  mild,  and  always  aimed  at  the  good  of 
his  people.  90.  From  the  lonians,  the  Magnesians  in  Asia,^ 
the  iEolians,  Carians,  Lycians,  Milyens,  and  Pamphylians,  for 
one  and  the  same  tribute  was  imposed  on  them  all,  there 
came  in  a  revenue  of  four  hundred  talents  in  silver  ;  thi? 
then  composed  the  first  division.  From  the  Mysians,  Lydians, 
Lasonians,  Cabalians,  and  Hygennians,  five  hundred  talents  \ 
this  was  the  second  division.  From  the  Hellespontians,  who 
dwell  on  the  right  as  one  sails  in,  the  Phrygians,  the  Thra- 
cians  in  Asia,  Paphlagonians,  Mariandynians,  and  Syrians, 
there  was  a  tribute  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  talents  i  this 
was  the  third  division.  From  the  Cilicians,  three  hundred 
and  sixty  white  horses,  one  for  every  day,  and  five  hundred 

*  There  were  also  Magnesians  in  Thessaly     See  Book  VII  cli.  1S% 


91-93.]  THALIA.    III.  211 

talents  of  silver ;  of  these  a  hundred  and  forty  were  ex- 
pended on  the  cavalry  that  guarded  the  Cilician  territory,  and 
the  remaining  three  hundred  and  sixty  went  to  Darius  ;  this 
was  the  fourth  division.  91.  From  the  city  of  Poseideium,'^ 
which  Amphilochus,  son  of  Amphiaraus,  founded  on  the  con-  v 
fines  of  the  Cilicians  and  Syrians,,  beginning  from  this  down 
to  Egypt,  except  a  district  belonging  to  Arabians,  which 
was  exempt  from  taxation,  was  paid  a  tribute  of  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  talents  ;  and  in  this  division  is  included  all 
Phoenicia,  Syria  which  is  called  Paljjestine,  and  Cyprus ;  this 
was  the  fifth  division.  From  Egypt,  and  the  Libyans  bor- 
dering on  Egypt,  and  from  Cyrene  and  Barce,  (for  these  were 
annexed  to  the  Egyptian  division,)  accrued  seven  hundred 
talents,  besides  the  revenue  arising  from  lake  Moeris,  which 
was  derived  from  the  fish  :  in  addition,  then,  to  this  money, 
and  the  fixed  supply  of  corn,  there  accrued  seven  hundred  ta- 
lents ;  for  they  furnish  in  addition  120,000  measures  of  corn 
for  the  Persians  who  occupy  the  white  fortress  at  Memphis, 
and  their  allies  :  this  was  the  sixth  division.  The  Sattagy- 
dae,  Gandarians,  Dadicae,  and  Aparytas,  joined  together,  con- 
tributed one  hundred  and  seventy  talents  ;  this  was  the  seventh 
division.  From  Susa,  and  the  rest  of  the  country  of  the  Cis- 
sians,  three  hundred  talents  ;  this  was  the  eighth  division. 
92.  From  Babylon  and  the  rest  of  Assyria,  there  accrued  to 
him  a  thousand  talents  of  silver,  and  five  hundred  young 
eunuchs  ;  this  was  the  nintn  division.  From  Ecbatana  and 
the  rest  of  Media,  and  the  Paricanians  and  Orthocorybantes, 
four  hundred  and  fifty  talents  ;  this  was  the  tenth  division. 
The  Caspians,  Pausicse,  Pantimathians,  and  Daritae,  contri- 
buting together,  paid  two  hundred  talents  ;  this  was  the  ele- 
venth division.  From  the  Bactrians  as  far  as  the  -^glae,  was 
a  tribute  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  talents  ;  this  was  the 
twelfth  division.  93.  From  Pactyica,  and  the  Armenians, 
and  the  neighbouring  people  as  far  as  the  Euxine  Sea,  four 
hundred  talents  ;  this  was  the  thirteenth  division.  From  the 
Sagartians,  Sarangeans,  Thamanaeans,  Utians,  Mycians,  and 
those  who  inhabit  the  islands  on  the  Red  Sea,  in  which  the 
king  settles  transported  convicts  ;  from  all  these  came  a  tribute 
of  six  hundred",  talents  ;  this  was  the  fourteenth  division.  The 
Sacne  and  Caspians  paid  two  hundred  and  fifty  talents ;  this 
was   the   fifteenth   division.     The   Parthians,    Chorasmians, 

p  2 


212  HERODOTUS.  94—97 

Sogdians,  and  Arians,  three  hundred  talents ;  this  was  the 
sixteenth  division.  94.  The  Paricanians  and  Asiatic  Ethio- 
pians paid  four  hundred  talents;  this  was  the  seventeenth 
division.  The  Matienians,  Saspires,  and  Alarodians,  were 
taxed  at  two  hundred  talents ;  this  was  the  eighteenth  division. 
From  the  Moschians,  Tibarenians,  Macronians,  Mosynoecians, 
and  Marsians  three  hundred  talents  were  demanded  ;  this  was 
the  nineteenth  division.  Of  the  Indians  the  population  is  by- 
far  the  greatest  of  all  nations  whom  we  know  of,  and  they  paid 
a  tribute  proportion  ably  larger  than  all  the  rest,  three  hundred 
and  sixty  talents  of  gold  dust ;  this  was  the  twentieth  division. 
95.  Now  the  Babylonian  standard,  compared  with  the  Euboic 
talent,  makes  the  total  nine  thousand  five  hundred  and  forty 
tixlents  ;  and  the  gold  estimated  at  thirteen  times  the  value  of 
silver,  the  gold  dust  will  be  found  to  amount  to  four  thousand  six 
Imndred  and  eighty  Euboic  talents.  Therefore,  if  the  total  of 
all  these  are  computed  together,  fourteen  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  sixty  Euboic  talents  were  collected  by  Darius  as  an 
annual  tribute  ;  and  passing  over  less  sums  than  these,  I  do 
not  mention  them.  96.  This  tribute  accrued  to  Darius  from 
Asia,  and  a  small  part  of  Libya ;  but  in  the  course  of  time 
another  tribute  accrued  from  the  islands,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  Europe  as  far  as  Thessaly.  This  tribute  the  king  treasures 
up  in  the  following  manner :  having  melted  it,  he  pours  it  into 
earthen  jars,  and  having  filled  it  he  takes  away  the  earthen 
mould  ;  and  when  he  wants  money  he  cuts  off  so  much  as  he 
lias  occasion  for  from  time  to  time. 

97.  These,  then,  were  the  governments  and  the  imposts  on 
each.  The  Persian  territory  alone  has  not  been  mentioned  as 
subject  to  tribute  ;  for  the  Persians  occupy  their  land  free 
from  taxes.  They  indeed  were  not  ordered  to  pay  any  tribute, 
but  brought  gifts.  The  Ethiopians  bordering  on  Egypt, 
whom  Cambyses  subdued  when  he  marched  against  the  Ma- 
crobian  Ethiopians,  and  who  dwell  about  the  sacred  city  of 
Nysa,  and  celebrate  festivals  of  Bacchus, — these  Ethiopians, 
and  their  neighbours,  use  the  same  grain  as  the  Calantian  In- 
dians, and  live  in  subterraneous  dwellings  ; — both  these  bring 
every  third  year,  and  they  continued  to  do  so  to  my  time,  two 
choenices  of  unmolten  gold,  two  hundred  blocks  of  ebony,  five 
Ethiopian  boys,  and  twenty  large  elephants'  tusks.  The  Col- 
fhians  numbered  themselves  among  those  who  gave  presents. 


I       ^»-lOO.J  THALIA.    III.  213 

as  well  as  the  neighbouring  nations,  as  far  as  Mount  Caucasus  ; 
for  to  this  mountain  the  dominions  of  Persia  extend.  But 
the  people  to  the  north  side  of  the  Caucasus  pay  no  regard  to 
the  Persians.  These,  then,  for  the  gifts  they  imposed  on 
themselves,  furnished,  even  to  my  time,  every  five  years  one 
hundred  boys,  and  one  hundred  virgins.  The  Arabians  also 
furnished  every  year  a  thousand  talents  of  frankincense. 
These,  then,  brought  to  the  king  the  above  gifts  besides  the 
tribute. 

98.  The  Indians  obtain  the  great  quantity  of  gold,  from 
which  they  supply  the  before-mentioned  dust  to  the  king,  in 
the  manner  presently  described.  That  part  of  India  towards 
the  rising  sun  is  all  sand ;  for  of  the  people  with  whom  we 
are  acquainted,  and  of  whom  any  thing  certain  is  told,  the 
Indians  live  the  furthest  towards  the  east  and  the  sun-rise  of 
all  the  inliabitants  of  Asia ;  for  the  Indians*  country  towards 
the  east  is  a  desert,  by  reason  of  the  sands.  There  are  many 
nations  of  Indians,  and  they  do  not  speak  the  same  language 
as  each  other ;  some  of  tliem  are  nomades,  and  others  not. 
Some  inhabit  the  marshes  of  the  river,  and  feed  on  raw  fish, 
which  they  take  going  out  in  boats  made  of  reeds  ;  one  joint  of 
the  reed  makes  a  boat.  These  Indians  wear  a  garment  made 
of  rushes,  wliich,  when  they  have  cut  the  reed  from  the  river 
and  beaten  it,  they  afterwards  plait  like  a  mat  and  wear  it  as 
a  corselet.  99.  Other  Indians,  living  to  the  east  of  these,  are 
nomades,  and  eat  raw  flesh  ;  they  are  called  Padaeans.  They 
are  said  to  use  the  following  customs.  When  any  one  of  the 
community  is  sick,  whether  it  be  a  woman  or  a  man,  if  it  be  a 
man  the  men  who  are  his  nearest  connexions  put  him  to  death, 
alleging  that  if  he  wasted  by  disease  his  flesh  would  be  spoilt ; 
but  if  he  denies  that  he  is  sick,  they,  not  agreeing  with  him, 
kill  and  feast  upon  him.  And  if  a  woman  be  sick,  in  like 
manner  the  women  who  are  most  intimate  with  her  do  the 
same  as  the  men.  And  whoever  reaches  to  old  age,  they 
SBcrifice  and  feast  upon  ;  but  few  among  them  attain  to  this 
itate,  for  before  that,  they  put  to  death  every  one  that  falls 
into  any  distemper.  100.  Other  Indians  have  the  following 
diflerent  custom  ;  they  neither  kill  any  thing  that  has  life,  nor 
sow  any  thing,  nor  are  they  wont  to  have  houses,  but  they  live 
upon  herbs,  and  they  have  a  gram  of  the  size  of  millet  in  a 
pod,  which  springs  spontaneously  from  *he  earth,  this  they 


2 1 4  HERODOT  [101—101. 

gather,  and  boil  it  and  eat  it  with  the  pod.  When  any  one  of 
them  falls  into  any  disorder,  he  goes  and  lies  down  in  the  desert, 
and  no  one  takes  any  thought  about  him,  whether  dead  or 
sick.  101.  The  intercourse  of  all  these  Indians  whom  I  have 
mentioned  takes  place  openly  as  with  cattle  ;  and  all  have  a 
complexion  closely  resembling  the  Ethiopians.  The  seed 
they  emit  is  not  white,  as  that  of  other  men,  but  black  as 
their  skin  ;  the  Ethiopians  also  emit  similar  seed.  These  In- 
dians are  situated  very  far  from  the  Persians,  towards  the 
south,  and  were  never  subject  to  Darius. 

102.  There  are  other  Indians  bordering  on  the  city  of  Cas- 
patyrus  and  the  country  of  Pactyica,  settled  northward  of  the 
other  Indians,  whose  mode  of  life  resembles  that  of  the  Bac- 
trians.  They  are  the  most  warlike  of  the  Indians,  and  these 
are  they  who  are  sent  to  procure  the  gold  ;  for  near  this  part  is 
a  desert  by  reason  of  the  sand.  In  this  desert  then,  and  in  the 
sand,  there  are  ants  in  size  somewhat  less  indeed  than  dogs, 
but  larger  than  foxes.  Some  of  them  are  in  the  possession  of 
the  king  of  the  Persians,  which  were  taken  there.  These 
ants,  forming  their  habitations  under  ground,  heap  up  the 
sand,  as  the  ants  in  Greece  do,  and  in  the  same  manner  ;  and 
they  are  very  like  them  in  shape.  The  sand  that  is  heaped  up 
is  mixed  with  gold.  The  Indians  therefore  go  to  the  desert 
to  get  this  sand,  each  man  having  three  camels,  on  either  side 
a  male  one  harnessed  to  draw  by  the  side,  and  a  female 
in  the  middle,  this  last  the  man  mounts  himself,  having 
taken  care  to  yoke  one  that  has  been  separated  from  her 
young  as  recently  born  as  possible  ;  for  camels  are  not  infe- 
rior to  horses  in  swiftness,  and  are  much  better  able  to  carry 
burdens.  103.  What  kind  of  figure  the  camel  has  I  shall  not 
describe  to  the  Greeks,  as  they  are  acquainted  with  it ;  but 
what  is  not  known  respecting  it  I  will  mention.  A  camel 
has  four  thighs  and  four  knees  in  his  hinder  legs,  and  his 
private  parts  are  turned  between  the  hinder  legs  to  the  tail. 
lOi.  The  Indians  then,  adopting  such  a  plan  and  such  a  method 
of  harnessing,  set  out  for  the  gold,  having  before  calculated 
the  time,  so  as  to  be  engaged  in  their  plunder  during  the  hot- 
test part  of  the  day,  for  during  the  heat  the  ants  hide  them- 
selves under  ground.  Amongst  these  people  the  sun  is 
hottest  in  the  morning,  and  not,  as  amongst  others,  at  mid- 
day, from  the  time  that  it  has  risei  some  way,  to  the  break- 


105—107.]  THjLLIA.    hi.  21^ 

ing  up  of  the  market ;  during  this  time  it  scorches  much 
more  than  at  mid-day  in  Greece  ;  so  that,  it  is  said,  they  then 
refresh  themselves  in  water.  Mid-day  scorches  other  men 
much  the  same  as  the  Indians  ;  but  as  the  day  decHnes,  the 
sun  becomes  to  them  as  it  is  in  the  morning  to  others  ;  and 
after  this,  as  it  proceeds  it  becomes  still  colder,  until  sun-set, 
then  it  is  very  cold.  105.  When  the  Indians  arrive  at  the 
spot,  having  sacks  with  them,  they  fill  these  with  the  sand, 
and  return  with  all  possible  expedition.  For  the  ants,  as  the 
Persians  say,  immediately  discovering  them  by  the  smell, 
pursue  them,  and  they  are  equalled  in  swiftness  by  no  other 
animal,  so  that  if  the  Indians  did  not  get  the  start  of  them 
while  the  ants  were  assembling,  not  a  man  of  them  could  be 
saved.  Now  the  male  camels  (for  they  are  inferior  in  speed 
to  the  females)  slacken  their  pace,  dragging  on,^  not  both 
equally  ;  but  the  females,  mindful  of  the  young  they  have 
left,  do  not  slacken  their  pace.  Thus  the  Indians,  as  the 
Persians  say,  obtain  the  greatest  part  of  their  gold ;  and  they 
have  some  small  quantity  more  that  is  dug  in  the  country. 

106.  The  extreme  parts  of  the  inhabited  world  somehow 
possess  the  most  excellent  products  ;  as  Greece  enjoys  by  far 
the  best  tempered  climate.  For  in  the  first  place,  India  is  the 
farthest  part  of  the  inhabited  world  towards  the  east,  as  I 
have  just  observed:  in  this  part  then  all  animals,  both  qua- 
drupeds and  birds,  are  much  larger  than  they  are  in  other 
countries,  with  the  exception  of  horses  ;  in  this  respect  they 
are  surpassed  by  the  Medic  breed  called  the  Nysaian  horses. 
In  the  next  place,  there  is  abundance  of  gold  there,  partly 
dug,  partly  brought  down  by  the  rivers,  and  partly  seized  in 
the  manner  I  have  described.  And  certain  wild  trees  there 
bear  wool  instead  of  fruit,  that  in  beauty  and  quality  excels 
tliat  of  sheep  ;  and  the  Indians  make  their  clothing  from  these 
trees.  107.  Again,  Arabia  is  the  farthest  of  inhabited 
countries  towards  the  south ;  and  this  is  the  only  region  in 
which  grow  frankincense,  myrrh,  cassia,  cinnamon,  and  leda- 
num.  All  these,  except  myrrh,  the  Arabians  gather  with 
difficulty.  The  frankincense  they  gather  by  burning  styrax, 
which  the  Phoenicians  import  into  Greece ;  they  take  it  by 
burning  this ;  for  winged  serpents,  small  in  size,  and  various 

*  For  the  various  modes  c f  translating  this  difficult  passage,  see  Baehr'$ 
Note,  or  Cary's  Lexicon 


216  HERODOTUS.  [108-110. 

in  form,  guard  the  trees  that  bear  frankincense,  a  great 
number  round  each  tree.  These  are  the  same  serpents  that 
invade  EgyptJ  They  are  driven  from  the  trees  by  nothing 
else  but  the  smoke  of  the  styrax.  108.  The  Arabians  say 
this  also,  that  the  whole  land  would  be  filled  by  these  serpents, 
if  some  such  thing  did  not  take  place  with  regard  to  them,  as 
I  know  happens  to  vipers.  And  the  providence  of  God,  as 
was  likely,  proves  itself  wise ;  whatever  creatures  are  timid, 
and  fit  for  food,  have  been  made  very  prolific,  lest  the  species 
should  be  destroyed  by  constant  consumption  ;  but  such  as  are 
savage  and  noxious,  unprolific.  For  instance,  the  hare,  which 
is  hunted  by  all,  beasts,  birds,  and  men,  is  so  prolific  that  it 
alone  of  all  beasts  conceives  to  superfetation,  having  in  its 
womb  some  of  its  young  covered  with  down,  others  bare, 
others  just  formed,  and  at  the  same  time  conceives  again. 
Such  then  is  the  case.  Whereas  a  lioness,  which  is  the 
strongest  and  fiercest  of  beasts,  bears  only  one  once  in  her 
life;  for  in  bringing  forth  she  ejects  her  matrix  with  the 
whelp  ;  and  this  is  the  cause  :  when  the  whelp  begins  to  move 
in  the  womb,  he,  having  claws,  much  sharper  than  those  of 
any  other  beast,  lacerates  the  womb  ;  and  as  he  increases  in 
strength,  he  continues  tearing  it  much  more  ;  and  when  the 
birth  approaches,  not  a  single  part  of  it  remains  sound.  109. 
So  also  if  vipers  and  the  winged  serpents  of  Arabia  multiplied 
as  fast  as  their  nature  admits,  men  could  not  possibly  live. 
But  now  when  they  couple  together,  and  the  male  is  in  the 
very  act  of  impregnating,  as  he  emits  the  seed,  the  female 
seizes  him  by  the  neck,  and  clinging  to  him,  never  lets  him  go 
until  she  has  gnawed  through  him.  In  this  manner  the  male 
dies,  and  the  female  pays  the  following  retribution  to  the 
male :  the  ofispring,  while  yet  in  the  womb,  avenging  their 
father,  eat  through  the  matrix  ;  and  having  gnawed  through 
her  bowels,  thus  make  their  entrance  into  the  world.  But 
other  serpents,  which  are  not  hurtful  to  men,  lay  eggs,  and 
Iiatch  a  vast  number  of  young.  Now  vipers  are  found  in  all 
parts  of  the  world ;  but  flying  serpents  are  abundant  in  Arabia, 
and  no  where  else,  there  they  appear  to  be  very  numerous. 

1 10.  The  Arabians  obtain  the  frankincense  in  the  manner 
I  have  described  ;  and  the  cassia  as  follows :  when  they  have 
covered  their  whole  body  and  face,  except  the  eyes,  with  hides 
^  See  Book  II  chao  .75 


lll-~114.]  THALIA.     III.  217 

and  other  skins,  they  go  to  the  cassia  ;  it  grows  in  a  shallow 
lake  ;  and  around  the  lake  and  in  it  lodge  winged  animals 
very  like  bats,  and  they  screech  fearfully,  and  are  exceedingly 
fierce.  These  they  keep  off  from  their  eyes,  and  so  gather  the 
cassia.  111.  The  cinnamon  they  collect  in  a  still  more  won- 
derful manner.  Where  it  grows  and  what  land  produces  it, 
they  are  unable  to  tell ;  except  that  some,  giving  a  probable 
account,  say  that  it  grows  in  those  countries  in  which  Bacchus 
was  nursed.  And  they  say  that  large  birds  bring  those  rolls 
of  bark,  which  we,  from  the  Phoenicians,  call  cinnamon,  the 
birds  bring  them  for  their  nests,  which  are  built  with  clay, 
against  precipitous  mountains,  where  there  is  no  access  for 
man.  The  Arabians,  to  surmount  this  difficulty,  have  in- 
vented the  following  artifice  :  having  cut  up  into  large  pieces 
tlie  limbs  of  dead  oxen,  and  asses,  and  other  beasts  of  burden, 
they  carry  them  to  these  spots,  and  having  laid  them  near  the 
nests,  they  retire  to  a  distance.  But  the  birds  flying  down 
carry  up  the  limbs  of  the  beasts  to  their  nests,  which  not  being 
strong  enough  to  support  the  weight,  break  and  fall  to  the 
ground.  Then  the  men,  coming  up,  in  this  manner  gather  the 
cinnamon,  and  being  gathered  by  them  it  reaches  other  coun- 
tries. 112.  But  the  ledanum,  which  the  Arabians  call  lada- 
num,  is  still  more  wonderful  than  this ;  for  though  it  comes 
from  a  most  stinking  place,  it  is  itself  most  fragrant.  For  it 
is  found  sticking  like  gum  to  the  beards  of  he-goats,  which 
collect  it  from  the  wood.  It  is  useful  for  many  ointments, 
and  the  Arabians  burn  it  very  generally  as  a  perfume.  113. 
It  may  suffice  to  have  said  thus  much  of  these  perfumes  ;  and 
there  breathes  from  Arabia,  as  it  were,  a  divine  odour.  They 
have  two  kinds  of  sheep  worthy  of  admiration,  which  are  seen 
no  where  else.  One  kind  has  large  tails,  not  less  than  three 
cubits  in  length,  which,  if  suffered  to  trail,  would  ulcerate, 
by  the  tails  rubbing  on  the  ground.  But  every  shepherd 
knows  enough  of  the  carpenter's  art  to  prevent  this,  for  they 
make  little  3arts  and  fasten  them  under  the  tails,  binding 
the  tail  of  each  separate  sheep  to  a  separate  cart.  The  other 
kind  of  sheep  have  broad  tails,  even  to  a  cubit  in  breadth. 
114.  Where  the  meridian  declines®  towards  the  setting  sun, 
the  Ethiopian  territory  reaches,  being  the  extreme  part  of  the 
habitable  world.  It  produces  much  gold,  huge  elephants,  wild 
•  That  is,  "  south-west  " 


218  HERODOTUS.  [115—117 

trees  of  all  kinds,  ebony,  and  men  of  large  stature,  very 
handsome,  and  long-lived. 

115.  These,  then,  are  the  extremities  of  Asia  and  Libya. 
Concerning  the  western  extremities  of  Europe  I  am  unable  to 
speak  with  certainty,  for  I  do  not  admit  that  there  is  a  river, 
called  by  barbarians  Eridanus,  which  discharges  itself  into  the 
sea  towards  the  north,  from  which  amber  is  said  to  come  ;  nor 
am  I  acquainted  with  the  Cassiterides  islands,  from  whence  our 
tin  comes.  For  in  the  first  place,  the  name  Eridanus  shows 
that  it  is  Grecian  and  not  barbarian,  and  feigned  by  some 
poet ;  in  the  next  place,  though  I  have  diligently  inquired,  I 
liave  never  been  able  to  hear  from  any  man  who  has  himself 
seen  it,  that  there  is  a  sea  on  that  side  of  Europe.  However, 
both  tin  and  amber  come  to  us  from  the  remotest  parts. 
116.  Towards  the  north  of  Europe  there  is  evidently  a  very 
great  quantity  of  gold,  but  how  procured  I  am  unable  to  say 
witli  certainty  ;  though  it  is  said  that  the  Arimaspians,  a  one- 
eyed  people,  steal  it  from  the  griffins.  Neither  do  I  believe 
this,  that  men  are  born  with  one  eye,  and  yet  in  other  re- 
spects resemble  the  rest  of  mankind.  However,  the  extremi- 
ties of  the  world  seem  to  surround  and  enclose  the  rest  of  the 
earth,  and  to  possess  those  productions  which  we  account  most 
excellent  and  rare. 

117.  There  is  a  plain  in  Asia  shut  in  on  every  side  by  a 
range  of  mountains,  and  there  are  five  defiles  in  the  mountain. 
This  plain  formerly  belonged  to  the  Chorasmians,  situated  on 
the  confines  of  these  Chorasmians,  of  the  Hyrcanians,  Par- 
thians,  Sarang^eans,  and  Thamanaeans ;  but  since  the  Persians 
liavehad  the  empire  it  belongs  to  the  king.  From  this  range 
of  mountains  then,  that  shuts  in  this  plain,  there  flows  a  great 
river,  the  name  of  which  is  Aces  ;  it  formerly,  being  divided 
into  five  several  channels,  used  to  irrigate  the  lands  of  the  na- 
tions before  mentioned,  being  conducted  to  each  nation  through 
each  separate  defile.  But  since  they  have  become  subject  to  the 
Persian,  they  have  suffered  the  following  calamity.  The  king, 
having  caused  the  clefts  of  the  mountains  to  be  blocked  up, 
placed  gates  at  each  cleft,  and  the  passage  of  the  water  being 
stopped,  the  plain  within  the  mountains  has  become  a  sea,  as 
ihe  river  continued  to  pour  in,  and  had  no  where  any  exit. 
The  people,  therefore,  who  before  were  in  the  habit  of  using 
the  water,  not  being  able  to  use  it  any  lonjo;er,  were  reduced  to 


118,119.]  THALIA.    III.  219 

great  extremities  ;  for  though  in  winter  heaven  supplies  the.m 
with  rain,  as  it  does  other  men,  yet  in  summer,  when  they  sow 
millet  and  sesame,  they  stood  in  need  of  water.  When,  there- 
fore, no  water  was  allowed  them,  they  and  their  wives  going 
to  the  Persians,  and  standing  before  the  king's  palace,  raised 
a  great  outcry.  But  the  king  gave  order  that  the  gates  should 
be  open  towards  those  lands  that  were  most  in  need;  and 
when  their  land  was  satiated  by  imbibing  water,  these  gates 
were  shut,  and  he  ordered  others  to  be  opened  to  those  who 
were  next  in  greatest  need.  And  as  I  have  been  informed, 
he  opens  them  after  be  has  exacted  large  sums  of  money,  in 
addition  to  the  tribute.     Now  these  things  are  so. 

118.  Of  the  seven  men  that  conspired  against  the  magus,  it 
happened  that  one  of  them,  Intaphernes,  having  committed 
the  following  act  of  insolence,  lost  his  life  shortly  after  the  re- 
volution. He  wished  to  enter  the  palace  in  order  to  confer 
with  Darius  ;  for  the  law  was  so  settled  among  those  who  had 
conspired  against  the  magus,  that  they  should  have  access  to 
the  king  without  a  messenger,  unless  the  king  should  happen 
to  be  in  bed  with  one  of  his  wives.  Intaphernes,  therefore, 
determined  that  no  one  should  announce  him  ;  but,  because  he 
was  one  of  the  seven,  chose  to  enter ;  the  door-keeper,  how- 
ever, and  the  messenger,  would  not  let  him  pass,  saying,  that 
the  king  was  then  in  bed  with  one  of  his  wives  :  but  Inta- 
phernes, suspecting  they  told  a  falsehood,  did  as  follows: 
having  drawn  his  scimetar,  he  cut  off  their  ears  and  noses, 
and  having  strung  them  to  the  bridle  of  his  horse,  he  hung 
them  round  their  necks,  and  so  dismissed  them.  119.  They 
presented  themselves  to  the  king,  and  told  him  the  cause  for 
which  they  had  been  so  treated.  Darius,  fearing  lest  the  six 
had  done  this  in  concert,  sent  for  them,  one  by  one,  and  en- 
deavoured to  discover  their  opinions,  whether  they  approved  of 
what  had  been  done.  But  when  he  discovered  that  Intapher- 
nes had  not  done  this  with  their  privity,  he  seized  Intaphernes 
himself,  and  his  children,  and  all  his  family,  having  many 
reasons  to  suspect  that  he,  with  his  relations,  would  raise  a 
rebellion  against  him.  And  having  seized  them,  he  bound 
them  as  for  death :  but  the  wife  of  Intaphernes,  going  to  the 
gates  of  the  palace,  wept  and  lamented  aloud  ;  and  having 
done  this  continually,  she  prevailed  on  Darius  to  have  com- 
passion on  her.    He  therefore,  having  sent  a  messenger,  spoke 


220  HERODOTUS.  [120,  121. 

as  follows  :  Madam,  king  Darius  allows  you  to  release  one 
of  your  relations  who  are  now  in  prison,  whichever  of  them 
all  you  please."  But  she,  having  deliberated,  answered  as 
follows  :  "  Since  the  king  grants  me  the  life  of  one,  I  choose 
ray  brother  from  them  all."  Darius,  v/hen  he  heard  this, 
wondering  at  her  choice,  having  sent  again,  asked,  "  Madam, 
the  king  inquires  the  reason  why,  leaving  your  husband  and  chil- 
dren, you  have  chosen  that  your  brother  should  survive  ;  who 
is  not  so  near  related  to  you  as  your  children,  and  less  en- 
deared to  you  than  your  husband  ?  "  She  answered  as  follows  : 
"  O  king,  I  may  have  another  husband  if  God  will,  and  other 
children  if  I  lose  these  ;  but  as  my  father  and  mother  are  no 
longer  alive,  I  cannot  by  any  means  have  another  brother  ; 
for  this  reason  I  spoke  as  I  did."  The  woman  appeared  to 
Darius  to  have  spoken  well,  and  he  granted  to  her  the  one 
whom  she  asked,  and  her  eldest  son,  he  was  so  pleased  with 
her  :  all  the  rest  he  put  to  death.  Of  the  seven,  therefore, 
one  very  soon  perished  in  the  manner  now  mentioned. 

120.  Near  about  th^tjme  of  Cambyses*  illness,  the  follow- 
ing events  took  place^pOroetes,  a  Persian,  had  been  appointed 
governor  of  Sardis  by  Cyrus  ;  this  man  conceived  an  impious 
project ;  for  without  having  sustained  any  injury,  or  heard  a 
hasty  word  from  Polycrates  the  Samian,  and  without  having 
seen  him  before,  he  conceived  the  design  of  seizing  him  and 
putting  him  to  death  ;  as  most  people  say,  for  some  such  cause 
as  this.  Oroetes  and  another  Persian,  whose  name  was  Mi- 
trobates,  governor  of  the  district  of  Dascylium,  were  sitting 
together  at  the  palace  gates,  and  fell  into  a  dispute.  As  they 
were  quarrelling  about  valour,  Mitrobates  said  to  Oroetes 
tauntingly :  "  Are  you  to  be  reckoned  a  brave  man,  who 
have  not  yet  acquired  for  the  king  the  island  of  Saraos,  that 
lies  near  your  government,  and  is  so  easy  to  be  subdued  ? 
which  one  of  its  own  inhabitants,  having  made  an  insurrection 
with  fifteen  armed  men,  obtained  possession  of,  and  now 
reigns  over  ?"  Some  say^  that  he,  having  heard  this,  and  being 
stung  with  the  reproach,  conceived  a  desire,  not  eo  much  to 
revenge  himself  on  the  man  who  said  it,  as  of  utterly  de- 
stroying Polycrates,  on  whose  account  he  had  been  reproached. 
121.  A  fewer  number  say,  that  Oroetes  sent  a  herald  to  Samos, 
to  make  some  demand  which  is  not  mentioned,  and  that  Poly- 
crates happened  to  be  reclining  in  the  men's  apartment,  and 


122,123.1  THALIA.    Ill  22i 

that  Anacr3on  of  Teos  was  with  him  ;  and  somehow,  (whether 
designedly  disregarding  the  business  of  Orcetes,  or  by  chance 
it  so  happened,)  when  the  herald  of  Oroetes  came  forward  and 
delivered  his  message,  Polycrates,  as  his  face  chanced  to  be 
turned  towards  the  wall,  neither  turned  about,  nor  made  any 
answer.  122.  These  twofold  causes  are  assigned  for  the  death 
of  Polycrates ;  every  man  may  give  credit  to  whichever  he 
pleases. y^ However,  Oroetes,  who  resided  in  Magnesia,  situ- 
ated on  the  river  Maeander,  being  acquainted  with  the  inten- 
tions of  Polycrates,  sent  Myrsus  a  Lydian,  son  of  Gyges,  witli 
a  message  to  Saraos  ;  for  Polycrates  is  the  first  of  tlie  Gre- 
cians of  whom  we  know,  who  formed  a  design  to  make  him- 
self master  of  the  sea,  except  Minos  the  Cnossian,  or  any 
other,  who  before  his  time  obtained  the  empire  of  the  sea  : 
but  within  what  is  called  the  historical^  age,  Polycrates  is  the 
first  who  had  entertained  great  expectations  of  ruling  Ionia 
and  the  islands.  Orcetes  therefore,  having  ascertained  that 
he  had  formed  this  design,  sent  a  message  to  the  following 
effect :  "  Orcetes  to  Polycrates  says  as  follows  ;  I  un- 
derstand that  you  are  planning  vast  enterprises,  and  that  you 
have  not  money  answerable  to  your  projects.  Now,  if  you 
will  do  as  I  advise,  you  will  promote  your  own  success,  and 
preserve  me  ;  for  king  Cambyses  meditates  my  death,  and 
of  this  I  have  certain  information.  Now,  do  you  convey  me 
and  my  wealth  out  of  the  country,  and  take  part  of  it,  and 
suffer  me  to  enjoy  the  rest :  by  means  of  the  wealth,  you  will 
become  master  of  all  Greece.  If  you  doubt  what  I  say  con- 
cerning my  riches,  send  to  me  the  most  trusty  of  your  serv- 
ants, to  whom  I  will  show  them.'*  123.  Polycrates,  having 
heard  thig,  was  delighted,  and  accepted  the  offer  ;  and  as  he  was 
very  eager  for  wealth,  he  first  sent  Maeandrius,  son  of  Moeandri- 
us,  to  view  it,  a  citizen  who  was  his  secretary :  he  not  long  after 
dedicated  to  the  temple  of  Juno  all  the  ornamental  furniture 
from  the  men's  apartment  of  Polycrates,  which  was  indeed 
magnificent.  Oroetes,  having  learnt  that  an  inspector  might  be 
expect  3d,  did  as  follows :  having  filled  eight  chests  with  stones, 
except  a  very  small  space  round  the  brim,  he  put  gold  on  the 
surface  of  the  stones,  and  having  made  the  chests  fast  with 
cords,  he  kept  them  in  readiness.    But  Majandrius,  having  come 

•  In  opposition  to  "  the  fabiilo\ia." 


2^2  HERODOTUS.  [124—126 

and  inspected  the  chests,  took  back  a  report  to  Polycrates. 
124.  He,  though  earnestly  dissuaded  by  the  oracles  and  by 
his  friends,  resolved  to  go  in  person  ;  and  moreover,  though 
his  daughter  had  seen  in  a  dream  this  vision  ;  she  imagined 
she  saw  her  father  elevated  in  the  air,  washed  by  Jupiter,  and 
anointed  by  the  sun.  Having  seen  this  vision,  she  endeavoured 
by  all  possible  means  to  divert  Polycrates  from  going  from 
home  to  Oroetes  ;  and  as  he  was  going  on  board  a  fifty-oared 
galley,  she  persisted  in  uttering  words  of  bad  omen.  But  ho 
threatened  her,  if  he  should  return  safe,  that  she  should  long 
continue  unmarried ;  and  she  prayed  that  so  it  might  be 
brought  to  pass  ;  for  she  chose  to  continue  a  longer  time  un- 
married, than  be  deprived  of  her  father.  125.  Thus  Poly- 
crates, disregarding  all  advice,  set  sail  to  visit  Oroetes,  taking 
with  him  many  others  of  his  friends,  and  among  them  Demo- 
cedes  son  of  Calliphon,  a  Crotonian,  who  was  a  physician, 
and  the  most  skilful  practitioner  of  his  time.  But  Polycrates, 
on  his  arrival  at  Magnesia,  was  put  to  death  in  a  horrid  man- 
ner, unworthy  of  himself  and  his  lofty  thoughts :  for  with  the 
exception  of  those  who  have  been  tyrants  of  Syracuse,  not  on*? 
of  all  the  Grecian  tyrants  deserves  to  be  compared  with  Poly- 
crates for  magnificence.  But  Oroetes,  having  put  him  to 
death  in  a  manner  not  to  be  described,  caused  him  to  be  cru- 
cified :  of  those  that  accompanied  Polycrates,  as  many  as  were 
Saraians,  he  dismissed,  bidding  them  to  feel  thankful  to  him 
for  their  liberty  :  but  as  many  as  were  strangers  and  servants 
he  detained  and  treated  as  slaves.  Thus  Polycrates,  being 
crucified,  fulfilled  the  vision  of  his  daughter  in  every  par- 
ticular ;  for  he  was  washed  by  Jupiter,  when  it  rained,  and 
was  anointed  by  the  sun,  himself  emitting  moisture  from  his 
body.  Thus  the  constant  good  fortune  of  Polycrates  ended 
as  Amasis,  king  of  Egypt,  had  foretold.^ 

126.  Not  long  after,  vengeance  on  account  of  Polycrates  over- 
took Oroetes :  for  after  the  death  of  Cambyses,  and  during  the 
reign  of  the  magi,  Oroetes,  continuing  at  Sardis,  gave  no  assist- 
ance to  the  Persians,  who  had  been  deprived  of  the  government 
by  tlie  Medes ;  but  he  in  this  confusion  put  to  death  Mitro- 
bates,  governor  of  Dascylium,  who  had  upbraided  him  with 
his  conduct  to  Polycrates,  together  with  Mitrobates'  son 
Cranaspeg.  men  of  high  repute  among  the  Persians ;  and  he 
*  See  chapters  40 — 43, 


127,128]  THALIA.    III.  223 

committed  various  other  atrocities  ;  and  a  certain  courier  of 
Darius  who  came  to  him,  because  he  brought  him  an  unwel- 
come message,  he  had  assassinated  on  his  return,  having  set 
men  to  way-lay  him ;  and  when  he  had  caused  him  to  be 
slain,  he  had  him  and  his  horse  put  out  of  sight.  127.  Darius, 
therefore,  when  he  got  possession  of  the  throne,  was  anxious 
to  punish  Oroetes  for  all  his  iniquities,  and  especially  for  the 
death  of  Mitrobates  and  his  son.  But  he  did  not  think  it 
prudent  to  send  an  army  against  him  openly,  as  his  affairs 
were  still  in  a  ferment,  and  he  had  but  just  got  possession  ot 
the  throne,  and  lie  heard  that  Oroetes  had  great  strength  ;  for 
he  had  a  body-guard  of  a  thousand  Persians,  and  held  the 
government  of  Phrygia,  Lydia,  and  Ionia.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, therefore,  Darius  had  recourse  to  the  following 
plan  :  having  called  the  most  eminent  of  the  Persians  to- 
gether, he  addressed  them  as  follows  :  "  Which  of  you,  O 
Persians,  will  undertake  to  accomplish  for  me  this  by  address, 
and  not  by  force  and  numbers  ?  for  where  skill  is  required, 
force  is  of  no  avail.  Which  of  you,  then,  will  either  bring  me 
Oroetes  alive,  or  put  him  to  death  ?  He  has  never  done  the 
Persians  any  service,  but  has  brought  great  mischiefs  upon 
them.  In  the  first  place,  he  destroyed  two  of  us,  Mitrobates 
and  his  son  ;  and  in  the  next  place,  he  slew  the  messenger  sent 
by  me  to  recall  him,  displaying  intolerable  insolence.  He 
must  therefore  be  stopped  by  death,  before  he  has  perpetrated 
any  greater  evils  against  the  Persians."  128.  Darius  asked 
the  above  questions ;  and  thirty  men  offered  to  undertake  it, 
each  being  willing  to  accomplish  the  plan  alone.  But  Darius 
put  an  end  to  tlieir  competitions,  by  desiring  them  to  cast  lots  ; 
and  when  tliey  cast  lots  it  fell  to  Bagaeus,  son  of  Artontes. 
Bagaeus,  having  obtained  it,  did  as  follows :  having  written 
several  letters  relating  to  a  variety  of  affairs,  he  affixed  to 
them  Darius's  seal,  and  then  proceeded  with  them  to  Sardis. . 
On  his  arrival,  having  come  into  the  presence  of  Oroetes,  he 
opened  the  letters  one  by  one,  and  gave  them  to  the  royal 
secretary  to  read  ;  for  all  the  governors  have  royal  secretaries. 
Bagaeus  gave  the  letters  in  order  to  make  trial  of  the  guards 
whether  they  would  listen  to  a  revolt  from  Oroetes :  and  per- 
ceiving they  paid  great  respect  to  the  letters,  and  still  more  to 
the  contents,  he  gave  one  in  which  were  these  words :  "  Per- 
sians,  King  Darius  forbids  you  to  be  guards  to  Oroetes  ** 


224  HERODOTUS.  [129,  130 

They,  when  they  heard  this,  lowered  their  lancfes  to  him. 
When  Bagaeus  saw  them  so  obedient  to  the  letter,  he  there- 
upon took  confidence,  and  delivered  the  last  letter  to  the 
secretary,  in  which  was  written :  "  King  Darius  commands 
the  Persians  at  Sardis  to  put  Oroetes  to  death."  The  guards, 
when  they  heard  this,  drew  their  scimetars,  and  killed  him 
immediately.  Thus  vengeance  overtook  Oroetes  the  Persian, 
on  account  of  Polycrates  the  Samian. 

129.  When  the  treasures  of  Oroetes  had  been  removed,  and 
had  arrived  at  Susa,  it  happened  not  long  after  that  Darius, 
in  leaping  from  his  horse  while  hunting,  twisted  his  foot,  and 
it  was  twisted  with  such  violence  that  the  ancle-bone  was  dis- 
located ;  and  at  first  thinking  he  had  about  him  those  of  the 
Egyptians  who  had  the  first  reputation  for  skill  in  the  healing 
art,  he  made  use  of  their  assistance.  But  they,  by  twisting  the 
foot,  and  using  force,  made  the  evil  worse  ;  and  from  the  pain 
which  he  felt,  Darius  lay  seven  days  and  seven  nights  without 
sleep.  On  the  eighth  day,  as  he  still  continued  in  a  bad  state, 
some  one  who  had  before  heard  at  Sardis  of  the  skill  of  De- 
mocedes  the  Crotonian,  made  it  known  to  Darius ;  and  he 
ordered  them  to  bring  him  to  him  as  quickly  as  possible. 
They  found  him  among  the  slaves  of  Oroetes,  altogether  neg- 
lected ;  and  brought  him  forward,  dragging  fetters  behind 
him,  and  clothed  in  rags.  130.  As  he  stood  before  him, 
Darius  asked  him  whether  he  understood  the  art.  He  denied 
that  he  did,  fearing  lest,  if  he  discovered  himself,  he  should  be 
altogether  precluded  from  returning  to  Greece.  But  he  ap- 
peared to  Darius  to  dissemble,  although  he  was  skilled  in  the 
art ;  he  therefore  commanded  those  who  had  brought  him 
thither  to  bring  out  whips  and  goads.  Whereupon  he  dis- 
covered himself,rsaying  that  he  did  not  know  it  perfectly,  but 
having  been  intimate  with  a  physician,  he  had  some  poor 
knowledge  of  the  art.  Upon  which,  when  Darius  put  him- 
self under  his  care,  by  using  Grecian  medicines,  and  applying 
lenitives  after  violent  remedies,  he  caused  him  to  sleep,  and  in 
a  little  time  restored  him  to  his  health,  though  he  had  before 
despaired  of  ever  recovering  the  use  of  his  foot.  After  this 
cure,  Darius  presented  him  with  two  pair  of  golden  fetters ; 
but  Democedes  asked  him,  if  he  purposely  gave  him  a  double 
3vil  because  he  had  restored  him  to  health.  Darius,  pleased 
with  the  speech,  sent  him  to  his  own  wives  ;  and  the  eunuchs, 


181-133]  THALTA.    111.  225 

introducing  him,  said  to  the  women,  that  this  was  the  man 
who  had  saved  the  king's  life  ;  whereupon  f  acR  of  them,  dip- 
ping a  goblet  into  a  chest  of  gold,  presented  Democedes 
with  such  a  munificent  gift,  that  a  servant  whose  name  was 
Sciton,  following  behind,  picked  up  the  staters  that  fell  from 
the  goblets,  and  collected  a  large  quantity  of  gold. 

Idl.  This  Democedes  visited  Polycrates,  after  having  left 
Crotona  on  the  following  account.  He  was  harshly  treated  at 
Crotona  by  his  father,  who  was  of  a  severe  temper,  and  bein^ 
unable  to  endure  this,  he  left  him  and  went  to  ^gina ;  hav- 
ing settled  there,  in  the  first  year,  though  he  was  unprovided 
with  means,  and  had  none  of  the  instruments  necessary  for  the 
exercise  of  his  airt,  he  surpassed  the  most  skilful  of  their  phy- 
sicians ;  and  in  the  second  year,  the  -^ginetje  engaged  him  for 
a  talent  out  of  the  public  treasury ;  and  in  the  third  year  the 
Athenians,  for  a  hundred  minae  ;  and  in  the  fourth  year  Poly- 
crates, for  two  talents ;  thus  he  came  to  Samos.  From  this  man 
the  Crotonian  physicians  obtained  a  great  reputation  ;  for  at 
this  period  the  physicians  of  Crotona  were  said  to  be  the  first 
throughout  Greece,  and  the  Cyrenaeans  the  second.  At  the 
same  time  the  Argives  were  accounted  the  most  skilful  of  the 
Greeks  in  the  art  of  music.  132.  At  that  time  then  Demo- 
edes,  having  completely  cured  Darius  at  Susa,  had  a  very 
large  house,  and  had  a  seat  at  the  king's  table  ;  and  he  had 
every  thing  he  could  wish  for,  except  the  liberty  of  returning 
to  Greece.  And  in  the  first  place  he  obtained  from  the  king 
a  pardon  for  the  Egyptian  physicians,  who  first  attended  the 
king,  and  were  about  to  be  empaled,  because  they  had  been 
outdone  by  a  Greek  physician  ;  and  in  the  next  place  he  pro- 
cured the  liberty  of  a  prophet  of  Elis,  who  had  attended 
Polycrates,  and  lay  neglected  among  the  slaves.  In  short, 
Democedes  had  great  influence  with  the  king. 

133.  Not  long  after  these  things,  the  following  events  took 
place :  Atossa,  daughter  of  Cyrus,  and  wife  to  Darius,  had 
a  tumour  on  her  breast ;  after  some  time  it  burst,  and  spread 
considerably.  As  long  as  it  was  small,  she  concealed  it,  and 
from  delicacy  informed  no  one  of  it ;  when  it  became  dan- 
gerous, she  sent  for  Democedes  and  showed  it  to  him.  He,  say- 
ing that  he  could  cure  her,  exacted  from  her  a  solemn  promise, 
that  she  in  return  would  perform  for  lim  whatever  he  should 
require  of  her,  but  added  that  he  would  ask  nothing  which 

Q 


226  HEiloDoTtJig.  [m,  m. 

might  bring  disgrace  on  her.  134.  When  therefore  he  had 
healed  her,  and  restored  her  to  health,  Atossa,  instructed  by 
Democedes,  addressed  Darius,  as  he  lay  in  bed,  in  the  follow- 
ing words  :  "O  king,  you  who  possess  so  great  power,  sit 
idle,  and  do  not  add  any  nation  or  power  to  the  Persians.  It 
were  right  that  a  man  who  is  both  young  and  master  of  such 
vast  treasures,  should  render  himself  considerable  by  his 
actions,  that  the  Persians  may  know  that  they  are  governed 
by  a  man.  Two  motives  should  influence  you  to  such  a 
course  ;  first,  that  the  Persians  may  know  that  it  is  a  man  who 
rules  over  them,  and  secondly,  that  they  may  be  worn  in  war, 
and  not  tempted  by  too  much  ease  to  plot  against  you.  You 
should  therefore  perform  some  illustrious  action,  while  you  are 
in  the  flower  of  your  age  ;  for  the  mind  grows  with  the 
growth  of  the  body,  and  as  it  grows  old,  grows  old  with  it, 
and  dull  for  every  action."  She  spoke  thus  according  to  her 
instructions,  and  he  answered,  "Lady,  you  have  mentioned 
the  very  things  that  I  myself  purpose  to  do  ;  for  I  have  de- 
termined to  make  a  bridge  and  march  from  this  continent  to  the 
other,  against  the  Scythians  ;  and  this  shall  shortly  be  put  in  ex- 
ecution." Atossa  repHed,  "  Look  you  now,  give  up  the  thought 
of  marching  first  against  the  Scythians,  for  they  will  be  in 
your  power  whenever  you  choose  ;  but  take  my  advice,  and 
lead  an  army  into  Greece  ;  for  from  the  account  I  have 
heard,  I  am  anxious  to  have  Lacedaemonian,  Argive,  Atheni- 
an, and  Corinthian  attendants  :  and  you  have  the  fittest  man 
in  the  world  to  show  and  inform  you  of  every  thing  concern- 
ing Greece  ;  I  mean  the  person  who  cured  your  foot."  Da- 
rius answered,  "  Lady,  since  you  think  I  ought  to  make  my 
first  attempt  against  Greece,  I  think  it  better  first  to  send 
some  Persians  thither  as  spies  with  the  man  you  mention  ; 
they,  when  they  are  informed  of  and  have  seen  every  particu- 
lar, will  make  a  report  to  me  ;  and  then,  being  thoroughly  in- 
formed, I  will  turn  my  arms  against  them."  135.  Thus  he 
spoke  ;  and  no  sooner  said  than  done  ;  for  as  soon  as  day 
dawned,  having  summoned  fifteen  eminent  Persians,  he  com- 
manded them  to  accompany  Democedes,  and  pass  along  the 
maritime  parts  of  Greece  ;  and  to  take  care  that  Democedes 
did  not  escape  from  them,  but  they  must  by  all  means  bring 
him  back  again.  Having  given  these  commands  to  them,  he 
next  summoned  Democedes  himself,  and  reouested  him,  when 


136  137.  J  Til  ALT  A,    111.  227 

he  had  conducted  the  Persians  througli  all  Greece,  and  shown 
it  to  them,  to  return  back  again  ;  he  also  commanded  him  to 
take  with  him  all  his  movables  as  presents  to  his  father  and 
brothers,  promising  to  give  him  many  times  as  mych  instead. 
IMoreover,  he  said,  that  for  the  purpose  of  transporting  the 
presents  he  would  give  a  merchant  ship,  filled  with  all  kinds 
of  precious  things,  which  should  accompany  him  on  his  voy- 
age. Now  Darius,  in  my  opinion,  promised  him  these  things 
without  any  deceitful  intention ;  but  Democedes,  fearing  lest 
Darius  was  making  trial  of  him,  received  all  that  was  given, 
without  eagerness,  but  said  that  he  would  leave  his  own 
goods  where  they  were,  that  he  might  have  them  on  his  re- 
turn ;  the  merchant  ship  which  Darius  promised  him  to  con- 
vey the  presents  to  his  brothers,  he  said  he  would  accept  of. 
Dari-us  having  given  him  these  instructions,  sent  them  down 
to  the  coast. 

136.  Accordingly,  going  down  to  Phoenicia  and  Sidon,  a 
city  of  Phoenicia,  they  manned  tv/o  triremes,  and  with  them 
also  a  large  trading  vessel,  laden  with  all  kinds  of  precious 
things  ;  and  having  prepared  every  thing,  they  set  sail  for 
Greece  ;  and  keeping  to  the  shore,  they  surveyed  the  coasts, 
md  made  notes  in  writing  ;  at  length,  having  inspected  the 
greatest  part  of  it,  and  whatever  was  most  remarkable,  they 
)roceeded  to  Tarentum  in  Italy.     There,  out  of  kindness  to- 
-■ards  Democedes,  Aristophilides,  king  of  the  Tarentines,  first 
)ok  off  the  rudders  of  the  Median  ships,  and  next  shut  up 
||he  Persians  as  spies.     Whilst  they  were  in  this  condition 
)emocedes  went  to  Crotona,  and  when  he  had  reached  his 
|own  home,  Aristophilides  set  the  Persians  at  liberty,  and  re- 
stored what  he  had  taken  from  their  ships.     137.  The  Per- 
'sians  sailing  from  thence,  and  pursuing  Democedes,  arrived  at 
Crotona,  and  having  found  him  in  tl^e  public  mt^rket,  they  laid 
hands  on  him.     Some  of  the  Crotonians,  dreading  the  Persian 
power,  were  ready  to  deliver  him  up ;  but  others  seized  the 
Persians  in  turn,  and  beat  them  with  staves,  though  they  ex- 
postulated in  these  terms :  "  Men  of  Crotona,  have  a  care  what 
you  do,  you  are  rescuing  a  man  who  is  a  runaway  from  the 
king  ;  how  will  king  Darius  endure  to  be  thus  insulted  ?  How 
can  what  you  do  end  well,  if  you  force  this  man  from  us  ? 
"What  city  shall  we  sooner  attack  than  this  ?     What  sooner 
shall  we  endeavour  to  reduce  to  slavery?"    Saying  this,  they 

Q  2 


228  HBRODOTUS.  1138,  13». 

did  not  persuade  the  Crotonians ;  but  being  forcibly  deprived 
of  Democedes,  and  having  had  the  trading  vessel  which  they 
brought  with  them  taken  from  them,  they  sailed  back  to  Asia ; 
nor,  as  they  were  deprived  of  their  guide,  did  they  attempt  to 
explore  Greece  any  further.  At  their  departure  Democedes 
enjoined  them  to  tell  Darius  that  he  had  Mile's  daughter 
affianced  to  him  as  his  wife,  for  the  name  of  Milo,  the  wrestler, 
stood  high  with  the  king ;  and  on  this  account  it  appears  to 
me  that  Democedes  spared  no  expense  to  hasten  this  marriage, 
that  he  might  appear  to  Darius  to  be  a  man  of  consequence  in 
his  own  country.  138.  The  Persians,  having  set  sail  from 
Crotona,  were  driven  to  lapygia,  and  being  made  slaves  there, 
Gillus,  a  Tarehtlne  exile,  ransomed  them,  and  conducted  them 
to  king  Darius ;  and  he  in  return  for  this  professed  himself 
ready  to  give  liim  whatever  he  should  desire.  But  Gillus, 
having  first  related  his  misfortunes,  asked  to  be  restored  to 
Tarentum ;  but  that  he  might  not  disturb  Greece,  if  on  his 
account  a  great  fleet  should  sail  to  Italy,  he  said  that  the 
Cnidians  alone  would  suffice  to  effect  his  restoration  ;  thinking 
that  by  them,  as  they  were  on  terms  of  friendship  with  the 
Tarcntines,  his  return  would  be  most  easily  effected.  Darius 
having  promised  this,  performed  it ;  for  having  despatched  a 
messenger  to  Cnidus,  he  bade  them  restore  Gillus  to  Taren- 
tum ;  but  the  Cnidians,  though  they  obeyed  Darius,  could  not 
persuade  the  Tarentines,  and  were  not  strong  enough  to  em- 
ploy force.  Thus  these  things  ended:  and  these  were  the 
first  Persians  who  came  from  Asia  to  Greece,  and  they,  on 
that  occasion,  were  spies. 

139.  After  these  things,  king  Darius  took  Samos,  first  of 
all  the  cities,  either  Grecian  or  barbarian,  and  he  took  it  for 
the  following  reason.  When  Cambyses,  son  of  Cyrus,  invaded 
Egypt,  many  Grecians  resorted  thither;  some,  as  one  may 
conjecture,  on  account  of  trade ;  others,  to  serve  as  soldiers 
others,  to  view  the  co-untry.  Of  these,  the  last  was  Syloson 
»on  of  JEaces,  brother  to  Polycrates,  and  an  exile  from  SamoiSo 
The  following  piece  of  good  luck  befel  this  Syloson :  having' 
put  on  a  scarlet  cloak,  he  walked  in  the  streets  of  Memphis , 
and  Darius,  who  was  one  of  Cambyses'  guard,  and  as  yet  a 
man  of  no  great  account,  seeing  him,  took  a  fancy  to  the  cloak, 
and  coming  up,  wished  to  purchase  it.  But  Syloson,  per- 
ceiving that  Darius  was  very  anxious   to  have  the   cloak, 


140—142]  THALTA.    III.  229 

Impelled  by  a  divine  impulse,  said,  "  I  will  not  sell  it  for  any 
sum,  but  I  will  give  it  you  for  nothing,  if  so  it  must  needs  be/* 
Darius,  having  accepted  his  offer  with  thanks,  took  the  cloak. 
140.  Syloson  thought  afterwards  that  he  had  lost  it  through  his 
good  nature,  but  when,  in  course  of  time,  Cambyses  died,  and 
the  seven  rose  up  against  the  magus,  and  of  the  seven,  Darius 
possessed  the  throne,  Syloson  heard  that  the  kingdom  had 
devolved  on  the  man  to  whom  he  had  given  his  cloak  in 
Egypt  on  his  requesting  it ;  so  having  gone  up  to  Susa  he 
seated  himself  at  the  threshold  of  the  king's  palace,  and  said 
he  had  been  a  benefactor  to  Darius.  The  porter,  having  heard 
this,  reported  it  to  the  king ;  but  he,  wondering,  said  to  the 
man,  "  What  Grecian  is  my  benefactor,  to  whom  I  owe  a  debt 
of  gratitude,  having  so  lately  come  to  the  throne  ?  Scarcely 
one  of  them  has  as  yet  come  up  hither ;  nor  can  I  mention  any 
thing  that  I  owe  to  a  Greek.  However,  bring  him  in,  that  1 
may  know  the  meaning  of  what  he  says."  The  porter  intro 
duced  Syloson,  and  as  he  stood  in  the  midst,  the  interpreters 
asked  him  who  he  was,  and  what  he  had  done,  that  he  said  he 
had  been  a  benefactor  to  the  king.  Then  Syloson  related  all 
that  had  passed  respecting  the  cloak,  and  that  he  was  the  per- 
m  who  gave  it  To  this  the  king  answered,  "  Most  generous  of 
len  !  art  thou  then  the  man  who,  when  as  yet  I  had  no  power, 
lade  me  a  present,  small  as  it  was  ?  yet  the  obligation  is  the 
ime  as  if  I  were  now  to  receive  a  thing  of  great  value.  In 
|return  I  will  give  thee  abundance  of  gold  and  silver,  so  that 
thou  shalt  never  repent  having  conferred  a  favour  on  Da- 
ius  son  of  Hystaspes."  To  this  Syloson  replied,  "  O  king, 
;ive  me  neither  gold  nor  silver  ;  but  recover  and  give  me 
)ack  my  country,  Samos,  which  now,  since  my  brother  Poly- 
Brates  died  by  the  hands  of  Oroetes,  a  slave  of  ours  has  pos- 
jd  himself  of.  Give  me  this  without  blood^^hed  and 
bondage.  141.  When  Darius  heard  this,  he  sent  an  army 
under  the  conduct  of  Otanes,  one  of  the  seven,  with  orders 
to  accomplish  whatever  Syloson  should  desire.  Whereupon 
Otanes,  going  down  to  the  sea,  embarked  his  army. 

142.  Maeandrius,  son  of  Maeandrius,  held  the  government 
>f  Samos,  having  had  the  administration  intrusted  to  him  by 
"^olycrates  :  though  he  wished  to  prove  himself  the  most  ju?t 
)f  men,  he  was  unable  to  effect  his  purpose.  For  when  the 
leath  of  Polycrates  was  made  known  to  him,  he  did  as  fol 


230  HERODOTUS,  1143,144' 

lows.  First  he  erected  an  altar  to  Jupiter  Liberator,  and 
marked  round  it  the  sacred  enclosure,  which  is  now  in  the 
suburbs.  Afterwards,  when  he  had  done  this,  he  summoned 
an  assembly  of  all  the  citizens,  and  spoke  as  follows :  "To 
me,  as  you  know,  the  sceptre  and  all  the  power  of  Polycrates 
has  been  intrusted,  and  I  am  now  able  to  retain  the  govern- 
ment. But  what  I  condemn  in  another,  I  will  myself,  to  the 
utmost  of  my  ability,  abstain  from  doing.  For  neither  did 
Polycrates  please  me  in  exercising  despotic  power  over  men 
equal  to  himself,  nor  would  any  other  who  should  do  the 
like.  Now  Polycrates  has  accomplished  his  fate  ;  and  I,  sur- 
rendering the  government  into  your  hands,  proclaim  equality 
to  all.  I  require,  however,  that  the  following  remuneration 
should  be  granted  to  myself ;  that  six  talents  should  be  given 
me  out  of  the  treasures  of  Polycrates  ;  and  in  addition,  I 
claim  for  myself  and  my  descendants  for  ever,  the  priesthood 
of  th«  temple  of  Jupiter  Liberator  ;  to  whom  I  have  erected 
an  altar,  and  under  whose  auspices  I  restore  to  you  your 
liberties."  He  then  made  these  demands  of  the  Samians  ; 
but  one  of  them  rising  up  said,  "  You  forsooth  are  not  worthy 
to  rule  over  us,  being  as  you  are  a  base  and  pestilent  fellow  ; 
rather  think  how  you  will  render  an  account  of  the  wealth  that 
you  have  had  the  management  of."  143.  Thus  spoke  a  man 
of  eminence  among  the  citizens,  whose  name  was  Telesar- 
chus.  But  Maeandrius,  perceiving  that  if  he  should  lay  down 
the  power,  some  other  would  set  himself  up  as  tyrant  in  his 
place,  no  longer  thought  of  laying  it  down.  To  which  end, 
when  he  had  withdrawn  to  the  citadel,  sending  for  each  ono 
severally,  as  if  about  to  give  an  account  of  the  treasures,  he 
seized  them  and  put  them  in  chains.  They  then  were  kept 
in  confinement ;  but  after  this,  disease  attacked  Maeandrius  ; 
and  his  brother,  whose  name  was  Lycaretus,  supposing  that 
he  would  die,  in  order  that  he  might  the  more  easily  possess 
himself  of  the  government  of  Samos,  put  all  the  prisoners  to 
death  ;  for,  as  it  seems,  they  were  not  willing  to  be  free. 

144.  When  therefore  the  Persians  arrived  at  Samos,  bring- 
ing Syloson  with  them,  no  one  raised  a  hand  against  them, 
and  the  partisans  of  Mreandrius,  and  Maeandrius  himself,  said 
they  were  ready  to  quit  the  island  under  a  treaty  ;  and  when 
Otanes  had  assented  to  this,  and  had  ratified  the  agreement, 
the  principal  men  of  the  Persians,  having  had  seats  placed  for 


Ufi,  146,1  THALIA.    III.  23 1 

them,  sat  down  opposite  the  citadel.  145.  The  tyrant  Masan- 
drius  had  a  brother  somewhat  out  of  his  senses,  whose  name 
was  Charilaus  ;  he,  for  some  fault  he  had  committed,  was 
confined  in  a  dungeon  ;  and  having  at  that  time  overheard 
what  was  doing,  and  having  peeped  through  his  dungeon, 
when  he  saw  the  Persians  sitting  quietly  down,  he  shouted 
and  said  that  he  wished  to  speak  with  Masandrius  ;  but  Mae- 
andrius,  having  heard  this,  commanded  him  to  be  released,  and 
brought  into  his  presence  ;  and  as  soon  as  he  was  brought 
there,  upbraiding  and  reviling  his  brother,  he  urged  him  to 
attack  the  Persians,  saying,  "  Me,  O  vilest  of  men,  who  am 
your  own  brother,  and  have  done  nothing  worthy  of  bonds, 
you  have  bound  and  adjudged  to  a  dungeon  ;  but  when  you 
see  the  Persians  driving  you  out  and  making  you  houseless, 
you  dare  not  avenge  yourself,  though  they  are  so  easy  to  be 
subdued.  But  if  you  are  in  dread  of  them,  lend  me  your  aux- 
iliaries, and  I  will  punish  them  for  coming  here,  and  I  am 
ready  also  to  send  you  out  of  the  island.  146.  Thus  spoke 
Charilaus  ;  and  Mgeandrius  accepted  his  offer,  as  I  think,  not 
that  he  had  reached  such  a  pitch  of  folly  as  to  imagine  that 
his  own  power  could  overcome  that  of  the  king,  but  rather 
out  of  envy  to  Syloson,  if  without  a  struggle  he  should 
possess  himself  of  the  city  uninjured.  Having  therefore 
provoked  the  Persians,  he  wished  to  make  the  Samian 
power  as  weak  as  possible,  and  then  to  give  it  up :  being  well 
assured  that  the  Persians,  if  they  suffered  any  ill-treatment, 
would  be  exasperated  against  the  Samians  ;  and  knowing  also 
that  he  had  for  himself  a  safe  retreat  from  the  island,  when- 
ever he  chose,  for  he  had  had  a  secret  passage  dug  leading 
from  the  citadel  to  the  sea.  Accordingly  Maeandrius  himself 
sailed  away  from  Samos  ;  but  Charilaus,  having  armed  all  the 
auxiliaries,  and  having  thrown  open  the  gates,  sallied  out 
upon  the  Persians,  who  did  not  expect  any  thing  of  the  kind, 
but  thought  every  thing  had  been  agreed  upon  ;  and  the  aux- 
iliaries, falling  on,  slew  those  of  the  Persians  who  were  seated 
in  chairs,^  and  who  were  the  principal  men  among  them.  But 
th^  rest  of  the  Persian  army  came  to  their  assistance,  and  the 
fiuxiliaries,  being  hard  pressed,  were  shut  up  again  within  the 

'  Ai(f>po(popivaivov^  Baelir  thinks  refers  to  those  Persians  who  were  be- 
fore described  as  seated  opposite  the  citadel ;  Coray,  ^ucted  by  Larcher 
m^  others,  thinks  it  means  "  tho«e  who  were  carried  ou  litters." 


232  HERODOTUS  [147-150 

citadel.  147.  But  Otanes  the  general,  when  he  saw  that  the 
Persians  had  suffered  great  loss,  purposely  ^  neglected  to  obey 
the  orders  which  Darius  had  given  him  at  his  departure,  that 
he  should  neither  kill  nor  take  prisoner  any  of  the  Samians, 
but  deliver  the  island  to  Syloson  without  damage;  on  the 
contrary,  he  commanded  his  army  to  put  to  death  every  one 
they  met  with,  both  man  and  child  alike.  Whereupon,  one 
part  of  the  army  besieged  the  citadel,  and  the  rest  killed  every 
one  that  came  in  their  way,  all  they  met,  as  well  within  the 
temples  as  without.  148.  Majandrius,  having  escaped  from 
Samos,  sailed  to  Lacedtemon  ;  and  having  arrived  there,  and 
carried  with  him  ull  the  treasures  that  he  had  when  he  set  out, 
he  did  as  follows.  When  he  had  set  out  his  silver  and  golden 
cups,  his  servants  began  to  clean  them  ;  and  he,  at  the  same 
time,  holding  a  conversation  with  Cleomenes,  son  of  Anaxan- 
drides,  then  king  of  Sparta,  led  him  on  to  his  house.  When 
the  king  saw  the  cups,  he  was  struck  with  wonder  and  aston- 
ishment ;  upon  which  Mseandrius  bade  him  take  away  what- 
ever he  pleased,  and  when  Maeandrius  had  repeated  this  offer 
two  or  three  times,  Cleomenes  showed  himself  a  man  of  the 
highest  integrity,  who  refused  to  accept  what  was  offered  ;  and 
being  informed  that  by  giving  to  other  citizens  he  would  gain 
their  support,  he  went  to  the  Ephori,  and  said  that  it  would 
be  better  for  Sparta  that  this  Samian  stranger  should  quit  the 
Peloponnesus,  lest  he  should  persuade  him  or  some  other  of 
the  Spartans  to  become  base.  But  they,  having  assented, 
banished  Maeandrius  by  public  proclamation.  1 49.  The  Per- 
sians, having  drawn  Samos  as  with  a  net,'*  delivered  it  to  Sy- 
loson, utterly  destitute  of  inhabitants.  Afterwards,  however, 
Otanes,  the  general,  repeopled  it,  in  consequence  of  a  vision  in 
a  dream,  and  a  distemper  which  seized  him  in  his  private 
parts. 

150.  Whilst  the  naval  armament  was  on  its  way  to  Samos, 
the  Babylonians  revolted,  having  very  well  prepared  them- 
selves. For  while  the  magus  reigned,  and  the  seven  rose 
up  against  him,  during  all  that  time,  and  in  the  confusion, 
they  had  made  preparations  for  a  siege,  and  somehow  in  doing 
this  had  escaped  observation.     But  when  they  openly  revolt- 

^  /jLtfjLvniJilvo^  iTTsXdvdavtTOfliteTvMy  "  remembering  he  forgot."  Just  as 
V»w  «Trio-xdueyos  to  ovvofia  eKwv  i7rt\ij0o/uat,  B.  IV.  chap.  43. 

*  For  a  description  of  this  mode  of  taking  an  island,  see  B.  VI.  chap  31 


pr 


151-154.]  THALIA.    III.  288 

ed  they  did  as  follows  :  having  excepted  their  mothers,  each 
man  selected  one  woman  besides,  whomever  he  chose,  from 
liis  own  family,  but  all  the  rest  they  assembled  together  and 
strangled :  the  one  woman  each  man  selected  to  cook  his  food. 
Tli«y  strangled  them,  that  they  might  not  consume  their  pro- 
visions. 151.  Darius,  being  informed  of  this,  and  having  col- 
lected all  his  forces,  marched  against  them ;  and  having  ad- 
vanced to  Babylon,  he  besieged  them,  who  were  not  at  all 
solicitous  about  the  event,  for  the  Babylonians,  mounting  on 
the  ramparts  of  the  wall,  danced,  and  derided  Darius  and  his 
army,  and  one  of  them  spoke  as  follows  :  "  Why  sit  ye  there, 
O  Persians?  will  ye  not  be  off?  for  ye  will  then  take  us 
when  mules  bring  forth  young."  One  of  the  Babylonians  said 
this,  who  never  expected  that  a  mule  would  breed.  152.  When 
a  year  and  seven  months  had  now  passed,  Darius  was  vexed, 
and  all  his  army,  that  they  were  not  able  to  take  the  Babyloni- 
ans ;  though  Darius  had  recourse  to  every  kind  of  stratagem 
and  artifice  against  them.  But  even  so  he  could  not  take 
them ;  and  having  tried  other  stratagems,  he  made  trial  of 
that  also  by  which  Cyrus  had  taken  them.  However,  the 
Babylonians  kept  strict  guard,  and  he  was  not  able  to  sur- 
prise them. 

153.  Tliereupon,  in  the  twentieth  month,  toZopyrus,  son 
of  that  INIegabyzus,  who  was  one  of  the  seven  who  dethroned 
the  magus, — to  this  Zopyrus,  son  of  Megabyzus,  the  following 
prodigy  happened  ;  one  of  his  sumpter-mulcs  brought  forth 
oung  :  but  when  the  news  was  told  him,  Zopyrus  himself,  not 
elieving  it,  went  to  see  the  foal,  and  having  strictly  charged  his 
rvants  not  to  tell  any  one  what  had  happened,  he  considered 
n  it :  and  in  consequence  of  the  words  of  the  Babylonian, 
ho  at  the  beginning  said,  "  When  even  mules  bring  forth 
young,  then  would  the  city  be  taken," — in  consequence  of 
tliis  omen,  lie  thought  that  Babylon  could  now  be  taken  ;  for 
that  the  man  had  spoken  under  divine  influence,  and  that  his 
own  mule  had  brought  forth  young.  J^^T  When  he  thought 
that  it  was  fated  for  Babylon  to  be -mow  taken,  he  went  to 
Darius,  and  asked  him  whether  he  deemed  the  taking  of 
Babylon  as  of  very  great  importance  ;  and  having  learnt  that 
he  valued  it  at  a  high  price,  he  next  considered  how  he  might 
be  the  person  to  take  it,  and  the  work  might  be  his  own ;  for 
among  the  Persians  great  achievements  are  honoured  in  the 


234  HERODOTUS  1^ 

highest  degree.  Now,  he  concluded  that  he  should  not  be 
able  to  reduce  it  in  any  other  way,  than  if  he  should  mutilate 
himself,  and  desert  to  the  enemy.  Thereupon,  considering 
that  as  a  liglit  matter,  he  inflicted  on  himself  an  irremediable 
mutilation,  for  having  cut  off  his  nose  and  ears,  and  having 
cut  his  hair  in  a  disgraceful  manner,  and  having  scourged 
himself,  he  presented  himself  before  Darius.  155.  Darius 
was  very  much  grieved  when  he  beheld  a  man  of  high  rank  so 
mutilated,  and  having  started  from  his  throne,  he  shouted 
aloud  and  asked  who  had  mutilated  him,  and  for  what  cause. 
He  answered,  "  0  king,  there  is  no  man  except  yourself  who 
^ould  have  power  to  treat  me  thus  ;  no  stranger  has  done  this, 
O  king,  but  I  have  done  it  to  myself  deeming  it  a  great  in- 
dignity that  the  Assyrians  should  deiide  the  Persians."  He 
replied,  "  Most  wretched  of  men,  you  have  given  the  fairest 
name  to  the  foulest  deed,  in  saying  that  you  have  injured 
yourself  thus  incurably  on  account  of  those  who  are  besieged.,^^^ 
How,  foolish  man,  because  you  are  mutilated,  will  the  enemy 
sooner  submit?  Have  you  lost  your  senses,  that  you  have 
thus  ruined  yourself?"  He  said  in  answer,  "If  I  had  com- 
municated to  you  what  I  was  about  to  do,  you  would  not  have 
permitted  me,  but  now,  having  deliberated  with  myself,  I  have 
done  it ;  now,  therefore,  if  you  are  not  wanting  to  your  own 
interests,  we  shall  take  Babylon.  For  I,  as  I  am,  will  desert 
to  the  city,  and  will  tell  them  that  I  have  been  thus  treated  by 
you ;  and  I  think  that  when  I  have  persuaded  them  that  such 
is  the  case,  I  shall  obtain  the  command  of  their  *)my.  Do 
you  then,  on  the  tenth  day  after  I  shall  have  entere-,'  the  city, 
of  that  part  of  your  army  whose  loss  you  would  least  regret, 
station  a  thousand  men  over  against  the  gates  called  after 
Semiramis ;  again  after  that,  on  the  seventh  day  after  the 
tenth,  station  two  tliousand  more  against  the  gate  called  from 
Nineveh ;  and  from  the  seventh  day  let  an  interval  of  twenty 
days  elapse,  and  then  place  four  thousand  more  against  the 
gate  called  from  the  Chaldaeans  ;  but  let  neither  the  first  nor 
these  carry  any  defensive  arms  except  swords,  but  let  them 
have  those.  After  the  twentieth  day,  straightway  command 
the  rest  of  the  army  to  invest  the  wall  on  all  sides,  but  station 
the  Persians  for  me  at  those  called  the  Belidian  and  Cissian 
gates  ;  for  as  I  think,  when  I  have  performed  great  exploit^ 
the  Babylonians  will  intrust  every  thing  to  me,  and,  more* 


166—168.1  THALIA.    TTl,  2S5 

over,  the  keys  of  the  gates,  iind  then  it  will  be  mine  and  the 
Persians'  care  to  do  what  remains  to  be  done. 

156.  Having  given  these  injunctions,  he  went  to  the  gates, 
turning  round  as  if  he  were  really  a  deserter.  But  those  who 
were  stationed  in  that  quarter,  seeing  him  from  the  turrets,  ran 
down,  and  having  opened  one  door  of  the  gate  a  little,  asked  him 
who  he  was,  and  for  what  purpose  he  came.  He  told  them  that 
he  was  Zopyrus,  and  had  deserted  to  them :  the  door-keepers 
therefore,  when  they  heard  this,  conducted  him  to  the  assem- 
bly of  the  Babylonians,  and  standing  before  tli^m  he  deplored 
his  condition,  saying  that  he  had  suffered  from  Darius  the  in- 
juries he  had  inflicted  on  himself,  and  that  he  was  so  treated 
because  he  had  advised  to  raise  the  siege,  since  there  appeared 
no  means  of  taking  the  city.  "Now,  therefore,"  he  said, 
*'  I  come  to  you,  0  Babylonians,  the  greatest  blessing ;  and  to 
Darius,  his  army,  and  the  Persians,  the  greatest  mischief ;  for 
he  shall  not  escape  with  impunity,  having  thus  mutilated  me ; 
and  I  am  acquainted  with  all  his  designs."  157.  Thus  he 
spoke :  but  the  Babylonians,  seeing  a  man  of  distinction 
among  the  Persians  deprived  of  his  ears  and  nose,  and  covered 
with  stripes  and  blood,  thoroughly  believing  that  he  spoke  the 
truth,  and  that  he  had  come  as  an  ally  to  them,  were  ready  to 
intrust  him  with  whatever  he  should  ask :  and  he  asked  the 
command  of  the  forces^^ut  he,  having  obtained  this  from  them, 
acted  as  he  had  prec<»jcerted  with  Darius  ;  for  on  the  tenth  day, 
leading  out  the'army  of  the  Babjflonians,  and  having  surround- 
ed the  thousand,  whom  he  had  instructed  Darius  to  station  there 
first,  he  cut  them  all  in  pieces.  The  Babylonians  therefore 
perceiving  that  he  performed  deeds  suitable  to  his  promises, 
were  exceedingly  reioiced,  and  were  ready  to  obey  him  in 
every  thing.  He,  therefore,  having  suffered  the  appointed 
number  of  days  to  elapse,  and  again  having  selected  a  body  of 
Babylonians,  led  theni  out  and  slaughtered  the  two  thousand 
of  Darius's  soldiers.  But  the  Babylonians  witnessing  this  action 
also,  all  had  the  praises  of  Zopyrus  on  their  tongues.  Then 
he  again,  having  suffered  the  appointed  number  of  days  to 
elapse,  led  out  his  troops  according  to  the  settled  plan,  and 
having  surrounded  the  four  thousand,  he  cut  them  in  pieces. 
And  when  he  had  accomplished  this,  Zopyrus  was  every  thing 
to  the  Babylonians,  and  he  was  appointed  commander-in-chief, 
and  guardian  of  the  walls.     158.  But  when  Darius,  according 


236  HERODOTUS.  [169,  160. 

to  agreement,  invested  the  wall  all  round,  then  Zopyrus  dis- 
covered his  whole  treachery ;  for  the  Babylonians,  mounting 
on  the  wall,  repelled  the  army  of  Darius  that  was  attacking 
them ;  but  Zopyrus,  having  opened  the  Cissian  and  Belidian 
gates,  led  the  Persians  within  the  wall.  Those  of  the  Baby- 
lonians who  saw  what  was  done,  fled  into  the  temple  of  Jupiter 
Belus ;  and  those  who  did  not  see  it,  remained  each  at  their 
post,  until  they  also  discovered  that  they  had  been  betrayed. 

159.  Thus  Babylon  was  taken  a  second  time.  But  when 
Darius  had  made  himself  master  of  the  Babylonians,  first  of  all, 
he  demolished  the  walls  and  bore  away  all  the  gates,  for  when 
Cyrus  had  taken  Babylon  before,  he  did  neither  of  these 
things  ;  and  secondly,  Darius  impaled  about  three  thousand 
of  the  principal  citizens,  and  allowed  the  rest  of  the  Baby- 
lonians to  inhabit  the  city.  And  that  the  Babylonians  might 
have  wives,  in  order  that  offspring  might  grow  up  from  them, 
Darius  made  the  following  provision  j  for  the  Babylonians  had 
strangled  their  wives,  as  already  has  been  mentioned,  to  pre- 
vent the  consumption  of  their  provisions  ;  and  to  that  end 
he  enjoined  the  neighbouring  provinces  to  send  women  to 
Babylon,  taxing  each  at  a  certain  number,  so  that  a  total  of  fifty 
thousand  women  came  together  ;  and  from  these  the  Baby- 
lonians of  our  time  are  descended.  160.  No  Persian,  in  the 
opinion  of  Darius,  either  of  those  who  came  after,  or  lived 
before,  surpassed  Zopyrus  in  great  achievements,  Cyrus  only 
excepted  ;  for  with  him  no  Persian  ever  ventured  to  compare 
himself.  It  is  also  reported  that  Darius  frequently  expressed 
this  opinion,  that  he  would  rather  Zopyrus  had  not  suffered 
ignominious  treatment,  than  acquire  twenty  Babylons  in  ad- 
dition to  that  he  had.  And  he  honoured  him  exceedingly ; 
for  he  every  year  presented  him  with  those  gifts  which  are 
most  prized  by  the  Persians,  and  he  assigned  him  Babylon  to 
hold  free  from  taxes  during  his  life,  and  gave  him  many  other 
things  in  addition.  From  this  Zopyrus  sprung  Megazybus, 
who  commanded  the  army  in  Egypt  against  the  Athenians  and 
their  allies ;  and  from  this  Megabyzus  sprung  Zopyrus,  who 
deserted  to  the  Athenians  from  the  Persians. 


BOOK    IV. 

MELPOMENE. 

After  the  capture  of  Babyloai^Darius's  expeditiori_ng?tina^ 
the  ^cythians  took  place  ;  for  asAsia  was  flourishingin  men, 
and  large  revenues  came  in,  Darius  was  desirous  of  re- 
venging himself  upon  the  Scythians,  because  they  formerly, 
having  invaded  the  Median tfeffltory,  and  defeated  in  battle 
those  that  opposed  them,  were  the  first  beginners  of  violence. 
For  the  Scythians,  as  I  have  before  mentioned,*  ruled  over 
Upper  Asia  for  eight-and-twenty  years.  For  while  in  pur- 
suit of  the  Cimmerians,  they  entered  Asia,  and  overthrew  tlie 
er^mre  of  the  Medes  ;  for  these  last,  before  the  arrival  of  the 
ScylBTans,  ruled  over  Asia.  Those  Scythians,  however, "afTer 
thti'y  had  \HHih  abroad^elght-and-twenty  years,  and  returned  to 
their  own  country,  after  such  an  interval,  a  task  no  less  than  the 
invasion  of  Media  awaited  :  for  they  found  an  army  of  no  in- 
considerable force  ready  to  oppose  them  ;  for  the  wives  of  the 
Scythians,  seeing  their  husbands  were  a  long  time  absent,  had 
sought  the  company  of  their  slaves.  2.  The  Scythians  de- 
prive all  their  slaves  of  sight  for  the  sake  of  the  milk  which 
they  drink,  doin^  as  follows  ;  when  they  have  taken  bone 
tubes  very  like  flutes,  they  thrust  them  into  the  genital  parts 
of  the  mares,  and  blow  with  their  mouths ;  while  some  blow, 
others  milk.  They  say  they  do  this  for  the  following  reason  : 
because  the  veins  of  the  mare,  being  inflated,  become  filled, 
and  the  udder  is  depressed.  When  they  have  finished  milk- 
ing, they  pour  it  into  hollow  wooden  vessels,  and  having 
placed  the  blind  men  round  about  the  vessels,  they  agitate  the 
milk:  and  having  skimmed  off  tiiat  which  swims  on  the  sur- 
face, they  consider  it  the  most  valuable,  but  that  which  sub- 

« Sf  c  Book  !.  cii.  103,  105. 


238  HERODOTUS.  [3--^. 

sides  is  of  less  value  than  the  other.  On  this  account  thg 
Scythians  put  out  the  eyes  of"  every  prisoner  they  take  ;  for 
they  are  not  agriculturists,  but  feeders  of  cattle.  3.  From 
these  slaves  then  and  the  women  a  race  of  youths  had  grown 
up,  who,  when  they  knew  their  own  extraction,  opposed  those 
who  were  returning  from  Media.  And  first  they  cut  off  the 
country  by  digging  a  wide  ditch,  stretching  from  Mount  Tau- 
rus to  the  lake  Moeotis,  which  is  of  great  extent,  and  after- 
wards encamping  opposite,  they  came  to  an  engagement  with 
the  Scythians,  who  were  endeavouring  to  enter.  When 
several  battles  had  been  fought,  and  the  Scythians  were  unable 
to  obtain  any  advantage,  one  of  them  said,  "  Men  of  Scythia, 
what  are  we  doing  ?  by  fighting  with  our  slaves,  both  we  our- 
selves by  being  slain  become  fewer  in  number,  and  by  killing 
them  we  shall  hereafter  have  fewer  to  rule  over.  Now  there- 
fore it  seems  to  me,  that  we  should  lay  aside  our  spears  and 
bows,  and  that  every  one,  taking  a  horsewhip,  should  go  di- 
rectly to  them  ;  for  so  long  as  they  saw  us  with  arms,  they 
considered  themselves  equal  to  us,  and  born  of  equal  birth  ; 
but  when  they  shall  see  us  with  our  whips  instead  of  arms, 
they  will  soon  learn  that  they  are  our  slaves,  and  being  con- 
scious of  that,  will  no  longer  resist."  4.  The  Scythians,  hav- 
ing heard  this,  adopted  the  advice ;  and  the  slaves,  struck 
with  astonishment  at  what  was  done,  forgot  to  fight,  and  fled. 
Thus  the  Scythians  both  ruled  over  Asia,  and  being  after- 
wards expelled  by  the  Medes,  returned  in  this  manner  to  their 
own  country  :  and  for  the  above-mentioned  reasons,  Darius, 
desiring  to  take  revenge,  assembled  an  army  to  invade  them. 
5.  As  the  Scythians  say,  theirs  is  the  most  recent  of  all 
nations  ;  and  it  arose  in  the  following  manner.  The  first  man 
that  appeared  in  this  country,  which  was  a  wilderness,  was 
named  Targitaus  :  they  say  that  the  parents  of  this  Targitaus, 
in  my  opinion  relating  what  is  incredible, — they  say,  however, 
that  they  were  Jupiter  and  a  daughter  of  the  river  Borys- 
thenes ;  that  such  was  the  origin  of  Targitaus :  and  that  he 
had  three  sons,  who  went  by  the  names  of  Lipoxais,  Apoxais, 
and  the  youngest,  Colaxais  ;  that  during  their  reign  a  plough, 
a  yoke,  an  axe,  and  a  bowl  of  golden  workmanship,  dropping 
down  from  heaven,  fell  on  the  Scythian  territory ;  that  the 
eldest,  seeing  them  first,  approached,  intending  to  take  them 
up,  but  as  he  came  near,  the  gold  began  to  burn  ;  when  h« 


5^.]  MELfOM^NE.    IV.  239 

had  retired  the  second  went  up,  and  it  did  the  same  again ; 
accordingly  the  burning  gold  repulsed  these  ;  but  when  the 
youngest  went  up  the  third,  it  became  extinguished,  and  he 
carried  the  things  home  with  him ;  and  that  the  elder  brothers 
in  consequence  of  this  giving  way,  surrendered  the  whole  au- 
thority to  the  youngest.  6.  From  Lipoxais,  they  say,  are 
descended  those  Scythians  who  are  called  Auchatae  ;  from  the 
second,  Apoxais,  those  who  are  called  Catiari  and  Traspies ; 
and  from  the  youngest  of  them,  the  royal  race,  who  are  called 
Paralatae.  But  all  have  the  name  of  Scoloti,  from  the  sur- 
name of  their  king  ;  but  the  Grecians  call  them  Scythians. 
7.  The  Scythians  say  that  such  was  their  origin;  and  they 
reckon  the  whole  number  of  years  from  their  first  beginning, 
from  King  Targitaus  to  the  time  that  Darius  crossed  over 
against  them,  to  be  not  more  than  a  thousand  years,  but  just 
that  number.  This  sacred  gold  the  kings  watch  with  the 
greatest  care,  and  annually  approach  it  with  magnificent 
sacrifices  to  render  it  propitious.  If  he  who  has  the  sacred 
gold  happens  to  fall  asleep  in  the  open  air  on  the  festival,  tlie 
Scythians  say  he  cannot  survive  the  year,  and  on  this  account 
they  give  him  as  much  land  as  he  can  ride  round  on  liorse- 
back  in  one  day.  The  country  being  very  extensive,  Colaxais 
established  three  of  the  kingdoms  for  his  sons,  and  made  that 
one  the  largest  in  which  the  gold  is  kept.     The  parts  beyond 

he  north  of  the  inhabited  districts  the  Scythians  say  can 
neither  be  seen  nor  passed  through,  by  reason  of  the  feathers ^ 
shed  there  ;  for  that  the  earth  and  air  are  full  of  feathers,  and 
that  it  is  these  which  intercept  the  view. 

/8/ySuch  is  the  account  the  Scythians  give  of  themselves, 
arra  of  the  country  above  them :  but  the  Greeks  who  inhabit 
Pontus  give  the  following  account :  they  say,  that  Hercules, 
as  he  was  driving  away  the  herds  of  Geryon,  arrived  in  this 
country,  that  was  then  a  desert,  and  which  the  Scythians  now 
inhabit :  that  Geryon,  fixing  his  abode  outside  the  Pontus,  in- 
liabited  the  island  which  the  Greeks  call  Krythia,  situate  near 
Gades,  beyond  the  columns  of  Hercules  in  the  ocean.  The 
ocean,  they  say,  beginning  from  the  sun-rise,  flows  round  the 
whole  earth,  but  they  do  not  prove  it  in  fact ;  that  Hercules 
thence  came  to  the  country  now  called  Scythia,  and  as  a  storm 
imd  frost  overtook  him,  he  drew  his  lion's  skin  over  him,  an<] 
"  See  chap.  31. 


240  HERODOTUS.  [9. 10 

went  to  sleep  ;  and  in  the  mean  while  his  mares,  which  were 
feeding  apart  from  his  chariot,  vanished  by  some  divine  chance. 
9.  They  add^  that  when  Hercules  awoke^  ho  sought  for  them  ; 
and  that  having  gone  over  the  whole  country,  he  at  length  came 
to  the  land  called  Hylaea  ;  there  he  found  a  monster,  having  two 
natures,  half  virgin,  half  viper,  of  which  the  upper  parts  from 
the  buttocks  resembled  a  woman,  and  the  lower  parts  a  serpent : 
when  he  saw  he  was  astonished,  but  asked  her  if  she  had  any 
where  seen  his  strayed  mares.  She  said  that  she  herself  had 
them,  and  would  not  restore  them  to  him  before  she  had  lain  with 
him  :  Hercules  accordingly  lay  with  her  on  these  terms.  She 
however  delayed  giving  back  the  mares,  out  of  a  desire  to  enjoy 
tlie  company  of  Hercules  as  long  as  she  could ;  he  however 
was  desirous  of  recovering  them  and  departing  ;  at  last  as  she 
restored  the  mares,  she  said,  "  These  mares  that  strayed 
hither  I  preserved  for  you,  and  you  have  paid  me  salvage,  for 
I  have  three  sons  by  you  ;  tell  me,  therefore,  what  must  I  do 
with  them  when  they  are  grown  up  ;  whether  shall  I  establish 
them  here,  for  I  possess  the  rule  over  this  country,  or  shall  I 
send  them  to  you  ?"  She  asked  this  question,  but  he  replied, 
they  say,  "When  you  see  the  children  arrived  at  the  age  of 
men,  you  cannot  err  if  you  do  this  :  whichever  of  them  you 
see  able  thus  to  bend  this  bow,  and  thus  girding  himself  with 
this  girdle,  make  him  an  inhabitant  of  this  country  ;  and 
whichever  fails  in  these  tasks  which  I  enjoin,  send  out  of  the 
country.  If  you  do  this,  you  will  please  yourself  and  perform 
my  injunctions.  10.  Then  having  drawn  out  one  of  his  bows, 
for  Hercules  carried  two  at  that  time,  and  having  shown  her 
the  belt,  he  gave  her  both  the  bow  and  the  belt,  which  had  a 
golden  cup  at  the  extremity  of  tlie  clasp,  and  having  given 
them,  he  departed.  But  she,  when  the  sons  who  were  born  to 
her  attained  to  the  age  of  men,  in  the  first  place  gave  them 
names  ;  to  the  first,  Agathyrsis,  to  the  second,  Gelonus,  and 
to  the  youngest.  Scythes  ;  and,  in  the  next  place,  remembering 
the  orders,  she  did  what  had  been  enjoined  ;  and  two  of  her 
sons,  Agathyrsis  and  Gelonus,  being  unable  to  come  up  to  the 
proposed  task,  left  the  country,  being  expelled  by  their  mother  ; 
but  the  youngest  of  them.  Scythes,  having  accomplished  it, 
remained  there.  From  this  Scythes,  son  of  Hercules,  are  de- 
scended those  who  have  been  successively  kings  of  the  Scy- 
thians J  and  from  the  cup,  the  Scythians  even  to  this  day  wear 


11,12,]  MELPOMENE.    H.  241 

cups  from  tlieir  belts.  This  thing  only  the  mother  did  for 
Scythes.  Such  is  the  account  given  by  the  Greeks  who  in- 
habit Pontus. 

11.  There  is  another  account,  to  the  following  effect,  to 
which  I  myself  rather  incline.  It  is  said^  that  the  Scythian  no- 
mades  who  dwelt  in  Asia,  being  harassed  in  war  by  the  Massa- 
geta3,  crossed  the  river  Araxes,  and  entered  the  Cimmerian  terri  - 
tory  :  for  the  country  which  the  Scythians  now  inhabit  is  said 

to    hnv^fnrmpr)y  hft|ong<>r|    i;i\   fho    f^,ii^fffprfpno        The XJim- 

merians,  when  the  Scythians  invaded  them,  deliberated,  see- 
ing a  large  army  was  coming  against  them  ;  however,  their 
opinions  were  divided,  which  both  vehemently  upheld,  though 
that  of  the  kings  was  the  best :  for  the  opinion  of  the  people 
was,  that  it  was  necessary  to  retire,  and  that  there  was  no 
need  ^  to  hazard  a  battle  against  superior  numbers  :  but  the 
opinion  of  the  kings  was,  that  they  should  fight  to  the  last  for 
their  country  against  the  invaders.  When,  therefore,  neither 
the  people  would  submit  to  the  kings,  nor  the  kings  to  the 
people  ;  and  one  party  resolved  to  depart  without  fighting, 
and  abandon  the  country  to  the  invaders,  whilst  the  kings  de- 
termined to  die  and  be  buried  in  their  own  country,  and  not 
fly  with  the  people,  considering  what  great  advantages  they 
liad  enjoyed,  and  how  many  misfortunes  would  probably  befal 
lem  if  they  fled  from  their  country :  when  they  had  come 
this  resolution,  having  divided,  and  being  equal  in  num- 
jrs,  they  fought  with  one  another  ;  and  the  one  party,  the 
vml  race,  having  all  perished,  the  people  of  tlie  Cimmerians 
juried  them  near  the  river  Tyras ;  and  their  sepulchre  is  still 
I  be  seen.  After  they  had  buried  them,  they  then  abandoned  the 
mntry ;  and  the  Scythians  coming  up,  took  possession  of  the 
jserted  country.  12.  And  there  are  now  in  Scythia  Cim- 
lerian  fortifications  and  Cimmerian  Portlimia  ^  ;  there  is  also 
district  named  Cimmeria,  and  a  bosphorus  called  Cimmeri- 
The  Cimmerians  evidently  appear  to  have  fled  from  the 
jythians  into  Asia,  and  settled  in  the  peninsula  in  which  tho 
rrecian  city  Sinope  now  stands :  and  it  is  evident  that  the 
jythians,  pursuing  them,  and  entering  the  Median  territory, 
lissed  their  way  ;  for  the  Cimmerians  fled  constantly  by  the 
-coast ;  whereas  the  Scythians  pursued,  keeping  Caucisus 
the  right,  until  they  entered  the  Median  territory,  towards 
•  See  Gary's  1  «ficon  v  Ae«*y,  num,  3.  *  Passages  or  ferriet. 
n 


'M2  HERODOTUS.  [18-1^, 

the  midland.     This  last  account  is  given  in  common  both  by 
Greeks  and  Barbarians. 

13.  But  Aristeas,  son  of  Caystrobius,  a  native  of  Proconnesus, 
says  in  his  epic  verses,  that,  inspired  by  Apollo,  he  came  to  the 
Issedones  ;  that  beyond  the  Issedones  dwell  the  Arimaspians,  a 
people  that  have  only  one  eye  ;  and  beyond  them  the  gold-guard- 
ing gtlffins  ;  and  beyond  these  the  Hyperboreans,  who  reach  to 
the  sea:  that  all  these,  except  the  Hyperboreans,  beginning 
from  the  Arimaspians,  continually  encroached  upon  their  neigh- 
bours ;  that  the  Issedones  were  expelled  from  their  country  by 
the  Arimaspians,  the  Scythians  by  the  Issedones,  and  that  the 
Cimmerians,  who  inhabited  on  the  south  sea,  being  pressed  by 
the  Scythians,  abandoned  their  country.  Thus  he  does  not 
agree  with  the  Scythians  respecting  this  country.  14.  Of 
what  country  Aristeas,  who  made  these  verses,  was,  has 
already  been  mentioned,  and  I  shall  now  relate  the  account  I 
heard  of  him  in  Proconnesus  and  Cyzicus.  They  say  that 
Aristeas,  who  was  inferior  to  none  of  the  citizens  by  birth, 
entering  into  a  fuller's  shop  in  Proconnesus,  died  suddenly ; 
and  that  the  fuller,  having  closed  his  workshop,  went  to  ac- 
quaint the  relatives  of  the  deceased.  When  the  report  had 
spread  through  the  city,  that  Aristeas  was  dead,  a  certain 
Cyzicenian,  arriving  from  Artace,  fell  into  a  dispute  with 
those  who  made  the  report,  affirming  that  he  had  met  and 
conversed  with  him  on  his  way  to  Cyzicus  ;  and  he  vehemently 
disputed  the  truth  of  the  report,  but  the  relations  of  the  de- 
ceased went  to  the  fuller's  shop,  taking  with  them  what  was 
necessary,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  the  body  away,  but 
when  the  house  was  opened,  Aristeas  was  not  to  be  seen 
either  dead  or  alive.  Thei/  say,  that  afterwards,  in  the 
seventh  year  he  appeared  in  Proconnesus,  composed  those 
verses,  which  by  the  Greeks  are  now  called  Arimaspian,  and 
having  composed  them,  disappeared  a  second  time.  Such  is 
the  story  current  in  these  cities.  15.  But  these  things  I 
know  happened  to  the  Metapontines  in  Italy,  three  hundred 
and  forty  years  after  the  second  disappearance  of  Aristeas,  as 
I  discovered  by  computation  in  Proconnesus  and  Metapontium. 
The  Metapontines  say,  that  Aristeas  himself,  having  appoAied 
in  their  country,  exhorted  them  to  erect  an  altar  to  Apollo, 
and  to  place  near  it  a  statue  bearing  the  name  of  Aristeas  the 
Proconnesian ;  for  he  said,  that  Apollo  had  visited  their  ccun- 


lft-18.]  MELPOMENE.    IV  243 

try  only  of  all  the  Italians,  and  that  he  himself,  who  was  now 
Aristeas,  accompanied  him ;  and  that  when  he  accompanied 
the  god,  he  was  a  crowf  and  after  saying  this,  he  vanished; 
and  the  Metapontines  say  they  sent  to  Delphi  to  inquire  of 
the  god  what  the  apparition  of  the  man  meant ;  but  the 
Pythian  bade  them  obey  the  apparition,  and  if  they  obeyed,  it 
would  conduce  to  their  benefit :  they  accordingly,  having  re- 
ceived this  answer,  fulfilled  the  injunctions.  And  now  a 
gtatue  bearing  the  name  of  Aristeas  is  placed  near  the  image 
of  Apollo,  and  around  it  laurels  are  planted :  the  image  is 
placed  in  the  public  square.  Thus  much  concerning  Aristeas. 
16.  No  one  knows  with  certainty  what  is  beyond  the  coun- 
try, about  which  this  account  proceeds  to  speak  ?  for  I  have 
not  been  able  to  hear  of  any  one  who  says  he  has  seen  them 
with  his  own  eyes ;  nor  even  did  Aristeas,  of  whom  I  have 
just  now  made  mention,  say  in  his  poems,  that  he  went  farther 
than  the  Issedones,  but  of  the  parts  beyond  he  spoke  by  hear- 
say, stating  that  the  Issedones  gave  him  his  information. 
But  as  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  arrive  at  the  truth  with 
accuracy  from  hearsay,  the  whole  shall  be  related.  17.  From 
the  port  of  the  Borysthenitse,  for  this  is  the  most  central  part 
of  the  sea-coast  of  all  Scythia,  the  first  people  are  the  Calli- 
pidse,  being  Greek- Scythians  ;  beyond  these  is  another  nation, 
called  Alazones.  These  and  the  CaUipidse,  in  other  respects, 
follow  the  usages  of  the  Scythians,  but  they  both  sow  and 
feed  on  wheat,  onions,  garlic,  lentils,  and  millet ;  but  beyond 
the  Alazones,  dwell  husbandmen,  who  do  not  sow  wheat  ibr 
food,  but  for  sale.  Beyond  these  the  Neuri"^  dwell;  and  to 
the  north  of  the  Neuri  the  country  is  utterly  uninhabited,  as 
far  as  I  know.  These  nations  are  by  the  side  of  the  river 
Hypanis,  to  the  west  of  the  Borysthenes.  18.  But  if  one 
crosses  the  Borysthenes,  the  first  country  from  the  sea,  is 
Hylaea  ;  and  from  this  higher  up  live  vScythian  agriculturists, 
where  the  Greeks  settled  on  the  river  Hypanis,  called  Borys- 
thenita?,  but  they  call  themselves  Olbiopolitse.  These  Sc3^thia,n 
husbandmen  then  occupy  the  country  eastward,  for  three 
days'  journey,  extending  to  the  river  whose  name  is  Panti- 
capes ;  and  northward  a  passage  of  eleven  days  up  the 
Borysthenes,  Beyond  this  region  the  country  is  desert  for  a 
great  distance  ;  and  beyond  the  desert  Androphagi^  dwell,  who 
»  See  chap.  5],  105  «  See  chap.  106. 


244  HERODOTUS.  [19—23 

are  a  distinct  people,  and  not  in  any  respect  Scythian.  Be- 
yond this  is  really  desert,  and  no  nation  of  men  is  found 
there,  as  far  as  we  know.  19.  The  country  eastward  of  these 
Scythian  agriculturists,  when  one  crosses  the  river  Panticapcs, 
nomades  occupy,  who  neither  sow  at  all,  nor  plough ;  and  all 
this  country  is  destitute  of  trees,  except  Hylaea.  These  nomades 
occupy  a  tract  eastward  for  fourteen  days*  journey,  stretching 
to  the  river  Gerrhus.  20.  Beyond  the  Gerrhus  are  the  parts 
called  the  Royal,  and  the  most  valiant  and  numerous  of  the 
Scythians,  who  deem  all  other  Scythians  to  be  their  slaves. 
These  extend  southward  to  Taurica,  and  eastward  to  the 
trench,  which  those  sprung  from  the  blind  men  dug,  and  to 
the  port  on  the  lake  Maeotis,  which  is  called  Cremni,  and 
some  of  them  reach  to  the  river  Tanais.  The  parts  above  to 
the  north  of  the  Royal  Scythians,  the  Melanchlaeni  ^  inhabit,  a 
distinct  race,  and  not  Scythian.  But  above  the  Melanchlaeni 
are  lakes,  and  an  uninhabited  desert,  as  far  as  we  know. 

21.  After  one  crosses  the  river  Tanais,  it  is  no  longer 
Scythian,  but  the  first  region  belongs  to  the  Sauromatae,® 
who,  beginning  from  the  recess  of  the  lake  Maeotis,  occupy  the 
country  northward,  for  a  fifteen  days'  journey,  all  destitute 
both  of  wild  and  cultivated  trees.  Above  these  dwell  tlie 
Budini,^  occupy* ng  the  second  region,  and  possessing  a  coun- 
try thickly  covered  with  all  sorts  of  trees.  22.  Above  the 
Budini,  towards  the  north,  there  is  first  a  desert  of  seven  days' 
journey,  and  next  to  the  desert,  if  one  turns  somewhat  to- 
wards the  east,  dwell  the  Thyssagetae,  a  numerous  and  distinct 
race,  and  they  live  by  hunting.  Contiguous  to  these,  in  the 
same  regions,  dwell  those  who  are  called  lyrcae,  who  also  live 
by  hunting  in  the  following  manner  :  the  huntsman.,  having 
climbed  a  tree,  lies  in  ambush,  (and  the  whole  country  is 
thickly  wooded,)  and  each  man  has  a  horse  ready,  taught  to 
lie  on  his  belly,  that  he  may  not  be  much  above  the  ground, 
and  a  dog  besides.  When  he  sees  any  game  from  the  tree, 
having  let  fly  an  arrow,  and  mounted  his  horse,  he  goes  in 
pursuit,  and  the  dog  keeps  close  to  him.  Above  these,  as  one 
bends  towards  the  east,  dwell  other  Scythians,  who  revolted 
from  the  Royal  Scythians,  and  so  came  to  this  country.  23. 
As  far  as  the  territory  of  these  Scythians,  the  whole  country 

f  See  chap.  107.  •  See  chap   116.  »  See  chap.  108. 


14,26.1  MELPOMENE.    IV  245 

that  has  been  described  is  level  and  deep-soiled ;  but  after 
this  it  is  stony  and  rugged.  When  one  has  passed  through  a 
considerable  extent  of  the  rugged  country,  a  people  are  found 
living  at  the  foot  of  lofty  mountains,  who  are  said  to  be  all 
bald  from  their  birth,  both  men  and  women  alike,  and  they 
are  flat-nosed,  and  have  large  chins  ;  they  speak  a  peculiar 
language,  wear  the  Scythian  costume,  and  live  on  the  fruit  of 
a  tree :  the  name  of  the  tree  on  which  they  live  is  called  ponti- 
con,  about  the  size  of  a  fig-tree  ;  it  bears  fruit  like  a  bean,  and 
has  a  stone.  When  this  is  ripe  they  strain  it  through  a  cloth, 
and  a  thick  and  black  liquor  flows  from  it ;  the  name  of  what 
flows  from  it  is  aschy ;  this  tb«)y  suck,  and  drink  mingled  with 
milk :  from  the  thick  sedimcLt  of  the  pulp  they  make  cakes, 
and  feed  on  them ;  for  they  have  not  many  cattle  in  these 
parts,  as  the  pastures  there  are  not  good.  Every  man  lives 
under  a  tree  in  the  winter,  when  he  has  covered  the  tree  with 
a  thick  white  woollen  covering  ;  but  in  summer,  without  tlie 
woollen  covering.  No  man  does  any  injury  to  this  people,  for 
they  are  accounted  sacred ;  nor  do  they  possess  any  warlike 
weapon.  And  in  the  first  place,  they  determine  the  difierences 
that  arise  among  their  neighbours  ;  and  in  the  next  place, 
whoever  takes  refuge  among  them,  is  injured  by  no  one. 
They  are  called  Argippaei. 

24.  As  far,  then,  as  these  bald  people,  our  knowledge  re- 
specting the  country  and  the  nations  before  them  is  very 
good,  for  some  Scythians  frequently  go  there,  from  whom  it  is 
not  difficult  to  obtain  information,  as  also  from  Greeks  be- 
longing to  the  port  of  the  Borysthenes,  and  other  ports  in 
Pontus.  The  Scythians  who  go  to  them  transaat  business  by 
means  o\  seven  interpreters  and  seven  languages.  25.  So  far 
then  is  known ;  but  beyond  the  bald  men  no  one  can  speak 
with  certainty,  for  lofty  and  impassable  mountains  form  their 
boundary,  and  no  one  has  ever  crossed  them ;  but  these  bald 
men  say,  what  to  me  is  incredible,  that  men  with  goats'  feet 
inhabit  these  mountains ;  and  when  one  has  passed  beyond 
them,  other  men  are  found,  who  sleep  six  months  at  a  time, 
but  this  I  do  not  at  all  admit.  However,  the  country  eastward 
of  the  bald  men  is  well  known,  being  inhabited  by  Issedones, 
though  the  country  above  to  the  north,  either  of  the  bald  men 
or  the  Issedones,  is  utterly  unknown,  except  only  such  things 


245"  HERODOrUS.  r26-2» 

as  these  people  relate.  26.  The  Issedones  are  said  to  observe 
these  customs.  When  a  man's  father  dies,  all  his  relations 
or'fng  cattle,  and  then  having  sacrificed  them,  and  cut  up  the 
flesh,  they  cut  up  also  the  dead  parent  of  their  host,  and  hav- 
ing mingled  all  the  flesh  together,  they  spread  out  a  banquet ; 
then  having  made  bare  and  cleansed  his  head,  they  gild  it ; 
and  afterwards  they  treat  it  as  a  sacred  image, ^  performing 
grand  annual  sacrifices  to  it.  A  son  does  this  to  his  father,  as 
the  Greeks  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  their  father's  death. 
These  people  are  likewise  accounted  just ;  and  the  women 
have  equal  authority  with  the  men.  These,  then,  are  well 
known. 

27.  Above  them,  the  Issedones  affirm,  are  the  men  with 
only  one  eye,  and  the  gold-guarding  griffins.  The  Scythians 
repeat  this  account,  having  received  it  from  them  ;  and  we 
have  adopted  it  from  the  Scythians,  and  call  them,  in  the  Scy- 
thian language,  Arimaspi  ;  for  Arima,  in  the  Scythian  lan- 
guage, signifies  one,  and  Spou,  the  eye.  28.  All  this  country 
wliich  I  have  been  speaking  of  is  subject  to  such  a  severe 
winter,  that  for  eight  months  the  frost  is  so  intolerable,  that 
if  you  pour  water  on  the  ground  you  will  not  make  mud,  but 
if  you  light  a  fire  you  will  make  mud.  Even  the  sea  freezes, 
and  the  whole  Cimmerian  bosphorus  ;  and  the  Scythians 
who  live  within  the  trench,  lead  their  armies  and  drive 
their  chariots  over  the  ice  to  the  Sindians,  on  the  other  side. 
Thus  winter  continues  eight  months,  and  during  the  other 
four  it  is  cold  there.  And  this  winter  is  different  in  character 
from  the  winters  in  all  other  countries ;  for  in  this  no  rain 
worth  mentioning  falls  in  the  usual  season,  but  during  the 
summer  it  never  leaves  off  raining.  At  the  time  when  there 
is  thunder  elsewhere  there  is  none  there,  but  in  summer  it  is 
violent :  if  there  should  be  thunder  in  winter,  it  is  account- 
ed a  prodigy  to  be  wondered  at.  So,  should  there  be  an  earth- 
quake, whether  in  summer  or  winter,  in  Scythia  it  is  ac- 
counted a  prodigy.  Their  horses  endure  this  cold,  but  their 
fcsses  and  mules  cannot  endure  it  at  all  ;  but  in  other  places, 
horses  that  stand  exposed  to  frost    become   frost-bitten  in 

^  I  have  adopted  Baehr's  interpretation  of  dyaX/xart,  in  preference  to 
that  of  Scliweighseuser,  who  considers  it  to  mean  "  a  sacred  ornament,* 
01  to  that  of  Larcher,  who  takes  it  to  mean  "a  precious  yesseh  ' 


2J»-33.j  MELPOMENE.    IV.  247 

the  cold,  waste  away  but  asses  and  mules  endure  it.  29. 
On  this  account  also  the  race  of  beeves  appears  to  me  to 
be  defective  there,  and  not  to  have  horns  ;  and  the  follow;- 
ing  verse  of  Homer,  in  his  Odyssey,^  confirms  my  opinion : 
"  And  Libya,  where  the  lambs  soon  put  forth  their  horns :" 
rightly  observing,  that  in  warm  climates  horns  shoot  out 
quickly  ;  but  in  very  severe  cold,  the  cattle  either  do  not  pro- 
duce them  at  all,  or  if  they  do  produce  them  they  do  so  with 
difficulty.  Here,  then,  such  are  the  effects  of  the  cold.  30.  I 
am  surprised,  (for  my  narrative  has  from  its  commencement 
sought  for  digressions,)  that  in  the  whole  territory  of  Elis 
no  mules  are  able  to  breed,  though  neither  is  the  climate  cold, 
nor  is  there  any  other  visible  cause.  The  Eleans  themselves 
say,  that  mules  do  not  breed  with  them  in  consequence  of  a 
curse  ;  therefore,  when  the  time  for  the  mares  breeding  ap- 
proaches, they  lead  them  to  the  neighbouring  districts,  and 
there  put  the  he-asses  with  them,  until  they  are  in  foal ;  then 
they  drive  them  home  again.  3 1 .  With  respect  to  the  feathers, 
with  which  the  Scythians  say  the  air  is  filled,  and  that  on  ac- 
count of  them  it  is  not  possible  either  to  see  farther  upon  the 
continent,  or  to  pass  through  it,  I  entertain  the  follov/ing 
opinion  :  in  the  upper,  parts  of  this  country  it  continually  snows, 
less  in  summer  than  in  winter,  as  is  reasonable  ;  now,  who- 
ever has  seen  snow  falling  thick  near  him,  will  know  what  I 
mean  j  for  snow  is  like  feathers  :  and  on  account  of  the 
winter  being  so  severe,  the  northern  parts  of  this  continent 
are  uninhabited.  I  think,  then,  that  the  Scythians  and  their 
neighbours  call  the  snow  feathers,  comparing  ^  them  together. 
These  regions,  therefore,  -which  are  said  to  be  the  most  remote, 
have  been  sufficiently  described. 

32.  Concerning  the  Hyperboreans,  neither  the  Scythians 
say  any  thing,  nor  any  people  of  those  parts,  except  the  Isse- 
dones ;  and,  as  I  think,  neither  do  they  say  any  thing,  for 
then  the  Scythians  would  mention  it,  as  they  do  the  one-eyed 
people.  Hesiod,  however,  has  made  mention  of  the  Hyper- 
boreans, and  Homer,  in  the  Epigoni,  if  indeed  Homer  was  in 
reality  the  author  of  that  poem,  33.  But  the  Delians  say 
very  much  more  than  any  others  about  them,  affinaing  that 
sacred  things,  wrapped  in  wheat-straw,  were  brought  from 
the  Hyperboreans  and  came  to  the  Scythians  j  and  from  the 
•  B.  IV.  I.  85.  *  Tkat  is,  *'  speaking  figuratively." 


248  HERODOTUS.  131,  So 

Scythians  each  contiguous  nation  receiving  them  in  succession, 
carried  them  to  the  extreme  west  as  far  as  the  Adriatic  ;  that 
being  forwarded  thence  towards  the  south,  the  Dodonjeans, 
the  first  of  the  Greeks,  received  them ;  that  from  them  they 
descended  to  the  Maliac  Gulf,  and  passed  over  into  Euboea,  and 
that  one  city  sent  them  on  to  another  as  far  as  Carystus  ;  that 
after  this  Andros  was  passed  by,  for  the  Carystians  conveyed 
them  to  Tenos,  and  the  Tenlans  to  Delos:  in  this  manner 
they  say  these  sacred  things  reached  Delos.  They  add,  that 
the  Hyperboreans  first  sent  two  virgins,  whom  they  call  by 
the  names  of  Hyperoche  and  Laodice,  to  carry  these  sacred 
things ;  and  with  them,  for  the  sake  of  safety,  the  Hyperboreans 
sent  five  of  their  citizens  as  attendants,  the  same  who  are  now 
called  Perpherees,  and  are  held  in  high  honour  at  Delos.  But 
when  those  who  were  sent  out  by  the  Hyperboreans  did  not 
return,  they,  thinking  it  a  grievous  thing  if  it  should  always 
happen  to  them  not  to  receive  back  those  whom  they  sent 
out,  therefore  carried  their  offerings  wrapped  in  wheat-straw 
to  their  borders,  and  enjoined  their  neighbours  to  forward 
them  to  the  next  nation ;  and  these  being  so  forwarded,  they 
say,  reached  Delos.  I  myself  know  that  the  following  prac- 
tice is  observed,  resembling  that  of  these  sacred  things : 
the  Thracian  and  Paeonian  women,  when  they  sacrifice  to 
Royal  Diana,  do  not  offer  their  sacrifices  without  wheat- 
straw  ;  and  I  know  that  they  do  this.  34.  In  honour  of  these 
Hyperborean  virgins  who  died  in  Delos,  both  the  virgins  and 
youths  of  the  Delians  shear  their  hair :  the  former,  having  cut 
off  a  lock  before  marriage,  and  having  wound  it  about  a  dis- 
taff, lay  it  upon  the  sepulchre ;  the  sepulchre  is  within  the 
temple  of  Diana,  on  the  left  as  one  enters,  and  on  it  grows  an 
olive  tree :  the  youths  of  the  Delians  having  wound  some  of 
their  hair  round  a  plant,  place  it  also  on  the  sepulchre.  These 
virgins  receive  such  honour  from  the  inhabitants  of  Delos. 
35.  These  same  persons  also  affirm,  that  Arge  and  Opis,  who 
were  Hyperborean  virgins,  passing  through  the  same  nations, 
came  to  Delos,  even  before  Hyperoche  and  Laodice:  that 
i^ese  last  came  to  bring  the  tribute  they  had  agreed  to  pay  to 
nithya  for  a  speedy  delivery ;  but  they  say  that  Arge  and 
3pis  arrived  with  the  gods  themselves,  and  that  different 
honours  are  paid  them  by  themselves,  for  that  the  women  col- 
lect contributions  for  them,  calling  on  their  names  in  a  hymn, 


36^-30.]  MELPOMENE.    IV.  249 

which  Olen,  a  Lycian,  composed  for  them  ;  and  that  the  island- 
ers and  lonians  afterwards,  having  learnt  it  from  them,  cele- 
brate Opis  and  Arge  in  song,  mentioning  their  names,  and 
collecting  contributions  ;  (now  this  Olen,  coming  from  Lycia, 
composed  also  the  other  ancient  hymns  which  are  sung  in 
Delos ;)  and  that  the  ashes  of  the  thighs  burnt  on  the  altar  are 
thrown  and  expended  on  the  sepulchre  of  Opis  and  Arge :  but 
their  sepulchre  is  behind  the  temple  of  Diana,  facing  the  east, 
very  near  the  banqueting-room  of  the  Ceians.  36.  And  thus 
much  may  be  said  concerning  the  Hyperboreans,  for  I  do  not 
relate  the  story  concerning  Abaris,  who  was  said  to  be  an 
Hyperborean,  to  the  effect  that  he  carried  an  arrow  round  the 
whole  earth  without  eating  any  thing.  If,  however,  there  are 
Hyperboreans,  there  must  also  be  Hypernotians.  But  I  smile 
when  I  see  many  persons  describing  the  circumference  of  tlie 
earth,  who  have  no  sound  reason  to  guide  them  ;  they  describe 
the  ocean  flowing  round  the  earth,  which  is  made  circular  as 
if  by  a  lathe,  and  make^  Asia  equal  to  Europe.  I  will  there- 
fore briefly  show  the  dimensions  of  each  of  them,  and  what  is 
the  figure  of  each. 

37.  The  Persian  settlements  extend  to  the  southern  sea, 
called  the  Erythraean  ;  above  them  to  the  north  are  the  Medes  ; 
above  the  Medes,  the  Saspires ;  and  above  the  Saspires,  the 
Colchians,  who  reach  to  the  northern  sea,  into  which  the 
river  Phasis  discharges  itself.  These  four  nations  occupy 
the  space  from  sea  to  sea.  38.  Thence  westward  two  tracts 
stretch  out  to  the  sea,  which  I  shall  describe.  On  one  side, 
the  one  tract,  beginning  at  the  north  from  the  Phasis,  extends 
along  the  Euxine  and  the  Hellespont,  as  far  as  the  Trojan 
Sigaeum  ;  and  on  the  south,  this  same  tract,  beginning  from 
the  Myriandrian  Gulf,  which  is  adjacent  to  Phoenicia,  stretches 
towards  the  sea  as  far  as  the  Triopian  promontory.  In  this 
tract  dwell  thirty  different  nations.  This,  then,  is  one  of  the 
tracts.  39.  The  other,  beginning  at  Persia,  reaches  to  the 
Red  Sea ;  it  comprises  Persia,  and  after  that  Assyria,  and  after 
A^ssyria,  Arabia  ;  it  terminates  (terminating  only  by  custom) 
at  the  Arabian  Gulf,  into  which  Darius  carried  a  canal*  from 

*  Baehr  observes  that  irouvm-wv  is  the  genitive  participle,  depending 
on  yeXw  preceding;  "I  smile  when  they  make  Asia  equal  to  Europe." 
It  would  be  difficult  to  express  the  connexion  in  an  English  version. 

•  See  B.  II.  chap.  159. 


250  HERODOTUS.  [40-4S 

tjie  Nile.  Now,  as  far  as  Phoenicia  from  Persia  the  country  ig 
wide  and  open,  but  from  Phoenicia  tlie  same  tract  stretches 
along  this  sea  by  Syrian  Palestine  and  Egypt,  where  it  ter- 
minates ;  in  it  are  only  three  nations.  These,  then,  are  the 
parts  of  Asia  that  lie  westward  of  Persia.  40.  Beyond  the 
Persians,  Medes,  Saspires,  and  Colchians,  towards  the  east 
and  rising  sun,  extends  the  Red  Sea,  and  on  the  north  the 
Caspian  Sea  and  the  river  Araxes,  which  flows  towards  the 
rising  sun.  Asia  is  inhabited  as  far  as  India ;  but  beyond 
this,  it  is  all  desert  towards  the  east,  nor  is  any  one  able  to 
describe  what  it  is.     Such  and  so  great  is  Asia. 

41.  Libya  is  in  the  other  tract ;  for  Libya  commences  from 
Egypt.  Now  in  Egypt  this  tract  is  narrow  ;  for  from  this 
sea  to  the  Red  Sea  are  a  hundred  thousand  orgyae,  which  make 
ane  thousand  stades.  But  from  this  narrow  neck  the  tract 
which  is  called  Libya  becomes  very  wide.  42.  I  wonder 
therefore  at  those  who  have  described  the  limits  of  and  di- 
vided Libya,  Asia,  and  Europe,  for  the  difference  between 
them  is  not  trifling  :  for  in  length  Europe  extends  along  both 
of  them,  but  with  respect  to  width,  it  is  evidently  not  to  be 
compared.^  Libya  shows  itself  to  be  surrounded  by  water,  ex- 
cept so  much  of  it  as  borders  upon  Asia.  Neco,  king  of 
Egypt,  was  the  first  whom  we  know  of,  that  proved  this ;  he, 
when  he  had  ceased  digging  the  canal  leading  from  the  Nile 
to  the  Arabian  Gulf,  sent  certain  Phoenicians  in  ships,  with 
orders  to  sail  back  through  the  pillars  of  Hercules  into  the 
northern  sea,'^  and  so  to  return  to  Egypt.  The  Phoenicians 
accordingly,  setting  out  from  the  Red  Sea,  navigated  the 
southern  sea ;  when  autumn  came,  they  went  ashore,  and 
sowed  the  land,  by  whatever  part  of  Libya  they  happened  to 
be  sailing,  and  waited  for  harvest ;  then  having  reaped  the 
corn,  they  put  to  sea  again.  When  two  years  had  thus  pass- 
ed, in  the  third,  having  doubled  the  pillars  of  Hercules,  they 
arrived  in  Egypt,  and  related  what  to  me  does  not  seem 
credible,  but  may  to  others,  that  as  they  sailed  round 
Libya,  they  had  the  sun  on  their  right  hand.  Thus  was 
Libya  first  known.  43.  Subsequently  the  Carthaginians  say 
that  Libya  is  surrounded  by  water.  For  Sataspes,  son  of  Te- 
agpes,  one  of  the  Achaemenidae,  did  not  sail  round  Libya. 

^  He  means,  "it  is  much  wider  than  either  of  them.'* 
'  Meaning  "  the  Mediterranean,"  which  was  north  of  Libjp 


44.]  MELPOMENE.    IV.  2ji 

though  sent  for  that  very  purpose  ;  but  dreading  the  length 
of  the  voyage  and  the  desolation,  returned  home  and  did  not 
accomplish  the  task  which  his  mother  imposed  upon  him :  for 
he  had  violated  a  virgin,  daughter  of  Zopyrus,  son  of  Mega- 
byzus  ;  whereupon,  when  he  was  about  to  be  impaled  for  this 
offence  by  king  Xerxes,  the  mother  of  Sataspes,  who  was  sis- 
ter to  Darius,  begged  him  off,  promising  that  she  would  inflict 
a  greater  punishment  upon  him  than  he  would,  for,  she 
would  constrain  him  to  sail  round  Libya,  until,  sailing  round, 
he  ghouM  reach  the  Arabian  Gulf.  Xerxes  having  agreed  on 
these  terms,  Sataspes  went  into  Egypt,  and  having  taken  a  ship 
and  men  from  thence,  sailed  through  the  pillars  of  Hercules  ; 
and  having  sailed  through,  and  doubled  the  cape  of  Libya, 
whose  name  is  Solois,  he  steered  to  the  southward  :  but  after 
traversing  a  vast  extent  of  sea  in  many  months,  M'hen  he 
found  that  he  had  still  more  to  pass,  he  turned  back  and  sail- 
ed away  for  Egypt.  From  thence  going  to  king  Xerxes,  he 
told  him,  that  in  the  most  distant  part  he  sailed  past  a  nation 
of  little  men,  who  wore  garments  made  of  palm  leaves,  who, 
whenever  they  drew  to  shore,  left  their  cities  and  flew  to  the 
mountains ;  that  his  men,  when  they  entered  their  country, 
did  them  no  injury,  but  only  took  some  cattle  from  them.  Of 
his  not  sailing  completely  round  Libya,, this  he  said  was  the 
cause  ;  that  his  ship  could  not  proceed  any  farther,  but  was 
stopped.  Xerxes,  however,  being  persuaded  that  he  did  not 
speak  the  truth,  as  he  had  not  accomplished  the  task  imposed 
upon  him,  impaled  him,  inflicting  the  original  sentence.  A 
eunuch  of  this  Sataspes,  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  his  master's 
death,  ran  away  to  Samos  with  great  wealth,  which  a  Samian 
detained  ;  though  I  know  his  name,  I  purposely  conceal  it. 

44.  A  great  part  of  Asia  was  explored  under  the  direction 
of  Darius.  He  being  desirous  to  know  in  what  part  the  Indus, 
which  is  the  second  river  that  produces  crocodiles,  discharges 
itself  into  the  sea,  sent  in  ships  both  others  on  whom  he  could 
rely  to  make  a  true  report,  and  also  Scylax  of  Caryanda.  They 
accordingly,  setting  out  from  the  city  of  Caspatyrus  and  the  coun- 
try of  Pactyice,  sailed  down  the  river  towards  the  east  and  sun- 
rise to  the  sea ;  then  sailing  oxx  the  sea  westward,  they  arrived  in 
the  thirtieth  month  at  that  place  where  the  king  of  Egypt  des- 
patched the  Phoenicians,  whom  I  before  mentioned,  to  sail 
round  Libya.     After  these  persons  had  sailed  round,  Darius 


252  HERODOTUS.  [45, 4«, 

subdued  the  Indians,  and  frequented  this  sea.  Thus  the  other 
parts  of  Asia,  except  towards  the  rising  sun,  are  found  to  ex- 
hibit things  similar  to  Libya. 

46.  Whether  Europe  is  surrounded  by  water  either  towards 
the  east  or  towards  the  north,  has  not  been  fully  discovered 
by  any  man  ;  but  in  length  it  is  known  to  extend  beyond  both 
the.  other  continents.  Nor  can  I  conjecture  for  what  reason 
three  different  names  have  been  given  to  the  earth,  which  is 
but  one,  and  those  derived  from  the  names  of  women  ;  nor  why 
the  Egyptian  river  Nile  and  the  Colchian  Phasis  have  been 
assigned  as  boundaries  to  it ;  (some  say,  the  Maeotian  rivet 
Tanais,  and  the  Cimmerian  Porthmeia  ;)  nor  can  I  learn  the 
names  of  those  who  made  this  division,  nor  from  whence  they 
derived  the  appellations.  Libya  is  said  by  most  of  the  Greeks 
to  take  its  name  from  a  native  woman  of  the  name  of  Libya  ; 
and  Asia,  from  the  wife  of  Prometheus.  But  the  Lydians 
claim  this  name,  saying  that  Asia  was  so  called  after  Asius,  son 
of  Cotys,  son  of  Manes,  and  not  after  Asia  the  wife  of  Promethe- 
us ;  from  whom  also  a  tribe  in  Sardis  is  called  the  Asian  tribe. 
Whether  Europe,  then,  is  surrounded  by  water  is  known  by  no 
man  ;  nor  is  it  clear  whence  it  received  this  name,  nor  who 
gave  it,  unless  we  will  say  that  the  region  received  the  name 
from  the  Tyrian  Europa,  but  was  before  without  a  name,  like 
the  others :  yet  she  evidently  belonged  to  Asia,  and  never 
came  into  that  country  which  is  now  called  Europe  by  the 
Grecians  ;  but  only  passed  from  Phoenicia  to  Crete,  and  from 
Crete  to  Lycia.  Thus  much  may  suffice  for  this  subject,  for 
we  shall  adopt  the  names  in  common  use. 

46.  The  Euxine  Sea,  to  which  Darius  led  an  army  of  all 
countries,  except  the  Scythians,  exhibits  the  most  ignorant 
nations  :  for  we  are  unable  to  mention  any  one  nation  of  those 
on  this  side  the  Pontus  that  has  any  pretensions  to  intelligence ; 
nor  have  we  ever  heard  of  any  learned  man  among  them,  ex» 
cept  the  Scythian  nation  and  Anacharsis.  By  the  Scythian 
nation  one  the  most  important  of  human  devices  has  been  con- 
trived more  wisely  than  by  any  others  whom  we  know  ;  their 
other  customs  however  I  do  not  admire.  This  most  important 
device  has  been  so  contrived,  that  no  one  who  attacks  them 
can  escape  ;  and  that,  if  they  do  not  choose  to  be  found,  no  one 
is  able  to  overtake  them.  For  they,  who  have  neither  cities 
nor  fortifications,  but  carry  their  houses  with  them,  who  ara 


47— 49.J  MELPOMENE.    iV.  253 

all  equesterian  archers,  living  not  from  the  cultivation  of  the 
earth,  but  from  cattle,  and  whose  dwellings  are  waggons, — 
how  must  not  such  a  people  be  invincible,  and  difficult  to  en- 
gage with  ?  47.  This  device  has  been  contrived  by  them,  as 
the  country  is  fit  for  it,  and  the  rivers  aid  them  :  for  the 
country,  being  level,  abounds  in  herbage  and  is  well  watered  ; 
and  rivers  flow  through  it  almost  as  numerous  as  the  canals  in 
Egypt.  Such  of  them  as  are  celebrated  and  navigable  from 
the  sea  I  will  mention  :  the  Ister,  that  has  five  mouths  ;  then 
the  Tyres,  the  Hypanis,  the  Borysthenes,  the  Panticapes,  the 
Hypacyris,  the  Gerrhus,  and  the  Tanais.  These  flow  as  follows. 
48.  The  Ister,  which  is  the  greatest  of  all  the  rivers  we 
know,  flows  always  with  an  equal  stream  both  in  summer  and 
winter.  Flowing  the  first  of  those  in  Scythia  from  the  west, 
it  is  on  this  account  the  greatest,  because  other  rivers  discharge 
tliemselves  into  it.  The  following  are  those  that  make  it  great ; 
there  are  five  that  flow  through  Scythia  ;  one  whicli  the 
Scythians  call  Porata,  but  the  Grecians  Pyretos ;  another  the 
Tiarantus,  then  the  Aratus,  the  Naparis,  and  the  Ordessus. 
The  first  mentioned  of  these  rivers  is  large,  and  flowing  to- 
wards the  east,  communicates  its  water  with  the  Ister  ;  that 
mentioned  second,  the  Tiarantus,  is  more  to  the  west  and  less  ; 
the  Aratus,  the  Naparis,  and  Ordessus,  passing  between  these, 
fall  likewise  into  the  Ister.  These  indigenous  Scythian 
rivers  assist  in  filling  it.  49.  The  river  Maris,  flowing  from 
the  Agathyrsi,  mingles  with  the  Ister.  From  the  summits  of 
ISIount  Haemus  three  other  large  rivers,  flowing  towards  the 
north,  empty  themselves  into  it,  the  Atlas,  the  Auras,  and  the 
Tibisis :  the  Athres,  the  Noes,  and  the  Atarnes,  flowing 
through  Thrace  and  the  Thracian  Crobyzi,  discharge  them- 
selves into  the  Ister  ;  and  from  the  Paeonians  and  Mount 
Rhodope,  the  river  Scios,  dividing  the  Haemus  in  the  middle, 
discharges  itself  into  it.  And  the  river  Angrus,  flowing  from 
the  lUyrians  towards  the  north,  empties  itself  into  the 
Triballic  plain  and  into  the  river  Brongus,  and  the  Brongus 
into  the  Ister  ;  thus  the  Ister  receives  both  these,  which  are 
considerable.  From  the  country  above  the  Umbrici,  the  river 
Carpis  and  another  river,  Alpis,  flowing  towards  the  north, 
also  discharge  themselves  into  it.  For  the  Ister  flows  through 
«11  Europe,  beginning  from  the  Celts,  who,  next  to  the  Oynetae,  • 
•  See  B.  II.  chap.  33 


254  HEROrvOTXJS.  :  [50-53. 

inhabit  the  remotest  parts  of  Europe  towards  the  west  ; 
and  flowing  through  all  Europe,  enters  the  borders  of  Scythia. 
50.  By  these,  then,  that  have  been  mentioned,  and  many  other 
rivers  that  contribute  their  w^aters,  the  Ister  becomes  the 
greatest  of  all  rivers.  For  if  we  compare  one  stream  w^ith 
another,  the  Nile  surpasses  in  quantity  j  for  into  this  no  river 
or  fountain  discharging  itself  contributes  to  its  increase.  But 
the  Ister  always  flows  equal  in  summer  and  in  winter,  for  the 
following  reason,  as  I  think  :  during  the  winter  it  is  about  as 
large  as  it  usually  is,  and  perhaps  a  little  larger  ;  for  this 
country  is  very  little  moistened  by  rain  during  the  winter, 
but  is  entirely  covered  with  snow  :  in  the  summer,  the  snow 
that  fell  in  the  winter  in  vast  quantities,  dissolving  on  all 
sides,  flows  into  the  Ister  ;  and  tliis  snow  flowing  into  it  as- 
sists in  filling  it,  and  frequent  and  violent  rains  besides  ;  for 
it  rains  much  in  summer.  By  how  much  therefore  the  sun 
draws  up  to  himself  more  water  in  summer  than  in  winter,  by 
so  much  the  waters  mingled  with  the  Ister  are  greater  in  sum- 
mer than  in  winter  ;  and  these  things  therefore  being  opposed, 
an  equilibrium  results,  so  that  it  is  always  found  to  be  equal. 

51.  One  of  the  rivers,  then,  of  the  Scythians  is  the  ^Jg^gj:,; 
after  this  is  the  T^es,  which  proceeds  from  the  north,  and 
begins  flowing  from  a  vast  lake,  which  separates  Scythia 
and  Xguris.  At  its  mouth  are  settled  Grecians,  who  are 
called  T^xite.  52.  The  third  river,  the  Hypanig.-  proceeds 
from  Scythia  and  flows  from  a  vast  lake,  around  which  wild 
white  horses  graze.  This  lake  is  rightly  called  the  mother  of 
the  Hypanis.  The  river  Hypanis,  then,  rising  from  this,  is 
small  and  still  sweet  for  a  five  days'  voyage,  but  from  thence, 
for  a  four  days'  voyage  to  the  sea,  it  is  exceedingly  bitter  ;  for 
a  bitter  fountain  discharges  itself  into  it,  which  is  so  very 
bitter,  though  small  in  size,  that  it  taints  the  Hypanis,  which 
is  a  considerable  river  amongst  small  ones.  This  fountain  is 
on  the  borders  of  the  territory  of  the  Scythian  husbandmen 
and  the  Alazones  ;  the  name  of  the  fountain,  and  of  the  dis- 
trict whence  it  flows,  is,  in  the  Scythian  language,  Exampasns, 
but  in  the  language  of  the  Greeks,  "  The  sacred  ways."  The 
Tyres  and  Hypanis  contract  their  boundaries  in  the  country 
of  the  Alazones  ;  but  after  that,  each  turning  away,  flows  on 
widening  the  intermediate  space. 

53.  The   fourth   is  the  river   Bor^sthgneg,  which   ib   th> 


64-56.]  MELPOMENE.    IV.  255 

largest  of  tliese  after  the  Ister,  and,  in  my  opinion,  the  most 
productive,  not  only  of  the  Scythian  rivers,  but  of  all  others, 
except  the  Egyptian  Nile ;  for  to  this  it  is  impossible  to  com- 
pare any  other  river,  but  of  the  rest  the  Borysthenes  is  the 
most  productive.  It  affords  the  most  excellent  and  valuable 
pasture  for  cattle,  and  fish  of  the  highest  excellence  and  in 
great  quantities  ;  it  is  most  sweet  to  drink  ;  it  flows  pure  in 
the  midst  of  turbid  rivers  ;  the  sown  land  near  it  is  of  the 
best  quality  ;  and  the  herbage,  where  the  land  is  not  sown,  is 
very  tall ;  at  its  mouth  abundance  of  salt  is  crystallized  spon- 
taneously ;  and  it  produces  large  whales,  without  any  spinal 
bones,  whicli  they  call  Antacaei,  fit  for  salting,  and  many 
other  things  that  deserve  admiration.  As  far  as  the  country 
of  Gerrlms,  a  voyage  of  forty  days,  this  river  is  known  to 
flow  from  the  north  ;  but  above  that,  through  what  people  it 
flows  no  one  is  able  to  tell :  but  it  evidently  flows  through  a 
desert  to  the  country  of  the  agricultural  Scythians  ;  for  these 
Scythians  dwell  near  it  for  the  space  of  a  ten  days'  voyage. 
Of  this  river  only,  and  of  the  Nile,  I  am  unable  to  describe 
the  sources  ;  and  I  think  that  no  Greek  can  do  so.  The 
Borysthenes  continues  flowing  near  the  sea,  and  the  Hypanis 
mingles  with  it,  discharging  itself  into  the  same  morass. 
The  space  between  these  rivers,  which  is  a  projecting 
piece  of  land,  is  called  the  promontory  of  Hippoleon,  and  in 
it  a  temple  of  Ceres  is  built ;  beyond  the  temple  on  the  Hy- 
panis the  Borysthenitae  are  settled.  Thus  much  concerning 
tli(3se  rivers. 

54.  After  these  is  the  fifth  river,  the  name  of  which  is  tlie 
Panticapes  ;  this  also  flows  from  the  north,  and  out  of  a  lake  ; 
and  between  this  and  the  Borysthenes  dwell  the  agricultural 
Scythians  ;  it  discharges  itself  into  Hylaea,  and  having  passed 
through  that  region,  mingles  with  the  Borysthenes.  So.  The 
Hypacyris  is  the  sixth  river,  which  proceeds  from  a  lake,  and 
flowing  through  the  middle  of  the  Scythian  nomades,  dis- 
charges itself  near  the  city  Carcinitis,  skirting  Hylaea  on  the 
right,  and  that  which  is  called  the  Course  of  Achilles.  56. 
The  seventh  river,  the  Gerrhus,  is  separated  from  the  feorys- 
tlienes  near  the  place  at  which  the  Borysthenes  is  first  known. 
It  is  separated  then  from  this  very  spot,  and  has  the  same 
name  as  the  country,  Gerrhus  ;  and  flowing  towards  the  sea, 
it  divides  the  territory  of  the  Nomadic  and  the  Royal  Scy- 


256  HERODOTUS  57-61,] 

thians,  and  discharges  itself  into  the  Hypacyris.  57.  The 
eighth  river  is  the  Tanais,  which  flows  originally  from  a  vast 
lake,  and  discharges  itself  into  a  still  larger  lake,  called  Mae- 
otis,  which  divides  the  Royal  Scythians  and  the  Sauromatse. 
Into  this  river  Tanais  runs  another  river,  the  name  of  which 
is  Hyrgis.  58.  Thus  the  Scythians  are  provided  with  these 
celebrated  rivers.  The  grass  that  grows  in  Scythia  is  the 
most  productive  of  bile  for  cattle  of  any  with  which  we  are 
acquainted  ;  and  when  the  cattle  are  opened  one  may  infer 
that  such  is  the  case. 

59.  Thus  the  greatest  commodities  are  furnished  them  in 
abundance.  Their  other  customs  are  established  as  follows. 
They  propitiate  the  following  gods  only  :  Vesta,  most  of  all ; 
then  Jupiter,  deeming  the  Earth  to  be  the  wife  of  Jupiter  ; 
after  these  Apollo,  and  Venus  Urania,  and  Hercules,  and 
Mars.  All  the  Scythians  acknowledge  these  ;  but  those  who 
are  called  Royal  Scythians,  sacrifice  also  to  Neptune.  Vesta, 
in  the  Scythian  language,  is  named  Tahiti  ;  Jupiter  is,  in  my 
opinion,  very  rightly  called  Papaeus  ;  the  Earth,  Apia  ;  Apol- 
lo, QEtosyrus  ;  Venui;  Urania,  Artimpasa ;  and  Neptune, 
Thamimasadas.  They  are  not  accustomed  to  erect  images, 
altars,  and  temples,  except  to  Mars  ;  to  him  they  are  accus- 
tomed. 60.  The  same  mode  of  sacrificing  is  adopted  by  all, 
with  respect  to  all  kinds  of  victims,  alike,  being  as  follows  : 
the  victim  itself  stands  with  its  fore-feet  tied  together  ;  he 
who  sacrifices,  standing  behind  the  beast,  having  drawn  t^ie 
extremity  of  the  cord,  throws  it  down  ;  and  as  the  victim  falls 
he  invokes  the  god  to  whom  he  is  sacrificing  ;  then  he  throws 
a  halter  round  its  neck,  and  having  put  in  a  stick,  he  twists  it 
round  and  strangles  it,  without  kindling  any  fire,  or  performing 
any  preparatory  ceremonies,  or  making  any  libation,  but  hav- 
ing strangled  and  flayed  it  he  applies  himself  to  cook  it.  61. 
As  the  Scythian  country  is  wholly  destitute  of  wood,  they 
have  invented  the  following  method  of  cooking  flesh.  When 
they  liave  flayed  the  victims,  they  strip  the  flesh  from  the 
bones,  tlien  they  put  it  into  cauldrons  made  in  the  country,  if 
they  happen  to  ha^^e  any,  which  very  much  resemble  Lesbian 
bawls,  except  that  they  are  much  larger  ;  having  put  it  into 
these,  they  cook  it  by  burning  underneath  the  bones  of  the 
victims.  If  they  have  no  cauldron  at  hand,  they  put  all  the 
flesh  into  the  paunch*^^  of  the  victims,  and  having  poured  in 


»-64.J  MELPOMENE     IV  257 

water,  burn  the  bones  underneath  :  they  burn  very  well,  and 
the  paunches  easily  contain  the  flesh  stripped  from  the  bones  ; 
thus  the  ox  cooks  himself,  and  all  other  victims  each  cooks  it- 
self. When  the  flesh  is  cooked,  he  that  sacrifices,  offering 
the  first-fruits  of  the  flesh  and  entrails,  throws  it  before  him. 
They  sacrifice  both  other  cattle,  and  chiefly  horses. 

62.  In  this  manner  then,  and  these  victims,  they  sacrifice 
to  the  other  gods  ;  but  to  Mars,  as  follows.  In  each  district, 
in  the  place  where  the  magistrates  assemble,  is  erected  a  struc- 
ture sacred  to  Mars,  of  the  following  kind.  Bundles  of  fag- 
gots are  heaped  up  to  the  length  and  breadth  of  three  stades, 
but  less  in  height  ;  on  the  top  of  this  a  square  platform  is 
formed  ;  and  three  of  the  sides  are  perpendicular,  but  on  the 
fourth  it  is  accessible.  Every  year  they  heap  on  it  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  waggon  loads  of  faggots,  for  it  is  continually 
sinking  by  reason  of  the  weather.  On  this  heap  an  old  iron 
scimetar  is  placed  by  each  tribe,  and  this  is  the  image  of 
Mars  ;  and  to  this  scimetar  they  bring  yearly  sacrifices  of 
cattle  and  horses ;  and  to  these  scimetars  they  offer  more  sa- 
crifices than  to  the  rest  of  the  gods.  AYhatever  enemies 
they  take  alive,  of  these  they  sacrifice  one  in  a  hundred,  not 
in  the  same  manner  as  they  do  the  cattle,  but  in  a  different 
manner ;  for  after  they  have  poured  a  libation  of  wine  on 
their  heads,  they  cut  the  throats  of  the  men  over  a  bowl ;  then 
having  carried  the  bowl  on  the  heap  of  faggots,  they  pour  the 
blood  over  the  scimetar.  This  then  they  carry  up  ;  but  be- 
low at  the  sacred  precinct,  they  do  as  follows  :  having  cut  off 
all  the  right  shoulders  of  the  men  that  have  been  killed,  with 
the  arms,  they  throw  them  into  the  air ;  and  then,  having 
finished  the  rest  of  tlie  sacrificial  rites,  they  depart ;  but  the 
arm  lies  wherever  it  has  fjillen,  and  the  body  apart.  G3. 
Such,  then,  are  the  sacrifices  instituted  amongst  them.  Swine 
they  never  use,  nor  suffer  them  to  be  reared  in  their  country 
at  all. 

64.  Their  military  affairs  are  ordered  as  follows.  When  a 
Scythian  overthrows  his  first  enemy,  he  drinks  his  blood  ;  and 
presents  the  king  with  the  heads  of  the  enemies  he  has  killed 
in  battle ;  for  if  he  brings  a  head,  he  shares  the  booty  that 
they  take  ;  but  not,  if  he  does  not  bring  one.  He  skins  it  in 
the  following  manner.  Having  made  a  circular  incision 
"X>und  the  ears  and  taking  hold  of  the  skin,  he  shakes  it  from 


258  HBROBOTUS.  f65-^7 

the  skull ;  then  having  scraped  off  the  llesh  with  the  rib  of  an 
ox,  he  softens  the  skin  with  his  hands  ;  and  having  made  it 
supple,  he  uses  it  as  a  napkin  :  each  man  hangs  it  on  the  bridle 
of  the  horse  wiiich  he  rides,  and  prides  himself  on  it;  for  who- 
ever has  the  greatest  number  of  these  skin  napkins,  is  accounted 
the  most  valiant  man.  Many  of  them  make  cloaks  of  these 
skins,  to  tlirow  over  themselves,  sewing  them  together  like 
shepherd's  coats ;  and  many,  having  flayed  tiie  right  liands  of 
their  enemies  that  are  dead,  together  with  the  nails,  make 
coverings  for  their  quivers  ;  tlie  skin  of  a  man,  which  is  both 
thick  and  shining,  surpasses  almost  all  other  skins  in  the 
brightness  of  its  white.  Many,  having  flayed  men  wliole,  and 
stretched  the  skin  on  wood,  carry  it  about  on  liorseback. 
Such  usages  are  received  amongst  them.  65.  The  heads 
themselves,  not  indeed  of  all,  but  of  their  greatest  enemies, 
they  treat  as  follows :  each,  having  sawn  off  all  below  the 
eye-brows,  cleanses  it,  and  if  the  man  is  poor,  he  covers  only 
tlie  outside  with  leather,  and  so  uses  it ;  but  if  lie  is  rich,  he 
covers  it  indeed  with  leather,  and  having  gilded  the  inside,  ho 
so  uses  it  for  a  drinking-cup.  And  they  do  tliis  to  their  rela- 
tives, if  they  are  at  variance,  and  one  prevails  over  another 
in  the  presence  of  the  king.  When  strangers  of  consideration 
come  to  him,  he  produces  these  heads,  and  relates  how,  though 
they  were  his  relatives,  they  made  war  against  him,  and  he 
overcame  them,  considering  this  a  proof  of  bravery.  66. 
Once  in  every  year,  the  governor  of  a  district,  each  in  his  own 
district,  mingles  a  bowl  of  wine,  from  which  those  Scy- 
thians drink  by  whom  enemies  have  been  captured  :  but  they 
who  have  not  achieved  this,  do  not  taste  of  this  wine,  but  sit 
at  a  distance  in  dishonour  ;  this  is  accounted  the  greatest  dis- 
grace :  such  of  them  as  have  killed  very  many  men,  having 
two  cups  at  once,  drink  them  together. 

67.  Soothsayers  among  the  Scythians  are  numerous,  who 
divine  by  the  help  of  a  number  of  willow  rods,  in  the  follow- 
ing manner.  When  they  have  brought  with  them  large  bun- 
dles of  twigs,  they  lay  them  on  the  ground  and  untie  them  ,* 
and  having  placed  each  rod  apart,  they  utter  their  predictions  ; 
and  whilst  they  are  pronouncing  them,  they  gather  up  the 
rods  again,  and  put  them  together  again  one  by  one.  This  is 
their  national  mode  of  divination.  But  the  Enarees,^  or  An- 
»  See  Book  I.  chap    105. 


6g_70.1  M£LtOMEN:E;.    IV.  259 

drogyni,  say  that  Venus  gave  them  the  power  of  divining. 
They  divine  by  means  of  the  bark  of  a  linden-tree  :  when  a  man 
has  split  the  linden-tree  in  three  pieces,  twisting  it  round  his 
own  fingers,  and  then  untwisting  it,  he  utters  a  response. 
68.  When  the  king  of  the  Scythians  is  sick,  he  sends  for  three 
of  the  most  famous  of  these  prophets,  who  prophesy  in  the 
manner  above  mentioned  ;  and  they  generally  say  as  follows, 
tliat  sucii  or  such  a  citizen  has  sworn  falsely  by  the  royal 
hearth,  mentioning  the  name  of  the  citizen  of  whom  they 
speak  :  for  it  is  a  custom  with  the  Scythians  in  general,  to  swear 
by  the  royal  hearth,  when  they  would  use  the  most  solemn 
oath.  Tiie  person  who,  they  say,  has  sworn  falsely,  is  imme- 
diately seized,  and  brought  forward ;  and  when  he  is  come, 
the  prophets  charge  him  with  being  clearly  proved  by  their 
prophetic  art  to  have  sworn  falsely  by  the  royal  hearth,  and 
for  this  reason  the  king  is  ill.  He  denies  it,  affirming  that  he 
has  not  sworn  falsely,  and  complains  bitterly.  On  his  denial, 
the  king  sends  for  twice  as  many  more  prophets  ;  and  if  they 
also,  examining  into  the  prophetic  art,  condemn  him  with  hav- 
ing sworn  falsely,  they  straightway  cut  off  his  head,  and  the 
first  prophets  divide  his  property  between  them  ;  but  if  the 
prophets  who  came  last  acquit  him,  other  prophets  are  called 
in,  and  others  after  them.  If,  then,  the  greater  number  acquit 
the  man,  it  is  decreed  that  the  first  prophets  shall  be  put  to 
death.  69.  They  accordingly  put  them  to  death  in  the  following 
manner:  when  they  have  filled  a  waggon  with  faggots,  and 
have  yoked  oxen  to  it,  having  tied  the  feet  of  the  prophets  and 
bound  their  hands  behind  them,  and  having  gagged  them,  they 
enclose  them  in  the  midst  of  the  faggots  ;  then  having  set  fire 
to  them,  they  terrify  the  oxen,  and  let  them  go.  Many  oxen 
therefore  are  burnt  with  the  prophets,  and  many  escape  very 
much  scorched,  wlien  the  pole  has  been  burnt  asunder.  In  this 
manner,  and  for  other  reasons,  they  burn  the  prophets,  calling 
them  false  prophets.  The  king  does  not  spare  the  children  of 
those  whom  he  puts  to  death,  but  kills  all  the  males,  and  does 
not  hurt  the  females.  70.  The  Scythians  make  solemn  con- 
tracts in  the  following  manner,  with  whomsoever  they  make 
them.  Having  poured  wine  into  a  large  earthen  vessel,  they 
mingle  with  it  blood  taken  from  those  who  are  entering  into 
covenant,  having  struck  with  an  awl  or  cut  with  a  knife  a 
small  part  of  the  body  ;  then,  having  dipped  a  scimetar,  some 

s  2 


260  ItEROOOTUS  [71,72, 

arrows,  a  liatcliet,  and  a  javelin  in  the  vessel,  when  they 
have  done  this,  they  make  many  solemn  prayers,  and  then 
both  those  who  make  the  contract,  and  the  most  considerable 
of  their  attendants,  drink  up  the  mixture, 

71.  The  sepulchres  of  the  kings  are  in  the  country  of  the 
Gerrhi,  as  far  as  which  the  Borystlienes  is  navigable.  There, 
when  their  king  dies,  they  dig  a  large  square  hole  in  the 
ground  ;  and  having  prepared  this,  they  take  up  the  corpse, 
liaving  the  body  covered  with  wax,  tlie  belly  opened  and 
cleaned,  filled  with  bruised  cypress,  incense,  and  parsley  and 
anise-seed,  and  then  sown  up  again,  and  carry  it  in  a  chariot 
to  another  nation  :  those  who  receive  the  corpse  brought  to 
them,  do  the  same  as  the  Royal  Scythians  ;  they  cut  off  part 
of  their  ear,  shave  off  their  hair,  wound  themselves  on  the 
arms,  lacerate  their .  forehead  and  nose,  and  drive  arrows 
through  their  left  hand.  Thence  they  carry  the  corpse  of  the 
king  to  another  nation  whom  they  govern  ;  and  those  to  whom 
they  first  came  accompany  them.  Wlien  they  have  carried 
the  corpse  round  all  the  provinces,  they  arrive  among  the 
Gerrhi,  w«iio  are  the  most  remote  of  the  nations  they  rule 
over,  and  at  the  sepulchres.  Then,  when  they  have  placed 
the  corpse  in  the  grave  on  a  bed  of  leaves,  having  fixed  spears 
on  each  side  of  the  dead  body,  they  lay  pieces  of  wood  over 
it,  and  cover  it  over  with  mats.  In  the  remaining  space  of 
the  grave  they  bury  one  of  the  king's  concubines,  having 
strangled  her,  and  his  cup-bearer,  a  cook,  a  groom,  a  page,  a 
courier,  and  horses,  and  firstlings  of  every  thing  else,  and 
golden  goblets  ;  they  make  no  use  of  silver  or  brass.  Having 
<lone  this,  they  all  heap  up  a  large  mound,  striving  and  vic- 
ing witli  each  other  to  make  it  as  large  as  possible.  72. 
When  a  year  has  elapsed,  they  then  do  as  follows :  having 
taken  the  most  fitting  of  his  remaining  servants;  they  are  all 
native  Scythians ;  for  they  serve  him  whomsoever  the  king 
may  order,  and  they  have  no  servants  bought  with  money : 
when  therefore  they  have  strangled  fifty  of  these  servants, 
and  fifty  of  the  finest  horses,  having  taken  out  their  bowels 
and  cleansed  them,  they  fill  them  with  chaff,  and  sow  them 
up  again.  Then  having  placed  the  half  of  a  wheel,  with  its 
concave  side  uppermost,  on  two  pieces  of  wood,  and  the  other 
half  on  two  other  pieces  of  wood,  and  having  fixed  many  of 
these  in  the  same  manner,  then  having  thrust  thick  pieces  of 


I 


78-75.1  MELPOMENE.    IV.  261 

wood  througli  ike  horses  lengthwise,  up  to  the  ntck,  they 
mount  them  on  the  half-wheels ;  and  of  these  the  foremost 
part  of  the  half-wheels  supports  the  shoulders  of  the  horses, 
and  the  hinder  part  supports  the  belly  near  the  thighs,  but  tl;e 
legs  on  both  sides  are  suspended  in  the  air :  then  having  put 
bridles  and  bits  on  the  horses,  they  stretch  them  in  front,  and 
fasten  them  to  a  stake ;  they  then  mount  upon  a  horse  each, 
one  of  the  fifty  young  men  that  have  been  strangled,  mount- 
ing them  in  the  following  manner :  when  they  have  driven  a 
straight  piece  of  wood  along  the  spine  as  far  as  the  neck,  but 
a  part  of  this  wood  projects  from  the  bottom,  they  fix  it  into 
a  hole  bored  in  the  other  piece  of  wood  that  passes  througli 
tlie  horse.  Having  placed  such  horsemen  round  the  monu- 
ment, they  depart. 

73.  Thus  they  bury  their  kings.  But  the  other  Scythians, 
when  they  die,  their  nearest  relations  carry  about  among  their 
friends,  laid  in  cliariots ;  and  of  these  each  one  receives  and 
entertains  the  attendants,  and  sets  the  same  things  before  the 
dead  body,  as  before  the  rest.  In  this  manner  private  persons 
are  carried  about  for  forty  days,  and  then  buried.  The 
Scythians,  having  buried  them,  purify  themselves  in  the  follow- 
ing manner :  having  wiped  and  thoroughly  washed  their 
heads,  tliey  do  thus  with  regard  to  the  body;  when  they  have 
set  up  three  pieces  of  wood  leaning  against  each  other,  they 
extend  around  tliem  woollen  clotlis ;  and  having  joined  them 
together  as  closely  as  possible,  they  throw  red-hot  stones  into 
a  vessel  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  pieces  of  wood  and  the 
cloths.  74.  Tliey  have  a  sort  of  liemp  growing  in  this  coun- 
try, very  like  flax,  except  in  thickness  and  height ;  in  this 
respect  the  hemp  is  far  superior  :  it  grows  both  spontaneously 
and  from  cultivation  ;  and  from  it  the  Thracians  make  gar- 
ments, very  like  linen,  nor  would  any  one  who  is  not  well 
skilled  in  such  matters  distinguish  whether  they  are  made  a'' 
flax  or  hemp,  but  a  person  who  has  never  seen  this  hemj. 
would  think  the  garment  was  made  of  flax.  75.  When  there- 
fore the  Scythians  have  taken  some  seed  of  this  hemp,  they 
creep  under  the  cloths,  and  tlien  put  the  seed  on  the  red- 
hot  stones ;  but  this  being  put  on  smokes,  and  produces  such 
a  steam,  that  no  Grecian  vapour-bath  would  surpass  it.  The 
Scythians,  transported  with  the  vapour,  shout  aloud  ;  •  and 
»  See  Cook  I.  chap.  203. 


262  HERODOTUS.  "  [76 

this  serves  tliem  instead  of  washing,  for  they  liCver  bathe  the 
body  in  water.  Their  women,  pouring  on  water,  pound  on  a 
rough  stone  pieces  of  cypress,  cedar,  and  incense-tree  ;  and 
then  this  pounded  matter,  when  it  is  thick,  they  smear  over 
tiie  whole  body  and  face :  and  this  at  the  same  time  gives 
them  an  agreeable  odour,  and  when  they  take  ot^'  the  cataphasm 
on  the  following  day,  they  become  clean  and  shining. 

76.  They  studiously  avoid  the  use  of  foreign  customs,  not 
only  therefore  will  they  not  adopt  those  of  each  other,  but 
least  of  all  Grecian  usages,^  as  the  example  of  Anacharsis, 
and  afterwards  of  Scylas,  sutficiently  demonstrated ;  for,  in 
the  first  place,  Anacharsis,  having  visited  many  countries,  and 
having  displayed  great  wisdom  during  his  progress,  was  re- 
turning to  the  abodes  of  tlie  Scythians,  and  sailing  through  the 
Hellespont  toward  Cyzicus,  and  as  he  found  the  Cyzicenians 
celebrating  a  festival  to  the  mother  of  the  gods  with  great 
magnificence,  Anacharsis  made  a  vow  to  the  goddess,  that  if 
he  should  return  safe  and  sound  to  his  own  country,  he  would 
sacrifice  in  the  same  manner  as  he  saw  the  inhabitants  of 
Cyzicus  doing,  and  would  also  institute  a  vigil.  Accordingly, 
when  he  arrived  in  Scythia,  he  returned  into  the  country  called 
Ilylaia,  it  is  near  the  Course  of  Achilles,  and  is  full  of  trees  of 
all  kinds  ;  to  this  Anacharsis  having  retired,  performed  all  the 
rites  to  the  goddess,  holding  a  timbrel  in  his  hand,  and  fasten- 
ing images  about  his  person.  But  one  of  the  Scythians, 
having  observed  him  doing  this,  gave  information  to  the  king, 
Saulius  ;  but  he,  having  come  in  person,  when  he  saw  Ana- 
charsis thus  employed,  shot  at  him  with  an  arrow,  and  killed 
him.  And  now  if  any  one  speaks  about  Anacharsis,  the 
Scythians  say  they  do  not  know  him,  because  he  travelled 
into  Greece  and  adopted  foreign  customs.  However  I  heard 
from  Timnes,  the  guardian  of  Ariapithes,  that  Anacharsis  was 
paternal  uncle  to  Idanthyrsus,  king  of  the  Scythians,  and  that 
lie  was  son  of  Gnurus,  son  of  Lycus,  son  of  Spargapithes  ;  if, 
then,  Anacharsis  was  of  this  family,  let  him  know  he  was 
killed  by  his  own  brother  ;  for  Idanthyrsus  was  son  of  Saulius, 

'  Tlie  simplest  method  of  rendering  this  obscure  passage  appears  to  me 
to  be  lliat  suggested  by  Letronne,  as  quoted  by  Baehr,  accordiug  to 
which  the  usual  signification  of  the  word  V^KifTTa  is  retained  without  any 
violence  to  the  construction:  it  is  as  follows,  nn  ti  yt  uiv  dX\v\u,ti 
(va/iaioi<ri  Xf'twvTat),  'EWnvmolai  8t  nai  ^Kivra. 


-79.  J  MELPOMENE.     IV.  26.'i 


I 

■Kind  it  was  Saulius  wlio  killed  Anacliarsls.  77.  However,  I 
have  lieard  another  storj  told  by  the  Peloponnesians,  that 
Anacharsis,  being  sent  abroad  by  the  king  ot'  the  Scythians, 
became  a  disciple  of  the  Grecians  ;  and  on  his  return  home  he 
said  to  the  king  who  sent  him  abroad,  that  all  the  Greeks 
were  employed  in  acquiring  all  kinds  of  knowledge,  except 
the  Lacedaemonians,  i)ut  that  they  only  were  able  to  give  and 
receive  a  reason  with  prudence :  but  this  story  is  told  in  spoi't 
by  the  Greeks  themselves.  The  man,  then,  was  killed  in  the 
manner  before  mentioned.  Thus,  therefore,  he  fared  because 
of  foreign  customs  and  intercourse  with  the  Grecians. 

78.  Many  years  afterwards,  Scylas,  son  of  Ariapithes, 
met  with  a  similar  fate.  For  Ariapithes,  king  of  the  Scythi- 
ans, had,  amongst  other  children,  Scylas ;  he  was  born  of  an 
Istrian  woman,  who  did  not  in  any  way  belong  to  the  country  : 
his  mother  taught  him  the  Grecian  language  and  letters. 
Afterwards,  in  course  of  time,  Ariapithes  met  his  death  by 
treachery  at  the  hands  of  Spargaj)ithes,  king  of  the  Agathyrsi, 
and  Scylas  succeeded  to  the  kingdom,  and  his  father's  wife, 
whose  name  was  Opoca ;  this  Opoca  was  a  native,  by  whom 
Ariapithes  had  a  son,  Oricus.  Scylas,  though  reigning  over 
the  Scythians,  was  by  no  means  pleased  with  the  Scythian 
mode  of  life,  but  was  much  more  inclined  to  the  Grecian  man- 
ners on  account  of  the  education  he  had  received  ;  he,  there- 
fore, acted  thus.  AVhenever  he  led  the  Scythian  army  to 
the  city  of  the  Borysthenita?,  (now  these  liurysthenitie  say 
they  are  Milesians.)  as  soon  as  Scylas  reached  them,  lie  used 
to  leave  his  army  in  the  suburbs,  and,  when  he  himself  had 
gone  within  the  walls,  and  had  closed  the  gates,  having  laid 
aside  his  Scythian  dress,  he  used  to  assume  the  Grecian 
habit,  and  in  this  dress  he  walked  in  public,  unattended  by 
guards  or  any  one  else  ;  and  they  kept  watch  at  the  gates,  that 
no  Scythian  might  see  him  wearing  this  dress  ;  and  in  other 
respects  he  adopted  the  Grecian  mode  of  living,  and  performed 
sacrifices  to  the  gods  according  to  the  rites  of  the  Grecians. 
When  he  had  stayed  a  month  or  more,  he  used  to  depart,  re- 
suming the  Scythian  habit.  This  he  used  frequently  to  do ; 
he  also  built  a  palace  in  the  Borysthenes,  and  married  a  native 
woman,  to  inhabit  it.  79.  Since,  however,  it  was  fated  that 
misfortune  should  betal  him,  it  happened  on  this  occasion.  He 
was  very  desirous  to  be  initiated  in  the  mysteries  of  Bacchus  ; 


264  HERODOTUS.  ^80. 

and  as  he  was  just  about  to  commence  the  sacred  rites,  a  very 
great  prodigy  occurred.  He  had  in  the  city  of  the  Borys- 
thenitae  a  large  and  magnificent  mansion,^  of  which  I  have  just 
now  made  mention  ;  round  it  were  placed  sphinxes  and  griffins 
of  white  marble  ;  on  this  the  god  hurled  a  bolt,  and  it  was  en- 
tirely burnt  down ;  Scylas,  nevertheless,  accomplished  his 
initiation.  Now,  the  Scythians  reproach  the  Grecians  on 
account  of  their  Bacchic  ceremonies,  for  they  say  it  is  not 
reasonable  to  discover  such  a  god  as  this,  who  drives  men  to 
madness.  When  Scylas  had  been  initiated  in  the  Bacchic 
mysteries,  one  of  the  Borysthenitas  carried  tlie  information  to 
the  Scythians,  saying,  "  You  Scythians  laugli  at  us,  because 
we  celebrate  Bacchic  rites,  and  the  god  takes  possession  of  us  ; 
now  this  same  deity  has  taken  possession  of  your  king,  and  he 
celebrates  the  rites  of  Bacchus,  and  is  maddened  by  the  god. 
But  if  you  disbelieve  me,  follow,  and  I  will  show  you."  The 
chief  men  of  the  Scythians  followed  him  ;  and  the  Borysthe- 
nite,  conducting  them  in,  placed  them  secretly  on  a  tower  :  but 
when  Scylas  went  past  with  a  thyasus,  and  the  Scythians 
saw  him  acting  the  bacchanal,  they  regarded  it  as  a  very  great 
calamity  ;  and  having  returned,  tliey  acquainted  all  the  army 
with  what  they  had  seen.  80.  Ai'ter  this,  when  Scylas  re- 
turned to  his  own  home,  the  Scythians,  having  set  up  his 
brother  Octamasades,  born  of  the  daughter  of  Tereus,  re- 
volted from  Scylas.  But  he,  being  informed  of  what  was 
being  done  against  him,  and  the  reason  for  which  it  was  done, 
fled  to  Thrace.  Octamasades,  being  informed  of  this,  marched 
against  Thrace,  but  when  he  an-ived  on  the  Ister,  the  Thra- 
cians  advanced  to  meet  him.  As  they  were  about  to  engage, 
Sitalces  sent  to  Octamasades,  saying  as  follows  :  "Why  need 
we  try  each  other's  strength  ?  You  are  the  son  of  my  sister, 
and  have  with  you  my  brother.  Do  you  restore  him  to  me, 
and  I  will  deliver  up  Scylas  to  you,  and  so  neither  you  nor  I 
shall  expose  our  army  to  peril."  Sitalces  sent  this  message 
to  him  by  a  herald  ;  for  there  was  with  Octamasades  a  brother 
of  Sitalces,  who  had  fled  from  tlie  latter.  Octamasades  ac- 
ceded to  this  proposal  ;  and  having  surrendered  his  maternal 
uncle  to  Sitalces,  received  his  brother  Scylas  in  exchange. 
Now  Sitalces,  having  got  his  brother  in  his  power,  drew  oil 

'  Literally  "  a  circiimfererice  of  a  large  and  magnificent  mansion." 


81—83.1  MELPOMENE.    IV  266 

his  forces  ;  but  Octamasades  beheaded  Scylas  on  tlie  same  spot. 
Thus  the  Scythians  maintain  their  own  customs,  and  impose 
such  punishments  on  those  who  introduce  foreign  usages. 

81.  I  have  never  been  able  to  learn  with  accuracy  the 
amount  of  the  population  of  the  Scythians,  but  I  heard  differ- 
ent accounts  concerning  the  number  ;  for  some  pretend  that 
they  are  exceedingly  numerous,  and  others  that  there  are  very 
few  real  Scythians  :  thus  much  however  they  exposed  to  my 
sight.  There  is  a  spot  between  the  river  Borysthenes  and 
the  Ilypanis,  called  Exampaeus,''  which  I  mentioned  a  little 
before,  saying  that  there  was  in  it  a  fountain  of  bitter  water, 
from  which  the  water  flowing  made  the  Hypanis  unfit  to  be 
drunk.  In  this  spot  lies  a  brass  cauldron,  in  size  six  times  as 
large  as  the  bowl  at  the  mouth  of  the  Pontus,  which  Pausani- 
as,  son  of  Cleombrotus,  dedicated.  For  the  benefit  of  any  one 
who  has  never  seen  this,  I  will  here  describe  it :  the  brass 
cauldron  amongst  the  Scythians  easily  contains  six  hundred 
amphorce  ;  and  this  Scythian  vessel  is  six  fingers  in  thickness. 
Now.  the  inhabitants  say  it  was  made  from  the  points  of 
arrows,  for  that  their  king,  whose  name  was  Ariantas,  wish- 
ing to  know  the  population  of  the  Scythians,  commanded  all 
the  Scythians  to  bring  him  each  severally  one  point  of  an 
arrow,  and  he  threatened  death  on  whosoever  should  fail  to 
bring  it.  Accordingly  a  vast  number  of  arrow  points  were 
brought,  and  he  resolved  to  leave  a  monument  made  from 
tiiem  ;  he  therefore  made  this  brass  bowl,  and  dedicated  it  at 
Exampaius.  This  I  heard  concerning  the  population  of  the 
Scythians.  82.  Their  country  has  nothing  wonderful,  except 
the  rivers,  which  are  very  large  and  very  many  in  number  ; 
but  what  it  affords  also  worthy  of  admiration,  besides  the  rivers 
and  the  extent  of  the  plains,  shall  be  mentioned  :  they  show 
the  print  of  the  foot  of  Hercules  upon  a  rock  ;  it  resembles  the 
footstep  of  a  man,  is  two  cubits  in  length,  near  the  river 
Tyras.  Such,  then,  is  this  ;  but  1  will  now  return  to  the  sub- 
ject 1  at  first  set  out  to  relate. 

83.  WhiktDarii^^  waa  ni^kinyr  preparations  ag^ainst  the 
^Q^tl]ians^  and  sendinrr  messengers  to  command  some  to  coa- 
tribute  land  forces,  and  others  a  fleet,  and  others  to  bridge^ 
over  the  Thracian  Bosphorus  ;  Artabanus,  the  son  of  Hystaspes, 
and  brother  of  Darius,  entreatea  mm  on  no  account  to  makfi 
an  expedition  against  the  bc3^thiajis,  representing  the  poverty 
*  See  chap.  52. 


266  HERODOTUS.  [84— 8fl 

of  Scythia  ;  but  when  he  found  that  althougli  he  gave  him 
good  counsel  he  could  not  persuade  him,  he  desisted  :  Darius 
therefore,  when  every  thing  was  prepared,  marched  his  arniy 
from  Susa.  84.  At  that  time  CEobazus,  a  Persian7vvho  had  three 
sons  all  serving  in  the  army,  besought  Darius  that  one  might  -M 
be  left  at  home  for  him.  The  king  answered  him,  as  a  friend,  ^ 
und  one  wlio  made  a  moderate  request,  that  lie  would  leave  him 
all  his  sons  ;  he  tlierefore  was  exceedingly  delighted,  lioping 
that  his  sons  would  be  discharged  from  the  army.  But  Darius 
commanded  the  proper  officers  to  put  all  the  sons  of  Qilobazus 
to  death  ;  and  they,  being  slain,  were  left  on  the  spot. 

85.  When  Darius^^miU'xjhing  from  Susa,  reached  Chalcedon 
on  th^"T5osphorus,  A\dicre  a  bridge  was  alrSlidy  laid  across,"''" 
fromThence  going  on  board^  a  ship  lie^sairedto  TlTose  called 
the  Cyanean  islands,  which  the  Grecians  say  formerly  float- 
ed. There,  sitiing^in  the  temple,  he  took  a  vew  of  the  Eux- 
Ine  jca,  which  is  worthy  of  admiration  ;  for  of  all  seas  it  is 
by  nature  the  most  wonderful:  its  length  is  eleven  thousand 
one  hundred  stades,  and  its  width,  in  the  widest  part,  three 
thousand  three  Imiuhed  stades.  The  mouth  of  this  sea  is 
four  stades  in  width,  and  the  length  of  the  mouth,  f/tat  is, 
the  neck,  which  is  called  the  J^osphorus,  where  the  bridge 
was  laid  across,  amounts  to  about  a  hundred  and  twenty 
statles  r  ancTlire  Bosphorus  extends  to  the  Propontis.  The 
Propontis,  which  is  live  hundred  stades  in  breadtfi,  and  one 
thousand  four  hundred  in  length,  discharges  itself  into  th^i 
Hellespont,  which  in  the  narrowest  part  is  seven  stades,  and 
in  length  four  hundred;  the  Hellespont  falls  into  an  expaiis'? 
of  the  sea,  which  is  called  the  -^gean.  86.  These  seas  have 
been  measured  as  follows  :  a  ship  commonly  makes  in  a  long 
day  about  seventy  thousand  orgya?,  and  in  anight  about  sixty 
thousand.  Now,  from  the  mouth  to  the  Pliasis  (for  this  fs 
the  greatest  length  of  the  Pontus)  is  a  voyage  of  nine  days 
and  eight  nights  ;  these  make  one  million  one  hundred  and 
ten  thousand  orgyns,  and  these  orgyos  are  equal  to  eleven 
thousand  one  hundred  stades.  From  Sindica  to  Themiscyra, 
on  the  river  Thermodon,  (for  here  is  the  broadest  part  of 
the  Pontus,)  is  a  voyage  of  three  days  and  two  nights  ;  these 
make  three  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  orgya?,  oi  three 
thousand  three  hundred  stades.  The  Pontus,  therefore,  and 
the  Bosphorus,  and  the  Hellespont,  have  been  thus  measured 
by  me,  and  ar?  such  as  I  have  described.      Moreover  thi* 


8:-S9.-3  MELPOMENE.     IV.  267 

Pontus  possesses  a  lake,  that  diseliarges  itself  into  it,  not 
much  less  than  itself;  it  is  called  ]\Iteotis,  and  the  mother  of 
the  Pontus. 

87.  Darius,  when  he  had  viewed  the  Pontus,  sailed  hack 
tolhejbnjjge,  ojf  which  Mandrocles,  a  Samian,  was  the  archi- 
tect. And  having  also  viewed  the  Bosphorus,  he  erected  twc 
columns  of  white  marble  on  the  shore,  eii^raving  on  one  in 
Assyrian  characters,  and  on  the  other  in  Grecian,  the  names 
of  all  the  nations  lie  hacTTh  liis  army,  and  he  had  some  from 
aU  yvhoiii  he  I'ult'd  over;  of  these,  besides  the  navj',  seven 
hundred  thousand  ^vvere  reckoned,  including  cavalry  ;  and  six 
hundred  ships  we  reassembTed .  Now  these  columns  the  By- 
zantiaiTs  some  time  afterwards  removed  into  their  city,  and 
used  in  building  tlie  altar  of  tlie  Orthosian  Diana,  except  one 
stone;  this  was  left  near  th3  temple  of  Bacchus  in  Byzan- 
tium, covered  with  Assyrian  letters.  The  spot  of  the  Bos- 
phorus which  king  Darius  caused  the  bridge  to  be  laid  over, 
was,  as  1  conjecture,  mid-way  between  Byzantium  and  the 
temple  at  the  mouth.  88.  D^riLU,^^ after  this,  being  pleased 
with  the  bridge,  pi-esentcd  its  architect,  ]\randrocles  the  Sa- 
mian, with  ten  of  every  thing  ;  from  tliese  then  l\landrocles, 
liaving  painted  a  picture  of  the  whole  junction  of  the  Bos- 
})horu.s,  witli  king  Darius  seated  on  a  throne,  and  his  army 
crossing  over,  having  painted  this,  he  dedicated  it  as  first- 
fruits  in  tlie  temple  of  Juno,  with  this  inscription  :  "  JNIan- 
drocles,  having  thrown  a  bridge  across  the  fishy  Bosphorus, 
dedicated  to  Juno  a  memorial  of  the  raft;  laying  up  ior  him- 
self a  crown,  and  lor  the  Samians  glory,  having  completed  it 
to  the  satisfaction  of  king  Darius."  Tiiis,  then,  was  the  me- 
morial of  the  man  who  constructed  the  bridge. 

89.  Darius,  having  rewarded  Mandrocles,  crossed  over_  in- 
to Europe,  having  coihmanded  the  loniahs  to  s;iiT  by  the 
Poiitus  as  far  as  the  river  Ister  ;  and  when  they  should 
have  reached  the  Ister,  to  throw  a  bridge  over  the  riycr 
amTTlieie  wait  his  arrival  :  lor  the  lonians,  ilColians,  and 
Ildtespontines  conducted  the  naval  armament.  The  ileet 
accoTrdingly,  having  sailed  through  the  Cyanean  islands,  stood 
direct  for  the  Ister  ;  and  having  sailed  up  the  river  a  two 
days'  voyage  from  the  sea,  they  joined  the  neck  of  the  river 
with  a  bridge,  at  the  point  where  the  several  mouths  of  the 
later  are  separated     But  Darius,  when  lie  had  passed  over 


268  HERODOTUS.  [90-94 

the  Bosplioi'us  by  the  bridge  of  boats^  marched  througji 
ThraceT  and  having  arrived  at  the  sources  of  the  river  T^rus, 
^TibsiSped  there  three  days.  90.  The  Teams  is  said  by  the 
inhabitants  of  the  country  to  be  the  best  of  all  rivers,  both 
for  its  other  healing  qualities,  and  especially  for  curing  the 
itch,  in  men  and  horses.  Its  springs  are  th{rty-e\ght,  Jfoivinff 
from  the  same  rock,  and  some  of  them  are  cold,  others  hot. 
The  distance  to  them  is  the  same  from  Herasopolis,  near  Pe- 
rinthus,  and  from  ApoUonia  on  tlie  Euxine  Sea,  each  a  two 
days'  journey.  This  Teams  empties  itself  into  the  river 
Contadesdus,  the  Contadesdus  into  the  Agrianes,  the  Agri- 
anes  into  the  Hebrus,  and  this  last  into  the  sea  near  the  city  of 
jEnus.  91.  Darius,  then,  having  reached  this  river,  when 
he  had  encamped,  was  so  delighted  with  the  river,  that  he 
erected  a  pillar  here  also,  with  the  following  inscription  :  The 

SPRINGS  OF  THE  TeARUS  YIELD  THE  BEST  AND  FINEST  WATER 
OF  ALL  RIVERS  ;  AND  A  MAN,  THE  BEST  AND  FINEST  OF  ALL 
MEN,  CAME  TO  THEM,  LEADING  AN  ARMY  AGAINST  THE  SCY- 
THIANS, DARIUS,  SON  OF    HYSTASPES,    KING   OP    THE    PERSIANS, 

AND  OF  THE  WHOLE  CONTINENT.  92.  Darius,  having  set  out 
)m  thence,  came  to  another  river,  the  name  of  which  is 
Artiscus,  which  flows  through  the  Odrysoe  ;  when  he  arrived 
at  this  river,  he  did  as  follows  :  having  marked  out  a  certain 
spot  of  ground  to  the  army,  he  commanded  every  man  as  he 
passed  by  to  place  a  stone  on  this  spot  that  was  marked  out  ; 
and  when  the  army  had  executed  his  order,  having  left  vast 
heaps  of  stones  there,  he  continued  his  march. 

93.  But  before  he  reached  the  Ister,  he  subdued  the  Getia 
first,  who  think  themselves  immortal ;  for  the  Thracians.who 
occupy  Salmydessus,  and  those  who  dwell  above  the  cities  of 
ApoUonia  and  ]\Iesambria,  who  are  called  Scyrmiadae  and 
Nypsaei,  surrendered  themselves  to  Darius  without  resist- 
ance ;  but  the  Geta?,  having  recourse  to  obstinate  resistance, 
wei'e  soon  reduced  to  slavery,  though  they  are  the  most 
vahant  and  the  most  just  of  the  Thracians.  94.  They  think 
themselves  immortal  in  this  manner.  They  imagine  that 
they  themselves  do  not  die,  but  that  the  deceased  goes  to  the 
deity  Zalmoxis,  and  some  of  them  think  that  he  is  the  same 
with  Gebeleizis.  Every  fifth  year  they  despatch  one  of  them- 
selves, taken  by  lot,  to  Zalmoxis,  with  orders  to  let  him  know 
on  each  occasion  what  they  want.     Their  mode  of  sending 


96,96.J  MELPOMENE.    IV.  269 

him  is  thia  Some  of  them  who  are  appointed  hold  three 
javehns  ;  whilst  others,  having  taken  up  the  man  who  is  to 
be  sent  to  Zalmoxis  by  the  hands  and  feet,  swing  him  round, 
and  throw  him  into  the  air,  upon  the  points.  If  he  should  die, 
being  transfixed,  they  think  the  god  is  propitious  to  them  ;  if 
he  should  not  die,  they  blame  the  messenger  himself,  saying, 
that  he  is  a  bad  man  ;  and  having  blamed  him,  they  despatch 
another,  and  they  give  him  his  instructions  while  he  is  yet 
alive.  These  same  Thracians,  in  time  of  thunder  and  light- 
ning, let  fly  their  arrows  toward  heaven,  and  threaten  the 
god,   thinking  that   there  is  no  other  god   but   their   own. 

95.  But,  as  I  am  informed  by  the  Greeks  who  dwell  about 
the  Hellespont  and  the  Pontus,  this  Zalmoxis  was  a  man,  and 
lived  in  slavery  at  Samos  ;  he  was  slave  to  Pythagoras,  son 
of  Mnesarchus  ;  and  after  that,  having  procured  his  liberty, 
lie  acquired  great  riches,  and  having  acquired  them,  he  re- 
turned to  his  own  country  :  but  finding  the  Thracians  lived 
wretchedly  and  in  a  very  uncivilized  manner,  this  Zalmoxis, 
being  acquainted  with  the  Ionian  way  of  living,  and  with 
manners  more  polite  than  those  of  Thrace,  in  that  he  had 
been  familiar  with  Greeks,  and  with  Pythagoras,  who  was  not 
the  meanest  sage  in  Greece,  had  a  hall  built,  in  which,  re- 
ceiving and  entertaining  the  principal  persons  of  the  country, 
he  taught  them,  that  neither  he  nor  any  of  his  guests,  nor 
their  posterity  for  ever,  would  die,  but  would  go  into  a  place 
where  they  should  live  eternally,  and  have  every  kind  of 
blessing.  While  he  did  and  said  as  above  described,  he,  in 
the  mean  time,  had  a  subterraneous  habitation  made,  and  when 
the  building  was  completed,  he  disappeared  from  among  the 
Thracians ;  and  having  gone  down  to  the  subterraneous 
habitation,  he  abode  there  three  years.  But  they  both  re- 
gretted him,  and  lamented  him  as  dead  ;  but  in  the  fourth 
year  he  appeared  to  the  Thracians  :  and  thus  what  Zalmoxis 
said  became  credible  to  them.     Thus  they  say  that  he  treted. 

96.  For  my  own  part,  I  neither  disbelieve  nor  entirely  believe 
Ihe  account  of  this  person  and  the  subterraneous  liabitation  ; 
but  I  am  of  opinion  that  this  Zalmoxis  lived  many  years  be- 
fore Pythagoras.  Yet,  whether  Zalmoxis  were  a  man  or  a 
native  deity  among  the  Getae,  I  take  my  leave  of  him.  These 
people,  then,  who  observe  such  a  custom,  when  they  were 
iubdued  by  the  Persians,  followed  the  rest  of  the  army. 


270  MEHOBOTUS.  t\>7-§d. 

97.  AVheii  Darius  and  liis  land  forces  with  uiiii  readied 
the  Ister,  all  crossed  over  the  river,  and  Darius  commaHIed 

""*tlie  lonians  to  loose  the  bridge,  and  follow  him  on  the  con- 
tinent with  the  forces  from  the  sliips.  But  as  they  were  about 
to  loose  the  bridge  and  execute  his  orders,  Goes,  son  of  Er- 
xandrus,  general  of  the  Mitylenians,  spoke  as  follows  to  Darius, 
having  first  inquired  whether  it  would  be  agreeable  to  him  to 
hear  an  opinion  from  one  who  wished  to  give  it :  "  O  king, 
since  you  are  about  to  invade  a  country  in  which  no  culti- 
vated land  will  be  seen,  nor  any  inhabited  city,  do  you  let  tiua_^ 
bridge  remain  where  it  is,  leaving  these  men  who  constructed  . 
iTas  its  guard  ;  and  if,  having  met  with  the  Scythians,  we 
siicceed  acGorTing  to  our  wishes,  we  have  a  way  to  return  ; 
but  if  we  should  not  be  able  to  meet  with  them,  we  shall  at 
least  have  a  secure  retreat.  For  I  am  not  at  all  afraid  iliat 
we"shall  be  conquered  in  battle  by  the  Scythians  ;  but  rather, 
that,  being  unable  to  find  them,  we  may  suffer  somewhat  in 
our  wanderings.  Perhaps  some  one  may  think  I  say  this  for 
my  own  sake,  that  I  may  remain  here  ;  but,  O  king,  I  advance 
the  opinion  which  I  think  is  best  for  you  ;  nevertheless,  I  will 
follow  you  myself,  and  would  by  no  means  be  left  behind." 
Darius  \vas  much  pleased  with  the  advice,  and  answered  him 
as  follows  :  "  Lesbian  friend,  when  I  am  safe  back  in  my  own 
palace,  fail  not  to  present  yourself  to  me,  that  I  may  recjuite 
you  for  good  advice  with  good  deeds."  98.  Having  spoken  thus 
and  tied  sixty  knots  in  a  thong,  and  having  summoned  the 
Ionian  commanders  to  Tiis  presence,  he  addressed  them  as  fol- 
lows :  "  Men  of  Ionia,  I  have  changed  my  former  resolution 
concerning  tlie  bridge  ;  therefore,  take  this  thong  and  do 
thus  :  as  soon  as  you  see  me  march  against  the  Scythians, 
beginning  from  that  time,  untie  one  of  these  knots  every  day ; 
and  if  I  return  not  within  that  time,  but  the  days  miUnhereii 
by  the  knots  have  passed,  do  you  sail  away  to  your  t)wn  coun- 
try.     Till  that  time,  since  I  have  changed  my  determination, 

""xro*you  guard  the  bridge,  and  apply  the  utmost  care  to  pre- 
serve and  secure  it ;  and  if  you  do  this,  you  will  oblige  me 
exceedingly."  Darius,  having  spoken  thus,  hastened  forward. 
99.  Thrace,  in  the  part  next  the  sea,  projects  before  the 
Scythian  territory  ;  and  where  a  bay  is  formed  in  this  coun- 
try Scythia  begins,  and  the  Ister  discharges  itself,  having  its 
mouth  turned  towards  the  east.  But  bcginnirg  from  the  Ister, 


100,  101.]  MELPOMENE.    IV.  271 

I  now  proceed  to  describe  by  measurement  the  part  oi"  the 
Scjtliian  country  tlmt  is  on  tlie  sea  coast.  Now,  from  the  Is- 
ter,  that  is  ancient  Scythia  that  lies  towards  the  meridian  and 
the  south  wind,  as  far  as  the  city  called  Carcinitis  ;  next  to 
that,  the  Tauric  nation  inhabits  tlie  land  extending  along  the 
same  sea,  which  is  a  mouotainous  country,  and  projects  into 
the  Pontus  as  far  :is  the  Chersonesus  called  Trachea  ;  and  it 
reaches  to  the  sea  towards  the  east.  For  the  two  parts  of  the 
boundaries  of  Scythia  extend  to  the  sea,  one  towards  the 
south,  and  the  other  towards  the  east,  as  is  the  case  with  the 
region  of  Attica  :  and  the  Tauri  inhabit  parts  of  Scythia 
similar  to  this,  just  as  if  any  other  people  instead  of  the 
Athenians  possessed  the  proniontory  of  Sunium, which  ex- 
tends more  into  a  point  into  the  sea  from  the  borough  of  Tho- 
ricus  to  that  of  Anaphlystus.  I  mention  this,  if  I  may  com- 
pare small  things  with  great.  Such,  then,  is  Taurica.  But  for 
any  one  who  has  never  sailed  by  that  part  of  Attica,  I  will 
explain  the  matter  in  another  way  :  it  is  as  if  a  nation  dis- 
tinct from  Japygia,  and  not  the  Japygians,  beginning  from 
the  port  of  Brundusium,  should  cut  oif  the  country  as  far  as 
Tarentum,  and  occupy  the  promontory.  INIentioning  these 
two,  I  might  mention  many  others,  to  which  Taurica  is  like. 
100.  From  Taurica,  Scythians  inhabit  the  country  above  the 
Taui'i,  and  the  parts  along  the  eastern  sea,  and  the  parts  west- 
ward of  the  Cimmerian  Bosphorus  and  the  lake  ^lasotis,  as  far 
as  the  river  Tanais,  which  flows  into  the  farthest  recess  of 
tliat  lake.  Now,  from  the  Ister  at  the  parts  above,  stretching 
to  the  interior,  Scythia  is  shut  ott*  first  by  the  Agathyrsi, 
next  by  the  Neuri,  then  by  the  Androphagi,  and  last  by  the 
Melanchlieni.  101.  Of  Scythia,  therefore,  which  is  qua- 
drangular, with  two  parts  reaching  to  the  sea7~tliat  winch 
stretches  to  the  interior  and  that  along  the  coast  is  in  every 
way  equal.  For  from  the  Ister  to  the  Borysthenes  is  a  jour- 
ney of  ten  days  ;  and  from  the  Borysthenes  to  the  lake  Ma?o- 
tis  ten  more  ;  from  the  sea  to  the  interior,  as  far  as  the  Melanch- 
.oeni,  who  inhabit  above  the  Scythians,  is  a  journey  of  twenty 
days.  The  day's  journey  has  been  computed  by  me  at  two 
nundrcd  stades.  Thus  the  extent  of  Scythia  crossways  would 
be  four  thousand  stades  ;  and  the  direct  route  leading  to  the 
interior  would  be  the  same  number  of  stades.  Such  is  tbo 
extent  of  this  country. 


m 


272  HERODOTUS.  [102—100. 

102.  The  Scythians,  considering  with  themselves  thatjhey 
were  not  able  alone  to  repeffhe  army  of  IJarius  in  a  plfsfi^ 
battle,  sent  messengers  to  the  adjoining  nations  ;  and  the 
kings  of  those  nations,  having  met  together,  consulted,  since  so 
great  an  army  was  advancing  against  them-  The  kings  who 
met  together  were  those  of  the  Tauri^  the  A^athyrsi,  the 
Neuri,  the  Androphagi,  the  Melanchlaeni,  the  GeloniTthe  Biu 
dini,  and  the  Sauromatae.  103".  Of  these,  the  Tauri  observe 
the  following  customs  :  they  sacrifice  to  the  virgin  all  who 
suffer  shipwreck,  and  any  Greeks  they  meet  with  driven  on 
their  coasts,  in  the  following  manner  :  having  performed  the 
preparatory  ceremonies,  they  strike  the  head  with  a  club  ; 
some  say  they  throw  the  body  down  from  a  precipice,  (for 
their  temple  is  built  on  a  precipice,)  and  impale  the  head  ;  but 
others  agree  with  respect  to  the  head,  but  say  that  the  body 
is  not  thrown  from  the  precipice,  but  buried  in  the  eartli. 
The  Tauri  themselves  say,  that  this  deity  to  whom  they  sacri- 
fice is  Iphigenia,  daughter  of  Agamfinmoii.  Enemies  whom 
they  subdue  they  treat  as  follows  :  each  having  cut  off  a  head, 
carries  it  home  with  him,  then  having  fixed  it  on  a  long  pole, 
he  raises  it  far  above  the  roof  of  his  house,  at  all  events 
above  the  chimney;  they  say  that  these  are  suspended  as 
guards  over  the  whole  household.  This  people  live  by  rapine 
and  war.  104.  The  Agathyrsi  are  a  most  luxurious  people, 
and  wear  a  profusion  of  gold.  They  have  promiscuous  inter- 
course with  women,  to  the  end  that  they  may  be  brethren  one 
of  another,  and  being  all  of  one  family,  may  not  entertain  hatred 
towards  each  other.  In  other  respects  they  approach  the  usages 
of  the  Thracians.  105.  The^Neuri  observe  Scythian  customs. 
One  generation  before  the  expedition  of  Darius,  it  happened  tc 
them  to  be  driven  out  of  their  whole  country  by  serpents  ;  foi 
their  country  produced  many  serpents,  and  a  much  greater  num 
ber  came  down  upon  them  from  the  deserts  above  ;  until,  beinj 
hard  pressed,  they  abandoned  their  territory,  and  settled 
among  the  Budini.  These  men  seem  to  be  magicians,  for  it  is 
said  of  them  by  the  Scythians  and  the  Greeks  settled  in 
Scythia,  that  once  every  year  each  Neurian  becomes  a  wolf 
for  a  few  days,  and  then  is  restored  again  to  the  same  state. 
Though  they  affirm  this,  however,  they  do  not  persuade  me ; 
they  affirm  it  nevertheless,  and  support  their  assertion  with 
an  oath.     106.  The  Androphagi  have  the  most  savage  cus- 


W— 110]  MELPOMENE.    IV.  273 

tfoms  of  all  men  ;  tliey  pay  no  regard  to  justice,  noi  make  use 
of  any  established  law.  They  are  nomades,  and  wcar  a  dress 
like  the  Scythian  ;  they  speak  a  peculiar  language ;  and  of 
these  nations,  are  the  only  people  that  eat  human  flesh. 
107.  The  Melanchlaeni  all  wear  black  garments,  from  which 
circumstance  they  take  their  name.  These  follow  Scythian 
usages.  108.  The  Budini,  who  are  a  great  and  populous  na- 
tion, paint  their  whole  bodies  with  a  deep  blue  and  red.  There 
is  in  their  country  a  city  built  of  wood,  its  name  is  Gelonus  ; 
each  side  of  the  wall  is  thirty  stades  in  length,  it  is  lofty,  and 
made  entirely  of  wood.  Their  houses  also  and  their  temples 
are  of  wood  :  for  there  are  there  temples  of  the  Grecian  gods, 
adorned  after  the  Grecian  manner  with  images,  altars,  and 
shrines  of  wood.  They  celebrate  the  triennial  festivals  of 
Bacchus,  and  perform  the  bacchanalian  ceremonies :  for  the 
Geloni  were  originally  Grecians,  but  being  expelled  from  the 
trading  ports,  settled  among  the  liudini ;  and  they  use  a 
language  partly  Scythian  and  partly  Grecian.  109.  The 
Budini,  however,  do  not  use  the  same  language  as  the  Geloni, 
nor  the  same  mode  of  living ;  for  the  Budini,  being  indigen- 
ous, are  nomades,  and  are  the  only  people  of  these  parts  who 
eat  vermin  ;  whereas  the  Geloni  are  tillers  of  the  soil,  feed 
upon  corn,  cultivate  gardens,  and  are  not  at  all  like  the  Bu- 
dini in  form  or  complexion.  By  the  Greeks,  however,  the 
Budini  are  called  Geloni,  though  erroneously  so  called.  Their 
country  is  tliickly  covered  with  trees  of  all  kinds  ;  and  in  the 
tiiickest  wood  is  a  spacious  and  large  lake,  and  a  morass  and 
reeds  around  it :  in  this  otters  are  taken,  and  beavers,  and 
other  square-faced  animals  ;  their  skins  are  sewn  as  borders 
to  cloaks,  and  their  testicles  are  useful  for  the  cure  of  dis- 
diseases  of  the  womb. 

1 10.  Concerning  the  ^^auromat^  the  following  account  is 
given.  When  the  Grecians  had  fought  with  tlie  Amazons, 
;tlie  Scytliians  call  the  Aniazons  Aiorpata,  and  this  name  in 
the  Grecian  language  means  manslayers,  for  they  call  Aior  a 
nan,  and  Fata  to  kill,)  the  story  goes,  that  the  Greek?,  having 
been  victorious  in  the  battle  at  the  Thermodon,  sailed  away, 
taking  with  them  in  three  ships  as  many  Amazons  as  they 
had  been  able  to  take  alive  ;  but  the  Amazons  attacking  them 
out  at  sea,  cut  the  men  to  pieces.  However,  as  they  had  no 
knowledge  of  navigation,  nor  any  skill  in  the  use  of  the  rud- 


274  HERODOTUS.  [111—:J8. 

der,  sails,  or  oars,  when  they  had  cut  the  men  to  pieces,  they 
were  carried  by  the  waves  and  wind,  and  arrived  at  Cremni 
on  the  Lake  Maeotis,  but  Cremni  belongs  to  the  territory  of  the 
free  Scythians.  Here  the  Amazons,  landing  from  the  vessels, 
marched  to  the  inhabited  parts  and  seized  the  first  herd  of 
horses  they  happened  to  fall  in  with,  and  mounting  on  them, 
plundered  the  lands  of  the  Scythians.  111.  The  Scythians 
knew  not  what  to  make  of  the  matter ;  for  they  were  not  ac- 
quainted either  with  their  language,  dress,  or  nation,  but 
wondered  from  whence  they  came.  They  conjectured  that 
tliey  were  men  of  the  same  stature,  they  therefore  gave  them 
battle;  but  after  the  battle  the  Scythians  got  possession  of  the 
dead,  and  so  discovered  that  they  were  women.  On  deliber- 
ation, therefore,  they  resolved  on  no  account  to  kill  them  any 
more,  but  to  send  out  to  them  the  youngestof  their  own  party, 
guessing  a  number  equal  to  theirs ;  these  were  to  encamp 
near  them,  and  do  the  same  as  they  did  ;  should  the  Amazons 
pursue  them,  they  were  not  to  fight,  but  fly ;  and  when  they 
halted  were  to  come  and  encamp  near  them.  The  Scythians 
resolved  on  this,  out  of  a  desire  to  have  children  by  these 
women.  112.  Tlie  young  men,  being  despatched,  did  as  they 
were  ordered :  when  the  Amazons  found  that  they  had  not 
come  to  hurt  them,  they  let  them  alone  ;  and  they  drew  one 
camp  nearer  to  the  other  every  day.  Tlie  youths,  as  well  as 
the  Amazons,  had  nothing  except  their  arms  and  horses,  but 
obtained  their  subsistence  in  the  same  way  that  the  Amazons 
did,  by  hunting  and  pillage.  113.  The  Amazons  about  mid- 
day were  wont  to  do  as  follows :  they  separated  themselves 
into  parties  of  one  and  two,  at  a  distance  from  each  other, 
being  dispersed  for  the  purpose  of  easing  themselves.  The 
Scythians  observing  this,  did  the  same  ;  and  one  of  them 
drew  near  one  of  the  Amazons  who  was  alone  ;  and  she  did 
not  repel  him,  but  sulFered  him  to  enjoy  her  person.  She 
could  not  speak  to  him,  because  they  did  not  un«Ierstand  each 
other,  but  she  made  signs  to  him  by  her  hand  to  come  the 
next  day  to  the  same  place,  and  to  bring  another  with  him  ; 
signifying  that  they  should  be  two,  and  she  would  oring 
another  with  her.  When  the  youth  departed,  he  related  this 
to  the  rest,  and  on  the  next  day  he  himself  went  to  the  place, 
and  took  another  with  him,  and  found  the  Amazon  with  a 
companion  waiting  for  him.     The  rest  c  f  the  youths,  wheu 


114-117.]  MELPOMENE.     [V.  275 

they  heard  this,  conciliated  the  rest  of  tike  Amazons.  114. 
Afterwards,  having  joined  their  camps,  they  lived  together, 
each  having  for  his  wife  the  person  he  first  attached  himself 
to.  The  men  were  not  able  to  learn  the  language  of  the 
women,  but  the  women  soon  attained  that  of  the  men.  When, 
therefore,  they  understood  one  another,  the  men  spoke  to  the 
Amazons  as  follows  :  "  We  have  parents  and  possessions,  let 
us  then  no  longer  lead  this  kind  of  life,  but  let  us  return  to  the 
bulk  of  our  people  and  live  with  tliem  ;  we  will  have  you  as 
our  wives,  and  no  others."  To  this  they  answered  :  "  We 
never  could  live  with  the  women  of  your  country,  because  we 
have  not  the  same  c  istoms  with  them.  We  shoot  with  the 
bow,  throw  the  javelin,  and  ride  on  horseback,  and  have  never 
learnt  the  employments  of  women.  But  your  women  do  none 
of  the  things  we  have  mentioned,  but  are  engaged  in  women's 
employments,  remaining  in  their  waggons,  and  do  not  go  out 
to  hunt,  or  any  where  else ;  we  could  not  therefore  consort 
with  them.  If,  then,  you  desire  to  have  us  for  your  wives, 
and  to  prove  yourselves  honest  men,  go  to  your  parents,  claim 
your  share  of  their  property,  then  return,  and  let  us  live  by 
ourselves."  115.  The  youths  yielded,  and  acted  accordingly, 
but  when  they  came  back  to  tlie  Amazons,  having  received 
what  fell  to  their  share  of  the  possessions,  tlie  women  spoke 
to  them  as  follows :  "  Alarm  and  fear  come  upon  us,  ivhen  ice 
consider  that  we  must  live  in  this  country ;  in  tlie  first  place, 
because  we  have  deprived  you  of  your  parents ;  and  in  the 
next,  have  committed  great  depredations  in  your  territory, 
"ince,  therefore,  you  think  us  worthy  to  be  your  wives,  do 
us  with  us;  come,  let  us  leave  this  country,  and  having 
ossed  the  river  Tanais,  let  us  settle  there."  116.  The  youths 
nsented  to  this  also  ;  accordingly,  having  crossed  the  Tanais, 
they  advanced  a  journey  of  three  days  eastward  from  the 
Tanais,  and  three  from  the  lake  Maeotis  northward,  and 
having  reached  the  country  in  which  they  are  now  settled,  they 
took  up  their  abode  there.  From  that  time  the  wives  of  the 
Sauromatoe  retain  their  ancient  mode  of  living,  both  going  out 
on  horseback  to  hunt  with  their  husbands,  and  without  their 
husbands,  and  joining  in  war,  and  wearing  the  same  dress  as 
the  men.  117.  The  Sauromata^  use  the  Scythian  language, 
speaking  it  corruptly  from  the  first,  since  the  Amazons  never 
learnt  it  correctly.     Their  rules  respecting  marriage  are  thus 

T  2 


ne 

I 


f 


276  '   ~  HERODOTUS.  [118,119 

settled ;  no  virgin  is  permitted  to  marry  until  she  lias  killed 
an  enemy  ;  some  of  them  therefore  die  of  old  age  without  be- 
ing married,  not  being  able  to  satisfy  the  law. 

118.  The  messengers  of  the  Scythians,  therefore,  coming 
to  the  assembled  kings  of  the  nations  above  mentioned,  in- 
formed them  that  tlie  Persian,  wlien  he  had  subdued  all  tlifi 
nations  on  the  other  continent,  had  constructed  a  bridge  over 
the  neck  of  the  Bosphorus,  and  crossed  over  to  this  continent ; 
and  having  crossed  over  and  subdued  the  Thracians,  he  was 
building  a  bridge  over  the  river  Ister,  designing  to  make  all 
these  regions  also  subject  to  him  :  "  Do  you,  therefore,  on  no 
account,  sit  aloof,  and  suffer  us  to  be  destroyed,  but  with  one 
accord  let  us  oppose  the  invader.  If  you  will  not  do  this,  we, 
being  pressed,  shall  either  abandon  the  country,  or,  if  we  stay, 
shall  submit  to  terms  ;  for  wliat  would  be  our  condition  if  you 
refuse  to  assist  us  ?  Nor  will  it  fall  more  lightly  on  you  on  that 
account ;  for  the  Persian  is  advancing  not  more  against  us 
than  against  you  ;  nor  will  he  be  content  to  subdue  us  and 
abstain  from  you:  and  we  will  give  you  a  strong  proof  of 
what  we  say,  for  if  the  Persian  had  undertaken  this  expedi- 
tion against  us  only,  wisliing  to  revenge  his  former  subjection 
lie  would  have  abstained  from  all  others,  and  have  marched  ^ 
directly  against  our  territories,  and  would  have  made  it  clear  fl 
to  all,  that  he  was  marching  against  the  Scythians,  and  not 
a'T^ainst  others.  But  now,  as  soon  as  he  crossed  over  to  this 
continent,  he  subdued  all  that  lay  in  his  way  ;  and  holds  in 
subjection  the  rest  of  the  Thracians,  and  more  particularly  our 
neighbours  the  Getce."  119.  When  the__Scythia.ns  had  iiiade 
this  representation,  the  kings  who  had  come  from  the  severaT 
nations  consulted  together,  and  their  opinions  were  divided. 
The  Gelonian,  Budinian,  and  Sauromatian,  agreeing  together, 
promised  to  assist  the  Scythians ;  but  Uie  Agathyrsian,  Neu- 
lian,  Androphagian,  and  the  Melanchlasnian  and  Taurian 
princes  gave  this  answer  to  the  Scythians:  "If  you,"'who 
make  the  request  that  you  now  do,  had  not  been  the  first  tc 
injure  the  Persians,  and  begin  war,  yo\x  would  have  appeared 
to  us  to  speak  rightly,  and  we,  yielding  to  your  wishes,  would 
have  acted  in  concert  with  you.  But  in  fact,  you  having  in- 
vaded their  territory  without  us,  had  the  mastery  of  the  Per- 
sians as  long  as  the  god  allowed  you ;  and  they,  when  the 
tsume  god  instigates  them,  repay  you  like  for  like.     We,  how  • 


.kO,  121.;  MELPOMENE.    IV.  277 

ever,  neither  on  that  occasion  injured  these  men  at  all,  nor 
will  we  now  be  the  first  to  attempt  to  injure  them.  Never 
theless,  should  he  invade  our  territory  also,  and  hp.nnmft  thft 
R^^^^'cssor,  we  wilT  not  suljmit  to  it.  J^utjintil  we  see  that, 
^^■(^  Wrirreinain  gjiietjit_lipme  ;  for  we  thinK  that  "tlie  Persians 
are  not  coming  against  us,  but  against  those  who  were  the 
authors  of  wrong. 

120.  When  the  Scythians  heard  this  answer  brought  back, 
th^y^detcrmined  to  fight  no  battle  in  the  open  field,  because 
tliese~aTlies  did  not  come  to  their  a,ssistance  ;  but  to  retreat^ 
ancTdraw  off  covertly7"and  fill  up  the  wells  tliey  passed  by, 
and  tlie  springs,  and  destroy  the  herbage  on  tlie  ground,  hav- 
ing divided  their  forces  into  two  bodies,  and  they  resolved 
that  to  one  of  the  divisions,  which  Scopasis  commanded,  the 
Sauromatoe  should  attach  themselves,  and  that  they  should 
retire,  if  the  Persian  should  take  that  course,  retreating  di- 
rect  to  tlie  river  Tanais^  along  the  lake  Maeotis  ;  and  when 
the  Persian  marched  back,  tliey  were  to  follow  him  and  harass 
his  rear.  This  was  one  division  of  the  kingdom  appointed 
to  pursue  its  marcli  in  the  way  that  has  been  described. 
Tlie  two  other  divisions  of  the  kingdom,  the  greater  one, 
which  Indatliyrsus  commanded,  and  the  third,  which  Taxacis 
ruled  over,  loere  directed  to  act  in  conjunction,  and,  with  the 
addition  of  the  Geloni  and  Budini,  to  keep  a  day's  march  be- 
fore the  Persians,  and  gradually  retreat,  retiring  slowly,  and 
doing  as  had  been  determined  :  and  first  of  all  they  weTJELlQ- 
wijthdraw  djmcl  towards  the  territories  oT  those  who  had  re- 
nounced  their  alliance.  \\\  order  that  they  might  bring  the 
^Mr  ~upon  them  ;  so  that,  though  tliey  would  not  willingly 
take  part  in  the  war  against  the  Persians,  they  might  be  com- 
])elled  to  engage  in  it  agaliist  their  will ;  afterwards  they 
were  to  return  to  their  own  country,  and  attack  the  enemy, 
if,  on  consultation,  it  should  seem  advisable.  121.  The  Scy- 
thians, having  come  to  this  determination,  went  out  to  meet 
Darius's  army,  having  sent  forward  the  best  of  their  cavalry  as 
an^dvanced  guard  ;  but  the  wa^g0Tfs7Tn~whicTr"airtlieir  chil- 
"Hr^  and  "wives  lived,  and  all  the  cattle,  except  so  many  as 
were  necessary  for  their  subsistence,  which  they  left  behind — 
ihe  rest  tlieysent  forward  with  the  waggons,  ordering  them 
to  marcii  coniinually  towTu'Tls  the  nortli.  TIktc;,  rn'rcfore 
were  carried  to  a  distanT-e.  "" 


278  HERODOTUS.  [122-126 

122.  When  the  advanced  guard  of  the  Scythians  fell  in 
with  the  Persians,  about  three  days'  march  from  the  Ister, 
they,  having  fallen  in  with  them,  kept  a  day's  march  in  ad- 
vance, and  encamped,  and  destroyed  all  the  produce  of  the 
ground,  but  tlie  Persians,  when  ^^'py  s"^v  ^bp.  Sr'ythinn  navnby^ 
before  them,  followed  their  track,  while  they  continually  re- 
tifed  ;  and  then,  for  they  directed  their  march  "after  one"  of 
tfnr  divisions,  the  Persians  pursued  towards  the  east  and  the 
Tanais  ;  and  when  tliey  had  crossed  the  river  Tanais,  the 
Persians  also  crossed  over  and  pursued  them,  until,  having 
passed  through  the  country  of  the  Sauromatae,  tliey  readied 
tliat  of  the  Budini.  123.  As  long  as  the  Persianswere. 
marching  through  the  Scythian  and  Sauromatian  regions, 
they  had  nothing  to  ravage,  as  the  country  was  all  barren  j 
but  when  they  entered  the  territory  of  the  Budini,  there 
meeting  with  the  wooden  town,  the  Budini  having  abandoned 
it,  and  the  town  being  emptied  of  every  thing,  they  set  it  oTi 
lire.  Having  done  this,  they  continued  to  follow  in  the 
"track  of  the  ejiemij,  until,  having  traversed  this  region7Hiey 
reached  the  desert :  this  desert  is  destitute  of  inhabitants,  and  9 
is  situate  above  the  territory  of  the  Budini,  and  is  a  seven  days*  ^ 
march  in  extent.  Beyond  the  desert  the  Thyssagetne  dwell ; 
and  four  large  rivers,  flowing  from  them  through  tlie  Mneo- 
tians,  discliarge  themselves  into  the  lake  called  Masotis  ;  their 
names  are  these,  Lycus,  Oarus,  Tanais,  and  Syrgis.  124.  When 
Darius  came  to  the  desert,  having  ceased  his  pursuit,  he  en- 
camped his  army  on  the  river  Oarus.  And  having  done  this, 
he  built  eight  large  forts,  equally  distant  from  each  other, 
about  sixty  stades  apart,  the  ruins  of  which  remain  to  this  day. 
While  he  was  employed  about  these,  the  Scythians  who  were 
pursued,  having  made  a  circuit  of  the  npper  parts,  returned 
into  Scythia  :  these  having  entirely  vanished,  when  they 
could  no  longer  be  seen,  Darius  left  the  forts  half  finished, 
and  himself  wheeling  round,  marched  westward,  supposing 
them  to  be  all  the  Scythians,  and  that  they  had  ^.ed  to  the 
west. 

125.  Advancing  with  his  army  as  quick  as  possible,  when 
lie  reached  Scythia,  he  fell  in  with  the  two  Scythian  divi- 
sions, and  having  fallen  in  with  them,  he  pursued  them,  but 
they  kept  a  day's  march  before  him.  The  Scythians,  for  Da- 
rius did  not  relax  his  -)ursuit,  fled3  as  Had  "feeh  determined,  , 


136-138.]  MELPOMENE.    I\.  283 

Persians  were  still  at  their  station.    136.  "Wheo  day  appeared, 
th?  men  that  were  abandoned,  discovering  that  they  had  been 
betrayed  by  Darius,  extended   tlieir  hands  to  the  Scythians, 
and  told  them  what  had  occurred  :  when  they  heard  this,  the 
two  divisions  of  the  Scythians,  and  the  single  one,  the  Sauro- 
matae,  Budini,  and  Geloni,  having  joined  their  forces  together 
as  quickly  as  possible,  pursued  the  Persians  straight  towards 
the  Ister.     But  as  a  great  part  of  the  Persian  army  consistecT^ 
of  infantry,  and  they  did  not  know  the  way,  there  being  no 
roads  cut,  and  as  the  Scythian  army  consisted  of  cavalry,  and    1 
knew  the  shortest  route,  they  missed  each  other,  and  the    \ 
Scythians  arrived  at  the  bridge  much  before  the  Persian*^ 
And  havin^yJifiarnt.  that  the  Persians  were  no^t_^et„,^^^^^ 
they  spoke  to  the  lonians   wlio  were  on  board  the  ships  in 
tliese~tenTrs T'^3Ten  o f  lo n i a ,  the  number  of  days  appointed 
for  your  stay  is  already  jiassed,  and  you  do  not  as  you  ought 
in  continuing  here  ;  but  if  you  remained  before  through  fear, 
now  break  up  the  passage  and  depart  as  quickly  as  possible,  re- 
joicing that  you  are  free,  and  give  thanks  to  the  gods  and  the 
Scythians.      As  for  the  man  who  before  was  your  master,  we 
will  so  deal  with  him,  that  he  shall  never  hereafter  make  war 
on  any  people." 

137.  U[)on  this  the  lonians  held  a  consultation.  Tiie  opin- 
ion nfMi[ti;|(]^'st]ip.  Athenian,  who  commanded  and  reigned  over 
the  Chersgiiesites  on  the  Ilelle.sjjont,  was^  that  they  should  com- 
ply with  the  request  of  the  Scythians,  and  restore  liberty  to 
lil^Bil;  But  Ilisticuus  the  iVIilesian  was  of  a  contrary  oiunion, 
and  saitl,  "that  every  one  reigned  over  his  own  city  through 
Dat-ius  ;  and  if  l)arius's~T)ower  should  be  destroyed,  neither 
w<5uTd  he  hiniseir  continue  master  of  ISIiletus,  nor  any  of  the 
re5ror"olTier  places  ;  because  every  one  of  the  cities  would 
choose  to  be  govei'ued  rather  by  a  democracy  than  a  tyranny. 
Histia3us  had  no  sooner  delivered  this  opinion,  than  all  went 
over  to  liis  side,  wlio  had  before  assented  to  that  of  Miltiades. 
138.  These  were  tTiey  who  gave  their  votes  and  were  in  high 
estimation  with  Darius  :  the  tyrante  of  the  Hellespontines, 
Daplmis  of  Abydos,  Ilippocles  of  Lampsacus,  Ilerophantus  of 
Parium,  Metrodorus  of  Proconnesus,  Aristagoras  of  Cyzicum, 
and  Ariston  of  Byzantium  ;  these  were  from  the  Hellespont. 
From  Ionia,  Strattis  of  Chios,  ..^aces  of  Samos,  Laodamas  oi 
PhocoRa,  and  Histiieus  of  Miletus,  whose  opinion  was  opposed 


'28i  HERODOTUS.  [139-142. 

to  that  of  Miltiades.      Of  the  ^olians   the  only  person  of 
consideration  present,  was  Aristagoras  of  Cyme. 

139.  When  these  men  had  approved  the  opinion  of  Histiacua, 
they  determined  to  add  to  it  the  following  acts  and  words :  to 
break  up  the  bridge  on  the  Scythian  side,  as  far  as  abow-shoiT"" 
might  reach,  that  they  might  seem  to  do  something,  when  in  ~" 
eifect  they  did  nothing  ;  and  that  the  Scythians  might  not  at-~ 
tempt  to  use  violence  and  purpose  to  cross  the  Ister  by  the 
bridge  ;  and  to  say,  while  they  were  breaking  up  the  bridge 
on  the  Scythian  side,  they  would  do  every  thing  that  might 
be  agreeable  to  the  Scythians.  This,  then,  they  added  to  the 
opinion  of  Histiasus.  And,  afterwards,  Histiaeus  delivered  tiie 
answer  in  the  name  of  all,  saying  as  follows:  "Men  of 
Scythia,  you  have  brought  us  good  advice,  and  urge  it  sea- 
sonably ;  you,  on  your  part,  have  pointed  out  the  right  way  to 
us,  and  we  on  ours  readily  submit  to  you  ;  for,  as  you  see,  we 
are  breaking  up  the  pas-sage,  and  will  use  all  diligence,  de- 
siring to  be  free.  But  while  Ave  are  breaking  it  up,  it  is  fit- 
ting you  should  seek  for  them,  and  having  found  them,  avenge 
us  and   yourselves   on    them,    as  tiiey  deserve."     140.  The 

t Scythians,  believing  a  second  time  that  the  lonians  were  sin- 
cere, turned  back  to  seek  the  Persians  ;  but  entirely  missed 
the  way  they  had  taken.  T,  e  Scythians  themselves  were 
the  cause  of  this,  having  destn  yed  tlie  pastures  for  the  horses 
in  this  direction,  and  having  filled  in  the  wells  ;  for  if  they 
had  not  done  this,  they  might  easily  have  found  the  Persians 
if  they  wished  ;  but  now  they  erred  in  the  very  thing  which  they 
thought  they  had  contrived  for  the  best.  For  the  Scythians 
sought  the  enemy  by  traversing  those  parts  of  the  country 
where  there  was  forage  and  water  for  the  horses,  thinking 
that  tliey  too  would  make  their  retreat  by  that  way.  But  the 
Persians,  carefully  observing  their  former  track,  returned  by 
t,  and  thus  with  difficulty  found  the  passage.  As  they  ar- 
rived in  the  n'ght,  and  perceived  the  bridge  broken  off,  they 
fell  into  the  utmost  consternation,  lest  the  lonians  had  aban- 
doned them.  141.  There  was  with  Darius  an  Egyptian,  who 
had  anexceedingly  loud  voice.  This  man  Ririus  COmmandecT 
to  "stand  on  the  bank  of  the  Ister,  and  call  Histiaaus  the  Mi- 
K'siun.  lie  did  so,  and  Histiasus,  having  heard  the  first  shout, 
brpught  up  all  the  ships  to  carry  the  army  across,  and  joine3' 
tie  bridge.    Tl  us  the  Persians  escaped.    142.  The  ScythianlT" 


14S— U5.J  MELPOMENE.    IV.  285 

in  tlieir  search  missed  them  a  second  time  :  and  on  the  one 
hand,  co'isidering  the  lonians  as  free  and  cowardly,  they  deem 
them  to  be  the  most  base  of  men  ;  but  on  the  other,  ac- 
counting tlie  lonians  as  slaves,  they  say  that  they  are  most 
attached  to  tlieir  masters,  and  least  inclined  to  run  away. 
These  reproaches  the  Scythians  fling  out  against  the  lonians. 

143.  Darius,  marching  through  Thrace,  reached  Sestos  in 
the  Chersonesus  ;  and  thence  he  himself  crossed  over  on  ship- 
board into  Asia,  and  left  Megabazus,  a  Persian,  to  be  his 
iioiieral  in  Europe.  Darius  once  paid  this  man  great  honour,  " 
having  expressed  himself  in  this  manner  in  the  presence  of 
the  Persians  :  Darius  being  about  to  eat  some  pomegranates, 
as  soon  as  he  opened  the  first,  his  brother  Artabanus  asked 
him,  Of  what  thing  he  would  wish  to  possess  a  number  equal 
to  tlie  grains  in  the  pomegranate.  Darius  said,  that  he  would 
rather  have  as  many  Megabazuses,  than  Greece  subject  to 
him.  By  saying  this,  he  honoured  him  in  the  presence  of  the 
Persians,  and  now  he  left  him  as  general  with  eighty  thou- 
sand men  of  his  own  army.  144.  This  Megabazus,  by 
making  the  following  remark,  left  an  everlasting  memorial  of 
himself  among  the  Hellespontines  ;  for  when  he  was  at  By- 
zantium, he  was  informed  that  the  Chalcedonians  had  settled 
in  that  country  seventeen  years  before  the  Byzantians  ;  but 
when  he  heard  it,  he  said,  that  the  Chalcedonians  must  have 
been  blind  at  that  time,  for  if  they  had  not  been  blind,  tliey 
would  never  have  chosen  so  bad  a  situation,  when  they  might 
have  had  so  beautiful  a  spot  to  settle  in.  This  Megabazus^ — v 
then,  being  left  as  general  in  the  country  of  the  Hellespont-  \ 
ines,  subdued  those  nations  who  were  not  in  the  interest  of  the  \ 
Medes.     He  accordingly  did  this.  :^^ 

145.  About  the  same  time  another  great  expedition  was, 

undertnkf;n"n^ritn^fTTl^yn^  nn  whnt  prptcvt  T  will  relate,  when 
1  have  first  given  the  following  account  by  way  of  preface. 
Tiie  descendants  of  the  Argonauts,  being  expelled  from  Lem- 
nos  by  the  Pelasgians  who  carried  off  the  Athenian  women 
from  Brauron,^  set  sail  for  Lacedasmon,  and  seating  them- 
selves on  Mount  Taygetus,  lighted  fires.  The  Lacedaemonians^ 
having  seen  this,  despatched  a  messenger  to  demand  who  and 
whence  they  were.  They  said  to  the  messenger  who  questioned 

«  See  Book  VI.  chap.  138 


2£6  HERODOTUS.  [146,  U7. 

them,  that  "  they  were  Minyas,  descendants  of  those  heroes 
who  sailed  in  the  Argo,  and  that  they,  having  touched  at  Lem- 
nos,  begot  them."  The  LacedaBmonians,  having  heard  this 
account  of  the  extraction  of  the  Minya?,  sent  a  second  time 
to  inquire  with  what  design  they  had  come  to  their  territorj^ 
and  lighted  fires  ;  they  said,  that  being  ejected  by  tlie  Pehis- 
giaiis,  they  had  come  to  their  fathers  ;  for  that  it  was  most 
proper  for  them  so  to  do  ;  and  they  requested  leave  to  dwell 
with  them,  participating  in  tlieir  honours,  and  being  allotted  a 
portion  of  land.  The  Lacedaemonians  determined  to  receive 
the  Minyoe  on  the  terms  they  themselves  proposed  ;  and  tlie 
sailing  of  the  Tyndaridae  in  the  Argo  especially  induced 
them  to  do  this  :  having,  therefore,  received  the  Minyas,  they 
assigned  them  a  portion  of  land,  and  distributed  them  among 
their  tribes,  and  they  immediately  contracted  marriages,  and 
gave  to  others  the  wives  they  brought  from  Lemnos.  146. 
But  when  no  long  time  had  elapsed,  the  Minyae  became  inso- 
lent, and  demanded  a  share  in  the  sovereignty,  and  committed 
other  crimes.  The  Lacedaemonians  therefore  determined  to 
put  them  to  death,  and  having  seized  them,  they  tln-ew  them 
into  prison.  Now  those  whom  they  kill,  the  Lacedcemoni- 
ans  kill  by  night,  but  no  one  by  day.  Wlien,  therefore,  they 
were  about  to  put  them  to  death,  the  Avives  of  tlie  Minya?, 
who  were  citizens,  and  daughters  to  the  principal  Spar- 
tans, begged  permission  to  enter  the  prison,  and  confer  each 
with  her  husband.  The  Lacedaemonians  gave  them  per- 
mission, not  suspecting  any  fraud  on  their  part,  but  they, 
when  they  entered,  did  as  follows  :  having  given  all  the 
clothes  they  had  on  to  their  husbands,  themselves  took  their 
husbands'  clothes.  Upon  which,  the  Minyas,  having  put  on 
the  women's  dress,  passed  out  as  women,  and  having  thus 
escaped,  again  seated  themselves  on  jNIount  Taygetus. 

147.  At  the  same  time  Theras,  son  of  Austesion,  son  to 
Tisamenus,  son  of  Thersaiider,  son  of  Polynices,  set  out  from 
Lacedaemon  on  a  colonizing  expedition.  This  Theras  was  by 
birth  a  Cadmtean,  brother  to  the  mother  of  Aristodemus's 
sons,  Eurysthenes  and  Procles  ;  and  while  tliese  youths  were 
yet  infants,  Theras  had  the  kingdom  of  Sparta  under  his 
guardianship.  But  when  the  youths  were  grown  up  and  as- 
sumed the  government,  Theras,  not  brooking  to  be  ruled  by 
others  after  he  had  tasted  the  pleasures  of  power,  declared 


148-loU.]  MELPOMENE.    IV.  287 

that  he  would  not  remain  at  Lacedaemon,  but  would  sail  away 
to  his  own  kindred.  In  the  ishmd  now  called  Tiiera,  the 
same  that  was  formerly  Callista,  lived  the  descendants  of 
Membliares,  the  son  of  Paeciles  a  Phoenician.  For  Cadmus, 
son  of  Agenor,  when  in  quest  of  Europa,  touched  at  the 
island  now  called  Thera  ;  and  whether  when  he  touched  at  it 
the  country  pleased  him,  or  whether  for  some  other  reason  he 
chose  to  do  so,  he  left  in  this  island  both  others  of  the  Phre* 
nicians,  and,  moreover,  hfs  own  kinsman,  Membliares  :  these 
men  occupied  the  island,  then  called  Callista,  during  eight 
generations,  before  Theras  came  from  Lacedoemon.  148.  To 
these  people,  then,  Theras  went,  having,  with  a  multitude 
drawn  out  of  the  tribes,  set  out,  purposing  to  dwell  with 
them,  and  on  no  account  to  drive  them  out,  but  by  all  means 
to  conciliate  them.  But  when  the  Minyge  who  had  escaped 
from  the  prison  seated  themselves  on  Mount  Taygetus, 
as  tiie  Lacedajmonians  determined  to  destroy  them,  Theras 
begged  that  they  might  not  be  put  to  death,  and  promised 
that  he  would  himself  take  them  out  of  the  country.  The 
Lacedaemonians  acceding  to  his  request,  he  set  sail  with 
three  thirty-oared  galleys,  to  the  descendants  of  Membliares, 
taking  with  him  not  all  the  Minyne,  but  some  few  of  them  ; 
for  the  greater  number  of  them  went  over  to  Paroreates  and 
Caucones  ;  and  having  driven  them  out  from  their  country, 
distributed  themselves  into  six  divisions,  and  then  founded 
the  following  cities  there ;  Leprium,  Macistus,  Phrixas, 
Pyrgus,  Epium,  and  Nudium  :  most  of  these  the  Eleans 
have  destroyed  in  my  time.  The  name  of  Thera  was  given 
to  the  island  after  the  founder.  149.  His  son  refused  to  ac- 
company him  in  his  voyage,  therefore  he  said  that  he  would 
leave  him  as  a  sheep  among  wolves :  in  consequence  of  this 
speech,  the  name  of  Oiolycus  was  given  to  this  youth,  and  this 
ram.e  chanced  to  prevail.  To  this  Oiolycus  was  born 
jEgeus,  from  whom  the  iEgidae,  a  principal  tribe  in  Sparta, 
ire  named.  As  the  children  of  the  men  of  this  ti-ibe  did  not 
survive,  they  erected  a  temple,  in  obedience  to  an  oracle,  to 
the  furies  of  Lai  us  and  OEdipus  ;  and  after  that,  the  same 
thing  happened  in  Thera  to  those  who  were  descended  from 
these  men. 

150.  To  this  part  of  the  story  the  Lacedaemonians  agree 
with  the  Theraeans  ;  but  after  this,  ihe  Theraeans  only  say 


^88  HERODOTUS.  [151,  152 

that  what  fallows  tcok  place.  Grinus,  son  of  ^sanius,  wh:: 
was  a  descendant  of  this  Theras,  and  reigned  over  the  island 
Tliera,  came  to  Delphi,  bringing  a  hecatomb  from  the  city  ; 
and  divers  of  the  citizens  attended  him,  and  among  tliem.  Bat- 
tus,  son  to  Polymnestus,  who  was  of  the  family  of  Enphemiis, 
one  of  the  Minyje.  And  as  Grinus,  king  of  the  TheianmM, 
was  consulting  the  oracle  concerning  other  affairs,  the  Pythian 
admonished  him  to  "build  a  city  in  Libya."  But  he  answer- 
ed, "I,  O  prince,  am  now  too  old  and  heavy  to  move  myself; 
therefore  command  one  of  these  young  men  to  do  this  ;"  ami 
as  he  said  these  words,  he  pointed  to  Battus.  At  that  time  so 
much  passed.  But  after  their  departure,  they  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  the  oracle,  neither  knowing  in  what  part  of  the  world 
Libya  was,  nor  daring  to  send  out  a  colony  on  an  uncertainty. 
151.  For  seven  years  after  this,  no  rain  fell  in  Thera ;  during 
which  period,  every  tree  in  the  island,  except  one,  was  wither- 
ed up  ;  and  when  the  TheroRans  consulted  the  oracle,  the 
Pythian  objected  to  them  the  colonizati-on  of  Libya.  When 
they  found  no  remedy  for  the  evil,  they  despatched  messengers 
to  Crete,  to  inquire  if  any  of  the  Cretans,  or  strangers  settled 
among  them,  had  ever  gone  to  Libya.  Tiiese  messengers, 
wandering  about  the  island,  arrived  in  the  city  of  Itanus  ;  and 
here  they  became  acquainted  with  a  purple-dyer,  whose  name 
was  Corobius  ;  he  said,  that  being  driven  by  the  winds,  he 
had  gone  to  Libya,  and  to  Platea,  an  island  of  Libya  :  having 
persuaded  this  man  by  a  promise  of  reward,  they  took  him  to 
Thera.  At  first,  men  sailed  from  Thera  to  explore,  not  many 
in  number  :  and  when  Corobius  had  conducted  them  to  this 
island  Platea,  they  left  Corobius  there  with  provisions  for  a  few 
months,  cind  themselves  sailed  back  with  all  speed  to  give  the 
Thera^aiw  tidings  of  the  island.  152.  But  these  men  staying 
away  longer  than  the  time  agreed  upon,  Corobius  was  reduced 
to  the  last  necessity  ;  when  a  Samian  vessel,  whose  mnste< 
was  ColcBus,  sailing  for  Egypt,  was  driven  to  this  Platea. 
The  Samians,  having  heard  tlie  whole  aeconnt  from  Corobius, 
left  him  provisions  for  a  year  ;  and  they,  having  got  under 
weigh  from  the  island,  and  being  anxious  to  rea<;li  Egypt,  set 
sail,  and  v/ere  carried  away  by  an  east  w^ind  ;  and  as  the 
wind  did  not  abate,. having  passed  through  the  columns  of 
Hercules,  they  arrived  at  Tartessus,  under  divine  guidance. 
That  port  was  at  that  time  unfrequented  ;  so  that  these  men 


153,154.-  MELPOMENE.    IV  289 

returning  home,  gained  from  their  cargo  the  largest  profits  of 
any  of  the  Grecians  we  know  of  with  certainty,  next  to  So« 
tratus,  son  of  Laodamas  of  jEgina,  for  with  him  it  is  impos- 
sible for  any  one  to  compete.  The  Samians,  therefore,  havivjg 
set  apart  the  tenth  of  their  gains,  amounting  to  six  talents, 
made  a  vessel  of  brass,  after  the  fashion  of  an  Argolic  bowl, 
and  around  it  the  heads  of  griffins  project  over  ;  and  they 
dedicated  it  in  the  temple  of  Juno,  having  placed  under  it 
three  colossal  figures  of  brass,  seven  cubits  in  height,  leaning 
on  their  knees.  And  on  this  occasion  the  Cyrenieans  and 
Therajans  first  contracted  a  great  friendship  with  the  Sa- 
mians. 153.  The  Therasans,  when  they  left  Corobius  in  the 
island  and  returned  to  Thera,  took  back  word  that  they  had 
taken  possession  of  an  island  off  the  coastof  Libya;  the  Therajans 
therefore  resolved  to  send  one  of  every  family,'^  chosen  by  lot ; 
and  to  send  men  from  all  their  districts,  which  were  seven  in 
number  ;  and  appointed  Battus  to  be  their  leader  and  king. 
Thus  then  they  fitted  out  two  fifty-oared  galleys  for  Platea. 

154.  The  Therasans  give  this  account  ;  in  the  rest  of  the 
story  the  Therseans  are  supported  by  the  Cyrenaeans  :  for  the 
Cyrenasans  in  no  respect  agree  with  the  Theraeans  in  what 
relates  to  Battus,  for  they  tell  the  story  thus.  There  is  a 
city  of  Crete  called  Axus,  in  which  Etearchus  was  king  ;  he 
having  a  motherless  daughter,  whose  name  was  Phronima, 
married  another  wife  ;  she  coming  into  the  family,  thought 
proper  to  be  a  stepmother  indeed  to  Phronima,  treating,  her 
shamefully,  and  contriving  every  mischief  she  could  against 
her  ;  and  at  last,  having  charged  her  with  unchastity,  ,p'er- 
SLiaded  her  husband  that  such  was  the  case.  He,  prevailed 
on  by  his  wife,  formed  a  wicked  design  against  his  daughter. 
There  was  then  at  Axus  one  Themison,  a  Theraean  merchant ; 
this  man  Etearchus  received  hospitably,  and  made  him  swear 
that  he  would  serve  him  in  any  thing  he  should  desire.  When 
he  had  bound  him  by  oath,  he  delivered  his  daughter  to  him, 
and  commanded  him  to  take  her  away,  and  throw  her  into 
the  sea.  But  Themison,  grieved  at  the  deceitfulness  of  the 
oath,  broke  off  the  compact  of  friendship,  and  did  as  fol- 
lows.    Having  taken  tlie  damsel  with  him,  he  set  sail ;  aud 

'  Literally  "  Drcllicr  from  brother.'' 
u 


290  HERODOTUS  fl55»  1.15S 

when  lie  was  in  the  open  sea,  for  the  purpose  of  absolving 
himself  from  the  oath  imposed  by  Etearchus,  he  bound  hei 
round  with  ropes,  and  let  her  down  into  the  sea  ;  then 
having  drawn  her  up  again,  he  departed  for  Thera.  155. 
After  that  Polymnestus,  a  man  of  distinction  among  the  Tlie- 
rajans,  took  Phronima  for  his  concubine,  and  after  some  time 
he  had  a  son  by  her,  who  had  an  impediment  in  his  speecii 
and  lisped,  to  whom  the  name  of  Battus  was  given,  as 
both  the  Thernsans  and  Cyrena^an'i  say  ;  but,  as  I  am  of  opin- 
ion, some  other  name  ;  and  it  was  afterwards  change(l  to 
Battus  when  he  arriv^ed  in  Libya,  deriving  that  name  both 
from  the  oracle  pronounced  to  him  at  Delphi,  and  from  the 
rank  to  which  he  attained.  For  the  Libyans  call  a  king 
Battus,  and  for  this  reason  I  think  that  tlie  Pythian,  wlien 
delivering  the  oracle,  addressed  him  in  the  Libyan  tongue, 
knowing  that  he  would  be  a  king  in  Libya.  For  when  lie 
had  reached  man's  estate,  he  came  to  Delphi  about  his  voice  ; 
and  to  his  inquiries  the  Pythian  gave  the  following  answer  : 
"  Battus,  you  are  come  about  your  voice ;  king  Phoebus 
Apollo  sends  you  to  found  a  colony  in  Libya,  abounding  in 
sheep."  As  if  she  had  said  in  the  Grecian  language,  "O 
king,  you  are  come  about  your  voice."  He  answered  as  fol- 
lows :  "  O  king,  I  came  indeed  to  consult  you  about  my  voice, 
but  you  give  me  an  answer  as  to  other  impossible  things,  bid- 
ding me  colonize  Libya :  with  what  power  ?  with  what  force  ?" 
By  saying  this  he  did  not  persuade  the  Pythian  to  give  him 
any  other  answer ;  and  as  she  was  repeating  the  same  response 
as  before,  h^  in  the  mean  while  left  her,  and  returned  to 
Thera.  156.  After  this,  Battus  himself  and  the  otlier  The- 
raeans  fell  anew  into  troubles  ;  but  the  Therseans,  not  knowing 
whence  tlieir  mislbrtunes  came,  sent  to  Delphi  to  inquire  con- 
cerning tlieir  present  sufferings.  The  Pythian  answered,  that 
it  would  fare  better  with  them,  when  with  Battus  they  iiad 
founded  Cyrene  in  Libya.  Upon  this,  the  Thera^ans  de- 
spatched Battus  with  two  fifty-oared  galleys.  But  these 
having  sailed  to  Libya,  for  they  had  nothing  else  that  they 
could  do,  returned  back  to  Thera  ;  the  Thera^ans,  however, 
beat  them  olf  as  they  drew  to  shore,  and  would  not  sufier 
them  to  approach  the  land,  but  commanded  them  to  sail  bacl* 
again.     Thus  compelled,  they  sailed  back  again,  and  settled 


l«r—159.J  MELPOMENE.    IV.  291 

in  an  island  tliat  lies  off  Libya,  whose  name,  as  I  before  n.cn- 
tioned,  is  Platea.  This  island  is  said  to  be  equal  in  extent  to 
the  present  city  of  the  Cyrenaeans. 

157.  Having  inhabited  this  island  for  two  years,  as  nothing 
turned  out  prosperously  for  them,  they  left  one  of  their  com- 
pany behind,  and  the  rest  set  sail  for  Delphi  ;  and  having 
come  to  the  oracle,  tiiey  consulted  it,  saying,  that  they  had 
settled  in  Libya,  and  fared  no  better  since  they  had  settled 
tliere.  But  the  Pythian  gave  them  the  following  answer  : 
"If  you,  who  have  never  been  there,  know  Libya  abounding 
in  sheep,  better  than  I  who  have  been  there,  I  very  much  ad- 
mire your  wisdom."  When  ]5attus  and  his  companions  heard 
this,  they  sailed  back  again  ;  for  the  god  did  not  release  them 
from  founding  the  colony,  until  they  had  come  to  Libya  itself. 
Having,  therefore,  arrived  at  the  island,  tiiey  took  on  board 
the  man  tliey  had  left  there,  and  settled  in  a  phice  on  Libya 
itself,  opposite  the  island :  its  name  was  Aziris,  and  most 
beautiful  hills  enclose  it  on  two  sides,  and  a  river  flows  by  it 
on  tlie  third.  158.  They  inhabited  tliis  spot  for  six  years, 
but  in  the  seventh,  the  Libyans,  having  promised  to  conduct 
them  to  a  better  place,  persuaded  them  to  leave  it.  But  the 
Libyans,  having  removed  them,  conducted  them  from  thence 
towards  the  west ;  and  in  order  that  the  Greeks  might  not 
see  the  most  beautiful  part  of  their  country  as  tliey  passed 
through,  they  computed  the  time  of  the  day,  so  as  to  lead 
them  through  it  by  night :  the  name  of  this  country  is  Irasa. 
Having  conducted  them  to  a  fountain,  accounted  sacred  to 
Apollo,  they  said,  "  Grecians,  here  it  is  fittting  for  you  to 
dwell,  for  here  the  heavens  are  open."  159.  Now,  during  the 
life  of  Battus  the  founder,  who  reigned  forty  years,  and  of  his 
8on  Arcesilaus,  who  reigned  sixteen  years,  the  Cyrenaeans 
continued  the  same  in  number  as  when  they  were  first  sent 
to  settle  the  colony  :  but  under  the  third  king,  Battus,  sur- 
named  the  Fortunate,  the  Pythian  by  an  oracle  encouraged  all 
Grecians  to  sail  to  Libya,  and  join  the  Cyrenaeans  in  colo- 
nizing it  ;  for  the  Cyrenaeans  invited  them  to  a  division  of 
the  country.  The  words  of  the  oracle  were  these  :  "He  who 
shall  come  too  late  to  lovely  Libya,  when  the  land  is  divided, 
shall  hereafter  one  day  repent."  A  great  multitude  having 
assembled  at  Cyrcne,  the  neighbouring  Libyans  and  their 
king,  -whose  name  was  Adicran,  being  curtailed  of  much  of 


HERODOTUS.  [160, 161. 

their  land,  finding  that  they  were  deprived  of  their  territory, 
and  injuriously  treated  by  the  Cyrenaeans,  sent  an  embassy  to 
Egypt,  and  gave  themselves  up  to  Aprles,  king  of  Egypt :  but 
he,  having  assembled  a  large  army  of  Egyptians,  sent  it  against 
Cyrene  ;  and  the  Cyrenaians,  having  drawn  out  their  forces  to 
the  district  of  Irasa,  and  near  the  fountain  Thestes,  came  to  an 
engagement  with  the  Egyptians,  and  conquered  them  :  for  the 
Egyptians,  not  having  before  made  trial  of  the  Greeks,  and 
despising  them,  were  so  thoroughly  defeated,  that  only  a  few 
of  them  returned  to  Egypt.  In  consequence  of  this,  the 
Egyptians,  laying  the  blame  on  Apries,  revolted  from  him. 

160.  This  Battus  had  a  son,  Arcesilaus,  who,  having  come 
to  the  throne,  first  of  all  quarrelled  with  his  own  brothers,  so 
that  they  left  him,  and  went  to  another  part  of  Libya  ;  and 
consulting  among  themselves,  they  founded  the  city  which 
was  then  and  is  still  called  Barce ;  and  as  they  were  building 
it,  they  persuaded  the  Libyans  to  revolt  from  the  Cyrenaeans. 
But  afterwards  Arcesilaus  led  an  army  against  those  Libyans 
who  had  received  them,  and  against  the  revolters  themselves ; 
but  the  Libyans,  through  dread  of  him,  fled  to  the  eastern 
Libyans.  Arcesilaus  pursued  them  in  their  fligh't,  until  he 
overtook  them  at  Leucon  in  Libya,  and  the  Libyans  resolved 
to  attack  him  ;  and  having  come  to  an  engagement,  they  con- 
quered the  Cyrenaeans  so  completely,  that  seven  thousand 
heavy-armed  of  the  Cyrenaeans  fell  upon  the  spot.  After  this 
blow,  his  brother  Learchus  strangled  Arcesilaus,  who  was  sick, 
and  under  the  influence  of  some  drug.  The  wife  of  Arcesilaus, 
whose  name  was  Eryxo,  put  Learchus  to  death  by  stratagem. 
161.  Battus  the  son  of  Arcesilaus,  a  lame  man,  and  not  perfect 
in  his  feet,  succeeded  to  the  kingdom.  The  Cyrenieans,  on  ac- 
count of  the  disaster  that  had  befallen  them,  seut  to  Delphi  to 
inquire  of  the  Delphian  oracle  under  what  form  of  government 
they  might  live  most  happily  ;  the  Pythian  commanded  tliem  to 
procure  an  arbitrator  from  Mantinea,  a  city  of  tlie  Arcadians. . 
The  Cyrenaeans  accordingly  asked,  and  the  Mantineans  gave 
them  a  man,  highly  esteemed  among  the  citizens,  whose  narnc 
was  Demonax.  This  person,  therefore,  having  arrived  in  Cy- 
rene, and  become  acquainted  with  the  state  of  atfiiirs,  first  of 
all  formed  them  into  three  tribes,  dividing  them  as  follows : 
of  the  Theraeans  and  their  immediate  neighbours,  he  formed 
one  d-.vision  ;  another  of  Peloponnesians  and  Cretans ;  and  a 


16^-164.1  MELPOMENE.    IV.  298 

third  of  all  the  Islanders  :  and  in  the  next  place,  having  re- 
served certain  portions  of  land  and  the  office  of  the  priesthood 
for  king  Battus,  he  restored  to  the  people  every  thing  else  that 
the  kings  had  before. 

162.  During  the  reign  ot  this  Battus  matters  continued  in 
this  state ;  but  in  the  time  of  his  son  Arcesilaus  great  dis- 
orders arose  about  the  public  offices.  For  Arcesilaus,  son  of 
the  lame  Battus  and  Pheretime,  declared  he  would  not  submit 
to  the  constitutions  of  Demonax,  but  demanded  back  the  pre- 
rogatives of  his  ancestors ;  and  thereupon  having  raised  a 
sedition,  he  was  defeated,  and  fled  to  Samos ;  and  his  mother 
fled  to  Salaniis,  in  Cyprus.  At  that  time  Euelthon  bore  rule 
over  Salamis,  the  same  who  dedicated  the  curious  censer  at 
Delphi,  which  is  deposited  in  the  treasury  of  the  Corinthians. 
Pheretime,  having  come  to  him,  asked  for  an  army,  which 
should  reinstate  them  in  Cyrene  ;  but  Euelthon  would  give 
her  any  tiling  ratlier  than  an  army :  but  she,  accepting  what 
was  given,  said,  "  This  indeed  is  handsome,  but  it  would  be 
still  more  handsome  to  give  the  army  she  asked  for:"  this 
slie  said  at  every  present  that  was  made.  At  last,  Euelthon 
sent  her  a  golden  spindle  and  distafl*,  and  some  wool  was  on 
it ;  and  when  Pheretime  again  made  the  same  speech,  Euel- 
thon said,  "  that  women  should  be  presented  with  such  things, 
and  not  with  armies."  163.  In  the  mean  time  Arcesilaus,  con- 
tinuing at  Samos,  collected  men  of  all  classes,  by  a  promise  of 
a  division  of  lands ;  and  when  a  large  army  was  collected, 
Arcesilaus  set  out  to  Delphi,  to  consult  the  oracle  concerning 
his  return  ;  and  the  Pythian  gave  him  the  following  answer: 
"  Apollo  grants  you  to  reign  over  Cyrene,  during  the  time  of 
four  Battuses  and  four  Arcesilauses,  eight  generations  of 
men  ;  he  advises  you  however  not  to  attempt  any  more  than 
this.  Do  you  therefore  be  quiet  and  return  home ;  and  if 
you  find  a  furnace  full  of  amphorae,  do  not  bake  the  amphorae, 
but  send  them  away  with  a  favourable  wind.  But  if  you 
heat  the  furnace,  enter  not  into  a  place  surrounded  with 
water ;  otherwise  you  will  perish  yourself,  and  the  most 
beautiful  bull."  164.  The  Pythian  gave  this  answer  to 
Arcesilaus  ;  but  he,  having  taken  with  him  the  men  from 
Samos.  returned  to  Cyrene  ;  and  having  recovered  the 
mastery,  he  forgot  the  oracle,  and  exacted  vengeance  of  the 
adverse   party  for  his  own   exile  ;    so   that   some  of  them 


294  HRRODOTUS.  [165—167 

abandoned  their  country  altogether ;  and  otlc^-s  Arcesilaus 
seized  and  sent  to  Cyprus  to  be  put  to  death  :  now  these  last, 
being  carried  to  their  country,  the  Cnidians  rescued,  and  sent 
away  to  Thera.  Some  others  of  the  Gyrenians,  who  had 
taken  refuge  in  a  large  private  tower  belonging  to  Aglonia- 
chus,  Arcesilaus  surrounded  with  wood  and  burnt.  After 
this  was  done,  understanding  that  this  was  the  meaning  of  the 
oracle,  tliat  the  Pythian  forbad  him,  when  he  found  amphorae 
in  a  i  urn  ace,  to  bake  them,  he  of  his  own  accord  withdrew 
from  the  city  of  the  Cyrenaeans,  dreading  tlie  predicted  death, 
and  supposing  that  Gyrene  was  the  place  surrounded  witli 
wahir.  lie  had  a  wife  who  was  his  own  kinswoman,  and 
daugliter  to  the  king  of  the  Barcaeans,  whose  name  was 
Alazir  ;  to  him  he  retired  :  and  the  Barcaeans,  and  some  of 
the  exiles  from  Gyrene,  having  discovered  him  in  the  public 
place,  killed  him,  and  moreover  his  father-in-law  Alazir. 
Thus  Arcesilaus,  whether  wilfully  or  otherwise,  disobeyin* 
the  oracle,  accomplished  his  own  destiny. 

165.  While  Arcesilaus  was  living  at  Barce,  working  out 
his  own  destruction,  his  mother  Pheretime  held  the  honours  of 
her  son  at  Gyrene,  both  exercising  his  other  functions,  and 
taking  her  seat  in  the  council ;  but  when  she  heard  that  her 
son  had  been  put  to  death  at  Barce,  she  fled  to  Egypt ;  for 
Arcesilaus  had  performed  some  services  for  Gambyses  son  of 
Gyrus,  for  it  was  this  Arcesilaus  who  gave  Gyrene  to  Gam- 
byses, and  imposed  a  tribute  on  himself.  Pheretime  having 
arrived  in  Egypt,  seated  herself  as  a  suppliant  of  Aryandes, 
entreating  him  to  avenge  her,  alleging  as  a  pretext,  that  her 
son  had  died  in  consequence  of  his  attachment  to  the  Medes. 
166.  Aryandes  had  been  appointed  governor  of  Egypt  by 
Gambyses ;  he  in  succeeding  time  was  put  to  death  for  at- 
tempting to  make  himself  equal  with  Darius.  For  having 
been  informed  that  Darius  desired  to  leave  such  a  memorial  of 
himself  as  had  been  accomplished  by  no  other  king,  he  imitated 
him  until  he  received  the  reward  of  his  presumption.  For 
Darius,  having  refined  gold  to  the  utmost  perfection,  coined 
money  ;  and  Aryandes,  governor  of  Egypt,  made  the  same  in 
silver  ;  now  this  Aryandian  silver  is  the  purest.  But  Da- 
rius, when  informed  that  he  had  done  this,  brought  another 
charge  against  him,  t'\at  he  designed  to  rebel,  and  put  him  to 
death      167.  At  that  tin\e,  however,  this  Aryandes,   taking 


168—171.]  MELPOMENE.    IV.  295 

compiission  on  Pheretime,  gave  lier  all  the  forces  of  Egypt, 
botli  army  and  navy ;  and  he  appointed  Amasis,  a  Maraphian, 
commander  of  the  army  ;  and  of  the  fleet,  Badres,  a  Pasarga- 
dian  by  birth.  But  before  he  despatched  the  forces,  he  sent 
tt  herald  to  Barce,  to  inquire  w^ho  it  was  that  had  slain  Arce- 
gilaus.  All  the  Burciieans  took  it  upon  themselves  ;  for  that 
tliey  had  suffered  many  injuries  at  his  hands.  And  when 
Aryandes  received  their  answer,  he  despatched  the  army  with 
Pheretime.  Now  this  cause  was  only  a  pretext  for  his  pro- 
ceeding ;  but  in  my  opinion,  the  expedition  was  undertaken 
vvith  the  intention  of  subduing  the  Libyjms.  For  there  are 
many  and  various  nations  of  Libyans,  and  some  few  of  them 
were  subject  to  the  king,  but  tlie  greater  part  paid  no  regard 
to  Darius. 

168.  The  Libyans  dwell  as  follows.  Beginning  from 
Egypt  tlie  Adrymachidae  are  the  first  of  the  Libyans  we  meet 
with:  they  for  the  most  part  observe  the  usages  of  Egy^t; 
but  they  wear  the  same  dress  as  the.  other  Libyans.  Th^ 
women  wear  a  chain  of  brass  on  each  leg  ;  tliey  let  their  hair 
grow  long,  aiid  when  tliey  catch  vermin,  each  bites  those 
from  her  own  person,  and  then  throws  them  away  ;  tlrese 
alone  of  tlie  Libyans  do  this  ;  and  they  alone  exhibit  to  the 
king  their  virgins  wlio  are  about  to  marry  ;  and  sliould  any 
one  be  agreeable  to  the  king,  she  is  deflowered  by  him.  These 
Adrymachidae  reach  from  Egypt  to  the  harbour  named  Pla- 
nus. 169.  Next  to  these  are  the  Giligammoe,  who  occupy 
the  country  westward,  as  far  as  the  island  Aphrodisias. 
Midway  on  this  coast  the  island  of  Platea  is  situate,  which 
tlie  Cyrena3ans  colonized,  and  on  the  continent  is  the  port  of 
Menelaus,  with  Aziris,  which  the  Cyrenaeans  inhabited.  At 
tliis  place  the  plant  Silphium  is  first  found,  and  extends  from 
the  island  of  Platea  to  the  mouth  of  the  Syrtis.  These  peo- 
ple use  nearly  the  same  customs  as  the  others.  170.  Tho 
AsbystOB  adjoin  the  Giligammae  westward  ;  th^y  inhabit  the 
country  above  Cyrene,  but  the  Asbystce  do  not  reach  to  the 
t«ea  ;  for  the  Cyrenaeans  occupy  the  sea-coast.  They  drive 
four-horsed  chariots,  more  than  any  of  the  Libyans  ;  and  en- 
deavour to  imitate  most  of  the  customs  of  the  Cyrenaeans. 
171.  The  Auschisae  adjoin  the  Asbystas  westA^ard  ;  these  are 
situate  above  Barce,  extending  to  the  sea  near  the  Euespe- 
rides.     In   the  midst  of  the  territory  of  the  Auschisaa,  the 


296  HEKODOtUS.  [172-175. 

Cabales,  a  small  nation,  dwell,  extending  to  Tauchira,  a  city 
of  Barcsea.  They  observe  the  same  customs  as  those  who 
dwell  above  Cyrene.  172.  The  Nasamones,  a  very  numerous 
people,  adjoin  these  Auschisae  westward.  In  summer  they 
Leave  their  cattle  on  the  coast,  and  go  up  to  the  region  of 
Augila,  in  order  to  gather  the  fruit  of  the  palm-trees,  which 
grow  in  great  numbers  and  of  a  large  size,  and  are  all  pro- 
ductive. When  they  have  caught  locusts,  they  dry  them  in 
the  sun,  reduce  them  to  powder,  and  sprinkling  them  in  milk, 
drink  them.  Every  man,  by  the  custom  of  the  country,  has 
several  wives,  and  they  have  intercourse  with  them  in  common  ; 
and  much  the  same  as  the  Massagetoe,  they  have  intercourse 
when  they  have  set  up  a  staff  before  them.  When  a  Nasa- 
monian  first  marries,  it  is  the  custom  for  the  bride  on  the 
first  night  to  lie  with  all  the  guests  in  turn,  and  each,  when 
he  has  intercourse  with  her,  gives  her  some  present  which  he 
has  brought  from  home.  In  their  oaths  and  divinations  they 
observe  the  following  custom  :  they  swear,  laying  their  hands 
on  the  sepulchres  of  those  who  are  generally  esteemed  to 
have  been  the  most  just  and  excellent  persons  among  them  : 
and  they  divine,  going  to  the  tombs  of  their  ancestors,  and 
after  having  prayed,  they  lie  down  to  sleep,  and  whatever 
dream  they  have,  this  they  avail  themselves  of.  In  pledging 
their  faith  they  observe  the  following  method  :  each  party 
gives  the  other  to  drink  out  of  his  hand,  and  drinks  in  turn 
from  the  other's  hand  ;  and  if  they  have  no  liquid,  they  take 
up  some  dust  from  the  ground  and  lick  it. 

173.  The  Psylli  border  on  the  Nasamonians  ;  these  perished 
in  the  following  manner  :  the  south  wind  blowing  upon  them 
dried  up  all  their  water  tanks,  and  the  whole  country  within  the 
Syrtis  was  dry ;  they  therefore,  having  consulted  together,  with 
one  consent  determined  to  make  war  against  that  wind  ;  (I  only 
repeat  what  the  Libyans  say  ;)  and  when  they  arrived  at  the 
sands,  the  south  wind  blowing  covered  them  over  :  and  when 
they  had  perished  the  Nasamonians  took  possession  of  their  ter- 
ritory. 1 74.  Above  these  to  the  north,  in  a  country  abounding 
with  wild  beasts,  live  the  Garamantes,  who  avoid  all  men  ind 
the  society  of  any  others  :  they  do  not  possess  any  warlike  wea- 
pon, nor  do  they  know  how  to  defend  themselves.  175.  These 
then  live  above  the  Nasamonians  ;  and  the  Macae  adjoin  them 
en  the  sea-coast,  westward ;   these  shave  their  heads  so  as  to 


176-179.J  MELPOMENE.    t\  -^7 

leave  a  tuft,  and  allowing  the  middle  hair  to  grow,  they  shave 
both  sides  close  to  the  skin  ;  in  war  they  wear  the  skins  of 
ostriches  for  defensive  armour.  The  river  Cinyps,  flowing 
through  their  country  from  a  hill  called  the  Graces,  dis- 
charges itself  into  the  sea.  This  hill  of  the  Graces  is  thickly 
covered  with  trees,  though  all  the  rest  of  Libya  above  men- 
tioned is  bare.  From  the  sea  to  this  hill  is  a  distance  of  two 
hundred  stades.  176.  The  Gindanes  adjoin  these  Macae  ; 
their  women  wear  bands  of  leather  round  their  ancles,  each 
several  on  the  following  account,  as  is  said  ;  she  binds  round  a 
band  for  every  man  that  has  intercourse  with  her ;  and  she  who 
has  the  most  is  most  esteemed,  as  being  loved  by  the  greatest 
number  of  men.  177.  The  Lotophagi  occupy  the  coast  that 
projects  to  the  sea  in  front  of  these  Gindanes  ;  they  subsist 
only  on  the  fruit  of  the  lotus  ;  and  the  fruit  of  the  lotus  ia 
equal  in  size  to  the  mastic  berry,  and  in  sweetness  it  resem- 
bles the  fruit  of  the  palm-tree.  The  Lotophagi  make  wine 
also  from  this  fruit. 

178.  The  Machlyes,  who  also  use  the  lotus,  but  in  a  less 
degree  than  those  before  mentioned,  adjoin  the  Lotophagi  on 
tiie  sea-coast.  They  extend  as  far  as  a  large  river  called 
Triton  ;  and  this  river  discharges  itself  into  the  great  lake 
Tritonis  ;  and  in  it  is  an  island  named  Phla.  They  say  that 
the  Lacedaemonians  were  commanded  by  an  oracle  to  colonize 
this  island.  179.  The  following  story  is  also  told  ;  that 
Jason,  when  the  Argo  was  finished  building  at  the  foot  of 
Mount  Pelion,  having  put  a  hecatomb  on  board,  and  moreover 
a  brazen  tripod,  sailed  round  the  Peloponnesus,  purposing  to  go 
to  Delphi  ;  and  as  he  was  sailing  off  Malea,  a  north  wind  caught 
him  and  drove  him  to  Libya  ;  and  before  he  could  discern  tlie 
land,  he  found  himself  in  the  shallows  of  the  lake  Tritonis : 
and  as  he  was  in  doubt  how  to  extricate  his  ship,  the  story  goes 
that  a  Tritou  appeared  to  him,  and  bid  Jason  give  him  the 
tripod,  promising  that  he  would  both  show  them  the  passage, 
and  conduct  them  away  in  safety.  When  Jason  consented, 
the  Triton  thereupon  showed  them  the  passage  out  of  the  shal- 
lows, and  placed  the  tripod  in  his  own  temple  ;  then  pro- 
nouncing an  oracle  from  the  tripod,  he  declared  to  Jason  and 
his  companions  all  that  should  happen,  that  "when  one  of  the 
descendants  of  those  wlio  sailed  with  him  in  the  Argo  should 
cr-.rry  away  the  tripod  then  it  was  fated  that  a  hundred  Grecian 


i^«  HEllODOTUS.  [180,  181 

cities  should  vie  built  about  the  lake  Tritonis;*  the  neigh- 
bouring nations  ot  the  Libyans,  when  they  heard  this,  concealed 
the  tripod.  180.  The  Auses  adjoin  these  Machlyes  ;  they,  as 
well  as  the  Machlyes,  dwell  round  the  lake  Tritonis,  and  the  Tri- 
ton forms  the  boundary  between  them.  The  Machlyes  let  the 
hair  grow  on  the  back  of  the  head,  and  the  Auses  on  the  front 
At  the  annual  festival  of  Minerva,  their  virgins,  dividing  them- 
selves into  two  companies,  light  together  with  stones  and  staves, 
affirming  that  they  perform  the  ancient  rites  to  their  native 
goddess,  whom  we  call  Minerva  :  aiid  those  of  the  virgins  who 
die  from  their  wounds  they  call  false  virgins.  But  before  they 
leave  olF  fighting,  they  do  as  follows  ;  with  one  consent  they 
on  each  occasion  deck  the  virgin  that  excels  in  beauty,  with  a 
Corinthian  helmet,  and  a  suit  of  Grecian  armour,  and  having 
placed  her  in  a  chariot,  conduct  her  round  the  lake.  In  what 
way  they  formerly  decorated  the  virgins  before  the  Grecians 
settled  in  their  neighbourhood,  I  am  unabl^  to  say  ;  but  I  con-? 
j(^*  ture  that  they  were  decked  in  Egyptian  armoury  for  I  am 
of  opinion,  that  the  shield  and  helmet  were  brought  from 
Egypt  into  Greece.  They  say,  that  Minerva  is  the  daughter 
of  Neptune  and  the  lake  Tritonis  ;  and  that  she  being  for 
some  reason  offended  with  her  father,  gave  herself  to  Jupiter, 
and  that  Jupiter  adopted  her  as  his  own  daughter :  this  they 
say.  They  have  promiscuous  intercourse  with  the  women, 
and  do  not  cohabit,  and  associate  like  beasts.  The  men  meet 
together  every  third  month,  and  when  a  woman  has  a  child 
grown  up,  he  is  considered  to  be  the  son  of  that  man  whom  he 
most  resembles. 

181.  Those  then  of  the  Libyan  nomades  who  live  on  tlie 
sea-coast  have  been  mentioned.  Above  these,  inland,  Libya 
abounds  in  wild  beasts ;  and  beyond  the  wild  beast  tract  is  a 
ridge  of  sand,  stretching  from  the  Egyptian  Thebes  to  frlie 
columns  of  Hercules.  At  intervals  of  a  ten  days' journey  in 
this  ridge,  there  are  pieces  of  salt  in  large  lumps  on  hills  ;  ami 
at  the  top  of  each  hill,  from  the  midst  of  the  salt,  cold  and 
sweet  water  gushes  up  ;  and  around  it  dwell  people  the  fai - 
thest  towards  the  desert,  and  beyond  the  wild-beast  tract.  TJie 
first  after  a  ten  days'  journey  from  Thebes  are  the  Ammonir 
ans,  who  have  a  temple  resembling  that  of  Theban  Jupiter. 
For,  as  I  said  before,  the  image  of  Jupiter  at  Tliebea  has  thfj 
head  of  a  ram.     They  have  also  another  kind  of  spring  water 


182-184.]  MELPMOENE.    IV.  299 

v/hich  ill  the  morning  is  tepid,  becomes  colder  about  the  time 
of  full  forum,  and  at  mid-day  is  very  cold  ;  then  they  water 
their  gardens.  As  the  day  declines  it  gradually  loses  its 
coldness,  till  the  sun  sets,  then  the  water  becomes  tepid  again, 
and  continuing  to  increase  in  heat  till  midnight,  it  then  boils 
and  bubbles  up  ;  when  midnight  is  passed,  it  gets  cooler 
until  morning.  This  fountain  is  called  after  the  sun.  182. 
Next  to  the  Ammonians,  along  the  ridge  of  sand,  at  the  end 
of  another  ten  days'  journey,  tiiere  is  a  hill  of  salt,  like  that  of 
tlie  Ammonians,  and  water,  and  men  live  round  it :  the  name 
of  this  region  is  Augila ;  to  this  place  the  Nasamonians  go  to 
gatlier  the  dates.  183.  From  the  Augilae  at  the  end  of  another 
ten  days' journey  is  another  hill  of  salt  and  water,  and  many 
fruit-bearing  palm-trees,  as  also  in  the  other  places  ;  and  mer. 
inhabit  it  who  are  called  Garamantes,  a  very  powerful  nation  , 
they  lay  earth  upon  the  salt,  and  tlien  sow  their  ground. 
From  these  to  the  Lotopliagi  the  shortest  route  is  a  journey  of 
thirty  days:  amongst  them  the  kine  that  feed  backwards  are 
met  with  ;  they  feed  backwards  for  this  reason  :  they  have 
horns  that  are  bent  forward,  therefore  they  dj'aw  back  as  they 
feed  ;  for  they  are  unable  to  go  forward,  because  their  horns 
would  stick  in  the  ground.  They  differ  from  other  kine  in  no 
other  respect  than  tliis,  except  that  their  hide  is  thicker  and 
harder.  Tliese  Garamantes  hunt  tlie  Ethiopian  Troglodytes 
in  four-horse  chariots  ;  for  the  Ethiopian  Troglodytes  are  the 
swiftest  of  foot  of  all  men  of  whom  we  have  heard  any  account 
given.  The  Troglodytes  feed  upon  serpents  and  lizards,  and 
such  kind  of  reptiles:  they  speak  a  language  like  no  other, 
but  screech  like  bats. 

184.  At  the  distance  of  another  ten  days' journey  from  the 
(iaramantes,  is  anotlier  jiill  of  salt,  and  water,  and  men  live 
round  it  who  are  called  Atarantes  ;  they  are  the  only  people 
we  know  of  who  have  not  personal  names.  For  the  name 
Atarantes  belongs  to  them  collectively,  but  to  each  one  of  them 
no  name  is  given.  They  curse  tlie  sun  as  he  passes  over 
their  heads,  and  moreover  utter  against  him  the  foulest  invec- 
tives, because  he  consumes  them  by  his  scorching  heat,  both 
the  men  themselves  and  their  country.  Afterwards,  at  the 
end  of  another  ten  days'  journey,  there  is  another  hill  of  salt, 
and  water,  and  men  live  round  it ;  and  near  this  .salt  is  '«, 
mountain,  which  is  called  Atlas ;  it  is  narrow  and  circular  on 


3fX)  HERODOTUS.  [185-187. 

all  sides,  and  is  said  to  be  so  lofty,  that  its  top  can  never  be 
seen  ;  for  it  is  never  free  from  clouds,  either  in  summer  or 
winter.  The  inhabitants  say  that  it  is  the  Pillar  of  Heaven. 
From  this  mountain  these  men  derive  their  appellation,  for 
they  are  called  Atlantes.  They  are  said  neither  to  eat  the 
flesh  of  any  animal,  nor  to  see  visions.  185.  As  far,  then,  as 
thcise  Atlantes  I  am  able  to  mention  the  names  of  the  nations 
that  inhabit  this  ridge,  but  not  beyond  them.  This  ridge, 
however,  extends  as  far  as  the  pillars  of  Hercules,  and  even 
beyond  them  ;  and  there  is  a  mine  of  salt  in  it  at  intervals  of 
ten  days'  journey,  and  men  dwelling  there.  The  houses  of 
them  all  are  built  of  blocks  of  salt,  for  in  these  parts  of  Libya 
no  rain  falls  ;  for  walls  being  of  salt  could  not  stand  long  if 
rain  did  fall.  The  salt  dug  out  there  is  white  and  purple 
in  appearance.  Above  this  ridge,  to  the  south  and  interior  of 
Libya,  the  country  is  desert,  without  water,  without  animals, 
without  rain,  and  without  wood ;  and  there  is  no  kind  of 
moisture  in  it. 

186.  Thus,  then,  as  far  as  the  lake  Tritonis  from  Egypt,  the 
Libyans  are  nomades,  eat  flesh,  and  drink  milk,  but  tliey  do 
not  taste  the  flesh  of  cows,  for  the  same  reason  as  the  Egyp- 
tians, nor  do  they  breed  swine.  Indeed,  not  only  do  the  women 
of  the  Cyrenaeans  think  it  right  to  abstain  from  tiie  flesh  of 
cows,  out  of  respect  to  Isis  in  Egypt,  but  they  also  observe 
the  fasts  and  festivals  in  honour  of  her :  and  the  women  of 
the  Barcteans  do  not  taste  the  flesh  of  swine  in  addition  to 
that  of  cows.  These  things,  then,  are  so.  187.  Westward  of 
the  lake  Tritonis,  tlie  Libyans  are  no  longer  nomades,  nor  do 
they  follow  the  same  customs,  nor  do  they  do  with  respect  to 
their  children  what  the  nomades  are  accustomed  to  do  :  for 
the  nomadic  Libyans,  whether  all  I  am  unable  to  say  with 
certainty,  but  many  of  them  do  as  follows  :  when  their 
children  are  four  years  old,  they  burn  the  veins  on  the 
crown  of  their  heads,  with  uncleaned  sheep's  wool  ;  and  some 
of  them  do  it  on  the  veins  in  the  temples  ;  to  the  end  that 
Immours  flowing  down  from  the  head  may  not  injure  them  as 
long  as  they  live  :  and,  for  this  reason,  they  say  they  are  so 
very  healtliy,  for  the  Libyans  are  in  truth  the  most  healthy  of 
all  men  with  whom  we  are  acquainted  ;  whether  from  this 
cause,  I  am  unable  to  say  with  certainty :  however,  they  are 
the  most  healthy.    But  if  convulsions  seize  the  children  when 


188—191.1  MELPOMENE.    IV  301 

they  are  burning  them,  they  have  a  remedy  discovered ;  by 
sprinkling  them  with  the  urine  of  a  he-goat,  they  restore 
them.  I  repeat  what  the  Libyans  themselves  say.  188.  These 
Libyan  nomades  have  the  following  sacrificial  rites.  When 
they  have  first  cut  off  the  ear  of  the  victim,  they  throw  it  over 
the  liouse  ;  and  having  done  this,  they  twist  its  neck.  They 
sacrifice  only  to  the  sun  and  m,oon  ;  to  them,  indeed,  all  the 
Libyans  oifer  sacrifice  :  but  those  who  live  about  the  lake 
Tritonis,  sacrifice  principally  to  Minerva,  and  next  to  Triton 
and  Neptune.  189.  From  the  Libyan  women  the  Grecians 
derived  the  attire  and  a?gis  of  Minerva's  statues  ;  for,  except 
that  the  dress  of  the  Libyan  women  is  leather,  and  the  fringes 
that  hang  from  the  aegis  are  not  serpents,  but  made  of  thongs, 
in  all  other  respects  they  are  equipped  in  the  same  way ;  and, 
moreover,  the  very  name  proves  tliat  the  garb  of  the  Palladia 
comes  from  Libya  ;  for  th.e  Libyan  women  throw  over  their 
dress,  goats'  skins  without  the  hair,  fringed  and  dyed  with 
red.  From  these  goats'  skins  the  Grecians  have  borrowed 
the  name  of  ^gis.  And  the  howhngs  in  the  temples  were, 
I  think,  first  derived  from  thence  ;  for  the  Libyan  women 
practise  the  same  custom,  and  do  it  well.  The  Grecians  also 
learnt  from  the  Libyans  to  yoke  four  horses  abreast.  190.  All 
the  nomades,  except  the  Nasamonians,  inter  their  dead  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  Grecians :  these  bury  them  in  a  sitting 
posture,  watcliing  when  one  is  about  to  expire,  that  they  may 
set  him  up,  and  he  may  not  die  supine.  Their  dwellings  are 
compacted  of  tlie  aspliodel  shrub,  interwoven  with  rushes,  and 
are  portable.     Sucli  are  the  customs  of  these  people. 

191.  To  the  west  of  the  river  Triton,  Libyans  who  are 
husbandmen  next  adjoin  the  Auses  ;  they  are  accustomed  to 
live  in  liouses,  and  are  called  Maxyes.  They  let  the  hair  grow 
on  the  right  side  of  the  head,  and  shave  the  left ;  and  bedaub 
the  body  with  vermilion  :  they  say  that  they  are  descended 
from  men  ivho  came  from  Troy.  This  region,  and  all  the  rest 
of  Libya  westward,  is  much  more  infested  by  wild  beasts  and 
more  thickly  wooded  than  the  country  of  the  nomades  ;  for 
tlie  eastern  country  of  Libya,  which  the  nomades  inhabit,  is 
low  and  sandy,  as  far  as  the  river  Triton  ;  but  the  country 
westward  of  this,  which  is  occupied  by  agriculturists,  is  very 
mountainous,  woody,  and  abounds  with  wild  beasts.  For 
wnoDgst  them  ttere  are  enormcfus  serpents,  and  lions,  ele- 


502  .   HERODOTUS.  [192-195 

pbauts,  bears,  asps,  and  asses  with  horns,  and  monsters  with 
dogs'  heads  and  without  heads,  who  have  eyes  in  their  breasts, 
at  least  as  the  Libyans  say,  and  wild  men  and  wild  women, 
and  many  other  wild  beasts  luliich  are  not  fabulous.  192.  None 
of  these  things  are  found  among  the  nomadc^,  but  others  of 
the  following  kind  ;  pygargi,  antelopes,  buffaloes,  and  asses, 
not  such  as  have  horns,  but  others  that  do  not  drink  ;  for 
they  never  drink  ;  and  oryes,  from  the  liorns  of  which  are 
made  the  elbows  of  the  Phccnician  citherns  ;  in  size  this  beast 
is  equal  to  an  ox  :  and  foxes,  hyaenas,  porcupines,  wild  rams, 
dictyes,  thoes,  panthers,  boryes,  and  land  crocodiles  about 
three  cubits  long,  very  much  like  lizards  ;  ostriches,  and 
small  serpents,  each  with  one  horn.  These,  then,  are  the 
wild  animals  in  that  country,  besides  sucli  as  are  met  with 
elsewhere,  except  the  stag  and  tlie  wild  boar  ;  but  the  stag 
and  the  wild  boar  are  never  seen  in  Libya.  They  have  three 
sorts  of  mice  there  ;  some  called  dipodes,  or  two-footed;  others, 
zegeries,  this  name  is  Libyan,  and  means  the  same  as  the 
word  signifying  hillocks  in  Greek  ;  and  liedgeliogs.  Tiiere  are 
also  weasels  produced  in  the  silpliium,  very  like  those  at  Tar- 
tessus.  The  land  of  the  Libyan  nomades  produces  wild  ani- 
mals of  the  above  description,  as  far  as  I  by  the  most  diligent 
inquiry  have  been  able  to  ascertain. 

193.  The  Zaveces  adjoin  the  Maxyan  Libyans  ;  their 
women  drive  their  chariots  in  war.  194.  The  Gyzantes  ad- 
join them  ;  amongst  them  bees  make  a  great  quantity  of  honey, 
and  it  is  said  that  confectioners  make  much  more.  All  these 
paint  themselves  with  vermilion,  and  eat  monkeys,  which 
abound  in  their  mountains.  19o.  Near  them,  the  Carthagini- 
ans say,  lies  an  island  called  Cyraunis,  two  hundred  stades  in 
length,  inconsiderable  in  breadth,  easy  of  access  from  the  con- 
tinent, and  abounding  in  olive  trees  and  vines.  Tltey  add., 
that  in  it  is  a  lake,  from  the  mud  of  which  the  virgins  of  the 
country  draw  up  gold  dust  by  means  of  feathers  daubed  with 
pitcli.  Whether  tliis  is  true  I  know  not,  but  I  write  what  is 
related  ;  it  may  be  so  however,  for  I  have  myself  seen  pitch 
drawn  up  out  of  a  lake  and  from  water  in  Zacyntliu^  ; 
and  there  are  several  lakes  there,  the  largest  of  them  is 
StH'enty  feet  every  way,  and  two  orgyai  in  depth  :  into  this 
they  let  down  a  pole  with  a  myrtle  branch  fastened  to  the  end, 
and  then  draw  up  pitch  adhering   to  the  myrtle  \  it  has  tha 


196— 198.J  MELPOMENE.    IV.  80'3 

smell  of  aspiialt,  but  is  in  other  respects  better  than  the  pitch 
of  Pieria.  They  pour  it  into  a  cistern  dug  near  the  lake,  and 
when  they  have  collected  a  sufficient  quantity,  they  pour  it  oft 
from  the  cistern  into  jars.  All  that  falls  into  the  lake  passes 
under  ground,  and  appears  again  upon  the  surface  of  tlie 
sea,  which  is  about  four  stades  distant  from  the  lake.  Thus, 
then,  the  account  given  of  the  island  that  lies  off  Libya  may 
probably  be  true.  196.  The  Carthaginians  further  say,  that 
beyond  the  pillars  of  Hercules  there  is  a  region  of  Libya 
and  men  who  inhabit  it :  when  they  arrive  among  these  peo- 
ple and  have  unloaded  their  merchandise,  they  set  it  in  order 
on  the  shore,  go  on  board  their  ships,  and  make  a  great  smoke  : 
that  the  inhabitants,  seeing  the  smoke,  come  down  to  the  sea, 
and  then  deposit  gold  in  exchange  for  the  merchandise,  and 
withdraw  to  some  distance  from  the  merchandise  ;  that  the 
Carthaginians  then,  going  ashore,  examine  the  gold,  and  if  the 
quantity  seems  sufficient  for  the  merchandise  they  take  it  up 
and  sail  away  ;  but  if  it  is  not  sufficient,  they  go  en  board 
their  ships  again  and  wait  ;  the  natives  then  aj)proach  and 
deposit  more  gold,  until  they  have  satisfied  tliem  :  neither 
party  ever  wrongs  the  other  ;  for  they  do  not  touch  the  gold 
before  it  is  made  adequate  to  the  value  of  the  merchandise, 
nor  do  the  natives  touch  the  merchandise  beibre  the  other 
party  has  taken  the  gold. 

197.  Such  are  the  Libyans,  whose  names  I  have  been 
able  to  mention  ;  and  most  of  these  neither  now  nor  at 
that  time  paid  any  regard  to  the  king  of  the  Medes.  But  I 
have  still  this  much  to  say  about  tliis  country,  that  four  dis- 
tinct races  inhabit  it,  and  no  more,  as  fiir  as  we  know  :  two  of 
these  races  are  indigenous,  and  two  not.  The  Libyans 
and  Ethiopians  are  indigenous,  the  one  inhabiting  the  north- 
ern, the  other  the  southern  parts  of  Libya  ;  but  the  Phoeni- 
cians and  Greeks  are  foreigners.  198.  No  part  of  Libya 
appears  to  me  so  good  in  fertility  as  to  be  compared  with 
Asia  or  Europe,  except  only  the  district  of  Ciny})S  ;  for  the 
land  bears  the  same  name  as  the  river,  and  is  equal  to  the 
best  land  in  the  production  of  corn  :  nor  is  it  at  all  like  the  rest 
of  Libya  ;  for  the  soil  is  black,  and  well  watered  with  springs  , 
and  it  is  neither  affected  at  all  by  drought,  nor  is  it  injured  by 
imbibing  too  much  rain  ;  for  rain  falls  in  this  part  of  Libya. 
The  proportion  of  the  produ  -y  of  this  land    equals    '.hat  of 


804  HERODOTUS.  [199—201. 

Babylon.  The  land  also  which  the  Euesperides  occupy  is 
good  ;  for  when  it  yields  its  best,  it  produces  a  hundred-fold  ; 
but  that  in  Cinyps  three  hundred-fold.  199.  The  district  of 
Cyrene,  which  is  the  highest  of  that  part  of  Libya  which  the 
nomades  occupy,  has  three  seasons,  a  circumstance  worthy  of  ad- 
miration ;  for  the  first  fruits  near  the  sea  swell  so  as  to  be  ready 
for  the  harvest  and  vintage  ;  and  when  these  are  gathered  in, 
the  fruits  of  the  middle  region,  away  from  the  sea,  swell  so  as  to 
be  gathered  in,  these  they  call  uplands  ;  and  when  this  middle 
harvest  has  been  gathered  in,  that  in  the  highest  part  becomes 
ripe  and  swells.  So  that  when  the  first  crop  has  been  drunk 
and  eaten,  the  last  comes  in.  Thus  harvest  occupies  the  Cyre- 
noeans  during  eight  months.  This  may  be  sufiicient  to  say 
concerning  tliese  things. 

200.  The  Persians  sent  to  avenge  Pheretime,  when,  having 
been  despatched  from  Egypt  by  Aryandes,  they  arrived  at 
Barce,  laid  siege  to  the  city,  demanding  the  surrender  of  tlie 
persons  concerned  in  the  death  of  Arcesilaus ;  but  as  the 
whole  people  were  implicated,  they  did  not  listen  to  the 
proposal.  Thereupon  tliey  besieged  Barce  for  nine  months, 
digging  passages  underground  that  reached  to  the  walls,  and 
making  vigorous  assaults.  Now  the  excavations  a  worker  of 
brass  discovered  by  means  of  a  brazen  shield,  having  recourse 
to  the  following  expedient ;  carrying  it  round  within  the  wall, 
he  applied  it  to  the  ground  within  the  city  :  in  other  places  to 
which  he  applied  it,  it  made  no  noise,  but  at  the  parts  that 
were  excavated,  the  brass  of  the  shield  sounded.  The  Bar- 
caeans,  therefore,  countermining  them  in  that  part,  slew  the 
Persians  who  were  employed  in  the  excavation  ;  thus  then  this 
was  discovered;  but  the  assaults  the  Barcueans  repulsed. 
201.  When  much  time  had  been  spent,  and  many  had  fallen 
on  both  sides,  and  not  the  fewest  on  the  side  of  the  Persians, 
Amasis,  general  of  the  land  forces,  had  recourse  to  the  follow- 
ing stratagem  :  finding  that  the  Barca3ans  could  not  be  taken 
by  force,  but  might  be  by  artifice,  he  did  thus  :  having  dug  ?i 
wide  pit  by  night,  he  laid  w«ik  planks  of  wood  over  it,  and  on 
the  surface  over  the  planks  he  spread  a  heap  of  earth,  making 
it  level  with  the  rest  of  the  ground.  At  day-break  he  invited 
the  Barcaeans  to  a  conference,  but  they  gladly  assented,  so 
that  at  last  they  were  pleased  to  come  to  terms :  and  they 
made  an  agreement  of  the  following  nature,  concluding  the 


202,203/  MELPOMENE.    IV  305 

treaty  over  the  concealed  pit :  "  That  as  long  as  this  earth 
shall  remain  as  it  is,  the  treaty  should  continue  in  force  ;  and 
that  the  Barcosans  should  pay  a  reasonable  tribute  to  the 
king,  and  that  the  Persians  should  form  no  new  designs 
jigainst  the  Barcasans."  After  the  treaty  the  Barcoeans,  con 
fiding  in  the  Persians,  both  themselves  went  out  of  the  city 
and  allowed  any  one  of  the  Persians  who  chose  to  pass  within 
the  wall,  having  thrown  open  all  the  gates.  But  the  Persians, 
having  broken  down  the  concealed  bridge,  rushed  within  the 
wall :  and  they  broke  down  the  bridge  that  they  had  made  for 
the  following  reason,  that  they  might  keep  their  oath,  having 
made  a  compact  with  the  Barcasans,  that  the  treaty  should 
continue  so  long  as  the  earth  shoidd  remain  as  it  then  was  ; 
but  when  they  had  broken  down  the  bridge,  the  treaty  no 
longer  remained  in  force. 

202.  Those  of  the  Barcasans  who  were  most  to  blame, 
Piieretime  impaled  round  the  walls,  when  they  had  been  de- 
livered up  to  her  by  the  Persians ;  and  having  cut  off  the 
breasts  of  their  wives,  she  also  studded  the  wall  with  them. 
The  rest  of  the  Barcasans  she  gave  up  as  booty  to  the  Per- 
sians, except  such  of  them  as  were  Battiadae,  and  had  not 
participated  in  the  murder;  to  these  Pheretime  intrusted  the 
city.  203.  The  Persians  therefore,  having  reduced  tlie  rest 
of  the  Barcicans  to  slavery,  took  their  departure  ;  and  when 
they  halted  at  tlic  city  of  the  Cyrenaeans,  the  Cyremeans,  to 
absolve  themselves  from  obedience  to  some  oracle,  permitted 
them  to  pass  through  the  city.  But  as  the  army  was  going 
through,  Bares,  the  commander  of  the  naval  forces,  urged 
them  to  take  the  city ;  but  Amasis,  the  commander  of  the 
land  forces,  would  not  allow  it,  "  for  that  he  was  sent  against 
no  other  Grecian  city  than  that  of  Barce."  However,  when 
they  had  passed  througli,  and  encamped  on  the  hill  of  the 
Lycoean  Jupiter,  they  began  to  repent  that  they  had  not  i)os- 
sessed  themselves  of  Cyrene,  and  attempted  to  enter  it  a 
second  time.  But  the  Cyrenneans  would  not  suffer  them,  and 
a  panic  struck  the  Persians,  althougli  no  one  attacked  them  ; 
and  having  run  away  for  a  distance  of  sixty  stades,  they  pitched 
their  camp.  When  the  army  was  encamped  here,  a  mes- 
senger came  from  Aryandes,  to  recal  them.  The  Persians, 
having  requested  the  Cyrenaeans  to  give  them  provisions  for 
their  march,  obtained   their   request,  and   having   received 


306  It^RODOTUS.  [lOi,  205. 

them,  marched  away  towards  Egypt.  And  from  thence  the 
Libyans,  laying  wait  for  them,  put  to  death  those  that  strayed 
und  loitered  behind,  for  tlie  sake  of  tlieir  dress  and  baggage, 
until  they  readied  Egypt.  204.  The  farthest  point  of  Africa 
to  wliich  tliis  Persian  army  penetrated  was  the  cmIntrj[;_of  TTiB^ 
Euesperides.  The  Barcaians,  whom  they  had  enslaved,  they 
transported  from  Egypt  to  the  king  ;  and  king  Darius  gave 
them  a  viUage  in  the  district  of  Bactria,  to  dwell  in.  They 
gave  then  the  name  of  Barce  to  this  vilhige,  wiiich  was  still 
inhabited  in  my  time,  in  the  Bactrian  territory.  205.  Phere- 
time,  liowevei',  did  not  close  lier  life  happily;  for  immediately 
after  she  returned  from  Libya  to  Egypt,  having  avenged  her- 
self on  the  Barcaians,  she  died  miserably  ;  for  even  while 
alive  she  swarmed  with  maggots.  So  odious  to  the  gods  are 
the  excesses  of  human  vengeance.  Such  and  so  great  was 
Uie  vengeance  of  Plieretime  v/ife,  (>f  Battue,  on  the  Barc9eaa«*« 


BOOK    V. 


TEUrSICIIOHE. 


TiiK  Persians^  left  in  Europe  by  Darius  uudcr  the  coninianj 
of  ^e^ibazus,'  sulxlued  tlie  Perintliians  first  of  the  Ilelles- 
poTrtTnes,  wlio  ^vere  unwilling  to  submit  to  Dai-ius,  and  had  been 
before  louuhly  handled  by  the  Pieonians.  For  the  Pn'onians 
from  the  Strynion,  an  oraele  having  admonished  them  to  in- 
vade the  Perintliians,  and  if  the  Perintliians,  Avhen  encamped 
over  against  them,  should  challenge  them,  shouting  to  them 
by  name,  then  to  attack,  but  if  they  should  not  shout  out  to 
them,  not  to  attack  ;  the  Pasonians  did  accordingly.  The 
Perintliians  having  encamped  opposite  to  them  in  the  suburbs, 
a  threefold  single  combat  there  took  place  according  to  a 
challenge  ;  for  they  matched  a  man  with  a  man,  a  liorse  with 
a  horse,  and  a  dog  with  a  dog.  But  the  Perintliians  being 
victorious  in  two  of  these  combats,  when  through  excess  of 
joy  they  sang  the  Paion,  the  Pjuoniaivs  conjectured  that  this 
was  the  meaning  of  the  oracle,  and  said  among  themselves  ; 
"Now  surely  the  oracle  must  be  accomplished;  now  it  is 
our  part  to  act."  Thus  the  Pteonians  attackejdjJiiaJ:*iirinlhiai)S 
as  they  were  singing  the  Pa3oTi71tiKl~garned  a  complete_vic- 
torj;^  and  left  but  few  of  them  alive.  2.  Sucli,  then,  had  for* 
merly  been  the  achievements  of  the  Paeonians  ;  but  at  that 
time,  though  the  Perinthians  proved  themselves  valiant  in 
defciice  of  their  libert3%  the  Persians  and  Megabazus  over* 
came  them  by  numbers.  Wjien  Perinthus  was  subdued, 
Megabazus  marchedJLliaujarmv  through  Tlirace,  subjecting  to 
the  king  every  city  and_e very  nation  gf  thQse_dwelliing  in  that 
country  ;  lor  this  command  had  been  given  him  by  Darius,  tj 
siimtlue  Thrace. 

3.  Thejiation  of  the  Thi'adans  la-tlia-giieatest  of  any  imong 
»  See  B..IV.  chap.  Ml. 
X  2 


308  HJEHODOTUS  .4-7- 

rnpn^Y(^f>pf  at  ]p{\^i;.  ^h(^,  T]2ll',^.'7g.  5  ^^^  if  they  vvere  governed  by 
oneman,  or  acted  in  concert,  they  would,  in  my  opinion,  be 
invincible,  and  by  far  the  most  powerful  of  all  nations.  But 
as  this  is  impracticable,  and  it  is  impossible  that  they  should 
ever  be  united,  they  are  therefore  weak.  They  have  various 
names,  according  to  their  respective  regions,  but  all  observe 
similar  customs  in  every  respect,  except  the  Geta3,  the  Trausi, 
and  those  who  dwell  above  the  Crestona3ans.  4.  Of  these, 
what  are  the  customs  of  the  Gette,  who  pretend  to  be  immor- 
tal, I  have  already  described.'''  The  Trausi,  in  all  other  re- 
spects, observe  the  same  usages  as  the  rest  of  the  Thracians ; 
but  with  regard  to  one  born  amongst  them,  or  that  dies,  they 
do  as  follows.  The  relations,  seating  themselves  round  one 
that  is  newly  born,  bewail  him,  deploring  the  many  evils  he 
must  needs  fulfil,  since  he  has  been  born  ;  enumerating  the 
various  sufferings  incident  to  mankind  :  but  one  that  dies 
they  bury  in  the  earth,  making  merry  and  rejoicing,  recount- 
ing the  many  evils  from  which  being  released,  he  is  now 
in  perfect  bliss.  5.  Those  above  the  Crestonasans  do  as  fol- 
lows :  each  man  has  several  wives ;  when  therefore  any 
of  them  dies,  a  great  contest  arises  among  the  wives,  and 
violent  disputes  among  their  friends,  on  this  point,  which  of 
them  was  most  loved  by  the  husband.  She  who  is  adjudged 
to  have  been  so,  and  is  so  honoured,  having  been  extolled 
both  by  men  and  women,  is  slain  on  the  tomb  by  her  own 
nearest  relative,  and  when  slain  is  buried  with  her  husband  ; 
the  others  deem  this  a  great  misfortune,  for  this  is  the  utmost 
disgrace  to  them.  6.  There  is  moreover  this  custom  among 
the  rest  of  the  Thracians,  they  sell  their  children  for  ex- 
portation. They  keep  no  watch  over  their  unmarried  daugh- 
ters, but  suffer  them  to  have  intercourse  with  what  men  they 
choose.  But  they  keep  a  strict  watch  over  their  wives,  and 
purchase  them  from  their  parents  at  high  prices.  To  be 
marked  with  punctures  is  accounted  a  sign  of  noble  birth  ; 
to  be  without  punctures,  ignoble.  To  be  idle  is  most  honour- 
able ;  but  to  be  a  tiller  of  the  soil,  most  dishonourable  ;  to 
live  by  war  and  rapine  is  most  glorious.  These  are  the  most 
remarkable  of  their  customs.  7.  They  worship  the  following 
gods  only,  Mars,  Bacchus,  and  Diana.  But  their  kings,  to 
the  exception  of  the  other  citizens,  reverence  Mercury  most 
2  B  IV.  Chan,  93  94 


■ 


»-in  TERPSICHOllE.    V.  3oy 

of  all  the  gods  ;  they  swear  by  him  only,  and  say  that  they 
are  themselves  sprung  from  Mercury.  8.  The  funerals  of  the 
wealthy  among  them  are  celebrated  in  this  manner.  They 
expose  the  corpse  during  three  days  ;  and  having  slain  all 
kinds  of  victims,  they  feast,  having  first  made  lamentation. 
Then  they  bury  them,  having  first  burnt  them,  or  at  all 
events  placing  them  under  ground  ;  then  having  thrown  up  a 
mound,  they  celebrate  all  kinds  of  games,  in  which  the  great- 
est rewards  are  adjudged  to  single  combat,  according  to  the 
estimation  in  which  they  are  held.  Such  are  the  funeral  rites 
of  the  Thracians. 

9.  To  the  north  of  this  region  no  one  is  able  to  say  with 
certainty  who  are  the  people  that  inhabit  it.  But  beyond  the 
Ister  appears  to  be  a  desert  and  interminable  tract :  the  only 
men  that  I  am  able  to  hear  of  as  dwelling  beyond  the  Ister  are 
those  called  Sigynnae,  who  wear  the  Medic  dress :  their  horses 
are  shaggy  all  over  the  body,  to  five  fingers  in  depth  of  hair  ; 
they  are  small,  flat-nosed,  and  unable  to  carry  men  ;  but  when 
yoked  to  chariots  they  are  very  fleet,  therefore  the  natives 
drive  chariots.  Their  confines  extend  as  far  as  the  Eneti  on 
the  Adriatic :  and  they  say  that  they  are  a  colony  of  Medes. 
ow  they  can  have  been  a  colony  of  the  Medes  I  cannot  com- 
rehend  ;  but  any  thing  may  happen  in  course  of  time.  Now, 
e  Ligycs,  who  live  above  Massilia,  call  traders  SigynncB, 
fld  the  Cyprians  give  that  name  to  spears.  10.  The  Thra- 
ns  say,  bees  occupy  the  parts  beyond  the  Ister,  and  by 
ason  of  them  it  is  impossible  to  penetrate  farther ;  to  me, 
wever,  in  saying  this  they  appear  to  say  what  is  impro- 
ble,  for  these  creatures  are  known  to  be  impatient  of  cold ; 
t  the  regions  beneath  the  Bear  seem  to  be  uninhabited  by 
ason  of  tlie  cold.  Such  is  the  account  given  of  this  country, 
egabazus,  then,  subjected  its  maritime  parts  to  the  Persians. 
11.  Darius,  as  soon  as  he  had  crossed  the  Hellespont  and 
remembered  tlie  good  offices  of  Histia3us  the  Mi- 
egian,  and  the  advice  of  Goes  the  JNIitylenian.  Having  therefore 
sent  for  them  to  Sardls,  he  gave  them  their  choice  of  a  recom- 
pence.  Histireus,  as  being  already  tyrant  of  Miletus,  desired  no 
other  government  in  addition  ;  but  asked  for  Myrcinus  of  Edo- 
nia,  wishing  to  build  a  city  tliere.  But  Uoes,  as  not  being  a  ty- 
rant, but  a  prTvaTcTcitizen,  asked'for  the  government  of  MityLene, 
""'hen  their  requests  were  granted  to  both  oftliemTTTieyTetook 


310  HERODOTUS.  (U-U. 

themselves  to  the  places  they  had  chosen.  12.  It  happened 
that  Darius,  having  witnessed  a  circumstance  of  the  following 
kind,  "w^K '-desirous  of  commanding  Megabazus  to  seize  the 
Poeonians  and  transplant  them  out  of  EuroperTnto  Asia:; 
Pigres  and  Mantyes  were  Paeonians,  who,  when  Darius  had 
crossed  over  into  Asia,  being  desirous  to  rule  over  the  Paeoni- 
ans, came  to  Sardis,  bringing  with  t'nem  their  sister,  who  was 
tall  and  beautiful :  and  having  watched  the  opportunity  when 
Darius  was  seated  in  public  in  the  suburb  of  the  Lydians,  they 
did  as  follows.  Having  dressed  their  sister  in  the  best  mannei 
tlxey  could,  they  sent  her  for  water,  carrying  a  pitcher  on  her 
head,  leading  a  horse  on  her  arm,  and  spinning  flax.  As  the 
woman  passed  by,  it  attracted  the  attention  of  Darius,  for  what 
she  was  doing  was  neither  according  to  the  Persian  or  Lydian 
customs,  nor  of  any  other  people  in  Asia ;  when,  therefore,  it 
attracted  his  attention,  he  sent  some  of  his  body-guard,  bidding 
them  observe  what  the  woman  would  do  with  the  horse.  The 
guards  accordingly  followed  her,  and  she,  when  she  came  to 
the  river,  watered  the  horse  ;  and  having  watered  it,  and  filled 
her  pitcher,  returned  by  the  same  way,  carrying  the  water  on 
Tier  head,  leading  the  horse  on  her  arm,  and  turning  lier 
spindle.  13.  Darius,  surprised  at  what  he  heard  from  the 
spies,  and  at  what  he  himself  had  seen,  commanded  them  to 
bring  her  into  his  presence ;  and  when  she  was  brought,  her 
brothers  also  made  their  appearance,  who  were  keeping  a  look- 
out some  where  not  far  off:  and  when  Darius  asked  of  what 
country  she  was,  the  young  men  said,  that  they  were  Pironi- 
ans,  and  that  she  w^as  their  sister.  He  then  inquired,  "  WIio 
are  the  Paeonians,  in  what  part  of  the  world  do  they  live,  and 
for  what  purpose  have  they  come  to  Sardis  ?"  They  told  liim 
tliat  "they  had  come  to  deliver  themselves  up  to  him,  and 
that  Posonia  was  situated  on  the  river  Strymon,  and  tlie 
Strymon  was  not  far  from  the  Hellespont ;  and  that  they  were 
ii  colony  of  Teucrians,  from  Troy."  They  then  mentioned 
these  several  particulars;  and  he  asked,  "If  all  the  women  of 
that  country  were  so  industrious  :"  they  readily  answered, 
that  such  Avas  the  case  ;  for  they  had  formed  their  plan  for  this 
T§ry  purpose. 
^^  14.  Thereupon  Darius  writes  letters  to  Megabazus,  whoir 
/  he  had  left  general  in  Thrace,  commanding  him  to  remove  the 
I    Paeonians  from  their  abodes,  and  to  bring  to  hiu'  thomsnlvoi* 


15,16.]  TERPSICHORE.     V.  311 

their  cliildrcn,  and  tlieir  wives.  A  horseman  immediately 
hastened  to  \lie  Hellespont  with  the  message  ;  and  having 
crossed  over,  delivered  the  letter  to  IMegabazus ;  but  he, 
having  read  it,  and  taken  guides  from  Thrace,  marched  against 
Pasonia.  1.5.  The  Pieonjjins,  having  heard  that  the  I^ersians 
were  coming  against  tliein,  assemhrcd,  and  drew  out  their 
forces_towards  the  sea,  thinking  that  the  Persians  would  at- 
tempt to  enter  and  attack  them  in  that  direction  :  the  I'a^oni- 
ans,  accordingly,  were  prepared  to  rcjiel  the  army  of  Megaba- 
zus  at  its  first  onset.  ]5ut  the  Peisian*,  understanding  that 
the  Ptconians  had  assembled  and  were  guarding  the  aj)proaches 
on  the  coast,  having  guides,  went  the  upj)er  road  ;  and  having 
escaped  the  notice  of  the  Piconijins,  came  suddenly  on  their 
towns,  which  were  destitute  of  inhabitants,  and  as  they  fell 
upon  them  when  empty,  they  easily  got  possession  of  them. 
Hut,^the  PiBoniaus,  as  soon  as  they  heard  that  their  cities  were~~> 
taken,  immediately  dispersed  themselves,  and  repaired  each  to  / 
his  own  home,  and  gave  themselves  up  to  the  Persians.  Thus 
the  Siropaionians  and  Paioplas,  and  those  tribes  of  Pieonians  as  \ 
far  as  the  lake  Prasias,  were  removed  from  their  abodes,  and  \ 
transported  into  Asia.  16.  But  those  around  Mount  Pangaeus 
and  near  the  Doberes,  the  Agrianae,  Odomanti,and  those  who  in- 
habit Lake  Pmsias  itself,  were  not  at  all  subdued  by  Megabazus. 
Y^tJig^iitteJiLpieir  to  conquer  those  who  live  upon  the  lake  in 
dwellings  contrived  after  this  manner:  ])lanks  fitted  on  lofty 
piles  are  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  lake,  with  a  narrow  en- 
trance from  the  main  land  by  a  single  bridge.  These  piles 
that  support  the  planks  all  the  citizens  anciently  placed  there 
at  the  common  charge;  but  afterwards  they  established  a  law 
to  the  following  effect :  whenever  a  man  marries,  for  each 
wife  he  sinks  three  piles,  bringing  wood  from  a  mountain 
called  Orbelus  :  but  every  man  has  several  wives.  They  live 
in  the  following  manner ;  every  man  has  a  hut  on  the  planks, 
in  which  he  dwells,  with  a  trap-door  closely  fitted  in  the 
planks,  and  leading  down  to  the  lake.  They  tie  the  young 
children  with  a  cord  round  the  foot,  fearing  lest  they  should 
fall  into  the  lake  beneath.  To  their  horses  and  beasts  of  burden 
they  give  fish  for  fodder ;  of  which  there  is  such  an  abund- 
ance, that  when  a  man  has  opened  his  trap-door,  he  lets  down 
an  empty  basket  by  a  cord  into  the  lake,  and,  after  waiting  a 
short  time,  draws  it  up  full  of  fish      They  have  two  kinds  of 


312  HERODOTUS.  [17-19 

fisli,   which  they   call  papraces   and    tllones.     Those  of  the 
Papiiians,  t lien,  who  were  subdued  were  taken  to  Asia. 

17.  When  Megabazus  had  subdued  the  Poeonians,  he  sent 
into  Macedonia  seven  Persians  as  ambassadors,  who  next  "To* 
himself  were  the  most  illustrious  in  the  arm}\  They  were 
sent  to  Amyntas  to  demand  earth  and  water  for  king  Darius. 


From  the  lake  Prasias  the  distance  to  Macedonia  is  very  short. 
For  near  adjoining  the  lake  is  a  mine,  from  which  in  later 
times  a  talent  of  silver  came  in  daily  to  Alexander :  beyond 
tlie  mine,  when  one  has  passed  the  mountain  called  Dysorum, 
one  is  in  Macedonia.  ]  8.  When  therefore  the  Persians  who 
were  sent  arrived  at  the  court  of  Amyntas,  on  going  into  the 
presence  of  Amyntas,  they  demanded  earth  and  water  for  king 
Darius.  He  both  promised  to  give  these,  and  invited  them  to 
pai-take  of  TiisT  hospitality  ;  aridTiavmg  prepared  a~magrnlicent 
feast,  he  entertained  the  Persians  with  great  courtesy.  But 
after  sup[)er,  the  Persians,  who  were  drinking  freely,  spoke  as 
follows :  "  ]\Iacedonian  host,  it  is  a  custom  with  us  Persians, 
when  we  have  given  a  great  feast,  to  introduce  our  concubines 
and  lawful  wives  to  sit  by  our  side  :  since  therefore  }'ou  have 
received  us  kindly,  and  have  entertained  us  magnificently,  and 
promise  to  give  earth  and  water  to  king  Darius,  do  you  follow 
our  custom."  To  this  Amyntas  answered,  "  O  Persians,  we 
have  no  such  custom,  but  that  the  men  should  be  separated 
from  the  women  ;  yet  since  you,  who  are  our  masters,  require 
this  also,  this  shall  also  be  granted  to  you."  Amyntas,  hav- 
ing spoken  thus,  sent  for  the  women ;  and  they,  when  they 
had  come,  being  summoned,  sat  down  in  order  opposite  to  the 
Persians.  Thereupon  the  Persians,  seeing  the  women  were 
beautiful,  spoke  to  Amyntas,  saying,  "  that  what  had  been 
done  was  not  at  all  wise,  for  that  it  were  better  that  the  women 
should  not  have  come  at  all,  than  that,  when  they  had  come, 
they  should  not  be  placed  beside  them,  but  sit  opposite  to 
them  as  a  torment  to  their  eyes."  Upon  this  Amyntas,  com- 
pelled by  necessity,  ordered  them  to  sit  down  by  tlie  men  ; 
and  when  the  women  obeyed,  the  Persians,  as  being  very  full 
of  wine,  began  to  feel  their  breasts ;  and  some  one  even  at- 
tempted to  kiss  them.  19.  Amyntas,  when  he  beheld  this, 
though  very  indignant,  remained  quiet,  through  excessive 
fear  of  the  Persians.  But  Alexander,  son  of  Amyntas,  who 
was  present,  and  witnesserFthisbehavrdifrpSeing  a  young  man 


i 


20,21.1  TERPSICHORE.    V.  ^13 

and  inexperienced  in  misfortune,  was  no  longer  able  to  restrain 
himself ;  so  that,  bearing  it  with  difficulty,  lie  addressed 
Amyntas  as  follows :  "  Father,  yield  to  your  years  ;  and  retire 
to  rest,  nor  persist  in  drinking.  I  will  stay  here,  and  furnish 
the  guests  with  all  things  necessary."  Amyntas,  perceiving 
tliat  Alexander  was  about  to  put  some  new  design  in  execu- 
tion, said,  "  Son,  I  pretty  well  discern  by  your  words,  that 
you  are  burning^with  ra^e^  and  that  you  wish  to  dismiss  me 
tliaTj^ulnay  attempt  some  new  design.  I  charge  3^ou  there- 
fore  to  plan  nothing  new  against  these  nien,  lest  you  ca,u,se 
our  ruin,  but  endure  to  behold  v;liat  is  being  (lone  ;  with  re- 
spect to  my  retiring,  I  will  comply  with  year  wishes."  20. 
When  Amyntas,  having  made  this  request,  had  retired,  Alex- 
ander said  to  the  Persians  :  "Friends,  these  women  are  entireTjT*' 
at  3^6ur  service  ;  and  whether  you  desire  to  have  intercourse 
with  them  all,  or  with  any  of  them,  on  this  point  make  known 
your  own  wishes  :  but  now,  as  the  time  for  retiring  is  fast 
approaching,  and  I  perceive  that  you  have  had  abundance  to 
drink,  let  these  women,  if  that  is  agreeable  to  you,  go  and 
bathe,  and  when  they  have  bathed,  expect  their  return. 
Having  spoken  thus,  as  the  Persians  approved  his  proposal, 
he  sent  away  the  women,  as  they  came  out,  to  their  own 
apartment  ;    and   Alexander  himself,  having    dressed  a  like 

umber  of  smoothfaced  young  men  in  the  dress  of  the  women, 

nd  having  furnished  them  with  daggers,  led  them  in  ;  and 
he  led   them  in,  he  addressed  the  Persians  as   follows  : 

Persians,  you  appear  to  have  been  entertained  with  a  sump- 
tuous feast  ;  for  we  have  given  you  not  only  all  we  had,  but 
hatever  we  could  procure  ;  and,  which  is  more  than  all  the 
t,  we  now  freely  give  up  to  you  our  nu<theis  and  sisters, 
at  youln  ay  "perceive  that  you  are  thoroughly  hoiiiou"redri)y 
with  whatever  you  deserve  ;  and  also  that  you  may  report 
the  king   who  sent  you,  that  a  Greek,  the  prince  of  the 
acedonians,  gave  you  a  good  reception  both  nt  table  and 

ed."  Having  thus  spoken,  Alexander  placed  by  the  side  of 
each  Persian  a  Macedonian  man,  as  if  a  woman  ;  but  they, 
when  the  Persians  attempted  to_jtouch  them^  put  them  to 
cleatTu  zl.  By  this  death  these  perished,  both  they  and  their 
attendants,  for  they  were  followed  by  carriages,  and  attend- 
ants, and  all  kinds  of  baggage  ;  but  all  these,  with  the 
whole  of  tlie  men  disap.peared.     But  after  no  long  time,  a 


314  HERODOTUS.  122—24 

great  search  was  made  by  the  Persians  for  these  men  ;  but 
Alexander  by  liis  prudence  checked  their  inquTiy,  by  gt\'ing  a 
considerable  sum  of  money,  and  his  own  sister,  whose  name 
was  Gygaea,  to  Bubares  a  Persian,  the  chief  of  those  seiU  tjj_ 
search  for  those  who  were  lost :  thus  the  inquiry  into  the 
death  of  these  Persians  being  suppressed,  was  hushed  up. 
22,  That  these  princes,  who  are  sprung  from  Perdiccas,  ai'e 
Greeks,  as  they  themselves  affirm,  I  myself  happen  to  know  ; 
and  in  a  future  part  of  my  history  ^  I  will  prove  that  they  are 
Greeks.  Moreover,  the  judges  presiding  at  the  games  of 
the  Grecians  in  Olympia  have  deternn'ned  that  tliey  are  so  ; 
for  when  Alexander  wished  to  enter  tlie  lists,  and  went  down 
there  for  that  very  purpose,  his  Grecian  competitors  wished 
to  exclude  him,  alleging,  that  the  games  were  not  instituteil 
for  barbarian  combatants,  but  Grecians.  But  Alexander, 
after  he  had  proved  himself  to  be  an  Argive,  was  pronounced 
to  be  a  Greek,  and  when  he  was  to  contend  in  tlio  stadium, 
his  lot  fell  out  with  that  of  the  first  combatant.  In  this  man- 
ner were  these  things  transacted. 

'23.   Megabazus,  leading  with  him  the  Piieonians,  arrived  at 
the  Hellespont ;  and  having  crossed  over  from  thence,  came 
to    Sardis.     In    the   mean  time,  Histiaeus  the  Milesian  was^^ 
building"  a  wall  round  the  place,  which,  at  his  own  request, 
lie   had   received   from  Darius  as  a  reward  for  his  services 
in    preserving  the    bridge :    this    place    was    near  the  river 
Strymon,    and    its    name    was    INTyrciniis.     But    Megabazus,^ 
having  heard  what  was  being  done  by  Histioeus,  as  soon  as  he^ 
reached  Sardis,  bringing  the  Paeonians  with  him,  addressed 
Darius  as  follows  :  "O  kinjg,  what  have  you  done,  in  allowing 
a  crnfty  and  subtle  Greek  to  possess  a  city  in  Thrace,  where 
there  is  abundance  of  timber  fit  for  buihling  ships,  and  plenty 
of  wood  for  oars,  and  silver  mines  ?     A  great  multijude~or 
Greeks   and  barbarians  dwell  around,  who,  when  they  have 
obtained  him  as  a  leader,  will  do  whatever  he  may  command 
both  by  day  and  by  night.      Put  a  stop  therefore  to  the  pro- 
ceedings of  this  man,  that  you  inayTTSt  be  harassed  by  a  do- 
mestic war  ;    but,  having  sent  for  him  in  a  gentle  manner, 
stop  him  :  and  when  you  have  got  him  in  your  power,  take  _ 
care  that  he  never  returns  to  the  Greeks."     24.  Megabazus," 
speaking  thus,  easily  psrsuaded  Darius,  since  he  wisely  fore- 
*3  S?e  B,VUI.  chap.  137. 


2/5h-27.J  TElirSICHORE.    V  31  o 

saw  wliat  was  likely  to  liappen.  Thereupon,  Darius,  having 
sent  a  messenger  to  Myrcinus,  spoke  as  follows  :  "  Ilistiania, 
king  Darius  says  thus  :  I  find  on  consideration  that  there  is 
no  man  better_ajJJB£ied  to  me  and  my  affairs  than  thyself;  and 
l^i«  I  have  learnt,  not  by  words,  but  actions  ;  now  therefore, 
since  I  have  great  designs  to  put  in  execution,  come  to  me  by 
all  means,  that  I  may  communicate  them  to  thee.  Ilistiaeus, 
giving  credit  to  these  words,  and  at  the  same  time  considering 
it  a  great  honour  to  become  a  counsellor  of  tlie  king,  went  to 
Sardis  :  when  he  arrived,  Darius  addressed  him  as  follows  • 
"  Histiaeus,  I  have  sent  for  you  on  this  occasion.  As  soon  as 
I  returned  from  Scythia,  and  you  were  out  of  my  sight,  1 
have  wished  for  nothing  so  mucli  as  to  see  you  and  converse 
with  you  again  ;  being  persuaded  that  a  friend  wlio  is  both 
intelligent  and  well  afiected,  is  tlie  most  vahiable  of  all  pos- 
sessions ;  both  of  whicli  I  am  able  to  testify  from  my  own 
knowledge  concur  in  you,  as  regards  my  affairs.  Now  tlien, 
for  you  have  done  well  in  coming,  I  make  you  this  offer. 
Think  no  more  of  Miletus,  nor  of  the  new-founded  city  in 
Thrace;  bi^^t  follow  me  to_Susa,  have  the  same  that  I  have, 
and  be  the  partner  of  my  table  and  counsels."  2,5.  Darius 
liaving  spoken  thus,  and  having  a})[)oiiit('(l  Ai't;i})hernes,  his 
brother  by  the  same  father,  to  be  governor  of  Sai'dis,  departed 
for  Susa,  taking  Histiaaus  with  him  ;  and  having  nominated 
Otanes  to  be  general  of  the  forces  on  the  coast,  whose  father 
Sisamnes,  one  of  the  royal  judges,  king  Cambyses  had  put  to 
death  and  flayed,'*  because  he  had  given  an  unjust  judgment 
for  a  sum  of  money.  And  having  had  his  skin  torn  off,  he 
had  it  cut  into  thongs,  and  extended  it  on  the  bench  on 
which  he  used  to  sit  when  he  pronounced  judgment:  and 
Cambyses,  having  so  extended  it,  appointed  as  judge  in  the 
room  of  Sisamnes,  whom  he  had  slain  and  flayed,  the  son  of 
Sisamnes,  admonishing  him  to  remember  on  what  seat  he  sat 
to  administer  justice.  26.  This  Otanes,  then,  who  had  been 
placed  on  this  seat,  Ix^ing  now  appointed  successor  to  Megabazus 
in  the  command  of  the  army,  subdued  the  Byzantians  and 
Chalcedonians,  and  took  Antandros,  which  belongs  to  the  terri- 
tory of  Troas,  and  Lamponium;  and  having  obtained  ships 
from  the  Lesbians,  he  took  Lemnos  and  Imbrus,  both  of 
which  were  then  inhabited  by  Pelasgians.  27.  (Now  the 
Leninians  fought  valiantly,  and  having  defended  themselves 
*  Literally  "he  cut  off  all  his  human  s>l-/n." 


316  HERODOTUS  [28-3C 

for  some  time,  were  at  length  overcome  ;  and  over  those  whs 
survived,  the  Persians  set  up  Lycaretus  as  governor,  the  brother 
of  Maeandrius  who  had  reigned  in  Samos.  This  Lycaretus  died 
while  governor  of  Lemnos.)  Otanes  enslaved  and  subdued 
them  all  ;  his  reasons  for  doing  so  were  as  follows  :  some  h© 
charged  of  desertion  to  the  Scythians  ;  others,  of  having 
harassed  Darius's  army  in  their  return  home  from  the  Scy- 
thians. Such  was  his  conduct  while  general  of  the  forces. 
28.  Afterwards,ybr  the  intermission  from  misfortune  was  not 
of  long  duration,  evils  arose  a  second  time  to  the  lonians  from 
Naxos  and  Miletus.  For,  on  the  one  hand,  Naxos  surpassed  all 
the  islands  in  opulence  ;  and  on  the  other  han3,'1Miletus  at  the 
same  time  had  attained  the  summit  of  its  prosperlf^Tand  was 
accounted  the  ornament  of  Ionia ;  though  before  tliis  period, 
it  had  for  two  generations  suiFered  excessively  from  seditions, 
until  the  Parians  reconciled  them  ;  for  the  Milesians  had  chosen 
them  out  of  all  the  Greeks  to  settle  their  differences.  29.  The 
Parians  reconciled  them  in  the  following  manner.  When 
their  mo§JL.e.mineBtj)3en  arrived  at  Miletus,  as  they^  sawjjjeir 
pTivate  affairs  in  a  dreadful  state,  they  said  that  they  wished 
to  go  through  their  whole  country  ;  and,  in  doing  this  and 
going  through  all  Milesia,  wheresoever  they  saw  in  the  de- 
vastated country  any  land  well  cultivated,  they  wrote  down  the 
name  of  the  proprietor.  And  having  traversed  the  whole 
country  and  found  but  few  such,  as  soon  as  they  came  down 
to  the  city,  they  called  an  assembly,  and  appointed  to  govern 
the  city  those  persons  whose  lands  they  had  found  well  culti- 
vated ;  for  they  said  they  thought  they  would  administer  the 
public  affairs  as  well  as  they  had  done  their  own.  The  rest 
of  the  Milesians,  who  before  had  been  split  into  factions,  they 
ordered  to  obey  them.  Thus  the  Paiiansj:ea^^ 
sla^is.  30.  From  these  two  cities  at  that  time  misfortunes 
began  to  befal  Ionia  in  the  following  manner.  Some  of  the 
opih^nt  men  were  exiled  from  Naxos  by  the  neopTeSid  being 
exiled,  went  to  Miletus  :  the  governor  of  Miletus  happened  tx) 
Be  Aristagoras,  son  of  Molpagoras,  son-in-law  and  cousin  of 
Histileus,  son  of  Lysagoras,  whom  Darius  detained  atS'usa. 
T^t*  "TTl'Stiasus  was  tyrant  of  Miletus,  and  happened  to  "Be  at 
that  fime^jBlTsa,"  ivhen  the^fft^cTjms  came,  who_-were  before 
on,  texms  oTTRendship  with  TTTsliSSl^T^^The'^axians  then, 
having  arrived  aflVfiletus,  entreate~d  Aristagoras  ifJ!}G_coali 


31,82.]  TEltPSICHOEti.     V.  317 

Dy  any  means  give  them  some  assistance,  tJiat  sc  they  might 
return  to  their  own  cmnxtryT  But  heT  having'HnTgtdercd  that 
if  by  his  means  they  should  returnto  their  city,  he  would  get 
the  dominion  of  Naxos,  used  the  friendship  of  Ilistia^us  as  a 
pretence,  and  addressed  theToTIbwliig  (liscour.-e  to  them  :  "  I 
am  not  able  of  myself  to  furnish  you  with  a  force  suiHcient  to 
reinstate  you  against  the  wishes  of  the  Naxians  who  are  in 
possession  of  the  city,  for  I  hear  that  the  Naxians  have  eight 
thousand  heavy  armed  men,  and  a  considerable  number  of 
ships  of  war.  Yet  I  will  contrive  some  way,  and  use  my 
best  endeavours  ;  and  I  design  it  in  this  way  :  Artajgliernes 
happens  to  he  my  friend  ;  lie  is  son  of  Hystaspes  and  brother 
of^ngTFar  lu  s,  and  comrnancls  all  themaritime  parts  of  Asia, 
tma  has  a'Targe  army  and  many  shipsi  This  man,  T  am'per- 
8naded,~AviTr do  whatever  we  desire."  The  Naxians,  having 
heard  this,  urged  Aristagoras  to  bring  it  about  in  the  best  way 
he  could,  and  bade  him  promise  presents,  and  their  expenses 
to  the  army,  for  that  they  would  repay  it,  having  great  ex- 
pectation that  when  they  should  appear  at  Naxos  the  Naxians 
would  do  whatever  they  should  order,  as  also  would  the  other 
islanders  ;  for  of  these  Cyclades  islands  not  one  was  as  yet 
subject  to  Darius. 

31.  Accordingly  Aristagoras,  having  gone  to  Sardis,  told 
ArtaphernSs,-- that  Naxos  was  an  island  of  no  great  extent," 
iSui  orh6i*wise  beau-tiful  and  fertile,  and  near  Ionia,  and  in  it 
was  much  wealth  and  many  slaves.  "  Do  you  therefore  send 
an  army  against  this  country,  to  reinstate  those  who  have 
been  banished  from  thence;  and  if  you  do  thls^l  .lia>X£a,  Jil  the 
first  place,  a  large  sum  of  money  rLvul}-,  in  addition  to  the  ex- 
pSnses  of  the'expedition,  for  it  is  just  that  we  who  lead  you  on 
shouTd  sTipply  tliat  ;  and  in  the  next,  jou  will  acquire  for_the 
king__Nuxos  itself,  and  the  islands  dependent  upon  it,  Pares, 
AoSros,  and  the  rest  that  are  calTed  Cyclades.  Setting  out  from 
tlienc.e,  yon  \vi11  pnsily  attack  Euboca.  a  large  and  wealthy  island, 
not  less  than  Cyprus,  and  very  easy  to  betaken.  4^'^"dred 
ships  are  sufficient  t^o  subdu^  them  all."  He  answered  him  as 
follows :  "  i"ou  propose  things  advantageous  to  the  king's 
house,  and  advise  every  thing  well,  except  the  number  of 
ships;  instead  of  one  hundred,  two  hundred  shall  be  ready  at 
the  commencement  of  the  spring.  But  it  is  necessary  that  the 
king  himself  should  approve  of  the  design."     32'  Now  Aris- 


SIS  HERODOTCS  [%%1^ 

tugoras,  when  he  heuru  this,  being  exceedingly  rejoiced,  went 
back  to  Miletus.  But  Artapliernes,  when,  on  his  s^inding  to 
8usa  and  communicating  what  was  said  by  Aristagoras,  Darius 
himseliLjalsa---a^u*aved  the  i)hiii,  made  ready  two  hundred 
tmremes,  and  a  very  iiumeroits  body  of  Persians  and  other 
allies  :  and  he  ap})ointed  ^legabates  general,  a  Persian  of  the 
family  of  the  Aciiemenidie^lns  owlr  and  Darius's  nephew, 
whose  daughter,  if  the  report  be  true,  was  afterwards  be- 
trothed to  Pausanias,  son  of  Cleombrotus  the  Lacedaemoniank 
who  aspired  to  become  tyrant  of  Greece.  Artaphernes,  hav- 
ing appointed  INIegabates  general,  sent  forward  the  ariTTyTa 
Aris'tTfiroras. 

^3.   Megabates,  having  taken  with  him  from  Miletus,  Aris- 
tsi^-as,  and  tTTe  Ionian  forces  and  the  Naxians," sailed^  pror" 
fessedly  for  tiie   Ilellespont  ;  but  when  h'e'arrrved  at  Chios, 
anchored  at  Caucasa,  that  he  might  cross  over  from  thence  to 
Naxos  by  a  north  wind.     However,  since  it  was  fated  that  the 
Naxians  were  not  to  perish  by  this  armament,  the  folloTfing 
event  occurred.     As  Megabates  was  going  round  the  watches 
on  board  the  ships,  he  found  no  one  on  guard  on  board  a 
Myndian  ship  ;  thereupon,  being  indignant  at  this,  he  ordered 
his  body-guards  to  find  the  captain  of  this  ship,  whose  name 
was  Scylax,   and   to  bind   him,  having  passed  him  half-way 
through  the  lower  rowlock  of  the  vessel,  so  that  his  head  should 
be  on  the  outside  of  the  vessel,  and  his  body  within.     When 
Scylax  was  bound,  some  one  told  Aristagoras  that  INIegabates 
liad  bound  and    disgraced  his   Myndian    friend.     He    went 
therefore  and  interceded  for  him  with  the  Persian,  but  when 
lie  found  he  could  obtain  nothing,  he  went  and  released  him, 
Tvlegabates,  hearing  of  this,  was  very  indignant,  and  enraged 
with  Aristagoras  :  but  he  said,  "  AVhat  have  you  to  do  with 
these  matters?     Did  not  Artaphernes  serrd  you  to  obey  me, 
and  to  sail  wheresoever  I  should  command  ?    Why  do  you  busy   f. 
yourself?"      Aristagoras    spoke  thus.     But^Megabates,  ex>>   f 
asperated  at  this,^  soon  as  nisfht  arrived,  despatctied  men  in   li 
a  sliip  to  Naxos,  to^iafbrm  the   A" n y i" n n «   of .  th p.   i rr^ ppn  jing 
danger.    -Mr^I^owThe  Naxians  did  hdrat  all  expect  that  this   \ 
armament  was  coming  against  them  ;  when   therefore   they   ' 
heard  of  it,  they  immediately  carried  every  thing  from  the    i 
fields  into  the  town,  and  prepared  to  undergo  a  siege,   and 
brought  food  and  drink  within  the  walls.     Thus  thev  mad<' 


5.5, 3(5. »  Tr.UPSICHORE.    V.  ^9 

preparatl(r  ns,  as  if  war  was  close  at  haml  ;  bin  tlm  Porsimm^ 
when  they  ciotised  over  from  Chios  to  Naxos,  had  to  attack 
men  well  fortided,  and  besieged  them  during  four  months^ 
S(nhlTf  having  consumed  all  tlie  supplies  they  had  brought 
with  them,  together  with  large  sums  furnislied  by  Aristagonjs, 
and  wanting  still  more  to  carry  on  the  siege,  they  therefore 
built  a  fortress  for  the  Naxian  exiles,  and  retired  to  the  coii- 
tineht,  having  been  unsuccessful. 

ooV  "Xnstagoras  was  unable  to  fulfil  his  promise  to  Arta- 
pliernes  ;  and  at  tlie  same  time  the  expense  of  the  expedition, 
which  was  demtindcd,  j>i'c.sse(l  heavy  on  hini  ;  he  was  alarmed 
too  on  account  of  the  ill  success  of  tlie  army,  and  at  having 
incurred  the  ill  will  of  jNIegabatcs,  and  thought  that  he  sliouhl 
be  deprived  of  the  govenimi-nt  of  Miletus  ;  dreading  there- 
fore each  of  these  things,  lie  meditated  a  revott  :  for~  it 
happened  at  tlKTsarne  time  that  a  messenger  with  his  head 
punctured  came  from  Susa  from  Ilistiaeus,  urging  Aristagoras 
to  revolt  from  the  king.  For  Histiaius,  beiitj^desiroiis  to  si*;- 
nity_^  Arisiagoras  liis  wish  for  him  to  revolt,  had  no  otlier 
means  ofsTgiii lying  it  with  bafety,  because,  the  roads  were 
guarded^ ;  therefore,  having  siiaved  the  head  of  the  most 
trustworthy  of  his  slaves,  he  marked  it,  and  waited  till 
the  hair  was  grown  again  :  as  soon  as  it  was  grown  again, 
he  sent  hiin  to  Miletus  without  any  other  instructions^ 
than  that  when  he  arrived  at  Miletus  he  should  desire  Arista- 
goras  to  shave  oH"  his  hair  and  look  upon  his  liead  :  the  punc- 
tures, as  I  said  before,  signified  a  wish  for  him  to  revolt. 
His^^aius  did  this  because  he  looked  upon  his  detention  at  ^jjjis^ 
as  a  great  misfortune  ;  irtT'en  a  revolt  sTiould  take  pTacehe 
l\'iia  great~rropes  tliat  he  should  be  sent  down  to  the  coast  ; 
but  if  ]\liletus  made  no  new  attempt,  he  thought  that  he  shoul 
never  go  there  again.  J6.  Histiajus  accordingly  under  these 
considerations  sent  off  the  messenger.  All  these  things  concur- 
red together  at  the  same  time  to  Aristagoras  ;  he  therefore  con- 
sulted with  his  partisans,  communicating  to  them  his  own 
opinion  and  the  message  that  had  come  from  Histiajus :  now 
all  the  rest  concurred  in  the  same  opinion,  urging  him  to  re- 
volt ;  but Jjc^itaeus,  the  historian,  at  first  endeavoured  to  dis- 
suade him  from  undertaking  a  war  againsT  the  king  of  the 
Persians,  enumerating  all  the  nations  whom  Darius  governed, 
and  his  power  ;  but  when  he  could  not  prevail*  he  in  the  next 


320  HERODOTUS.  [S7-3d 

place  advised,  that  they  should  so  contrive  as  to  make  them- 
selves masters  ij£.^^t?^^  "  Now,"  he  continued,  "  he  saw  no 
other  wiiy"l)i  etiecting  this,  for  he  was  well  aware  that  the 
power  of  the  Milesians  was  weak  ;  hut  if  the  Jreasu res  sho uld 
be_aeized  from  the  temple  of  the  Braniclitdae,  which  Croesus  the 
Lydian  had  dedicated,  he  had  great  hopes  that  they  might  ac- 
quire the  dominion  of  the  sea  ;  and  thus  they  would  have 
money  for  their  own  use,  and  the  enemy  could  not  plunder 
that  treasure."  But  this  treasure  was  very  considerable,  as  I 
have  already  related  in  the  first  part  of  my  history.^  This 
opinion  however  did  not  prevail.  Nevertheless  it  was  re- 
solved to  revolt,  and  that  one  of  them,  having  sailed  to  Myus 
to  the  force  that  had  returned  from  Naxos,  and  which  was 
then  there,  should  endeavour  to  seize  the  captains  on  board 
the  ships.  37.  latragoras,  having  been  despatched  for  this 
very  purpose,  and  having,  by  stratagem,  seized  Oliatus,  son  of 
[banolis  of  Mylassa,  Histiaeus,  son  of  Tymnes  of  Termera,  Goes, 
son  of  Erxandrus,  to  whom  Darius  had  given  Mitylene,  Arista- 
goras,  son  of  Heraclides,  of  Cyme,  and  many  others  ;  Aristago- 
rasjhus  openly  re\'olted,  devising  everything  he  could  against 
^f  Darius.  And  first,  in  pretence,  having  laid  aside  the  sovereign- 
ity, he  established  an  equality  in  Miletus,  in  order  that  the 
*  Milesians  might  more  readily  join  with  him  in  the  revolt. 
And  afterwards  he  eifected  the  same  throughout  the  rest  of 
Ionia,  expeTEngTome^oT  the  ty fail Cs'j  an 3"1?B  deli v ered  u p'ttic^e"" 
whom' lie" Ivad-taken  from  on  board  the  ships  that  had  sailed 
with  him  against  Naxos,  to  the  cities,  in  order  to  gratify  the 
people,  giving  them  up  generally  to  the  respective  cities,  from 
whence  each  came.  38.  The  Mitylencans,  as  soon  as  they  re- 
ceived Goes,  led  him  out,  and  stoned  him  to  death ;  but  the 
Gymeans  let  their  tyrant  go  ;    and  in  like  manner  most  of  the 


others  let  theirs  go.  Accordingly  there  was  a  ^J^^^essi^jy^^f 
tyrants  throughout  the  cities.  But  Aristagoras"  the  Milesian, 
when  he  had  suppressed  the  tyrants,  and  enjoined  them  all  to 
appoint  magistrates  in  each  of  the  cities,  in  the  next  place 
went  himself  in  a  trireme  as  ambassador  to  Sparta,  for  it  was 
neceseary  for  him  to  procure  some  powerful  alliance. 

39.  Anaxandrides,   son  of  Leon,  no  longer  survived  and 
reigned  over  Sparta,  but  was  already  dead  ;  Gleomenes,  sou 
uf  Anaxandrides,  held  the  sovereignty,  not  having  acquired  it 
»  See  B.  I.  chap.  50,  51.  92. 


«0— «2.i  TERPSICHORE.  321 

by  hi&  virtues,  but  by  his  births  Anaxandrides,  who  had 
married  his  own  sister's  daughter,  though  she  was  very  much 
beloved  by  him,  had  no  children  :  this  being  the  case,  the 
Ephori,  having  sent  for  him,  said,  "  If  you  do  not  provide  for 
your  own  interests,  yet  we  must  not  overlook  this,  that  the 
race  of  Eurysthenes  should  become  extinct.  Do  you  there- 
fore put  away  the  wife  whom  you  have,  since  she  bears  no 
children,  and  marry  another  ;  and  by  so  doing  you  will  gratify 
the  Spartans."  He  answered,  saying,  "that  he  would  do 
neither  of  these  things  ;  and  that  they  did  not  advise  him  well 
in  urging  him  to  dismiss  the  wife  he  had,  when  she  had  com- 
mitted no  error,  and  to  take  another  in  her  place,  and  there- 
fore he  would  not  obey  them."  40.  Upon  this  the  Ephori 
and  senators,  having  consulted,  made  the  following  proposal  to 
Arm«ft«drMes :  "  As  we  see"  you  strongly  attached  to  the  wife 
whonl  you  ^ave,  act  as  follows,  and  do  not  oppose  it,  lest  the 
Spartans  should  come  to  some  unusual  resolution  respecting 
you.  We  do  not  require  of  you  the  dismissal  of  your  present 
wife ;  pay  her  the  same  attention  as  you  have  always  done, 
and  marry  another  besides  her,  who  may  bear  you  children." 
When  they  spoke  to  this  effect,  Anaxandrides  consented ;  and 
afterwards  liaving  tvvgjjvives  he  inhabited  two  houses,  doing 
what  was  not  at  all  m  accordance  with  Spartan  usages.  41. 
When  no  long  time  had  elapsed,  the  'vja^e^lasLjaarrledbore 
thjs  Cleomenes,  and  presented  to  the  Spartansan'Tieir  ap- 
parenc '  W"r!ie  throne :  and  the  former  wife,  who  had  before 
been  barren,  by  some  strange  Toi'tune  then  proved  to  be  with 
child  ;  and  though  she  was  really  so,  yet  the  relations  of  the 
second  wife  having  heard  of  it  raised  a  disturbance,  saying 
that  she  boasted  vainly,  purposing  to  bring  forward  a  sup- 
positious child.  As  they  made  a  great  noise,  when  the  time 
approached,  the  Ephori  from  distrust  sat  around,  and  watched 
the  woman  in  her  labour.  She,  however,  when  she  had  borne 
Dorjeus,  shortly  afterwards  had  I^fiuxiidas,  and  after  him,  in 
duo  course,  Cleombrotjjs ;  though  some  say  that  Cleombrotus 
and  Leonidas  were  twins.  But  she  who  bore  Cleomenes,  and 
who  was  the  second  wife,  and  daughter  to  Prinetades,  son  of 
Demarmenus,  never  bore  a  second  time. 

42.  Cleomenes,  as  it  is  said,  was  not  of  sound  mind,  but 
idnaostjnaTr'whereas,  Dorieus  was  the  first  of  the  young  men 
of  his  age,  and""  was  fully  convinced  that  by  hia  virtueshg 


822  HERODOTUS  [43-46. 

should  obtain  the  sovereignty.  So  that,  being  of  this  persuasion, 
when  AnaxandftSeS'dlecI,  and  the  Lacedaemonians,  following  the 
usual  custom,  appointed  the  eldest,  Cleomenes,  to  be  kin^,  P,Q'_ 
rieus,  being  very  indignant,  and  disdaining  to  be  reigned  ove?" 
by  Cleomenes,  demanded  a  draught  of  men  from  the  Spartans, 
and  led  them  out  to  found  a  colony,  without  having  consulted 
the  oracle  at  Delphi  to  what  land  he  should  go  and  settle,  nor 
doing  any  of  those  things  that  are  usual  on  such  occasions. 
But  as  he  was  very  much  grieved,  he  directed  his  ships  to 
I^ibya,  and  some  Therseans  piloted  him.  Having  arrived  at 
Cinyps,  he  settled  near  the  river,  in  the  most  beautiful  spot  of 
the  Libyans.  But  in  the  third  year,  being  driven  out  from 
thence  by  the  Macae,  Libyans,  and  Carthaginians,  he  returned 
to  Peloponnesus.  43.  There  Antichares,  a  citizen  of  Eleon, 
front~i!he-ora;cles  delivered  to  Laius,  advised  him  to  found 
Heraclea  in  Sicily,  affirming  that  all  the  country  of  Eryx  be- 
longed to  the  Heraclidge,  Hercules  himself  having  possessed 
himself  of  it.  He,  hearing  this,  went  to  Delphi  to  inquire  of 
the  oracle,  whether  he  should  take  the  country  to  which  he 
was  preparing  to  go.  The  Pythian  answered,  that  he  should 
take  it.  Dorieus,  therefore,  taking  with  him  the  force  which 
he  had  led  to  Libya,  sailed  along  the  coast  of  Italy.  44.  At 
that  time,  as  the  Sybarites  say,  they  and  their  king  Telys  were 
preparing  to  make  war  against  Crotona :  and  the  Crotonians, 
being  much  alarmed,  implored  of  Dorieus  to  assist  them,  and 
obtained  their  request;  whereupon  Dorieus  marched  witli 
them  against  Sybaris,  and  took  Sybaris  in  concert  with  them. 
Now,  the  Sybarites  say  that  Dorieus,  and  those  who  were 
with  him,  did  this.  But  the  Crotonians  affirm  that  no  foreigner 
took  part  with  them  in  the  war  against  the  Sybarites,  ex- 
cept only  Callias  of  Elis,  a  seer  of  the  lamidae,  and  he  did  so 
under  the  following  circumstances :  he  had  fled  from  Telys, 
king  of  the  Sybarites,  and  come  over  to  them,  when  the  vic- 
tims did  not  prove  favourable  as  he  was  sacrificing  against 
Crotona.  Such  is  the  account  they  give.  45.  Each  party 
produces  the  following  proofs  of  what  they  assert.  The 
Sybarites  allege  a  sacred  enclosure  and  temple  near  the  dry 
Crastis,^  which  they  say  Dorieus,  when  he  had  assisted  in 
taking  the  city,  erected  to  Minerva,  surnamed  Crastian ;  and 
in  the  next  place  they  mention  the  death  of  Dorieus,  as  tb: 
•  Called  "dry"  because  its  stroam  was  dried  up  in  summer. 


46-48.J  TERPSICHORE.    V  323 

greatest  proof,  for  that  he  was  killed  for  having  acted  contrary 
to  the  warnings  of  the  oracle.  For  if  he  had  not  at  all  trans 
grossed,  but  had  done  that  for  which  he  was  sent,  he  would 
have  taken  and  possessed  the  Erycinian  country,  and  having 
taken  it  would  have  retained  it,  nor  would  he  and  his  army 
have  been  destroyed.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Crotonians  show 
selected  portions  of  land  given  to  Cailias  the  Elean,  in  the  ter- 
ritories of  Crotona,  which  the  descendants  of  Cailias  continued 
to  occupy  even  in  my  time ;  but  to  Dorieus,  and  the  posterity 
of  Dorieus,  nothing  was  given :  whereas,  if  Dorieus  had  assisted 
them  in  the  Sybaritic  war,  much  more  would  have  been  given  to 
him  than  to  Cailias.  These,  then,  are  the  proofs  that  each  pro- 
duces, and  every  man  has  the  liberty  of  adhering  to  that  which 
he  judges  most  probable.  46.  There  sailed  with  Dorieus  also 
other_Spartan% joint- founders  of  aTcolony,  as  Thessalus,  Parse- 
bates,  Celeas,  and  Euryleon ;  who,  on  their  arrival  with  the 
wlYotg  armament  in  Sicily,  ijvere  killed,  being  defeated  in  battle 
by'~the  Phoeniciand  and  Egestaeans.  Euryleon  alone  of  the 
associates  in  founding  the  colony  survived  this  disaster :  he, 
having  collected  the  survivors  of  the  army,  possessed  himself 
of  Minoa,  a  colony  of  the  Selinuntians,  and  assisted  in  liber- 
ating the  Selinuntians  from  their  monarch  Pythagoras.  But 
afterwards,  when  he  had  removed  him,  he  himself  seized  the 
tyranny  of  Selinus,  and  continued  monarch  for  a  short  time  ; 
for  the  Selinuntians,  having  risen  up  against  him,  put  him  to 
death,  though  he  had  taken  sanctuary  at  the  altar  of  the 
Forensian  Jupiter.  47.  Philippus,  son  of  Butacides,  a  citizen 
of  Crotona,  accompanied  Dorieus,  and  perished  with  him.  He 
having  entered  into  a  contract  of  marriage  with  the  daughter 
of  Telys  the  Sybarite,  fled  from  Crotona,  but  disappointed  of 
his  marriage,  sailed  to  Cyrene ;  and  setting  out  from  thence, 
he  accompanied  Dorieus  in  a  trireme  of  his  own,  with  a  crew 
maintained  at  his  own  expense  ;  for  he  had  been  victorious  in 
the  Olympian  games,  and  was  the  handsomest  of  the  Greeks 
of  his  day  ;  and  on  account  of  his  beauty  he  obtained  from  the 
EgestoRans  what  no  other  person  ever  did,  for  having  erected 
a  shrine  on  his  sepulchre,  they  propitiate  him  with  sacrifices. 
48.  Dorieus,  then,  met  with  his  death  in  the  manner  above 
described ;  but  if  he  had  submitted  to  be  governed  by  Cle- 
omenes,  and  had  continued  in  Sparta,  he  would  have  become 
king  of  Lacedcemen  For  Cleomenes  did  not  reign  for  any 
Y  2 


324  HERODOTrJS  f40 

length  of  time,  but  died  without  a  son,  leaving  a  daughter 
only,  whose  name  was  Gorgo. 

49.  Aristagoras  then,  tyrant  of  Miletus,  arrived_at^,S|iaila, 
when  Cleomenes  held  the  government ;  ancriie  went  to  confer 
with  Km,' as" the  I^ce'daembnians  say,  having  a  brazen  tablet, 
on  which  was  engraved  the  circumference  of  the  whole  earth, 
and  the  whole  sea,  and  all  rivers.  And  Aristagoras,  having 
come  to  a  conference,  addressed  him  as  follows :  "  Wonder 
not,  Cleomenes,  at  my  eagerness  in  coming  here,  for  the  cir- 
cumstances that  urge  are  such  as  I  will  describe.  That  the 
children  of  lonians  should  be  slaves  instead  of  free,  is^^J^rgflt 
disgrace  and  sorrow  to  us,  and  above  all  others  to  you,  inas- 
irnieTi  as  you  are  at  the  head  of  Greece.  Now,  therefore,  I 
adjure  you,  by  the  Grecian  gods,  rescue  the  lonians,  who  ajre 
of  your  own  blood,  from  servitude.  It  is  easy  for  you  to  effect 
this,  for  the  barbarians  are  not  valiant ;  whereas  you,  in  mat- 
ters relating  to  war,  have  attained  to  the  utmost  height  of 
glory  :  their  mode  of  fighting  is  this,  with, hows  and  a  short 
spear ;  and  they  engage  in  battle,  wearing  loose  trowsers,  and 
turbans  on  their  heads,  so  they  are  easy  to  be  overcome.  Be- 
sides, there  are  treasures  belonging  to  those  who  inhabit  that 
continent,  such  as  are  not  possessed  by  all  other  nations  toge- 
ther ;  beginning  from  gold,  there  is  silver,  brass,  variegated 
garments,  beasts  of  burden,  and  slaves  ;  all  these  you  may  have 
if  you  will.  They  live  adjoining  one  another,  as  I  will  show 
you.  Next  these  lonians  are  the  Lydians,  who  inhabit  a 
fertile  country,  -  and  abound  in  silvei-.*'  As  he  said  tliis  he 
showed  the  circumference  of  the  earth,  which  he  brought 
with  him,  engraved  on  a  tablet.  "  Next  the  Lydians,"  pro- 
ceeded Aristagoras,  "are  these  Phrygians  to  the  eastward, 
who  are  the  richest  in  cattle  and  m  corh  of  all  with  whom  I 
am  acquainted.  Next  to  the  Phrygians  are  the  Cappadocians, 
whom  we  call  Syrians ;  and  bordering  on  them,  the  Cilici^s, 
cxtehTTIhg  to  tliiS  sea  in  which  the  island  of  Cyprus  is  situate  ; 
they  pay  an  annual  tribute  of  five  hundred  talents  to  the  king. 
Next  to  the  Cilicians  are  these  Armenians,  who  also  abound 
in  cattle;  and  next  the  Armenians  are  the  Matienians,  who 
occupy  this  country ;  and  next  them  this  territory  of  Cissia, 
in  which  Susa  is  situated  on  this  river  Choaspes,  here  the 
great  king  resides,  and  there  are  his  treasures  of  wealth.  Il 
you  take  this  city,  you  may  boldly  contend  witli  Jupiter  id 


flO— 52.J  TRRPSICIIORE     V  325 

wealth.  But  now  you  must  carry  on  war  for  a  country  of 
small  extent,  and  not  very  fertile,  and  of  narrow  limits,  with 
the  Messenians,  who  are  your  equals  in  valour,  and  with  the  Ar- 
cadians and  Argives,  who  have  nothing  akin  to  gold  or  silver, 
the  desire  of  which  induces  men  to  Ijazard  their  lives  in  battle. 
But  when  an  opportunity  is  offered  \o  conquer  all  Asia  with 
ease,  will  you  prefer  any  thing  else?"  Aristagoras  spoke 
thus,  and  Cleomenes  answered  him  as  follows  :  "Milesian 
friend,  I  defer  to  give  you  an  answer  until  the  third  day.** 
50.  On  that  day  they  got  so  far.  When  the  day  appointed 
for  the  answer  was  come,  and  they  had  met  at  the  appointed 
place,  Cleomenes  asked  Aristagoras,  how  many  days'  journey 
it  was  fromTTie  sea  of  the  Tonians  to  the  king.  But  Aris- 
tagoras,  tTiough  he  was  cunning  in  other  things,  and  had  de- 
ceived him  with  much  address,  made  a  slip  in  this ;  for  he 
should  not  have  told  the  real  fact,  if  he  wished  to  draw 
the  Spartans  into  Asia  ;  whereas  he  told  him  plainly,  that  it 
v/as  a  three  months'  journey  up  there.  But  he,  cutting  short 
the  rest  ol^  the  description  which  Aristagoras  was  proceeding 
to  give  of  the  journey,  said :  "  IV^lesian  friend,  depart  from 
Sparta  before  sun-set ;  for  you  speak  no  agreeaW^fanguage 
to  the  Lacedaemonians,  in  wishing  to  lead  them  a  three  months* 
journey  from  the  sea."  Cleomenes,  having  spoken  thus,  went 
home.  51.  But  Aristagoras,  taking  an  olive-branch  in  his 
hand,  went  to  the  house  of  Cleomenes,  and  having  entered  in, 
as  a  suppliant,  besought  Cleomenes  to  l^ten  to  him,  having 
first  sent  away  his  little  child  ;  for  his  daughter,  whose  name 
was  Gorgo,  stood  by  him  ;  she  happened  to  be  his  only  child, 
and  was  about  eight  or  nine  years  of  age.  But  Cleomenes 
bid  him  say  what  he  would,  and  not  refrain  for  the  sake  of  the 
child.  Thereupon  Aristagoras  began  promising  ten  talents, 
if  he  would  do  as  he  desired  ;  and  when  Cleomenes  refused, 
Aristagoras  went  on  increasing  in  liis  offers,  until  he  promised 
fifty  talents  ;  then  the  girl  cried  out,  "  Father,  this  stranger 
will  corrupt  you,  unless  you  quickly  depart."  Cleomenes, 
pleased  with  the  advice  of  the  child,  retired  to  another  apart- 
ment ;  and  Aristagoras  left  Sparta  altogether,  nor  could  he 
get  an  opportunity  to  give  further  particulars  of  the  route  to 
the  king's  residence. 

52.  With  respect  to  this  road,  the  case  is  as  follows.    There 
re  royal  stations  all  along,  and  excellent  inns,  and  the  whol<? 


326  HERODOTUS.  63,  W 

road  is  through  an  inliabited  and  safe  country.  There  are 
twenty  stations  extending  through  Lydia  and  Phrygia,  and 
the  distance  is  ninety-four  parasangs  and  a  half.  After 
Phrygia,  the  river  Halys  is  met  with,  at  which  there  are 
gates,  which  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  pass  through,  and 
thus  to  cross  the  river  :  there  is  also  a  considerable  fort  on 
it.  When  you  cross  over  into  Cappadocia,  and  traverse  that 
country,  to  the  borders  of  Cilicia,  there  are  eight  and  twenty 
stations,  and  one  hundred  and  four  parasangs  ;  and  on  tlie 
borders  of  these  people,  you  go  through  two  gates,  and  pass 
by  two  forts.  When  you  have  gone  through  these  and  made 
the  journey  through  Cilicia,  there  are  three  stations,  and  fif- 
teen parasangs  and  a  half.  The  boundary  of  Cilicia  and 
Armenia  is  a  river  that  is  crossed  in  boats,  it  is  called  the 
Euphrates.  In  Armenia  there  are  fifteen  stations  for  resting- 
places,  and  fifty-six  parasangs  and  a  half ;  there  is  also  a  fort 
in  the  stations.  Four  rivers  that  are  crossed  in  boats  flow 
through  this  country,  which  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  ferry 
over.  First,  the  Tigris  ;  then,  the  second  and  third  have  the 
same  name,  thotigh  they  are  not  the  same  river,  nor  flow 
from  the  same  source.  For  the  first  mentioned  of  these  flows 
from  the  Armenians,  and  the  latter  from  the  Matienians.  The 
fourth  river  is  called  the  Gyndes,  which  Cyrus  once  distributed 
into  three  hundred  and  sixty  channels.  As  you  enter  from 
Armenia  into  the  country  of  Matiene,  there  are  four  stations  ; 
and  from  thence  as  you  proceed  to  the  Cissian  territory  there 
are  eleven  stations,  and  forty-two  parasangs  and  a  half,  to  the 
river  Choaspes,  which  also  must  be  crossed  in  boats  :  on  this 
'  Susa  is  built.  All  these  stations  amount  to  one  hundred  and 
eleven  :''  accordingly  the  resting-places  at  the  stations  are  so 
many  as  you  go  up  from  Sardis  to  Susa.  53.  Now  if  the  royal 
road  has  been  correctly  measured  in  parasangs,  and  if  the 
parasang  is  equal  to  thirty  stades,  as  indeed  it  is,  from  Sardis 
to  the  royal  palace,  called  Memnonia,  is  a  distance  of  thirteen 
thousand  five  hundred  stades,  the  parasangs  being  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty ;  and  by  those  who  travel  one  hundred  and 
fifty  stades  every  day,  just  ninety  days  are  spent  on  the  jour- 
ney.     54.  Thus  Aristagoras  the  Milesian  spoke  correctly, 

'  The  detail  of  stations  above-mentioned  gives  only  eighty-one  instead 
of  one  hundred  and  eleven.  The  discrepancy  can  only  be  accounted  foi 
by  a  supposed  defect  ir.  the  manugsripts. 


5^-58.]  TERPSICHORE.    V. 

when  he  told  Cleomenes  the  Lacedaemonian,  that  it  was  a  three 
months'  journey  up  to  the  king's  residence.  But  if  any  one 
fhould  require  a  more  accurate  account  than  this,  I  will  also 
point  this  out  to  him  ;  for  it  is  necessary  to  reckon  with  the 
above  the  journey  from  Ephesus  to  Sardis :  I  therefore  say 
that  the  whole  number  of  stades  from  the  Grecian  sea  to 
Susa,  (for  such  is  the  name  of  the  Memnonian  city,)  amounts 
to  fourteen  thousand  and  forty ;  for  from  Ephesus  to  Sardis 
is  a  distance  of  five  hundred  and  forty  stades.  And  thus  the 
three  months'  journey  is  lengthened  by  three  days. 

55.  Aristaojoras,  being  driven  from  Sparta,  went  to  Athens, 
wliicj^a^  been  delivered  from  tyrants  in  the  following  man- 
ner/ /When  Aristogiton.and  Harmodius,  who  were  originally 
Gfe^hyraeans  l^extraction,  had  slam  Hipparchus,  son  of  Pi- 
sistratus,  and  brother  to  the  Ty I'llll I  "Hippia^  and  who  had 
seen  a  vision  in  a  dream  manifestly  showing  his  own  fate, 
after  this  the  Athenians  during  the  space  of  four  years  were 
no  less,  but  even  more,  oppressed  by  tyranny  than  before. 
56.  Now  the  vision  in  Hipparchus's  dream  was  as  follows  > 
On  the  night  preceding  the  Panathenaic  festival,  Hipparchus 
fancied  that  a  taH  and  handsome  man  stood  by  him,  and  ut- 
tered these  enigmatical  words  :  "  Li  on,  en4\|]pe  witK  enduring 
mind  to  bear  unendurable  ills  ;  nooneamoijgjinj.ust  men  shall 
escape"  retributionT^'^'As  soon  as  it  was  day  he  laid  these 
things  belbre  tiie  interpreters  of  dreams  ;  and  afterwards,  hav- 
ing attempted  to  avert  the  vision,  he  conducted  the  procession 
in  which  he  perished.         X^ 

57.  The  Gephyraeansj^of  whom  were  the  murderers  of 
Hipparchus,  were,  as  they  themselves  say,  originally  sprung 
from  Eretria  ;  but,  as  I  find  by  diligent  inquiry,  they  were 
Phoenicians,  of  the  number  of  those  Phoenicians  who  came 
with  Cadmus  to  the  country  now  called  Boeotia,  and  they  in- 
habited the  district  of  Tanagra,  in  this  country,  which  fell  to 
their  share.  The  Cadmeans  having  been  first  expelled  from 
thence  by  the  Argives,  these  Gephyraeans  being  afterwards 
expelled  by  the  Boeotians,  betook  themselves  to  Athens  ;  and 
the  Athenians  admitted  them  into  the  number  of  their  citi- 
zens, on  certain  conditions,  enacting  that  they  should  be  ex- 
cluded from  several  privileges,  not  worth  mentioning.  58. 
These  Phoenicians  who  came  with  Cadmus,  and  of  whom  the 
Gephyraeans  were,  when  they  settled  in  this  country,  intro- 


^  IlliUODOTUS.  [59—52. 

(luced  among  the  Greeks  many  other  kinds  of  useful  knov/- 
ledge,  and  more  particularly  letters  ;  which,  in  my  opinion, 
were  not  before  known  to  the  Grecians.  At  first  they  used 
the  characters  which  all  the  Phcenicians  make  use  of  ;  but  af- 
terwards, in  process  of  time,  together  with  the  sound,  they 
also  changed  the  shape  of  the  letters.  At  that  time  Ionian 
Greeks  inhabited  the  greatest  part  of  the  country  round  about 
them  ;  they  having  learnt  these  letters  from  the  Phoenicians, 
changed  them  in  a  slight  degree,  and  made  use  of  them  ;  and 
in  making  use  of  them,  they  designated  them  Phoenician,  as 
justice  required  they  should  be  called,  since  the  Phoeniciana 
had  introduced  them  into  Greece.  Moreover,  the  lonians, 
from  ancient  time,  call  books  made  of  papyrus,  parchments, 
because  formerly,  from  the  scarcity  of  papyrus,  they  used 
the  skins  of  goats  and  sheep  ;  and  even  at  the  present  day 
many  of  the  barbarians  write  on  such  skins.  59.  And  I  my- 
self have  seen  in  the  temple  of  Ismenian  Apollo  at  Thebes  in 
BcBotia,  Cadmean  letters  engraved  on  certain  tripods,  for  the 
most  part  resembling  the  Ionian.  One  of  the  tripods  has 
this  inscription  :  "  Amphitryon  dedicated  me  on  his  return 
from  the  Teleboans."  These  must  be  about  the  age  of  Laius, 
son  of  Labdacus,  son  of  Polydorus,  son  of  Cadmus.  60. 
Another  tripod  has  these  words  in  hexameter  verse  :  "  Scaeus, 
a  boxer,  having  been  victorious,  dedicated  me,  a  very  beauti- 
ful offering,  to  thee,  far-darting  Apollo."  Sceeus  must  have 
been  son  of  Hippocoon,  if  indeed  it  was  he  who  made  the 
offering,  and  not  another  person  bearing  the  same  name  as 
the  son  of  Hippocoon  ;  and  must  have  been  about  the  time  of 
Oedipus,  son  of  Laius.  61.  A  third  tripod  has  these  words 
also  in  hexameters  :  "  Laodamas,  being  a  monarch,  dedicated 
this  tripod,  a  very  beautiful  offering,  to  thee,  far-seeing* 
Apollo."  During  the  reign  of  this  Laodamas,  son  of  Eteocles, 
the  Cadmeans  were  expelled  by  the  Argives,  and  betook 
themselves  to  the  Encheleae.  But  the  Gephyra^ans,  who 
were  then  left,  were  afterwards  compelled  by  the  Boeotians  to 
retire  to  Attica  ;  and  they  built  temples  in  Athens,  in  which 
the  rest  of  the  Athenians  do  not  participate,  but  they  are  dis- 
tinct from  the  other  temples  ;  more  particularly  the  temple 
and  mysteries  of  the  Achaean  Ceres. 

62.  Thus  I  have  related  the  vision  of  Hipparch  is's  dream, 
*  Or  "  well-aiming  '* 


63j  TERPSICHORE.     V.  329 

and  whence  were  sprung  the  Gephyrseans,  of  whom  were 
the  murderers  of  Hipparchus  ;  and  it  is  now  proper  to  re- 
sume the  account  I  originally  set  out  to  relate,  and  show  how 
the  Athenians  were  delivered  from  tvrants./^"\Vhile  Hippias 
was  tyrant,  and  embittered  against  the  Athenians  on  account 
oFHie  death  of  Hipparchus,  the  Alcma^onid^e,  who  were  Athe- 
""xjansby^extr action 5  and  were  then  banished  by  the  Pisistra- 
tTcTfb,  when  they  with  other  Athenian  exiles  did  not  succeed 
in  their^tempt  to  effect  their  return  by  force,  but  were  sig- 
nally defeated  in  their  endeavours  fo  Temstate  themselves  and 
li1oe?ate~Athens,  having  fortified  Lipsydrium,  which  is  above 
Paeonia  ; — thereupon  the  Alcmseonidne,  practising  every  scheme 
against  the  Pisistratida?,  contracted  with  the  Ampliictyons,  to 
build  the  temple  which  is^^mvaf  Delphi,  but  then  did  not 
e^ristrTTfrd  as  they  were  wealthy,  and  originally  men  of  dis- 
tinction, they  constructed  the  temple  in  a  more  beautiful  man- 
ner than  the  plan  required,  both  in  other  respects,  and  also, 
though  it  was  agreed  they  should  make  it  of  porine  stone, 
they  built  its  front  of  Parian  marble.  63.  Accordingly,  as 
the  Athenians  state,  these  men,  while  staying  at  Delphi,  pre- 
vailed on  the  Pythian  by  money,  when  any  Spartans  should 
come  thither  to  consult  the  oracle,  either  on  their  own  ac- 
count or  that  of  the  public,  to  propose  to  them  to  liberate 
Athens  from  servitude.  The  Lacedaemonians,  when  the  same 
warning  was  always  given  them,  sent  Anchimolius,  son  oi 
Aster,  a  citizen  of  distinction,  with  an  army,  to  expel  the 
PisistratidoB  from  Athens,  though  they  were  particularly 
united  to  them  by  the  ties  of  friendship,  for  they  considered 
their  duty  to  the  god  more  obligatory  than  their  duty  to  men. 
These  forces  they  sent  by  sea  in  ships,  and  he  having  touched 
at  Phalerum,  disembarked  his  army  :  but  the  Pisistratidae, 
having  had  notice  of  this  beforehand,  called  in  assistance  from 
Thessaly,  for  they  had  entered  into  an  alliance  with  them.  In 
accordance  with  their  request,  the  Thessalians  with  one  con- 
sent despatched  a  thousand  horse  to  tEeir  assistance,  and 
their  king  Oiqy.as.  a  native  of  Conium.  When  the  Pisistra- 
tidaj  had  these  auxiliaries,  they  had  recourse  to  the  following 
plan  :  having  cleared  the  plains  of  the  Phalereans,  and  made 
the  country  practicable  for  cavalry,  they  sent  the  cavalry 
against  the  enemy's  camp  ;  and  it  having  fallen  on,  killed 
many  of  the  Lacedaemonians,  and  amonfi  them  Anchimolius, 


330  HERODOTUS.  [64—00. 

and  the  survivors  they  drove  to  their  ships.  The  first  expe- 
dition from  LacediBmon  thus  got  off ;  and  the  tomb  of  Au- 
chimolius  is  at  Alopecas  of  Attica,  near  the  temple  of  Hercules 
in  Cynosarges.  64.  Afterwards,  the  Lacedaemonians,  having 
fitted  out  a  larger  armament,  sent  it  from  Athens,  having  ap- 
pointed king  Gleomenes,  son  of  Anaxandrides,  commander-in- 
chief ;  they  did  not  however  send  it  again  l)y  sea,  but  ^y^" 
land.  On  their  entrance  into  the  Athenian  .territoryt_J;he 
Thessalian  cavalry  first  engaged  with  them,  and  was  soon  dc- 
featTJ^^Und-more  than  forty  of  their  number  fell :  the  survivors 
immediately  departed  straight  for  Thessaly.  Cleomenes  hav- 
ing reached  the  city,  accompanied  by  those  AtheniaWwHo 
wished  to  be  free,  besieged  the  tyrants  who  were  shut  up  in 
the  Pelasgian  fort.  65.  However,  the  Lacedaemonians  would 
not  by  any  means  have  been  able  to  expel  the  Pisistratida)  ; 
for  they  had  no  intention  of  forming  a  blockade,  and  the  Pisis- 
tratidae  were  well  provided  with  meat  and  drink  ;  and  after 
they  had  besieged  them  for  a  few  days,  they  would  have  re- 
turned to  Sparta  ;  but  now  an  accident  hapj)ened,  unfortunate 
for  one  party,  and  at  the  same  time  a^dvantageous  to  the  other  ; 
for  the  children  of  the  Pisistratidae  were  taken  as  they  were 
being  secretly  removed  from  the  country  ;  when  this  occurred 
all  their  plans  were  thrown  into  confusion  ;  and,  to  redeem 
their  children,  they  submitted  to  such  terms  as  the  Athe- 
nians prescribed,  so  as  to  quiFAHi^aTwittiin  live  'days.  They 
afterwards  retired  to  Sjg^m,  on  the  Scamander,  having 
governed  the  Athenians  for  thirty-six  years.  They  were  by 
extraction  Pylians,  and  Nelei'dae,  being  sprung  from  the  same 
ancestors  as  Codrus  and  IMelanthus,  who,  though  formerly 
foreigners,  became  kings  of  Athens.  For  this  reason  Hip- 
pocrates gave  the  same  name  to  his  son,  in  token  of  remem- 
brance, calling  him  Pisistratus  after  Nestor's  son  Pisistratus. 
Thus  the  Athenians  were  delivered  from  tyrants  ;  and  what 
things  worthy  of  recital  they  either  did  or  suffered,  before 
Ionia  revolted  from  Darius,  and  Aristagoras  the  Milesian 
came  to  Athens  to  desire  their  assistance,  I  shall  now  relate. 
66.  Athens,  although  it  was  before  powerful,  being  now 
deliver'ed  from  tyrants,  became  still  mo~fFs5?^^^wo  men  in  it 
had  great  influence,  CHsthenes,  one  of  the  Alcmaeonidae,  who 
is  reported  to  have  prevailed  with  the  Pythian,  and  fsagoros, 
son  of  Tisander,  who  was  of  an  illustrious  family,  though  I 


670  TEllPSICHORE  331 

am  not  able  to  mention  his  extraction  ;  his  kinsmen,  however, 
sacrifice  to  Carian  Jupiter.  These  men  disputed  for  power  ; 
and  Clisthenes.  being  worsted,  gSSed'trrer' the  people  to  his 
side,  and  afterwards  he  divided  the  Athenians,  who  consisted 
oFJourtribes,  into  ten  ;  changing  the  names,  derived  from  the 
sonToFTon,  Geleon,  iEgicores,  Argades,  and  Hoples,  and  in- 
venting  names  from  other  heroes  who  were  all  natives,  except 
Aj^x  ;TumJ' though  a  stranger,  he  added  as  a  near  neighbour 
and  ally.  67.  Herein,  I  think,  this  Clisthenes  imitated  his 
maternal  grandfather,  Clisthenes,  tyrant  of  Sicyon.  For  Clis* 
tlienes,  when  he  made  war  on  the  Argives,  in  the  first  place 
put  a  stop  to  the  rhapsodists  in  Sicyon  contending  for  prizes 
in  reciting  the  verses  of  Homer,  because  the  Argives  and 
Argos  are  celebrated  in  almost  every  part  ;  and  in  the  next 
place,  as  there  was,  and  still  is,  a  shrine  dedicated  to  Adras- 
tus,  son  of  Talaus,  in  the  very  forum  of  the  Sicyonians,  he 
was  desirous  of  expelling  him  from  the  country,  because  he 
was  an  Argive.  Going,  therefore,  to  Delphi,  he  consulted  the 
oracle,  whether  he  should  expel  Adrastus  ;  and  the  Pythian  an- 
swered him,  saying,  "  That  Adrastus  indeed  was  king  of  the 
Sicyonians,  but  Clisthenes  deserved  to  be  stoned."  Finding 
the  god  would  not  ])ei-mit  this,  Clisthenes  returned  home  and 
considered  of  a  contiivunce  by  which  Adrastus  might  depart 
of  himself  When  he  thought  he  had  found  out  a  way,  he 
sent  to  Thebes  of  Boeotia,  and  said  that  he  wished  to  in- 
troduce Melanippus,  son  of  Astacus  ;  and  the  Thebans  as- 
sented. Clisthenes,  therefore,  having  introduced  Melanippus, 
appointed  him  a  precinct  in  the  very  prytaneum,  and  placed  it 
there  in  the  strongest  position.  But  Clisthenes  introduced 
Melanippus,  for  it  is  necessary  to  mention  this  motive,  because 
he  was  the  greatest  enemy  of  Adrastus,  having  killed  his 
brother  Mecistes,  and  his  son-in-law  Tydeus.  When  he  had 
appointed  him  this  precinct,  he  took  away  the  sacrifices  and 
festivals  of  Adrastus,  and  gave  them  to  Melanippus.  But  the 
Sicyonians  had  been  accustomed  to  honour  Adrastus  very 
highly  ;  for  the  country  itself  belonged  to  Polybus,  and  Poly- 
bus  dying  without  a  son,  gave  the  sovereignty  to  Adrastus, 
the  son  of  his  daughter.  The  Sicyonians  paid  other  honours 
to  Adrastus,  and,  moreover,  celebrated  his  misfortune  by  tragic 
choruses  ;  not  honouring  Bacchus,  but  Adrastus,  to  that  time. 
Bat  Clisthenes  transferred  these  dances  to  the  worship  of 


332  HERODOTUS.  [68-71 

Bacchus,  and  the  rest  of  the  ceremonies  to  Melanippus.  This 
he  did  with  reference  to  Adrastus.  68;  He  also  changed  tlie 
names  of  the  Dorian  tribes,  in  order  that  the  Sicyonians  and 
Argives  might  not  have  the  same.  And  in  this  he  very  much 
ridiculed  the  Sicyonians.  For,  changing  their  names  into 
names  derived  from  a  swine  and  an  ass,  he  added  only  the 
terminations,  except  in  tlie  case  of  his  own  tribe ;  to  this  he 
gave  a  name  significant  of  his  own  sovereignty,  for  they  were 
called  Archelai ;  but  others  Hyatae,  some  Oneatae,  and  others 
Choereatae.^  The  Sicyonians  adopted  these  names  for  their 
tribes,  both  during  the  reign  of  Clisthenei,  and  after  his  death, 
during  sixty  years  ;  after  that,  however,  by  common  consent 
they  changed  them  into  Hylleans,  Pamphylians,  and  Dyma- 
natae  ;  and  they  added  a  fourth,  after  jEgialeus,  son  of  Adras- 
tus, giving  them  the  name  of  -^gialeans. 

69.  Now  the  Sicyonian  Clisthenes  had  done  these  things  : 
and  the  Athenian  Clisthenes,  who  was  son  to  the  daughter  of 
this  Sicyoman,  aria  Tia^'^his  name  from  him,  from  contempt 
for  the  lonians,  as  appears  to  me,  that  the  Athenians  might  not 
have  the  same  tribes  as  the  lonians,  imitated  his  namesake 
Clisthenes.  For  when  he  had  brought  over  to  his  own  side 
the  whole  of  the  Athenian  people,  who  had  been  before  alien- 
ated from  him,  he  changed  the  names  of  the  tribes,  and  aug- 
mented their  number  ;  and  established  ten  phylarchs  instead 
of  four,  and  distributed  the  people  into  ten  tribes  ;  and  having 
gained  over  the  people,  he  became  much  more  powertui  than 
hiropponeh'tsT'  707  Isagoras,  being  overcome  in  his  turn,  had 
^^ecourse  to  the  following"  cou nter-plot  :  he^  called  in  Cleo- 
menes  the  Lacedcemonian,  who  had  been  on  terms  of  friend- 
shTp  with  him  from  the  time  of  the  siege  of  the  Pisistratidae  ; 
and  besides,  Cleomenes  was  suspected  of  having  had  inter- 
course witli  the  wife  of  Isagoras.  First  of  all,  therefore,  Cle- 
omenes, sending  a  herald  to  Athens,  feTfuireT  the^ex£ulsion 
of 'Clisthenes,  and  with  him  of  many  other  Athenians^asTMrtg 
"  uiider  a  curse."  He  sent  this  message  under  the  insfruction 
ofTsagoras  :  for  the  Alcmeeonidae,  and  those  of  their  party, 
were  accused  of  the  following  murder  ;  but  neither  he  himself 
liad  any  share  in  it,  nor  had  his  friends.  71.  Those  of  the 
Athenians  who  were  "  accursed,'*  obtained  the  name  on  the 

'  Hyatae,  from  Ds?,  a  sow ;  Oneatae,  from  oi/os^a7i  ass;  Choercatse,  firom 
^ujpos,  a  pig. 


72,78.]  TERPSICHORE.    V  333 

following  occasion.  Cylon,  an  Athenian,  had  been  victorious 
in  the  Olympic  games  ;  he,  through  pride,  aspired  to  the 
tyranny  ;  and  having  associated  with  himself  a  band  of  young 
men  about  his  own  age,  attempted  to  seize  the  Acropolis,  and, 
not  being  able  to  make  himself  master  of  it,  he  seated  hims^jlf 
as  a  suppliant  at  the  statue  of  the  goddess.  The  prytanes  of 
the  Nnucrari,  who  then  had  the  administration  of  aiFairs  in 
Athens,  removed  them,  under  promise  that  they  should  not 
be  punished  with  death.  But  the  Alcmaeonidae  are  accused 
of  having  put  them  to  death.  These  things  were  done  before 
the  time  of  Pisistratus. 

72.  When  Cleomenes  sent  a  herald  to  require  the  expul- 
sion of  Clisthenes  and  the  accursed,  Clisthenes  himself  with- 
drew. But,  nevertheless,  Cleomenes  came  afterwards  to 
Atliens  with  a  small  force,  and,  on  his  arrival,  banished  seven 
hundred  Athenian  families,  whom  Isagoras  pointed  out  to  him. 
Having  done  this,  he  next  attempted  to  dissolve  the  senate, 
and  placed  the  magistracy  in  the  hands  of  three  hundred  par-  i 
tisans  of  Isagoras.  But  when  the  senate  resisted  and  refused 
to  obey,  Cleomenes  and  Isagoras,  with  his  partisans,  seized 
the  Acropolis  ;  and  the  rest  of  the  Athenians,  who  sided  with  { 
tlie  senate,  besieged  them  two  days  :  on  the  third  day,  as  \ 
many  of  them  as  were  Lacedaemonians  left  the  country,  under  , 
a  truce.  And  thus  an  omen,  addressed  to  Cleomenes,  was  / 
accomplished  ;  for  when  he  went  up  to  the  Acropolis,  purpos- 
ing to  take  possession  of  it,  he  approached  the  sanctuary  of 
the  goddess  to  consult  her  ;  but  the  priestess,  rising  from  her 
seat  before  he  had  passed  the  door,  said  :  "  Lacedaemonian 
stranger  !  retire,  nor  enter  within  this  precinct  ;  for  it  is  not 
hiwful  for  Dorians  to  enter  here."  He  answered,  "  Woman, 
I  am  not  a  Dorian,  but  an  Achaean."  He,  however,  paying 
no  attention  to  the  omen,  made  thp.  attempt,  and  was  again 
compelled  to  withdraw  with  the  Lacedajmonians.  The  Athe- 
nians put  the  rest  in  bonds  for  execution  ;  and  amongst  them 
Tiinesitheus  of  Delphi,  of  whose  deeds  both  of  prowess  and 
courage  I  could  say  much.  These,  then,  died  in  bonds.  73. 
After  this  the  Athenians,  having  recalled  Clisthenes,  and  the 
seven  hundred  families  that  had  been  banished  by  Cleomenes, 
scn'f  "ambassadors  to  Sardis,  wishing  to  form  an  alliance  with 
tlie  h^gysTniTs  V  for  they  were  assured  that  the  Lacedaemonians 
and  Cleomenes  would  maka  war  upon  them.  When  tlie  ambassa- 


384  HERODOTUS.  [74, 7&. 

dure  arrived  at  Sardis,  and  had  spoken  according  to  their 
instructions,  A|;tapliemes  son  of  Hystaspes,  governor  of  Sar- 
disjasked  who  they  were,  and  what  part  of  the  Worid^  they~ 
innabited,  that  they  should  desire  to  become  allies  of  the 
Persians  ?  And  having  been  informed  on  these  points  by  the 
ambassadors,  he  answered  in  few  words,  that  if  the  Athenians 
wj^uld  give  earth  and  water  to  king  Darius,  he  would  enter"" 
into  an  alliance  with  them  ;  *TJiiTl"inTTey^"would  not  give  them, 
he  commanded  them  to  depart.  The  ambassadors,  having 
conferred  together,  said  that  they  wouTdgive  tEem,  being  anx- 
ious to  conclude  the  alliance  :  they,  however,  on  their  return 
home  were  greatly  blamed. 

74.  Cleomenes,  conceiving  that  he  had  been  highly  insulted 
in  woi^^'ahlil'  deeds  by  the  Athenians,  assembled  an  armx 
from  all  parts  of  the  Peloponnesus,  with'SuT  mentioning"  for 
what  purpose  he  assembled  it  ;  but  he  both  purpose^  . t<^  ^^- 
venge  himself  upon  the  Athenians,  and  desired  to  establish 
Isl^^ras  as  tyrant,  for  he  had  gone  with  him  out  of  the  Acro- 
polis. Cleomenes  accordingly  invaded  the  territory  of  Eleusis 
with  a  large  force,  and  the  Boeotians,  by  agreement,  took  -^noe 
and  HysiaB,  the  extreme  divisions  of  Attica,  and  the  Qhal- 
cidians  attacked  and  ravaged  the  lands  of  Attica  on  the  o^er 
si3"er  The  Atheaians,  though  in  a  state  of  doubt,  resolved  to 
remember  the  Boeotians  and  Chalcidians  on  a  future  ocCirstoni, 
and  took  up  their  position  against  the  Peloponnesians,  who 
were  at  Eleusis.  75.  When  the  two  arniies  were  about  to 
engage,  the  Corinthians  first,  considering  that  they  were  not 
acting  justly,  chaflged  their  purpose  and  withdrew  :  and  after- 
wards, £)emayaius,  son  of  Ariston,  who  was  also  king  of  the 
SpartansTand  joined  in  leading  out  the  army  from  Lacedae- 
mon,  and  who  had  never  before  had  any  difference  with  Cleo- 
menes, did  the  same.  In  consequence  of  this  division,  a  law 
was  made  in  Sparta,  that  the  two  kings  should  not  accompany 
the  army  when  it  went  out  on  foreign  service;  for  until  that 
time  both  used  to  accompany  it ;  and  that  when  one  of  them 
was  released  from  military  service,  one  of  the  Tyndarida) ' 
likewise  should  be  left  at  home  ;  for  before  that  time  both 
these  also  used  t©  accompany  the  army,  as  auxiliaries.  At  that 
time  the  rest  of  the  allies,  perceiving  that  the  kings  of  the  La- 

*  Castor  and  Pollux,  the  guardian  deities  of  Sparta. 


76-78.1  TERPSICHORE.    V.  335 

cedasmonians  did  not  agree,  and  that  the  Corinthians  had 
quitted  their  post,  likewise  took  thekv^degaitu^'e.  76., This, 
then,  was  the  fourth  time  that  the  Dorians  had  come  to  Atti- 
caTT  having  twice  entered  to  make  war,  and  twice  for  the 
good  of  the  Athenian  people.  First,  when  they  settled  a 
colony  in  Megara,'when  Codrus  was  king~'of  Athrens,  that 
may  pi'UpCTly  be  called  an  expedition  ;  a  second  and  third, 
when  they  were  sent  from  Sparta  for  the  expulsion  of  the 
Pisistratidae  ;  and  a  fourth  tiraC;  when  Cleomehes,— ^t-4he 
head  of  the  Peloponnesians,  invaded  ETeusiSL  Thus  the  Do- 
riaiTs  then  mvade3"^thens  for  the  fourth  time. 

77.  When  this  army  was  ingloriously  dispersed,  the  Atho- 
nianSp  desirous  to  avenge  tl^f^-piselvf^ja,  maiv'1iP<l  first  against" 
t.fi?  (^hnlc'flTgms.''*     me    BrTff(^t.ifl.na    fntpp.    nnt"    to  „assist    the 


iaicidians  at  the  Euripus  ;  and  the  Athenians,  seeing  the 
auxiliaries,  resolved  to  attack  the  Boeotians  before  the  Chalci- 
dians.  Accordingly  the  Athenians  came  to  an  engagement 
with  the  Boeotians,  and  gained  a  complete  victory  ;  and  having 
killed  a  great  number,  took  seven  hundred  of  them  prisoners. 
On  the  same  day,  the  Athenians,  having  crossed  over  to 
Euboea,  came  to  an  engagement  also  with  the  Chalcidians  ; 
and  having  conquered  them  also,  left  four  thousatKTmen,  set- 
tlers, in  possession  oTTirS'TaMS' of  the  Hippobotai  ;2  for  the 
most  opulent  of  the  Chalcidians  were  called  Hippobotae.  As 
many  of  tbem  as  they  took  prisoners,  they  kept  in  prison 
with  the  Boeotians  that  were  taken,  having  bound  them  in 
fetters  ;  but  in  time  they  set  them  at  liberty,  having  fixed 
tlieir  ransom  at  two  minai.  The  fetters  in  which  they  had 
been  bound  they  hung  up  in  the  Acropolis,  where  they  re 
mained  to  my  time  hanging  on  a  wall  that  had  been  much 
scorched  by  fire  by  the  Mede,  opposite  the  temple  that  faces 
the  west.  And  they  dedicated  a  tithe  of  the  ransoms,  having 
made  a  brazen  chariot  with  four  horses,  and  this  stands  on 
the  left  hand  as  you  first  enter  the  portico  in  the  Acropolis  ; 
and  it  bears  the  following  inscription  :  "The  sons  of  the 
Atlienians,  having  overcome  the  nations  of  the  Boeotians  and 
Chalcidians  in  feats  of  war,  quelled  their  insolence  in  a  dark 
iron  dungeon  :  they  have  dedicated  these  mares,  a  tithe  of 
the  spoil,  to  Pallas."  78.  The  Athenians  accordingly  in- 
crea.sed  in  power.  And  equality  of  rights  shows,  not  in  one 
*  ♦•  Feeders  of  horses." 


336  HERODOTUS.  [79-81. 

instance  only,  but  in  every  way,  what  an  excellent  thing  it  is. 
For  the  Athenians,  when  governed  by  tyrants,  were  superior 
in  war  to  none  of  their  neighbours  ;  but  when  freed  from  ty- 
rants, became  by  far  the  first ;  this,  then,,_shows  that  as  long 
as  they  were  oppressed  they  purposely  acted  as  cowards^  as 
labouring  for  a  master  ;  but  when  they  were  free  every  man 
was  zealous  to  labour  for  himself.  They  accordingly  did  this. 
"^9.  After  this  the  Thebans  sent  to  the  god,  wishing  to  re- 
venge themselves  on  the  Athenians  ;  but  the  Pythian  said, 
"that  they  would  not  obtain  vengeance  by  their  own  power, 
but  bade  them  refer  the  matter  to  the  many-voiced  people, 
and  ask  the  assistance  of  their  nearest  friends."  Those  who 
were  sent  to  consult  the  oracle  having  returned,  called  a  ge- 
neral assembly,  and  referred  the  oracle  to  them.  But  wlien 
they  heard  them  say  that  they  were  to  ask  the  assistance  of 
their  nearest  friends,  the  Thebans,  on  hearing  this,  said,  "  Do 
not  the  Tanagraeans,  Coronceans,  and  Thespians  live  nearest 
to  us,  and  do  not  they  always  fight  on  our  side,  and  heartily 
share  with  us  in  the  toils  of  war  ?  What  need  have  we  then 
to  ask  their  assistance  ?  But  probably  this  is  not  the  meaning 
of  the  oracle."  80.  While  they  were  discussing  the  matter, 
one,  having  at  length  comprehended  it,  said,  "I  think  I  un- 
derstand what  the  oracle  means.  Thebe  and  ^gina  are  said 
to  be  daughters  of  Asopus.  Now  because  these  were  sisters, 
I  think  the  god  has  admonished  us  to  entreat  the  JEginetae 
to  become  our  avengers."  As  no  better  opinion  than  this 
was  brought  forward,  they  immediately  sent  and  entreated  the 
iEginetae,  calling  upon  them  to  assist  them  according  to  the 
idmonition  of  the  oracle,  as  being  their  nearest  friends.  But 
Jiey,  on  their  petition,  promised  to  send  the  TEp.cida^  '^  to  their 
assistance.  81.  The  Thebans,  relying  on  the  assistance  of 
the  JEacidre,  having  tried  the  furtane  of  war,  and  bemg 
roughly  handled  by  the  Athenians,  sent  again,  and  restored 
the  ^acidjB,  and  requested  a  supply  of  men.  Whereupon  the 
.^^in§i^,  elated  with  their  present  prosperity,  and  calling  to 
mmd  the  ancient  enmity  they  had  towards  the  Athenians,  at 
the  request  of  the  Thebans,  levied  war  upon  the  Athenians 
without  proclamation.  For  while  they  were'pursui'hg'''T:lre 
Boeotians,  having  sailed  in  long  ships  to  Attica,  they  ravaged 
Phalerum  and  many  villages  on  the  rest  of  the  coast ;  and 
"  Meaning  *'  the  statues  of  the  iEacidas." 


62-«4.]  TERPSICHORE.    V  337 

in  doing  this,  they  did   considerable  damage   to  the  Athe- 
nians. 

82.  The  enmity  that  was  due  of  old  from  the  -^ginetae  to 
the  Athenians  proceeded  from  this  origin.  The  land  of  the 
Epidaurians  yielded  no  fruit :  the  Epidaurians  therefore  sent 
to  consult  the  oracle  at  Delphi  concerning  this  calamity.  The 
Pythian  bade  them  erect  statues  of  Damia  and  Auxesia,  and 
when  they  had  erected  them  it  would  fare  better  with  them. 
The  Epidaurians  then  asked  whether  the  statues  should  be 
made  of  brass  or  stone  ;  but  the  Pythian  did  not  allow  it  to  be 
of  either,  but  of  the  wood  of  a  cultivated  olive.  The  I'^pi- 
daurians  thereupon  requested  the  Athenians  to  permit  them 
to  cut  down  an  olive  tree,  thinking  that  they  were  the  most 
sacred  :  and  it  is  said  that  there  were  olive  trees  in  no  other 
part  of  the  world  at  that  time.  The  Athenians  said  that  they 
would  permit  them,  on  condition  that  they  should  annually 
bring  victims  to  Minerva  Polias,  and  Erectheus.  The  Epi- 
daurians, having  agreed  to  these  terms,  obtained  what  they 
asked  for,  and  having  made  statues  from  these  olive  trees, 
erected  them ;  and  their  land  became  fruitful,  and  they  ful- 
filled their  engagements  to  the  Athenians.  83.  At  that  time 
and  before,  the  -^ginetae  obeyed  the  Epidaurians,  both  in  other 
respects,  and  crossing  over  to  Epidaurus,  the  iEginetse  gave 
and  received^  justice  from  one  another.  But  afterwards 
having  built  ships,  and  having  recourse  to  foolish  confidence, 
they  revolted  from  the  Epidaurians,  and  being  at  variance, 
they  did  them  much  damage,  as  they  were  masters  of  the  sea  ; 
and  moreover  they  took  away  from  them  these  statues  of 
Damia  and  Auxesia,  and  carried  them  offj  and  erected  them 
in  the  interior  of  their  own  territory,  the  name  of  which  is 
CEa,  and  about  twenty  stades  distant  from  the  city.  Having 
erected  them  in  this  spot,  they  propitiated  them  with  sacri- 
fices, and  derisive  dances  of  women,  ten  men  being  assigned 
to  each  deity  as  leaders  of  the  chorus  ;  and  the  choruses  re- 
viled, not  any  men,  but  the  women  of  the  country.  The  Epi- 
daurians also  had  such  religious  ceremonies,  but  their  religious 
ceremonies  are  kept  secret.  84.  When  these  statues  had  been 
stolen,  the  Epidaurians  ceased  to  fulfil  their  engagements  to 
the  Athenians.  The  Athenians  sent  to  expostulate  with  the 
Epidaurians,  but  they  demonstrated  that  they  were  not  in 
*  That  is,  "  brought  and  defended  actions  there." 


538  IIERODOTttS.  [8d,  8«. 

reality  p^uilty  of  injustice;  for  as  long  as  they  had  the  sta- 
tues in  their  country,  they  fulfilled  their  engagements,  but 
when  they  had  been  deprived  of  them  it  was  not  just  that 
they  should  still  pay  the  tribute,  but  they  bid  them  demand 
it  of  the  JEginetae  who  possessed  them.  Upon  this  the  Athe- 
nians, having  sent  to  ^gina,  demanded  back  the  statues  ;  but 
the  JEginetae  made  answer,  that  they  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  Athenians.  85.  The  Athenians  say,  that  after  this  de- 
mand, some  of  their  citizens  were  sent  in  a  single  trireme, 
who  being  sent  by  the  commonwealth,  and  arriving  at  ^gina, 
attempted  to  drag  these  statues  from  off  the  pedestals,  as 
made  from  their  wood,  in  order  that  they  might  carry  them 
away ;  but  not  being  able  to  get  possession  of  them  in  that  way, 
they  threw  cords  about  the  statues,  and  hauled  them  along, 
and  as  they  were  hauling  them,  thunder,  and  with  the  thun- 
der an  earthquake,  came  on ;  and  the  crew  of  the  trireme  who 
were  hauling- them,  were  in  consequence  deprived  of  their 
senses^  and  in  this  condition  slew  one  another  as  enemies, 
till  only  one  of  the  whole  number  was  left  and  escaped 
to  Phalerum.  86.  Thus  the  Athenians  say  that  it  happened  ; 
but  the  -^ginetse  say  that  the  Athenians  did  not  come  with  a 
single  ship  ;  for  that  they  could  easily  have  repulsed  one,  or  a 
few  more  than  one,  even  though  they  had  no  ships  of  their 
own.  But  they  say  that  they  sailed  against  their  territory 
with  many  ships,  and  that  they  yielded  and  did  not  hazard  a 
sea-fight.  They  are  however  unable  to  explain  this  clearly, 
whether  they  yielded  because  they  were  conscious  that  tliey 
would  be  inferior  in  a  sea-fight,  or  with  the  purpose  of  doing 
what  they  did.  They  say  however  that  the  Athenians,  when 
no  one  prepared  to  give  them  battle,  disembarked  from  the 
ships  and  proceeded  towards  the  statues  ;  and  that  not  being 
able  to  wrench  them  from  their  pedestals,  they  then  threw 
cords  round  them,  and  hauled  them  until  the  statues  being 
hauled  did  the  same  thing  ;  herein  relating  what  is  not  cre- 
dible to  me,  but  may  be  so  to  some  one  else  ;  for  they  say^ 
that  they  fell  on  their  knees,  and  have  ever  since  continued 
in  that  posture.  The  ^ginetae  say  that  the  Athenians  did 
this ;  but  concerning  themselves,  that  being  informed  that  the 
Athenians  were  about  to  make  war  upon  them,  they  prepared 
the  Argives  to  assist  them ;  and  accordingly,  that  the  Atlio 
nians  landed  on  the  territory  of  iEgina,  and  that  the  Argiv«?9 


87-^9.]  TEllPSICHORE,    V  339 

came  to  their  assistance ;  and  that  they  crossed  over  tc  the 
island  from  Epidaurus  unperceived,  and  fell  upon  the  Athe- 
nians unexpectedly,  cutting  off  their  retreat  to  the  ships  ;  and 
at  this  moment  the  thunder  and  earthquake  happened.  87. 
Su-ch  is  the  account  given  by  the  Ai-gives  and  ^ginetas :  and 
it  is  admitted  by  the  Athenians,  that  only  one  of  their  number 
was  saved,  and  escaped  to  Attica  :  but  the  Argives  affirm, 
that  this  one  man  survived,  when  they  destroyed  the  Attic 
army ;  the  Athenians,  on  the  contrary,  say,  when  the  deity 
destroyed  it ;  and  that  this  one  did  not  survive,  but  perished 
in  the  following  manner  :  on  his  return  to  Athens,  he  gave 
an  account  of  the  disaster,  and  the  wives  of  the  men  who 
had  gone  on  the  expedition  against  JEgina,  when  they  heard 
it,  being  enraged  that  he  alone  of  the  whole  number  should 
be  saved,  crowded  round  this  man,  and  piercing  him  with  the 
clasps  of  their  garments,  each  asked  him  where  her  own  hus- 
band was  ;  thus  he  died.  This  action  of  the  women  seemed 
to  the  Athenians  more  dreadful  than  the  disaster  itself ;  how- 
ever they  had  no  other  way  of  punishing  the  women,  they 
therefore  compelled  them  to  change  their  dress  for  the  Ionian. 
For  before  that  time,  the  wives  of  the  Athenians  wore  the 
Dorian  dress,  which  nearly  resembles  the  Corinthian ;  they 
changed  it  therefore  for  a  linen  tunic,  that  they  might  not  use 
clasps.  Yet  if  v.-e  follow  the  truth,  this  garment  is  not  ori- 
ginally Ionian,  but  Carian  ;  for  the  whole  ancient  Grecian 
dress  of  the  women  was  the  same  as  that  which  we  now  call 
Dorian.  88.  In  consequence  of  this  event  it  became  a  cus- 
tom with  both  the  Argives  and  the  JEginetss  to  do  this ;  to 
make  their  clasps  one  half  larger  than  the  measure  before 
established,  and  that  the  women  should  chiefly  dedicate  clasps 
in  the  temple  of  these  deities ;  and  to  bring  no  other  Attic 
article  within  the  temple,  not  even  a  pitcher ;  but  a  law  was 
n  ade,  that  tliey  should  drink  there  in  future  from  vessels  of 
tiieir  own  country.  Accordingly,  from  that  time  the  wives  of 
the  Argives  and  ^gineta?,  on  account  of  their  quarrel  with 
the  Athenians,  continued  even  to  my  time  to  wear  clasps 
larger  than  formerly. 

89.  Tlie  origin  of  the  enmity  entertained  by  tlie  Athenians 
5igainstilSI3EIgrneta;  was  such  as  has  been  descriljed.  At  that 
time,  tlierefore,  wlien  the  Tliebans  called  upon  them,  tlie 
iE'iineta"'.  recalling  to  mind  what   ]ia<l   t'jlxeii   ])lace  resixM.'tiiij! 

z  2 


340  HERODOTUS.  [90, 91. 

tjie  statues,  readily  assisted  the  Boeotians.  Tke^  JE^uetsa 
therefore  laid  waste  the  maritime  places  of  Attica,  and  when 
the  Athenians  were  preparing  to  march  against  the  JEginetae, 
an  oracle  came  from  Delphi,  enjoining  them  "  to  wait  for  thirty 
years  from  the  period  of  the  injury  committed  by  the  ^gi 
netas ;  and  in  the  thirty-first  year,  after  building  a  temple  to 
JEacus,  to  begin  the  war  against  the  -^ginetae :  and  then  they 
would  succeed  according  to  their  wishes.  But  if  they  should 
march  against  them  immediately,  they  should  in  the  mean 
while  endure  much  and  also  inflict  much;  but  in  the  end 
would  subdue  them."  When  the  Athenians  heard  this  an- 
swer reported,  they  erected  that  temple  to  ^acus,  which  now 
stands  in  the  forum ;  yet  they  could  not  bear  to  wait  thirty 
years,  when  they  heard  that  they  ought  to  wait,  though 
they  had  suffered  such  indignities  from  the  JEgmetse.  90. 
But  as  they  were  preparing  to  take  their  revenge,  an  affair, 
set  on  foot  by  the  Lacedaemonians,  became  an  impediment. 
For  the  I^cedaemonians,  being  informed  of  the  practices  of 
the  Alcm3eoni38e*tow'ards  the  Pythia,  and  those  of  the  Pythia 
against  themselves  and  the  Pisistratidae,  considered  it  a  double 
misfortune,  because  they  had  expelled  men  who  were  their 
own  friends  out  of  their  country,  and  because,  when  they 
had  done  this,  no  gratitude  was  shown  to  them  by  the  Athe- 
nians. In  addition  to  this,  the  oracles  urged  them  on,  tolling 
them  that  they  would  suffer  many  and  grievous  indignities 
from  the  Athenians,  of  which  oracles  they  knew  nothing  be- 
fore, but  then  became  acquainted  with  them,  on  the  return  of 
Cleomenes  to  Sparta.  Clepmenes  got  the  oracles  from  the 
Acropolis  of  the  Athenians;  the  Pisistrntida3'~liaJ'hamicm 
before,  and  left  them  in  the  temple  when  they  were  expelled; 
and  as  they  were  left  behind,  Cleomenes  took  them  away, 
91.  When  the  Lacedsejmoniaiis  obtained  the  oracles,  and  saw 
the  Athenians  increasing  in  power,  and  not  at  all  disposed  to 
submit  to  them,  taking  into  consideration,  that  if  the  people 
of  Attica  should  continue  free  they  would  become  of  equal 
weight  with  themselves,  but  if  depressed  by  a  tyranny  would 
be  weak  and  ready  to  obey ;  having  considered  each  of  these 
things,  they  sentj0r,  Hippias,  son  of  Pisistratus,  from  Sigeum 
on  the  Hellespont,  to  which  place  the  Pisistratidae  had  retired. 
And  when  Hippias  came,  in  compliance  with  their  invitation, 
the  Spartans,  having  summoned  also  the  ambassadors  of  (hfl 


92,]  TERPSICHORE.     V.  341 

rest  of  their  confederates,  addressed  them  as  follows :  '•  Con- 
federates, we  are  conscious  that  we  have  not  acted  rightly ; 
for,  being  induced  by  lying  oracles,  the  men  who  were  our 
best  friends,  and  who  had  promised  to  keep  Athens  subject 
to  us, — them  we  expelled  from  their  country,  and  then,  having 
done  this,  wp-jj^j^vprpd  thp.  pjij^to  pp  nngratftfiiTppoplf'.,  who, 
after  they  ha'd  been  set  at  liberty,  and  had  liftecl  up  tlieir  heads 
through  our  means,  have  insultingly  ejected  us  and  our  king ; 
and  having  obtained  renown,  are  growing  in  power,  as  their 
neighbours  the  Boeotians  and  Chalcidians  have  already  learnt 
full  well,  and  as  others  will  soon  learn  to  their  cost.^  Since, 
then,  in  doing  these  things  we  have  committed  an  error,  we 
will  now  endeavour,  with  your  assistance,  to  remedy  the  mis- 
chief and  punish  them.  For  on  this  very  account  we  sent 
for  Hippias,  who  is  here  present,  and  summoned  you  from 
your  cities,  that  by  common  consent,  and  combined  forces,  we 
may  take  him  back  to  Athens,  and  restore  to  him  what  we 
took  away." 

92.  Thus  these  spoke ;  but  the  majority  of  tligi;tffl^fed§ratfi3 
did__not  approve  of  theirproffjitionl  liie  rest  kept  silence, 
but  SosicIes~the^ Corinthian  spoke  as  follows:  "Surely  the 
heavens  will  sink  beneath  the  earth,  and  the  earth  ascend 
aloft  above  the  heavens ;  men  will  live  in  the  sea,  and  the 
fishes  where  men  did  before,  now  that  you,  0  Lacedaemonians, 
abolish  equality,  dissolve  a  commonwealth,  ~a!r^"  prepare  tc 
restore  tyrannies  in  the  cities,  than,  which  there  is  nothing 
more  unjust,  nor  more  cruel  among  men.  If,  in^l^ruEh,  tliis 
a^ypBury  Lo"  you  a  good  thing,  that  cities  should' "be  ruled  by 
tyrants,  do  you  first  set  up  a  tyrant  over  yourselves,  and  then 
attempt  to  set  them  up  gver  others.  But  now,  while  ye  your- 
setvcmre  altogether  unacquainted  with  tyrannical  power,  and 
watch  -with  jealousy  that  such  a  thing  should  not  happen  in 
Sparta,  ye  behave  contemptuously  towards  your  allies.  But  it 
ye  had  been  taught  by  experience,  as  we  have,  ye  would  have 
a  better  proposal  to  make  to  us  than  you  now  do.     (2.;  The 

*  'ra.)(a  ii  Tts  Kot  aWoi  iKnadnTtTat  dfxapTwu. — I  have  ventured  on  a 
ne^v  mode  of  translating  this  passage,  which  appears  to  me  more  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  Greek  idiom.  Baehr,  whose  version  is  most  simple 
.Mid  literal,  renders  it,  "  and  perhaps  some  one  else  will  learn  that  he  haa 
committed  an  error ;  **  meaning  the  Lacedaemonians  themselves,  to  whov 
the  speaker  doubtless  alludes. 


k 


342'  HERODOTUS.  [92. 

constitution  of  the  Corinthians  was  formerly  of  this  kind: 
it  was  an  oligarchy,  and  those  who  were  called  BacchiadaQ 
governed  the  city ;  they  intermarried  only  within  their  own 
family.  Amphion,  one  of  these  men,  had  a  lame  daughter, 
her  name  was  Labda:  as  no  one  of  the  BacchiadaB  would 
marry  her,  Eetion,  son  of  Echecrates,  who  was  of  the  district 
of  Petra,  though  originally  one  of  the  Lapithae,  and  a  de- 
scendant of  Caeneus,  had  her.  He  had  no  children  by  this 
wife,  nor  by  any  other,  he  therefore  went  to  Delphi  to  inquire 
about  having  offspring ;  and  immediately  as  he  entered,  the 
Pythian  saluted  him  in  the  following  lines :  *  Eetion,  no  one 
honours  thee,  though  worthy  of  much  honour.  Labda  is 
pregnant,  and  will  bring  forth  a  round  stone ;  it  will  fall  on 
monarchs,  and  will  vindicate  Corinth.'  This  oracle,  pro- 
nounced to  Eetion,  was  by  chance  reported  to  the  Bacchiadae, 
to  whom  a  former  oracle  concerning  Corinth  was  unintelligi- 
ble, and  which  tended  to  the  same  end  as  that  of  Eetion,  and 
was  in  these  terms :  '  An  eagle  broods  on  rocks  ;  ^  and  shall 
bring  forth  a  lion,  strong  and  carnivorous  ;  and  it  shall  loosen 
the  knees  of  many.  Now  ponder  this  well,  ye  Corinthians, 
who  dwell  around  beauteous  Pirene  and  frowning  Corinth.' 
(3.)  Now  this,  which  had  been  given  before,  was  unintelligible 
to  the  Bacchiadae ;  but  now,  when  they  heard  that  which  was 
delivered  to  Eetion,  they  presently  understood  the  former  one, 
since  it  agreed  with  that  given  to  Eetion.  And  though  they 
comprehended,  they  kept  it  secret,  purposing  to  destroy  the 
offspring  that  should  be  born  to  Eetion.  As  soon  as  the  woman 
brought  forth,  they  sent  ten  of  their  own  number  to  the  dis- 
trict where  Eetion  lived,  to  put  the  child  to  death  ;  and  when 
they  arrived  at  Petra,  and  entered  the  court  of  Eetion,  they 
asked  for  the  child ;  but  Labda,  knowing  nothing  of  the  pur- 
pose for  which  they  had  come,  and  supposing  that  they  asked 
for  it  out  of  affection  for  the  father,  brought  the  child,  and 
put  it  into  the  hands  of  one  of  them.  Now,  it  had  been  de- 
termined by  them  in  the  way,  that  whichever  of  them  sliould 
first  receive  the  child,  should  dash  it  on  the  ground.  When, 
however,  Labda  brought  and  gave  it  to  one  of  them,  the  child, 
by  a  divine  providence,  smiled  on  the  man  who  received  it ; 

*  The  words,  aI«T«Js,  "  an  eagle,"  and  irirpriat,  '*  rocks,"  bear  an  enig- 
matical meaning ;  the  former  iHtimating  "  Eetion,"  and  the  latter  luS 
birth-place,  "  Petra." 


92.]  TERPSICHORE.    V.  343 

and  when  lie  perceived  this,  a  feeling  of  pity  restrained  him 
from  killing  it ;  and,  moved  by  compassion,  he  gave  it  to  the 
second,  and  he  to  the  third ;  thus  the  infant,  being  handed 
from  one  to  another,  passed  through  the  hands  of  all  the 
ten,  and  not  one  of  them  was  willing  to  destroy  it.  Having 
therefore  delivered  the  child  again  to  its  mother,  and  gone  out, 
they  stood  at  the  door,  and  attacked  each  other  with  mutual 
recriminations ;  and  especially  the  first  who  took  the  child, 
because  he  had  not  done  as  had  been  determined:  at  last, 
when  some  time  had  elapsed,  they  determined  to  go  in  again, 
and  that  every  one  should  share  in  the  murder.  (4.)  But  it 
was  fated  that  misfortunes  should  spring  up  to  Corinth  from 
the  progeny  of  Eetion.  For  Labda,  standing  at  the  very  door, 
heard  all  that  had  passed ;  and  fearing  that  they  might  change 
their  resolution,  and  having  obtained  the  child  a  second  time 
might  kill  it,  she  took  and  hid  it,  in  a  place  which  appeared 
least  likely  to  be  thought  of,  in  a  chest ;  being  very  certain, 
that  if  they  should  return  and  come  back  to  search,  they  would 
pry  every  where  ;  which  in  fact  did  happen  :  but  when,  having 
come  and  made  a  strict  search,  they  could  not  find  the  child, 
they  resolved  to  depart,  and  tell  those  who  sent  them  that 
they  had  done  all  that  they  had  commanded.  (5.)  After  this, 
Eetion's  son  grew  up,  and  having  escaped  this  danger,  the 
name  of  Gypselus  was  given  him,  from  the  chest.  When  Cyp- 
selus  reached  man's  estate,  and  consulted  the  oracle,  an  am- 
biguous answer  was  given  him  at  Delphi ;  reiving  on  which, 
he  attacked  and  got  possession  of  Corinth.  The  oracle  was 
this :  '  Happy  this  man,  who  is  come  down  to  my  dwelling ; 
Cypselus,  son  of  Eetion,  king  of  renowned  Corinth ;  he  and 
his  children,  but  not  his  children's  children.*  Such  was  the 
oracle.  And  Cypselus,  having  obtained  the  tyranny,  behaved 
himself  tlms  :  he  banished  many  of  the  Corinthians,  deprived 
many  of  their  property,  and  many  more  of  their  life.  (6.)  When 
he  had  reigned  thirty  years,  and  ended  his  life  happily,  his 
son  Periander  became  his  successor  in  the  tyranny.  Now 
Periander  at  first  was  more  mild  than  his  father ;  but  when 
he  had  communicated  by  ambassadors  with  Thrasybulus,  tyrant 
of  Miletus,  he  became  far  more  cruel  than  Cypselus.  For 
having  sent  a  nuncio  to  Thrasybulus,  he  asked  in  what  way, 
having  ordered  affairs  most  securely,  he  might  best  govern 
the  city.     Thrasybulus  conducted  the  person  who  came  from 


344  HERODOTUS.  [92. 

Periaiider  out  of  the  city,  and  going  into  a  field  of  corn,  and 
as  he  went  through  the  standing  corn,  questioning  him  about, 
and  making  him  repeat  over  again,  the  account  of  his  coming 
from  Corinth,  he  cut  off  any  ear  that  he  saw  taller  than  the 
rest,  and  having  cut  it  off,  he  threw  it  away,  till  in  this  man- 
ner he  had  destroyed  the  best  and  deepest  of  the  corn.  Having 
gone  through  the  piece  of  ground,  and  given  no  message  at 
all,  he  dismissed  the  nuncio.  When  the  nuncio  returned  to 
Corinth,  Periander  was  anxious  to  know  the  answer  of  Thrasy- 
bulus  ;  but  he  said  that  Thrasybulus  had  given  him  no  answer, 
and  wondered  he  should  have  sent  him  to  such  a  man,  for  that 
he  was  crazy,  and  destroyed  his  own  property,  relating  what 
he  had  seen  done  by  Thrasybulus.  (7.)  But  Periander,  com- 
prehending the  meaning  of  the  action,  and  understanding  that 
Thrasybulus  advised  him  to  put  to  death  the  most  eminent  of 
the  citizens,  thereupon  exercised  all  manner  of  cruelties  to- 
wards his  subjects  ;  for  whatever  Cypselus  had  left  undone, 
by  killing  and  banishing,  Periander  completed.  One  day  he 
stripped  all  the  Corinthian  women,  on  account  of  his  own  wife 
Melissa:'^  for  when  he  sent  messengers  to  the  Thesprotians 
on  the  river  Acheron,  to  consult  the  oracle  of  the  dead  respect- 
ing a  deposit  made  by  a  stranger,  Melissa  having  appeared, 
said  that  she  would  neither  make  it  known,  nor  teil  in  what 
place  the  deposit  lay,  because  she  was  cold  and  naked  ;  for  that 
there  was  no  use  in  the  garments  in  which  he  had  buried  her, 
since  they  had  not  been  burnt :  and  as  a  proof  that  she  spoke 
truth,  she  added,  that  Periander  had  put  his  bread  into  a  cold 
oven.  When  this  answer  was  brought  back  to  Periander,  for 
the  token  was  convincing  to  him,  since  he  had  lain  with  Me- 
lissa after  her  death,  he  immediately,  on  receiving  the  mes- 
sage, made  proclamation  that  all  the  women  of  Corinth  should 
repair  to  the  temple  of  Juno.  They  accordingly  went,  as  to 
a  festival,  dressed  in  their  best  attire  ;  but  he  having  privately 
introduced  his  guards,  stripped  them  all  alike,  both  the  free 
women  and  attendants  ;  and  having  collected  them  together 
in  a  pit,  he  invoked  Melissa,  and  burnt  them.  When  he  had 
done  this,  and  sent  a  second  time,  the  phantom  of  Melissa  toM 
in  what  place  she  had  laid  the  stranger's  deposit.  Such,  U 
Lacedaemonians,  is  a  tyranny,  and  such  are  its  deeds.  Great 
aatonishment,  therefore,  immediately  seized  us  CorinthianSi 
'  See  B.  Ill,  chap.  50. 


93— 95  J  TERPSICHORE      V  345 

when  we  understood  you  had  sent  for  Hippias  ;  but  now  we 
are  still  more  astonished  at  hearing  you  say  what  you  do  ; 
and  we  entreat  you,  adjuring  you  by  the  Grecian  gods,  not  to 
establish  tyrannies  in  the  cities.  Nevertheless,  if  you  will 
not  desist,  but  against  all  right  will  endeavour  to  restore 
Hippias,  know  that  the  Corinthians,  at  least,  do  not  approve 
of  your  design." 

93.  Sosicles,  who  was  ambassador  from  Corinth,  spoke  thus* 
But  Hippias  answered  him,  having  invoked  the  same  gods  as 
he  had,  that  the  Corinthians  would  most  of  all  regret  the 
Pisistratidas,  when  the  fated  days  should  come  for  them  to 
be  harassed  by  the  Athenians.  Hippias  answered  thus,  as 
being  more  accurately  acquainted  with  the  oracles  than  any 
other  man.  The  rest  of  the  confederates,  until  then,  had  kept 
silence  ;  but  when  they  heard  Sosicles  speak  freely,  every  one 
of  them,  with  acclamation,  embraced  the  opinion  of.,  thg^o- 
rinthian  ;  and  they  adjured  tKe  Laceda3monians  not  to  intro- 
duceliny  innovation  into  a  Grecian  city.  And  thus  that 
design  Wils"  defeated.  94.  When  Hippias  departed  thence, 
Amyntas  the  Macedonian  offered~hira  Anthemus,  and  the 
Thessalians  offered  him  lolcus  ;  he,  however,  accepted  neither 
of  them,  but  returned  back  to  Sigeum,  which  Pi_fiistrai:us,  had 
taken  by  force  from  the  ISlTtyleneans,  and  having  got  posses- 
sion of  it,  he  appointed  liis  natural  son  Hegesistratus,  born  ot 
an  Argive  woman,  to  be  tyrant  ;  he,  however,  did  not  retain 
without  a  struggle,  what  he  had  received  from  Pisistratus. 
For  the  Mityleneans  and  the  Athenians,  setting  out  from  the 
city  of  Achilleium  and  Sygeum,  respectively  carried  on  war 
for  a  long  time  ;  the  former  demanding  restitution  of  the 
place,  and  the  Athenians  not  only  not  conceding  it,  but  show- 
ing by  argument  that  the  -Cohans  had  no  more  right  to  the 
territories  of  Ilium  than  they,  or  any  other  of  the  Greeks,  who 
had  assisted  Menelaus  in  avenging  the  rape  of  Helen.  9o. 
While  they  were  at  war,  various  other  events  occurred  in  the 
different  battles ;  and  among  them,  Alcaeus  the  poet,  when 
an  engagement  took  place,  and  the  Athenians  were  victorious, 
saved  himself  by  flight ;  but  the  Athenians  got  possession  of  his 
arms,  and  hung  them  up  in  the  temple  of  Minerva  at  Sigeum. 
Alcaeus  having  described  this  in  an  ode,  sent  it  to  Mitylene  to 
inform  his  fri(!nd  Melanippus  of  his  misfortune.  ^Es^iattder, 
ion  ofCypselus,  reconciled  the  Mityleneans  and  Athenians, 


346  '  HERODOTUS.  [96^38 

for  thej  referred  to  him  as  arbitrator  ;  and  he  reconciled  them 
on  these  terms,  that  each  should  retain  what  they  had.  Thus 
then  Sigeum  became  subject  to  the  Athenians.  96.  When 
Hippias'felurned  from  Lacedsemon  to  Asia,  he  set  every  tlinig 
in  motion,  accusing  the  Athenians  falsely  to  Artaphernes, 
and  contriving  every  means,  by  which  Athens  might  be  sub- 
jected to  himself  and  Darius.  Hippias  accordingly  busied 
hinis"elf  Vobut  this,  and  the  Athenians,  having  heard  of  it,  sent 
ambassadors  to  Sardis,  warning  the  Persians  not  to  give  ear 
to  the  Athenian  exiles.  But  Artaphernes  bade  them,  if  they 
wished  to  continue  safe,  receive  Hippias  back  again.  Tlie 
Athenians,  however,  would  not  consent  to  the  proposed  con- 
dition ;  and  when  they^did  not  consent,  it  was  determined 
openly  to  declare  themselves  enemies  to  the  Persians. 

97.  "When  they  were  taking  this  resoluti6n7"ahd  were  being 
falsely  accused  to  the  Persians,  at  that  .yery  time  Aristagoras 
thej^lilegj^,  having  been  expelled  from  Sparta  by  Cleomenes 
theTLaceHSmonian,  arrived  at  Athens  ;  for  this  city  was  much 
more  powerful  than  tn^l'^Sfr^tarristagoras,  presenting  him- 
self before  the  people,  said  the  same  he  had  done  at  Sparta, 
respecting  the  wealth  of  Asia  and  the  Persian  mode  of  warfare,; 
how  they  used  neither  shield  nor  spear,  and  would  be  easil 
conquered.     He  said  this,  and,  in  addition,  that  the  Milesian 
were  a  colony  of  the  Athenians,  and  it  was  but  reasonabletllai 
tKey,  having  such  great  power,  should  rescue  them.     An 
there  was  nothing  he  did  not  promise,  as  being  very  much  i 
earnest,  until  at  length  he  persuaded  them.     For  it  appears  t 
be  more  easy  to  impose  upon  a  niultitucle  than  one  man  •  s\t\W 
he  was  not  able  to  impose  upon  Cleomenes  the  LacedEemonianj 
singly,  but  did  so  to  thirty  thousand  Athenians.     The_At."lie 
nians  accordingly,  being  persuaded,  decreed  to  send  tweiily 
s^^  to  succour  the   lonians,  having  appointed  l\lelantiii us 
commander  over  them,  a  citizen  who  was  universally  esteenicTT 
These  ships  were  the  source  of  calamities  both  to  Greeks  and 
barbarians.     98.  Aristagoras  having  sailed  first,  and  arrived 
at  Miletus,  had  recourse  to  a  project  from  which  no  advan- 
tage could  result  to  the  lonians  ;  nor  did  he  employ  it  for 
tVat  purpose,  but  that  he  might  vex  king  Darius.     He  sent  a 
man  into  Phrygia,  to  the  Paeonians,  who  had   been  carried 
away  captive  by  Megabazus  from  the  river  Strymon,  and  oc» 
lupied  a  tract  in  Phrygia,  and  a  village  by  themselves.     When 


99-101.1  TERPSICHORE.    V.  347 

he  reached  the  P.-conians,  he  spoke  as  follo7/s  :  *  Men  of  Pai- 
onia,  Aristagoras/I^r^t  of  Miletus,  has  sent  me  to  suggest  to 
you  a  mode  of  deliverance,  if  you  will  take  his  advice.  For  all 
Ionia  has  revolted  from  the  king,  and  offers  you  an  opportu- 
nity of  returning  safe  to  your  own  country  ;  ag^aras  the 
coasttakejcareof  yourselves,  and  we  will  provide  for  the  rest." 
The  PaeoniansTwhen  they  heard  these  words,  considered  it  a 
veryjoyl ul  event,  and  having  taken  wit'i  them  their  children 
nnd  wives,  fled  to  the  coast ;  but  some  of  them,  through  fear, 
remained  wherelliey  were.  When  the  Pagonians  reached  the 
coast,  they  thence  crossed  over  to  Chios  ;  and  just  as  they  had 
reached  Chios,  a  large  body  of  Persian  cavalry  came  on  their 
heels,  pursuing  the  Paeonians  ;  and  when  they  did  not  over- 
take them,  sent  orders  to  Chios  to  the  Paeonians,  commanding 
them  to  return.  But  the  Paeonians  did  not  listen  to  the  pro- 
posal ;  but  the  Chians  conveyed  them  to  Lesbos,  and  the 
Lesbians  forwarded  them  to  Doriscus  ;  thence  proceeding  on 
foot  they  reached  Pa3onia. 

99.  But__Aristag^S;  when  the  Athenians  arrived  with 
twenty  ships,  bringing  with  them  live  triremes  of  the  Eretrians, 
who  engaged  in  this  expedition,  not  out  of  good-will  to  the 
Athenians,  but  of  the  Milesians  themselves,  in  order  to  repay 
a  former  obligation  ;  for  the  Milesians  had  formerly  joined 
the  Eretrians  in  the  wa'Tagainsyfhe  Chalcidians,  at  the  time 
when  the™Samians  assisted  the  Chalcidians  against  the  Ere- 
trians and  Milesians.  Wlien  these,  thep,  had  arrived,  and  the 
rest  of  the  allies  had  come  up,  Aristagoras  resolved  to  make 
an  expedition  to  Sardis.  Hghiraself  did  not  march  with  the 
army,  but  remained  at  Miletus,  and  appointed  others  as  ge- 
nerals of  the  MilesianspETis  own  brother  Charopinus,  and  of 
the  otlier  citizens  Hermophantus.  100.  The  lonians,  having 
arrived  at  Epheg^s  witli  tKis  Force,  left  their  ships  at  Cores- 
sus,  in  the  Epiesian  territory,  anrFlhey  advanced  with  a 
.  numeious  army,  taking  Ephesians  for  their  guides ;  and 
'yfiiarching  by  the  side  of  the  river  Cayster,  from  thence  they 
/orossed  Mount  Tmolus,  and  reached  and  took  Sardis  without 
opposition  ;  and  they  took  all  except  the  cita'^eT,^^ut  Arta- 
phernes  with  a  strong  garrison  defended  the  citadel.  101. 
"TTie'following  accident  prevented  them,  after  they  had  taken 
the  city,  from  plundering  it.  Most  of  the  houses  in  Sardia 
were  built  with  reeds  ;  and  such  of  them  as  were  built  with 


348  HERODOTUS.  [102»  lOS 

brick,  had  roofs  of  reeds.  A  soldier  happened  to  set  fire  to 
one  of  these,  and  immediately  the  flame  spread  from  house  to 
house,  and  consumed  the  whole  city.  While  the  city  was 
being  burnt,  the  Lydians,  and  as  many  of  the  Persians  as  were 
in  the  city,  being  enclosed  on  every  side,  since  the  fire  had 
got  possession  of  the  extreme  parts,  and  had  no  means  of 
escaping  from  the  city,  rushed  together  to  the  market-place, 
and  to  the  river  Pactolus,  which,  bringing  down  grains  of 
gold  from  Mount  Tmolus,  flows  through  the  middle  of  the 
market-place,  and  then  discharges  itself  into  the  river  Hermus, 
and  that  into  the  sea.  The  Lydians  and  Persians,  therefore, 
being  assembled  on  this  Pactolus  and  at  the  market-place, 
were  constrained  to  defend  themselves :  and  the  lonians,  seeing 
some  of  the  enemy  standing  on  their  defence,  and  others  com- 
ing up  in  great  numbers,  retired  through  fear  to  the  mountain 
called  Tmolus,  and  thence  under  favour  of  the  night  retreated 

to  their  ships.      102.  Thus Sardis  wasg^^  ]:^^ri;it,  and  in  it  tlie 

temple  of  the  native  gocl3essT3ybebe ;  the  Persians,  making  a 
pretext  q£  this,  afterwards  burnt  in  retaliation  the  temples  of 
Greece.^MA^s  soon  as  the  Persians  who  had  settlements  (^n  this 
slHe"  the  river  Halys  were  informed  of  these  things,  they  drew 
together,  and  marched  to  assist  the  Lydians  ;  and  they  hap- 
pened to  find  that  the  lonians  were  no  longer  at  Sardis  ;  but 
following  ^"j^hfiir  trnoV  thpy  nyfi^^"^^  them  at  Ephesus  ;  and 
tKeTohians  drew  out  in  battle-array  against  tfiem,  and  com- 
ing to  an  engagement,  were  sorely  beaten  ;  and  the  Persians 
.sl^a^iany  of  them,  and  among  other  persons  of  distinction, 
^Ejlgl£Jgi.SgSg£al  of ihfi. . Erp.tri an s,  who  had  gained  the  prize  in 
the  contests  for  the  crown,  and  had  been  much  celebrated  by 
Simonides  the  Cean.  Those  who  escaped  from  the  battle,  were 
dispersed  throughout  the  cities. 

103.  At  that  time,  such  was  the  result  of  the  encounter. 
Afterwards,  the  Atkeniajns,  totally  abandoning  the  lonians, 
though  Aristagoras  urgently  solicited  them  by  ambassadors, 
refused  to  send  them  any  assistance.  Tlje  lonians,  being 
deprived  of  the  alliance  of  the  Athenians,  (forlhey  had  con- 
ducted themselves  in  such  a  manner  towards  Darius  from  the 
first,)  nevertheless  prepared  for  war  with  the  king.  And 
having  sailed  to  the  Hellespont,  they  reduced  Byzantium  and 
all  the  other  cities  in  that  quarter  tc  their  obedience.  Then 
haTving  sailed  ouTor~tlie-5elle«p^nt  they  gained  over  to  their 


1(H_106.  TERPSICHORE     V.  349 

alliance  the  greater  part  of  Caria ;  for  the  city  of  Caunus, 
which  before  would  not  join  their  alliance,  wh€ii  they  had 
burnt  Sardis,  came  over  to  their  side.  104.  And  all  the 
Cyprians,  except  the  Amathusians,  came  over  to  them  of  their 
own  accord  ;  for  they  too  had  revolted  from  the  Mede  on  the 
following  occasion.  Onesilus  was  younger  brother  of  Gorgus 
king  of  the  Salaminians,  and  son  of  Chersis,  son  of  Siromus, 
son  of  Euelthon  ;  this  man  had  frequently  before  exhorted  his 
brother  to  revolt  from  the  king  ;  but  when  he  heard  that  the 
£onians  had  revolted,  he  pressed  him  very  urgently,  but  find- 
ing he  could  not  persuade  Gorgus,  Onesilus  with  his  partisans, 
thereupon  having  watched  an  opportunity  when  he  had 
gone  out  of  the  city  of  the  Salaminians,  shut  the  gates  against 
him.  Gorgus  being  thus  deprived  of  his  city,  fled  to  the 
Medes ;  and  Onesilus  ruled  over  Salamis,  and  endeavoured  to 
persuade  all  the  Cyprians  to  join  in  the  revolt.  The  rest  he 
persuaded  ;  but  the  Amathusians,  who  would  not  listen  to 
him,  he  sat  down  and  besieged.  A/^ 

105.  Onesilus  accordingly  besieged  Amathus.^Ssut  wlien 
it  was  told  king  Darius,  that  Sardis  had  been  taken 'find  burnt  by 
the  Athermms  arrd  -fonians,  and  that  Aristagoras  the  Milesian 
was  the  chief  of  the  confederacy,  and  the  contriver  of  that 
enterprise  ;  it  is  related  that  he,  when  he  heard  this,  took  no 
account  of  the  lonians,  well  knowing  that  they  would  not 
escape  unpunished  for  their  rebellion,  but  inquired  where  the 
Athenians  were  :  then  having  been  informed,  he  called  for  a 
bow,  and  having  received  one,  and  put  an  iirrow  into  it,  he 
let  it  fly  towards  heaven,  and  as  he  shot  it  into  the  air,  he 
said,  "  0  Jupiter,  grant  that  I  may  revenge  myself  on  the 
AtlienianTl  Having  thus  spcken,  he  commanded  one  of  his 
attendants,  every  time  dinner  was  set  before  him,  to  say  thrice, 
"  Sire,  remember  the  Athenians-^y*^  106.  Having  given  this 
order,  and  summoned  to  his  presence  Histiaeus  the  Milesian, 
whom  he  had  already  detained  a  long  time,T5ariuFsard  :  "  I  am 
informed,  HIstiosus,  that  your  lieutenant,  to  whom  you  intrust- 
ed~Miletiis,  has  attempted  innovations  against  me  ;  for  having 
brought  men  from  the  other  continent,  and  with  them  lonians, 
who  shall  give  me  satisfaction  for  what  they  have  done  ;  having 
persuaded  these  to  accompany  them,  he  has  deprived  me  of  Sar- 
dis. Now,  can  it  appear  to  you  that  tHis  TFright  7  Could  such 
a~11iing  have  been  done  without  your  advice  ?     Beware  lest 


350  HERODOTUS  fl07,  108. 


:Reu.- 


hereafter  you  expose  yourself  to  blame."  'JCp  this  Histi 
answered  :  "  O  king,  what  have  you  said  ?  That  I  should 
advise  a  thing  from  which  any  grief,  great  or  little,  should 
ensue  to  you  !  with  what  object  should  I  do  so  ?  What  am  1 
in  want  of  ?  I,  who  have  all  things  the  same  as  you,  and  am 
deemed  worthy  to  share  all  your  counsels  ?  But  if  my  lieutenant 
has  done  any  such  thing  as  you  mention,  be  assured  he  has 
done  it  of  his  own  contrivance.  But  in  the  outset  I  do  not 
believe  the  account,  that  the  Milesians  and  my  lieutenant 
have  attempted  any  innovations  against  your  authority.  Yet 
if  they  have  done  any  thing  of  the  kind,  and  you  have  heard 
the  truth,  consider,  O  king,  what  mischief  you  have  done  in 
withdrawing  me  from  the  coast.  For  the  lonians  seem,  when 
I  was  out  of  tlieir  sight,  to  have  done  what  they  long  ago  de- 
sired to  do  ;  and  had  I  been  in  Ionia  not  one  city  would  have 
stirred.  Suffer  me  therefore  to  go  with  all  speed  to  Ionia,  thai 
I  may  restore  all  things  there  to  their  former  condition,  and 
deliver  into  your  hands  this  lieutenant  of  Miletus^  who  has 
plotted  the  whole.  When  I  have  done  this  according  to  your 
mind,  I  swear  by  the  royal  gods,  not  to  put  off  the  garments 
which  I  shall  wear  when  I  go  down  to  Ionia,  before  I  have 
made  the  great  island  Sardinia  tributary  to  you."  107.  His- 
tiaeus,  speaking  thus,  deceived  the  king.  But  Dp-ius  was 
persuaded,  and  let  him  go  ;  having  charged  him  to  return  to 
him  at  Susa,  so  soon  as  he  should  have  accomplished  what  he 
had  promised. 

108.  While  the  news  concerning  Sardis  was  going  up  to 
the  king,  and  Darius,  having  done  what  has  been  describ<  d 
relating  to  the  bow,  held  a  conference  with  Histiasus,  and 
while  Histijeus,  having  been  dismissed  by  Darius,  was  on  his 
journey  to  the  sea  ;  during  all  this  time  the  following  events 
took  place.  Tidings  were  brought  to  Onesilus  the  Salaminian, 
as  he  was  besieging  the  Amathusians,  that  Artybius,  a  Per- 
sian, leading  a  large  Persian  force  on  ship-board,  was  to  be 
expected  in  Cyprus.  Onesilus,  having  been  informed  of  this, 
sent  heralds  to  the  different  parts  of  Ionia,  inviting  them  to 
assist  him  ;  and  the  lonians,  without  any  protracted  deliber- 
ation, came  with  a  large  armament.  The  lonians  accordingly 
arrived  at  Cyprus,  and  the  Persians,  having  crossed  over  in 
ships  from  Cilicia,  marched  by  land  against  Salamis  ;  but  the 
Phoenicians  in  their  ships  doubled  tlie  prom.ontory,  which  is 


09-lll.J  tERPSlCMORE.    V.  351 

called  tlie  key  oi  Cyprus.  109.  This  having  taken  place,  the 
tyrants  of  Cyprus,  having  called  together  the  general  of  the 
lonians,  said,  "  Men  of  lonia^  we  Cyprians  give  you  the 
choice,  to  engage  with  whichever  you  wish,  the  Persians- or 
Phoenicians.  If  you  choose  to  try  your  strength  with  tlni 
Persians  drawn  up  on  land,  it  is  time  for  you  to  disembark 
from  your  ships,  and  to  draw  up  on  land,  and  for  us  to  go  on 
board  your  ships,  in  order  to  oppose  the  Phoenicians  :  but  if 
you  would  rather  try  your  strength  with  the  Phoenicians,  which- 
ever of  these  you  choose,  it  behoves  you  so  to  behave  your- 
selves, that  as  far  as  depends  on  you  both  Ionia  and  Cyprus 
may  be  free."  To  this  the  lonians  answered  :  "  The  general 
council  of  the  lonians  has  sent  us  to  guard  the  sea,  and  not 
that,  having  delivered  our  ships  to  the  Cyprians,  we  ourselves 
should  engage  with  the  Persians  by  land.  We  therefore  shall 
endeavour  to  do  our  duty  in  that  post  to  which  we  have  been 
appointed  ;  and  it  behoves  you,  bearing  in  mind  what  you 
have  suffered  under  the  yoke  of  the  Modes,  to  prove  your- 
selves to  be  brave  men."  The  lonians  made  answer  in  these 
words.  110.  Afterwards,  when  the  Persians  had  reached  the 
plain  of  the  Salaminians,  the  kings  of  the  Cyprians  drew  up 
their  forces  in  line,  stationing  the  other  Cyprians  against  the 
other  soldiery  of  the  enemy,  but  having  selected  the  best  of 
the  Salaminians  and  Solians,  they  stationed  them  against  the 
Persians.  Onesilus  voluntarily  took  up  his  position  directly 
against  Artybius,  the  general  of  the  Persians.  111.  Artybiua 
used  to  ride  on  a  horse,  that  had  been  taught  to  rear  up  against 
an  armed  enemy.  Onesilus,  therefore,  having  heard  of  tiiis, 
and  having  as  a  shield-bearer  a  Carian  well  skilled  in  matters 
of  war,  and  otherwise  full  of  courage,  said  to  this  man,  "I  am 
informed  that  the  horse  of  Artybius  rears  up,  and  with  his  feet 
and  mouth  attacks  whomsoever  he  is  made  to  engage  with  ;  do 
you  therefore  determine  at  once,  and  tell  me,  which  you  will 
watch  and  strike,  whether  the  horse  or  Artybius  himself.'' 
His  attendant  answered,  "I  am  ready  to  do  both,  or  either 
of  them,  and  indeed  whatever  you  may  command.  But  I  will 
declare  how  it  appears  to  me  to  be  most  conducive  to  your  in- 
terest. A  king  and  a  general  ought,  I  think,  to  engage  with 
a  king  and  a  general.  For  if  you  vanquish  one  who  is  a  ge- 
neral, your  glory  is  great ;  and  in  the  next  place,  if  he  should 
vanquish  you^  which  may  the  gods  avert,  to  fall  by  a  noble 


352  HERODOTUS.  [112—115 

hand  is  but  half  the  calamity  ;  but  we  servants  should  engage 
with  other  servants,  and  also  against  a  horse,  whose  tricks  do 
not  you  fear  at  all ;  for  I  promise  you  he  shall  never  here- 
after rear  up  against  any  man."  112.  Thus  he  spoke,  and 
forthwith  the  forces  joined  battle  by  land  and  sea.  Now  the 
lonians,  fighting  valiantly  on  that  day,  defeated  the  Phoeni- 
cians at  sea ;  and  of  these  the  Samians  most  distinguished 
themselves  ;  but  on  land,  when  the  armiBS  met,  they  engaged 
in  close  combat  ;  and  the  following  happened  with  respect  to 
the  two  generals  :  when  Artybius,  seated  on  his  horse,  bore 
down  upon  Onesilus,  Onesilus,  as  he  had  concerted  with  his 
shield-bearer,  struck  Artybius  himself  as  he  was  bearing  down 
upon  him  ;  and  as  the  horse  was  throwing  his  feet  against  the 
shield  of  Onesilus,  the  Carian  thereupon  struck  him  with  a 
scythe,  and  cut  off  the  horse's  feet.  So  that  Artybius  the  ge- 
neral of  the  Persians  fell  together  with  his  horse  on  the  spot. 
113.  While  the  rest  were  fighting,  Stesenor,  who  was  of  Cu- 
rium, deserted  with  no  inconsiderable  body  of  men  ;  these 
Curians  are  said  to  be  a  colony  of  Argives  ;  and  when  the 
Curians  had  deserted,  the  chariots  of  war  belonging  to  the 
Salaminians  did  the  same  as  the  Curians :  in  consequence  of 
this  the  Persians  became  superior  to  the  Cyprians  ;  and  the 
army  being  put  to  flight,  many  others  fell,  and  amongst  them 
Onesilus,  son  of  Chersis,  who  had  contrived  the  revolt  of  the 
Cyprians,  and  the  king  of  the  Solians,  Aristocyprus,  son  of 
Philocyprus  ;  of  that  Philocyprus,  whom  Solon  the  Athenian, 
when  he  visited  Cyprus,  celebrated  in  his  verses  above  all 
tyrants.  114.  Now  the  Amathusians,  having  cut  off  the  head 
of  Onesilus,  because  he  had  besieged  them,  took  it  to  Ama- 
thus,  and  suspended  it  over  the  gates  ;  and  when  the  head  was 
suspended,  and  had  become  hollow,  a  swarm  of  bees  entered 
it,  and  filled  it  with  honey-comb.  When  this  happened,  the 
Amathusians  consulted  the  oracle  respecting  it,  and  an  an«wer 
was  given  them,  "that  they  should  take  down  the  head  and 
bury  it,  and  sacrifice  annually  to  Onesilus,  as  to  a  hero  ;  and 
if  they  did  so,  it  would  turn  out  better  for  them."  115.  The 
Amathusians  did  accordingly,  and  continued  to  do  so  until  my 
time.  The  lonians,  who  had  fought  by  sea  at  Cyprus,  when 
they  heard  that  the  affairs  of  Onesilus  were  ruined,  and  thai 
the  rest  of  the  Cyprian  cities  were  besieged,  except  Salamis, 
but  this  the  Salaminians  had  restored  to  their  former  king 


116-119.]  TERPSICHORE,    V.  353 

Gorgus  ;  the  lonians,  as  soon  as  they  learnt  this,  sailed  away 
to  Ionia.     Of  the  cities  in  Cyprus,  Soli  held  out  against  the 
siege  for  the  longest  time  ;  but  the  Persians,  having  undei 
mined  the  wall  all  round,  took  it  in  the  fifth  month.  C.^  «f^ 

116.  Thj^s  the  Cyprians,  having  been  free  for  one  year,  ^^ 
were  jlgain  reduced  to  servitude.      But  Baurises,  who   had  *^^^-€-<4^ 
married  a  daughter  of  Darius,  and  Hymees,  and  Otanes,  and       ^4^ 
other  Persian  generals  who  also  had  married  daughters  of  Da-  / 

lius,  having  pursued  those  of  the  lonians  who  had  attacked 
Sardis,  and  having  driven  them  to  their  ships,  when  they  had 
conquered  them  in  battle,  next  divided  the  cities  among  them- 
selves and  proceeded  to  plunder  them.  117.  Daurises,  di- 
recting his  march  towards  the  cities  on  the  HeTIeSppnt,-  took 
Dardanus ;  he  also  took  Abydos,  l^ercote,  I^ampsacus,  and 
Pajsus  ;  these  he  took  each  in  one  day.  But  as  he  was  ad- 
vancing from  Paesus  against  Parium,  news  was  brought  him 
that  the  Carians,  having  conspired  with  the  lonians,  had  re- 
volted from  the  Persians.  Therefore  turning  back  from  the 
Hellespont,  he  led  his  army  against  Caria.  118.  Somehow 
news  of  this  was  brought  to  the  Carians  before  Daurises  arrived. 
The  Carians,  having  heard  of  it,  assembled  at  what  are  called 
the  White  Columns,  on  the  river  Marsyas,  which  flowing  from 
the  territory  of  Idrias,  falls  into  the  Maeander.  When  the 
Carians  were  assembled  on  this  spot,  several  other  propositions 
were  made,  of  which  the  best  appeared  to  be  that  of  Pix- 
odarus,  son  of  Mausolus,  a  Cyndian,  who  had  married  the 
daughter  of  Syennesis  king  of  the  Cilicians.  His  opinion  was 
that  the  Carians,  having  crossed  the  Maeander^  arid  having 
tlie  river  in  their  rear,  should  so  engage;  in  order  that  the 
Carians,  not  being  able  to  retreat,  and  being  compelled  to 
remain  on  their  ground,  might  be  made  even  braver  than  they 
naturally  were.  This  opinion,  however,  did  not  prevail,  but 
that  the  Moeander  should  rather  be  in  the  rear  of  the  Persians 
than  of  themselves  ;  to  the  end  that  if  the  Persians  should  be 
put  to  flight,  and  worsted  in  the  engagement,  they  might  have 
no  retreat,  and  fall  into  the  river.  119.  Afterwards,  the 
Persians  having  come  up  and  crossed  the  Masander,  the  Ca- 
rians, thereupon,  came  to  an  engagement  with  the  Persians  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  Marsyas,  and  they  fought  an  obstinate 
battle,  and  for  a  long  time,  but  at  last  were  overpowered  by 
numbers.     Of  the  Persians  there  fell  about  two  thousand,  and 

2   A 


364  HERODOTUS.  [120—124. 

of  the  Carians,  ten  thousand.  Such  of  them  as  escaped  from 
thence  were  shut  up  in  Labranda,  in  a  large  precinct  and 
sacred  grove  of  plane-trees,  dedicated  to  Jupiter  Stratius. 
The  Carians  are  the  only  people  we  know,  who  offer  sacrifices 
to  Jupiter  Stratius.  They,  then,  being  shut  up  in  this  place, 
consulted  on  the  means  of  safety,  whether  they  would  fare  bet- 
ter by  surrendering  themselves  to  the  Persians,  or  by  abandon- 
ing Asia  altogether.  120.  While  they  were  deliberating  about 
this,  the  Milesians  and  their  allies  came  to  their  assistance  ; 
upon  this  the  Carians  gave  up  what  Ihey'wereTefore  deliber- 
ating  about,  anJ^'prepared  to  renew  the  war ;  ancLiheyLeB^ 
gaged  with  the  Persians  when  they  came  up,  and_hjivi.ng 
fought,  were  more  signally  beaten  than  before  j  though  in  the 
whole  many  fell,  the  Milesians  suffered  most.  121.  The  Ca- 
rians^ however,  afterwards  recovered  this  wound,  and  renewed 
''ttre'TfbnIest.  For  hearing  thai  the  Persians  designed  to  invade 
theiFcT!res,  they  placed  an  ambuscade  on  the  way  to  Pedasus, 
into  which  the  Persians  falling  by  night,  were  cut  in  pieces, 
both  they  and  their  generals  Daurises,  Amorges,  and  Sisa- 
maces  ;  and  with  them  perished  Myrses,  son  of  Gyges.  The 
leader  of  this  ambuscade  was  Heraclides,  son  of  Ibanohs,  a 
Mylassian.     Thus  these  Persians  were  destroyed. 

122.  Hymees,  who  was  also  one  of  those  who  pursued  the 
lonians  that  had  attacked  Sardis,  bending  his  march  toAvards 
the  Propontis,  took  Cius  of  Mysia.  But  having  taken  it,  when 
lie  heard  that  Daurises  had  quitted  the  Hellespont,  and  was 
marching  against  Caria,  he  abandoned  the  Propontis,  and  led 
his  army  on  the  Hellespont ;  and  he  subdued  all  the  ^olians 
who  inhabited  the  territory  of  Ilium,  and  subdued  the  Gergi- 
thiB,  the  remaining  descendants  of  the  ancient  Teucrians  ; 
but  Hymees  himself,  having  subdued  these  nations,  died  of 
disease  in  the  Troad.  123.  Thus  then  he  died  :  but  Arta- 
phernes,  governor  of  Sardis,  and  Otanes,  one  of  the  tliiee  ge- 
nerals,® were  appointed  to  invade  Ionia,  and  the  neiglibouring 
territory  of  -S^olia.  Of  Ionia,  accordingly,  they  took  Clazo- 
menas ;  and  of  the  ^olians.  Cyme. 

124.  When  these  cities  were  taken,  Axiata^j::as-the  ^  Mile- 
sian, for  he  was  not,  as  it  proved,  a  man  oT  strong  courage,  who 

'  The  two  others  were  Daurises  and  Hymees  ;  see  ch.  116, 
^  The  reader  will  observe  that  the  sentence  is  broken  and  imperfect } 
It  is  so  in  the  original. 


125  126.1  TERPSICHORE.    V.  355 

having  thrown  Ionia  into  confusion,  and  raised  grtat  disturb- 
ances, thought  of  flight,  when  he  saw  these  results  ;  and, 
besides,  it  appeared  to  him  impossible  to  overcome  king  Da- 
rius :  therefore,  having  called  his  partisans  together,  he  con- 
ferred with  them,  saving,  "  that  it  would  be  better  for  them 
to  have  some  sure  place  of  refuge,  in  case  they  should  be 
expelled  from  Miletus."  He  asked,  therefore,  whether  he 
should  lead  them  to  Sardinia,  to  found  a  colony,  or  to  Myr- 
cimts-t>f  the  Edonians,  ^^hich  Ilistiasus  had  begun  to  fortify, 
having  received  it  as  a  gift  from  Darius.  125.  However,  the 
opinion  of  Hecataeus  the  historian,  son  of  Hegesander,  was, 
tliat  they  should  set  out  for  neither  of  these  places,  but  that, 
having  built  a  fortress  in  the  island  of  Leros,  they  should  remain 
quiet,  if  they  were  compelled  to  quit  Miletus  ;  and  that  at 
some  future  time,  proceeding  from  thence,  they  might  return 
to  Miletus.  This  was  the  advice  of  Hecataeus.  126.  But 
Aristagoras  himself  was  decidedly  in  favour  of  proceeding  to 
Myrcinus  ;  he  therefore  mtrusTed  Miletus  to  Pythagoras,  a 
citizen~ot  distinction,  and  lie  himself,  taking  with  him  all  who 
were  willing,  sailed  to  Thrace,  and  took  possession  of  the  re- 
gion to  Avliich  he  was  tJounH.  But  setting  out  from  thence, 
both  Aristagoras  himself  and  all  his  army  perished  by  the 
hands  of  Thracians,  as  he  was  laying  siege  to  a  city,  and  the 
Thracians  were  willing  to  depart  on  terms  of  capitulation. 


2  A  2 


BOOK    VL 


ERATO. 


ARiSTAfiOKAS, having  induced  the  lonians  to  revolt,  thus  died ; 
and  Histiaeus,  tyrant  of  Miletus,  having  beea-dismissBd  by 
Daniis,  repaired  to  Sardis.  When  he  arrived  from  Su^a, 
Artaphernes,  governor  of  Sardis,  asked  him  for  what  reason 
he  supposed  the  lonians  had  revolted.  Hiatiaeus  said,  he  did 
not  know,  and  seemed  surprised  at  what  had  happened,  as  if 
he  in  truth  knew  nothing  of  the  present  state  of  affairs.  But 
Artaphernes,  perceiving  that  he  was  dissembling,  and  being 
aware  oFthe  exact  truth  as  to  the  revolt,  said,  "^^istiaeus,  the 
state  of  the  case  is  this ;  you  made  the  shoe  and  Aristagoras_ 
has  put  it  on."  2.  Artaph^l'iiea  spoke  thus  concerning  the  re- 
voTf :  but  Histioeus,  fearing  Artaphernes,  as  being  privy  to  the 
truth,  as  soon  "as  night  came  on,  fled  to  the  <^^^^p-  having  de- 
ceived king  Darius  ;  for  having  promised  to  reduce  the  great 
island  of  Sardinia,  he  insinuated  himselT  into  the  command  of 
the  lonians  in  the  war  agaiiist.D.amis.  "Having  crossed  over 
to  Chios  he  was  put  in  chains  by  the  Chians,  being  suspected 
by  them  of  planning  some  new  design  against  them  in  favour 
of  Darius.  However,  the  Qj^^ans.  haying  learnt  the  whole 
truth,  and  that  he  was  an  enemy  to  the  king,  released  him.  " 

3.  At  that  time  Histiaius  being  questioned  by  the  lonians  why 
he  had  so  earnestly  pressed  Aristagoras  to  revolt  from  the 
king,  and  had  wrought  so  much  mischief  to  the  lonians,  he 
by  no  means  made  known  to  them  the  true  reason  ;  but  told 
them,  that  "  king  Darius  had  resolved  to  remove  the  Phoeni- 
cians and  settle  them  in  Ionia,  and  the  lonians  in  Phoenicia  ; 
and  for  this  reason  he  had  pressed  him."  Although  the  king 
had  formed  no  resolution  of  the  kind,  he  terrified  the  lonians. 

4.  After  this,  Histiaeus,  corresponding  by  means  of  a  messen- 
ger, Hermippus  an  Atarnian,  sent  letters  to  certain  Persian3 
in  Sardis,  as  if  they  had  before  conferred  with  him  on  th<» 


5-7.  ERATO.    VI.  357 

subject  of  a  revolt.  But  Hermippus  did  not  deliver  the  let- 
ters to  the  persons  to  whom  he  had  been  sent,  but  put  them 
into  t^e  hands  of  Artaphernes  ;  he,  having  discovered  all  that 
was  going  on,  commanded  Hermippus  to  deliver  the  letters  of 
Ilistiseus  to  the  persons  for  whom  he  brought  them,  and  to 
deliver  to  him  the  answers  that  should  be  sent  back  to  His- 
liaeus  from  the  Persians.  Thus  they  being  discovered, 
Artaphernes  thereupon  put  many  of  the  Persians  to  death  ; 
and  m  consequence  there  was  a  great  commotion  in  Sardis. 
5.  Histiajus  being  disappointed  of  these  hopes,  tlie  Chians 
conveyed  him  to  Miletus,  at  his  own  request ;  but  the  Mi- 
lesians, delighte(!^-at  being  rid  of  Aristagoras,  were  by  no 
means  desirous  to  receive  another  tyrant  into  their  country, 
as  they  had  tasted  of  freedom.  Thereupon  Histiseus.  going 
down  to  Miletus  by  night,  endeavoured  to  enter  it  by  force, 
but  was  woinldecT  in  the  thigh  by  one  of  the  Milesians.  When 
he  was  repulsed  from  his  own  country,  he  went  back  to  Chios, 
and  from  ITTence,  sincefhig  Could  not  persuade  the  Chians  to 
furnish  him  with  ships,  he  crossed  over  to  Mitylene,  and  pre- 
vailed with  the  Lesbians  to  furnish  him  wTtlrSTiTps";  and  they, 
having  manned  eight  triremes,  sailed  v\^jiiliistia3us.  to  i^yzan- 

um.      There  taliiiir  up  their  station,  tlicy  took  all  the  ships 
at  sailc'l  oiii   ni'  the  Pontur,  exs^j^t  sucli  of  them  as  said 
ey  were  ready  to  submit  to  llistiaiua* 
6.  Histiaius,  then,  and    the    IMitylenians,    acted  as    above 

escribed.     But_^  large  naval  and  land  force  was  expected 

gainst    Miletus  itself      For  the  Persian  generals,  having 
iltecl  their  forces  and  formed  one  camp,   marched  against     ' 

tiletus,  deeming  the  other  cities  of  less  consequence.     Qfjj[je 
maritime  forces,  tlie  Phu:nicians  were  the  most_j5ca]ous,  an3  f 

tlie  tlyp'rTans,  wlio  huTljeen'Tlit(4y  stibdued,  served  with  them,  .,  • 
and  theCilicians,  and  l%y})tians.  7.  They  then  advanced 
against  Mdetus^  iUldJiic  rest  of  Ionia ;  but  the  lonians, 
having  lieard  of  this,  sent  their  respective  deputies  to  the 
Panionium,^  and  when  tliey  arrived  at  that  place  and  consult- 
ed together,  it  was  determined  not  to  as.semble  any  land  forces 
to  oppose  the  Persians  ;  but  that  the  Milesians  themselves 
should  detend  the  walls  ;  and_that  they  sTiould  man  their 
njvvy,  without  leaving  a  single  ship  behind  ;  and  after  they 
haTl  manned  thenc,  to  assemble  as  soon  as  possible  at  Lade,  to 
»  See  B.  I.  ch.  --•**— 


A 


358  HERODOTUS. 

fight  in  defence  of  Miletus.  Lade  is  a  small  island  lying  ofT 
the  city  of  the  Milesians.  8.  After  this  the  lonians  came  up 
with  their  ships  manned,  and  with  them  the  J^bli^ig^  wlio 
inhabit  Lesbos  ;  and  they  formed  their  line  in  the  followin<^ 
order.  The  Milesians  themselves,  who  furnished  eighty  ships, 
occupied  the  east  wing  ;  and  next  to  these  the  Prienians  witii 
*.welve  ships,  and  the  Myusians  with  three  ;  the  Teians  were 
next  to  the  Myusians,  with  seventeen  ships  ;  the  Chians  were 
next  the  Teians,  with  a  hundred  ships  ;  next  to  these,  the 
Erythraeans  and  the  Phocoeans  were  drawn  up,  the  Ery- 
thraeans  furnishing  eight  ships,  and  the  Phocaeans  three  ; 
next  the  Phocoeans  were  the  Lesbians  with  seventy  ships  ; 
last  of  all  the  Samians  were  drawn  up,  occupying  the  western 
wing  with  sixty  ships.  Of  all  these,  the  whole  number 
amounted  to  three  hundred  and  fifty-three  triremes.  Such 
was  the  fleet  of  the  lonians.  9.  On  the  side  of  the  barba- 
rians the  number  of  ships  amounted  to  ^ix  hundred  :  but 
when  they  arrived  on  the  Milesian  coast,  and  all  theirjiand 
forces  were  come  up,  the  Persian  generals,  h'eanhg  the 
number  of  the  Ionian  fleet,  began  to  fear  they  should  not 
be  strong  enough  to  overcome  it,  and  so  should  be  also 
unable  to  take  Miletus,  since  they  were  not  masters  at  sea, 
and  then  might  be  in  danger  of  receiving  punishment  at  the 
liands  of  Darius.  Taking  these  things  into  consideration, 
they  summoned  the  tyrants  of  the  lonians,  who,  having  been 
deprived  of  their  governments  l)y  Afistagoras,  had  fled  to  the 
Medes,  and  happened  at  that  time  to  be  serving  in  the 
army  against  Miletus  ;  having  called  together  such  of  these 
men  as  were  at  hand,  they  addressed  them  as  follows  :  "  Men 
of  Ionia,  let  each  of  you  now  show  his  zeal  for  the  king's 
house.  For  let  each  of  you  endeavour  to  detach  his  own 
countrymen  from  the  rest  of  the  confederacy,  and  hold  out  to 
them  and  proclaim  this,  that  they  shall  suffer  nojuort^  on  ac- 
count of  their  rebellion,  nor  shall  their  buildings,  whether 
sacred  or  profane,  be  burnt,  nor  shall  they  be  treated  with 
more  severity  than  they  were  before.  But  if  they  will  not  do 
this,  and  will  at  all  events  come  to  the  hazard  of  a  battle, 
threaten  them  with  this  which  will  surely  befal  them  ;  that 
when  conquered  in  battle,  they  shall  be  enslaved  ;  that  we 
will  make  eunuchs  of  their  sons,  and  transport  their  virgins  to 
Bactra,  and  then  give  their  country  to  others."    10.  Thus  they 


no 

■ 


11,12.]  ERATO.     VI.  359 

spoke  ;  but  the  tyrants  of  the  loiiians  sent  each  by  night  tc 
his  own  couiitrymen,  to  make  known  the  warning.  But  the 
lonians  to  whom  these  messages  came,  continued  firm  to  their 
pu^p5se  and  would  not  listen  to  treachery  ;  tor  each  thought 
that  the  Persians  had  sent  this  message  to  themselves  only. 
This,  then,  took  place  immediately  after  the  arrival  of  the  Per- 
sians before  Miletus. 

11.  Afterwards,  when  the  lonians  had  assembled  at  Lade, 
councils  were  held,  and  on  occasion  others  addressed  them, 
and  amongst  the  rest,  the  Phocsean  general  Dionysius,  who 
spoke  as  follows  :  "Our  affairs  are  in  a  critical^  state,  O 
lonians,  whether  we  shall  be  freemen  or  slaves,  and  that  too 
as  run-aw^ay  slaves  :  now  then,  if  you  are  willing  to  un- 
dergo hardships,  for  the  present  you  will  have  toil,  but  will 
be  enabled,  by  overcoming  your  enemies,  to  be  free  ;  on  the 
other  hand,  if  you  abandon  yourselves  to  ease  and  disorder,  I 
have  no  hope  of  you,  that  you  will  escape  punishment  at 
the  hands  of  the  king  for  your  revolt.  But  be  persuaded  by 
me,  and  intrust  yourselves  to  my  guidance,  and  I  promise 
you,  if  the  gods  are  impartial,  either  that  our  enemies  will 
not  fight  us  at  all,  or  if  they  do  fight  with  us,  they  shall  be 
mpletely  beaten."  12.  The  lonians  having  heard  this,  in- 
usted  themselves  to  the  guidance  of  Dionysius  ;  and  he, 
ily  leading  out  the  ships  into  a  line,  when  lieTiad  exercised 
e~TDWefs7T)y  practising  tlie  manceuvre  of  cutting  through 
one  another's  line,  and  liad  put  the  marines  under  arms, 
kept  the  ships  at  anchor  for  the  rest  of  the  day  :  thus  he  sub- 
jected the  lonians  to  toil  tliroughout  the  day.  Accordingly 
for  seven  days  they  continued  to  obey,  and  did  what  was  or- 
dered ;  but  on  the  following  day,  the  lonians,  unaccustomed 
such  toil,  and  worn  down  by  hardships  and  the  heat  of 
e  sun,  spoke  one  to  another  as  follows  :  "  What  deity  having 
ffended,  do  we  fill  up  this  measure  of  affliction  ?  we  who 
being  beside  ourselves,  and  having  lost  our  senses,  have  in- 
trusted ourselves  to  the  guidance  of  a  presumptuous  Phocaean, 
who  has  contributed  three  ships  ;  but  he,  having  got  us  undei 
his  control,  afflicts  us  with  intolerable  hardships.  Jfei}X^^ 
us  have  already  fjillen  into  distempers,  and  many  must  expect 
to  meet  with  the  same  fate.  Instead  of  these  evils,  it  were  better 
for  us  to  suffer  any  thing  else,  and  to  endure  the  impending 
^  Literally,  "  on  a  razor's  edge." 


360  HERODOTUS.  [13-15. 

servitude,  be  it  what  it  may,  than  be  oppressed  by  the  present. 
Come,  then,  let  us  no  longer  obey  him."  Thus  they  spoke^ 
and  from  that  moment  no  one  would  obey  ;  but  having  pitch- 
ed tents  on  the  island,  They'contTnued  under  the  shade,  and 
would  not  go  on  board  the  ships,  or  perform  their  exercise. 
13.  The  generals  of  the  Samians  observing  what  was  passing 
among  tne  ionians,~arid  at  ihe  same  time  seeing  great  disorder 
among  them,  thereupon  accepted  the  proposal  of  ^Eaces,  son 
of  Syloson,  which  he  had  before  sent  them  at  the  desire  of 
the  Persians,  exhorting  them  to  abandon  the  confederacy  of 
the  lonians  ;  and  moreover  it  was  clearly  impossible  for  them 
to  overcome  the  power  of  the  king,  because  they  were"c6h- 
vinced,  that  if  they  should  overcome  Darius  with  his  present 
fleet,  another  five  times  as  large  would  come^^a^jnsfjhem. 
Therefore  laying  hold  of  this  pretext,  as  soorTas  they  saw  the 
lonians  refusing  to  behave  well,  they  deemed  it  for  their  ad- 
vantage to  preserve  their  own  buildings,  sacred  and  profane. 
This  -^aces,  from  whom  the  Samians  i'eGdxsd_ihe_pr2posal, 
was  son  of  Syloson,  son  of  .iJEaces  ;  and  being  tyrant  of 
Samos,  had  been  deprived  of  his  government  by  Aristagoras, 
the  Milesian,  as  the  other  tyrants  of  Ionia. 

14.  When  therefore  the  Phoenicians  sailed  against  them,  the 
lonians  also  drew  out  their  ships  in  Ime  to  oppose  them  ;  but 
when  they  came  near  and  engaged  each  other,  after  that  I  am 
unable  to  affirm  with  certainty  who  of  the  lonians  proved 
themselves  cowards,  or  brave  men,  in  this  sea-fight ;  for  tliey 
mutually  accuse  each  other.  The  Samji^s  however  are  said 
at  that  moment  to  have  hoisted  sail,  in  pursuance  of  tlieir 
agreement  with  JEaces,  and  sleerecl  out  of  the  line  to  Samos, 
with  the  exception  of  eleven  ships  ;  the  captains  of  these 
staid  and  fought,  refusing  to  obey  their  commanders  ;  and  for 
tliis  action  the  commonwealth  of  the  Samians  conferred  upon 
tliem  the  honour  of  having  their  names  and  ancestry  engraved 
on  a  column,  as  having  proved  themselves  valiant  men  ;  and 
this  column  now  stands  in  the  forum.  TheLesbians  also, 
seeing  those  stationed  next  them  flee,  did  the  same  as  the 
Samians;  and  in  like  marihennost  of  the  Toman's  followed 
their  example.  15.  Of  those  that  persisted  in  the  battle,  the 
Chians  were  most  roughly  handled,  as  they  displayed  signal 
proofs  of  valour,  and  would  not  act  as  cowards.  TWyxroii- 
tributed,  as  has  been  before  mentioned,  one  hundred  ships, 


lC-19.1  ERATO     VI.  361 

and  on  b^ard  each  of  them,  forty  chosen  citizens  serving  4\s 
marines  ;  and  though  they  saw  most  of  the  confederates  aban- 
doning the  cornnrmi  cause," they  disdained  to  follow  the  exam- 
ple prtheif  treachery  ;  but  choosing  rather  to  remain  with  the 
few  aHie"s7  they^  continued  the  fight,  cutting  through  the  ene- 
mies' line,  until,  after  they  had  taken  many  of  the  enemies' 
sliips,  they  lost  most  of  their  own.  The  Chians  then  fled  to 
their  own  country  with  the  remainder  of  their  fleet. 
16.  Those  Chians  whose  ships  were  disabled  in  the  fight, 
when  they  were  pursued,  took  refuge  in  Mycale  ;  and  having 
run  their  ships  aground,  left  them  there,  and  marched  over- 
land through  the  continent ;  but  when  the  Chians  on  their 
return  entered  the  territory  of  Ephesus,  and  arrived  near  the 
city  by  night,  at  a  time  when  the  women  there  were  cele- 
brating the  Thesmophoria  ;  the  Ephesians  thereupon,  not 
having  before  heard  how  it  had  fared  with  the  Chians,  and 
seeing  an  army  enter  their  territory,  thinking  they  were  cer- 
tainly robbers,  and  were  come  to  seize  their  women,  rushed 
out  in  a  body,  and  8igw\the,_Chians.  Such  was  the  fate  they 
met  with.  17.  Dionysius  the  Phocaean,  wh^n  he  perceived 
that  the  affairs  of  the  loniaris  were  utterly  ruined,  having 
taken  three  of  the  enemies'  ships,  sailed  away,  not  indeed  to 
Pliocaea,  well  knowing  that  it  would  be  enslaved  with  the  rest 
of  Ionia,  but  sailed  directly,  as  he  was,  to  Phoenicia  ;  and 
there  having  disabled  some  merchant-men,  and  obtained  great 
wealth,  he  sailed  to  Sicily  ;  and  sallying  out  from  thence,  he 
established  himself  as  a  pirate,  attackiiig  none  of  the  Grecians, 
but  only  the  Cartlingiiiiaiis  and  Tyrrlienians. 

18.  The  Persians,  when  they  had  conquered  the  lonians  in 
the  sea-fig'Hr,"besieging  Miletus  both  by  land  and  sea,  and  un- 
(k^rmining  the  walls,  and  "bringing  up  all  kinds  of  military  en- 
gines against  it,  took  it  completely,  in^the  sixth  year  after  the 
revolt  of  Aristagoras  ;  and  thej  reduceTthe  city  to  slavery,  so 
thai  tlre^Weht  coincided  wttTTthe  oracle  delivered  concerning 
Miletus.  19.  For  when  the  Argives  consulted  the  oracle  at 
Delphi  respecting  the  preservation  of  their  city,  a  double  an- 
swer was  given  ;  part  concerning  themselves,  and  the  addition 
the  Pythian  uttered  concerning  the  Milesians.  The  part  re- 
lating to  the  Argives  I  will  mention  when  I  come  to  that  part 
oi"  the  history  ;^  the  words  she  uttered  relative  to  the  Mile- 
3iiins,  who- were  not  present,  were  as  follows  :  "Then  Miletus, 
^  See  chao.  77 


362  HERODOTUS.  [20-22. 

contriver  of  wicked  deeds,  thou  shalt  become  a  feast  and  a 
rich  gift  to  many :  thy  wives  shall  wash  the  feet  of  many 
long-haired  masters,  and  our  temple  at  Didymi  shall  be  tend- 
ed by  others."  These  things  befel  the  Milesians  at  that  time ; 
for  most  of  the  men  were  killed  by  the  Persians,  who  wear 
long  hair ;  and  their  wgmen  and  children,  were  treated  as 
slaves ;  and  the  sacred  enclosure  at  Didymi,  both  the  temple 
and  the  shrine,  were  PiJlaged  and  burnt.  Of  the  riches  in  this 
temple  I  have  frequently  made  mention  in  other  parts  of  my 
history."*  20.  Such  of  the  Milesians  as  were  taken  alive,  were 
afterwards  conveyed  to  Susa  ;  and  king  Darius,  without  hav- 
ing done  them  any  otherTiai-m,  settled  them  on  that  which  is 
called  the  Red  Sea,  in  the  city  of  Ampe,  near  which  the  Ti- 
gris, flowing  by,  fiills  into  the  sea.  Of  the  Milesian  territory, 
the  Persians  themselves  retained  the  parts  round  the  city,  and 
the  plain  ;  the  mountainous  parts  they  gave  to  the  Carians 
of  Pedasus  to  occupy.  21.  When  the  Milesians  suffered 
thus  at  the  hands  of  the  Persians,  the  Sybarites,  who  inhabit- 
ed Laos  and  Scydrus,  having  been  deprived  of  their  country, 
did  not  show  equal  sympathy.  For  when  Sybaris^  was  taken 
by  the  Crotonians,  all  the  Milesians  of  every  age  shaved  their 
heads,  and  displayed  marks  of  deep  mourning  ;  for  tliese  two 
cities  had  been  more  strictly  united  in  friendship  than  any 
others  we  are  acquainted  with.  The  Athenians  behaved  in  a 
very  different  manner  ;  for  the  Athenians  made  it  evident  that 
they  were  excessively  grieved  at  the  capture  of  Miletus,  both 
in  many  other  ways,  and  more  particularly  when  Plirynichus 
had  composed  a  drama  of  the  capture  of  Miletus,  and  repre- 
sented it,  the  whole  theatre  burst  into  tears,  and  fined  him  a 
thousand  drachms  for  renewing  the  memory  of  their  domestic 
misfortunes  ;  and  they  gave  order  that  thenceforth  no  one 
should  act  this  drama. 

22.  j^iletus  therefore  was  stripped  of  its  Milesian  population 
But  the  Samians  who  had  property  were  by  no  means  pTeaseS 
witlT  wliat  had  been  doae  by  their  generals  in  favour  of  the 
IWfedes,  and  determined,  on  a  consultation  immediately  after 
the  sea-fight,  to  sail  away  to  a  colony,  before  the  tyrant  ^aces 
should  arrive  in  their  country,  and  not  by  remaining  becoiiTe- 
slaves  to  the  Medes and  -^aces.  pOTthe  ZanclaBans of  Sicily, 
at  tliis  very  time,  sending  messengers  to  lonia,  invited  the 
lonians  to    Gale  Acte,    wishing   them   to   found   a    city  of 

^  See  B  I.  92,  II.  159,  and  V.  3».        *  See  Book  V     chap  44 


23-25.]  EttATO.    VI.  363 

lonians  there.  This  Cale  Actc,  as  it  is  called,  belongs  to  the 
Sicilians,  and  is  in  that  part  of  Sicily  that  faces  the  Tyr- 
rhenians. Accordingly,  when  they  invited  them,  the  Samians 
alone  of  all  the  lonians  set  out,  and  with  them  such  Milesians 
as  had  escaped  by  flight."  2d.  During  this  time,  the  following 
incident  occurred.  The  Samians,  on  their  way  to  Sicily, 
touched  on  the  country  of  the  Epizephyrian  Locrians,  and  tlie 
Zanclaeans,  both  they  and  their  king,  whose  name  was  Scythes, 
were  employed  in  the  besieging  of  a  Sicilian  city,  desiring  to 
take  it :  and  Anaxilaus,  tyrant  of  Rhegium,  who  was  then  at 
variance  with  the  Zanclaeans,  understanding  this,  held  corre- 
spondence with  the  Samians,  and  persuaded  them  that  it 
would  be  well  not  to  trouble  themselves  about  Cale  Acte,  to 
which  they  were  sailing,  but  to  seize  the  city  of  Zancle,  which 
was  destitute  of  inhabitants.  The  Samians  were  persuaded, 
and  possessed  themselves  of  Zancle,  whereupon  the  Zanclaeans, 
liearingTTTaf  their  city  was  occupied,  went  to  recover  it,  and 
called" to  their  assistance  Hippocrates,  tyrant  of  Gela,  for  he 
was  their  ally.  But,  when  IlipiJOcraieiuiJMlft  \YitlL  his  .ai'my, 
as  if  to  assist  th^,  IxaJiaxmgJJirown  into  chains  Scythes, 
kinjy  of  the  Zanclaeans,  who  had  already  lost  his  city,  and  his 
brother  Pythogenes,  sent  them  away  to  the  city  of  Inycum  : 
after  having  conferred  with  tlie  Samians,  and  given  and  re- 
ceived oaths,  he  betrayed  the  rest  of  the  Zanclaeans ;  and  this 
was  the  reward  agreed  upon  by  the  Samians,  that  he  should 
have  one  half  of  the  moveables  and  slaves  in  the  city,  and  tliat 
Hippocrates  should  have  for  his  share  all  that  was  in  the 
country.  Accordingly,  having  put  in  chains  the  greater  part 
of  the  Zanclaeans,  he  treated  them  as  slaves  ;  and  three  hun- 
dred of  the  principal  citizens  he  delivered  to  the  Samians  to 
be  put  to  death  ;  the  Samians,  however,  would  not  do  this. 
24.  Scythes,  king  of  the  Zanclaeans,  made  his  escape  from 
Inycum  to  Himera,  and  from  thence  passed  over  into  Asia,  and 
went  up  to  king  Darius.  Darius  considered  him  tlie  most 
lust  of  all  the  men  who  had  come  up  to  him  from  Greece. 
For  having  asked  permission  of  the  king,  he  went  to  Sicily, 
and  returned  back  from  Sicily  to  the  king,  and  at  last,  being 
very  rich,  died  among  the  Persians  of  old  age.  Thus  the 
Samians,  being  freed  from  the  Medes,  gained  without  toil  the 
very  beautiful  city  of  Zancle.  25.  After^the  sea-fight  which 
took  place  off  Miletus,  the  Phcenicians,  by  order  of  the  Per- 


361  HERODOTUS.  126—28 

sians,  conveyed  -^aces,  son  of  Syloson,  to  Samos,  as  one  who 
had  deserved  much  at  their  hands  and  had  performed  great 
services.  The  Samians  were  the  only  people  of  those  that  re- 
volted from  "BajTus^wliose  city  and  sacred  buildings  \vere~nor" 
burnt,  on  account  of  the  defection  of  their  ships  in  the  sea- 
^i2]t.  Miletus  being  taken,  the  Persians  immediately  got 
possession  of  Carla  ;  some  of  the  cities  having  submitted  of 
tlieir  own  accord,  and  others  they  reduced  by  force.  Now 
tE^  things  happened  thus. 

26 r  While  Histiaeus  the  Milesian  was  near  Byzantium,  in-^ 
tercepting  the  trading  ships  of  the  lonians  thlit  sailed" ou^^ 
the  Pontus,  news  was  brought  him  of  what  had  taken  place  at 
Miletus  ;  he  therefore  intrusted  his  affairs  on  the  Hellespont 
tQ.Bisaltes,  son  of  ApoUophanes,  of  Abydos  ;  and  he  Tiimsell^ 
having  taT^en  the  Lesbians  with  him,  sailed  to  Cjoips,  and  en- 
gaged with  a  garrison  of  Chians,  that  would  not  admit  him,  at 
a  place  called  Coeli  in  the  Chian  territory  :  and  he  killed  great 
numbers  of  them  ;  and  the  rest  of  the  Chians,  as  they  haobeen 
ihuch  shattered  by  the  sea-fight,  Histiceus,  with  the  Lesbians, 
got  the  mastery  of,  setting  out  from  Polichne  of  the  Chians. 
27.  The  deity  is  wont  to  give  some  previous  warning  when 
any  great  calamities  are  about  to  befal  any  city  or  nation,  and 
before  these  misfortunes  great  warnings  happened  to  the 
Chians.  For  in  the  first  place,  when  they  sent  to  Delphi  a 
band  of  one  hundred  youths,  two  of  them  only  returned  home, 
but  the  remaining  ninety-eight  a  pestilence  seized  and  carried 
off :  in  the  next  place,  about  the  same  time,  a  little  before  the 
sea-fight,  a  house  in  the  city  fell  in  upon  some  boys,  as  they 
were  learning  to  read,  so  that  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  boys 
one  only  escaped.  These  warnings  the  deity  showed  them  be- 
forehand. After  this,  the  sea-fight  following,  threw  the  city 
prostrate ;  and  after  the  sea-fight  Hist^us^with  the  Lesbians 
came  upon  them  ;  and  as  the  Chiarir"^STeen  much  shattered, 
he  easily  reduced  them  to  subjection.  28.  From  tlience  His- 
ticeus  proceeded  to  attack  Thasus  with  a largeToH3^'^Tonranj 
and  iEolians  ;  and  while  he  was  besieging  Thasus,  news'came 
that  llie  Phoenicians  were  sailing  from  Miletus  against  the  rest 
of  Ionia.  When  he  heard  this,  he  left  Thasus  untaken,  anTT 
himself  hastened  to  Lesbos  with  all  his  forces  ;  and  from  Les- 
bos, because  his  army  was  suffering  from  want,  he  crossed  to 
the  opposite  shore  for  the  purpose  of  reaping  the   corn  of 


29—32]  ERATO.     VI.  365 

Atarneus,  and  the  plain  of  Caicus  which  belonged  to  the 
Mysians.  But  Harpagus,  a  Persian,  general  of  a  considerable 
army,  happened  to  be  in  those  parts  ;  he  engaged  with  him 
after  his  landing,  took  Histiaeus  himself  prisoner,  and  de- 
stroyed the  greater  part  oY  his"army. 

29.  Histiaeus  was  thus  taken  prisoner.  When  the  Greek g 
were  fighting  with  the  Persians  at  Malene  in  the  district  of 
Atarneus,  they  maintained "tlieir  ground  for  a  long  time,  but 
the  cavalry  at  length  coming  up,  fell  upon  the  Greeks  ;  then 
it  was  the  work  of  the  cavah'y  ;  and  when  the  Greeks  had  be- 
taken themselves  to  flight,  Histiasus,  hoping  that  he  should 
not  be  put  to  death  by  the  king  for  his  present  oifence,  con- 
ceived such  a  desire  of  preserving  his  life,  that  when  in  his  flight 
he  was  overtaken  by  a  Persian,  and  being  overtaken  was  on 
the  point  of  being  stabbed  by  him,  he,  speaking  in  the  Persian 
language,  discovered  himself  to  be  Histiaeus  the  Milesian. 
30.  Now  if,  when  he  was  taken  prisoner,  he  had  been  con- 
ducted to  king  Darius,  in  my  opinion,  he  would  have  suffered 
no  punishment,  and  the  king  would  have  forgiven  him  his 
fault.  But  now,  for  this  very  reason,  and  lest  by  escaping 
he  should  again  regain  his  influence  with  the  king,  Artapher- 
nes,  governor  of  Sardis,  and  Harpagus,  who  received  him  as  soon 
as  he  was  conducted  to  Sardis,  irnpaledhis  body  on  the  spot, 
and  having  embalmed  the  head,  sent  it  to  Darius  at  Susa.  Darius 
having  heard  or  this,  and  having  blamed  those  that  had*'3one" 
it,  because  they  had  not  brought  him  alive  into  his  presence^, 
gave  orders  that,  having  washed  and  adorned  the  head  of 
Histigeus,  tliey  should  inter  it  honourably,  as  the  remains  of  a 
man  vvlfo'liad  been  a  great  Ijenefactor  to  himself  and  the  Per- 
siaiTsT    f^uch  was  the  fate  of  Histiaeus. 

71.  The  naval  force  of  the  Persians  having  wintered  near 
Miletus,  when  it  set  sail  in  the  second  year,  easily  subdued  the 
islands  lying  near  the  continent,  Chios^  Lesbos,  and  Tenedos : 
and^hen  they  took  any  one  of  tHese  islands^the  barbarians, 
as  they  possessed  themselves  of  each,  netted  the  inhabitants. 
They  net  them  in  this  manner.  Taking  one  another  by  the 
hand,  they  extend  from  the  northern  to  the  southern  sea,  and 
so  march  over  the  island,  hunting  out  the  inhabitants.  Tliey 
also  took  the  Ionian  cities  on  the  continent  with  the  same  ease ; 
but  they  did  not  net  the  inhabitants,  for  that  was  impossible. 
'62.  Then  the  Persian  generals  did  not  belie  the  threats  which 


366  HERODOTUS.  [33—35 

they  had  uttered  against  the  lonians,  when  arrayed  against 
them.  For  when  they  had  made  themselves  masters  of  the 
cities,  they  selected  the  handsomest  youths,  and  castrated 
them,  and  made  them  eunuchs  instead  of  men,  and  the  most 
beautiful  virgins  they  carried  away  to  the  king  ;  this  they  did, 
and  burnt  the  cities  with  the  very  temples.  Thus  the  lonians 
were  for  the  third  time  reduced  to  slavery ;  first  bylhFT^^iHI 
ans,  then  twice  successively  by  the  Persians.  33.  The  naval 
force  departing  from  Ionia,  reduced  all  the  places  on  tHe  left  of 
the  Hellespont  as  one  sails  in  f  for  the  places"  on  t'he  right, 
b'eing  on  the  continent,  had  already  been  subdued  by  tlieT^r- 
sians.  The  following  places  on  the  Hellespont  are  in  Europe  ; 
the  Chersonese,  in  which  are  many  cities,  Perinthus,  and  the 
fortified  towns  towards  Thrace,  and  Selybrie,  and  Byzan- 
tium. The  Byzantians,  however,  and  the  Chalcedonians  on 
the  opposite  side,  did  not  wait  the  coming  of  "the  Pfioenician 
fleet ;  but  having  abandoned  their  country,  went  inwards  to 
the  Euxine,  and  there  founded  the  city  of  JVIesambria.™  But 
the  Phoenicians,  having  burnt  down  the  places  above  men- 
tioned, bent  their  course  to  Proconnesus,  and  Artace,  and 
having  devoted  these  also  to  flames,  sailed  back  again  to  the 
Chersonese,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  rest  of  the  cities-, 
which,  when  they  passed  near  them  before,  they  had  not  laid 
waste.  Against  Cyzicus  they  did  not  sail  at  all,  for  the  Cyzi- 
cenians  had  of  their  own  accord  submitted  to  the  king  before 
the  arrival  of  the  Phoenicians,  having  capitulated  with  CEbares, 
son  of  Megabazus,  governor  of  Dascylium.  All  the  other  cities 
of  the  Chersonese,  except  Cardia,  the  Phoenicians  siiMuedT 

34.  Till  that'time  Miltiades,  son  of  Cimon,  son  of  Stesa- 
goras,  was  tyrant  of  these  "cilies,  Miltiades,  son  of  Cypselus, 
having  formerly  acquired  this  government  in  the  following 
manner.  The  Thracian  Dolonci  possessed  this  Chersonese  ; 
these  Dolonci  then,  being  pressed  in  war  by  the  Apsynthians, 
sent  their  kings  to  Delphi  to  consult  the  oracle  concerning  the 
war ;  the  Pythian  answered  them,  "  that  they  should  take  that 
man  with  them  to  their  country  to  found  a  colony,  who  after 
their  departure  from  the  temple  should  first  offer  them  hospi- 
tality." Accordingly  the  Dolonci,  going  by  the  sacred  way,  went 
through  the  territories  of  the  Phocians  and  Boeotians,  and  when 
no  one  invited  them,  turned  out  of  the  road  towards  xithens.  35. 
At  that  time  Pisistratus  had  the  supreme  power  at  Athens ;  but 


^,37.!  ERATO.    VI.  367 

Miltiades,  son  of  Cypselus,  had  considerable  influence ;    he 
was  of  a  family  that  maintained  horses  for  the  chariot-races, 
and  was  originally  descended  from  ^acus  and  JEgina,  but  in 
later  times  was  an  Athenian,  Philaeus,  son  of  Ajax,  having 
been  the  first  Athenian  of  that  family.     This  Miltiades,  being 
seated  in  his  own  portico,  and  seeing  the  Dolonci  passing  by, 
wearing  a  dress  not  belonging  to  the  country,  and  carrying 
iavelins,  called  out  to  them  ;    and  upon  their  coming  to  him, 
lie  offered  them   shelter  and  hospitality.     They  having   ac- 
cepted his  invitation,  and  having  been  entertained  by  him, 
made  known  to.  him  the  whole  oracle,  and  entreated  him  to 
obey  the  deity.     Their  words  pers u aded 3Ii Iti ades  as  soon  as 
he  lieard  them,  for  he  was  troubliidjadtk-tlie^-govei:iiixije»t--af 
Pisistratus,  and  desired  to  get  out  of  his  way.     He  therefore 
immeaiately  set  out  to  Delphi  to  consult  the  oracle,  whether 
he  sliould  do  that  which  the  Dolonci  requested  of  him.      36. 
The  Pythian  having  bid  him  do  so,  thereupon  Miltiades,  son 
of  Cypselus,  who  had  formerly  won  the  Olympic  prize  in  the 
chariot-race,  taking  with  him  all  such  Athenians  as  were  will- 
ing to  join  in  tlie  expedition,  set  gaii  witli  tlie  Dolonci,  and 
took  possession  of  the  country  ;  and  they  who  introduced  him 
appointed  him  tyrant.  '"He,  first  of  all,  built  a  wall  on  the 
isthmus  of  the  Chersonese,  from  the  city  of  Cardia  to  Pactya, 
in _^rdgi:. iEI. 'the  Apsyntliian^  niiglit  not  be  able  to  injure 
tliem  by  making  incursibhs  into  their  ^untry.     The  width  of 
tins  isthmus  is  thirty-six  stades ;    and  from  this  isthmus  the 
whole  Chersonese  inwards,  is  four  hundred  and  twenty  stadea 
I    in  length.    37.  Miltiades,  then,  having  built  a  wall  across  the 
I    neck  of  the  Chersonese,  and  by  that  means  repelled  the  Ap- 
I    synthians,  nextmade  war  upon  the  Lampsacenians ;  and  the 
i    LampsacenjansTTiaving  laid  an  ambush,  look  TTTm  prisoner. 
But  Miltiades  was  well  known  to  Croesus  ;  I^roesus  tlieretore, 
S    having  heard  of  this  event,  sent  and  commanaed  the  Larapsa- 
■    cenians  to  rdi?ase   Miltiades  ;    if  not,  he  threatened  that  he 
:    would  de.'^troy  tlieui  like  a  pine-tree.**    The  Lampsacenians 
\   being  in  uncertainty  in  their  interpretations,  as  to  what  was 
%   the  meaning  of  the  saying  with  which  Croesus  threatened 
I   them,  that  he  would  destroy  them  like  a  pine-tree,  at  length, 
\'   with  some  difficulty,  one  of  the  elders,  having  discovered  it, 
I  told  the  real  truth,  that  the  pine  alone  of  all  trees,  when  cut 
I  down,  does  not  send  forth  any  moie^  shoots,  but  perishes  en* 


368  HERODOTUS.  [38—41. 

tirely  :  wliereupon  the  Lampsacenians,  dreading  the  power  of 
Croesus,  set  Miltiades  at  liberty,  38.  He  accordingly  escaped 
by  means  of  Croesus,  and  afterwards  died  child]ess,  having  be- 
queathed the  government  and  his  property  to  Stesagoras,  son 
of  Cimon,  his  brother  by  the  same  mother.  And  when  he 
was  dead  the  Chersonesians  sacrificed  to  him,  as  is  usual  to  a 
founder,  and  instituted  equestrian  and  gymnastic  exercises,  in 
which  no  Lampsacenian  is  permitted  to  contend.  Thejvar 
with  the  Lampsacenians  still  continuing,  it  also  befel  Stesa- 
goraslo  diechildlesr;  heing  stricken  on  the  head  with  an  axe 
in  the  prytaneum,  by  a  man  who  in  pretence  was  a  deserter, 
but  was  in  fact  an  enemy,  and  that  a  very  vehement  one. 

39.  Stesagoras  having  died  in  that  manner,  the  Pisistra- 
tidae  thereupon  sent  Miltiades,  son  of  Cimon,  and  Brother'of 
Stesagoras  who  had  died,  with  one  ship  to  the  Chersonese,- to 
assume  the  government ;  they  had  also  treated  him  with  kind- 
ness at  Athens,  as  if  they  had  not  been  parties  to  the  death  of 
his  father  Cimon ;  the  particulars  of  which  I  will  relate  in 
another  place.^  Miltiades  having  arrived  in  the  Chersonese, 
kept  himself  at  home  under  colour  orhonourTng'^Ke  memory 
of  his  brother  Stesagoras  ;  but  the  Chersonesians  having  heard 
of  this,  the  principal  persons  of  all  the  cities  assembled  together 
from  every  quarter,  and  having  come  in  a  body  with  the 
intention  of  condoling  with  him,  were  all  thrown  into 
chains  by  him.  Thus  Miltiades  got  possession  of  the  Cher- 
sonese, maintaining  five  hundred  auxiliaries,  and  married 
Hegesipyle,  daughter  of  Olorus,  king  of  the  Thracians. 
40.  This  Miltiades,  son  of  Cimon,  had  lately  arrived  in  the 
Chersonese ;  and,  after  his  arrival,  other  difficulties,  greater 
than  the  present, ^  befel  him.  For  in  the_thkd.-^«ar-  before 
these  things,  he  fled  from  the  Scythians  ;  for  the  Scythian  no- 
mades,  having  been  provoked  by  king  Darius,  had  assembled 
their  forces,  and  marched  as  far  as  this  Chersonese :  Miltiades, 
not  daring  to  wait  their  approach,  fled  from  the  Ctrersofiese, 
un^il  the  Scythians  departed,  and  the  Dolonci  brought  hira^ 
back  again.  These  things  happenedTTn  the  third  year  1;)eTore 
the^pr^seht  affairs.  41.  Miltiades,  having  heard  that  the 
Phoenicians  were  at  Tenedos,  loaded  five  triremes  with  the 

6  See  chap.  103. 

'  By  the  present  difficulties  are  meant  those  which  Herodotus  had  b©» 
fun  to  relate  in  chapter  33  of  this  Book. 


42,43.]  ERATO,   VI.  369 

property  he  had  at  hand,  and  sailed  away  lor  Athens  ;  and 
when  he  had  set  out  from  the  city  of  Cardia,  he  sailed  through 
the  gulf  of  Melas,  and  as  he  was  passing  by  the  Chersonese, 
tlie  Phoenicians  fell  in  with  his  ships.  Now  Miltiad«3  himself 
escaped  with  four  of  the  ships  to  Imbrus,  but  the  fifth  the 
Phoenicians  pursued  and  took  :  of  this  ship,  Metiochus  the 
eldest  of  the  sons  of  Miltiades,  not  by  the  daughter  of  Olorus 
the  Thracian,  but  by  another  woman,  happened  to  be  com- 
mander, and  him  the  Phoenicians  took  together  with  the  ship. 
AVhen  they  heard  that  he  was  son  of  Miltiades,  they  took  him 
up  to  the  king,  thinking  that  they  should  obtain  great  favour 
for  themselves,  because  Miltiades  had  given  an  opinion  to  the 
lonians  advising  them  to  comply  with  the  Scythians,  when 
the  Scythians  requested  them  to  loose  the  bridge  and  return 
to  their  own  country.  But  Darius,  when  the  Phoenicians  had 
taken  Metiochus  son  of  Miltiades  up  to  him,  did  him  no  in- 
jury, but  many  favours  ;  for  he  gave  him  a  house  and  estate 
and  a  Persian  wife,  by  whom  he  had  children,  who  were 
reckoned  among  the  Persians.  But  Miltiades  arrived  at 
Athens  from  Imbros .  " 

^2.  During  thjs  year  nothing  more  was  done  by  the  Per- 
sians reladye  tolhe  war  with  the  lonians  :  on  the  contrary,  the 
followmg  things  were  done  in  this  year  which  were  advan- 
tageous to  the  lonians.  Artapliernes,  governor  of  Sardis, 
having,  aeritibr-deputies  from  the  cities,  compelled  the  lonians 
to  enter  into  engagements  among  themselves,  that  they  would 
submit  to  legal  decisions,  and  not  commit  depredations  one 
upon  jjiiitli^r.  This  he  compelled  them  to  do,  and  having  mea- 
sured their  lands  by  parasangs,  which  name  the  Persians  give 
to  thirty  stades  ;  having  measured  them  into  these,  he  im- 
posed jtinbutes  on  each,  which  have  continued  the  same  from 
that  trmelo  the  present,  as  they  were  imposed  by  Artaplier- 
nes ;  and  they  were  imposed  nearly  at  the  same  amount  as 
they  had  been  before.  These  things  then  tended  to  peace. 
43.  In  the  beginning  of  thelipHng^  tlie  other  generals  having 
been  dismissed  by  the  king,  Mardonius,  son  of  Gobryas,  went 
down  to  the  coast,  taking  with  Mm  a  very  large  land__anny, 
and  a  numerous  naval  force  :  he  was  young  in  years,  and  had 
lately  marrfed  king  Darius's  daughter,  Artazostra.  Mardo- 
nius, leadings  this-army,  when  he  arrived  in  Cilicia,  having 
gone  in  person  on  board  ship,  proceeded  with  the  rest  of  the 

2    B 


( 


370  HERODOTUS  [44, 45. 

fleet,  but  the  other  generals  led  the  land  army  to  the  Hel- 
lespont. When  Mardonius,  sailing  by  Asia,  reached  Ionia, 
there  he  did  a  thing,  which,  when  1  mention  it,  will  be 
a  matter  of  very  great  astonishment  to  those  Grecians,  who 
cannot  believe  that  Otanes,  one  of  the  seven  Persians, 
gave  an  opinion  that  it  was  right  for  the  Persians  to  be 
governed  by  a  democracy ;  fqr^lardonius,  having  deposed  the 
tyrants  of  the  lonians,  establislied~^fnoefacies  in  the  cities. 
Having  done  this,  he  hastened  to  the  Hellespont.  And  when 
a  vast  body  of  ships'^^mt'Tt-immerons  land  army  was  assem- 
bled, having  crossed  the  Hellespont  in  ships,  they  marched 
through  Europe,  and  directed  their  march  against  Eretria  and 
Athens.  44.  These  cities  indeed  were  the  pretext  of  the" 
expedition  ;  but  purposing  to  subdue  as  many  Grecian  cities  as 
they  could,  in  the  first  place  they  reduced  the  Thasians  with 
their  fleet,  who  did  not  even  raise  a  handToT^esisTthem ;  and 
in  the  next  place  with  their  land  forces  they  enslavedthe  Mace- 
donians, in  addition  to  those  that  were  befeesuBJect  toTlSem  ; 
foTall  the  nations  on  this  side  the  Macedonians  were  already 
.  under  their  power.  Then  crossing  over  from  Thasus,  they 
coasted  along  the  continent  as  far  as  A^nthus ;  and  proceed- 
ing from  Acanthus  they  endeavoured  to3ouble  Mount  Athos. 
but  a  violent  and  irresistible  north  wind  falling  upon  Them 
as  they^were  sailing  round,  very  roughly  dealt  with  a  great 
number  of  the  ships  by  driving  them  against  Athos  :  for  it  is 
said,  that  as  many.as. three  hundred  ships  were  destroyed,  and 
upwards  of  tjventy  thousand  men  ;  for,  as  this  sea  around 
Athos  abounds  in  monsters,  some  of  them  were  seized  and  de- 
stroyed by  these  monsters  ;  and  others  were  dashed  against 
the  rocks,  others  knew  not  how  to  swim  and  so  perished,  and 
others  from  cold.V  Such,  then,  was  the  fate  of  the  naval  force}^| 
45.  JVIardgjjius  and  the  land  forces,  while  encamped  jn  Mace- 
donia, the  Thracian  Bjcygi  attacked  in  the  night ;  and  tlie 
Brygi  slew  many  of  them,  and  wounded  Mardonius  himsel£ 
Nevertheless,  even  they  did  not  escape  slavery  at  the  hands 
of  the  Persians  ;  for  Mardonius  did  not  quit  those  parts  be- 
fore he  had  reduced  them  to  subjection.  Howeyer,  having 
subdued  them,  he  led  his  army  back  again,  having  suffered  a 
disaster  with  his  land  forces  from  the  Brygi,  and  with  his 
navy  a  greater  one  near  Athos.  Accordingly  this  armament, 
having  met  with  such  disgraceful  reverses,  retreated  into  Asia. 


46-i9.J  ERATO.    VI.  371 

46.  In  the  second  year  after  these  events,  the  Thasians  hav- 
ing been  accused  by  their  neighbours  of  designing  a  revolt, 
Darius  sent  a  messenger  and  commanded  them  to  demolish 
their  walls,  and  to  transport  their  ships  to  Abdera.  For  the 
Thasians,  having  been  besieged  by  Histiaeus  the  Milesian, 
and  having  large  revenues,  applied  their  wealth  in  building 
ships  of  war,  and  fortifying  their  city  with  a  stronger  wall. 
Their  revenues  arose  both  from  the  continent,  and  from  their 
mines  :  from  the  gold  mines  of  Scapte-Hyle  proceeded  in  all 
eighty  talents  yearly,  and  from  those  in  Thasus  less  indeed 
than  that  amount,  yet  so  much  that,  as  they  were  exempt 
from  taxes  on  the  produce  of  the  soil,  there  came  in  to  the 
Thasians  in  all,  from  the  continent  and  the  mines,  a  revenue 
of  two  hundred  talents  yearly  ;  and  when  the  greatest  quan- 
tity came  in,  three  hundred  talents.  47.  I  myself  have  seen 
these  mines  ;  and  by  far  the  most  wonderful  of  them  are  those 
which  the  Phoenicians  discovered,  who  with  Thasus  colonized 
this  island,  which  on  that  occasion  took  its  name  from  this 
Thasus  the  Phoenician.  These  Phoenician  mines  are  in  that 
part  of  Thasus  between  a  place  called  ^nyra,  and  Coenyra, 
opposite  Samothrace  :  a  large  mountain  has  been  thrown  up- 
side down  in  the  search.  This,  then,  is  of  such  a  description. 
The  Thasians,  in  obedience  to  tlie  king,  both  demolished  their 
walls,  and  transported  all  their  ships  to  Abdern. 

48.  After  this,  Darius  made  trial  of  what  were  the  intentions 
o^  the  Greek§^  whether  to  make  war  with  him  or  to  deliver 
tlienaaelifia  up.  He  therefore  despatched  heralds,  appointing 
different  persons  to  go  to  different  parts  throughout  Greece,  with 
orders  to  demand  earth  and  water  for  the  king.  These  accord- 
ingly he  sent  to  Greece  ;  and  despatched  other  heralds  to  the 
tributary  cities  on  tlie  coast,  witliTorders  to  build  ships  of  war 
and  transports  for  horses.  49. 'They  then  set  about  prepar- 
ing these  things  ;  and  to  the  heralds  who  came  to  Greece  many 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  continent  gave  what  the  Persian 
demanded,  as  did  all  the  islanders  to  whom  they  came  and 
made  the  deitTand.  Indeed  the  other  islanders  gave  earth  and 
water  to  Darius,  and  moreover  tlie  JE^inetai  :  but  when  they 
had  done  so,  the  Atlienians  forthwith  mreatened  them,  think- 
ing that  the  ^ginetae  had  given  earth  and  water  out  of  ill 
will  towards  themselves,  in  order  that  they  might  make  war 
on  them  in  conjunction  with  the   Persian  •    they  therefore 

2  B  2 


372  HERODOTUS  t-^  M. 

gladly  laid  hold  of  the  pretext,  and  going  to  Sparta,  accused 
the  ^ginetas  of  what  they  had  done,  as  betraying  Greece. 
50.  On  this  accusation  Cleomenes,  son  of  Anaxandrides,  who 
was  then  king  of  the  "Bpartans,  crossed  Qvgr  tq^^^Egina, 
intending  to  seize  the  most  culpable  of  the  JEginetae  ;  but 
when  he  attempted  to  seize  them,  others  of  the  JEginetoe 
opposed  him,  and  amongst  them  especially  Crius,  son  of  Poly- 
critus,  who  said,  "  that  he  should  not  carry  off  any  one  of  the 
^ginetae  with  impunity  ;  for  that  he  was  acting  as  he  did 
without  the  consent  of  the  commonwealth  of  the  Spartans, 
being  persuaded  by  bribes  from  the  Athenians  ;  and  that  if 
it  had  not  been  so,  he  would  have  come  with  the  other  king 
to  seize  them."  He  said  this  in  consequence  of  a  message  from 
Demaratus.  ButjCleomenes,  being  driven  from  JEg^ina,  ask- 
ed Crius  what  his  name  was  ;  and  he  told  Him  the  truth  ; 
whereupon  Cleomenes  said  to  him,  "Now  then  tip  your 
liorns  with  brass,  O  Crius,®  as  you  will  have  to  contend  with 
great  misfortunes."  51.  Meanwhile  Demaratus,  son  of  Aris- 
ton,  who  was  likewise  king  of  the  Spartans,  but  of  an  inferior 
family,  remaining  in  Sparta,  aspersed  the  conduct  of  Cleo- 
menes :  he  was  in  no  other  *retpBct  inferior,  loFlTiey  '\\'BrTr 
^«^fflTI§  from  the  same  origin,  but  somehow  the  family  of 
Eurysthenes  was  more  honoured,  on  account  of  seniority. 

52.  For  the  Lacedaemonians,  agreeing  with  none  of  the 
poets,  affirm,  that  Aristodemus  himself,  son  of  Aristomachus, 
son  of  Cleodasus,  son  of  Hyllus,  being  king,  brought  them  to 
the  country  which  they  now  inhabit,  and  not  the  sons  of 
Aristodemus.  And  that  after  no  long  time  Aristodemus's 
wife,  whose  name  was  Argia,  brought  forth  :  they  say  that 
she  was  daughter  of  Autesion,  son  of  Tisamenes,  son  of  Ther- 
sander,  son  of  Polynices  ;  and  that  she  brought  twins  ;  and 
that  Aristoderows,  having  looked  on  the  children,  died  of 
disease  :  that  the  Lacedeemonians  of  that  day  resolved,  accord- 
ing to  custom,  to  make  the  eldest  of  the  children  king  ;  but 
they  knew  not  which  to  choose,  since  they  were  alike,  and  of 
equal  size.  Being  unable  to  determine,  they  then,  or  perhaps 
before,  asked  the  mother ;  she  replied,  "  that  she  herself  was 
unable  to  distinguish : "  she  said  this,  although  she  knew  very 
well,  but  was  desirous,  if  it  were  possible,  that  both  should  b« 
made  kingS;  That  the  Lacedaemonians  were  consequently  in 
*  Crius  siginfies  "  a  ram." 


53,54.]  ERATO.     VI.  373 

doubt,  and  being  in  doubt,  sent  to  Delphi,  to  inquire  of  the 
oracle  what  they  should  do  in  the  matter.  They  add^  that  the 
Pythian  bade  them  consider  both  the  children  as  kings  ;  but  to 
honour  the  eldest  most :  this  answer  the  Pythian  gave  them ; 
but  the  Lacedaemonians,  being  still  in  doubt  how  they  should 
discover  the  eldest  of  them,  a  Messenian,  whose  name  was 
Panites,  made  a  suggestion  to  them  :  this  Panites  made  the 
following  suggestion  to  the  Lacedaemonians,  to  observe  which 
of  the  two  children  the  mother  would  wash  and  feed  first ;  and 
if  she  should  be  found  constantly  doing  the  same,  they  would 
then  have  all  they  were  seeking  for  and  desired  to  know  ;  but 
if  she  should  vary,  attending  to  them  interchangeably,  it  would 
be  evident  to  them  that  she  knew  no  more  than  they  did  ;  and 
then  they  must  have  recourse  to  some  other  expedient.  There- 
upon the  Spartans,  in  pursuance  of  the  suggestion  of  the  Mes- 
senian, having  watched  the  mother  of  Aristodemus's  children, 
discovered  that  she  constantly  gave  one  tlie  preference  both  in 
feeding  and  washing,  she  not  knowing  why  she  was  watched. 
Tlicrefore  considering  that  the  child  which  was  honoured  by 
its  mother  was  the  eldest,  they  educated  it  in  the  palace ; 
and  to  liim  the  name  of  Eurysthenes  was  given,  and  to  the 
younger,  Procles.  They  say  that  both  these,  though  brothers, 
when  they  had  reached  manhood,  were  at  variance  with  each 
other  throughout  the  whole  course  of  their  lives  ;  and  that 
their  descendants  continued  to  be  so.  53.  The  Lacedaemonians 
alone  of  the  Grecians  give  this  account :  but  I  now  describe 
these  things  in  the  way  they  are  told  by  the  rest  of  the 
Grecians.  For  they  say  that  these  kings  of  the  Dorians  up 
to  Perseus,  son  of  Danae,  the  deity  being  omitted,  are  rightly 
enumerated  by  the  Greeks,  and  are  proved  to  have  been 
Greeks ;  for  even  at  that  time  they  were  ranked  among  the 
Greeks  :  I  have  said,  up  to  Perseus,  for  this  reason,  and  have 
not  carried  it  any  higher,  because  no  surname  of  any  mortal 
father  is  attributed  to  Perseus,  as  Amphitryon  to  Hercules. 
I  have  therefore  with  good  reason,  and  correctly,  said  up  to 
Perseus  ;  but  if  we  reckon  their  progenitors  upwards  from 
Danae,  daughter  of  Acrisius,  the  leaders  of  the  Dorians  will 
prove  to  have  been  originally  Egyptians.  Such  is  the  genea- 
logy according  to  the  account  of  the  Greeks.  54.  But  as  the 
account  of  the  Persians  is  given,  Perseus  himself  being  an 
Assyrian,  became  ^  Greek,  though  the  ancestors  of  Ferseus 


874  HERODOTUS  [5^-57. 

had  not  been  so  ;  but  that  the  progenitors  of  Acrisius,  being 
in  no  way  related  to  Perseus,  were  Egyptians,  as  the  Greeks 
ftlso  say.  55.  Let  this  then  suffice  for  this  subject.  But  why, 
being  Egyptians,  and  by  what  exploits,  they  obtained  the 
sovereignty  of  the  Dorians,  I  will  omit  to  mention,  as  others 
have  spoken  of  these  matters.  But  such  particulars  as  others 
have  not  taken  in  hand,  of  these  I  will  make  mention. 

56.  The  Spartans  have  given  the  folio win^_privileges  to 
their  kings:  two  priesthoods,  that  of  the  Lacedaemonian 
Jupiter,  and  that  of  the  Celestial  Jupiter ;  and  to  levy  war 
against  whatever  country  they  please;  and  no  one  of  the 
Spartans  may  impede  this,  otherwise  he  falls  under  a  curse : 
when  they  march  out  to  war,  the  kings  go  first,  and  retire 
last;  and  a  hundred  chosen  men  guard  them  in  the  field: 
during  the  expeditions,  they  sacrifice  as  many  cattle  as  they 
please,  and  take  as  their  own  share  the  skins  and  chines  of  all 
the  victims.  These  are  their  privileges  in  time  of  war.  57. 
The  others,  those  during  peace,  have  been  given  them  as 
follows.  If  any  one  make  a  public  sacrifice  the  kings  sit  first 
at  the  feast,  and  are  first  served,  each  receiving  double  of 
whatever  is  given  to  the  other  guests.  They  have  the  right 
of  beginning  the  libations,  and  are  entitled  to  the  skins  of  the 
cattle  that  are  sacrificed.  At  every  new  moon,  and  on  the 
seventh  day  of  the  current  month,  a  perfect  victim  is  presented 
to  each  of  them,  at  the  public  charge,  for  the  temple  of 
Apollo;  and.  a  medimnus  of  meal,  and  a  Laconian  quart  of 
wine.  At  all  public  games  they  have  seats  appointed  by  way 
of  distinction;  and  it  is  their  prerogative  to  appoint  such 
citizens  as  they  please  to  be  Proxeni ;  ^  and  also  to  choose 
each  two  Pythii.  The  Pythii  are  persons  who  are  sent  to 
consult  the  oracle  at  Delphi  and  are  maintained  with  the 
kings  at  the  public  charge.  When  the  kings  do  not  come  to 
the  banquet,  two  choenices  of  flour  and  a  cotyle  of  wine  are 
sent  home  to  each  of  them ;  but  when  they  are  present,  a 
double  portion  of  every  thing  is  given  them ;  and  when  in- 
vited to  a  banquet  by  private  persons,  they  are  honoured  in 
the  same  manner.  They  have  the  keeping  of  the  oracles  that 
are  pronounced,  but  the  Pythii  are  also  privy  to  them.  The 
kings  alone  have  to  determine  the  following  matters  only: 
with  respect  to  a  virgin  heiress,  who  is  to  marry  her,  if  her 

*  Officers  appointed  to  receive  and  entertain  foreign  ambassador*. 


58—00.]  ERATO.    VI.  375 

father  has  not  betrothed  her ;  and  with  respect  to  the  public 
highways ;  and  if  any  one  desires  to  adopt  a  son,  it  must  be 
done  in  presence  of  the  kings.  They  assist  at  the  deliberations 
of  the  senators,  who  are  twenty-eight  in  number ;  and  if  they 
do  not  attend,  those  of  the  senators  who  are  most  nearly  con- 
nected with  them  enjoy  the  privileges  of  the  kings,  giving 
two  votes,  and  a  third,  their  own.  58.  These  privileges  are 
given  to  the  kings  by  the  commonwealth  of  the  Spartans  dur 
ing  life  ;  and  when  they  die,  the  following.  Horsemen  an- 
nounce through  allLaconia  what  has  happened;  and  women, 
going  through  the  city,  beat  a  cauldron ;  when  this  accord- 
ingly is  done,  it  is  necessary  for  two  free  people  of  each 
house,  a  man  and  a  woman,  to  make  themselves  squalid  in 
token  of  grief;  and  if  they  neglect  to  do  so,  heavy  fines  are 
imposed  on  them.  The  Lacedaemonians  have  the  same  custom 
with  regard  to  the  deaths  of  their  kings,  as  the  barbarians  in 
Asia ;  for  most  of  the  barbarians  observe  the  same  custom 
with  respect  to  the  deaths  of  their  kings.  For  when  a  king  of 
the  Lacedaemonians  dies,  it  is  required  that  from  the  whole 
territory  of  Lacedaemon,  besides  the  Spartans,  a  certain 
number  of  the  neighbouring  inhabitants  should  of  necessity 
attend  the  funeral :  when  accordingly  many  thousands  of 
these,  and  of  the  Helots  and  of  the  Spartans  themselves,  have 
assembled  together  in  one  place,  they  promiscuously  with  tlie 
women  strike  their  foreheads  vehemently,  and  give  themselves 
up  to  unbounded  lamentation,  affirming  that  the  king  who 
died  last  was  the  best  they  ever  had.  Should  one  of  their 
kings  die  in  war,  having  prepared  his  e^gy,  they  expose  it  to 
public  view  on  a  couch  richly  ornamented  ;  and  when  they 
have  buried  him,  no  assembly  takes  place  for  ten  days,  nor  is 
a  meeting  held  for  the  election  of  magistrates,  but  they  mourn 
duriiag  tliose  days.  59.  They  also  resemble  the  Persians 
in  this  other  respect :  when  on  the  death  of  a  king  another 
king  is  appointed,  he,  on  his  accession,  releases  whatever  debts 
may  be  due  from  any  Spartan  to  the  king  or  the  public  ;  and  so 
among  the  Persians,  a  newly-appointed  king  remits  to  all  the 
cities  the  arrears  of  tribute  then  due.  60.  In  this  respect  also 
the  Lacedaemonians  resemble  the  Egyptians  :  their  heralds,  mu- 
sicians, and  cooks,  succeed  to  their  fathers'  professions  ;  so  that 
a  musician  is  son  of  a  musician,  a  cook  of  a  cook,  and  a  herald 
orf  a  herald  ;  nor  do  others  on  account  of  the  clearness  of  tlieir 


376  HERODOTUS.  \  [61, 62. 

/ 

voico  apply  themselves  to  this  p-ofession  and  exclude  others ; 
but  they  continue  to  practise  it  after  their  fathers.  These 
things,  then,  are  so. 

61.  At  that  time,  thera  ore.  while  Cleomenes  was  atiEgina, 
and  cc -operating  for  the  common  good  of  Greece,  Demaratus 
accused  him ;  not  so  much  caring  for  the  ^ginetae,  as  moved 
by  envy  and  hatred.  But  Cleomenes,/  having  returned  from 
iEgina,  formed  a  plan  to  deprive  Demaratus^f  the  sovereignty, 
getting  a  handle  against  him  by  means  of  the  following  cir- 
cumstance. When  Ariston  reigned  in  Sparta,  and  had  married 
two  wives,  he  had  no  children  ;  and  as  he  did  not  acknowledge 
himself  to  be  the  cause  of  this,  he  married  a  third  wife ;  and 
he  married  her  in  this  manner.  He  had  a  friend,  who  was  a 
Spartan,  to  whom  he  was  more  attached  than  to  any  other  of 
the  citizens.  The  wife  of  this  man  happened  to  be  by  far  the 
most  beautiful  of  all  the  women  in  Sparta,  and  this  moreover, 
having  become  the  most  beautiful  from  being  the  most  ugly. 
For  her  nurse  perceiving  that  she  was  misshapen,  and  know 
ing  her  to  be  the  daughter  of  opulent  persons,  and  deformed^ 
and  seeing  moreover  that  her  parents  considered  her  form  a 
great  misfortune,  considering  these  several  circumstances,  de- 
vised the  following  plan.  She  carried  her  every  day  to  the 
temple  of  Helen,  which  is  in  the  place  called  Therapne,  above 
the  temple  of  Phoebus.  .When  the  nurse  brought  the  child 
there,  she  stood  before  the  image,  and  entreated  the  goddess 
to  free  the  child  from  its  deformity.  And  it  is  related,  that 
one  day  as  the  nurse  was  going  out  of  the  temple,  a  woman 
appeared  to  her,  and  having  appeared,  asked  what  she  was 
carrying  in  her  arms ;  and  she  answered,  that  she  was  carry- 
ing an  infant ;  whereupon  she  bid  her  show  it  to  her,  but  the 
nurse  refused,  for  she  had  been  forbidden  by  the  parents  to 
show  the  child  to  any  one ;  the  woman  however  urged  her  by 
all  means  to  show  it  to  her,  and  the  nurse,  seeing  that  the 
woman  was  so  very  anxious  to  see  the  child,  at  length  showed 
it;  upon  which  she,  stroking  the  head  of  the  child  with  her 
hands,  said  that  she  would  surpass  all  the  women  of  Sparta  in 
beauty ;  and  from  that  day  her  appearance  began  to  change. 
When  she  reached  the  age  for  marriage,  Agetus,  son  of  Alci- 
des,  married  her ;  this,  then,  was  the  friend  of  Ariston. 
62.  Now  love  for  this  woman  excited  Ariston  ;  he  therefore 
liavl  recourse  to  tlie  following  stratagem.     He  promised  h" 


^ 


re 


63—65.]  ERATO.     VI.  377 

would  give  his  friend,  whose  wife  this  woman  was,  a  present 
of  any  one  thing  he  should  choose  out  of  all  his  possessions, 
and  required  his  friend  in  return  to  do  the  like  to  him.  He, 
having  no  apprehension  on  account  of  his  wife,  seeing  that 
Ariston  already  had  a  wife,  assented  to  the  proposal ;  and 
they  imposed  oaths  on  each  other  on  these  terms.  According- 
ly Ariston  himself  gave  the  thing,  whatever  it  was,  which 
Agetus  chose  out  of  all  his  treasures  ;  and  himself  claiming  to 
obtain  the  same  compliance  from  him,  thereupon  attempted  to 
carry  off  his  wife  with  him.  Agetus  said  that  he  had  assent- 
ed to  any  thing  but  this  only  ;  nevertheless,  being  compelled 
by  his  oatn,  and  circumvented  by  deceit,  he  suffered  him  to 
take  her  away  with  him.  63.  Thus,  then,  Ariston  took  to 
himself  a  third  wife,  having  put  away  the  second.  But 
in  too  short  a  time,  and  before  she  had  completed  her  ten 
months,  this  woman  bore  Demaratus  ;  and  as  he  was  sitting 
on  the  bench  with  the  Ephon^^^ne'of  his  servants  announced 
to  him  that  a  son  was  born  to  him  ;  but  he,  knowing  the  time 
at  which  he  married  the  woman,  and  reckoning  the  months  on 
his  fingers,  said  with  an  oath,  "It  cannot  be  mine."  This 
he  Ephori  heard.  However,  at  the  time^tKeyltook  no  no- 
ce.  The  child  grew  up,  and  Ariston  repented  of  what  lie  hai. 
id,  for  he  was  fully  persuaded  that  Demaratus  was  his  son 
He  gave  him  the  name  of  Demaratus  for  this  reason  ;  beforo 
this  the  Spartans  had  made  public  supplications,  that  Ariston, 
whom  they  esteemed  the  most  illustrious  of  all  the  kings  that 
had  ever  reigned  in  Sparta,  might  have  a  son.  For  this  rea- 
son the  name  of  Demaratus  ^  was  given  to  him.  64.  In  pro- 
cess of  time  Ariston  died,  and  Demaratus  obtained  the  sove- 
reignty. But  it  was  fated,  as  it  appears,  that  these  things, 
hen  made  known,  sliQjjJld-OCcasion  the  deposition  of  Dema- 
at.us  from  the  sovereignty,  for  Demaratus  had  incurred  the 
latred  of  Cleomenes,  because  fie  liad  before  led  away  the  army 
from  Eleusis,^  and  now  more  particularly  when  Cleomenes  had 
crossed  over  aganBtr~those  JEglnette,  who  were  inclined  to 
Medism.  65.  Cleomenes  then,  being  eager  to  avenge  himsdf*, 
made  H  compact  with  lieutychTrTes,  >on  of  ]Mcnares.  sdu  of 
Agis,  wlio  was  ot'  the  same  family  with  Demaratus,  on  con- 
dition, that  if  he  should  make  him  king  instead  of  Demaratus, 

'Demaratus  means  "granted  to  the  prayers  of  the  people." 
'  See  B.  V.  chap  75. 


878  HERODOTUS.  [66. 67 

he  should  accompany  him  against  the  -^ginetae.  Leutychidea 
had  become  an  enemy  to  Demaratus,  chiefly  for  this  reason. 
When  Leutychides  was  affianced  to  Percalus,  daughter  of 
Chilon,  son  of  Demarmenes,  Demaratus,  having  plotted 
against  him,  disappointed  Leutychides  of  his  marriage  ;  hav- 
ing himself  anticipated  him  by  seizing  Percalus  and  retaining 
her  as  his  wife.  In  this  manner  the  enmity  of  Leutychides  to 
Demaratus  originated,  and  now,  at  the  instigation  of  Cleomenes, 
Leutychides  made  oath  against  Demaratus,  affirnaiBS'lthat he_ 
did  not  legitimately  reign  over  the"  iSpartans,  not  being  the  son 
of  Ariston  ;"  and  after  making  oath  against  him,  he  prosecuted 
him,  Jl^lling  the  words  which  Ariston  spoke,  when  the  serv- 
ant flBunced  tliat  a  son  was  born  to  him,  whereupon,  he, 
reckoning  the  months,  denied  with  an  oath,  saying,  "  that  it 
was  not%is."  Leutychides,  insisting  on  this  declaration,  main- 
tained that  Demaratus  was  neither  the  son  of  Ariston,  nor 
rightful  king  of  Sparta ;  and  he  adduced  as  witnesses  those 
Ephori,  who  were  then  sitting  by  the  king,  and  heard  these 
words  of  Ariston.  66.  At  length,  the  matter  coming  to  a 
trial,^  the  Spartans  determined  to  inquire  of  the  oracle  at 
Delphi,  "whether  Demaratus  was  the  son  of  Ariston."  But 
the  matter  being  referred  to  the  Pythian  at  the  instance  of 
Cleomenes,  Cleomenes  thereupon  gained  over  one  Cobon,  son 
of  Aristophantus,  a  man  of  very  great  influence  at  Delphi: 
and  Cobon  prevailed  with  Perialla  the  prophetess  to  say  what 
Cleomenes  wished  to  be  said.  The  Pythian  accordingly,  when 
the  persons  sent  to  consult  the  oracle  made  the  inquiry,  de- 
cided that  Demaratus  was  not  the  son  of  Ariston.  In  after 
time  this  came  to  be  known,  and  Cobon  fled  from  Delphi,  and 
Perialla  the  prophetess  was  deposed  from  her  office. 

67.  Thus,  then,  it  happened  \yith  respect  to  the  depositioiupf 
Demaratus  from  the  sovereignty.  But  Demaratiifl  flfidjros 
Sparta  to  the  Medes  on  account  of  the  foliowing;  insult.  After 
his  deposition  from  the  sovereignty,  he  was  chosen  to  and  held 
the  office  of  magistrate.  The  Gymnopaediae  "^  were  being  cele- 
brated ;  and,  when  Demaratus  was  looking  on,  Leutychides, 
who  had  been  appointed  king  in  his  room,  sent  a  servant  and 

*  Baehr  has  pointed  out  the  proper  meaning  of  the  word  veT/co  j  in  this 
passage. 

*  All  annual  festival  at  Sparta,  at  which  boys  cliuicfcLl  naked,  and  per- 
furuied  vaiions  athletic  exercises. 


68,69.]  ERATO.     VI.  379 

asked  him,  by  way  of  ridicule  and  mockery,  "  what  kind  of 
thing  it  was  to  be  a  magistrate  after  having  been  a  king  ?* 
But  he,  being  vexed  with  the  question,  answered,  "that  he 
indeed  had  tried  both,  but  Leutychides  had  not ;  however, 
that  this  question  would  be  the  commencement  either  of  infi- 
nite calamity  or  infinite  prosperity  to  the  Lacedaemonians." 
Having  spoken  thus  and  covered  his  face,  he  went  out  of  the 
theatre  to  his  own  house  ;  and  having  immediately  made  pre- 
paration, he  sacrificed  an  ox  to  Jupiter,  and  having  sacrificed, 
called  for  his  mother.  68.  When  his  mother  came,  he  placed 
part  of  the  entrails  in  her  hands,  and  supplicated  her,  speak- 
ing as  follows  :  "  Mother,  I  beseech  you,  calling  to  witness 
both  the  rest  of  the  gods,  and  this  Herca^an  Jupiter,  to  tell  me 
the  truth,  who  is  in  reality  my  father.  For  Leutychides  af- 
firmed on  the  trial,  that  you  being  pregnant  by  your  former 
husband,  so  came  to  Ariston  ;  others  tell  even  a  more  idle 
story,  and  say,  you  kept  company  with  one  of  the  servants,  a 
feeder  of  asses,  and  that  I  am  his  son.  I  adjure  you  therefoi-e 
by  the  gods  to  speak  the  truth  :  for  even  if  you  have  done  any 
thing  of  what  is  said,  you  have  not  done  it  alone,  but  with  many 
others ;  moreover,  the  report  is  common  in  Sparta,  that  Ariston 
was  incapable  of  begetting  children,  for  that  otherwise  his  form  • 
er  wives  would  have  had  offspring."  Thus  he  spoke.  69.  She 
answered  as  follows  :  "  Son,  since  you  implore  me  with  sup- 
plications to  speak  the  truth,  the  whole  truth  shall  be  told  you. 
When  Ariston  liad  taken  me  to  his  own  house,  on  the  third 
night  from  the  first,  a  spectre  resembling  Ariston  came  to  me  ; 
and  having  lain  with  me,  put  on  me  a  crown  that  it  had  :  it  de- 
parted, and  afterwards  Ariston  came  ;  but  when  he  saw  me 
with  the  crown,  he  asked  who  it  was  that  gave  it  me.  I  said, 
he  did  ;  but  he  would  not  admit  it ;  whereupon  I  took  an  oath, 
and  said  that  he  did  not  well  to  deny  it,  for  that  having  come 
sliortly  before  and  lain  with  me,  he  had  given  me  the  crown. 
Ariston,  seeing  that  I  affirmed  with  an  oath,  discovered  that 
the  event  was  superhuman  :  and  in  tlie  first  place,  the  crown 
proved  to  have  come  from  the  shrine  situate  near  the  palace 
gates,  which  they  call  Astrabacus's  ;  and  in  the  next  place, 
the  seers  pronounced  that  it  was  the  hero  himself.  Thus, 
then,  my  son,  you  have  all  that  you  wish  to  know  :  for  you 
are  sprung  eitner  from  that  hero,  and  the  hero  Astrabacus  ia 
your  father,  or  Ariston  ;   for  I  conceived  you  in  that  night. 


380  HERODOTUS.;  '70-72. 

As  to  that  with  which  your  enemies  most  violently  attack  you, 
affirming  that  Ariston  himself,  when  your  birth  was  an- 
nounced to  him,  in  the  presence  of  many  persons,  denied  you 
were  his,  for  that  the  time,  ten  months,  had  not  yet  elapsed  ; 
he  threw  out  those  words  throngh  ignorance  of  such  matters  j 
for  women  bring  forth  at  nine  months  and  seven,  and  all  do 
not  complete  ten  months.  But  I  bore  you,  my  son,  at  seven 
months  :  and  Ariston  himself  knew,  not  long  after,  that  he  had 
uttered  those  words  thoughtlessly.  Do  not  listen  to  any  other 
stories  respecting  your  birth  ;  for  you  have  heard  the  whole 
truth.  And  from  feeders  of  asses  may  their  wives  bring  forth 
children  to  Leutychides,  and  such  as  spread  such  reports." 
Thus  she  spoke.  70.  But  he,  having  learnt  what  he  wished, 
and  having  taken  provisions  for  his  journey,  proceeded  to 
Elis  ;  pretending  that  he  was  going  to  Delphi,  to  consult  the 
oracle.  But  the  Lacedaemonians,  suspecting  that  he  was  at- 
tempting to  make  his  escape,  pursued  him  ;  and  by  some  means 
Demaratusgot  the  start  of  them,  crossing  over  from  Elis  to  Za- 
cynthus  :  but  the  Lacedsemonians,  having  crossed  over  after  him, 
laid  hands  on  him,  and  took  away  his  attendants.  But  after- 
wards, for  the  Zacynthians  would  not  give  him  up,  he  crossed 
over  from  thence  to  Asia,  to  king  Darius  ;  and  he  received 
him  honourably,  and  gave  him  land  and  cities.  Thus  Dema- 
ratus  arrived  in  Asia,  having  met  with  such  fortune  ;  being 
renowned  in  many  other  respects  among  the  Lacedaemonians, 
both  by  his  deeds  and  counsels,  and,  moreover,  having  obtain- 
ed an  Olympic  victory  with  a  four-horse  chariot,  he  procured 
this  honour  for  his  native  citjj,  being  the  only  one  of  all  the 
kings  of  Sparta  who  had  done  this. 

71.  Leutychides,  son  of  JNIenares,  when  Demaratus  was  de- 
posed, succeeded  to  the  kingdom.  A  son  was  born  to  hira 
named  Zeuxidemus,  whom  some  of  the  Spartans  called  Cynis- 
cus.  This  Zeuxidemus  was  never  king  of  Sparta  ;  for  he 
died  before  Leutychides,  leaving  a  son,  Archidamus.  Leuty- 
chides being  bereaved  of  Zeuxidemus,  married  a  second  wife, 
Eurydame,  who  was  sister  of  Menius,  and  daughter  of 
Diactorides  ;  by  her  he  had  no  male  offspring,  but  a  daughter, 
Lampito ;  her,  Archidamus  son  of  Zeuxidemus  married, 
Leutychides  having  bestowed  her  upon  him.  72.  However, 
Leutychides  did  not  grow  old  in  Sparta,  but  made  the  follow- 
17  g  reparation  a?  it  were  to  Demaratus.     He  commanded  the 


73—75.]  URAtO.     VI.  381 

Lacedaemonian  army  in  Thessaly.  and  when  It  was  in  his 
power  to  have  reduced  the  whole  country  to  subjection,  he  ac- 
cepted a  large  sum  of  money  as  a  bribe  ;  and  being  caught  in 
the  very  act,  sitting  there  in  the  camp  on  a  sleeve  full  of  sil- 
ver, he  was  banished  from  Sparta,  having  been  brought  be- 
fore a  court  of  justice.  His  house  was  rased,  and  he  fled  to 
Tegea,  where  he  died.  These  events  happened  some  time 
after. 

73.  When  Cleomenes  had  succeeded  in  his  design  agiiinst 
Deniaratus,  he  immediately  took  Leutychides  with  him,  and 
went_against  the  iEginetas,  bearing  a  deep  grudge  against 
them  on  account  of  the  insult  he  had  received.  JThp  -^ginetae 
accordingly  thought  proper  to  make  no  further  resistance  ;  as 
boTirkings  were  coining  against  thera^  they  therefore,  having 
selected  ten  of  the  JEgmetx,  the  most  eminent  both  in  wealth 
and  birOifand  amongst  them  Crius,  son  of  Polycritus,  and 
Casambus,  son  of  Aristocrates,  who  had  the  chief  authority, 
and  having  carried  them  awaytoAttica,  they  delivered  them 
as  a  pledge  to  the  Athenians,  the  greatest  enemies  of  the 
JEginetsQ.  74.  After  this,  fear  of  the  Spartans  seized  upon 
Cleomenes,  when  discovere3~to  have  employed  wicked  arti- 
fice^ligainsFDemaratus,'  and  lie  withdrew  secretly, to  Thessaly; 
andTrom  tlience  passing  into  Arcadia,  he  began  to  form  new 
designs,  rousing  the  Arcadians  against  Sparta,  and  engaging 
them  both  by  other  oaths  to  follow  him  wherever  he  should 
lead  them  ;  and,  moreover,  he  was  desirous  of  leading  the 
chief  men  of  the  Arcadians  to  the  city  of  Nonacris,  to  make 
them  swear  by  the  water  of  the  Styx,  for  in  that  city  the 
water  of  the  Styx  is  by  the  Arcadians  said  to  be.  And  it  is 
of  the  following  deycription  :  a  small  quantity  of  water  is  seen 
and  drops  from  a  rock  into  a  hollow,  and  a  fence  of  masonry 
surrounds  the  hollow.  Nonacris,  in  which  this  fountain 
happens  to  be,  is  a  city  of  Arcadia  near  Pheneum.  75. 
Tlie  Lacedaemonians,  being  informed  that  Cleomenes  was 
acting  thus,  through  fear,  restored  him  to  Sparta  on  the 
same  terms  as  those  on  which  he  had  reigned  before.  But 
as  soon  as  he  had  returned,  madness  seized  him,  though 
ne  was  before  somewhat  crazed ;  for  whenever  he  met  any 
one  of  the  Spartans,  he  used  to  thrust  the  sceptre  into  his 
face.  When  he  was  found  to  do  this,  and  to  be  clearly  out  of 
hiB  mind,  his  relations  confined  him  in  wooden  fetters  :  but  he 


382  HERODOTTJS  [?6,  Tt 

being  so  ccnfined,  and  seeing  a  single  guard  left  alone  by  the 
rest,  asked  for  a  knife ;  and  when  the  guard  at  first  refused  to 
give  it,  he  threatened  what  he  would  do  to  him  hereafter ;  till  at 
last  the  guard,  fearing  his  threats,  for  he  was  one  of  his  Helots, 
gave  him  a  knife.  Then  Cleomenes,  having  got  hold  of  the 
blade,  began  to  mutilate  himself  from  the  legs,  for  having  cut  the 
flesh  lengthwise,  he  proceeded  from  the  legs  to  the  thighs  ;  and 
from  the  thighs  to  the  hips  and  loins  ;  at  last  he  came  to  the 
belly,  and  having  gashed  this,  in  that  manner  he  died  :  as 
most  of  the  Grecians  say,  because  he  persuaded  the  Pythian 
to  say  what  she  did  concerning  Demaratus  ;  but  as  the 
Athenians  alone  say,  because  when  he  invaded  Eleusis  he  cut 
down  the  grove  of  the  goddesses  ;  ^  but  as  the  Argives  say, 
because  he,  having  called  out  those  Argives  who  had  fled  from 
battle,  from  their  sacred  precinct  of  Argus,  he  massacred 
them,  and  holding  the  grove  itself  in  contempt,  set  it  on  fire. 
76.  For  when  Cleomenes  consulted  the  oracle  at  Delphi,  an 
answer  was  given  him  that  he  should  take  Argos.  When 
therefore,  leading  the  Spartans,  he  arrived  at  the  river  Era- 
sinus,  which  is  said  to  flow  from  the  Stymphalian  lake,  for 
that  this  lake,  discharging  itself  into  an  unseen  chasm,  re- 
appears in  Argos,  and  from  that  place  this  water  is,  by  the 
Argives,  called  Erasinus  :  Cleomenes  therefore,  having  ar- 
rived at  this  river,  oflered  sacrifice  to  it ;  but  as  the  victims  by 
no  means  gave  a  favourable  omen  for  his  passing  over,  he  said, 
that  he  admired  the  Erasinus  for  not  betraying  its  people,  yet 
the  Argives  should  not  even  thus  escape  with  impunity.  After 
this,  having  retired,  he  marched  his  forces  to  Thyrea ;  and  hav- 
ing sacrificed  a  bull  to  the  sea,  he  conveyed  them  in  ships  to  the 
Tirynthian  territory  and  Nauplia.  77.  The  Argives,  being  in- 
formed of  this,  went  out  to  meet  them  on  the  coast :  and  when 
they  were  near  Tiryns,  at  that  place  to  which  the  name  of  Sepia 
is  given,  they  encamped  opposite  the  Lacedaemonians,  leaving 
no  great  space  between  the  two  armies.  There,  then,  they  were 
not  afraid  of  coming  to  a  pitched  battle,  but  lest  they  should 
be  taken  by  stratagem  ;  for  it  was  to  this  event  the  ora- 
cle had  reference,  which  the  Pythian  pronounced  in  common 
to  them  and  the  Milesians,^  running  thus :  "  When  the  female, 
having  conquered  the  male,  shall  drive  him  out,  and  obtain 

•  Ceres  and  Proserpine. 
'  For  the  part  of  the  oracio  relating  to  the  Milesians*  see  chap.  19 


78 -«1.]  ERATO.    VI.  383 

glory  among  the  Arglves,  then  shall  she  make  many  of  the 
Argive  women  rend  their  garments ;  so  that  one  of  future 
generations  shall  say,  a  terrible  triple-coiled  serpent  has 
perished,  overcome  by  the  spear."  All  these  things  con- 
curring, spread  alarm  among  the  Argives,  therefore  they  re- 
solved to  avail  themselves  of  the  herald  of  the  enemy ;  and 
having  so  resolved,  they  did  as  follows :  when  the  Spartan 
herald  gave  any  signal  to  the  Lacedaemonians,  the  Argives 
did  the  same.  78.  Cleomenes,  having  observed  that  the  Ar- 
gives did  whatever  his  herald  gave  the  signal  for,  ordered  his 
troops,  when  the  herald  should  give  the  signal  for  going  to 
dinner,  then  to  seize  their  arms,  and  advance  against  the 
Argives.  This,  accordingly,  was  accomplished  by  the  Lace- 
daemonians, for  they  fell  upon  the  Argives  as  they  were  taking 
their  dinner,  according  to  the  herald's  signal ;  and  they  killed 
many  of  them,  and  a  far  greater  number,  who  had  taken 
refuge  in  the  grove  of  Argus,  they  surrounded  and  kept  watch 
over.  79.  Cleomenes  then  adopted  the  following  course: 
having  some  deserters  with  him,  and  having  received  inform- 
ation from  them,  he  sent  a  herald  and  called  them  out,  sum- 
moning by  name  those  Argives  who  were  shut  up  in  the  sacred 
precinct ;  and  he  called  them  out,  saying  that  he  had  received 
their  ransom ;  but  the  ransom  among  the  Peloponnesians  is  a 
fixed  sum  of  two  minae  to  be  paid  for  each  prisoner.  Cleo- 
menes therefore,  having  called  them  out  severally,  put  to  death 
about  fifty  of  the  Argives ;  and  somehow  this  went  on  un- 
known to  the  rest  who  were  within  the  precinct ;  for  ag  the 
grove  was  thick,  those  within  did  not  see  those  without,  or 
what  they  were  doing,  until  at  last  one  of  them  getting  up 
into  a  tree,  saw  what  was  being  done.  Tliey  therefore  no 
more  went  out  when  called  for.  80.  Thereupon  Cleomenes 
ordered  all  the  Helots  to  heap  up  wood  around  the  grove,  and 
when  they  had  executed  his  orders,  he  set  fire  to  the  grove. 
"When  all  was  in  a  flame,  he  asked  one  of  the  deserters  tc 
which  of  the  gods  the  grove  belonged ;  he  said  that  it  be- 
longed to  Argus.  Cleomenes,  when  he  heard  this,  uttering  a 
deep  groan,  said,  "  O  prophetic  Apollo !  thou  hast  indeed 
greatly  deceived  me,  in  sayingj  that  I  should  take  Arsjos.  I 
conjecture  thy  prophecy  is  accomplished."  81.  After  this, 
Cleomenes  sent  away  the  greater  part  of  his  army  to  Sparta ; 
and  he  himself,  taking  a  thousand  chosen  men  with  him,  went 


S84  HEUODOTUS.  t82-8i, 

lo  offer  sacrifice  at  the  temple  of  Juno.  But  when  he  wished 
himself  to  oifer  sacrifice  on  the  altar,  the  priest  forbad  him, 
saying  that  it  was  not  lawful  for  a  stranger  to  offer  sacrifice 
there ;  upon  which  Cleomenes  commanded  the  Helots  to  drag 
the  priest  from  the  altar  and  scourge  him,  while  he  himself 
sacrificed;  and  having  done  this,  he  went  away  to  Sparta. 
82.  On  his  return,  his  enemies  accused  him  before  the  Ephori, 
alleging  that  he  had  been  bribed  not  to  take  Argos,  when  he 
might  easily  have  taken  it.  He  said  to  them,  whether  speak- 
ing falsely  or  truly  I  am  unable  to  say  for  certain  ;  he  affirmed, 
however,  "  that  when  he  had  taken  the  sacred  precinct  cf 
Argus,  he  thought  that  the  oracle  of  the  god  was  accomplished, 
and  therefore  he  did  not  think  it  right  to  attempt  the  city, 
before  he  had  had  recourse  to  victims,  and  ascertained  whether 
the  god  would  favour  or  obstruct  him  ;  and  that  whilst  he  was 
sacrificing  favourably  in  the  temple  of  Juno,  a  flame  of  fire 
shone  forth  from  the  breast  of  the  image  ;  and  thus  he  learnt 
for  certain  that  he  should  not  take  Argos  :  for  if  it  had  shone 
forth  from  the  head  of  the  image,  he  should  have  taken  the 
city  completely ;  but  as  it  shone  forth  from  the  breast,  he 
thought  that  every  thing  had  been  done  by  him  which  the 
deity  wished  to  happen."  In  saying  thiis,  he  appeared  to  the 
Spartans  to  say  what  was  credible  and  reasonable,  and  was 
acquitted  by  a  large  majority.  83.  Argos  however  was  left 
so  destitute  of  men,  that  their  slaves  had  the  management  of 
affairs,  ruling  and  administering  them,  until  the  sons  of  those 
who  had  been  killed  grew  up.  Then  they,  having  recovered 
Argos,  expelled  the  slaves ;  and  the  slaves,  being  driven  out, 
took  Tiryns  by  assault.  For  a  time  concord  subsisted  between 
them,  but  then  there  came  to  the  slaves  one  Oleander,  a  pro- 
phet, who  was  by  birth  a  Pliigalean  of  Arcadia  ;  he  persuaded 
the  slaves  to  attack  their  masters.  From  this  circumstance 
there  was  war  between  them  for  a  long  time,  till  at  last  the 
Argives  with  difficulty  got  the  upper  hand. 

84.  Now  the  Argives  say,  that  on  this  account  Cleomenes 
became  mad  and  perished  miserably.  But  the  Spartans  them- 
selves say,  that  Cleomenes  became  mad  from  no  divine  influ- 
ence, but  that  by  associating  with  the  Scythians  he  became 
a  drinker  of  unmixed  wine,  and  from  that  cause  became 
mad.  For  that  the  Scythian  nomades,  since  Darius  had  in- 
vaded their  country,  were  afterwards  desirous  to  take  venge- 


85,86.1  ERATO.    VI.  385 

ance  on  him,  and  having  sent  to  Sparta  to  make  an  alliance, 
and  agree  that  the  Scythians  themselves  should  endeavour  to 
make  an  irruption  into  Media  near  the  river  Phasis,  and  to 
urge  the  Spartans  to  set  out  from  Ephesus,  and  march  up- 
wards ;  and  then  for  both  armies  to  meet  at  the  same  place. 
They  say,  that  Cleomenes,  when  the  Scythians  came  for  this 
purpose,  associated  with  them  too  intimately ;  and  being  more 
intimate  with  them  than  was  proper,  contracted  from  them  a 
liabit  of  drinking  unmixed  wine ;  and  the  Spartans  think 
that  he  became  mad  from  this  cause.  And  from  that  time, 
as  they  themselves  say,  when  they  wish  to  drink  stronger 
drink,  they  say,  "  Pour  out  like  a  Scythian."  Thus,  then,  the 
Spartans  speak  concerning  Cleomenes.  But  Cleomenes  ap- 
pears to  me  to  have  suffered  this  retribution  on  account  of 
Demaratus. 

85.  When  the  JEginetas  were  informed  of  the  death  of 
Cleomenes,  they  sent  ambassadors  to  Sparta  to  complain  loudly 
against  LeutychideSj  on  account  of  the  hostages  detained  at 
Athens :  and  the  Lacedaemonians,  having  assembled  a  court 
of  judrcature,  determined  that  the  ^ginetse  had  been  very 
much  injured  by  Leutychides,  and  condemned  him  to  be 
delivered  up  and  taken  to  JEgina^lji'tEe  place  of  the  men 
who  were  detained  at  Athens.  But  when  the  -^ginetae  were 
about  to  take  Leutychides  away,  Theasides,  son  of  Leoprepes, 
an  eminent  man  in  Sparta,  said  to  them,  "  Men  of  -^gina, 
what  are  you  going  to  do,  to  take  away  the  king  of  the 
Spartans,  who  has  been  delivered  into  your  hands  by  the 
citizens?  If  the  Spartans,  yielding  to  anger,  have  so  de- 
cided, take  care  lest,  if  you  do  these  things,  they  hereafter 
pour  into  your  country  a  calamity  which  will  utterly  destroy 
you."  The  -^ginetae  having  heard  this,  refrained  from  taking 
him  away;  and  came  to  this  agreement,  that  Leutychides 
should  accompany  them  to  Athens,  and  restore  the  men  to 
the  JEgmetx.  86.  When  Leutychides,  on  his  arrival  at 
Athens,  demanded  back  ^'6  pledges,  the  Athenians  had  re- 
course to  evasions,  not  wishing  to  give  them  up ;  and  said, 
that  two  kings  had  deposited  them,  and  it  would  not  be  right 
to  deliver  them  up  to  one  without  the  other.  When  the 
Athenians  refused  to  give  them  up,  Leutychides  addressed 
them  as  follows :  "  O  Athenians,  do  whichever  you  yourselves 
wish ;  for  if  you  deliver  them  up,  you  will  do  what  is  just, 

2  c 


386  HERODOTUS.  [86 

and  if  you  do  not  deliver  them  up,  the  contrary.  I  will, 
Ijowever,  tell  you  what  once  happened  in  Sparta  respecling 
n  deposit.  We  Spartans  say,  that  about  three  generations 
before  my  time,  there  lived  in  Lacedsemon  one  Glaucus,  son 
of  Epicydes :  we  relate  that  this  man  both  attained  to  tlie 
first  rank  in  all  other  respects,  and  also  bore  the  highest  cha- 
racter for  justice  of  all  vv^ho  at  that  time  dwelt  at  Lacedaimon. 
We  say  that  in  due  time  the  following  events  befel  him.  A 
certain  Milesian,  having  come  to  Sparta,  wished  to  have  a 
conference  with  him,  and  made  the  following  statement :  '  I 
am  a  Milesian,  and  am  come,  Glaucus,  with  the  desire  of 
profiting  by  your  justice.  For  since  throughout  all  the  rest 
of  Greece,  and  particularly  in  Ionia,  there  was  great  talk  of 
your  justice,  I  considered  with  myself  that  Ionia  is  continually 
exposed  to  great  dangers,  and  that  on  the  contrary  Pelopon- 
nesus is  securely  situated,  and  consequently  that  with  us  one 
can  never  see  the  same  persons  retaining  property.  Having, 
therefore,  reflected  and  deliberated  on  these  things,  I  have 
determined  to  change  half  of  my  whole  substance  into  silver 
and  deposit  it  with  you,  being  well  assured  that,  being  placed 
with  you,  it  will  be  safe.  Do  you,  then,  take  this  money, 
and  preserve  these  tokens ;  and  whosoever  possessing  these 
shall  demand  it  back  again,  restore  it  to  him.'  (2.)  The 
stranger  who  came  from  Miletus  spoke  thus.  But  Glaucus 
received  the  deposit,  on  the  condition  mentioned.  After  a 
long  time  had  elapsed,  the  sons  of  this  man  who  had  deposited 
the  money,  came  to  Sparta,  and  having  addressed  themselves 
to  Glaucus,  and  shown  the  tokens,  demanded  back  the  money. 
Glaucus  repulsed  them,  answering  as  follows :  I  neither  re- 
member the  matter,  nor  does  it  occur  to  me  that  I  know  any 
of  the  circumstances  you  mention ;  but  if  I  can  recall  it  to 
my  mind,  I  am  willing  to  do  every  thing  that  is  just ;  and  if 
indeed  I  have  received  it,  I  wish  to  restore  it  correctly;  but 
if  I  have  not  received  it  at  all,  I  shall  have  recourse  to  the 
laws  of  the  Greeks  against  you.  I  therefore  defer  settling 
this  matter  with  you  for  four  months  from  the  present  time. 
(3.)  The  Milesians,  accordingly,  considering  it  a  great  ca- 
lamity, departed,  as  being  deprived  of  their  money.  But 
Glaucus  went  to  Delphi  to  consult  the  oracle ;  and  when 
he  asked  the  oracle  whether  he  should  make  a  booty  of  the 
money  by  an  oath*  the  Bi^bian  assailed  him  in  the  following 


87,88.J  ERATO.     VI  S87 

words  :  *  Glaucus,  son  of  Epicydes,  thui  to  prevail  by  aw 
oath,  and  to  make  a  booty  of  the  money,  will  be  a  present 
gain :  swear,  then  ;  for  death  even  awaits  the  man  who  keeps 
his  oath.  But  there  is  a  nameless  son  of  Perjury,  who  has 
neither  hands  nor  feet ;  he  pursues  swiftly,  until,  having 
seized,  he  destroys  the  whole  race,  and  all  the  house.  But 
the  race  of  a  man  who  keeps  his  oath  is  afterwards  more 
blessed.'  Glaucus,  having  heard  this,  entreated  the  god  to 
pardon  the  words  he  had  spoken.  But  the  Pythian  said,  that 
to  tempt  the  god,  and  to  commit  the  crime,  were  the  same 
thing.  Glaucus,  therefore,  having  sent  for  the  Milesian 
strangers,  restored  them  the  money.  With  what  design  this 
story  has  been  told  you,  O  Athenians,  shall  now  be  men- 
tioned. There  is  at  present  not  a  single  descendant  of  Glau- 
5S,  nor  any  house  which  is  supposed  to  have  belonged  to 
rlaucus ;  but  he  is  utterly  extirpated  from  Sparta.  Thus  it 
right  to  have  no  other  thought  concerning  a  deposit,  than 
restore  it  when  it  is  demanded."  Leuty chides  having  said 
but  finding  the  Athenians  did  Sot  even'^tEerPirsfeii  to 

-  tedT^-;; — ""'"     '      '~^      "^ 

iut  the  -^ginetaB,  before  they  received  punishment 
)r  the  injuries "^ll^jr  had  done  to  the  Athenians,  to  gratify 
he  Thebans,^  acted  as  follows.     Being  offended  with   the 
Lthenians,  and  thinking  themselves  injured,  they  prepared  v 
)  revenge  themselves  on  the  Athenians :  and  as  the  Athenians  \ 
happened^to  have  a  five-benched  galley  at  Sunium,  they  formed 
an  ambuscade  and  took  the  ship  Theoris,®  filled  with  the  prin- 
cipal  Atliehians ;  and  havmg  taken  the  men,  they  put  them 
in"cTTaiTlH.''"^8.  The  Athenians,  having  been  treated  thus  by 
tiie  yEginetae,  no  longer  delayed  to  devise  all  sorts  of  plans  V 
aganist  tnem.     Now  there  was  in  -^gina  an  eminent  man  / 
named   Nicodromuspson  of  Cncethus;    he  being   incensed 
againsr'the  I^ginetoe  on  account  of  his  former  banishment 
from  the  island,  and  now  hearing  that  the  Athenians  were 
preparmglo'do  a  mischief  to  the  JEginetae,  entered  into  an 
agreement  with  the  Athenians  for  the  betrayal  of  iEgina, 
mentioning  on  wFaFHay^e  would  make  the  attempt,  and  on 
what  it  would  be  necessary  for  them  to  come  to  his  assistance. 

;    '  See  B.  V.  ch.  80,  81. 

•  The  Theoris  was  a  vessel  which  was  sent  every  year  to  Delos  to 
offer  sacrifice  to  Apollo. 

2  c  2 


( 


388  ttETlODOtttS.  [89—92. 

After  this  Nicodromus,  according  to  his  agreement  with  the 
/  Athenians,  seized  that  which  is  called  the  old  town.  89.  Tlie 
Athenians,  however,  did  not  arrive  at  the  proper  time,  for 
they  happened  not  to  have  a  sufficient  numljer  of  sHTps  to 
engage  with  the  JEginetae ;  and  while  they  were  entreating 
the  Corinthians  to  furnish  them  with  ships,  their  plan  was 
ri^ned.  The  Corinthians,  for  they  were  then  on  very  friendly 
terms  with  them,  at  their  request  supplied  the  Athenians  with 
twenty  ships ;  and  they  furnished  them,  letting  them  to  hire 
for  five  drachmae  for  each  ;  because  by  their  laws  they  were 
forbidden  to  give  them  for  nothing.  The  Athenians,  there- 
fore, having  taken  these  and  their  own,  manned  seventy  ships 
in  all,  and  sailed  to  JEgina,  and  arrived  one  ^|\y  afjter  that 
agreed  upon.  90.  Nicodromus,  when  the  Athenians  did  not 
ai-rive  at  the  proper  time,  embarked  on  ship-board  and  made 
his  escape  from  ^gina ;  and  others  of  the  iEginetai  uccom 
panied  him,  to  whom  the  Athenians  gave  Sunium  for  a 
habitation  ;  and  they,  sallying  from  thence,  plundered  the 
iEgineta)  in  the  island.  This,  however,  happened  subse- 
quently. 91.  Injhe  mean  time  the  most  wealthy  of  the 
.^inetae  overpowered  the  common  people,  who,  together^ 
with  Nicodromus,  had  revolted  against  thenij  and  afterwards, 
having  subdued  them,  they  led  them  out  to  execution.  And 
on  this  occasion  they  incurred  a  guilt,  which  they  were  un- 
able to  expiate  by  any  contrivance ;  but  they  were  ejected  out 
of  the  island,  before  the  goddess  became  propitious  to  them. 
For  having  taken  seven  hundred  of  the  common  people  pri- 
soners, they  led  them  out  to  execution  ;  and  one  of  them, 
liaving  escaped  from  his  bonds,  fled  to  the  porch  of  Ceres  the 
lawgiver,  and  seizing  the  door-handle,  held  it  fast :  but  they, 
when  they  were  unable  by  dragging  to  tear  him  away,  cut  off 
his  hands,  and  so  took  him  away ;  and  the  hands  w^ere  left 
sticking  on  the  door-handles.  92.  Thus,  then,  the  -^ginetJB 
treated  their  own  people.  But  when  the  Ath  em  ah  S  "afrlved 
with  their  seventy  ships,  they  came  to  an  engagement,  and 
being_^conquered  in  the  sea-fight,  they  called  on  the  same  per- 
sons as  before  for  assistance,  that  is,  on  the  Argives.  They, 
however,  would  not  any  longer  succour  themTBuf  complained 
that  the  ships  of  the  JEginetae,  having  been  forcibly  seized 
by  Cleomenes,  had  touched  on  the  territory  of  Argos,  and 
the  crews  had  disembarked  with  the  Lacedaemonians.     Some 


J— 95.3 


ERATO.     VI. 


389 


len  had  also  disembarked  from  Sicjonian  ships  in  the  same 
ivasion  ;   and  a  penalty  was  imposed  upon  them  by  the 
[•gives,  to  pay  a  thousand  talents,  five  hundred  each.     The 
Jicyonians,  accordingly,  acknowledging  that  they  had  acted 
unjustly,  made  an  agreement  to  pay  one  hundred  talents,  and 
be  free  from  the  rest ;  but  the  JEginetae  would  not  own  them- 
selves in  the  wrong,  and  were  very  obstinate.   On  this  account, 
therefore,  none  of  the  Argives  were  sent  by  the  common- 
wealth to  assist  them  ;  but,  on  their  request,  volunteers  wefii 
to  the  number  of  a  thousand:   a  general,  whose  name  was 
Eurybates,  and  who  had  practised  for  the  pentathlon,  led 
them :  the  greater  number  of  these  never  returned  home,  but 
were ^ainJxy..  the  Athenians  in  -^gina.     The  general,  Eury- 
fcbates,  engaging  in  single  conibat,  killed  three  several  anta- 
gonists in  that  manner,  but  was  slain  by  the  fourth,  Sophanes 
>f  Decelea.     93.   The  -^ginetae,  however,  having  attacke"cr- 
le  fleet  of  the  Athenians,  when  they  were  in  disorder,  ob- 
tined  a  victory,  and  took  four  of  their  ships  with  th&  mej^ 
In  board. 
94.  War,  was  accordingly  kindled  between  the  Athenians 
'^igineta}.     But  tTfe~Persian  pursued  his  own  design,  for 
^he  servant  contioiially  remenrled  him  to  remember  the  Athc- 
lians,  and  the  Pisistratidae  constantly  importuned  him  and 
jcused  the  Athenians ;  and  at  the  same  time  Darius,  laying 
lold  of  this  pretext,  was  desirous  of  subduing*TKose  people 
>f  Greece  who  had  refused  to  give  him  earth  and  water.     He 
therefore  dismissed^Iardoriius  from  his  command,  because  he 
lad  succeeded" nr  in  Iifs  expedition;  and  having  appointed 
rther  generals,  he  sent  them  against  Er^tpa  and  Athens, 
lamely^  Datjs,  who  was  a  Mede  by  birth,  and  Artaphernes, 
on  of  Artaphernes,  his  own  nephew ;  and  he  despatched  tliem 
^ith  strict  orders,  having  enslaved  Athens  and  Eretria,  to 
H-ing  the   bondsmen   into  his  presence.     95.   When  these 
jenerals  who  were  appointed  left  the  king,  and  reached  the 
ileian  plain  of  Cilicia,  bringing  with  them  a  numerous  and 
rell-equipped   army,  while  they  were  there  encamped  the 
diole  naval  force  required  from  each  people  came  up :  the 
lorse-transports  were  also  present,  which  Darius  in  the  prc- 
l^cding  year  had  commanded  his  tributaries  to  prepare.  Havini? 
Hit  the  horses  on  board  of  these,  and  having  embarked  the 
and-forces  in  the  ships,  they  sailed  for  Ionia  with  si^hundred 


390  HERODOTUS.  196-98, 

t<-iremes.  From  thence  they  did  not  steer  their  ships  along 
the  continent  direct  towards  the  Hellespont  and  Thrace ;  but 
parting  from  Samos  they  directed  their  course  across  the 
Icarian  sea,  and  tl^ough  the  islands  ;  as  appears  to'me,  clilefly, 
dreadin^lhe  circumnavigation  of  Athos,  because  in  the  pre- 
ceding  yearT^m  "attempting  a  passage~that  way,  they  had  sus- 
tained great  loss ;  and  besides,  Naxos  compelled  them,  not 
having  been  before  captured.  96.  When,  being  carried  out 
of  the  Icarian  sea,  they  arijv^d -off  -Naxos,  (for  the  Persians, 
bearing  in  mind  what  had  formerly  happened,^  purposed  to 
attack  this  place  first,)  the  Naxians  fled  to  the  mountains, 
and  did  not  await  their  approach :  the  Persians,  therefore, 
having  seized  as  many  of  them  as  they  could  lay  hold  of, 
as  slaves,  setfirP,.  to  both  the.  sno.rp.d  hnildinga  and  thfi  fi^YJ 
and  having  done  this,  they  proceeded  against  the  rest  of  the 
is„laads: 

97.  While  they  were  doing  this,  the  Delians  also,  abandon- 
ing Delos,  fled  to  Tenos ;  but  as  the  fleel  wSS  sailing  down 
towards  it,  Datis,  having  sailed  forward,  would  not  permit  the 
ships  to  anchor  near  the  island,  but  further  on,  off  Rhenea ; 
and  he,  having  ascertained  where  the  Delians  were,  sent  a 
herald  and  addressed  them  as  follows :  "  Sacred  men,  wliy 
have  you  fled,  forming  an  unfavourable  opinion  of  me  ?  For 
both  I  myself  have  so  much  wisdom,  and  am  so  ordered  by 
the  king,  that  in  the  region  where  the  two  deities  ^  were  born, 
no  harm  should  be  done  either  to  the  country  itself  or  its 
inhabitants.  Return,  therefore,  to  your  houses,  and  resume 
possession  of  the  island."  This  message  he  sent  to  the  Delians 
by  means  of  a  herald ;  and  afterwards  having  heaped  up  three 
hundred  talents  of  frankincense  upon  the  altar,  he  burnt  it. 
98.  Datis,  accordingly,  having  done  this,  sailed  with  the  army 
first  agamst  Eretria,  taking  with  him  both  lonians  and  ^o- 
lians.  But  after  he  had  put  out  to  sea  from  tbence,^eTo8 
was  shaken  by  an  earthquake,  as  the  Delians  say,  the  first^ 
and  last  time  that  it  was  so  affected  to  my  time.  And  the 
deity  assuredly  by  this  portent  intimated  to  men  the  evils 
that  were  about  to  befal  them.  For  during  the  reigns  of 
Darius,  son  of  Hystaspes,  of  Xerxes,  son  of  Darius,  and  of 
Artaxerxes,  son  of  Xerxes ;   during  these  three  successive 

*  See  B.  V.  ch.  34.  '  Apollo  and  Diana. 


99~101.J  ERATO.    VI.  391 

generatiDiis,  more  disasters  befel  Greece  than  duriug^jlie 
twenty  generations  that  preceded  the  time  of  Darius ;  partly 
brought  upon  it  by  the  I'ersians,  and  partly  by  the  chief  men 
amongst  them  contending  for  power.  So  that  it  is  nothing 
improbable  that  Delos  should  be  moved  at  that  time,  having 
been  until  then  unmoved :  and  in  an  oracle  respecting  it,  it 
had  been  thus  written :  "  I  will  move  even  Delos,  although 
hitherto  unmoved."  And  in  the  Grecian  language  these 
names  mean,  —  Darius,  "one  who  restrains;"  Xerxes,  "a 
warrior  ;"  and  Artaxerxes,  "  a  mighty  warrior."  Thus, 
then,  the  Greeks  may  rightly  designate  these  kings  in  their 
language. 

99.  The  barbarians,  after  they  had  parted  from  Delos, 
touched^ .the  islands ;  and  from  thence  tTieyToolTwitFtfiem 
men  to  serve  in  the  army,  and  carried  away  the  sons  of  the 
islanders  for  Ebstages.  And  when,  having  sailed  round  the 
islands7"tFey  touched  at  Carystus,  as  the  Carystians  would 
not  give  hostages,  and  refused"  to  bear  arms  against  their 
neighbouring  cities,  meaning'EretrIa  and  Athens,  they  th6re- 
upoii  besieged  them,  and  ravaged  their  country,  until  at  last 
the  Carystians  also  submitted  to  the  will  of  the  Persians.  100. 
The  Eretrians,  being  informed  that  the  Persian  armament  was 
sailing" ajgamst  them,  entreated  the  Atlienians  to  assist  them ; 
and  the  Athenians  did  not  refuse  their  aid,  but  gave  them  as 
auxiliaries  those  four  thousand  men  to  whom  had  been  allotted 
the  territory  of  theliorse-feeding  Chalcidians.^  But  the  coun- 
cils of  the  Erg^ians  were  not  at  all  sound :  they  sent  for  the 
Athenians  inaeedT^ut  held  divided  opinions ;  for  some  of 
them  proposed  to  abandon  tbe  city,"tm<f To  refoVe  to  the  fast- 
nesses of  Euboea ;  but  othci-s  of  them,  hoping  that  they  should 
derive  gain  to  themselves  from  the  Persians,  were  planning 
to  betray  their  country.  But  JEschines,  son  of  Nothon,  a 
man  of  rank  among  the  Eretrians,  being  informed  of  the  views 
of  both  parties,  communicated  to  the  Athenians,  wKb  had  come, 
the  whole  state  of  their  affairs  ;  and  entreated  them  to  return 
to  their  oynijiountiy,  lest  they  too  should  perish.  The  Athe- 
nians followed  this  advice  of  JEschines,  and  havin~g~cr6ssed 
over  to  Oropus,  saved  themselves.  101.  In  the  mean  time  the 
Persians,  sailing  on,  directed  their  ships*  course  to  TamynaB, 
Choerea,  and  -^gilia,  of  the  Eretrian  territory ;  and  having 
»  See  B.  V.  ch.  77. 


392  HERODOTUS.  [102,  103. 

taken  possession  of  these  places,  they  immediately  disembarked 
the  horses,  and  made  preparations  to  attack  the  enemy.  But 
the  Eicgtrians  had  no  thoughts  of  going  out  against  them  and 
fighting,  Sut  since  that  opinion  had  prevailed,  that  they  should 
not  abandon  the  city,  their  only  care  now  was,  if  by  any  means 
they  could  defend  the  walls.  A  violent  attack  on  the  walls 
ensuing,  for  six  days  many  fell  on  both  sides ;  but  on  the 
seventh,  Euphorbus,  son  of  Alcimachus,  and  Philargus,  son 
of  Cyneus,  men  of  rank  among  tlie  citizens,  betrayed  J;he 
city  to  the  Persians.  But  they,  having  gained  entrance  iiito' 
tKe'cTty,  in  the  first  place  piUagedjmd  set-ficfijjo  the  temples, 
in  revenge  for  those  that  had  been  burnt  at  Sardis ;  and  in 
the  next,  they  enslaved  the  inhabitants,  in  obedience  to  th*- 
commands  of  Darius. 

102.  Haykig^ubdued  Eretria,  and  rested  a  few  days,  they 
sailed  to  Attica.  ^ressTrig  them  very  close,  and  expecting  to 
treat'tEe  Athenians  in  the  same  way  as  they  had  the  Ere- 
trians.  NowasMsw^tlwn  was  the  spot  in  Attica  best  adapted 
for  cavalry,  and  nearest  to  Eretria,  Hm^jjis.  son  of  Pisistratus, 
conducted  them  there.  103.  But  theAtlienians,  whin  ihey 
iieard" Tjf  ■  thisj '  "aifeo  sent  their  forces  to  IMai  dtTion :  and  ten 
generals  led  them,  of  whom  the  tentli  was  Miltiades,  whose 
father,  Cimon,^  son  of  Stesagoras,  had  been  b^iished  from 
Athens  by  Pisistratus,  son  of  Hippocrates.X  During  his  exile, 
it  was  his  good  fortune  to  obtain  the  Olympic  prize  in  the 
four-horse  chariot  race,  and  having  gained  this  victory,  he 
transferred  the  honour  to  Miltiades,  his  brother  by  the  same 
mother ;  and  afterwards,  in  the  next  Olympiad,  being  victori- 
ous with  the  same  mares,  he  permitted  Pisistratus  to  be  pro- 
claimed victor ;  and  having  conceded  the  victory  to  him,  he 
returned  home  under  terms.  And  after  he  had  gained  another 
Olympic  prize  with  these  same  mares,  it  happened  that  he  died 
by  the  hands  of  the  sons  of  Pisistratus,  when  Pisistratus  him- 
self was  no  longer  alive :  they  slew  him  near  the  Prytaneum, 
having  placed  men  to  waylay  him  by  night.  Cimon  was 
buried  in  front  of  the  city,  beyond  that  which  is  called  the 
road  through  Coela,  and  opposite  him  these  same  mares  were 
buried,  which  won  the  three  Olympic  prizes.  Other  mares 
also  had  already  done  the  same  thing,  belonging  to  Evagoraa 
the  Laced 3erai">nian  ;  but  besides  these,  none  others.  Stesagoris 
»  See  ch.  39-11 


104—106.]  ERATO.     VI.  393 


I 

■Pa 


P 


,e  elder  of  the  sons  of  Cimon,  was  at  that  time  being  edu- 
ted  by  his  paternal  uncle  Miltiades,  in  the  Chersonese,  but 
e  younger  by  Cimon  himself  at  Athens,  and  he  had  the 
ame  of  Miltiades,  from  Miltiades,  the  founder  of  the  Cher- 
sonese. 104.  At  that  time,  then,  this^Utiades,  coming  from 
the  Chersonese,  and  having  escaped  a  two-fold  death,  became 
general^ofjthe^thfinians :  for  in  the  first  place,  the  Phoeni- 
cians, having  pursued  him  as  far  as  Imbros,  were  exceedingly 
desirous  of  seizing  him,  and  carrying  him  up  to  the  king  ; 
and  in  the  next,  when  he  had  escaped  them,  and  had  returned 
to  his  own  country,  and  thought  himself  in  safety,  his  enemies 
thereupon,  having  attacked  him,  and  brought  him  before  a 
^'ourt  of  justice,  prosecuted  him  for  tyranny  in  the  Chersonese. 
i5ut  having  escaped  these  also,  he  was  at  length  appointed 
i^eneral  of  the  Athenians,  being  chosen  by  the  people. 

105.  And  first,  while  the  generals  were  yet  in  the  city, 
they  despatched  a  herald  to  Sparta,  one  Phidippides,  an  Athe- 
nian, who  was  a  courier  by  profession,  one" wno "  attended  to 
tliis  very  business.  This  man,  then,  as  Phidippides  himself 
said  and  reported  to  the  Athenians,  Pan  met  near  Mount 
Parthenion,  above  Tegea ;  and  Pan,  calling  out  the  name  of 
hidippides,  bade  him  ask  the  Athenians  why  ^ey  paid  no 
ttention  to  him,  who  was  well  inclined  to  the  Athenians, 
and  had  often  been  useful  to  them,  and  would  be  so  hereafter. 
The  Athenians,  therefore,  as  their  affairs  were  then  in  a 
prosperous  condition,  believed  that  this  was  true,  and  erected 
a  temple  to  ^an  beneath  the  Acropolis,  and  in  consequence 
of  that  message  they  propitiate  Pan  with  yearly  sacrifices  niul 
the  torch  race.  106.  lliis  Phidippides,  being  sent  by  the 
generals  at  that  time  when  he  said  Pan  appeared loT  him/ ar- 
ruifiEjn  Sparta  on  the  following  day  after  his  departure  from 
thejsity  of  the  Athenians,  and  on  coming  in  presence  of  tlie 
agistrates,  lie  said,  "  Laceda3monians,  the  Athenians  entreat 
ou  to  assist  them,  and  not  to  suffer  the  most  anciehTcity 
among  the  Greeks  to  fall  into  bondage  to  barbarians:  for 
Eretria  is  already  reduced  to  slavery,  and  Greece  has  become 
weaTEer  by  the  loss  of  a  renowned  city."  He  accordingly  de- 
livered the  message  according  to  his  instructions,  and  they 
resolved- indeed  to  assist  the  Athenians  ;  but  it  was  out  of 
their  power  to  do  so  immediately,  as  they  were  unwilling  to 
violate  the  law:   for  it  was  the  nintl*  day  of  the  current 


# 


394:  •  HERODOTUS  [107,  108 

montli ;  and  they  said  they  could  not  march  out  on  the  ninth 
day,  the  moon's  circle  not  being  full.  The^^  therefore,  waited 
for  the  full  moon.  «...-««»««*. 

l'0f7~!Meanwhile  Hippias,  son  of  Pisistratus,  had  led  the 
barbarians  to  Marathon,  Tiaving  the  preceding  night  seen  the 
folTmving  vision  in  his  sleep.  Hippias  fancied  that  he  lay 
with  his  own  mother ;  he  inferred,  therefore,  from  the  dream, 
that  having  returned  to  Athens  and  recovered  the  sovereignty, 
lie  should  die  an  old  man  in  his  own  country.  He  drew  this 
inference  from  the  vision.  At  that  time,  as  he  was  leading 
the  way,  he  first  of  all  landed  the  slaves  from  Eretria  on  the 
island  of  the  Styreans,  called  jEgilia ;  and  next  he  moored 
the  ships  as  they  came  to  Marathon,  and  drew  up  the  bar- 
barians as  they  disembarked  on  land :  and  as  he  was  busied 
in  doing  this,  it  happened  that  he  sneezed  and  coughed  more 
violently  than  he  was  accustomed ;  and  as  he  was  far  advanced 
in  years,  several  of  his  teeth  were  loose,  so  that  th^-ough  the 
violence  of  his  cough  he  threw  out  one  of  these  teeth ;  and 
as  it  fell  on  the  sand,  he  used  every  endeavour  to  find  it,  but 
when  the  tooth  could  no  where  be  found,  he  drew  a  deep  sigh, 
and  said  to  the  by-standers,  "  This  country  is  not  ours,  nor 
shall  we  be  able  to  subdue  it ;  whatever  share  belongeth  to 
\  me,  my  tooth  possesses."  Hippias  accordingly  inferred  that 
liis  vision  had  been  thus  fulfilled. 

108.  When  the  Athenians  were  drawn  up  in  a  place  sacred 
to  Hercules,  the  Plat2t?ans  came  to  their  assistance  with  all 
their  forces./  For  the  Plataeans  had  given  themselves  up  to 
the  Athenians,  and  the  Athenians  had  already  undergone  many 
toils  on  their  account :  and  they  gave  themselves  up  on  the 
following  occasion.  The  Pla!S&ns,  l3eTng^hardr~pressed  by 
th*e"Thebans,  first  offered  themselves  to  Cleomenes,  son  of 
Anaxandrides,  and  to  the  Lacedaemonians  who  happened  to 
be  present.  They  would  not  receive  them,  but  addressed 
them  as  follows :  "  We  live  at  too  great  a  distance,  and  such 
assistance  would  be  of  httle  value  to  you ;  for  you  would  often 
be  enslaved  before  any  of  us  could  be  informed  of  it.  We 
advise  you,  therefore,  to  give  yourselves  up  to  the  Athenians, 
who  are  your  neighbours,  and  are  not  backward  in  assisting.** 
The  Lacedaemonians  gave  this  advice,  not  so  much  from  any 
good- will  to  the  Plataeans,  as  from  a  desire  that  the  Athenians 
might  be  subject  to  toil,  by  being  set  at  variance  witli  the 


/ 


109.]  ERATO.     VI.  395 

Bflp.otians.     The  Lacedaemonians,  accordingly,  gave  this  ad- 
vice lu  the  Plataeans,  and  they  did  not  disregard  it,  but  when 
the  Athenians  were  performing  the  sacred  rites  to  the  twelve 
gods,  they  sat  down  at  the  altar  as  suppliants,  and  delivered 
themselves  up.      But   the  Thebans,  having  heard  of  this, 
marched  against  the  Plataeans,  and  the  Athenians  went  to 
assist ;  and  as  they  were  about  to  engage  in  battle,  the  Cor- 
intliians  interfered ;  for  happening  to  be  present,  and  medi- 
ating between  them,  at  the  request  of  both  parties,  they  pre-        i     j 
scribed  the  limits  to  the  country  in  the  following  manner :     |\(aW^ 
that  the  Thebans  should  leave  alone  tliose  of  the  Boeotians     I ''^* 
who  did  not  wisH"To~1)GTan1?:ed  among  the  Boeotians.     The   Cj/S 
Connthians,TfavTng  made  this  decision,  returned  home;  but.J^', 
the  Boeotians  attacked  the  Athenians  as  they  were  departing,  ^      ■ 
but  hlu^ng  attacked  them  were  worsted  in  the  battle.     The  fP)oJ^'- 
Athenians,  therefore,   passing  beyond  the  limits  which  the 
Coiiirtliians  had  fixed  for  the  Platceans, — passing  beyond  these,     k 
tliey  made  the  Asopus  and  Hysiaj  to  be  the  boundary  between    /\ 
the  Thebans  and  Platceans.     The  Plata3ans,  therefore,  gave 
tliem'selves  up  to  thgAlhenians  in  the  manner  above  described  ;    d 
and  at  that  time  came  to  assist  them  at  Marathon.  ^ 

1 00.  The  opinions  of  the  Athenian  generals  were  divided , 
he  party  not  consenting  to  engage,  "  because  they  were  too 
Yew  to  engage  with  the  army  of  the  Medes ;"  and  the  others, 
among  whom  was  Miltiades,  urging  them  to  (five  battle.  When, 
therefore,  they  were  divided,  and  the  worst  opinion  was  likely 
to  prevail,  thereupon,  for  there  was  an  eleventh  voter  who 
was  appointed  minister  of  war  among  the  Athenians,  for  the 
Athenians  in  ancient  times  gave  the  minister  of  war  an  equal 
vote  with  the  generals,  and  at  that  time  .Callimachus  oi 
Aphidnae  was  minister  of  war ;  to  him,  therefore,  Miltiades 
came  and  spoke  as  follows :  "  It  now  depends  on  you,  Cal- 
iimachus,  either  to  enslave  Athens ;  or,  by  preserving  its 
liberty,  to  leave  a  memorial  of  yourself  to  every  age,  such  as 
not  even  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton  have  left.  For  the 
Athenians  were  never  in  so  great  danger  from  the  time  they 
were  first  a  people.  And  if  they  succumb  to  the  Medes,  it 
has  been  determined  what  they  are  to  suffer,  when  delivered 
up  to  Hippias ;  but  if  the  city  survives,  it  will  become  the 
first  of  the  Grecian  cities.  How,  then,  this  can  be  brouglit 
to  Dass.  and  how  the  power  of  deciding  this  matter  depends 


3C6  HERODOTUS,  [110-112 

on  you,  I  will  now  proceed  to  explain.  The  opinions  of  us 
generals,  who  are  ten,  are  divided ;  the  one  party  urging  that 
we  should  engage ;  the  other,  that  we  should  not  engage. 
Now  if  we  do  not  engage,  I  expect  that  some  great  dissen- 
sion arising  amongst  us  will  shake  the  ininds  of  the  Atheirian^;^ 
fto  as  to  induce  them  to  a  compliance  with  the  Medes.  Bujt^ 
if  we  engage  before  any  dastardly  thought  arises  in  the  mindg 
©rsome  of  the  Athenians,  if  the  gods  are  impartial,  we  shall 
be  able  to  get  the  better  in  the  engagement.  AH  these  things, 
therefore,  are  now  in  your  power,  and  entirely  depend  on  you. 
For  if  you  will  support  my  opinion,  your  country  will  be  free, 
and  the  city  the  first  in  Greecel  but  if  you  join  with  those 
who  would  dissuade  us  from  (an  engagement,  the  eontrary 
of  the  advantages  I  have  enumerated~will  fall  to  your  lot." 
1 10.  Miltiades,  by  these  words,  gained  over  Callimaclius,  and 
the  opinion  of  the  minister  of  war  being  added,lt  was  deter- 
rnined  to  engage.  ■  Afterwards  the  generals  whose  opinions 
had  Been  giveSflo  engage,  as  the  command  for  the  day  de 
volved  upon  each  of  them,  gave  it  up  to  ISIiltiades ;  buTlie, 
having  accepted  it,  would  not  come  to  an  engagement,  before 
his  own  turn  to  command  came. 

111.  When  it  came  round  to  his  turn,  then  the  Athenians 
were  drawn  out  in  the  following  order  for  the  purpose  of  en- 
gaging. The  war-minister,  Callimachus,  commanded  the  right 
wing,  for  the  law  at  that  time  was  so  settled  among  the  Athe- 
nlSffs,  that  the  war-minister  should  have  the  right  wing.  He 
having  this  command,  the  tribes  succeeded  as  they  were  usually 
reckoned,  adjoining  one  another  ;  but  the  Platajans  were  drawn 
out  last  of  all,  occupying  the  left  ^ving.  'KowpSVer  since  that 
battle,' when  the  Athenians  oiFer  sacrifices  and  celebrate  the 
public  festivals  which  take  place  every  five  years,  the  Athenian 
herald  prays,  saying,  "  May  blessings  attend  both  the  Athe- 
nians and  the  Platajans."  At  that  time,  when  the  Athenians 
were  drawn  out  at  Marathon,  the  following  was  the  case; 
their  line  was  equal  in  extent  to  the  Medic  line,  but  the 
middle  of  it  was  but  few  deep,  and  there  the  line  was  weakest ; 
but  each  wing  was  strong  in  numbers.  112.  "When  they  were 
thus  drawn  out,  and  the  victims  were  favourable,  thereupon  the 
Athenians,  as  soon  as  they  were  ordered  to  charge,  advanced 
against  "^he  barbarians  in  double-quick  time ;  and  the  space 
between  them  was  not  less  than  ei^W sTades.  But  the  Persians, 


120    122.]  ERATO.    VI  392* 

different  substances ;  for  asphalt,  salt,  and  oil  are  drawn  up 
from  it,  in  the  following  manner.  It  is  pumped  up  by  means 
of  a  swipe,  and  instead  of  a  bucket  half  of  a  wine-skin  is  at- 
tached to  it ;  having  dipped  down  with  this,  a  man  draws  it 
up  and  then  pours  the  contents  into  a  receiver  ;  and  being 
poured  from  this  into  another,  it  assumes  three  different  forms  : 
the  asphalt  and  the  salt  immediately  become  solid,  but  the  oil 
they  collect,  and  the  Persians  call  it  rhadinace ;  it  is  black  and 
emits  a  strong  odour.  Here  king  Darius  settled  the  Eretrians ; 
who,  even  to  my  time,  occupied  this  territory,  retaining  their 
ancient  language.  Such  things  took  plaoe  with  regard  to  the 
Eretrians.  120.  Two  thousand  of  the  Lacedaemonians  came  to 
Athens  after  the  full  moon,  making  such  haste  to  be  in  time, 
that  they  arrived  in  Attica  on  the  third  day  after  leaving 
Sparta.  But  having  come  too  late  for  the  battle,  they,  never- 
theless, desired  to  see  the  Medes ;  and  having  proceeded  to 
Marathon,  they  saw  the  slain;  and  afterwards,  having  com- 
mended the  Athenians  and  their  achievement,  they  returned 
home. 

121.  It  is  a  marvel  to  me,  and  I  ,cannotcrgdit  the  report, 
that  the  Alcma^onidee  ever  held  up  a  sKielJlo  the  Persians  by 
agreement,  wishing  that  the  Athenians  should  be  subject  to 
the  IBarKarians  and  to  Hippias  ;  for  they  were  evidently  haters 
of  tyrants  more  than,  or  equally  with,  Callias,  son  of  Phoenip- 
pus,  and  father  of  Hipponicus.  For  Callias  was  the  only  one 
of  all  the  Athenians  who,  when  Pisistratus  was  driven  from 
Athens,  dared  to  purchase  his  goods  when  put  up  to  sale  by 
the  public  crier ,  and  he  devised  every  thing  else  that  was 
most  hostile  to  him.  122.  This  Callias  deserves  to  have  fre- 
quent mention  made  of  him  by  every  one :  first  of  all,  on  ac- 
count of  what  has  been  already  mentioned,  as  being  a  man 
ardent  in  asserting  the  freedom  of  his  country;  and  in  the 
next  place,  on  account  of  what  he  did  at  Olympia,  having  been 
victorious  in  the  horse-race,  and  second  in  the  chariot-race, 
and  having  before  won  the  prize  in  the  Pythian  games,  he  was 
distinguished  among  all  the  Greeks  for  the  greatest  munifi- 
cence: moreover,  with  regard  to  his  daughters,  who  were 
three  in  number,  he  behaved  in  the  following  manner :  when 
they  were  of  fit  age  for  marriage  he  gave  them  a  most  magnifi- 
cent present,  and  gratified  their  wishes ;  for  he  gave  each  to  that 
man  of  all  the  Athenians  whom  she  wished  to  select  for  her  own 


400  HERODOTUS.  [123-125. 

husband.  123.  And  the  Alcmaeonidae  were  haters  of  tyrants, 
equally  with,  or  not  at  all  less  than  him.  It  is  .therefore  a 
marvel  to  me,  and  I  cannot  admit  the  charge,  that  they  held 
up  a  shield,  who  at  all  times  shunned  the  tyrants,  and  by 
whose  contrivance  the  Pisistratidge  abandoned  the  tyranny.* 
Thus,  in  my  judgment,  these  were  the  persons  who  liberated 
4thens  much  more  than  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton,  for 
they,  by  slaying  Hipparchus,  exasperated  the  survivors  of  the 
PisistratidjB,  but  did  not  any  the  more  put  an  end  to  the  ty- 
ranny of  the  rest ;  whereas  the  Alcmaeonidae  manifestly  liberated 
thoircountry,  if  indeed  they  were  the  persons  who  persuaded  the 
Pythian  to  enjoin  the  Lacedaemonians  to  liberate  Athens,  as  I 
have  already  shown.^  124.  But  perhaps,  having  some  grudge 
against  the  Athenian  people,  they  betrayeS^  their  country  ? 
There  were  not,  however,  any  other  men  who  were  more  highly 
esteemed  among  the  Athenians  than  them,  or  who  were  more 
honoured  :  so  that  it  is  not  consistent  with  reason,  that  a  shield 
was  held  up  by  them  from  such  a  motive.  Still  a  shield  was 
held  up  ;  and  this  cannot  be  denied,  for  so  it  was  ;  but  who  it 
was  that  held  it  up  I  am  not  able  to  say  further  than  this. 

125.  The  Alcmaeonidae  were  even  from  a  very  early  period 
distinguished  at  Athens  ;  for  through  Alcmaeon,  and  again 
through  Megacles,  they  became  very  distinguished.  For,  in 
the  first  place,  Alcmaeon,  son  of  Megacles,  was  coadjutor  to 
the  Lydians  from  Sardis,  who  came  on  the  part  of  Croesus  to 
consult  the  oracle  at  Delphi,^  and  he  assisted  them  zealously : 
and  Croesus  being  informed  by  the  Lydians,  who  had  gone  to 
consult  the  oracle,  that  he  had  done  him  good  service,  sent  for 
him  to  Sardis ;  and  when  he  arrived,  presented  him  with  so 
much  gold  as  he  could  carry  away  at  once  on  his  own  person. 
Alcmaeon,  for  the  purpose  of  such  a  present,  had  recourse  to 
the  following  expedient:  having  put  on  a  large  cloak,  and 
having  left  a  deep  fold  in  the  cloak,  and  having  drawn  on  the 
widest  boots  he  could  find,  he  went  into  the  treasury  to  which 
they  conducted  him ;  and  meeting  with  a  heap  of  gold-dust,  he 
first  stuffed  around  his  legs  as  much  gold  as  the  boots  would 
contain  ;  and  then,  having  filled  the  whole  fold  with  gold,  and 
liaving  sprinkled  the  gold-dust  over  the  hair  of  his  head,  and 
put  more  into  his  mouth,  he  went  out  of  the  treasury,  dragging 

'  B.  V.  cliap.  62—65.        *  B.  V.  ci>Ap.  63.         »  ij.  I.  chap.  47,  53,  55, 


ERATO.     VI  401 

his  boots  with  difl&culty,  and  resembling  any  thing  rather  than 
H  man  ;  for  his  mouth  was  stuffed,  and  he  was  all  over  swollen. 
Croesus,  when  he  saw  him,  burst  into  laughter ;  and  he  gave 
him  all  that,  and  besides,  presented  him  with  other  things  not 
of  less  value  than  it.  Thus  this  family  became  extremely 
rich ;  and  this  Alcmaeon,  having  by  these  means  bred  horses, 
won  the  prize  in  the  Olympic  games.  126.  In  the  second 
generation  after,  Clisthenes,  tyrant  of  Sicyon,  raised  tlie 
family,  so  that  it  became  far  more  celebrated  among  the 
Greeks  than  it  had  been  before.  For  Clisthenes,  son  of 
Aristonymus,  son  of  Myron,  son  of  Andreas,  had  a  daughter 
whose  name  was  Agarista :  her  he  resolved  to  give  in  mar- 
riage to  the  man  whom  he  should  find  the  most  accomplished 
of  all  the  Greeks.  Wlien  therefore  the  Olympian  games  were 
being  celebrated,  Clisthenes,  being  victorious  in  them  in  the 
chariot  race,  made  a  proclamation  ;  "  that  whoever  of  the 
Greeks  deemed  himself  worthy  to  become  the  son-in-law  of 
Clisthenes,  should  come  to  Sicyon  on  the  sixtieth  day,  or  even 
before ;  since  Clisthenes  had  determined  on  the  marriage  in  a 
year,  reckoning  from  the  sixtieth  day."  Thereupon  such  of 
the  Greeks  as  were  puffed  up  with  themselves  and  their  coun- 
try, came  as  suitors ;  and  Clisthenes,  having  made  a  race- 
course and  palaestra  for  them,  kept  it  for  this  very  purpose. 
127.  From  Italy,  accordingly,  came  Smindyrides,  son  of  Hip- 
pocrates, a  Sybarite,  who  more  than  any  other  man  reached 
the  highest  pitch  of  luxury ;  (and  Sybaris  was  at  that  time  in 
a  most  flourishing  condition ;)  and  Daraasus  of  Siris,  son  of 
Amyris  called  the  Wise :  these  came  from  Italy.  From  the 
Ionian  gulf,  Amphimnestus,  son  of  Epistrophus,  an  Epidam* 
nian ;  he  came  from  the  Ionian  gulf.  An  ^tolian  camr , 
Males,  brother  of  that  Titormus  who  surpassed  the  Greeks  in 
strength,  and  fled  from  the  society  of  men  to  the  extremity  of 
the  JEtolian  territory.  And  from  Peloponnesus,  Leocedes,  son 
of  Pheidon  tyrant  of  the  Argives,  a  descendant  of  that  Phei- 
don  who  introduced  measures  among  the  Peloponnesians,  and 
was  the  most  insolent  of  all  the  Greeks,  who  having  removed 
the  Elean  umpires,  himself  regulated  the  games  at  Olympia  ; 
his  son  accordingly  came.  And  Amiantus,  son  of  Lycurgus, 
an  Arcadian  from  Trapezus  ;  and  an  Azenian  from  the  city 
of  Paeos,  Laphanes,  son  of  Euphorion,  who,  as  the  story  is  told 
in  Arcadia,  received  the  Dioscuri  in  his  house,  and  after  that 

5i  D 


^^  HERODOTUS.  [128,  129. 

entertained  all  men  ;  and  an  Elean,  Onomastus,  son  of  Agae- 
us :  these  accordingly  came  from  the  Peloponnesus  itself.  From 
Athens  there  came  Megacles,  son  of  Alcmaeon,  the  same  who 
had  visited  Croesus,  and  another,  Hippoclides,  son  of  Tisan- 
der,  who  surpassed  the  Athenians  in  wealth  and  beauty.  From 
Eretria,  which  was  flourishing  at  that  time,  came  Lysanias  ; 
he  was  the  only  one  from  Euboea.  And  from  Thessaly  there 
came,  of  the  Scopades,  Diactorides  a  Cranonian ;  and  from  the 
Molossi,  Alcon.  128.  So  many  were  the  suitors.  When 
they  had  arrived  on  the  appointed  day,  Clisthenes  made  in- 
quiries of  their  country,  and  the  family  of  each  ;  then  detain- 
ing them  for  a  year  he  made  trial  of  their  manly  qualities, 
their  dispositions,  learning,  and  morals  ;  holding  familiar  inter- 
course with  each  separately,  and  with  all  together,  and  leading 
out  to  the  gymnasia  such  of  them  as  were  younger ;  but  most 
of  all  he  made  trial  of  them  at  the  banquet :  for  as  long  as  he 
detained  them,  he  did  this  throughout,  and  at  the  same  time 
entertained  them  magnificently.  And  somehow  of  all  the 
suitors  those  that  had  come  from  Athens  pleased  him  most,  and 
of  these  Hippoclides,  son  of  Tisander,  was  preferred  both  on 
account  of  his  manly  qualities,  and  because  he  was  distantly 
related  to  the  Cypselidne  in  Corinth.  129.  When  the  daj 
appointed  for  the  consummation  of  the  marriage  arrived,  and 
for  the  declaration  of  Clisthenes  himself,  whom  he  would 
choose  of  them  all,  Clisthenes,  having  sacrificed  a  hundred 
oxen,  entertained  both  the  suitors  then  selves  and  all  the  Sicyo- 
nians  ;  and  when  they  had  concluded  the  feast,  the  suitors  had 
K  contest  about  music,  and  any  subject  proposed  for  convers- 
ation. As  the  drinking  went  on,  Hippoclides,  who  much 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  rest,  ordered  the  flute-player  to 
play  a  dance ;  and  when  the  flute-player  obeyed,  he  began  to 
dance:  and  he  danced,  probably,  so  as  to  please  himself;  but 
Clisthenes,  seeing  it,  beheld  the  whole  matter  with  suspicion. 
Afterwards,  Hippoclides,  having  rested  awhile,  ordered  some 
one  to  bring  in  a  table  ;  and  when  the  table  came  in,  he  first 
danced  Laconian  figures  on  it,  and  then  Attic  ones  ;  and  in 
the  third  place,  having  leant  his  head  on  the  table  he  gesticu- 
lated with  his  legs.  But  Clisthenes,  when  he  danced  the  first 
and  second  time,  revolted  from  the  thought  of  having  Hippo- 
clides for  his  son-in-law,  on  account  of  his  dancing  and  want 
of  decorum,  yet  restrained  himself,  not  wishing  to  burst  out 


180-133.]  ERATO.    VI.  403 

against  him ;  but  when  he  saw  him  gesticulating  with  his 
legs,  he  was  no  longer  able  to  restrain  himself,  and  said : 
"  Son  of  Tisander,  you  have  danced  away  your  marriage." 
But  Hippoclides  answered :  "  No  matter  to  Hippoclides." 
Hence  this  answer  became  a  proverb.  130.  Clisthenes,  hav- 
ing commanded  silence,  thus  addressed  the  assembled  company : 
"  Gentlemen,  suitors  of  my  daughter,  I  commend  you  all,  and, 
if  it  were  possible,  would  gratify  you  all,  not  selecting  one  of 
you  above  the  others,  nor  rejecting  the  rest.  But  as  it  is  not 
possible,  since  I  have  to  determine  about  a  single  damsel,  to 
indulge  the  wishes  of  all ;  to  such  of  you  as  are  rejected  from 
the  marriage  I  present  a  talent  of  silver  to  each,  on  account 
of  your  condescending  to  take  a  wife  from  my  family,  and  of 
your  absence  from  home ;  but  to  Megacles,  son  of  Alcmaeon, 
I  betroth  my  daughter  Agarista,  according  to  the  laws  of  the 
Athenians."  When  Megacles  said  that  he  accepted  the  be- 
trothal, the  marriage  was  celebrated  by  Clisthenes.  131, 
This  happened  respecting  the  decision  between  the  suitors, 
and  thus  the  Alcmaspnidae  became  celebrated  throughout 
Greece.  From  this  marriage  sprung  Clisthenes,  who  estab- 
lished the  tribes  and  a  democracy  among  the  Athenians,  tak- 
ing his  name  from  his  maternal  grandfather  the  Sicyonian  ;  he 
was  born  to  Megacles,  as  was  also  Hippocrates:  and  from 
Hippocrates,  another  Megacles,  and  another  Agarista,  who 
took  her  name  from  Agarista,  daughter  of  Clisthenes  -,  she 
having  married  Xanthippus,  son  of  Ariphron,  and  being  with 
child,  saw  a  vision  in  her  sleep,  and  fancied  that  she  brought 
forth  a  lion  ;  and  after  a  few  days  she  bore  Pericles  to  Xan- 
thippus. 

132.  After  the  defeat  of  the  Persians  at  Marathon,  Mil- 
tiades,  who  was  before  highly  esteemed  among  the  Athenians, 
then  still  more  increased  his  reputation.  Haying  therefore 
asled  of  the  Athenians  seventy  ships,  and  troops  apd  mQn^y, 
without  telling  them  what  country  he  purposed  to  invade,  but 
saying  that  he  would  make  them  rich  if  they  would  follow 
him,  for  that  he  would  take  them  to  such  a  country,  from 
whence  they  would  easily  bring  abundance  of  gold ;  speaking 
thus  he  asked  for  the  ships ;  and  the  Athenians,  elated  by 
these  hopes,  granted  them.  133.  MiltiadesT^accordingly, 
having  taken  with  him  the  troops,  sailed  against  Paros,  al- 
leging as  a  pretext,  that  the  Parians  had^first  begun  hostilities 

'2  D  2 


404  HERODOTUS.  [134,  13& 

by  sending  a  trireme  with  the  Persian  to  Marathon.  Thi? 
was  his  pretended  reason  ;  but,  in  fact,  he  had  a  grudge 
against  the  Parians  on  account  of  Lysagoras,  son  of  TisiaS; 
who  was  a  Parian  by  birth,  and  had  calumniated  him  to  Hy- 
darnes  the  Persian.  Miltiades,  having  arrived  with  his  forces 
at  the  place  to  which  he  was  sailing,  besieged  tlie  Parians, 
who  were  driven  within  their  walls  ;  anJ"  sending  a  herald  to 
them,  he  demanded  a  hundred  talents,  saying,  that  if  they  did 
not  give  him  that  sum,  he  would  not  draw  off  his  army  until 
he  had  destroyed  them.  The  Parians  never  entertained 
the  thought,  whether  they  should  give  Miltiades  any  money  ; 
but  devised  means  by  which  they  might  defend  the  city ;  and 
in  addition  to  other  plans,  they  also  in  the  several  parts  where 
the  wall  was  most  exposed  to  attack,  there  raised  it,  during 
the  night,  to  double  its  former  height.  134.  Up  to  this  point 
of  the  story  all  the  Greeks  agree ;  but  after  this  the  Parians 
themselves  say  that  it  happened  as  follows.  That  when  Mil- 
tiades was  in  a  state  of  perplexity,  a  captive  woman,  who  was 
by  birth  a  Parian,  and  her  name  was  Timo,  conferred  with 
him ;  she  was  an  inferior  priestess  of  the  infernal  goddesses. 
When  she  came  into  the  presence  of  Miltiades,  she  advised 
him,  if  lie  deemed  it  of  great  consequence  to  take  Paros,  to  act 
as  she  should  suggest.  She  then  made  some  suggestion  ;  and 
he,  coming  to  the  mound  that  is  before  the  city,  leaped  over 
the  fence  of  Ceres  Thesmophora,  as  he  was  unable  to  open  the 
door ;  and  having  leaped  over,  he  went  to  the  temple,  for  the 
purpose  of  doing  something  within,  either  to  move  some  of  the 
things  that  may  not  be  moved,  or  to  do  something  or  other. 
And  he  was  just  at  the  door,  when  suddenlj'-  a  thrill  of  horror 
came  over  him,  and  he  went  back  by  the  same  way ;  and  in 
leaping  over  the  fence  his  thigh  was  dislocated ;  others  say 
that  he  hurt  his  knee.  135.  Miltiades  accordingly,  being  in 
a  bad  plight,  sailed  back  home,  neither  bringiijg_money  to  th^e 
Athenians,  nor  having  reduced  Paros,  buT'Tiaving  besies^eOt 
ibr  six  and  twenty  days,  and  ravaged  the  1sTahd.~Triie  Parian.?, 
being  informed  that  Timo,  the  priestess  of  the  goddesses,  had 
directed  Miltiades,  and  desiring  to  punish  her  for  so  doing, 
S3nt  deputies  to  the  oracle  at  Delphi,  as  soon  as  they  wore 
relieved  from  the  siege:  they  sent  to  inquire  whether  tliey 
should  put  to  death  the  priestess  of  the  goddesses,  for  having 
made  known  to  the  enemy  tl:e  means  of  capturing  her  country, 


13G,  137.]  ERATO.     VI.  405 

and  for  having  discovered  to  Miltiades  sacred  things,  which 
ought  not  to  be  revealed  to  the  male  sex.  But  the  Pythian 
did  not  allow  them,  saying,  "  that  Timo  was  not  to  blame  for 
this,  but  that  it  was  fated  Miltiades  should  come  to  a  miserable 
end,  and  she  had  appeared  to  him  as  a  guide  to  misfortunes." 
The  Pythian  gave  this  answer  to  the  Parians.  136.  When 
Miltiades  returned  from  Paros,  the  Athenians  were  lou"d  in 
their  complaints  against  him,  both  all  others,  and  especially 
Xanthippus,  son  of  Ariphron,  who,  bringing  a  capital  charge 
against  Miltiades  before  the  people,  prosecuted  him  on  a  charge 
of  deceiving  the  Athenians.  Miltiades,  though  present  in 
person,  made  no  defence  ;Tor  he  was  unable,  as  his  thigh  had 
begun  to  mortify.  But  while  he  lay  on  a  couch,  his  friends 
made  a  defence  for  him,  dweUing  much  on  the  battle  that  had 
been  fought  at  Marathon,  and  on  the  capture  of  Lemnos ; 
since,  having  taken  Lemnos,  and  inflicted  vengeance  on  the 
Pelasgians,  he  had  given  it  up  to  the  Athenians.  The  people 
so  far  favouring  him  as  to  acquit  him  of  the  capital  offence, 
and  having  fined  him  fifty  talents  for  the  injury  he  had  done, 
Miltiades  soon  after  ended  his  life  by  the  putrefaction  and 
mortification  of  bis  thigli.  His  son  Cimon  paid  the  fifty 
talents. 

137.  Miltiades,  son  of  Cimon,  had  possessed  himself  of 
Lemnos  in"  the  following  manner.  The  Peiasgians,  when 
they  had  been  driven  out  of  Attica  by  the  Athenians,  whe- 
ther justly  or  unjustly, — (for  this  I  am  unable  to  determine, 
except  so  far  as  is  related,)  Hecataeus,  however,  son  of  Hege- 
sander,  says  in  his  history,  that  it  was  "  unjustly,  for  that, 
when  the  Athenians  saw  the  lands  under  Hymettus,  which 
they  had  given  to  the  Pelasgians  in  payment  for  the  wall 
they  had  formerly  built  about  the  Acropolis  ;  when  the  Athe- 
nians saw  this  well  cultivated,  which  was  before  barren  and 
of  no  value,  jealousy  and  a  desire  of  the  land  took  possession 
of  them,  and  so  the  Athenians  drove  them  out,  within 
alleging  any  other  pretence  whatever."  But  as  the  Athenians 
say,  "they  justly  expelled  them;  for  that  the  Pelasgians, 
while  settled  under  Mount  Hymettus,  made  incursions  from 
thence,  and  committed  the  following  injuries.  For  that  their 
daughters  and  sons  used  constantly  to  go  for  water  to  the 
Nine  Springs,  because  at  that  time  neither  they  nor  the  other 
Greeks  had  domestic  servants :  and  whenever  the  youpg  wo- 


^^  HERODOTUS.  [l38,  139 

men  went  there,  the  Pelasgians  used,  out  of  insolence  and 
cont3mpt,  to  offer  violence  to  them ;  nor  were  they  satisfied 
with  doing  this,  but  at  last  they  were  discovered  in  the  very 
act  of  plotting  to  attack  the  city.  They  add,  that  they  them- 
selves showed  themselves  so  much  better  men  than  them,  in 
that,  when  it  was  in  their  power  to  put  the  Pelasgians  to  death, 
since  they  had  found  them  plotting  against  them,  they  would 
not  do  so,  but  warned  them  to  depart  the  country ;  and  that 
they,  accordingly,  withdrawing,  possessed  themselves  of  other 
places,  and  amongst  them,  of  Lemnos."  Hecatseus  has  given 
the  former  account,  and  the  Athenians  give  the  latter.  138. 
But  these  Pelasgians,  who  then  inhabited  Lemnos,  and  de- 
sired to  be  revenged  on  the  Athenians,  being  well  acquainted 
with  the  festivals  of  the  Athenians,  stationed  fifty-oared  gal- 
leys and  laid  an  ambuscade  for  the  Athenian  women,  as  they 
celebrated  the  festival  of  Diana  in  Brauron,  and  having  car- 
ried many  of  them  away  from  thence,  they  sailed  off,  and 
taking  them  to  Lemnos,  kept  them  as  concubines.  But  when 
these  women  were  fully  supplied  with  children,  they  instructed 
their  sons  in  the  Attic  language  and  the  manners  of  the 
Athenians ;  they,  therefore,  would  not  hold  any  intercourse 
with  the  sons  of  the  Pelasgian  women,  but  if  any  one  of  their 
number  was  beaten  by  one  of  them,  they  all  immediately 
assisted,  and  revenged  one  another;  moreover,  these  boys 
thought  they  had  a  right  to  govern  the  other  boys,  and  proved 
far  superior  to  them.  But  the  Pelasgians,  observing  this, 
consulted  together,  and,  on  consideration,  considerable  alarm 
came  over  them,  as  to  what  these  boys  would  do  when  they 
were  grown  up,  if  they  already  determined  to  assist  each  other 
against  the  sons  of  their  lawful  wives,  and  even  now  endea- 
voured to  rule  over  them.  Thereupon,  they  resolved  to  murder 
the  children  they  had  by  the  Attic  women ;  and,  accordingly, 
they  did  so,  and  moreover  put  their  mothers  to  death.  From 
this  crime,  and  that  which  the  women  perpetrated  before  this, 
"7ho,  with  the  assistance  of  Thoas,  killed  their  own  husbands, 
dU  enormous  actions  are  wont  to  be  called  Lemnian  through- 
out Greece.  139.  But  when  the  Pelasgians  had  murdered 
their  own  children  and  women,  neither  did  their  land  yield 
fruit,  DDr  were  their  wives  and  flecks  equally  prolific  as  be- 
fore; being,  therefore,  afilicted  by  famine  and  childlessness, 
they  sent  to  Delphi,  to  seek  for  some  deliverance  from  their 


140.]  EKATO.    VI. 

present  distresses.  But  the  Pythian  bade  them  give  such 
satisfaction  to  the  Athenians  as  the  Athenians  themselves 
should  impose.  The  Pelasgians,  therefore,  went  to  Athens, 
and  professed  themselves  ready  to  give  satisfaction  for  the 
whole  injury.  But  the  Athenians,  having  spread  a  couch  in 
the  Prytaneum  in  the  handsomest  way  they  were  able,  aiiJ 
having  placed  by  it  a  table  full  of  all  sorts  of  good  things, 
commanded  the  Pelasgians  to  surrender  their  country  to  them, 
in  such  a  condition.  But  the  Pelasgians  said,  in  answer, 
"  "When  a  ship  shall  perform  the  voyage  in  one  day  by  tlie 
north  wind  from  your  country  to  ours,  we  will  then  deliver  it 
up."  This  they  said,  supposing  that  it  was  impossible  the 
thing  should  happen,  because  Attica  lies  ftir  to  the  south  of 
Lemnos.  140.  This  took  place  at  that  time.  But  very  many 
years  after  this,  when  the  Chersonese  in  the  Hellespont  became 
subject  to  the  Athenians,  Miltiades,  son  of  Cimon,  at  a  time 
when  the  Etesian  winds  prevailed,  having  performed  the  voy- 
age in  a  ship  from  Elseus,  on  the  Hellespont,  to  Lemnos,  re- 
quired the  Pelasgians  to  quit  the  island,  reminding  them  of 
the  oracle,  which  the  Pelasgians  expected  could  never  be  ac- 
complished. The  Hephaestians  accordingly  obeyed ;  but  tlie 
Myrinaeans,  not  acknowledging  the  Chersonese  to  be  Attica, 
were  besieged  until  they  also  surrendered.  Thus  the  Athe- 
nians and  Miltiades  got  possession  of  Lemnos. 


BOOK    \II. 

POLYMNIA. 

When  the  news  of  the  battle  fought  at  Marathon  reached  Da- 
rius, son  of  Hystaspes,  who  was  before  much  exasperated  wllK 
tHe  Athenians  on  account  of  the  attack  upon  Sardis,  he  then 
became  much  more  incensed,  and  was  still  more  eager  to  pro- 
eecute  the  war  against  Greece.  Having  therefore  immediately 
sent  messengers  to  the  several  cities,  he  enjoined  them  to  pre- 
pare^aETlirmy^-iinposTng  on  each  a  much  greater  number  than 


408  HERODOTUS  \2, 8 

they  had  furnished  before,  and  ships,  horses,  corn,  and  trans- 
ports. "When  these  orders  were  proclaimed  round  about, 
Asia  was  thrown  into  ag^itation  during  the  space  of  three 
years, "the  bravest  men  being  enrolled  and  prepared  for  the 
purpose  of  invading  Greece.  But  in  the  fourth  year  the  Egyp- 
tians, who  had  been  subdued  by  Cambyses,  revolted  from  the 
Persians;  whereupon  Darius  only  became  more  eager  to 
march  against  both,  2.  When  Darius  was  preparing  for  his 
expeditions  against  Egypt  and  Athens,  a  violent-dissension 
arosebetff£ea-4iis — sons  concerning  the  sovereignty ;  fof 
byTliecustoms  of  the  Persians  he  was  obliged  to  nominate 
his  successor,  before  he  marched  out  on  any  expedition.  Now 
Darius,  even  before  he  became  king,  had  three  sons  born  to 
him  by  his  former  wife,  the  daughter  of  Gobryas ;  and  after 
his  accession  to  the  throne,  four  others  by  Atossa,  daugh- 
ter of  Cyrus.  Of  the  former,  Artabazanes  was  the  eldest ; 
of  those  after  born,  Xerxes :  and  these  two  not  being  of  the 
same  mother,  were  at  variance.  Artabazanes  urged  that  he 
was  the  eldest  of  all  the  sons,  and  that  it  was  the  established 
usage  among  all  men  that  the  eldest  son  should  succeed  to  the 
sovereignty :  on  the  other  hand,  Xerxes  alleged  that  he  was 
son  of  Atossa,  daughter  of  Cyrus,  and  that  it  was  Cyrus  who 
had  acquired  freedom  for  the  Persians.  3.  When  Darius  had 
not  yet  declared  his  opinion,  at  this  very  conjuncture,  Dema- 
ratus,  son  of  Ariston,  happened  to  come  jap  to  Susa^having 
been  deprived  of  the  kingly  office'^at  Sparta,^  angTTiaving  ini- 
posed  on  himself  a  voluntary  exile  from  LE^qp^mon.  This' 
man,  having  heard  of  the  difference  between  the  sons  of  Da- 
rius, went  to  Xerxes,  as  report  says,  and  advised  him  to  say 
in  addition  to  what  he  had  already  said  ;  that  "  he  was  born  to 
Darius  after  he  had  become  king,  and  was  possessed  of  the 
empire  of  the  Persians ;  whereas  Artabazanes  was  born  to 
Darius  while  he  was  yet  a  private  person ;  wherefore  it  was 
not  reasonable  or  just  that  any  other  should  possess  that  dig- 
nity in  preference  to  himself,  since  in  Sparta  also,"  Demaratus 
continued  to  suggest,  "this  custom  prevailed,  that  if  some 
cliildren  were  born  before  their  father  became  king,  and  one 
was  born  subsequently  when  he  had  now  come  to  the  throne, 
this  last  born  son  should  succeed  to  the  kingdom."  Xerxes 
having  availed  himself  of  the  suggestion  of  Demaratus,  Dn- 
See  B.  VI,  chap.  70 


4-6.J  POLYMNIA.     VII  409 

rius,  acknowledging  that  he  said  what  was  just,  declared  him 
khig.  But  it  appears  to  me  that  even  without  this  suggestion 
Xerxes  would  have  been  made  king ;  for  Atossa  had  un- 
bounded influence.  4.  Darius,  having  appointed  Xerxes  to 
be  king  over  the  Persians7  pFepafed  to  march.  However 
alYer  tlicse  things,  and  in  the  year  after  the  revolt  of  Egyptj 
it  happened  that  Darius  himself,  while  he  was  making  pre- 
parations, diedi  having  reigned  thirty-six  years  in  all;  nor 
\^^s  he  able  to  avenge  himself  either  on  the  Egyptians, "who 
had  revolted,  or  on  the  Athenians.  When  Darius  was  dead, 
the  kingdom  devolved  on  his  spn  Xp,Y;ges. 

5.  Xerxes,  however,  was  at  first  by  no  means  inclined  to 
make  war  jigainstjGrggge.  but  he  levied  forces  for  the  reduc- 
tion of  Egypt.  But  Mardqnius,  son  of  Gobryas,  whoTwlis 
cousin  to  Xerxes,  and  son  of  Darius's  sister,  being  present, 
and  having  the  greatest  influence  with  him  of  all  the  Persians, 
constantly  held  the  following  language,  saying,  "  Sir,  it  is  not 
right  that  the  Atlieiiians,  having  already  done  much  mischief 
to,  tlie"  Persians,  should  go  unpunis^ied  for  what  they  have 
done.  However,  for  the  present,  finish  the  enterprise  you 
have  in  hand ;  and  when  you  have  quelled  the  insolence  of 
Egypt,  lead  your  army  against  Alliens  ;  that  you  may  acquire 
a  good  reputation  among  men,  and  any  one  for  the  future  may 
be  cautious  of  marching  against  your  territory."  This  lan- 
guage was  used  by  him  for  the  purposes  of  revenge,  but  he 
frequently  made  the  following  addition  to  it,  that  "Europe 
was  a  very  beautiful  country,  and  produced  all  kinds  of  culti- 
vated trees,  and  was  very  fertile,  and  worthy  to  be  possessed 
by  the  king  alone  of  all  mortals."  6.  He_  spake  thus,  be? 
ca.use  he  was  desirous  of  new  enterprises,  and  wished  to  be 
himself  governor  of  Greece :  in  time  he  eff^ected  his  purpose, 
and  pei'sua'deJ  Xerxes  to  do  as  he  advised  ;  for  other  things 
liappening  favourably  assisted  him  in  persuading  Xerxes.  In 
the  first  place  niessengers^cpming  from  Thessaly  on  the  part 
of  the  Aleuadae,  inyited  the  king,  with  earnest  impoi't unity,  to 
jnvade  Greece  :  these  Aleuada?  were  kings  of  Thessaly.  And 
m  tTuTTTC^t  place,  those  of  the  Pisistratida?,  who  had  gone  up 
to  Suaa,  holding  the  same  langua^e'a^  th^'  Aleuadae,  .still  more 
fagerly  pressed  him,  having  with  them  Onomacritus.  un  Athe- 
man,  a^^soothsayei^^nd  dispenser  of  the  oracles  of  Miisieus." 
For  they  went  up  to  Susa,  having  first  reconciled  their  former 


410  HERODOTUS.  [7,  S, 

enmity  wUk  him.  For  Onomacritus  had  been  banished  from 
Athens  by  Hipparchus,  son  of  Pisistratus,  having  been  de- 
tected by  Lasus  the  Hermionian,  in  the  very  act  of  interpo- 
lating among  the  oracles  of  Miisaeus,  one  importing,  that  the 
islands  lying  off  Lemnos  would  disappear  beneath  the  sea : 
wherefore  Hipparchus  banished  him,  although  he  had  before 
been  very  familiar  with  him.  But  at  that  time  having  gone 
up  with  them,  whenever  he  came  into  the  presence  of  the  king, 
as  the  Pisistratidas  spoke  of  him  in  very  high  terms,  he  recited 
some  of  the  oracles  ;  if,  however,  there  was  amongst  them  any 
that  portended  misfortune  to  the  barbarians,  of  these  he  mac& 
no  mention  ;  but  selecting  such  as  were  most  favourable,  lie 
Said  it  was  fafedthat  the  Hellespont  should  be  bridged  dvlir 
by  a  Persian,  desciibing  the  march.  Thus  he  continually 
assailed  "2  the  king,  rehearsing  oracles,  as  did  the  Pisistratichi? 
nd  Aleuadag,  by  declaring  their  opinions.  7.  ^Yhea  X£x;;ii,i3 
zas  persuaded  to  make  war  against  Greece,  he  then,  in_  j!ji3 
second  year  after  the  death  of  Darius,  tot  made  an  expediti(;;i 
against  those  who  had  revolted ;  and,  having  subdued  ttiemaiul 
reduced  all  Egypt  to  a  worse  state  of  servitude  than  it  was 
under  Darius,  he  committed  the  government  to  Acheemenes,  liis 
own  brother,  and  son  of  Darius.  Some  time  after,  Inarus,^  sou 
of  Psammitichus,  a  Libyan,  slew  Ach^emenes,  to  whom  the 
government  of  Egypt  was  committed. 

8.  Xerxes,  after  the  reduction  of  Egypt,  when  he  was  about 
to  take  in  hand  the  expedition  against  Athens,  convoked  an  as- 
sembly of  the  principal  Persians,  that  he  might  both  hear  their 
opiniong,  and  himself  make  known  his  intentions  before  them  all. 
When  they  were  assembled  Xerxes  addressed  them  as  follows  : 
(I.)  "Men  of  Persia,  I  shall  not  be  the  first  to  introduce  this 
custom  among  you,  but  shall  adopt  it,  having  received  it  from 
my  forefathers.  For,  as  I  learn  from  older  men,  we  have  never 
remained  inactive  since  we  wrested  the  sovereign  power  fiom 
the  Modes,  and  Cyrus  overthrew  Astyages :  but  the  deity  thus 
leads  the  way,  and  to  us  who  follow  his  guidance  many  things 
result  to  our  advantage.  What  deeds  Cyrus,  and  Cambyscs, 
and  my  father  Darius  have  achieved,  and  what  nations  they 
have  added  to  our  empire,  no  one  need  mention  to  you  who 
know  them  well.    But  I,  since  I  have  succeeded  to  the  throne, 

»  Or  "  conducted  himself,"        »  See  B.  III.  chap,  12. 


8.]  POLTMNIA.    VII.  411 

have  carefully  considered  this,  in  what  way  I  may  not  fall 
short  of  my  predecessors  in  this  honour,  nor  acquire  less  addi- 
tional power  to  the  Persians.  And  on  mature  consideration, 
I  find  that  we  may  at  once  acquire  an  increase  of  glory,  and  a 
country  not  inferior  nor  poorer,  but  even  more  productive  than 
tl»t  we  now  possess ;  and  at  the  same  time  tnat  satisfaction 
and  vengeance  will  accrue  to  us.  Wherefore  i  hav~e  now 
calledr^ou!5'gether,  that  I  may  communicate  to  you  what  I 
purpose  to  do.  (2.)  T  intend  to  throw  n.  bridp^e  over  the  Hel- 
lespont, and  to  march  an  army  through  Europe  against  Greece, 
tKait  1  may  punish  the  Athenians  for  the  injuries  they  have 
done  to  the  '^Persians  and"  to' my  father.  You  have  already 
seen  Darius  preparing  to  make  war  against  those  people  ;  but 
he  died,  and  had  it  not  in  his  power  to  avenge  himself.  But 
I,  in  his  cause  and  that  of  the  other  Persians,  will  not  rest  till 
I  have  taken  and  burnt  Athens ;  for  they  first  began  by  doing 
acts  of  injustice  against  my  father  and  me.  First  of  all  having 
come  to  Sardis,  with  Aristagoras  the  Milesian,  our  servant, 
on  their  arrival  they  burnt  down  both  the  groves  and  the 
temples.  And,  secondly,  how  they  treated  us  on  our  making 
a  descent  on  their  territory,  when  Datis  and  Artaphernes  led 
our  forces,  you  all  know  well  enough.  (3.)  For  these  reasons, 
therefore,  I  have  resolved  to  make  war  upon  them.  And  on 
reflection,  I  find  the  following  advantages  in  this  course :  if 
we  shall  subdue  them,  and  their  neighbours,  who  inhabit  the 
country  of  Pelops  the  Phrygian,  we  shall  make  the  Persian 
territory  co-extensive  with  the  aif~of" heaven  ; "nor~wiTr"tTie 
sun  look  down  upon  any  land  that  borders  on  burs ;  but  1, 
with  your  assistance,  will  make  tliemall  one  territory,  march- 
ing through  the  whole  of  Europe.  For  nim'^ffffofihed  that 
such  is  the  case ;  anfl' tTl'!lt  HO  city  or  nation  of  the  world  will 
remain,  which  will  be  able  to  come  to  a  battle  with  us,  when 
iiose  whom  I  have  mentioned  have  been  brought  into  subjec- 
tion. Thus,  both  those  who  are  guilty,  and  those  who  are  not 
guilty,  must  equally. submit  to  the  yoke  of  servitude.  (4.)  But 
yoQ,  by  doing  what  I  require,  will  gratify  me  exceedingly ; 
when  I  shall  have  informed  you  of  the  time,  it  will  be  the 
iluty  of  each  of  you  to  come  promptly.  And  whosoever  shall 
appear  with  the  best-appointed  troops,  to  him  I  will  give  such 
presents  as  are  accounted  most  honourable  in  our  country. 
But  that  I  may  not  appear  to  follow  my  own  counsel  only. 


412  HERODOTUS. 


[9. 


I  lay  the  matter   before  you,  bidding  any  one  of  you  who 

wishes,  to  declare  his  opinion."     Having  said  this,  he  ceased. 

9.  After  him  Mardonius  spoke  :  "  Sir,  not  only  are  you  the 

most,  excellent  of  all  the  Persians  that  have  yet  been,  but  even 

.    of  all  that  ever  shall  be ;  you  also,  in  other  respects,  have  in 

I  speaking  touched  upon  the  most  important  topics  and  the  most 
h  exact  truth,  and  especially  will  not  suffer  the  lonians,  who 

II  dwell  in  Europe,  to  mock  us,  worthless  as  they  are.     For  it 
^\vould  indeed  be  a  great  indignity,  if,  having  subdued  the 

(  Sacce,  Indians,  Ethiopians,  and  Assyrians,  and  other  nations, 
l^many  and  powerful,  which  never  didjhe  Persians  any  wrong. 
but,  in  order  only  to  enlargp,  nn i^dominions,  we  hold  them  in 
servitude ;  an3^'~yet  shalTnot  avenge  ourselves  on  the  Greeks, 
who  were  the  first  to  commit  injustice.  Having  what  to  fear  ? 
what  confluence  of  numbers?  what  power  of  wealth?  (1.) 
We  are  acquainted  with  their  manner  of  fighting ;  and  we 
are  acquainted  with  their  power,  that  it  is  weak.  We  hold 
their  children  in  subjection,  those  who  dwell"within  our  terri- 
tories, and  are  called  lonians,  JEolians,  and  Dorians.  I  my- 
self have  made  trial  of  these  men  already,  m.arching  against 
them  at  the  command  of  your  father ;  and  when  I  advanced 
as  far  as  Macedonia,  and  was  within  a  short  distance  of  reach- 
ing Athens  itself,  no  one  opposed  me  in  battle.  (2.)  And  yet 
the  Greeks  are  accustomed,  as  I  am  informed,  to  undertake 
wars  without  deliberation,  from  obstinacy  and  folly.  For 
when  they  have  declared  war  against  one  another,  having 
found  out  the  fairest  and  most  level  spot,  they  go  down  to  it 
and  fight ;  so  that  the  conquerors  depart  with  great  loss,  and 
of  the  conquered  I  say  nothing  at  all,  for  they  are  utterly 

(destroyed.     Whereas,  being  of  the  same  language,  they  ought, 
by  the  intervention  of  heralds  and  ambassadors,  to  adjust  their 
differences,  and  in  any  way  rather  than  by  fighting.     But  if 
they  must  needs  go  to  war  with  each  other,  they  ought  to  find 
out  where  they  are  each  least  likely  to  be  conquered,  and  there 
try  the  issue  of  a  battle.     The  Greeks,  accordingly,  adopting  a 
disadvantageous  method,  when  I  marched  as  far  as  Macedonia, 
never  ventured  so  far  as  to  come  to  a  battle.     (3.)  Will  any 
,  ^        one,  then,  O  king,  have  recourse  to  war,  and  oppose  you,  when 
a|  ^yfjoxx  lead  the  multitudes  of  Asia,  and  all  her  ships  ?     In  my 
\J /^  r  opinion,  indeed,  the  Grecians  will  never  proceed  to  such  a 
rv,  %   I   degree  of  audacity.     But  if  I  should  happen  to  be  deceived 


10.1  rOLYMNIA.    VII.  413 

1113 j:. opinion,  and  they,  elat(3d  l)y  folly,  should  come  to  Dattle 
witji.jua,  they  will  learn,  that  of  all  men  we  are  the  most 
skilled  in  war.  Let  nothing  then  be  untriedj  for  nothing  is 
accomplished  of  its  own'se1f^i5liTinTtHmgs  are  usually  achieved 
by  men  through  endeavours."  Mardonius,  having  thus  smoothed 
over  the  opinion  of  Xerxes,  ceased  to  speak. 

10.  The  rest  of  the  Persians  continuing  silent,  and  not 
daring  to  declare  an  opinion  to  the  one  proposed,  Artabanus^ 
son  of  Hystaspes,  being  uncle  to  Xerxes,  and  relying  oiTtlns, 
spoke  as  follows:  (1.)  "O  king,  unless  opinions  opposite  to 
each  other  are  spoken,  it  is  impossible  to  choose  the  better, 
but  it  becomes  necessary  to  adopt  that  which  has  been  ad- 
vanced ;  whereas,  when  various  opinions  have  been  given,  it 
is  possible  :  just  as  with  unalloyed  gold,  we  cannot  distinguish 
it  by  itself,  but  when  we  have  rubbed  it  by  the  side  of  other 
gold,  we  do  distinguish  the  better.  I  warned  your  father  and 
ray  brother  not  to  make  war  upon  the  Scythians,*  a  people 
who  have  no  city  in  any  part  of  their  territory;  but  he 
hoping  to  subdue  the  Scythian  nomades,  heeded  not  my  ad- 
vice, and  having  led  an  army  against  them,  returned  with  the 
loss  of  many  brave  men  of  his  army.  lint  you,  0  king,  are 
about  lo  iiiakc  war  on  men  far  superior  to  tlie  Scythians  ; 
WTio"  are  said  to  be  most  valiant  both  by  sea  and  land ;  it  i.>s, 
tferefore,  riglit  tliat  I  should  inform  you  of  the  danger  wc 
have  to  fear.  (2.)  You  say,  that  having  thrown  a  bridge 
over  the  Hellespont,  you  will  march  an  army  through  Europe 
into  Greece ;  now,  it  may  happen  that  we  shall  be  worsted 
either  by  land  or  by  sea,  or  even  by  both  ; ^forjhe  people  are 
said  to.  bex^jiipt ;  and  this  we  may  infer,  since  the  AlTiemans 
alone  destroyed  so  great  an  array  that  invaded  the  Attic^ter- 
rijtQi-y:^.imdjii:  Iia.tis  and  Artaphernes.  They  were  not,  how- 
ever, successful  in  both ;  but  if  they  should  attack  us  with 
tljiftir  flppt,  and  hiLving  obtained  a  naval  victoi'y,  should  sail 
to  the  Hellespont^. and  destroy  the  bridge,  this  surely,  0  kin^, 
were  a  great  danger.  (3.)  Nor  do  I  found  this  conjecture  on 
any  wisdom  of  my  own,  but  from  the  calamity  that  once  all 
but  befel  us,  when  your  father,  having  joined  the  shores  of 
the  Thracian  Bosphorus,  and  thrown  a  bridge  over  the  Ister, 
crosssd  over  to  attack  the  Scythians  ;  then  the  Scythians  used 
every  means  to  induce  the  lonians,  to  whom  the  guard  of  the 
<  Sro  B    IV    cb    83. 


*14  HERODOTUS.  flO. 

passage  over  the  Ister  had  been  in trusted^Jo  break  up  the 
bridge :  and  if,  at  that  time,  Histiaeus,  tyranToT Miletus,  had" 
aSsehTed  to  the  opinion  of  thfetTOlW  tyrants,  and  had  not  op- 
posed it,  the  power  of  the  Persians  would  have  been  utterly 
ruined.  It  is  dreadful  even  to  hear  it  said,  that  the  whole 
power  of  the  king  depended  on  a  single  man.  (4.)  Do  not, 
therefore,  willingly  expose  yourself  to  any  such  danger,  when 
there  is  no  necessity ;  but  be  persuaded  by  me ;  dismiss  this 
assembly ;  and  hereafter,  whenever  it  shall  seem  fit  to  you, 
having  considered  with  yourself,  proclaim  what  appears  to 
you  to  be  most  advantageous.  For  to  deliberate  well,  I  find 
is  the  greatest  gain.  For  if  the  result  prove  unfortunate,  tlie 
matter  has,  nevertheless,  been  well  deliberated  on,  but  our 
deliberation  is  defeated  by  fortune ;  but  he  who  has  deliberated 
badly,  if  fortune  attend  him,  has  met  with  a  success  he  had  no 
right  to  expect,  but  has,  nevertheless,  formed  bad  plans.  (5.) 
Do  you  see  how  the  deity  strikes  wjth  his  tliunder  the  tallest 
animals,  and  suffers  them  not  to  be  ostentatiousT  but  tlTe"srnaIIer 
ones  do  not  at  all  offend  him  ?  Do  you  see  how  he  ever  hurls 
his  bolts  against  the  loftiest  buildings,  and  trees  of  the  like^ 
kind  ?  For  the  deity  is  wont  to  cut  off"  every  thing  that^ is 
too  highly  exalted.  Thus,  even  a  large  army  Is  often  defeated 
by  a  small  one,  in  such  manner  as  this:  when  the  deity, 
through  jealousy,  strikes  them  with  terror  or  lightning, 
whereby  they  perish  in  a  manner  unworthy  of  themselves ; 
for  the  deity  will  not  suffer  any  one  but  himself  to  have, high 
thoughts.  (6.)  Again,  to  hasten  any  matter  produces  failures, 
from  whence  great  losses  are  wont  to  follow";  "but  in  delay 
there  are  advantages,  which,  though  not  immediately  apparent, 
yet  on«  may  discover  after  a  time.  This,  then,  O  king,  is 
the  advice  I  give  you.  (7.)  But  do  you,  Mardonius,  son  of 
Gobryas,  cease  to  speak  vain  words  of  the  Grecians,  who  do 
not  deserve  to  be  spoken  lightly  of.  For  by  calumniating  the 
Greeks,  you  urge  the  king  himself  to  lea3^'aH"army  agamsi 
them ;  and  to  this  end  you  appear  to  me  to  exert  all  your 
efforts.  But  may  it  not  so  be.  For  calumny  is  the  worst  of 
evils ;  in  it  there  are  two  who  commit  injustice,  and  one  who 
is  injured:  for  he  who  calumniates  another,  acts  unjustly  by 
accusing  one  that  is  not  prosent ;  and  he  acts  unjustly,  wlio 
ij persuaded  before  he  hap  loarntiiJjfLQM^ti  ^^"^  j  ""^  H^ThlT^ 
IS  absent  when  the  charge  is  made,  is  thus  doubly  injure  1. 


11. 1  POLYMNIA.    VII.  415 

beinfj^  calumniated  by  the  one,  and  by  the  other  deemed  to  be 
base.  (8.)  But  if,  at  all  events,  it  must  needs  be,  that  war 
must  be  made  on  these  people,  come,  let  the  king  himself  re- 
main in  the  abodes  of  the  Persians  ;  let  both  of  us  risk  our 
children,  and  do  you  lead  the  expedition,  having  selected  what 
men  you  choose,  and  taken  with  you  as  large  a  force  as  you 
tliink  fit ;  and  if  matters  succeed  to  the  king  in  the  manner 
you  say,  let  my  children  be  put  to  death,  and  me  also  with 
them.  But  if  the  event  prove  such  as  I  foretel,  then  let  your 
children  suffer  the  same,  and  you  also  with  them,  if  ever  you 
return.  If,  however,  you  are  unwilling  to  submit  to  these 
terms,  and  will  at  all  events  lead  an  army  against  Greece,  I 
alfirm,  that  some  of  those  who  are  left  in  this  country,  will 
hear  that  Mardonius,  having  brought  some  great  disaster  upon 
the  Persians,  and  being  torn  in  pieces  by  dogs  and  birds, 
either  in  the  territory  of  the  Athenians,  or  in  that  of  the  Lace- 
diemonians,  if  not  sooner  on  his  march,  has  discovered^  against 
what  sort  of  men  you  now  persuade  the  king  to  make  war." 
11.  Artabanus  thus  spoke,  but  Xerxes,  inflamed  with  anger, 
answerSd^as  follows  :  "  ArtaMircrs7"ydu  are  my  father *s  bro- 
ther ;  this  will  protect  you  from  receiving  the  just  recompence 
of  your  foolish  words.  However  I  inflict  this  disgrace  upon 
you,  base  and  cowardly  as  you  are,  not  to  accompany  me  in  my 
expedition  against  Greece,  but  to  remain  here  with  the  women; 
and  I,  without  your  assistance,  will  accomplish  all  that  I  have 
said.  For  I  should  not  be  sprung  from  Darius,  son  of  Hys- 
taspes,  son  of  Arsames,  son  of  Ariaramnes,  son  of  Teispes,  son 
of  Cyrus,  son  of  Cambyses,  son  of  Achaemenes,  if  I  did  not 
avenge  myself  on  the  Athenians,  knowing  full  well  that  if  we 
continue  quiet,  yet  they  will  not,  but  will  even  invade  our 
territories,  if  we  may  conjecture  from  what  has  been  already 
done  by  them,  who  have  both  burnt  Sardis,  and  advanced  into 
Asia.  Wherefore  it  is  not  possible  for  either  party  to  retreat, 
\j]\t  the  alternative  lies  before  us  to  do  or  .-iilTer  :  ,so  that  all  these 
dominions  rnust  fall  under  the  power  of  the  Grecians,  or  all 
theirs  under  that  of  the  Persians  ;  for  there  is  no  medium  in 
this  enmity.     It  is  therefore  honourable  for  us,  wlio  have  first 

*  Larcher,  with  whom  Baelir  appears  to  agree,  refers  yvouTa  to  Tiva : 
in  tliat  case  the  meaning  of  the  passage  being,  that  "  those  who  remain 
at  home  will,  when  they  hear  of  the  disasters  that  have  befallen  Mardoni  lis 
And  the  army,  learn  what  an  enemy  they  have  had  to  contend  with. " 


416  HERODOTUS.  [12—14. 

suffered)  to  take  rvivenge,  that  I  may  also  be  informed  of  the 
Ganger  \0"'Whic1i  "I'  shall  expose  myself,  by  marching  against 
those  men,  whom  Pelops  the  Phrygian,  who  was  a  slave  of 
my  ancestors,  so  completely  subdued,  that  even  to  this  day  the 
people  themselves  and  their  country  are  called  after  the  name 
of  the  conqueror." 

12.  These  things  were  said  so  far:  but  afterwards  night 
came  on,  and  the  opinion  of  Artabanus  occasioned  uneasiness 
to  ^S^erxes,  and  deliberating  with  himself  during  the  night,  he 
clearly  oiscoyered  that  it  would  not  be  to  his  interest  to  make 
war  on  Greece  :  having  thus  altered  his  resolution,  he  fell 
asleep ;  and  some  time  in  the  night,  he  saw  the  following 
vision,  as  is  related  by  the  Persians.  Xerxes  imagined  that  a 
tall  and  handsome  man  stood  by  him,  and  said  :  "  Do  you  then 
change  your  mind,  0  Persian,  and  resolve  not  to  lead  an  army 
against  Greece,  after  having  ordered  the  Persians  to  assemble 
their  forces?  You  do  not  well  to  change  your  resolution,  nor 
is  there  any  man  who  will  agree  with  you.  Therefore  pursue 
that  course  which  you  resolved  upon  in  the  day."  Xerxes 
thought  that  the  man,  having  pronounced  these  words,  flew 
away.  13.  When  day  dawned,  he  paid  no  attention  to  this 
dream,  but  having  assembled  those  Persians  whom  he  had  be- 
fore convened,  he  addressed  them  as  follows :  "  Pardon  me, 
O  Persians,  that  I  suddenly  change  my  plans ;  for  I  have  not 
yet  attained  to  the  highest  perfection  of  judgment,  and  they 
w'ho  persuade  me  to  this  enterprise,  are  never  absent  from  me. 
When  therefore  I  heard  the  opinion  of  Artabanus,  my  youth 
immediately  boiled  with  rage  against  him,  so  that  I  tlirew  out 
words  more  unbecoming  than  I  ought  to  a  person  of  his  years. 
But  now,  conscious  of  my  error,  I  will  follow  his  advice  :  since 
therefore  I  have  changed  my  resolution,  and  determined  not 
to  make  war  against  Greece,  do  you  remain  quiet."  The  Per- 
sians, when  they  heard  this,  being  transported  with  joy,  did  him 
homage.  14.  When  night  came,  the  same  dream,  again  stand- 
ing by  Xerxes  as  he  slept,  said  :  "  Son  of  Darius,  you  have  then 
openly  renounced,  in  the  presence  of  the  Persians,  the  intended 
expedition  ;  and  make  no  account  of  my  words,  as  if  you  had 
not  heard  them  from  any  one.  Be  well  assured,  however,  of 
this,  that  unless  you  immediately  undertake  this  expedition, 
this  will  be  the  consequence  to  you  ;  as  you  have  become 
great  and  powerful  in  a  sliort  time,  so  you  shall  become  low 


15,16.]  POLYMNIA.    VII.  417 

again  in  an  equally  short  space."  15.  Xerxes,  being  alarmed 
by  this  vision,  rushed  from  his  bed,  and  sent  a  messenger  to 
call  Artabanus ;  and  when  he  came,  Xerxes  spoke  to  him  as 
follows :  "Artabanus,  I  on  the  moment  was  not  in  my  senses, 
when  I  used  hasty  words  to  you  in  return  for  your  good  advice  ; 
however,  after  no  long  time  I  repented,  and  acknowledged  that 
those  measures  which  you  suggested  ought  to  be  adopted  by 
me.  I  am  not,  however,  able  to  perform  them,  though  desirous 
of  doing  so  ;  for  after  I  had  altered  my  resolution,  and  acknow- 
ledged my  error,  a  dream  fre^ufiotly^jmesents  itself  to_me,  by 
no  means  approving  ot^  my  so  doing;  and  it  has  just  now 
vanished,  after  threatening  me.  If,  then,  it  is  a  deity  who 
sends  this  dream,  aM  it'jg'  his  pleasure  that  an  expedition 
agairisTG^reece  shoulcTat  all  events  take  place,  this  same  dream 
wru  alsoHit  before  you,  and  give  the  same  injunction  as  to 
me^  Tliis  I  think  will  happen,  if  you  should  take  all  my  ap- 
parel, and  having  put  it  on,  should  afterwards  sit  on  my  throne, 
and  then  go  to  sleep  in  my  bed."  16.  Xerxes  thus  addressed 
him  ;  but  Artabanus  not  obeying  the  first  order,  as  he  did  not 
think  himself  worthy  to  sit  on  the  royal  throne,  when  he  was 
at  last  compelled,  did  as  he  was  desired,  after  he  had  spoken 
as  follows.  (1.)  "I  deem  it  an  equal  merit,  O  king,  to  form 
good  plans,  and  to  be  willing  to  yield  to  one  who  gives  good 
advice :  and  though  both  of  these  qualities  attach  to  you,  the 
converse  of  wicked  men  leads  you  astray ;  just  as  blasts  of 
wind  falling  on  the  sea,  which  of  all  things  is  the  most  useful 
to  mankind,  do  not  suffer  it  to  follow  its  proper  nature.  A,« 
for  me,  grief  did  not  so  much  vex  me  at  hearing  your  re- 
proaches, as  that  when  two  opinions  were  proposed  by  the 
Persians,  one  tendingjto  increase  their  arrogance,  the  other  to 
check  it,  and  to  show  howTuHfuttT^j^'teach  the  mind^toJie 
constantly  seeking  for  more  than  we  already  possess ;  that,  when 
these  two  opinions  were  proposed,  you  should  choose  that  which 
is  more  dangerous  both  to  yourself  and  the  Persians.  (2.) 
Now,  however,  after  you  have  changed  to  the  better  resolu 
tion,  you  say,  tliat  since  you  have  given  up  the  expedition 
against  the  Greeks,  a  dream  has  come  to  you,  sent  by  some 
god,  which  forbids  you  to  abandon  the  enterprise.  J^nt  thpf=!ft 
things,  my  son,  are  not  divine,  for  dreams  which  wander 
among  men,  are  such  as  I  will  explain  to  you,  being  many 
y  iurs  older  than  yo  j   ire.      Thosc^,  vision'^  of  dreain.s  nuvst  com- 


^18  HERODOTUS.  fl7,  IS 

monly  hover  around  men,  respecting  things  which  one  has 
thought  of  during  the  day ;  and  we,  during  the  preceding 
days,  have  been  very  much  busied  about  this  expedition.  (3.) 
If,  however,  this  is  not  such  as  I  judge,  but  has  something 
divine  in  it,  you  have  correctly  summed  up  the  whole  in  few 
words  ;  then  let  it  appear  and  give  the  same  injunction  to  me 
as  to  you :  and  it  ought  not  to  appear  to  me  any  the  more  for 
my  having  your  apparel  than  my  own  ;  nor  the  more  because 
I  go  to  sleep  on  your  bed  than  on  my  own ;  if  indeed  it  will 
appear  at  all.  For  that  which  has  appeared  to  you  in  your 
sleep,  whatever  it  be,  can  never  arrive  to  such  a  degree  of 
simplicity  as  to  suppose  that  when  it  sees  me,  it  is  you,  conjec- 
turing from  your  apparel.  But  if  it  shall  hold  me  in  contempt, 
and  not  deign  to  appear  to  me,  whether  I  be  clothed  in  your 
robes  or  in  my  own ;  and  if  it  shall  visit  you  again,  this  in- 
deed would  deserve  consideration  :  for  if  it  should  repeatedly 
visit  you,  I  should  myself  confess  it  to  be  divine.  If,  however, 
you  have  resolved  that  so  it  should  be,  and  it  is  not  possible 
to  avert  this,  but  I  must  needs  sleep  in  your  bed,  well,  when 
this  has  been  done,  let  it  appear  also  to  me.  But  till  that 
time  I  shall  persist  in  my  present  opinion."  17.  Artabanus, 
having  spoken  thus,  and  hoping  to  show  that  Xerxe^"llM"^id 
nothing  of  any  moment,  did  what  was  ordered :  and  having 
put  on  the  apparel  of  Xerxes  and  sat  in  the  royal  throne, 
when  he  afterwards  went  to  bed,  the  same  dream  wliich  had 
appeared  to  Xerxes,  came  to  him  wbefT^f^as  asleep,  and 
standing  over  Artabanus,"spoke  as  follows :  "Art  thou,  then,  the 
man  who  dissuadeth  Xerxes  from  invading  Greece,  as  if  thou 
wert  very  anxious  for  him  ?  But  neitner  hereafter  nor  at  pre- 
sent shalt  thou  escape  unpunished  for  endeavouring  to  avert 
what  is  fated  to  be.  What  Xerxes  must  suffer  if  he  continues 
disobedient,  has  been  declared  to  him  himself."  18.  Artabanus 
imagined  that  the  dream  uttered  these  threats,  and  was  about' 
to  burn  out  his  eyes  with  hot  irons.  He  therefore,  having 
uttered  a  loud  shriek,  leapt  up,  and  seating  himself  by  Xerxes, 
when  he  had  related  all  the  particulars  of  the  vision  in  the 
dream,  spoke  to  him  in  this  manner  :  "  I,  Q  king,  being  a  man 
who  have  seen  already  many  and  grcRt  powerspYfirthrowiTT^y 
infftrinr  on(^:s7'W7Y17T(T  not  sirfer  yon  to  yield  entirely  to^utU  ; 
knowing  how  mischievous  it  is  to  desire  much,  calling  to  mind 
the  expeditrorrnf^yrus  against  the  Maasagetae,  how  it  fared, 


19,20.]  POLYMNIA.     VII.  419 

and  calling  to  mind  also  that  of  Cambyses  against  the  Ethio- 
pians, and  having  accompanied  Darius  in  the  invasion  of  Scy- 
thia,  knowing  all  these  things,  I  was  of  opinionj^that  Jfj^u 
remained  quiet,  you  must  b€L,prono,U.nced^  happy  by  all  menf 
But  since  some  divine  impulse  has  sprung  up,  and,  as  it  seeiiis, 
some  heaven-sent  destruction  impends  over  the  Greeks,  I 
myself  am  converted,  and  change  my  opinion.  Do  you,  then, 
nra^knbwn  tdlhe  Persians' the  intimation  sent  by  the  deity, 
and  command  them  to  follow  the  orders  first  given  by  you  for 
the  preparations;  and  act  so,  that,  since  the  deity  permits, 
nothing  on  your  part  may  be  wanting."  When  he  had  thus 
spoken,  both  being  carried  away  by  the  vision,  as  soon  as 
it  was  day  Xerxes  acquainted  the  Persians  with  what  had 
happened ;  and  Artabanus,  who  before  was  the  only  man  who 
greatly  opposed  the  expedition,  now  as  openly  promoted  it. 

19.  After  this,  when,  Xerxes  was  resolved  to  undertake 
the  expedition,  anpther  vision  appeared  to  him  in  his  sleep, 
which  the  magi,  vmen  they  heard  it,  iiiterpTeted~'to  relate  to 
the,  whole  world,  ^nd  tqjignify  that  all  mankind  should  sefv'e 
IiiniT  The  vfsion  was  as  follows :  Xerxes  imagined  thaFlie 
was  crowned  with  the  sprig  of  an  olive-tree,  and  that  brandies 
from  this  olive  coveredtfiie~\vlLQle  earth  ;  and  that  afterwards 
thecrown  ihat  was  placed^onTIis'Iiead  disappeared.  Tlic  irmgi 
ha'vlng'-gTTcii  this  interpretation,  every  one  of  the  Per.-ians, 
wlio  were  then  assembled,  departed  immediately  to  his  own 
government,  and  used  all  diligence  to  execute  what  had  been 
ordered ;  every  man  hoping  to  obtain  the  proposed  reward : 
Xerxes  thus  levied  his  arniy,  searching  out  every  rep;ion  of 
fhe^o.nntiiTervL  20]  jtW  from  the  reduction  "otiiigyptj  lie 
was  emploxedjoui^wliole  years  in  assembling  his  forces,  and 
provMihg  things  necessary  for  the  expedition.  In  the  cojurse 
of  the  fii'tli  year  he  began  his  march  with  a  vast  multitude  ol 
men.  For  of  the  expeditions  with  which  we  are  acquaint 
ca,this  was  by  far  the  greatest,  so  that  that  of  Darius  against 
the  Scythians  appeafg  "notTiing  in  pp^pot-i'g^r.  yrifti  fly  a 
nor  the  bcytluan,  wheii^ie  Scythians,  pursuing  the  Cimme- 
rians, and  invading  the  Medic  territory,  subdued  almost  the 
whole  of  the  upper  part  of  Asia,  on  account  of  which  Darius 
afterwards  attempted  to  inflict  vengeance  on  them ;  nor,  ac- 
cording to  what  is  related,  that  of  the  Atridas  against  Hium  ; 
nor  that  of  the  Mvsians  and  Teucrians,  which  took  place  be- 


420  ERODOTUS.  [21—23, 

fore  the  Trojan  war,  who  having  passed  over  into  Europe  by 
the  Bosphorus,  subdued  all  the  Thracians,  and  went  down  to 
the  Ionian  Sea,  and  marched  southward  as  far  as  the  river 
Peneus.  21.  All  these  expeditions,  and  any  others,  if  there 
have  been  any  besides  them,  are  not  to  be  compared  with  this 
one.  For  what  nation  did  not  Xerxes  lead  out  of  Asia  against 
Greece  ?  what  stream,  being  drunk,  did  not  fail  him,  except 
that  of  great  rivers?  Some  supplied  ships ;  others  were 
ordered  to  furnish  men  for  the  infantry,  from  others  cavalrj^ 
were  required,  from  otliers  transportTfor  horses,  togetlter  wiCT* 
men  to  serve  in  the  army ;  others  had  to  furnish  long  ships  fpJL. 
the  bridges,  and  others  provisions  and  vesselsT"^ 
'"S^^Liid  first  of  all,  as  those  who  had  first  attempted  to 
double  Mount  Athos  had  met  with  disasters,  preparations 
were  being  made  for  nearly  three  years  about  Athos;  For 
triremes  were  stationed  at  Eleus  in  the  Chersonese',  and  pro- 
ceeding from  thence,  men  of  every  nation  from  the  army  dug 
under  the  lash ;  and  they  went  in  succession  ;  and  the  people 
who  dwelt  round  Athos  dug  also.  Bubares,  son  of  Megabazus, 
and  Artaihaeus,  son  of  Artceus,  both  Persians,  presided  over 
the  work.  Athos  is  a  vast  and  celebrated  mountain,  stretch- 
ing into  the  sea,  and  inhabited  by  men.  Where  the  mountain 
terminates  towards  the  continent,  it  is  in  the  form  of  a  penin- 
sula, and  is  an  isthmus  of  about  twelve  stades  :  this  is  a  plain 
with  hills  of  no  greatlieight  from  the  sea  of  the  Acanthians 
to  the  sea  which  is  opposite  Torone.  On  this  isthmus,  in 
which  Mount  Athos  terminates,  stands  Sana,  a  Grecian  city  ; 
but  those  within  Sana  and  situate  on  Athos  itself,  which  the 
Persian  then  was  proceeding  to  make  insular  instead  of  conti- 
nental, are  the  following,  Dion,  Olophyxus,  Acrothoon,  Thys- 
sus,  and  Cleonas.  These  are  the  cities  which  occupy  Mount 
Athos.  23.  They  made  the  excavation  as  follows :  the  bar- 
barians divided  the  ground  am'6ng"The  severaTnations,  having 
drawn  a  straight  line  near  the  city  of  Sana ;  and  when  the 
trench  was  deep,  some  standing  at  the  bottom  continued  to  dig, 
and  others  handed  the  soil  that  was  dug  out  to  men  who  stood 
above  on  ladders ;  they  again  in  turn  handed  it  to  others,  until 
they  reached  those  that  were  at  the  top  ;  these  last  carried  it 
off  and  threw  it  away.  To  all  the  rest,  except  the  Phceni- 
cians,  the  brink  of  the  excavation  falling  in  gave  double  la- 
bour for  as  they  made  the  upper  opening  an<l  tlic  lower  of 


24—26.]  POLYMNIA.     Til.  421 

equal  dimensions,  this  must  necessarily  happen.  But  the 
Phcenicians  show  their  skill  in  other  works,  and  especially 
did  so  in  this ;  for  having  received  the  portion  that  fell  to 
their  share,  they  dug  it,  making  the  upper  opening  of  the 
trench  twice  as  large  as  it  was  necessary  for  the  trench  itself 
to  be ;  and  as  the  work  proceeded  they  contracted  it  gradually, 
so  that  when  they  came  to  the  bottom  the  work  was  equal  in 
width  to  the  rest :  near  adjoining  is  a  meadow,  where  they 
had  a  market  and  bazaar,  and  great  abundance  of  meal  was 
brought  to  them  from  Asia.  24.  According  to  my  deliberate 
opinion^®  Xerxes  oxderedthia  excavation  to"be  made  from  mo- 
tives of  ostentation,  wishing  to  display  his  power,  and  to  leave 
a  memorial  of  hfmself.  For_thi:)ugh  it  was  possible,  without 
any  great  labour,  to  have  drawn  the  ships  over  the  isthmus,  he 
commanded  them  to  dig  a  channel  for  the  sea  of  such  a  width 
that  two  triremes  might  pass  through  rowed  abreast.  And 
the  same  pefsons,  to  whom  the  excavation  was  committed, 
were~ordered  also  to  throw  a  bridge  over  the  river  Stryraon. 
25.  These  things,  then,  he  thus  contrived:  he  also  caused 
cables  of  papyrus  and  of  white  flax  to  be  prepai'^d  for  the 
bridges,  having  ordered  the  Phoenicians  and  Egyptians  also  to 
lay  up  provisions  for  the  army,  that  neither  the  men  nor  the 
beasts  of  burden  might  suffer  from  famine  on  their  march  to- 
wards Greece  ;  and  having  informed  himself  of  the  situations  of 
the  places,  he  ordered  them  to  lay  up  the  provisions  where  it 
was  most  convenient,  conveying  them  to  various  quarters  in 
merchant-ships  and  transports  from  all  parts  of  Asia.  Of 
these  provisions  the  largest  quantity  they  conveyed  to  a  place 
called  Leuce-Acte,  in  Thrace  ;  some  were  ordered  to  Tyrodiza 
of  the  Perinthians,  others  to  Doriscus,  others  to  Eion  on  the 
Strymon,  and  others  to  Macedonia. 

26.  While  these  men  were  employed  in  their  appointed 
task,  the  whole  land  forces,  having  been  assembled,  marched 
with  Xerxes  io.  Siirdis,  having  set  out  from  CritallaTh  Cap- 
padocia,  lor"rt  was  ordered  that  ^1  the  trflo^sjthroughout  the 
continent,  that  were  to  march  wim  Xerxes  himself,  should  be 
assembled  at  that  place.  Now  which  of  the  generals,  bring- 
ing the  best  appointed  troops,  received  the  gifts  promised  by 
the  king,  I  am  unable  to  mention;  for  I  am  not  at  all  aware 


I 


^ 


•  Literally,  "  as  I  conjectunng  discover.' 


422  HERODOTUS.  [27-29 . 

th?it  they  came  to  any  decision  on  this  point.  They  then,  whcti 
having  crossed  the  river  Halys  they  entered  Phrygia,  march- 
ing through  that  country,  arrived  at  Celaense,  where  rise  the 
springs  of  the  Mseander,  and  of  another  river  not  less  than  the 
MiBander,  which  is  called  the  Catarractes,  which,  springing 
up  in  the  very  forum  of  the  Celaenians,  discharges  itself  into 
the  Maeander;  in  this  city  also  the  skin  of  Silenus  Marsyas 
is  suspended,  which,  as  the  Phrygians  report,  was  stripped  off 
and  suspended  by  Apollo.  27.  In  this  city  Pythius,  son  of 
Atys,  a  Lydian,  being  in  waiting,  entertained  the  whole  army 
of  the  king  and  Xerxes  himself,  with  most  sumptuous  feasts ; 
and  he  offered  money,  wishing  to  contribute  towards  the  ex- 
pense of  the  war.  When  Pythius  offered  money,  Xerxea 
asked  the  Persians  near  him  who  this  Pythius  was,  and  what 
riches  he  possessed,  that  he  made  such  an  offer  ?  They  answer- 
ed, "  0  king,  this  is  the  person  who  presented  your  father 
Darius  with  the  golden  plane-tree  and  the  vine  ;  and  he  is 
now  the  richest  man  we  know  of  in  the  world,  next  to  your- 
self."  28.  Xerxes,  surprised  with  these  last  words,  next 
asked  Pythius  what  might  be  the  amount  of  his  wealth.  He 
said,  "  O  king,  I  will  not  conceal  it  from  you,  nor  will  I  pretend 
to  be  ignorant  of  my  own  substance,  but  as  I  know  it  perfectly 
I  will  tell  you  the  exact  truth.  As  soon  as  I  heard  you  were 
coming  down  to  the  Grecian  sea,  wishing  to  present  you  with 
money  for  the  war,  I  made  inquiry,  and  found  by  computa- 
tion that  I  had  two  thousand  talents  of  silver,  and  of  gold  four 
millions  of  Daric  staters,  all  but  seven  thousand.  These  I 
freely  give  you  ;  for  myself  I  have  sufficient  subsistence  from 
my  slaves  and  lands."  29.  Thus  he  spoke;  but  Xerxes,  de- 
lighted with  his  offer,  replied :  "  My  Lydian  friend,  since  I  left 
the  Persian  country  I  have  met  with  no  man  to  the  present 
moment  who  was  willing  to  entertain  my  army,  or  who,  hav- 
ing come  into  my  presence,  has  voluntarily  offered  to  con- 
tribute money  towards  the  war.  But  you  have  entertained 
my  army  magnificently,  and  have  offered  me  vast  sums ; 
therefore,  in  return  for  this,  I  confer  on  you  the  following  re- 
wards :  I  make  you  my  friend,  and  will  make  up  the  sum  of  four 
millions  of  staters  from  my  own  treasures,  by  adding  the  seven 
thousand ;  so  that  the  four  millions  may  not  be  short  of  seYC!» 
thousand,  but  the  full  sum  may  be  completed  by  me.  Po  you 
retain  what  you  have  acquired,  and  be  careful  always  to  con- 


30-33.]  POLYMNIA.    VII.  428 

tinue  sjch  as  you  Are ;  for  if  you  do  this,  you  shall  never  re 
pent,  cither  now,  or  hereafter." 

30.  Having  saii  this,  and  performed  his  promise,  he  con* 
tinued  his  march :  and  passing  by  a  city  of  the  Phrygians, 
called  Anaua,  and  a  lake  from  which  salt  is  obtained,  he  arrived 
at  Colossje,  a  considerable  city  of  Phrygia,  in  which  the  river 
Lycus,  falling  into  a  chasm  of  the  earth,  disappears  ;  then  reap- 
pearing after  a  distance  of  about  five  stades,  it  also  discharges 
itself  into  the  Maeander.  From  Colossae  the  army,  advancing 
towards  the  boundaries  of  the  Phrygians  and  Lydians,  arrived 
at  the  city  of  Cydrara,  where  a  pillar,  planted  in  the  ground, 
and  erected  by  Croesus,  indicates  the  boundaries  by  an  inscrip- 
tion. 31.  When  from_  Phrygia  he  entered  Lydia,  the  way  di- 
viding into  two,  that  on  the  leTt  leading  to  Caria,  the  other 
on  the  right  to  Sardis,  by  which  latter  a  traveller  is  com- 
pelled to  cross  the  river  Maeander,  and  to  pass  by  the  city  of 
Callatebus,  in  which  confectioners  make  honey  with  tamarisk 
and  wheat ;  Xerxes,  going  by  this  way,  met  with  a  plane-tree, 
whicli,  on  account  of  its  beauty,  he  presented  with  golden  or- 
naments, and  having  committed  it  to  the  care  of  one  of  the 
immortals,"^  on  the  next  day  he  arrived  at  Sardis^  the  capital 
of  the  Lydians.  32.  On  his  ari:ixnl  ftt  iSarfli-i;  hp  first  nf  ^1]  apnl 
heralds  to  Greece  to  demand  earth  and  water,  and  to  require 
them  to  provide  entertainment  for  the  king ;  except  that  he 
did  not  send  either  to  Athens^ojt_Laced£emon,^  but  he  did  to 
every  otFer  pIacer~And  he  sent  the  srcondtime  for  earth  and 
water,  for  the  following  reason  :  such  as  had  not  given  them 
before  when  Darius  sent,  he  thought  would  then  certainly  do 
so  through  fear  ;  wishing  therefore  to  know  this  for  certain,  he 
sent.     And  after  this  he  prepared  to  march  to  Abydos. 

33.  In  the  mean  while  thoye  whowere^appointed  had  joined 
the  Hellespont  from  Asia  to  Europe.  There  is  in  the  Chersonese 
o'n'XtireTffeirespoht,  between  the  city  of  Sestos  and  Madytus,  a 
craggy  shore  extending  into  the  sea,  directly  opposite  Abydos : 
there,  not  long  after  these  events,  under  Xanthippus,  son  of 
Ariphron,  a  general  of  the  Athenians,  having  taken  Ar- 
tayctes,  a  Persian,  governor  of  Sestos,  they  impaled  him  alive 
against  a  plank  ;  for  he,  having  brought  women  into  the  temple 

'  One  of  the  ten  thousand  chosen  men  called  immortals,  of  whom  w© 
shall  hear  more  hereafter.     See  chap.  83. 
*  See  chap.  133. 


^- 


^ 


424  HERODOTUS.  [34— M 

of  Protesilaus  at  Elaeus,  committed  atrocious  crimes.^  34. 
To  this  shore,  then,  beginning  at  Abydos,  they,  on  whom  this 
task  was  imposed,  constructed  bridges,  the  Phoenicians  one 
with  white  flax,  and  the  Egyptians'^the  other  with  papyrus. 
The  distance  from  Abydos  to  the  opposite  shore  is  seven 
etades.  When  the  strait  was  thus  united,  a  violent  storm 
arising,  broke  in  pieces  and  scattered  the  whole  work.  35. 
When  Xerxes  heard  of  this,  being  exceedingly  indignant,  he 
-  commanded  thaFtheTIeriespont  should  be  stricken  with  three 
liundred  lashes  with  a  scourge,  and  that  a  pair  of  fetters  should 
be  let  down  into  the  sea.  I  have  moreover  heard  that  with 
them  he  likewise  sent  branding  instruments  to  brand  the  Hel- 
lespont. He  certainly  charged  those  wTio  flogged  the  waters 
to  utter  these  barbarous  and  impious_words :  "Thou  bitter 
Avater  !  thy  master  inflicts  this  punishment  upon  thee,  because 
thou  hast  injured  him,  although  thou  hadst  not  sufiered  any 
harm  from  him.  And  king  Xerxes  will  cross  over  thee, 
whether  thou  wilt  or  not ;  it  is  with  justice  that  no  man  sacri- 
fices to  thee,  because  thou  art  both  a  dectdtiiil  and  briny 
river  !"  He  accordingly  commanded  them  to  chastise  the  sea 
iiiTliis  manner,  and  to  cut  off  the  heads  of  those  who  had 
to  superintend  the  joining  of  the  Hellespofnt."'  36.  They  on 
whom  this  thankless  ofiice  was  Imposed,  carried  it  into  exe- 
cution ;  and  other  engineers  constructed  bridges ;  and  they 
constructed  them  in  the  following  manner.  They  connected 
together  penteconters  and  triremes,  under  that  towards  the 
Euxine  sea,  three  hundred  and  sixty ;  and  under  the  other, 
three  hundred  and  fourteen,  obliquely  in  respect  of  the  Pont  us, 
but  in  the  direction  of  the  current  in  respect  of  the  Hellespont, 
that  it  might  keep  up  the  tension  of  the  cables.  Having  con- 
nected them  together,  they  let  down  very  long  anchors,  some 
on  the  one  bridge  towards  the  Pontus,  on  account  of  the  winds 
that  blew  from  it  within  ;  others  on  the  other  bridge  towards 
the  west  and  the  -^gean,  on  account  of  the  south  and  south- 
east winds.  They  left  an  opening  as  a  passage  through  be- 
tween the  penteconters,  and  that  in  three  places,  that  any  one 
who  wished  might  be  able  to  sail  into  the  Pontus  in  light  ves- 
sels, and  from  the  Pontus  outwards.  Having  done  this,  they 
stretched  the  cables  from  the  shore,  twisting  them  with  wooden 
capstans,  not  as  before  using  the  two  kinds  separately,  but  «s 
»  Sec  B.  IX.  chap.  116. 


:J7,S8.]  POLYMNIA.     YIl.  425 

signing  to  each  two  of  white  flax  and  four  of  papyrus.  The 
thickness  and  quality  was  the  same,  but  those  of  flax  were 
stronger  in  proportion,  every  cubit  weighing  a  full  talent. 
When  the  passage  was  bridged  over,  having  sawn  up  trunks 
of  trees,  and  having  made  them  equal  to  the  width  of  the 
bridge,  they  laid  them  regularly  upon  the  extended  cables ; 
and  having  laid  them  in  regular  order,  they  then  fastened 
them  together.  And  having  done  this,  they  put  brush-wood 
on  the  top  ;  and  having  laid  the  brush-wood  in  regular  order 
they  put  earth  over  the  whole  ;  and  having  pressed  down  the 
earth,  they  drew  a  fence  on  each  side,  that  the  beasts  of 
burden  and  horses  might  not  be  frightened  by  looking  down 
upon  the  sea. 

37.  When  the  works  at  the  bridges  were  completed,  and 
those  at  Mount  Athos,  as  well  as  the  mounds  at  the  mouths 
of  the  canal,  which  had  been  made  on  account  of  the  tide, 
in  order  that  the  mouths  of  the  trench  might  not  be  choked 
ap,  and  news  was  brought  tliat  the  canal  was  entirely  com- 
pleted ;  thereupon  the  army,  having  wintered  at  Sardis,  and 
being  fully  prepared,  set  out,  at  the  beginning  of  the  spring, 
from  thence  towards  Abydos.  But  as  it  was  on  the  point  of 
setting-aut,  the  sun,  quitting  his  seat  in  the  heavens,  disap- 
peared, though  there  were  no  clouds,  and  the  air  was  perfectly 
serene,  and  night  ensued  in  the  place  of  ^ay.  When  Xerxes 
saw  and  percefved  this,  it  occasioned  him  much  uneasmess ; 
he,  therefore,  inquired  of  the  magi  what  the  prodigy  might 
pOrtSndr  Tiiey  answered,  that  "  the  deity  foreshows  to  the 
Greeks  the  extinction  of  their  cities;"  adding,  "that  the  sun 
is  the  porfender_of_the  future  to  the  Greeks,  and  the  moon  to 
the  PersiansT'^lX^erxes,  having  heard  this,  was  much  delighted, 
arid  set  out  upon  Ins  march.  38.  As  he  was  leading  his  army 
away,  Pythius  the  Jji^'dian,  terrified  by  the  prodigy  in  the 
heavens,  and  emboldened  by  the  gifts,  went  to  Xerxes  the 
king,  and  spoke  thus :  "  Sire,  would  you  indulge  me  by  grant- 
ing a  boon  I  should  wish  to  obtain,  which  is  easy  for  you  to 
grant,  and  of  great  importance  to  me."  Xerxes,  expecting 
that  he  would  wish  for  any  thing  rather  than  what  he  did  ask, 
eaid  that  he  would  grant  his  request,  and  bade  him  declare 
what  he  wanted  ;  whereupon  he,  when  he  heard  this,  spoke 
confidently  as  follows  :  "  Sire,  I  have  five  sons  ;  and  it  hap- 
piMis  that  they  are  all  attending  you  in  the  expedition  against 


426  HERODOTUS.  ;30,  40. 

Greece.  But  do  you,  O  king,  pity  me,  who  am  thus  aclvancefl 
in  years,  and  release  one  of  my  sons  from  the  service,  that  he 
may  take  care  of  me  and  my  property.  Take  the  other  four 
with  you,  and,  having  accomplished  your  designs,  may  you 
return  home."  39.  Xerxes  was  highly  incensed,  and  answered 
as  follows:  "Base  nTan!  hast  thou  daredJ^wTTeirTlimmarch= 
Tng  in  person  against  Greece,  and  taking  with  me  my  children, 
and  brothers,  and  kinsmen,  and  friends,  to  make  mention  of 
thy  son  ?  thou,  who  art  my  slave,  and  who  wert  bound  in  duty 
to  follow  me  with  all  thy  family,  even  with  thy  wife.  Now 
learn  this  well,  that  the  spirit  of  man  dwells  in  his  ears ;  which 
when  it  hears  pleasing  things,  fills  the  whole  body  with  de- 
light, but  when  it  hears  the  contrary,  swells  with  indignation, 
AVhen,  therefore,  you  did  well,  and  gave  promise  of  the  like, 
you  cannot  boast  of  having  surpassed  the  king  in  generosity. 
But  now  that  you  have  adopted  a  more  shameless  conduct, 
you  shall  not  receive  your  deserts,  but  less  than  your  deserts  ; 
for  your  hospitality  preserves  four  of  your  children,  but  you 
shall  be  punished  with  the  loss  of  the  one  whom_you_cherish 
most."~~When  he  had  given  this  answer,  Kelmmediately  com- 
manded those  whose  office  it  was  to  execute  such  orders,  to 
find  out  the  eldest  of  the  sons  of  Pythius,  and  to  cut  his  body 
in  two ;  and  having  so  done,  to  deposit  the  halves,  one  on  the 
right  of  the  road,  the  other  on  the  left ;  and  that  the  army 
should  pass  between  them. 

40.  When  they  had  done  this,  the  army  afterwards  passed 
between.  The  baggage-bearers  and  beasts  of  burden  first  led 
tlie  way ;  after  them  came  a  host  of  all  nations  promiscuously, 
not  distinguished :  after  more  than  one  half  of  the  army  had 
passed,  an  interval  was  left,  that  they  might  not  mix  with  the 
king's  troops.  Before  him  a  thousand  horsemen  led  the  van, 
chosen  from  among  all  the  Persians ;  and  next  to  them  a 
thousand  spearmen,  these  also  chosen  from  among  all,  carrying 
their  lances  turned  downwards  to  the  earth.  After  these  came 
ten  sacred  horses  called  Nissean,  gorgeously  caparisoned. 
These  horses  are  called  Nisaean  on  the  following  account: 
there  is  a  large  plain  in  the  Medic  territory,  which  is  called 
the  Nisasan ;  now  this  plain  produces  these  large  horses.  Be- 
hind these  ten  horses  was  placed  the  sacred  chariot  of  Jupiter, 
drawn  by  eight  white  horses ;  behind  the  horses  followed  a 
charioteer  on  foot,  holding  the  reins ;  because  no  mortal  ever 


41—43.]  POLYMNIA.     VII.  427 

ascends  this  seat.  Behind  this  came  Xerxes  himself  on  u 
chariot^  drawn  by  Nisaean  15orsp|'~ahdr  a  charioteer  walked 
jit  his  sfde,  whose  name  was  Patiramphes,  son  of  Otanes,  a 
Persian.  41.  In  this  manner,  then,  Xerxes  marched  out  of 
Sajgdis,  and  whenever  he  thought  right,  he  used  to  pass 
from  the  chariot  to  a  covered  carriage.  Behind  him  marched 
a  thousand  spearmen,  the  bravest  and  most  noble  of  the 
Persians,  carrying  their  spears  in  the  usual  manner  ;  and 
after  them  another  body  of  a  thousand  horse,  chosen  from 
among  the  Persians :  after  the  cavalry  came  ten  thousand 
men  chosen  from  the  rest  of  the  Persians ;  these  were  in- 
fantry ;  and  of  these,  one  thousand  had  golden  pomegranates 
on  their  spears  instead  of  ferules,  and  they  enclosed  the 
others  all  round ;  but  the  nine  thousand,  being  within  them, 
had  silver  pomegranates.  Those  also  that  carried  their  spears 
turned  to  the  earth,  had  golden  pomegranates,  and  those 
that  followed  nearest  to  Xerxes  had  golden  apples.  Behind 
tlie  ten  thousand  foot  were  placed  ten  thousand  Persian 
cavalry;  and  after  the  cavalry  was  left  an  interval  of  two 
stades ;  and  then  the  rest  of  the  throng  followed  promiscu- 
ously. 42.  The  army  directed  its  march  from  Lydia  to  the 
river  Caicus  an^  the  Mysian  territory ;  and  proceeding  from 
the  Caicus,  leaving  Mount  Canae  on  the  left,  passed  through 
Atarneus  to  the  city  Carina.  From  thence  it  marched  through 
the  plain  of  Thebes,  and  passing  by  the  city  of  Adramyttium 
and  the  Pelasgian  Antrandus,  and  keeping  Mount  Ida  on  the 
left,  it  entered  the  territory  of  Ilium.  But  before  this,  as  the 
army  halfed'dufing  the  night  under  Mount  Ida,  thunder  and 
lightning  fell  upon  them,  and  destroyed  a  consideraBle' nttmber 
of  the  tro(3ps~l5!r  the  spotT" '?3.  "WTTen  the  army  arrived  at 
the  Scamander,  which  was  the  first  river  since  they  had  set 
out  on  their  march  from  Sardis,  wliose  stream  failed  and  did 
not  afford  siiffirnVnt  driri]^  fnr  thp.  nrmy  nnd  honsts  of  burden  ; 
when,  accordingly,  Xerxes  arrived  at  this  river,  he  went  up 
to  the  Pergamus  ^  of  Priam,  being  desirous  of  seeing  it ;  and 
having  seen  it,  and  inquired  into  every  particular,  he  sacrificed 
a  thousand  oxen  to  the  Ilian  Minerva,  and  the  magi  poured 
out  libations  in  honour  of  the  heroes.  After  they  had  done 
this,  a  panic  fell  on  the  camp  during  the  night,  and  at  the 
^Jawn  ot  day  they  marched  from  thence,  on  the  left  skirting 


4is8  HERODOTUS.  [44—47. 

tlie  city  of  Rhoetium,  and  Ophrynium,  and  Dardanus,  which 
borders  on  Abydos  ;  and  on  the  right  the  Gergithas  Teucrians. 
44.  Wjien  they  were  at  Abydos,  Xerxes  wished  to  behold 
the  whole  army.  And  there  had  been  previously  erected  on' 
a  hill  at  this  place,  for  his  express  use,  a  lofty  throne  of  white 
marble ;  the  people  of  Abydos  had  made  it,  in  obedience  to  a 
previous  order  of  the  king.  When  he  was  seated  there,  look- 
ing down  towards  the  shore,  he  beheld  both  the  land  army 
and  the  fleet ;  and  when  he  beheld  them,  he  desired  to  see  a 
contest  take  place  between  the  sliips  ;  and  when  it  had  taken 
place,  and  the  Sidonian  Phcenicians  were  victorious,  he  showed 
himself  exceedingly  gratified  both  Avith  the  contest  and  the 
army.  45.  And  when  he  saw  the  whole  Hellespont  covered 
by  the  ships,  and  all  the  shores  and  the  plains  of  Abydos  full 
of  men,  Xerxes  thereupon  pronounced  himself  happy;  but 
afterwards  shed  tears.  46.  Artabanus,  his  paternal  uncle, 
having  observed  him,  the  same  who  had  before  freely  declared 
his  opinion  and  advised  Xerxes  not  to  invade  Greece ;  this 
man,  having  perceived  Xerxes  shedding  tears,  addressed  him 
thus  :  "  O  king,  how  very  different  from  each  other  are  what 
you  are  now  doing,  and  what  you  did  a  little  while  ago  !  for 
having  pronounced  yourself  happy,  now  you  weep."  He 
t  answered,  "  Commiseration  seized  me,  when  I  considered  how 
jj  brief  all  human  hfe  is,  since  of  these,  numerous  as  they  are, 
j  not  one  shall  survive  to  the  hundredth  year."  But  Artabanus 
repHed,  saying,  "  We  suffer  during  life  other  things  more 
pitiable  than  this ;  for  in  this  so  brief  life,  there  is  not  one, 
either  of  these  or  of  others,  born  so  happy,  that  it  will  not 
occur  to  him,  not  only  once  but  oftentimes,  to  wish  rather  to~ 
die  than  to  live.  For  calamities  befalling  him,  and  dis- 
eases disturbing  him,  make  life,  though  really  short,  appear 
to  be  long ;  so  that  death,  life  being  burdensome,  becomes 
the  most  desirable  refuge  for  man :  and  the  deity,  having 
given  us  to  taste  of  sweet  existence,  is  found  to  be  jealous 
of  his  gift."  47.  Xerxes  answered,  saying,  "  Artabanus,  ot 
human  life,  which  is  such  as  you  have  described  it,  let  ua 
say  no  more,  nor  let  us  call  evils  to  mind,  nnwfjint  we  hp^^- 
/^ood  things  before  us.  But  tell  me  this.'  lithe  vision  or 
f  the  di'eam  had  not  appeared  so  clearly,  would  you  have  re- 
tained your  former  opinion,  and  dissuaded  me  from  makina 
\\  war  against  Greece*  or  would  you  have  changed  your  opinion  ' 


48-50.]  POLYMNIA.     VII.  429 

Come,  tell  rae  this  explicitly."  He  answered,  saying,  "  O 
king,  may  the  vision  of  the  dream  that  appeared  terminate  as 
we  both  desire :  but  T  am  stjll  full  of  alarm  and  not  master 
of  myself,  when  I  consider  many  other  circumstances,  and 
moreover  perceive  two  things  of  the  greatest  importance, 
most  hostile  to  you."  48.  To  this  Xerxes  answered  as  fol- 
lows :  "  Strange  man  !  what  are  these  two  things  which  you 
say  are  most  hostile  to  me  ?  whether  do  you  find  fault  with 
^k:3  land  army  on  account  of  numbers,  and  do  you  think  that 
the  Grecian  army  will  be  much  more  numerous  than  ours  ? 
or  that  our  navy  will  fall  short  of  theirs  ?  or  both  these  to- 
gether ?  For  if  you  think  our  forces  deficient  in  this  respect, 
we  can  quickly  assemble  another  army."  49.  He  answered, 
saying,  "  U  kmg,  no  man  of  common  understanding  can  find 
fault  either  with  this  army  or  the  number  of  the  ships.  (1.) 
But  even  if  you  should  muster  more,  the  two  things  which  I 
mean  would  become  still  more  hostile.  These  two  things  are 
land  and  sea.  For,  as  I  conjecture,  there  is  no  where  "any 
harbour  of  the  sea  so  large  as  to  be  capable,  in  case  a  storm 
should  arise,  of  receiving  this  your  navy,  and  sheltering  the 
ships.  And  yet  there  is  need,  not  only  that  there  be  one  such 
liarbour,  but  others  along  the  whole  continent,  by  which  you 
a re^  about  to  coast.  Since  there  are  not  harbours  sufiiciently 
capacious,  remember,  tliat' accidents  rule  men,  not  men  acci- 
dgiits.  (2.)  One  of  the  two  things  having  thus  been  men- 
tioned, I  now  proceed  to  mention  the  other.  The  land  will 
be  hostile  to  you  in  this  way :  if  notliing  else  shouTcTsland  in 
your  way,  it  will  become  more  hostile  to  you  the  farther  you 
advance,  as  you  are  continually  drawn  on  unawares ;  for  men 
are  never  satiated  with  success.  And  even  if  I  should  grant, 
tliat  no  one  will  oppose  you,  I  say,  that  the  country,  becoming 
more  extensive  in  process  of  time,  will  produce  a  famine. 
A^man  would  therefore  thus  prove  himself  most  wise,  if  in 
deliT)eration  he  should  be  apprehensive  and  consider  himself 
likely  to  siiffer  (3\ery  misfortune,  but  in  action  should  be  bold." 
50.  Xerxes  answered  in  these  words :  "  Artabanus,  you  have 
discussed"  eacli  of  these  particulars  plausibly  ;  but  do  not  fear 
every  thing,  nor  weigh  every  circumstance  with  equal  strict- 
ness. (I.)  For  if  in  every  matter  that  is  proposed,  you  should 
weigh  every  thing  with  equal  care,  you  would  never  do  any 
thing  at   all ;  it  is   better,  being  confident  on  all  occasions,  to 


480  HERODOTUS.  [51,  51 

suffer  half  the  evils,  than  fearing  every  thing  before-hand, 
never  suffer  any  thing  at  all.  But  if  you  oppose  every  thing 
that  is  proposed,  and  do  not  advance  something  certain,  you 
must  fail  in  your  plans  equally  with  the  person  who  has  given 
a  contrary  opinion.  This,  therefore,  comes  to  the  same.  (2.) 
Can  any  one  who  is  a  man  know  for  a  certainty  what  ouglit 
to  be  done? 2  I  think,  certainly  not.  To  those,  however, 
who  are  ready  to  act,  gain  for  the  most  part  is  wont  to  accrue  ; 
but  to  those  that  weigh  every  thing  and  are  timid,  it  seldom 
does.  You  see  to  what  a  degree  of  power  the  empire  of  the 
Persians  has  advanced;  if,  then,  they  who  were  kings  before 
me  had  entertained  such  opinions  as  you  do,  or  not  entertain- 
ing such  opinions,  had  such  counsellors,  you  would  never  have 
seen  their  power  advanced  to  this  pitch.  But  now,  by  hazard  - 
ing:  dangers,  they  carried  it  toThTsTieighfr  For  great  under- 
takings are  wont  to  be  accomplished  at  great" liazards.  W'e, 
therefore,  emulating  them,  set  out  at  the  most  favourable  sea- 
son of  the  year,  and  having  subdued  all  Europe,  will  return 
home,  without  having  met  with  famine  any  where,  or  suffered 
any  other  reverse.  For  in  the  first  place  we  march,  carrying 
with  us  abundant  provisions,  and  in  the  next  place,  wjiateyer 
land  and  nation  we  invade,  we  shall  have  their  corn]  and  we 
ire  making  war  on  men  who  are  husbandmen,  and  not  feeders 
Df  cattle."  51.  Aftcr_this  Artabanus  said,  "O  king,  since 
you  will  not  allow  us  to  fear  any  thing,  yet  liearKen  to  my 
advice ;  for  it  is  necessary,  when  speaking  on  many  topics,  to 
extend  one's  discourse.  Cyrus,  son  of  Cambyses,  subdued  all 
Ionia  except  the  Athenians,  so  as  to  be  tributary  to  the  Per- 
sians. I  advise  you,  therefore,  on  no  account  to  lead  these 
men  against  their  fathers ;  for  even  without  thein  we  are  able 
to  get  the  better  of  our  enemies.  For  if  they  accompany  you, 
they  must  either  be  most  unjust,  in  assisting  to  enslave  their 
mother-city,  or  most  just  in  endeavouring  to  maintain  its  free- 
dom. Now  if  they  should  be  most  unjust,  they  will  not  adj 
any  great'gain  to  us  ;  but  if  just,  they  are  able  to  damage  your 
army  to  a  great  degree.  Consider  therefore  on  this  ancient 
saying,  since  it  has  been  well  said,  that  tlie  termination  is  not 
always  evident  at  the  beginning.     52.  To  tWs 'Xei^sliiTi- 

2  I  have  followed  tlie  reading  and  punctuation  of  Mattliiffi  and  Bachr. 
The  latter,  though  he  approves  the  mark  of  interrogation,  omits  it  in  hia 
versi(fc  of  this  passage. 


63-55  J  POLYMNIA.    VII.  ^^31 

swcrcJ:  "  Artabanus,  ofall  tlie  opinions  you  Ijave  given,  you 
arejdeceive5[^^^Ji»^tiu^  iii  i'caiing  lest  the-  lonians  should 
desert  us  ;  of  whom  we  have  the  strongest  proofs,  and  of  whom 
you  are  a  witness,  as  well  as  all  the  rest  who  accompanied 
TWvns^in  Til  a  PYppdijl^T^  against  the  Scythians,  that  the  whole 
Persian  army  was  in  their  power  to  destroy  or  to  save,  yet  they 
evinced  justice  and  lidehty,  and  committed  nothing  ungrateful. 
Besides  this,  since  they  have  left  therr'children,~aii^  wives, 
and  possessions  in  our  territories,  we  must  not  expect  that 
they  will  form  any  new  design.  Do  not  therefore  fear  this, 
but  be  of  good  courage,  and  preserve  my  house  and  my  go- 
vernment;  fnrjrrynn  alone,  "f  ^.^  I"^-"j  Tj'^^''"^^  i^V  sceptrc." 
53.  Having  spoken  thus,  and  despatched  Artabanus__to 
Susa,  Xerxes  again  summoned  the  most  distinguislied  of  the 
Persians,  and  when  they  were  assembled  he  addressed  them 
as  follows :  "  O  Persians,  I  have  called  you  together  to  desire 
this  of  you,  that  you  would  acquit  yourselves  like  brave  men, 
and  not  disgrace  the  former  exploits  of  the  Persians,  which  are 
great  and  memorable.  But  let  each  and  all  of  us  together  shoAv 
our  zeal ;  for  this  which  we  are  endeavouring  to  accomplish  is 
•a  good  common  to  all.  On  this  account,  then,  I  call  on  you  to 
apply  yourselves  earnestly  to  the  Avar ;  for,  as  I  am  informed, 
we  are  marching  against  brave  men  ;  and  if  we  conquer  tliem, 
no  other  army  in  the  world  will  dare  to  oppose  us.  Now,  then, 
let  us  cross  over,  having  first  offered  up  prayers  to  the  gods 
who  protect  the  Persian  territory."  54.  That  day  they  made 
preparations  for  the  passage  over  ;  and  on  the  following  they 
waited  for  the  sun,  as  they  wished  to  see  it  rising,  in  the  mean 
time  burning  all  sorts  of  perfumes  on  the  bridges,  and  strew- 
ing the  road  with  myrtle  branches.  When  the  sun  roseT^ 
Xerxes,  pouring  a  libation  into  the  sea  out  of  a  golden  cup, 
offered  up  a  prayer  to  the  sun,  that  no  such  accident  might 
befal  him  as  would  prevent  him  from  subduing  Europe,  until 
he  had  reached  its  utraostjiimits.  After  having^rayed,  he 
threw  the  cup  Into  thC"Hellespont,  and  a  golden  bowl,  and  a 
Persian  sword,  which  they  call  acinace.  But  I  cannot  deter- 
mine with  certainty,  whether  he  dropped  these  things  into  the 
sea  as  an  offering  to  the  sun,  or  whether  he  repented  of  having 
scourged  the  Hellespont,  and  presented  these  gifts  to  the  sea 
al~a  compensation.  55.  When  these  ceremonies  were  finiished. 
the  infantrv  and  all  the  cavalry  creased  over  by  thai  bridge 


482  HERODOTUS.  [W-59 

which  was  towards  the  Pontus  ;  and  the  beasts  of  burden  and 
attendants  by  that  towards  the  JEgean.  First  of  all  the  ten 
thousand  Persians  led  the  van,  all  wearing  crowns ;  and  after 
them  the  promiscuous  host  of  all  nations.  These  crossed  on 
that  day.  On  the  following,  first  the  horsemen,  and  those 
who  carried  their  lances  downwards,  these  also  wore  crowns : 
next  came  the  sacred  horses  and  the  sacred  chariot ;  after- 
wards Xerxes  himself,  and  the  spearmen,  and  the  thousand 
horsemen  ;  after  them  the  rest  of  the  army  closed  the  march  ; 
and  at  the  same  time  the  shfps  got  under  weigh  to  the  oppo- 
site shore.  I  have  also  heard  that  Xerxes  crossed  over  last 
of  all.  56.  Xerxes,  when  he  had  crossed  over  into  Europe, 
sav/  the  army  crossing  over  under  the  lash  :  liis  army  crossed 
over  in  seven  days  and  seven  nights  without  halting  at  allT  Un 
tlTTs' occasion  it  is  related,  that  when  Xerxes  Had  crossed  over 
tlie  Hellespont,  a  certain  Hellespontine  said :  "  0  Jupiter, 
why,  assuming  the  form  of  a  Persian,  and  taking  theTfSffirtTof 
Xerxes,  do  you  wish  to  subvert  Greece,  bringing  all  mankind 
with  you  ?  since  without  them  it  was  in  your  power  to  do 
this." 

57.  When  all  had  crossed  over,  and  were  proceeding  on 
their  march,  a  great  prodigy  appeared  to  them,  which  Xerxes 
took  no  account  of,  although  it  was  easy  to  be  interpreted.  A 
mare  foaled  a  hare  :  this,  then,  might  easily  have  been  inter- 
preted thus,  that  Xerxes  was  about  to  lead  an  army  into 
Greece  with  exceeding  pomp  and  magnificence,  but  wqul^d 
return  to  the  same  place  running  for  his  life.  Another  pro- 
digy had  also  happened,  while  lie  was  at  Sardis ;  a  mule 
brought  forth  a  colt,  with  double  parts,  both  those  of  a  male 
and  those  of  a  female ;  those  of  the  male  were  uppermost. 
58.  But  taking  no  account  of  either  of  these,  he  proceeded 
forward  ;  and  with  him  the  land  forces.  But  the  fleet,  sailing 
out  of  the  Hellespont,  stood  along  by  the  land,  taking  a  con- 
trary course  to  that  of  the  army.  For  it  sailed  towar(is-.the 
west,  steering  for  cape  Sarpedon,  where,  orTits  airrival,  it  was 
ordered  to  wait :  but  the  army  on  the  continent  marched  to- 
wards the  east  and  the  rising  sun,  through  the  Chersonese, 
having  on  the  right  hand  the  sepulchre  of  Helle,  daughter  of 
Athamas,  and  on  the  left  the  city  of  Cardia,  and  going  through 
the  middle  of  a  city,  the  name  of  which  happened  to  be  Agora; 
and  from  thence,  bending;  round  a  bay  called  Melas,  and  hav- 


59- Gl.]  POLYMNIA     VII.  433 

iiig  come  to  the  river  Melas,  whose  stream  did  not  suiHce  for 
the  army,  but  failed, — having  crossed  this  river,  from  which 
the  bay  derives  its  name,  they  marched  westward,  passing  by 
-^nos,  an  ^olian  city,  and  the  lake  Stentoris,  until  they 
reached  Doriscus.  59.  Dorisciis  is  a  shore  and  extensive 
plain  of  Thracg.  Through  it  flows  a  large  river,  the  Hebrur,. 
On  it  a  royal  t^rt  had  been  built,  the  same  that  is  now  called 
Doriscus,  and  a  Persian  garrison  had  been  established  in  it  by 
Darius,  from  the  time  that  he  marched  against  the  Scythians. 
This  place  therefore  appeared  to  Xerxes  to  be  convenient  for 
revle^vTng  and  numberin^g  his  armyX  this  he  accordingly  did. 
AlTThaTsJipsTtherefore  naving  arrived  at  Doriscus,  the  cap- 
tanis,  at  the  command  of  Xerxes,  brought  them  to  the  shore 
adjoining  Doriscus.  On  this  coast  stood  Sala,  a  Samothracian 
city,  and  Zona ;  and  at  its  extremity  Serrhium,  a  celebrated 
promontory :  this  region  formerly  belonged  to  the  Ciconians. 
Having  steered  to  this  shore,  they  hauled  up  the  ships  and 
repaired  them ;  and  in  the  mean  time  Xerxes  numbered  his 
army  at  Doriscus.  60.  How  great  a  number  of  men  each 
contributed,  I  am  unable  to  say  with  certainty ;  for  it  is  not 
mentfoliied  by  any  one ;  but  the  amount  of  the  whole  land- 
forces  was  found  to  be  seventeen  hundred  thousand.  They 
were  computed  in  this  manner  ;  having  drawn  together  ten 
thousand  men  in  one  place,  and  having  crowded  them  as  close 
together  as  it  was  possible,  they  traced  a  circle  on  the  outside  ; 
and  having  traced  it,  and  removed  the  ten  thousand,  they  threv/ 
up  a  stone  fence  on  the  circle,  reaching  to  the  height  of  a 
man's  navel.  Having  done  this,  they  made  others  enter  within 
the  enclosed  space,  until  they  had  in  this  manner  computed  all ; 
and  having  numbered  them,  they  drew  out  according  to  nations. 
61.  Those  who  served  in  this  expedition  were  the  following. 
The  Persians,  equipped  as  follows :  on  their  heads  they'wore 
loose  coverings,  called  tiaras  ;  on  the  body  various-coloured 
sleeved  breastplates,  with  iron  scales  like  those  of  fish ;  and 
on  their  legs,  loose  trowsers ;  and  instead  of  shields,  bucklers 
made  of  osiers  ;  and  under  them  their  quivers  were  hung.  They 
had  short  spears,  long  bows,  and  arrows  made  of  cane  and 
besides,  daggers  suspended  from  the  girdle  on  the  rignt  thigh. 
They  had  for  their  general,  Otanes,  father  of  Amestris,  wife 
of  Xerxes.  They  were  formerly  called  Cephenes  by  the 
Grecians,  but  by  themselves  and  noigl (hours,  Artccans  :  but 

2  r 


^34  HKRODOTUS.  \62~66. 

when  Perseus,  son  of  Danae  and  Jupiter,  came  to  Cepheus,  son 
of  Belus,  and  married  his  daughter  Andromeda,  he  had  a  son 
to  u^hom  he  gave  the  name  of  Perses ;  and  him  he  left  in  the 
ccnntry,  for  Cepheus  had  no  male  offspring  ;  from  him  there- 
fore they  derived  their  appellation.  62.  The  Medes  marched 
equipped  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Persians  ;  for  the  above 
is  a  Medic  and  not  a  Persian  costume.  The  Medes  had  for 
their  general,  Tigranes,  of  the  family  of  the  Achaemenidae : 
they  were  formerly  called  Arians  by  all  nations  ;  but  when 
Medea  of  Colchis  came  from  Athens  to  these  Arians,  they 
also  changed  their  names:  the  Medes  themselves  give  this 
account  of  their  nation.  The  Cissians,  who  served  in  the 
army,  wei'e  in  other  respects  accoutred  like  the  Persians,  ex- 
cept that,  instead  of  turbans,  they  wore  mitres.  Anaphes,  son 
of  Otanes,  commanded  the  Cissians.  The  Hyrcanians  were 
also  armed  like  the  Persians,  and  had  for  their  general,  Mega- 
panus,  who  was  afterwards  governor  of  Babylon.  63.  The 
Assyrians  who  served  in  the  army  had  helmets  of  brass,  twist- 
ed in  a  barbarous  fashion,  not  easy  to  be  described ;  and  they 
had  shields  and  spears,  and  daggers  similar  to  those  of  the 
Egyptians ;  and  besides,  wooden  clubs  knotted  with  iron,  and 
linen  cuirasses.  By  the  Greeks  they  were  called  Syrians,  but 
by  the  barbarians,  Assyrians.  Among  them  were  tlie  Chal- 
deans ;  and  Otaspes  son  of  Artacheeus  commanded  them.  64. 
The  Bactrians  joined  the  army,  having  turbans  on  their  heads, 
very  much  like  those  of  the  Medes,  and  bows  made  of  cane 
peculiar  to  their  country,  and  short  spears.  The  Sacce,  who  are 
Scythians,  had  on  their  heads  caps,  which  came  to  a  point  and 
stood  erect ;  they  also  wore  loose  trowsers,  and  carried  bows 
peculiar  to  their  country,  and  daggers,  and  also  battle-axes, 
called  sagares.  These,  though  they  are  Amyrgian  Scythians, 
they  called  Sacoe,  for  the  Persians  call  all  the  Scythians  Sacae. 
Ilystaspes,  son  of  Darius  and  Atossa,  daughter  of  Cyrus,  com- 
manded the  Bactrians  and  Sacae.  66.  The  Indians,  clad  with 
garments  made  of  cotton,  had  bows  of  cane,  and  arrows  of  cano 
tipped  with  iron.  Thus  the  Indians  were  equipped  ;  and  they 
were  marshalled  under  the  command  of  Phanazatlires,  son  of 
Artabates.  QQ.  The  Arians  were  furnished  with  Medic  bows  ; 
and  in  other  respects  were  accoutred  like  the  Bactrians.  Si- 
samnes,  son  of  Hydarnes,  commanded  the  Arians.  The  Par- 
♦Iiians.  Chorasmiansj  Sogdians,  Gandarians.  and  Djidicng,  joined 


87-70  ]  POT.YMNIA.     VII. 

the  army,  having  the  same  accoutrements  as  the  Bactrians.  The 
following  leaders  commanded  them.  Artabazus,  son  of  Phar- 
naces,  commanded  the  Parthians  and  Chorasmians  ;  Azanes, 
son  of  Artaeus,  the  Sogdians  ;  and  Artyphius,  son  of  Artaba- 
nus,  the  Gandarians  and  Dadicae.  67.  The  Caspians,  clothed  in 
goat-skin  mantles,  and  carrying  bows  made  of  cane  peculiar  to 
their  country,  and  scimetars,  joined  the  expedition.  These  were 
thus  equipped,  having  for  their  general,  Ariomardus,  brother  of 
Artyphius.  The  Sarangae  were  conspicuous  by  having  dyed 
garments  ;  they  also  wore  buskins  reaching  up  to  the  knee, 
and  had  bows  and  Medic  javelins.  Pherendates,  son  of  Me- 
gabazus,  commanded  the  Sarangas.  The  Pactyes  also  wore 
goat-skin  mantles,  and  had  bows  peculiar  to  the  country  and 
daggers.  The  Pactyes  had  for  their  general,  Artyntes,  son  of 
Tthamatres.  68.  The  Utians,  Mycians,  and  Paricanians 
were  equipped  like  the  Pactyes.  The  following  leaders  com- 
manded them.  Arsamenes,  son  of  Darius,  led  the  Utians 
and  Mycians  ;  and  Siromitres,  son  of  (Eobazus,  the  Parica- 
nians. 69.  The  Arabians  wore  cloaks  fastened  by  a  girdle  ; 
and  carried  on  their  right  sides  long  bows  which  bent  back- 
wards. The  Ethiopians  were  clothed  in  panthers'  and  lions* 
skins,  and  carried  long  bows,  not  less  than  four  cubits  in 
length,  made  from  branches  of  the  palm-tree ;  and  on  them 
they  placed  short  arrows  made  of  cane  j  instead  of  iron,  tipped 
with  a  stone,  which  was  made  sharp,  and  of  that  sort  on  which 
they  engrave  seals.  Besides  they  had  javelins,  and  at  the  tip 
was  an  antelope's  horn,  made  sharp,  like  a  lance ;  they  had 
also  knotted  clubs.  When  they  were  going  to  battle,  they 
smeared  one  half  of  their  body  with  chalk,  and  the  other  half 
with  red  ochre.  The  Arabians  and  Ethiopians  who  dwell  above 
Egypt,  were  commanded  by  Arsames,  son  of  Darius  and  Ar- 
tystone,  daughter  of  Cyrus,  whom  Darius  loved  moi'e  than 
all  his  wives,  and  whose  image  he  had  made  of  beaten  gold. 
70.  The  Ethiopians  from  the  sun-rise  (for  two  kinds  served 
in  the  expedition)  were  marshalled  with  the  Indians,  and  did 
not  at  all  differ  from  the  others  in  appearance,  but  only  in 
their  language,  and  their  hair.  For  the  eastern  Ethiopians 
are  straight-haired ;  but  those  of  Libya  have  hair  more  curly 
than  that  of  any  other  people.  These  Ethiopians  from  Asia 
were  accoutred  almost  the  same  as  the  Indians  ;  but  they  wore 
on  their  heads  skins  of  horses*  heads,  as  masks,  stripped  off 

2  r  ? 


436  HERODOTUS,  [71-75. 

with  the  ears  and  mane ;  and  the  mane  served  instead  of  a 
crest,  and  the  horses'  ears  were  fixed  erect;  and  as  defensive 
armour  they  used  the  skins  of  cranes  instead  of  shields.  71. 
The  Libyans  marched,  clad  in  leathern  garments,  and  made 
use  of  javelins  hardened  by  fire.  They  had  for  their  general, 
Massages,  son  of  Oarizus.  72.  The  Paphlagonians  joined  the 
expedition,  wearing  on  their  heads  plaited  helmets,  and  carried 
small  shields,  and  not  large  spears  ;  and  besides,  javelins  and 
daggers  :  and  on  their  feet  they  wore  boots,  peculiar  to  their 
country,  reaching  up  to  the  middle  of  the  leg.  The  Ligyes 
and  the  Matienians,  the  Mariandynians  and  Syrians,  marched 
in  the  same  dress  as  the  Paphlagonians.  These  Syrians  are 
called  by  the  Persians,  Cappadocians.  Now  Dotus,  son  of 
Megasidrus,  commanded  the  Paphlagonians  and  Matienians : 
and  Gobryas,  son  of  Darius  and  Artystone,  the  Mariandy- 
nians, Ligyes,  and  Syrians.  73.  The  Phrygians  had  very 
nearly  the  same  dress  as  that  of  Paphlagonia,  varying  it 
a  little.  The  Phrygians,  as  the  Macedonians  say,  were  called 
Briges,  as  long  as  they  were  Europeans,  and  dwelt  with  the 
Macedonians ;  but  having  passed  over  into  As-Ia,  they  changed 
their  name  with  their  country,  into  that  of  Phrygians.  The 
Armenians,  being  colonists  of  the  Phrygians,  were  equipped 
like  the  Phrygians.  Artochmes,  who  had  married  a  daughter 
of  Darius,  commanded  both  these.  74.  The  Lydians  had 
arms  very  like  the  Grecian.  The  Lydians  were  formerly 
called  Meionians,  but  took  their  appellation  from  Lydus  tlie 
son  of  Atys,  having  changed  their  name.  The  Mysians  wore 
on  their  heads  a  helmet  peculiar  to  their  country,  and  small 
shields  ;  and  they  used  javelins  hardened  by  fire.  They  are 
colonists  of  the  Lydians,  and  from  the  mountain  Olympus  are 
called  Olympieni.  Artaphernes,  son  of  Artaphernes  who  in- 
vaded Marathon  with  Datis,  commanded  the  Lydians  and 
Mysians.  75.  The  Thracians  joined  the  expedition,  having 
fox-skins  on  their  heads,  and  tunics  around  their  body,  and 
over  them  they  were  clothed  with  various-coloured  cloaks, 
and  on  their  feet  and  legs  they  had  buskins  of  fawn-skin,  and 
besides  they  had  javelins,  light  bucklers,  and  small  daggers. 
Tliese  people  having  crossed  over  into  Asia,  were  called  Bi- 
thynians ;  but  formerly,  as  they  themselves  say,  were  called 
Strymonians,  as  they  dwelt  on  the  river  Strymon :  they  say 
']\ai  tliey  were  removed  from  their  original  settlement?]  by  the 


76-81.]  POLYMNIA.    Vll.  437 

Teucrians  and  Mysians.  Bassaces,  son  of  Artabanus,  com- 
manded the  Thracians  of  Asia.  76.  The  ******  3  hjnj 
small  shields  made  of  raw  hides,  and  each  had  two  javelins 
used  for  hunting  wolves,  and  on  their  heads  brazen  helmets ; 
and  in  addition  to  the  helmets  they  wore  the  ears  and  horns, 
of  an  ox  in  brass.  And  over  these  were  crests;  and  as 
to  their  legs,  they  were  enwrapped  in  pieces  of  purple  cloth. 
Among  these  people  there  is  an  oracle  of  Mars.  77.  The 
Cabaiian  Mei'onians,  who  are  also  called  Lasonians,  had  the 
same  dress  as  the  Cilicians ;  which  I  shall  describe  when  I  come 
to  speak  of  the  army  of  the  Cilicians.  The  Milyae  had  short 
lances,  and  their  garments  were  fastened  by  clasps.  Some  of 
them  had  Lycian  bows,  and  on  their  heads  helmets  made  of 
tanned  skins.  Badres,  son  of  Hystanes,  commanded  all  these. 
78.  The  Moschians  had  on  their  heads  wooden  helmets,  and 
small  bucklers,  and  spears  ;  but  there  were  large  points  on  the 
spears.  The  Tibarenians,  Macrones,  and  Mosynoeci  joined 
the  expedition  equipped  as  the  Moschians.  The  following 
generals  marshalled  these:  the  Moschians  and  Tibarenians, 
Ariomardus,  son  of  Darius  and  Parmys,  daughter  of  Smerdis, 
son  of  Cyrus ;  the  Macrones  and  Mosynoeci,  Artayctes,  son 
of  Cherasmis,  who  was  intrusted  with  the  government  of  Ses- 
tos  on  the  Hellespont.  79.  The  Mares  wore  helmets  on  their 
heads,  painted  after  the  manner  of  their  country ;  and  small 
shields  made  of  skin,  and  javelins.  The  Colchians  had  about 
their  heads  wooden  helmets,  and  small  shields  of  raw  hides,  and 
sliort  lances  ;  and  besides  they  had  swords.  Pherendates,  son 
of  Teaspes,  commanded  the  Mares  and  Colchians.  The  Ala- 
rodi  and  the  Saspires  marched  armed  like  the  Colchians  ; 
Masistius,  son  of  Siromitres,  commanded  them.  80.  The  in- 
sular nations  that  came  from  the  Erythraean  Sea,  and  from  the 
islands  in  which  the  king  makes  those  dwell  who  axe  called 
"  the  banished,"  had  clothing  and  arms  very  similar  to  the 
Modic.  Mardootes,  son  of  Bagaeus,  who,  when  commanding 
the  army  at  Mycale,  two  years  after  this,  died  in  battle 
ccnimanded  tliese  islanders. 

81.  These  were  the  nations  that  .marched  on  the  continent, 
and  composedTlie  infantry.  They,  then,  who  have  been  men- 
tioned commande'd  thTs  army,  and  these  were  they  who  set  in 

'  There  is  an  hiatus  in  the  manuscripts,  which  the  ingenuity  of  anno- 
tators  and  editors  has  been  unable  to  supply. 


438  HERODOTUS.  [82-85 

01  (ler,  and  numbered  them,  and  appointed  commanders  of 
tJiousands  and  of  ten  thousands.  But  the  commanders  of  ten 
tliousands  appointed  the  captains  of  hundreds  and  captains  o^ 
tens.  There  were  other  subaltern  officers  over  the  troops  and 
nations,  but  those  who  have  been  mentioned  were  the  com- 
manders. 82.  Over  these  and  the  whole  infantry  were  ap- 
IHjinted  as  generals,  Mardonius,  son  of  Gobryas  ;  Tritan- 
tc\3chmes,,son  of  Artabanus,  who  gave  his  opinion  against  the 
invasion  of  Greece  ;  Smerdomenes,  son  of  Otanes  ;  (both  these 
were  sons  to  brothers  of  Darius,  and  cousins  to  Xerxes ;) 
Masistes,  son  of  Darius  and  Atossa ;  Gergis,  son  of  Arizus  ; 
and  Megabyzus,  son  of  Zopyrus.  83.  These  were  generals  of 
tlie  whole  land-forces,  except  the  ten  thousand ;  of  these  ten 
thousand  chosen  Persians,  Hydarnes,  son  of  Hydarnes,  was 
general.  These  Persians  were  called  Immortal,  for  the  follow- 
ing reason :  if  any  one  of  them  made  a  deficiency  in  the  num- 
ber, compelled  either  by  death  or  disease,  another  was  ready 
chosen  to  supply  his  place;  so  that  they  were  never  either 
more  or  less  than  ten  thousand.  The  Persians  displayed  the 
greatest  splendour  of  all,  and  were  also  the  bravest ;  their 
equipment  was  such  as  has  been  described ;  but  besides  this, 
they  were  conspicuous  from  having  a  great  profusion  of  gold. 
Tliey  also  brought  with  them  covered  chariots,  and  concubines 
in  them,  and  a  numerous  and  well-equipped  train  of  attend- 
ants. Camels  and  other  beasts  of  burden  conveyed  their 
provisions,  apart  from  that  of  the  rest  of  the  soldiers. 

84.  All  these  nations  have  cavalry ;  they  did  not,  however, 
all  f u rnish  horse,  but  only  the  fbllowing.  First,  the^Pei:aiaaa, 
equipped  in  the  same  manner  as  their  infantry,  exce'pt  that  on 
their  heads  some  cf  them  wore  brazen  and  wrought  steel  or- 
naments. 85.  There  is  a  certain  nomadic  race,  called  Sa- 
gartians,  of  Persian  extraction  and  language,  they  wear  a  dress 
fashioned  between  the  Persian  and  the  Pactyan  fashion  ;  they 
furnished  eight  thousand  horse,  but  they  are  not  accustomed 
to  carry  arms  either  of  brass  or  iron,  except  daggers :  they 
use  ropes  made  of  twisted  thongs  ;  trusting  to  these  they  go 
to  war.  The  mode  of  fighting  of  these  men  is  as  follows : 
when  they  engage  with  the  enemy  they  throw  out  the  ropes, 
which  have  nooses  at  the  end,  and  whatever  any  one  catches, 
whether  horse  or  man,  he  drags  towards  himself;  and  they 
that  are  entangled  in  the  coils  are  put  to  death.     This  is  their 


85-^9.1  POLYMNIA.    Vlt  ^^ 

mode  of  fighting ;  and  they  were  marshalled  with  the  Per- 
sians. 86.  The  Medes  had  the  same  equipment  as  that  used 
in  the  infantry ;  and  the  Cissians  in  like  manner.  The  Indians 
were  also  equipped  like  their  infantry,  but  they  used  saddle- 
horses  and  chariots ;  and  in  their  chariots  they  yoked  horses 
and  wild  asses.  The  Bactrians  were  equipped  in  the  same 
manner  as  their  infantry,  and  the  Caspians  likewise.  The 
Libyans  too  were  accoutred  like  their  infantry ;  but  they  all 
drove  chariots.  In  like  manner  the  Caspiri  and  Paricanii 
were  equipped  in  the  same  way  as  their  infantry.  And  the 
Arabians  had  the  same  dress  as  their  infantry,  but  all  rode 
camels  not  inferior  to  horses  in  speed.  87.  These  nations  only 
furnished  cavalry.  The  number  of  the  horse  amounted  to 
eighty  thousand,  besides  the  camels  and  chariots.  All  the  rest 
of  the  cavalry  were  marshalled  in  troops ;  but  the  Arabians 
were  stationed  in  the  rear  :  for  as  horses  cannot  endure  camels, 
they  were  stationed  behind,  that  the  horses  might  not  be 
frightened.  88.  Armamithres  and  Tithaeus,  sons  of  Datis, 
were  generals  of  the  cavalry.  Their  third  colleague  in  com- 
mand, Pharnuches,  had  been  left  at  Sardis  sick.  For  as  they 
were  setting  out  from  Sardis  he  met  with  a  sad  accident.  For 
when  he  was  mounted,  a  dog  ran  under  the  legs  of  his  horse, 
and  the  horse,  not  being  aware  of  it,  was  frightened,  and  rear- 
ing up,  threw  Pharnuches ;  upon  which  he,  having  fallen, 
vomited  blood,  and  the  disease  turned  to  a  consumption.  With 
respect  to  the  horse,  his  servants  immediately  did  as  he  or- 
dt'.red ;  for  leading  him  to  the  place  where  he  had  thrown  his 
master,  they  cut  off  his  leg.s  at  the  knees.  Thus  Pharnuches 
was  deprived  of  the  command. 

89.  The^  number  of  the  triremes  amounted  to  twelve  hun- 
dred and  seven  ;  thej^ollowing  Rations  FiTfrnshpd  them.  The 
PIToeincians7  with  the  Syrians  of  Palestine,  furnished  three 
Imndred,  being  thus  equipped :  on  their  heads  they  had  hel 
niets,  made  very  nearly  after  the  Grecian  fashion ;  and  clothed 
in  linen  breastplates,  they  carried  shields  without  rims,  and 
javelins.  These  Phoenicians,  as  they  themselves  say,  anciently 
dwelt  on  the  Red  Sea ;  and  having  crossed  over  from  thence, 
they  settled  on  the  sea-coast  of  Syria ;  this  part  of  Syria,  and 
tlie  whole  as  far  as  Egypt,  is  called  Palestine.  The  Egyptians 
contributed  two  hundred  ships.  These  had  on  their  heads 
plaited  helmets,  and  carried  hollow  shields,  with  large  rims, 


^^^  HERODOTUS.  [QQ-M. 

and  pike?  fit  for  a  sea-fight,  and  large  hatchets.  The  greater 
part  of  them  had  breastplates,  and  carried  large  swords.  90. 
The  Cyprians  contributed  a  hundred  and  fifty  ships,  and  were 
equipped  as  follows :  their  kings  had  their  heads  wrapped  in 
turbans ;  the  rest  wore  tunics,  and  were  in  other  respects  at- 
tired like  the  Greeks.  Of  these  there  are  the  following  nations, 
some  from  Salamis  and  Athens  ;  others  from  Arcadia  ;  others 
from  Cythnus  ;  others  from  Phoenicia  ;  and  otliers  from  Ethi- 
opia, as  the  Cyprians  themselves  say.  91.  The  Cilicians  con- 
tributed a  hundred  ships.  These,  again,  wore  on  their  heads 
helmets  peculiar  to  their  country,  and  had  bucklers  instead  of 
shields,  made  of  raw  hides,  and  were  clothed  in  woollen  tunics  ; 
every  one  had  two  javelins,  and  a  sword  made  very  much  like  the 
Egyptian  scimetars.  They  were  anciently  called  Hypachaeans, 
and  took  their  present  name  from  Cilix,  son  of  Agenor,  a  Phoe- 
nician. The  Pamphylians  contributed  thirty  ships,  and  were 
equipped  in  Grecian  armour.  These  Pamphylians  are  descended 
from  those  who,  in  their  return  from  Troy,  were  dispersed  with 
Amphilochus  and  Calchas.  92.  The  Lycians  contributed  fifty 
ships,  and  wore  breastplates  and  greaves.  They  had  bows 
iviade  of  cornel-wood,  and  cane  arrows  without  feathers,  and 
javelins  ;  and  besides,  goat-skins  were  suspended  over  their 
shoulders  ;  and  round  their  heads  caps  encircled  with  feathers  ; 
they  had  also  daggers  and  falchions.  The  Lycians  were  called 
Termilae,  being  sprung  from  Crete,  but  took  their  present 
name  from  Lycus,  son  of  Pandion,  an  Athenian.  93.  The 
Dorians  of  Asia  contributed  thirty  ships,  wearing  Grecian 
armour,  and  sprung  from  the  Peloponnesus.  Th«  Carians 
contributed  seventy  ships,  and  were  in  other  respects  ac- 
coutred like  the  Greeks,  but  had  falchions  and  daggers.  What 
these  were  formerly  called  I  have  mentioned  in  the  first  part  * 
of  my  history.  94.  The  lonians  contributed  a  hundred  ships, 
and  were  equipped  as  Greeks.  The  lonians,  as  long  as  they 
inhabited  that  part  of  the  Peloponnesus  which  is  now  called 
Achaia,  and  before  Danaus  and  Xuthus  arrived  in  the  Pelo- 
ponnesus, as  the  Greeks  say,  were  called  Pelasgian  -^gialees  ; 
but  lonians  from  Ion,  son  of  Xuthus.  95.  The  Islanders  con- 
tributed seventeen  ships,  and  were  armed  like  the  Greeks. 
Tills  race  is  also  Pelasgic,  but  was  afterwards  called  Ionian  for 
the  same  reason  as  the  lonians  of  the  twelve  cities  who  came 
*  See  B.  T.  chai).  .71. 


96-5/9.]  POLYMNIA.    VII.  441 

from  Athens.  The  -3iiolians  contributed  sixty  ships,  and  were 
equipped  like  the  Greeks ;  they  were  anciently  called  Pelas- 
gians,  as  the  Grecians  say.  The  Hellespontines,  except  those 
of  Abydos,  for  the  people  of  Abydos  were  ordered  by  the  king 
to  stay  at  home  and  guard  the  bridges, — the  rest,  however, 
who  joined  the  expedition  from  the  Pontus,  contributed  a  hun- 
dred ships ;  they  were  equipped  like  the  Greeks :  these  are 
colonists  of  the  lonians  and  Dorians. 

96.  Persians,  Medes,  and  Sacae  served  as  marines  on  board 
all  the  ships.  Of  these  the  Phoenicians  furnished  the  best 
sailing  ships,  and  of  the  Phoenicians  the  Sidonians.  Over  all 
these,  as  well  as  over  those  that  formed  the  land-army,  native 
officers  were  appointed  to  each  ;  but  I  do  not  mention  their 
names,  for  I  am  not  necessarily  constrained  to  do  so  for  the 
purpose  of  the  history ;  nor  were  the  officers  of  each  nation 
worthy  of  mention  ;  and  in  each  nation,  as  many  as  tlie  cities 
were,  so  many  were  the  leaders.  They  did  not,  however,  fol- 
low in  the  quality  of  generals,  but  like  the  other  subjects  who 
joined  the  expedition.  Moreover  the  generals,  who  had  all  the 
power,  and  were  the  commanders  of  the  several  nations,  such 
of  them  as  were  Persians  have  been  already  mentioned  by  me. 
97.  The  following  were  admirals  of  the  navy :  Ariabignes,  son 
of  Darius  ;  Prexaspes,  son  of  Aspathines  :  Megabazus,  son  of 
Megabates;  and  Achgemenes,  son  of  Darius:  of  the  Ionian 
and  Carian  force,  Ariabignes,  son  of  Darius  and  the  daughter 
of  Gobryas  ;  Achoemenes,  who  was  brother  to  Xerxes  on  both 
sides,  commanded  the  Egyptians ;  and  the  other  two  com- 
manded the  rest  of  the  fleet.  Trieconters,  penteconters,  light 
boats,  and  long  horse  transports  were  found  to  assemble  to  the 
number  of  three  thousand.  98.  Of  those  who  served  in  the 
fleet,  the  following,  next  to  the  admirals,  were  the  most  illus- 
trious ;  Tetramnestus,  son  of  Anysus,  a  Sidonian  ;  Mapen,  son 
of  Siromus,  a  Tyrian  ;  Merbalus,  son  of  Agbalus,  an  Aridian  ; 
Syennesis,  son  of  Oromedon,  a  Cilician ;  Cyberniscus,  son  of 
Sicas,  a  Lycian  ;  Gorgus,  son  of  Chersis,  and  Timonax,  son 
of  Timagoras,  Cyprians  ;  and  of  the  Carians,  Histiaeus,  son  of 
Tymnes  ;  Pygres,  son  of  Seldomus,  and  Damasithymus,  son 
of  Candaules.  99.  Of  the  other  captains  I  make  no  mention, 
as  I  deem  it  unnecessary,  except  of  Artemisia,  whom  I  most 
admire,  as  having,  though  a  woman,  joined  this  expedition 
against  Greece ;  who,  her  husband  being  dead,  herself  hold- 


442  HERODOTUS.  [100,  101. 

iiig  the  sovereignty  while  her  son  was  under  age,  joined  the 
expedition  from  a  feeling  of  courage  and  manly  spirit,  though 
there  was  no  necessity  for  her  doing  so.  Her  name  was  Ar- 
temisia, and  she  was  the  daugliter  of  Lygdamis,  and  by  birth 
she  was  of  Halicarnassus  on  her  father's  side,  and  on  her 
mother's  a  Cretan.  She  commanded  the  Halicarnassians,  the 
Coans,  the  Nisyrians,  and  the  Calydniens,  having  contributed 
five  ships :  and  of  the  whole  fleet,  next  to  the  Sidonians,  she 
furnished  the  most  renowned  ships,  and  of  all  the  allies,  gave 
the  best  advice  to  the  king.  The  cities  which  I  have  men- 
tioned as  being  under  her  command,  I  pronounce  to  be  all 
of  Doric  origin ;  the  Halicarnassians  being  Troezenians,  and 
the  rest  Epidaurians.  Thus  far  the  naval  armament  has  been 
spoken  of 

100.  Xerxes,  "^en  he  had  numbere^d  his^forces^.ai^ 
army  was  drawn  up^desired  to  pass  through  and  inspect  them 
in  person.  Accordingly  he  did  so,  and  driving  through  on  a 
chariot)  by  each  separate  nation,  he  made  inquiries,  and  his 
secretaries  wrote  down  the  answers ;  until  he  had  gone  from 
one  extremity  to  the  other,  both  of  the  horse  and  foot.  When 
he  had  finished  this,  and  the  ships  had  been  launched  into  the 
sea,  Xerxes  thereupon  removing  from  his  chariot  to  a  Sidonian 
ship,  sat  under  a  gilded  canopy,  and  then  sailed  by  the  prows 
of  the  ships,  asking  questions  of  each,  as  he  had  done  with 
the  land-forces,  and  having  the  answers  written  down.  The 
captains  of  the  ships  having  drawn  their  vessels  about  four 
plethra  from  the  beach,  lay  to,  all  having  turned  their  ships 
frontwise  to  land,  and  having  armed  the  marines  as  if  for 
a  battle;  but  Xerxes,  sailing  between  the  prows  and  the 
beach,  inspected  them. 

101.  When  he  had  sailed  through  them,  and  had  landed 
from  the  ship,  he  sent  for  Demaratus,  son  of  Ariston,  who 
accompanied  him  in  the  expedition  against  Greece ;  and  having 
called  him,  he  addressed  him  thus^"  Demaratus,  it  is  now 
my  pleasure  to  ask  of  you  certain  questions  that  I  wish.  Yoa^ 
;ire"a  Greek,  and,  as  I  am  informed  by  you,  and  other  Greeks 
wTio  have  conversed  with  me,  of  a  city  neither  the  least  nor 
the  weakest.  Now,  therefore,  tell  me  this,  whether  the  Gre* 
cians  will  venture  to  lift  their  hands  against  me:  for,  as  I 
tiiink,  if  all  the  Grecians,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  nations  that 
dwell  towards  the  west,  were  collected  together,  they  would 


102  103.]  POLYMNIA.    VII.  443 

nqt_  be  able  to  withstand  my  attack,  unless  they  were  united 
together.  However,  I  am  desirous  to  know  what  you  say  on 
tlns~sii,|;^i£Ct."  Such  was  the  question  he  askeX[~buiri)ema- 
ratus  answering  said,  "  O  king,  whether  shall  I  speak  truth 
to  you,  or  what  is  pleasing?"  He  bade  him  speak  truth, 
assuring  him  that  he  would  not  be  at  all  less  agreeable  than 
he  was  before.  102.  When  Demaratus  heard  this,  he  spoke 
thus ;  "  O  king,  since  you  positively  require  me  to  speak  truth, 
I  will  say  such  things,  as  whoever  should  utter  them,  would 
not  hereafter  be  convicted  of  falsehood.  Poverty  has  ever 
been  familiar  to  Greece,  but  virtue  has  been  acquired,  having 
been  accomplished  by  wisdom  and  firm  laws ;  by  the  aid  of 
which,  Greece  has  warded  off  poverty  and  tyrannyi^  I  com- 
mend, indeed,  all  those  Greeks  who  dwell  round  those  Doric 
lands  ;  but  I  shall  now  proceed  to  speak,  not  of  all,  but  of  the 
Lacedaemonians  only.  In  the  first  place,  I  say  it  is  not  pos- 
sible'lhat  iliey  should  ever  listen  to  your  proposals,  which 
bring  slavery  on  Greece :  secondly,  that  they  will  meet  you 
in  battle,  evei*  if  all  the  rest  of  the  Greeks  should  side  with 
ySSr^  With  respect  to  their  number,  you  need  not  ask  how 
many  they  are,  that  they  are  able  to  do  this ;  for  whether  a 
thousand  men,  or  more,  or  even  less,  should  have  marched  out, 
they  will  certainly  give  you  battle."  103.  Xerxes,  having 
heard  this,  replied,  "  Demaratus,  what  have  you  said  ?  that  a 
thousand  men  will  fight  with  such  an  army  as  this  ?  Come, 
tell  me,  you  say  that  you  were  yourself  king  of  these  men  ? 
Are  you,  then,  willing  on  the  spot  to  fight  with  ten  men  ? 
And  yet  if  all  your  citizens  are  such  as  you  represent,  you, 
who  are  their  king,  ought  by  your  own  institutions  to  be 
matched  against  twice  that  number ;  for  if  each  of  them  is  a 
match  for  ten  men  in  my  army,  I  expect  that  you  should  be 
a  match  for  twenty,  so  the  opinion  you  have  given  utterance 
to  would  prove  correct.  But  if,  being  such  as  yourself,  and 
of  the  same  stature  as  you  and  other  Greeks  who  have  con- 
versed with  me,  ye  boast  so  much,  beware  that  the  opinion 
you  have  uttered  be  not  an  idle  vaunt.  For  come,  let  us  CQOr 
aider  every  probability :  how  could  a  thousand  men,  or  even 
^en  thousandi~or  even  fifty  thousand,  being  all  equally  free, 
and  not  subject  to  the  command  of  a  single  person,  resist  such 
an  armj  as  this  ?  for  if  they  are  five  thousand,  we  are  more 
tlian  a  thousand  against  one.     Were  they,  indeed,  according 


444  HERODOTtS.  [104. 105 

to  our  custom,  subject  to  the  command  of  a  single  person 
they  might,  through  fear  of  him,  prove  superior  to  theii 
natural  courage ;  and,  compelled  by  the  lash,  might,  though 
fewer,  attack  a  greater  number :  but  now,  being^  left  to  theit 
own  free-will,  they  will  do  nothing  "of  the  kind.  And  I  am 
oF^pTnion,  that  even  if  they  were  equalih  numbers^  jfie  " 
Grecians  would  hardly  contend  with  the  Persians  alone.  For_^ 
the  valour  that  you  speak  of,  exists  amongst  us ;  it  is  not, 
however,  common,  but  rare.  For  there  are  Persians  among 
my  body-guards,  who  would  readily  encounter  three  Greeks 
at  once ;  and  you,  having  no  experience  of  tliese  men,  talk 
very  idly."  104.  To  this  Demaratus  replied,  "  O  king,  I 
knew  from  the  first,  that  by  adhering  to  the  truth,  I  should 
not  say  what  would  be  agreeable  to  you  ;  but  since  you  con- 
strained me  to  speak  the  exact  truth,  I  told  you  the  real  clia- 
racter  of  the  Spartans.  However,  you  yourself  well  know 
how  tenderly  I  must  love  them,  who,  after  they  had  deprived 
me  of  my  paternal  honours  and  dignity,  have  made  me  citiless 
and  an  exile  ;  but  your  father,  having  received  me,  gave  me 
maintenance  andHTiome  Ht  is  not  probable  therefore  that  a  pru- 
dent man  should  repel  manifest  benevolence,  but  should  by  all 
means  cherish  it.  For  my  part,  I  do  not  pretend  to  be  able  to 
fight  with  ten  men,  nor  with  two  ;  nor  would  I  willingly  fight 
with  one.  But  if  there  was  any  necessity,  or  any  great  stake 
to  rouse  me,  I  would  most  willingly  fight  with  one  of  those 
men,  who  pretend  to  be  singly  a  match  for  three  Grecians. 
In  like  manner  the  Lacedaemonians  in  single  combat  are  in- 
ferior to  none ;  but  together  are  the  bravest  of  all  men.  For 
though  free,  they  are  not  absolutely  free  ;  for  they  have  a 
master  over  them,  the  law,  which  they  fear  much  more  than 
your  subjects  do  you.  They  do,  accordingly,  whatever  it  en- 
ioins  ;  and  it  ever  enjoins  the  same  thing,  forbidding  them  to 
fly  from  battle  before  any  number  of  men,  but  to  remain 
in  their  ranks,  and  conquer  or  die.  If  I  appear  to  you,  in 
saying  this,  to  talk  idly,  I  will  for  the  future  observe  silence 
on  this  subject,  and  now  I  have  spoken  through  compulsion  ; 
however,  may  events,  O  king,  turn  out  according  to  your 
wish." 

105.  Such  was  the  reply  he  made.  But  Xerxes  turned  it 
into  ridicule,  and  evinced  no  anger,  but  dismissed  him  kindly. 
'Xerxes,  having  held  this  conversation,  and  appointed  Mas- 


lOG-lOS.J  rOLYMNIA.     VIL  445 

james,  son  of  Megadostes,  to  be  governor  of  this  Doriscus,  and 
having  deposed  the  person  placed  there  by  Darius,  marched 
his  army  through  Thrace  towards  Greece.  106.  Masoames, 
whom  he  left,  proved  so  excellent  a  man,  that  Xerxes  used  to 
send  presents  every  year  to  him  alone,  as  being  the  best  of  all 
the  governors  whom  either  he  or  Darius  had  appointed  ;  and 
he  used  to  send  them  every  year  ;  as  did  also  Artaxerxes,  son 
of  Xerxes,  to  the  descendants  of  Mascames.  For  even  before 
this  expedition  governors  had  been  appointed  m  lliTace^  and 
througliout  the  Hellespont.  Now _all  these,  both  "in  Thrace 
and  oil  the  Hellespont,  except  the  one  in  Doriscus,  were  driveo 
out  by  the  Greeks  after  this  invasion  ;  but  none  were  able  to 
drive  out  Mascames,  who  was  in  Doriscus,  though  many  made 
the  attempt.  On  this  account  presents  are  sent  to  his  family 
by  the  reigning  king  of  Persia.  107.  But  of  all  those  who 
were  driven  out  by  the  Greeks,  king  Xerxes  thought  no  one  had 
behaved  himself  with  courage  except  Boges,  who  was  governor 
of  Eion.  Him  he  never  ceased  praising,  and  conferred  the 
highest  honours  on  his  sons  who  survived  in  Persia.  And  in- 
deed Boges  deserved  great  praise  ;  for  when  he  was  besieged 
by  the  Athenians  under  Cimon,  son  of  Miltiades,  and  might 
have  marched  out  by  capitulation  and  returned  to  Asia,  he 
would  not  do  so,  lest  the  king  should  think  he  saved  his  life 
through  cowardice  ;  but  he  held  out  to  the  last.  And  when 
tlicre  was  no  longer  any  food  in  the  fort,  having  raised  a  great 
pile,  he  slew  his  children  and  wife,  and  concubines  and  serv- 
ants, and  then  threw  their  bodies  into  the  fire  ;  after  this  he 
cast  all  the  gold  and  silver  that  was  in  the  tower,  from  the  fort 
into  the  Strymon  ;  and  having  done  this,  he  threw  himself 
into  the  fire.  So  that  he  is  with  justice  commended  by  the 
Persians  even  to  this  day. 

108.  Xerxes  set  out  from  Doriscus  towards  Greece^juid 
ccmipelled  sucTfnations  as  he  met  with  to  join  his  army.  For, 
as  Ibefore  observed,*^  the  whole  country  as  far  as  Thessaly 
had  been  brought  to  subjection,  and  made  tributary  to  the 
king,  Megabazus,  and  afterwards  Mardonius,  having  subdued 
ijTTn  bis  march  from  Doriscus,  he  first  passed  the  Samothracian 
fortresses  ;  the  last  of  which  is  situate  towards  the  west,  and 
is  a  city  called  IMesambria  ;  near  this  is  Stryme,  a  city  of  the 
Thasiang.  Between  these  two  places  the  river  Lissus  fiows  .♦ 
»  See  B.  V   ch.  12.  15 ;  aiid  B.  VI.  ch.  43—45. 


446  HERODOTUS.  flOQ— flS. 

which  did  not  supply  sufficient  water  for  the  army  of  Xerxes, 
but  failed.  This  country  was  anciently  c&Ued  Gallaica,  but 
now  Briantica  ;  in  strict  right,  however,  it  belongs  to  tlie 
Ciconians. 

109.  Xerxes  having  crossed  the  dried-up  channel  of  the 
river  Lissus,  passed  by  the  following  Grecian  cities,  Maronea, 
Dicasa,  and  Abdera ;  he  accordingly  went  by  these,  and  near 
them,  the  following  celebrated  lakes ;  the  Ismaris,  situate  be- 
tween Maronea  and  Stryme ;  and  Bistonis,  near  Dicaea,  into 
which  two  rivers  empty  their  water,  the  Travus  and  Comp- 
satus.  Near  Abdera  Xerxes  passed  by  no  celebrated  lake, 
but  the  river  Nestus,  which  flows  into  the  sea.  After  these 
places  he  passed  in  his  march  by  several  continental  cities ; 
in  one  of  which  is  a  lake  about  thirty  stades  in  circumference  ; 
it  abounds  in  fish,  and  is  very  brackish.  The  beasts  of  burden 
alone,  being  watered  there,  dried  this  up.  The  name  of  this 
city  is  Pistyrus.  These  cities,  then,  maritime  and  Grecian,  he 
passed  by,  leaving  them  on  the  left  hand.  110.  The  nations 
of  Thrace,  through  whose  country  he  marched,  are  these  ;  the 
Pji-ti,  Ciconians,  Bistonians,  Sapjei,  Dersaei,  Edoni,  and  Satras. 
Of  these,  such  as  dwelt  near  the  sea  attended  him  with  their 
ships ;  and  such  as  dwelt  inland,  who  have  been  enumerated 
by  me,  all,  except  the  Satrae,  were  compelled  to  follow  by 
land.  111.  The  Satras,  as  far  as  we  are  informed,  were  never 
subject  to  any  man,  but  alone,  of  all  the  Thracians,  have  con- 
tinued free  to  tJiis  day.  For  they  inhabit  lofty  mountains, 
covered  with  all  kinds  of  wood  and  snow,  and  are  courageous 
in  war.  These  are  the  people  that  possess  an  oracle  of  Bac- 
chus ;  this  oracle  is  on  the  highest  range  of  their  mountains. 
The  Bessi  are  those  among  the  Satrse  who  interpret  the  oracles 
of  the  temple ;  a  priestess  delivers  them,  as  in  Delphi,  and  they 
are  not  at  all  more  ambiguous.  112.  Xerxes,  having  traversed 
the  country  that  has  been  mentioned,  after  this  passed  by 
the  forts  of  the  Pierians,  one  of  which  is  called  Plmgres,  and 
the  other  Pergamus  :  here  he  marched  close  to  the  very  forts, 
keeping  on  his  right  hand  Mount  Pangoeus,  which  is  vast  and 
lofty,  and  in  it  are  gold  and  silver  mines,  which  the  Pierians 
andOdomanti,  and  especially  the  Satr^,  work.  113.  Passing 
by  the  Paeonians,  Doberes,  and  Paeoplas,  who  dwell  above 
Pang^us  to  the  north,  he  went  westward,  till  he  arrived  at 
tlie  river   Strvraon,  and  the  cJty  of  Eion  ;  of  wliich  Boges, 


lU-  17.]  POLYMNIA.    VII.  417 

whoitt  I  have  lately  mentioned,^  being  still  alive,  was  go- 
vernor. The  land  itself,  which  is  about  Mount  Pangasus,  is 
called  Phillis,  extending  westward  to  the  river  Angites,  which 
falls  into  the  Strymon;  and  on  the  south,  reaching  to  the 
Strymon  itself,  which  the  magi  propitiated  by  sacrificing 
\yhite  horses  to  it.  114.  Having  used  these  enchantments  to 
the  river,  and  many  others  besides,  they  marched  by  the 
Nine  Ways  of  the  Edonians  to  the  bridges,  and  found  the 
banks  of  the  Strymon  united  by  a  bridge.'^  But  being  in- 
formed that  this  place  was  called  the  Nine  Ways,  they  buried 
alive  in  it  so  many  sons  and  daughters  of  the  inhabitants.  It 
is  a  Persian  custom  to  bury  people  alive ;  for  I  have  heard 
that  Amestris,  wife  of  Xerxes,  having  grown  old,  caused 
fourteen  children  of  the  best  families  in  Persia  to  be  buried 
alive,  to  show  her  gratitude  to  the  god  who  is  said  to  be  be- 
neath the  earth. 

115.  When  the  army  marched  from  the  Strymon,  there  is  a 
shore  towards  the  sun-set  on  which  it  passed  by  a  Grecian 
city  called  Argilus ;  this  and  the  country  above  it  is  called 
Bisaltia:  from  thence  keeping  the  bay  near  the  temple  of 
Neptune  on  the  left  hand,  it  went  through  what  is  called  the 
plain  of  Syleus  ;  and  passing  by  Stagirus,  a  Grecian  city,  ar- 
rived at  Acanthus  ;  taking  with  them  each  of  the  above  na- 
tions, and  those  that  dwell  round  Mount  Pangaeus,  as  well  as 
those  which  I  have  before  enumerated ;  having  those  that 
dwelt  near  the  sea  to  serve  on  shipboard,  and  those  above  tlie 
sea  to  follow  on  foot.  This  road,  along  which  king  Xerxes 
marched  his  army,  the  Thracians  neither  disturb  nor  sow,  but 
regard  it  with  great  veneration  even  to  my  time.  116.  When 
he  arrived  at  Acanthus,  the  Persian  enjoined  the  Acanthians 
to  show  them  hospitality,  and  presented  them  with  a  Medic 
dress,  and  commended  them,  seeing  them  ready  for  the  war, 
and  hearing  of  the  excavation  «^  JT/o?^w^  ^^Ao5.^  117.  While 
Xerxesjwas  at  Acanthus,  it  happened  that  ArtachaeesTwlTo 
hqid  superintem]ed  thje_canaV^^^  or~dfsease  ;  lie  "wcis'miich 
esteeffied""%  Xerxes,  and  was  of  the  race  of  the  Achaemenidai, 
and  in  stature  the  tallest  of  the  Persians,  for  he  wanted  only 
four  fingei  s  of  five  royal  cubits  ;  and  he  had  the  loudest  voice 

•  Chap.  107.  7  See  chap.  24. 

'  See  chap.  22.  The  Acanthians,  who  bordered  on  Mount  Athoa  had, 
'Tobably,  facilitated  the  voik. 


448  HERODOTUS  [118-120 

of  any  man,  so  that  Xerxes,  considering  his  loss  very  great, 
had  him  carried  to  the  grave  and  buried  him  with  great  pomp  ; 
and  the  whole  army  raised  up  a  mound  for  his  sepulchre.    To 
this  Artachgees  the  Acanthians,  in  obedience  to  an  oracle,  offer 
sacrifice  as  to  a  hero,  invoking  him  by  name.     King  Xerxes 
therefore,  when  Artachaees  died,  considered  it  a  great  loss.  118. 
Those  of  the  Grecians  who  received  the  army  and  entertained 
Xerxes,  were  reduced  to  extreme  distress,  so  that  they  were 
obliged  to   abandon   their  homes ;    since   Antipater,   son  of 
Orges,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  citizens,  being  selected 
by  the  Thasians,  who  received  and  entertained  the  army  of 
Xerxes  on  behalf  of  the  cities  on  the  continent,  showed  that 
four  hundred  talents  of  silver  had  been  expended  on  the  ban- 
quet.    119.    In  like  manner  those  who  superintended  in  the 
other  cities  gave  in  their  accounts.     For  the  banquet  was  of 
the  following  kind,  as  being  ordered  long  beforehand,  and 
considered  of  great  importance.     In  the  first  place,  as  soon  as 
they  heard  the  heralds  proclaiming  it  all  around,  the  citizens, 
having  distributed  the  corn  that  was  in  the  cities,  all  made 
flour  and  meal  for  many  months  ;  and  in  the  next  place,  they 
fatted  cattle,  finding  the  best  they  could  for  money,  and  fed 
land  and  water  fowl  in  coops  and  ponds,  for  the  entertain- 
ment of  the  army  :  moreover,  they  made  gold  and  silver  cups 
and  vessels,  and  all  such  things  as  are  placed  on  a  table.     But 
these  things  were  made  for  the  king  himself,  and  those  who 
sat  at  table  with  him  ;  for  the  rest  of  the  army  provisions  only 
were  required.  Wherever  the  army  arrived,  a  tent  was  readily 
pitched,  in  which  Xerxes  himself  lodged  ;  but  the  rest  of  the 
army  remained  in  the  open  air.   When  meal  time  came,  those 
who  received  them  had  all  the  trouble  ;  but  the  guests,  when 
they  had  been  satisfied  and  passed  the  night  there,  on  the  fol- 
lowing day,  having  torn  up  the  tent  and  taken  all  the  furniture, 
went  away,  leaving  nothing,  but  carrying  away  every  thing. 
120.  On  this  occasion,  a  clever  remark  was  made  by  Maga- 
creon  of  Abdera,  who  advised  the  Abderites  "  to  go  in  a  body, 
themselves  and  their  wives,  to  their  own  temples,  and  to  scat 
themselves  as  suppliants  of  the  gods,  beseeching  them  also 
for  the  future  to  avert  one  half  of  the  evils  that  were  coming 
upon  them ;  and  to  express  their  hearty  thanks  for  what  was 
passed,  that  king  Xerxes  was  not  accustomed  to  take  food  twi(;8 
every  day  :  for  if  they  had  been  ordered  to  prepare  a  dinner 


121-123.]  POLYMNIA.    Vll.  449 

as  well  as  a  supper,  they,  the  Abderites,  would  have  been  com- 
pelled either  not  to  await  the  arrival  of  Xerxes,  or,  if  they  had 
awaited  him,  they  must  have  been  worn  down  the  most  miser- 
ably of  all  men."  They,  however,  though  hard  put  to  it,  exe 
cuted  the  order  imposed  on  them. 

121.  At  Acanthus  Xerxes  dismissed  the  ships  from  his 
"presence  to  proceed  on  their  voyage,  having  given  orders  to 
the  admirals  that  the  fleet  should  await  his  arrival  at  Ther- 
ma ;  at  Therma  which  is  situated  on  the  Thermaean  gulf,  and 
from  which  that  gulf  derives  its  name ;  for  he  had  heard  that 
that  was  the  shortest  way.  As  far  as  Acanthus  the  army 
marched  from  Doriscus  in  the  following  order.  Xerxes,  hav- 
ing divided  the  whole  land  forces  into  three  bodies,  ordered 
one  of  them  to  accompany  the  fleet  along  the  coast ;  of  this 
division  Mardonius  and  Masistes  were  commanders.  Another 
of  the  three  divisions  of  the  army  marched  inland,  commanded 
by  Trintantaechmes  and  Gersis.  But  the  third  division,  with 
which  Xerxes  himself  went,  marched  between  the  other  two, 
and  had  for  generals  Smerdomenes  and  Megabyzus.  122. 
Tlie  fleet  accordingly,  when  it  had  been  dismissed  by  Xerxes, 
and  had  passed  through  the  canal  which  was  at  Athos  extend- 
ing to  the  bay  on  which  the  cities  of  Assa,  Pilorus,  Singus, 
and  Sarta  are  situate,  after  that,  when  it  had  taken  troops  on 
board  from  those  cities  sailed  with  all  speed  to  the  Thermasan 
bay.  Doubling  Ampelus,  the  Toronajan  foreland,  it  passed 
by  the  following  Greek  cities,  from  which  it  took  ships  and 
men,  Torone,  Galepsus,  Sermyla,  Mecyberna,  and  Olynthus ; 
all  which  country  i?  now  called  Sithonia.  123.  Xerxes's 
fleet,  stretching  across  from  the  cape  of  Ampelus  to  the  cape 
of  Canastraium,  which  is  the  most  prominent  point  of  all 
Pallene,  thence  took  ships  and  men  from  Potidaea,  Aphytis, 
Neapolis,  iEga,  Therumbus,  Scione,  Menda,  and  Sana,  for 
these  are  the  cities  thct  belong  to  what  is  now  Pallene,  but 
was  formerly  called  Phlegra.  Coasting  along  this  country,  it 
sailed  to  the  appointed  place,  taking  with  them  troops  also 
from  the  cities  near  Pallene  and  bordering  on  the  Thermsean 
a^ulf ;  their  names  are  as  follows :  Lipaxus,  Combrea,  Li3a3, 
Gigonus,  Campsa,  Smila,  and  ^nea.  The  country  in  which 
these  cities  are  situate,  is  to  the  present  time  called  by  the 
name  of  Crossoea.  From  -^nea,  with  which  I  ended  my 
enumeration  of  the  cities,  the  course  of  the  fleet  was  direct  to 

2  o 


'ISO  HERODOTUS.  ri24— ISJ 

the  Tliermaean  gulf  and  the  Mygdonian  territory  :  and  sailing 
on,  it  reached  the  appointed  place,  Therma,  and  Sindus  and 
Chalestra,  on  the  river  Axius,  which  divides  the  territories  of 
Mygdonia  and  Bottieeis  ;  on  a  narrow  tract  of  which,  near  the 

//sea,  stand  the  cities  of  Ichnse  and  Pella. 

I  124.  The  naval  force  encamped  there  near  the  river  Axius, 
and  the  city  of  Therma,  and  the  intermediate  places,  awaiting 
the  arrival  of  the  king.  But  Xerxes  and  the  land  army 
marched  from  Acanthus,  taking  the  road  through  the  interior, 
wishing  to  reach  Therma.  And  he  marched  through  the  Pa30- 
nian  and  Crestonian  territories  towards  the  river  Echidorus, 
which  beginning  from  the  Crestonians,  flows  through  the 
Mygdonian  territory,  and  discharges  itself  into  the  marsh 
which  is  above  the  river  Axius.  125.  While  he  was  march- 
ing in  this  direction  lions  fell  upon  his  camels  that  carried  pro- 
visions :  for  the  lions  coming  down  by  night  and  leaving  their 
usual  haunts,  seized  nothing  else,  whether  beast  of  burden  or 
man  ;  but  they  attacked  the  camels  only.  And  I  wonder 
what  the  reason  could  be,  that  induced  the  lions  to  abstain 
from  all  the  rest,  and  set  upon  the  camels  ;  a  beast  which  they 
had  never  before  seen  or  made  trial  of.  126.  But  in  those 
parts  lions  are  numerous,  and  wild  bulls,  which  have  very 
large  horns  that  are  brought  into  Greece.  The  boundaries  of 
the  lions  are  the  river  Nestus,  which  flows  through  Abdera, 
and  the  Achelous,  which  flows  through  Acarnania.  For  no 
one  would  ever  see  a  lion  any  where  eastward  of  the  Nes- 
tus, throughout  the  forepart  of  Europe,  nor  to  the  west  of 
the  Achelous,  in  the  rest  of  the  continent,  but  they  breed  in 
the  tract  between  these  two  rivers.  127.  When  Xerxes  ar- 
rived  at  Thernia,  he  there  ordered  his  army  to"~lmlfr.-  And 
his  army,  when  encamped,  occupied  the  following  district  along 
the  coast  ;  commencing  from  the  city  of  Therma,  and  from 
Mygdonia,  to  the  rivers  Lydias  and  Haliacmon,  which  divide 
the  territories  of  Bottiaeis  and  Macedonia,  uniting  their  waters 
into  the  same  channel.  In  these  countries,  then,  the  barba- 
rians encamped.  Of  the  rivers  above  mentioned,  the  Echido- 
rus, which  flows'  from  the  Crestonians,  was  the  only  one  that 
was  not  sufficient  for  the  army,  but  failed. 

128.  Xerxes  seeing  from  Therma  the  Thessalonian  moun- 
tains.  jQ^ympus  and  Ossa,  which  are  of  vast  size,  and  having 
leai'nt  that  there  was  a  ~n arrow  pass  between  them,  through 


139.1  I»OLYMNIA.    VII.  451 

wliich  flip,  rivftr  yf^nf^ns  runs,  and  hearing  that  at  tIiat_spot 
there  was  a  road  leading  to  Thessaly,  very  much  wished  to 
sail  and  see  the  mouth  of  the  Peneus  ;  because  he  designed  to 
march  by  the  upper  road  through  the  country  of  the  Macedo- 
nians, who  dwell  higher  up,  to  the  territory  of  the  Perrhaebi, 
near  the  city  of  Gonnus ;  for  he  was  informed  that  this  was 
the  safest  way.  Accordingly,  as  he  wished,  so  he  did.  Hav- 
ing gone  on  board  a  Sidonian  ship,  in  which  he  always  em- 
barked whenever  he  wished  to  do  any  thing  of  this  kind,  he 
made  a  signal  for  all  the  rest  of  the  fleet  to  get  under  weigh, 
leaving  the  land  forces  where  they  were.  When  Xerxes  arrived, 
and  beheld  the  nioutji  of  the  Peneus,  he  was  struck  with  great 
astonishment  ;  and  having  called  hi?  guides,  asked  if  it  would 
be  possible  to  tnrp  the  riygr  and  conduct  it  by  another  chan- 
nel into  the  sea.  129.  It  is  said  that  Thessaly  was  an- 
ciently a  lake,  since  it  is  enclosed  on  all  sides  by  lofty  moun- 
tains. For  the  side  next  the  east  Mount  Pelion  and  Ossa  shut 
in,  mingling  their  bases  with  each  other  ;  and  the  side  towards 
tlie  nortli  Olympus  shuts  in;  and  the  west,  Pindus  ;  and  the 
side  towards  the  mid-day  and  the  south  wind  Otlirys :  the 
space  in  the  midst  of  tlie  above-mentioned  mountains  is  Thes- 
saly, wliich  is  hollow.  Since,  then,  several  other  rivers  flow 
into  it,  and  these  five  most  noted  ones,  the  Peneus,  the  Api- 
danus,  the  Onochonus,  the  Enipeus,  and  the  Pamisus  ;  these 
that  have  been  named,  accordingly,  meeting  together  in  this 
plain  from  the  mountains  that  enclose  Thessaly,  discharge 
themselves  into  the  sea  through  one  channel,  and  that  a  narrow 
one,  having  all  before  mingled  their  waters  into  the  same 
stream  ;  but  as  soon  as  they  have  mingled  together,  from 
tliat  spot  the  names  of  the  other  rivers  merge  in  that  of  the 
Peneus.^  It  is  said,  that  formerly,  when  the  pass  and  outlet 
did  not  yet  exist,  these  rivers,  and  besides  them  the  lake 
Bocbeis,  were  not  called  by  the  names  they  now  bear,  though 
they  flowed  not  less  than  they  do  now  ;  but  that  by  their 
stream  they  made  all  Thessaly  a  lake.  However,  the  Thessa- 
lians  themselves  say,  that  Neptune  n^ade  the  pnss  through 
which  tliF"Peneus  flows ;  andjtheir  «^^ry  ^'''  prnhnble  For  who- 
ever thinks  that  Neptune  slices  the  earth,  and  t(^f£j[££*S££" 
casioned  t>y  earthquakes  are  ttie  worSs^.t&ia'^d,^!!  geeirig 

°  Literally,  "the  river  Peneus  gaining  the  victory  as  to  the  name 
causes  the  others  to  be  nameless." 

2  G  2 


452  HERODOTUS.  [130—138. 

this,  would  say  that  Neptune  formed  it.   For  it  appears  evident 

to  me,  that  the  separation  of  these  mountains  is  the  effect  of 

an  earthquake.    130.  The  guides,  when  Xerxes  asked  if  there 

j  was  any  other  exit  for  the  Peneus  to  the  sea,  being  accurately^ 

acquainted  with  the  country,  said,  "  0  king,  this  river  has  no 
/  other  outlet  that  extends  to  the  sea,^^feept  this  one ;  for  alT 
/  Thessaly  IS  surrounded  by  mountains."     Xerxes  is  reported 
/   to  have  said  to  this :  "  The  Thessalians  are  prudent  men,  and 
/    therefore  they  long  ago  took  precautions,  and  altered  their 
minds,  both  on  other  accounts,  and  because  they  possessed  a 
country  which  might  be  easily  subdued  and  quickly  taken. 
For  it  would  only  be  necessary  to  turn  the  river  on  to  their 
territory,  by  forcing  it  back  by  a  mound  at  the  pass,  and  di- 
verting it  from  the  channels  through  which  it  now  flows,  so 
that  all  Thessaly,  except  the  mountains,  would  be  inundated." 
Xerxes  expressed  himself  thus  in  reference  to  the  sons  of 
Aleuas,^  because  they,  being  Thessalians,  were  the  first  of  the 
Greeks  who  gave  themselves  up  to  the  king;  Xerxes  sup- 
posing that   they  promised  alliance  in  behalf  of  the  whole 
nation.     Having- thus  spoken,  and^  viewed  the  spot,  he  sailed 
back  to  Therma. 

131.  He  remained  several  days  about  Pieria,  for  a  third 
division  of  his  army  was  employed  in  felling  the  trees  on  the 
Macedonian  range,  that  the  whole  army  might  pass  in  that 
direction  to  the  Perrhgebi.  In  the  mean  time  the  heral-ds,-^  who 
had  been  sent  to  Greece  to  demand  earth,  returned  to  Xerxes  ; 
some  empty,  and  others  bringing  earth  and  water.  132.  Of 
those  who  gave  them  were  the  following :  the  Thessalians, 
the.Dolopes,  the  Enienes,  the  Perrhaebi,  the  Locrians,  the  Mag- 
netos, the  Melians,  the  Ach^eans  of  Pthiotis,  and  the  Thebans, 
and  all  the  rest  of  the  Ba30tians,  except  the  Thespians  and 
Platasans.  Against  these  the  Greeks,  who  engaged  in  war 
with  the  barbarians,  made  a  solemn  oath.  The  oath  ran  as 
follows :  "  Whatever  Greeks  have  given  themselves  up  to  the 
Persian,  without  compulsion,  so  soon  as  their  affairs  are  re- 
stored to  order,  that  these  should  be  compelled  to  pay  a  tithe 
to  the  god  at  Delphi."  Such  was  the  oath  taken  by  the 
Greeks.  133.  To  Athens  and  Sparta  he  did  not  send  heralds 
to  demand  earth,  for  the  following  reasons :  On  a  former  oc- 
casion, when  Darius  sent  for  the  same  purpose,  the  former 
*  See  chap.  6.  'Sec  chap.  32 


134,135.]  POL^MNIA.    VII.  453 

having  thrown  those  who  made  the  demand  into  the  barathrum,^ 
and  the  latter  into  a  well,  bade  them  cany  earth  and  water  to 
the  king  from  those  places.  For  that  reason,  Xerxes  did  not 
send  persons  to  make  the  demand.  What  calamity  befel  the 
Athenians,  in  consequence  of  their  having  treated  the  heralds 
in  this  manner,  I  cannot  say,  except  that  their  territory  and 
city  were  ravaged ;  but  I  do  not  think  that  happened  in  con- 
sequence of  that  crime.  134.  On  the  Lacedaemonians,  how- 
ever, the  anger  of  Talthybius,  Agamemnon's  herald,  alighted. 
For  Talthybius  has  a  temple  in  Sparta ;  and  there  are  de- 
scendants of  Talthybius,  called  Talthybiados,  to  whom  all 
embassies  from  Sparta  are  given  as  a  privilege.  After  these 
events,  the  Spartans  were  unable,  when  they  sacrificed,  to  get 
favourable  omens ;  and  this  continued  for  a  long  time.  The 
Lacedaemonians  being  grieved,  and  considering  it  a  great 
calamity,  and  having  frequently  held  assemblies,  and  at  length 
made  inquiry  by  public  proclamation,  whether  any  Lacedae- 
monian was  willing  to  die  for  Sparta,  Sperthies,  son  of  Ane- 
ristus,  and  Bulis,  son  of  Nicolaus,  both  Spartans  of  distin- 
guished birth,  and  eminent  for  their  wealth,  voluntarily  offered 
to  give  satisfactijon  to  Xerxes  for  the  heralds  of  Darius  who 
had  perished  at  Sparta.  Accordingly,  the  Spartans  sent  them 
to  the  Modes,  for  the  purpose  of  being  put  to  death.  135. 
And  both  the  courage  of  these  men  deserves  admiration,  and 
also  the  following  words  on  this  occasion.  For  on  their  way 
to  Susa,  they  came  to  Hydarnes  ;  but  Ilydarnes  was  a  Persian 
by  birth,  and  governor  of  the  maritime  people  in  Asia ;  he 
having  offered  them  hospitality,  entertained  them,  and  while 
he  was  entertaining  them,  he  questioned  them  as  follows,  say- 
ing, "  Men  of  Lacedaemon,  why  do  you  refuse  to  be  friendly 
with  the  king  ?  For  you  may  see  how  well  the  king  knows 
how  to  honour  brave  men,  by  looking  at  me  and  my  condition. 
So  also,  if  you  would  surrender  yourselves  to  the  king,  for 
you  are  deemed  by  him  to  be  brave  men,  each  of  you  would 
obtain  a  government  in  some  part  of  Greece,  at  the  hands  of 
the  king."  To  this  they  ansAvered  as  follows :  "  Hydarnes, 
the  advice  you  hold  out  to  us  is  not  impartial ;  for  you  advise 
us,  having  tried  the  one  state,  but  being  inexperienced  in  tlie 
other :  what  it  is  to  be  a  slave  you  know  perfectly  well,  but 

»  The  barathrum  was  a  deep  pit  at  Athens,  into  -which  certain  criminftU 
9s\q  -were  sentenced  to  death,  were  thrown. 


454  HERODOTUS  [ldl^-138. 

you  have  never  tried  liberty,  whether  it  is  sweet  or  not.  For 
if  you  had  tried  it,  you  would  advise  us  to  fight  for  it,  not 
with  spears,  but  even  with  hatchets."  Thus  they  answered 
Hydarnes.  136.  Afterwards,  when  they  went  up  to  Susa, 
and  were  come  into  the  king's  presence,  in  the  first  place, 
when  the  guards  commanded  and  endeavoured  to  compel  them 
to  prostrate  themselves  and  worship  the  king,  they  said,  they 
would  by  no  means  do  so,  although  they  were  thrust  by  them 
on  their  heads ;  for  that  it  was  not  their  custom  to  worship 
a  man,  nor  had  they  come  for  that  purpose.  When  they  had 
fought  off  this,  and  on  their  addressing  Xerxes  in  words  to 
the  following  effect,  "  King  of  the  Medes,  the  Lacedaemonians 
have  sent  us  in  return  for  the  heralds  who  were  killed  at 
Sparta,  to  make  satisfaction  for  them;"  on  their  saying  this, 
Xerxes  answered  with  magnanijnity,  "  that  he  would  not  be 
like  the  Lacedaemonians,  for  that  they  had  violated  the  law  of 
all  nations,  by  murdering  his  heralds ;  but  he  would  not  do 
the  very  thing  which  he  blamed  in  them  ;  nor  by  killing  them 
in  return,  would  relieve  the  Lacedaemonians  from  guilt."  137. 
Thus  the  wrath  of  Talthybius,  when  the  Spartans  acted  in 
this  manner,  ceased  for  the  time,  although  Sperthies  and  Bulls 
returned  to  Sparta.  But  some  time  afterwards  it  was  again 
aroused,  during  the  war  between  the  Peloponnesians  and 
Athenians,  as  the  Lacedaemonians  say;  and  this  appears  to 
me  to  have  happened  in  a  most  extraordinary  manner :  for 
that  the  wrath  of  Talthybius  alighted  on  the  messengers,  and 
did  not  cease  until  it  was  satisfied,  justice  allowed ;  but  that 
it  should  fall  on  the  sons  of  the  men  who  went  up  to  the  king 
on  account  of  that  wrath,  on  Nicolaus,  son  of  Bulls,  and  on 
Aneristus,  son  of  Sperthies,  who,  sailing  in  a  merchant  vessel 
fully  manned,  captured  some  fishermen  from  Tiryns,  makes  it 
clear  to  me  that  the  occurrence  was  extraordinary  in  conse- 
quence of  that  wrath.  For  they,  being  sent  by  the  Lacedae- 
monians as  ambassadors  to  Asia,  and  being  betrayed  by 
Sitalces,  son  of  Teres,  king  of  the  Thracians,  and  by  Nympho- 
dorus,  son  of  Pytheas  of  Abdera,  were  taken  near  Bisanthe 
on  the  Hellespont,  and  being  carried  to  Attica,  were  put  to 
death  by  the  Athenians ;  and  with  them  Aristeas,  son  of 
Adimantus,  a  Corinthian.  These  things,  however,  happened 
many  years  after  the  expedition  of  the  king. 

138.  But  I.  return  to  my  former  subject.     This  expedition 


189.140.]  rOLYMNIA.    VII.  455 


be 

ft'   th 

K 


of  the  king  was  nominally  directed  against  Athens,  but  was 
really  sent  against  all  Greece.  The  Greeks,  however,  thougl: 
they  had  heard  of  it  long  beforehand,  were  not  all  affected 
alike.  For  those  who  had  given  earth  and  water  to  the  Per- 
sian, felt  confident  that  they  should  suffer  no  harm  from  the 
barbarian ;  but  those  who  had  refused  to  give  them,  were  in 
great  consternation,  since  the  ships  in  Greece  were  not  suf- 
ficient in  number  to  resist  the  invader,  and  many  were  un- 
willing to  engage  in  the  war,  and  were  much  inclined  to  side 
with  tlie  Modes.  139.  And  here  I  feel  constrained  by  neces- 
sity to  declare  mv  opinion,  although  it  may  excite  the  envy 
of  most  men ;  however,  I  will  not  refrain  from  expressing 
how  the  truth  appears  to  me  to  be.  If  the  Athenians,  terl 
fied  with  the  impending  danger,  had  abandoned  their  country; 
or  not  having  abandoned  it,  but  remaining  in  it,  had  given 
themselves  up  to  Xerxes,  no  other  people  would  have  at- 
tempted to  resist  the  king  at  sea.  If,  then,  no  one  had  op- 
posed Xerxes  by  sea,  the  following  things  must  have  occurred 
on  land.  Although  many  lines  of  walls  had  been  built  by 
the  Peloponnesians  across  the  Isthmus,  yet  the  Lacedoemonians, 
being  abandoned  by  the  allies,  (not  willingly,  but  by  neccssitj^, 
they  being  taken  by  the  barbarian  city  by  city,)  would  have 
been  left  alone ;  and  being  left  alone,  after  having  displayed 
noble  deeds,  would  have  died  nobly.  They  would  either  have 
suffered  thus,  or  before  that,  seeing  the  rest  of  the  Greeks 
siding  with  the  Medes,  would  have  made  terms  with  Xerxes ; 
and  so,  in  either  case,  Greece  would  have  become  subject  to 
the  Persians ;  for  I  am  unable  to  discover  what  would  have 
been  the  advantage  of  the  walls  built  across  the  Isthmus,  if 
the  king  had  been  master  of  the  sea.  Any  one,  therefore, 
who  should  say  that  the  Athenians  were  the  saviours  of 
~  reece,  would  not  deviate  from  the  truth;  for  to  whichever 
ide  they  turned,  that  must  have  preponderated.  But  having 
(;hosen  that  Greece  should  continue  free,  they  were  the  people 
who  roused  the  rest  of  the  Greeks  who  did  not  side  with  the 
Medes,  and  who,  next  to  the  gods,  repulsed  the  king.  Neither 
did  alarming  oracles,  that  came  from  Delphi,  and  inspired 
t4iem  with  terror,  induce  them  to  abandon  Greece  ;  but,  stand- 
ing their  ground,  they  had  courage  to  await  the"  invader  of 
their  com  1  try. 
"  140.  For  the  Athenians,  having  sent  deputies  to  Delphi,  were 


if 


456  HERODOTUS.  [141,  142. 

anxious  to  consult  the  oracle  :  and  after  they  had  performed 
the  usual  o3remonies  about  the  temple,  when  they  entered  the 
sanctuary  and  sat  down,  the  Pythian,  whose  name  was  Aris- 
tonica,  uttered  the  following  warning  :  "  O  wretched  men, 
/'why  sit  ye  here  ?  fly  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  leaving  your 
/  houses  and  the  lofty  summits  of  your  wheel-shaped  city.  For 
neither  does  tlie  head  remain  firm  nor  the  body,  nor  the  lowest 
feet  nor  the  hands,  nor  is  aught  of  the  middle  left,  but  they  are 
all  fallen  to  ruin.  For  fire  and  fleet  Mars,  driving  the  Syrian 
chariot,  destroys  it.  And  he  will  destroy  many  other  turrets, 
and  not  yours  alone  ;  and  he  will  deliver  many  temples  of 
tlie  immortals  to  devouring  fire,  which  now  stand  dripping 
with  sweat,  shaken  with  terror ;  and  from  the  topmost  roofs 
trickles  black  blood,  pronouncing  inevitable  woe.  But  go 
from  the  sanctuary,  and  infuse  your  mind  with  courage  to 
meet  misfortunes."  141.  The  deputies  of  the  Athenians, 
having  heard  this,  deemed  it  a  very  great  calamity  ;  and  when 
they  were  dejected  at  the  predicted  evil,  Timon,  son  of  An- 
drobulus,  a  man  reputed  at  Delphi  equally  with  the  best,  ad- 
vised tliem  to  take  supplicatory  branches  and  go  again  and 
consult  the  oracle  as  suppliants.  Tlie  Athenians  yielding  to 
this  advice,  and  saying,  "  0  king,  vouchsafe  to  give  us  a 
more  favourable  answer  concerning  our  country,  having  re- 
gard to  these  supplicatory  branches  which  we  have  brought 
with  us  ;  otherwise  we  will  never  depart  from  thy  sanctuary, 
but  will  remain  here  till  we  die."  When  they  had  said  this, 
the  priestess  gave  a  second  answer,  in  these  terms  :  "  Pallas 
is  unable  to  propitiate  Olympian  Jove,  entreating  him  with 
many  a  prayer  and  prudent  counsel.  But  to  you  again  I 
utter  this  speech,  making  it  like  adamant ;  for  when  all  is 
taken  that  the  limit  of  Cecrops  contains  within  it,  and  the 
recesses  of  divine  Cithasron,  wide-seeing  Jupiter  gives  a 
wooden  wall  to  the  Triton-born  goddess,  to  be  alone  imprcg- 
nabic,  which  shall  preserve  you  and  your  children.  Nor  do 
you  quietly  wait  for  the  cavalry  and  intantry  advancing  in 
multitudes  from  the  continent,  but  turn  your  back  nnd  with- 
I  feZ^*  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^  ^®  ^^^®  *^  faceTliem.  Odivine  Salamis. 
I  thou  shalt  cause  the  sons  of  women  to  perish,  whether  Ueres 
flis  scattered  or  gathered  in."  142.  Having  written  this  an- 
swer down,  for  it  appeared  to  them  to  be  of  milder  import  than 
the  former  one,   they  departed  fpr  Athens ;  and  when  the 


Ii3,  144.]  POLYMNIA.     VII  457 

deputies,  on  their  return,  reported  it  to  the  people,  many  dif- 
ferent opinions  were  given  by  persons  endeavouring  to  dis- 
cover the  meaning  of  the  oracle,  and  amongst  them  the  two 
following  most  opposed  each  other.  Some  of  the  old  men  said, 
they  thought  Jha  .god  foretold,  that  tlie  Acropolis  sTiould  be 
saved  ;  for  formerly  the  Acropolis  was  defended  by  a  hedge ; 
tliey  iTierefore  on  account  of  the  Tiedge  conjectured  that  this 
way  the  wooden  wall.  Others,  on  the  other  hand,  said,  that 
the  god  alluded  to  their  ships^  and  therefore  advised,  that, 
abandoning  every  thing  else,  they  should  get  them  ready. 
However,  the  two  last  lines  uttered  by  the  Pythian  perplexed 
those  who  said  that  the  wooden  wall  meant  the  ships  :  "  0 
divine  Salamis,  thou  shalt  cause  the  sons  of  women  to  perish, 
whether  Ceres  is  scattered  or  gathered  in."  By  these  words 
the  opinions  of  those  who  said  that  the  ships  were  the  wooden 
wall,  were  disturbed  :  for  the  interpreters  of  oracles  took  them 
in  this  sense,  that  they  should  be  defeated  oif  Salamis,  if  they 
prepared  for  a  sea-fight.  143.  There  was  a  certain  Athenian 
who  had  lately  risen  to  eminence,  whose  name  was  Themisto- 
cles,  but  he  was  commonly  called  the  son  of  Neocles  ;  tnisTtian 
maintained,  that  the  interpreters  had  not  rightly  understood 
the  whole,  saying  thus  :  "  If  the  word  that  had  been  uttered 
really  did  refer  to  the  Athenians,  he  did  not  think  that  it-^-j 
would  have  been  expressed  so  mildly,  but  thus,  '  0  unhappy  il 
Salamis,'  instead  of  '  O  divine  Salamis,'  if  the  inhabitants 
were  about  to  perish  on  its  shores  ;  therefore  whoever  under- 
stood them  rightly  would  conclude,  that  the  oracle  was  pro-  I 
vnounced  by  the  god  against  their  enemies,  and  not  agatHS^tttie  I 
\\.thenians."  He.cidyised  them,  therefore,  to  make  preparations  / 
f^r  figliting  by  sea,  since  that  was  the  wooden  wall,  -.^^b^n 
'Jiemistocles  thus  declared  his  opinion,  the  Athenians  con- 
sidered it  preferable  to  that  of  the  interpreters  who  dissuaded 
them  fronTmalcing  preparation"?  for  a  sea-fight,  and  in  short 
advised  them  not  to  make  any  resistanc^^  ?it  nllj  h\]\.  to  nbmi- 
don  the  Attic  territory,  and  settle  in  snmp  c^\h(^r  144.  An- 
other opinion  of  Themistocles  had  before  this  opportunely 
prevailed.  Wnen  tne"Atlienians,  having  great  riches  in  the 
treasury,  which  came  in  from  the  mines  of  Laureum,  w,Te 
about  to  share  them  man  by  man,  to  each  ten  (frachmas  ; 
then  Themistocles  persuaded  them  to  refrain  from  this  dis- 
tribution7  and  to  build  two  hundrecj  stiips  with  X\m  iponey, 


458  HERODOTUS.  [145,  146 

ineaning  for  the  war  with  the  JEginetae.  IV)!  that  war  spring- 
ing up,  at  this  time  saved  Greece,  by  compellmg  the  Atheni- 
ans to  apply  themselves  to  maritime  affairsTThe  ships,  liow- 
ever,  were  used  for  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  built,  but 
were  thus  very  serviceable  to  Greece.  These,  therefore,  were 
already  built  for  the  Athenians,  and  it  was  necessary  to  con- 
struct others  besides.  And  it  was  resolved  on  their  consulting 
after  the  receipt  of  the  oracle,  to  await  the  barbarian,  who 
was  invading  Greece,  with  their  whole  people  on  shipboard, 
in  obedience  to  the  god,  together  with  such  Greeks  as  would 
joTn  them.  Such,  then,  were  the  oracles  delivered  to  tlie 
Athenians. 

145.  When  the  Greeks  who  were  better  affected  towards 
Greece  were  assembled  together,  and  consulted  with  each 
other,  and  gave  pledges  of  mutual  fidelity,  it  was  thereupon 
determined,  on  deliberation,  that,  before  all  things,  they  should 
reconcile  all  existing  enmities  and  wars  with  each  other.  For 
there  were  wars  in  hand  between  several  others,  but  the  most 
considerable  was  that  between  the  Atheokiisand  JEgineta?. 
After  this,  being  informed  that  Xerxes  was  with  his  army  at 
Sardis,  they  determined  to  send  spies  into  Asia,  in  order  to 
discover  the  true  state  of  the  king^s  affiiifS";  and  to  send  am- 
bassadors  to  Argos  to  conclude  an  alliance  against  tlieTersians, 
ancTothers  to  Sicily,  to  Gelon,  son  of  Dinomenes,  and  to  Cor- 
cyra^  amd  others  to  Crete,  begging  them  to  come  to  theltg^tst- 
ance'of  Greece  ;  purposing,  if  possible,  that  Greece  should  be 
T^tfid,  and^that  all  sHoiild  combine  in  adopting  the  same  plan, 
in  dangers  which  threatened  all  the  Greeks  alike;  but  the 
po^'er  of  Gelon  was  said  to  be  very  great,  being  far  superior 
to  that  of  any  other  Grecian  states.  146.  When  these  things 
were  determined  on  by  them,  having  reconciled  their  enmities, 
they  first  of  all  sent  three  men  as  spies  into  Asia  ;  and  they 
having  arrived  at  Sardis,  and  endeavoured  to  get  intelligence 
of  the  king's  forces,  when  they  were  discovered,  were  ex- 
amined by  the  generals  of  the  land-army,  and  led  out  to  exe- 
cution, for  sentence  of  death  had  been  passed  upon  them.  But 
when  Xerxes  heard  of  this,  disapproving  of  the  decision  of  the 
generals,  he"~sSTit  soffl^'orhis  guards,  with  orders  to  bring  the 
spies  to  him,  if  they  should  find  them  still  alive.  And  whentliey 
fo'unHllxem  yet  living,  and  brought  them  into  the  king's  pre- 
sence, he  thereupon,  having  in  quired  for  what  purpose  they  earner 


147,  148.1  POLYMNIA.    VII.  459 

commanded  the  guards  to  conduct  them  round,  and  show  them 
all  the  infantry  and  cavalry,  and  when  they  should  be  satisfied 
with  seeing  them,  to  send  them  away  unharmed,  to  whatever 
country  they  should  choose.  147.  He  issued  these  orders, 
alleging  the  following  reason,  that  "  if  the  spies  were  put  to 
death,  the  Greeks  would  neither  be  informed  beforehand  of 
bis  power,  that  it  was  greater  than  could  be  described ;  nor 
would  he  do  any  great  harm  to  his  enemies,  by  putting  three 
men  to  death ;  whereas,  if  they  returned  to  Greece,  it  was 
hiso£inion,"  he  said,  "  that  the  GreeIvS,  having  heard  of  his 
power,  would,  of  their  own  accord,  surrender  tlieir  liberty, 
before  the  expedition  should  take  place,  and  so  it  would  not 
be  necessary  to  have  the  trouble  of  marching  against  them.'* 
This  opinion  of  his  was  like  this  other  one.  When  Xerxes 
was  at  Abydos,  he  saw  certain  ships  laden  with  corn  from  the 
Pontus,  sailing  through  the  Hellespont,  on  their  way  to  ^gina 
and  the  Peloponnesus.  Those  who  sat  near  him,  having  heard 
that  the  ships  belonged  to  the  enemy,  were  ready  to  capture 
them,  and  fixing  their  eyes  on  the  king,  watched  when  he 
would  give  the  order.  But  Xerxes  asked  his  attendants  where 
they  were  sailing  ;  they  answered,  "  To  your  enemies,  sire, 
carrying  corn."  He  answering,  said,  "Are  not  we  also  sailing 
to  the  same  place  to  which  these  men  are,  and  provided  with 
other  things,  and  with  corn  ?  What  hurt,  IIk  ii,  can  tliey  do 
us  by  carrying  corn  thither  for  us  :"'  Tiie  spies,  accordingly, 
havmg  seen  the  army,""and  being  sent  away,  returned  to 
Europe. 

148.  But  the  Greeks  who  had  engaged  in  a  confederacy 
against  thetersian,  lifter  the  despatch  of  the  spies,  next  sent 
ambassadors  to  Argos.  But  the  Argiyes  say,  that  what  con- 
cerned them  occun-ed  as  follows ;  that  they  heard  from  the 
very  first  of  the  design  of  the  barbarian  against  Greece,  and 
having  heard  of  it,  and  learnt  that  the  Greeks  would  endea- 
vour to  obtain  their  assistance  against  the  Persian,  they  sent 
persons  to  consult  the  oracle  of  Delphi,  and  inquire  of  the 
god  "  what  course  it  would  be  best  for  them  to  adopt ;  for 
six  thousand  of  their  number  had  recently  been  slain  by  the 
Lacedaemonians,  and  by'^XIteomenes,  son  of  Anaxandrides:' 
for  this  reason  they  sent,  and  the  Pythian  gave  the  following 
answer  to  their  inquiries :  '*  Hated  by  your  neighbours,  be- 
loved by  the  immortal  gods,  holding  your  lance  at  rest,  keep 


460  HERODOTUS.  [149,  156. 

on  the  watch,  and  guard  your  head ;  the  head  shall  save  the 
body."  They  say,  that  the  Pythian  gave  this  answer  first, 
and  afterwards,  when  the  ambassadors  came  to  Argos,  they 
were  introduced  to  the  council,  and  delivered  their  message ; 
and  they  answered  to  what  was  said,  that  "  the  Argives  were 
ready  to  comply,  having  fiiit  made  a  thirty  years*  trutti  With 
the  Lacedaemonians,  and  provided  they  might  have  an  equal 
sliai-e  of  the  command  of  the  allied  forces ;  though  in  justice 
the  whole  command  belonged  to  them,  yet  they  would  be  con- 
tent with  the  command  over  half."  I49.^TKis7tTi"eysay,  was 
tlfe  answer  of  their  senate,  although  the  oracle  had  forbidden 
them  to  enter  into  any  alliance  with  the  Grecians ;  and  that 
they  were  anxious  to  make  a  thirty  years'  truce,  although  they 
feared  the  oracle,  in  order  that  their  children  might  become 
men  during  that  time  ;  but  if  a  truce  was  not  made,  they  were 
apprehensive  lest,  if  in  addition  to  their  present  calamity, 
another  failure  should  befal  them  in  the  Persian  war,  they 
might  in  future  become  subject  to  the  Lacedaemonians.  Those 
of  the  ambassadors  who  came  from  Sparta  gave  the  following 
answer  to  what  was  said  by  the  council :  "  that  with  respect 
to  a  truce,  it  should  be  referred  to  the  people  ;  but  with  respect 
to  the  command,  they  were  instructed  to  answer,  and  say, 
that  they  had  two  kings,  but  the  Argives  only  one ;  and 
therefore  it  was  not  possible  to  deprive  either  of  their  kings 
of  his  command ;  but  that  there  was  nothing  to  hinder  the 
\  Argive  king  from  having  an  equal  vote  with  their  two."  Thus 
the  Argives  say,  that  they  could  not  put  up  with  the  arrogance 
of  the  Spartans,  but  that  they  rather  chose  to  be  subject  to 
Ithe  barbarians,  than  to  yield  to  the  Lacedaemonians ;  and  that 
I  they  ordered  the  ambassadors  to  quit  the  territories  of  the 
I  Argives  before  sun-set,  otherwise  they  would  treat  them  as 
*  enemies.  150.  Such  is  the  account  whichJhe^Argiyes  them- 
selves give  of  this  affair.  But  another~report  is  prevaTenl 
tlirpugliout  Greece,  that  Xei'xes  sent  a  herald  to  Argos,  bclbre 
he  set  out  on  his  expedition  against  Greece ;  and  it  is  reUite(L 
thjat  he,  on  his  arrival,  said :  "  Men  of  Argos,  king  Xei-xes 
speaks  thus  to  you.  We  are  of  opinion  that  Perses,  from 
wliQm  we  are  sprung,  was  son  of  Perseus,  son  oFT53!TSce;"%onr 
of  Andromeda,  itaughter  of  Cepheus.  Thus,  then,  we  must 
be  your  descendants :  it  is,  therefore,  neither  right  that  we 
should  lead  an  army  against  our  progenitors,  nor  that  you 


I 


161—163.]  POLYMNIA.    VII.  461 

should  assist  others,  and  be  opposed  to  us  ;  but  should  remain 
quiet  by  yourselves :  and  if  I  succeed  according  to  my  wish,  I 
shall  esteem  none  greater  than  you."  It  is  said  that  the  Ar- 
gives,  when  they  heard  this,  considered  it  a  great  thing,  and 
at  once  determined  neither  tojpromise^nj^thing  n^r^demand 
nn^jfhjpg  }p  r^'turr^  ;  bnt.  when  the  Greeks  wished  to  take 
them  into  the  confederacy,  they  then,  knowing  that  the  Lace- 
daemonians would  not  share  the  command  with  them,  made 
the  demand  in  order  that  they  might  have  a  pretext  for  re- 
maininfy  (juifi^t.  151.  Some  of  the  Greeks  also  say  that  tlie 
following  circumstance,  which  occurred  many  years  after,  ac- 
cords with  this :  Callias,  son  of  Hipponicus,  and  those  who 
went  up  with  him  as  ambassadors  of  the  Athenians,  happened 
to  be  at  the  Memnonian  Susa  on  some  other  business ;  and 
the  Argives  at  the  same  time  having  sent  ambassadors  to 
Susa,  asked  Artaxerxes,  son  of  Xerxes,  "  whether  the  alliance 
wliich  they  had  formed  with  Xerxes  still  subsisted,  or  whether 
they  were  considered  by  him  as  enemies."  I^ing  Artax^l'xcs 
answered,  "  that  it  certainly  subsisted,  and  that  he  considered 
no  city  more  friendly  than  Argos."  152.  riow  wlietlicr 
Xenf^^rdul  send  a  Iierald  to  Argos  with  such  a  message,  and 
wTTeThiJf'ainbassiulor.s  oC  tin;  Argives,  having  gone  up  to  Susa, 
asked  Artaxerxes  about  the  alliance,  I  cannot  atlirni  with 
cmaTnltj  ;  nor  do  I  declare  any  other  opinion  on  the-Subject 
tEaii  what  th&.Aj-gixes  themselves  say.  But  this  much  I  know, 
that^rr'all  men  were  "to  bring  together  their  own  faults  into 
one  place,  for  the  purpose  of  making  an  exchange  with  their 
neighbours,  when  they  had  looked  closely  into  their  neigh- 
bours' faults,  each  would  gladly  take  back  those  which  tliey 
brought  with  them.  Thus,  the  conduct  of  the  Argives  was 
not  the  most  base.  But  I  am  bound  to  relate  what  is  said, 
though  I  am  not  by  any  means  bound  to  believe  every  thin| 
and  let  this  remark  apply  to  the  whole  history.  For  even  this 
isj-eported,  that  the  Argives  were  the  people  who  invited'tlie 
Persian  to  invade  Greece,  since  their  war  with  the  Lacedae- 
monians went  on  badly,  wishing  that  any  thing  might  happen 
to  them  rather  than  continue  in  their  present  troubles.  This 
is  sufficient  concerning  the  Argives. 

153.  Other  ambassadors  went  from^the  allies  to  Sicily,  to  cpn- 
ferjwitliGelon  ;  and  amongst  them  Syagrus  on  the  part  of  the 
Lacedaemonians.  An  ancestor  of  this  Gelon,  who  was  an  inhabit- 


HDtlODOTUS.  [154,  155 

ant  of  Gela,  eame  from  the  island  of  Telus,  which  lies  off  Trio- 
piuni ;  when  Gela  was  founded  by  the  Lindians  from  Rhodes 
and  by  Antiphemus,  he  was  not  left  behind  ;  and  in  course  of 
time  his  descendants  becoming  priests  of  the  infernal  deities, 
continued  to  be  so,  Telines,  one  of  their  ancestors,  having  ac- 
quired that  dignity  in  the  following  manner.  Some  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Gela  being  worsted  in  a  sedition,  had  fled  to 
Mactorium,  a  city  situated  above  Gela  ;  these  men,  then,  Te- 
lines conducted  back  again,  without  the  assistance  of  any 
human  force,  but  with  the  sacred  things  to  those  deities  ; 
though  whence  he  got  them,  or  how  he  became  possessed  of 
them,  I  am  unable  to  say.  However,  relying  on  these,  he 
brought  back  the  fugitives,  on  condition  that  his  descendants 
should  be  priests  of  the  deities.  From  what  I  hear,  I  am 
much  astonished  that  Telines  should  have  achieved  such  an 
action  ;  for  I  have  ever  thought  that  such  actions  are  not  in 
the  reach  of  every  man,  but  proceed  from  a  brave  spirit  and 
manly  vigour.  Whereas,  on  the  contrary,  he  is  reported  by 
the  inhabitants  of  Sicily  to  have  been  an  effeminate  and  deli- 
cate man.  Thus,  however,  he  acquired  this  dignity.  154. 
On  the  death  of  Oleander,  son  of  Pantares,  who  reigned  seven 
years  over  Gela,  but  was  killed  by  Sabyllus,  a  citizen  of  Gela, 
thereupon  Hippocrates,  who  was  brother  to  Oleander,  succeed- 
ed to  the  sovereignty.  While  Hippocrates  held  the  tyranny, 
Gelon,  who  was  a  descendant  of  Telines  the  priest,  was  v/ith 
many  others,  and  with  -^nesidemus,  son  of  Pataicus,  one  of 
the  guards  of  Hippocrates ;  and  soon  after  was  made  com- 
mander of  the  whole  cavalry  on  account  of  Iris  valour.  For 
when  Hippocrates  besieged  the  Oallipolitae,  the  Naxians,  the 
Zanclasans,  the  Leontines,  and  besides  the  Syracusans,  and 
divers  of  the  barbarians,  Gelon  signalized  himself  in  these 
several  wars  ;  and  of  the  cities  that  I  have  mentioned,  not  one, 
except  the  Syracusans,  escaped  servitude  at  the  hands  of  Hippo- 
erates.  But  the  Oorinthians  and  Corcyraeans  saved  the  Syracu- 
sans, after  they  had  been  defeated  in  battle  on  the  river  Elorus  ; 
and  they  saved  them,  having  reconciled  them  on  the  following 
terms,  that  the  Syracusans  should  give  up  Oamarina  to  Hip- 
pocrates ;  but  Oamarina  originally  belonged  to  the  Syracusans. 
155.  When  Hippocrates,  having  reigned  the  same  number  of 
years  as  his  brother  Oleander,  met  with  his  death  before  Hybla, 
while  carrying  on  the  war  ajsainst  the  Sicilians,  Gelon  there- 


156, 157.J  POLYMNIA.    TO.  463 

upon,  under  colour  of  defending  the  rights  of  Euohdes  and 
CHeander,  sons  of  Hippocrates,  the  citizens  refusing  to  be  any 
longer  subject  to  ^hem, — in  fact,  when  he  had  defeated  the 
Geloans  in  battle,  possessed  himself  of  the  sovereignty,  and 
deposed  the  sons  of  Hippocrates.  After  this  success,  Gelon 
leading  back  those  Syracusans  who  were  called  Gamori,^  and 
had  been  expelled  by  the  people,  and  by  their  own  slaves, 
called  Cyllyrii,  leading  them  back  from  the  city  of  Casmene 
to  Syracuse,  got  possession  of  this  also.  For  the  people  of 
the  Syracusans  gave  up  the  city  and  themselves  to  Gelon  on 
his  first  approach.  156.  When  he  had  made  himself  master 
of  Syracuse,  he  took  less  account  of  the  government  of  Gela, 
and  intrusted  it  to  his  brother  Hiero ;  but  he  strengthened 
Syracuse,  and  Syracuse  was  every  thing  to  him  ;  and  it  grew 
up  rapidly  and  flourished.  For,  first  of  all,  he  removed  all 
the  Camarinaeans  to  Syracuse,  and  made  them  citizens,  and 
destroyed  the  city  of  Camarina ;  and  in  the  next  place,  he  did 
with  more  than  half  the  Geloans  the  same  that  he  had  done 
with  the  Camarinaeans.  Moreover,  the  Megarians  in  Sicily, 
when  being  besieged  they  came  to  terms,  the  more  opulent  of 
them,  who  had  raised  the  war  against  him,  and,  therefore, 
expected  to  be  put  to  death,  he  took  to  Syracuse  and  made 
citizens ;  but  the  populace  of  the  Megarians,' who  had  no  part 
in  promoting  this  war,  nor  expected  to  suffer  any  harm,  he 
also  took  to  Syracuse,  and  sold  them  for  exportation  from 
Sicily.  He  treated  the  Eubojans  in  Sicily  in  the  same 
manner,  and  made  the  same  distinction ;  and  he  treated  them 
both  in  this  way,  from  an  opinion  that  a  populace  is  a  most 
disagreeable  neighbour.  Bysuch  means  Gelon  became  a 
powerful  tyrant.  " 

.  1T)7.  At  this  time,  when  the  ambassadors  of  the  Grecians 
arrived  at  Syracuse,  having  come  to  a  conference  with  him, 
they  spoke  as  follows  :  "  Tiie  Lacedaemonians,  the  Athenians, 
and  their  allies  have  sent  us  to  invite  you  to  join  with  them 
against  the  barbarian  ;  for  doubtless  you  have  heard  that  he 
ismarchlng  against  Greece,  and  that  a  Persian,  liaving  thrown 
a  bridge  over  the  Hellespont,  and  bringing  with  him  all  the 
eastern  Eost  out  of  Asia,  is  about  to  invade  Crreec'e,  holding 
ouras_a  pretence  that  he  is  advancing  against  Athens,  but 
Ideally  designing  to  reduce  all  Greece  under  his  own  power, 
*  Liind-holder.s.  ——>-«..««——— 


464  HERODOTUS.  [158,139. 

But  you  liaie  attained  to  great  power,  and  possess  not  the 
least  part  of  Greece,  since  you  rule  Sicily ;  assist,  therefore, 
those  who  are  asserting  the  liberty  of  Greece,  and  join  them 
Iq  maintaining  its  liberty.  For  if  all  Greece  is  as^mbleJy-a 
large  lofc'e  is  collected,  and  we  become  able  to  resist  the  in- 
vaders. But  if  some  of  us  should  betray  the  common  cause, 
and  others  refuse  to  assist,  so  that  the  sound  part  of  Greece 
should  be  small,  then  there  is  great  danger  that  the  whole 
of  Greece  will  fall.  For  J'ou^ "^ust  not  expect  that  if  the 
Persian  should  subdue  us,  having  conquered  in  battle,  he 
will  not  proceed  also  against  you,  but  take  precautToh's  TJefore- 
hand  ;  for  by  assisting  us,  you  protect  yourself.  A  favour- 
able result  is  generally  wont  to  attend  a  well-devised  plail":*' 
Thus  they  spoke.  158.  Gelon  was  very  vehement,  speaking 
as  follows  :  "  Men  of  Greecefliolding  arrogant  language,  you 
have  dared  to  invite  me  to  come  to  your  assistance  against  the 
barbarian.  And  yet  you  yourselves,  when  I  formerly  besought 
you  to  assist  me  in  attacking  a  barbarian  army  when  a  quarrel 
was  on  foot  between  me  and  the  Carthaginians,  and  wlienj^ 
exhorted  you  to  avenge  the  death  of  Dorieus,^  son  of  Anax- 
andrides,  upon  the  iEgestceans,  and  promised  that  I  would 
join  in  freeing  the  ports,  from  whence  great  advantages  and 
profits  accrued  to  you  ;  neitliei*  for  my  sake  did  you  com^Jo 
assist  me,  nor  to  avenge  the  death  of  iDorieus.  So  that  as  far 
as  you  are  concerned,  all  this  country  is  subject  to  barbarians. 
However,  matters  turned  out  well  with  me,  and  prospered  ; 
anT  now,  when  the  war  has  come  round  and  reached  you,  at 
length  you  remember  Gelon.  But  though  I  met  with  dis- 
graceful treatment  from  you,  I  shall  not  imitate  your  example, 
but  am  ready  to  assist  you,  furnishing  two  hundred  triremes, 
twenty  thousand  heavy-armed  troops,  two  thousand  horse, 
two  thousand  bowmen,  two  thousand  slingers,  and  two  thou- 
sand light-horse ;  I  likewise  undertake  to  supply  com  for  the 
whole  Grecian  army  until  we  have  finished  the  war.  But  I 
promise  these  things  on  this  condition,  that  I  shall  be  genejal 
and  leader  of  the  Greeks  against  the  barbarian :  on  no  other 
condition  will  I  come~myself,  oTsen37311ierH.^''"l59.  Syagrus, 
when  he  heard  this,  could  not  contain  himself,  but  spoke  as 
follows :  "  Agamemnon,  the  descendant  of  Pelops,  would 
indeed  groan  aloud,  if  he  heard  that  the  Spartans  had 
*  See  B.  V    cha«  45  46. 


160,161.]  POLYMNIA.     VII.  465 

been  deprived  of  the  supreme  command  by  a  Gelon  and  by 
Syi'acusans.  Never  mention  this  proposition  again,  that  we 
should  give  up  the  command  to  you  ;  but  if  you  are  willing 
to  succour  Greece,  know  that  you  must  be  commanded  by 
Lacedaemonians,  or,  if  you  will  not  deign  to  be  commanded, 
you  need  not  assist  us."  160.  Upon  this  Gelon,  when  he 
observed  the  indignant  language'oT'Bj'TigrttS,  made  this  last 
pr^^^al:"""  Spartan  stranger,  reproaches  uttered  against  a 
man  are  wont  to  rouse  his  indignation.  Yet,  though  you 
have  used  insulting  words  in  your  speech,  you  have  not  pro- 
voked me  to  be  unseemly  in  return.  Nevertheless,  since  you 
are  so  exceedingly  anxious  for  the  supreme  command,  it  is 
reasonable  that  I  also  should  be  more  anxious  for  it  than  you, 
since  I,.ain  lead.ej:  i)X  a-iar  greater  army,  and  many  more  ships. 
However,  since  my  proposal  is  so  repugnant  to  you,T~will 
abate  something  of  my  first  demand.  If,  then,  you  choose 
to  command  the  army,  I  \£:ill  command  the  fleet ;  or  if  it  please 
you  gather  to  have  the  command  at  sea,  I  will  lead  the  land- 
forces.  And  you  must  either  be  content  with  these  terms,  or 
return  destitute  of  such  allies."  161.  Gelon,  then,  proposed 
these  terms ;  but  the  ambassador  of  the  Athenians,  anticipating 
that  of  the  Lacedaemonians,  answered  him  in  these  words : 
"  King  of  the  Syracusans,  the  Grecians  sent  us  to  you,  not 
to  ask  for  a  general,  but  ah  army.  You  declare  that  you  will 
not  send  an  army,  unless  you  have  the  command  of  Greece, 
and  you  are  anxious  to  be  made  general  of  it :  as  long  as 
you  required  to  command  all  the  forces  of  the  Grecians,  we 
Athenians  were  contented  to  remai?)  silent,  as  we  knew  that 
the  Spartan  would  be  sufficient  to  answer  for  us  both ;  but 
since,  being  excluded  from  the  whole  command,  you  require 
to  govern  the  navy,  the  matter  stands  thus.  Even  if  the 
Lacedaemonians  should  allow  you  to  govern  it,  we  shall  not 
allow-  it.  for  that  is  ours,  unless  the  LacedaemonTansrwish  t6~ 
take  it  themselves.  If  they,  indeed,  wish  to  have  the  com- 
mand, we  shall  not  oppose  them,  but^we  will  never  cede  to 
anj^one  else  the  command  of  the  navy.  For  In  vain  should 
we  possess  the  greatest  naval  power  of  tht:  Greeks,  if  no, 
Dctn^^AIhenians,  should  yield  the  command  to  the  Syracusxiaa, 
we  who~lCre~the--TTiost  ancient  nation,  and  the  only  people  of 
the  Greeks  who  have  never  changed  their  country ;  from 
whom  also  Homer,  the  epic  poet,  said,  the  best  man  went  to 

2    H 


466  HERODOTUS  [162-164 

Troy,  both  for  arraying  and  marshalling  an  army  So  that  i1 
is  no  disgrace  to  us  to  speak  as  we  do."  162.  To  this  Gelon 
answered :  "Athenian  stranger,  you  seem  to  have  commanders, 
but  as  if  you  would  not  have  men  to  be  commanded.  Since, 
therefore,  you  are  resolved  to  concede  nothing,  but  to  retain 
the  whole  power,  you  cannot  be  too  quick  in  returning  back 
again,  and  informing  Greece,  that  the  spring  of  the  year  has 
been  taken  from  her."  The  meaning  of  this  saying  is,  which 
he  wished  to  intimate,  that  as  the  spring  is  evidently  the  most 
valuable  season  in  the  year,  so  of  the  army  of  the  Grecians, 
his  was  the  best :  Greece,  tliereforg^  deprived  of  his^lljance, 
he  compared  to  a  yearlroHrwTncli  the  spring  sEoulcTbe  taken 
away. 

163.  The  ambassadors  of  the  Greeks,  having  thus  negoci- 
ated  with  Gelon,  sailed  away.  But  Gelon,  upon  this,  fearing 
for  the  Grecians,  that  they  would  not  be  able  to  withstand 
the  barbarian,  but  deeming  it  an  intolerable  disgrace  that  he 
who  was  tyrant  of  Sicily  should  go  to  Peloponnesus,  and  be 
subject  to  the  Lacedaemonians,  gave  up  all  thoughts  of  that 
course  and  adopted  another.  As  ^"""^;^J^^-  ^-'^?ii  Jl^f"^"^^^ 
that  the  Persian  had  crossed  the  HeTIespori t,  lie  despatched 
Cadmus,  son  of  Scythes,  a  Coan,  to  Delphi,  with  three  pente- 
conters,  taking  with  him  much  treasure  and  friendly  messages, 
for  the  purpose  of  watcliing  the  contest,  in  what  way  it  would 
terminate  ;  and  if  the  barbarian  should  conquer,  he  was  to 
present  him  with  the  treasure,  and  earth  and  waler  tor'^he 
countries  which  Gelon  ruled  over ;  but  if  the  Greeks  should 
be  victorious,  he  was  to  bring  back  the  treasure. "  104.  'l"his 
Cadmus,  having  before  these  events  received  from  his  father 
the  sovereignty  of  the  Coans,  firmly  established,  of  his  own 
accord,  when  no  danger  threatened  him,  but  from  a  sense  of 
justice,  surrendered  the  government  into  the  hands  of  the 
Coans,  and  retired  into  Sicily ;  there,  with  the  Samians,  he 
possessed  and  inhabited  the  city  of  Zancle,  which  changed  its 
name  to  Messana.  This  Cadmus,  therefore,  who  had  in  this 
manner  come  to  Sicily,  Gelon  sent  on  account  of  other  proofs 
which  he  had  of  his  uprightness  ;  and  he,  in  addition  to  other 
instances  of  uprightness  that  had  been  given  by  him,  left  this 
not  the  least  monument  of  them :  for  having  in  his  possession 
vast  treasures,  which  Gelon  had  intrusted  to  him,  when  it 
was  in  liis  power  to  appropriate  them,  he  would  not;  but 


166— 1G7  POLYMNIA.    VII. 

when  the  Greeks  conquered  in  the  sea-fight,  and  Xerx 
retired,  he  also  returned  to   Sicily,  and  took  back  all  the 
treasures. 

165.  However,  the  following  account  is  given  by  those  who 
inhabit  Sicily,  that  Gelon,  notwithstanding  that  he  must  be 
governed  by  the  Lacedaemonians,  would  have  assisted  the 
Greeks,  had  not  Terillus,  son  of  Crinippus,  who  was  tyrant 
of  Himera,  being  expelled  from  Himera  by  Theron,  son  of 
-^nesidemus  king  of  the  Agrigentines,  at  that  time  brought 
in  an  army  of  three  hundred  thousand  men,  consisting  of  Phoe- 
nicians, Libyans,  Iberians,  Ligyans,  Elisycians,  Sardinians, 
and  Cyrnians,  under  the  conduct  of  Amilcar,  son  of  Hanno, 
king  of  the  Carthaginians.  Terillus  persuaded  him  by  the 
hospitality  w^hich  existed  between  them,  and  especially  by  the 
zeal  of  Anaxilaus,  son  of  Critines,  who  being  tyrant  of  Rhe- 
gium,  and  having  given  his  children  as  hostages  into  the  hands 
of  Amilcar,  induced  him  to  enter  Sicily,  in  order  to  revenge 
the  injury  done  to  his  father-in-law.  For  Anaxilaus  had 
married  a  daughter  of  Terillus,  whose  name  was  Cydippe. 
Thus,  as  Gelon  was  not  able  to  assist  the  Greeks,  he  sent  the 
treasures  to  Delphi.  166.  In  addition  to  this,  they  say,  that 
it  happened  on  the  same  day,  that  Gelon  and  Theron  conquered 
Amilcar  the  Carthaginian  in  Sicily,  and  the  Greeks  con- 
quered the  Persian  at  Salamis.  I  am  informed,  that  Amilcar, 
who  was  a  Carthaginian  by  his  father,  and  a  Syracusan  by  his 
mother,  and  chosen  king  of  Cartkige  for  his  virtue,  when  the 
engagement  took  place,  and  he  was  defeated  in  battle,  vanished 
oat  of  sight ;  for  he  was  seen  no  where  on  the  earth,  either 
alive  or  dead,  though  Gelon  had  search  made  for  him  every 
where.  167.  The  following  story  is  also  related  by  the  Cartha- 
ginians themselves,  who  endeavour  to  give  a  probable  account, 
that  the  barbarians  fought  with  the  Grecians  in  Sicily  from 
the  morning  till  late  in  the  evening,  for  it  is  said  that  the  con- 
flict lasted  so  long  ;  and  during  this  time,  Amilcar,  continuing 
in  the  camp,  offered  sacrifices,  and  observed  the  omens,  burn- 
ing whole  victims  upon  a  large  pile  ;  and  when  he  saw  the 
defeat  of  his  own  army,  as  he  happened  to  be  pouring  liba- 
tions on  the  victims,  he  threw  himself  into  the  flames,  and 
thus,  being  burnt  to  ashes,  disappeared.  But  whether  Amil- 
car disappeared  in  such  manner  as  the  Phoenicians  relate, 
Of  iu  another  manner,  as  the  Syracusaps,  ths  Carthaginicns 

2  »  ? 


466  HEROBOTUS.  [168,  169. 

in  the  first  place  offer  sacrifices  to  him,  and  in  the  next,  have 
erected  monuments  to  his  memory  in  all  the  cities  inhabited 
by  colonists,  and  the  most  considerable  one  in  Carthage  itself. 
So  much  for  the  affairs  of  Sicily. 

168.  The  Corcyrnsans,  having  given  the  following  answer  to 
the  ambas'saddrs,  acted  as  I  shall  relate.  For  the  same  aniBas^ 
sadbrs  who  went  to  Sicijy,  invited  them  to  join  the  league, 
using  the  same  language  to  them  as  they  had  done  to  Gelon. 
They  indeed  immediately  promised  to  send  and^ive^asjistaHce, 
a^ing,  "  that  they  could  not  look  on  and  see  the  ruin  of  Greec^ 
for  if  it  should  be  overthrown,  nothing  else  would  remain  for 
them,  than  to  become  slaves  on  the  very  first  day  ;  therefore 
they  would  assist  to  the  utmost  of  their  power."  Thus  spe- 
ciously  they  answered  ;  but  when  they  ouglit  to  have  assisted, 
with  different  intentions,  they  manned  sixty  ships,  and  having 
put  to  sea,  after  great  delays,  drew  near  to  the  Pelopon- 
nesus,  and  anchored  about  Pylus  and  Ta^narus,  of  the  Lace- 
dsemonian  territory  ;  tliey  also  carefully  watched  the  war,  iii_ 
what  way  it  would  terminate  ;  having  no  expectation  that  the 
Grecians  would  get  the  better,  but  thinking  that  the  Persian, 
having  gained  a  decided  superiority,  would  become  master  of 
all  Greece.  They  therefore  acted  thus  purposely,  in  order 
that  they  might  be  able  to  say  to  the  Persian,  "  0  king,  wlien 
the  Greeks  invited  us  to  take  part  in  the  war,  we,  who  have  a 
considerable  force,  and  were  able  to  supply  not  the  least  num- 
ber of  ships,  but  the  greatest  number,  next  to  the  Athenians, 
would  not  oppose  you,  nor  do  any  thing  displeasing  to  you." 
By  saying  this,  they  hoped  to  get  better  terms  than  the  rest  ; 
which  would  have  been  the  case,  as  appears  to  me  ;  and  to- 
wards the  Greeks  their  excuse  was  ready  prepared,  which 
indeed  they  did  make  use  of.  For  when  the  Greeks  ac- 
cused them  of  not  having  sent  assistance,  they  said  "  that 
they  had  manned  sixty  ships,  but  were  unable  to  double  Malea 
by  reason  of  the  Etesian  winds  ;  and  so  they  could  not  reach 
Salamis,  and  were  absent  from  the  sea-fight  from  no  bad  mo 
tive."  In  this  manner  they  attempted  to  elude  the  charge  of 
the  Greeks. 

169.  The  Cretans,  when  those  Greeks  who  were  appointed 
for  that  purpose  invited  them  to  join  the  league,  acted  as 
follows.  Having  sent,  in  the  name  of  the  commonwealth,  pcr- 
«'ons  to  consult  the  oracle  at  Pelphi,  they  inquired  of  the  god, 


70,  m.  POLYMNIA.    VIl.  i69 

whether  it  would  be  for  their  advantage  to  assist  Greece. 
The  Pythian  answered  :  "  Fools,  you  complain  of  all  the  woes 
which  Minos  in  his  anger  sent  you,  for  aiding  Menelaus,  be- 
cause they  would  not  assist  you  in  avenging  his  death  at  Cami- 
cus,  and  yet  you  assisted  them  in  avenging  a  woman  who  was 
carried  off  from  Sparta  by  a  barbarian."  "VYhen  the  Cretans 
heard  this  answer  reported,  they  refrained  from  sendfnglissTst- 
aiTce^  170.  Jbor  it  is  said,  that  Minos,  liaving  come  to  Sicania, 
which  IS  now  called  Sicily,  in  search  of  Daedalus,  met  with  a 
violent  death  :  that  after  some  time  the  Cretans,  at  the  in- 
stigation of  a  deity,  all  except  the  Polichnitae  and  the  Prae- 
sians,  went  with  a  large  force  to  Sicania,  and  during  five 
years  besieged  the  city  of  Camicus,  which  in  my  time  the 
Agrigentines  possessed ;  and  at  last,  not  being  able  either  to 
take  it,  or  to  continue  the  siege,  because  they  were  oppressed 
by  famine,  they  abandoned  it  and  went  away  :  and  when  they 
were  sailing  along  the  coast  of  lapygia,  a  violent  storm  over- 
took them,  ar/d  drove  them  ashore.  And  as  their  ships  were 
broken  to  pieces,  and  there  appeared  no  means  of  their  return- 
ing to  Crete,  they  thereupon  founded  tlie  city  of  Hyria,  and 
settled  therCj  changing  their  name  from  Cretans  to  Messapian 
lapygians,  and  becoming,  instead  of  islanders,  inhabitants  of  the 
continent.  From  the  city  of  Hyria  they  founded  other  cities, 
which  a  long  time  after  the  Tarentines  endeavouring  to  destroy, 
signally  failed  }  so  that  this  was  the  greatest  Grecian  slaugh- 
ter  of  all  that  we  know  of,  both  of  the  Tarentines  themselves, 
and  of  the  Rhegians,  who  being  compelled  by  Micythus,  son 
of  Choerus,  and  coming  to  assist  the  Tarentines,  thus  perished 
to  the  number  of  three  thousand  ;  but  of  the  Tarentines  them- 
selves no  number  was  given.  This  Micythus  was  a  servant 
of  Anaxilaus,  and  had  been  left  in  charge  of  Rhegium.  He 
is  the  same  person  that  was  expelled  from  Rhegium,  and  who, 
jiaving  settled  in  Tegea,  a  city  of  Arcadia,  dedicated  the  many 
tatues  in  Olympia.  171.  These  events  relating  to  the  Rhe- 
■gians  and  Tarentinei^  are  a  digression  from  my  history.  To 
Crete,  then,  destitute  cf  inhabitants,  as  the  Praesians  say,  other 
men,  and  especially  the  Grecians,  went,  and  settled'  there :  and 
in  the  third  generation  after  the  death  of  Minos  the  Trojan 
war  took  place,  in  which  the  Cretans  proved  themselves  not 
the  worst  avengers  of  Menelaus  :  as  a  punishment  for  this, 
when  they  returned  from  Troy,  famine  and  pestilence  foil 


470  HERODOTUS.  [172,  173 

both  on  tliemselves  and  their  cattle  ;  so  that  Crete  being  a 
second  time  depopulated,  the  Cretans  are  the  third  people 
who,  with  those  tliat  were  left,  now  inhabit  it.  The  Pythian 
tlierefore,  putting  them  in  mind  of  these  things,  checked  them 
in  their  desire  to  assist  the  Grecians. 

T72.  The^Thessalians  at  first  sided  with  the  Mede  from 
necessity,  as  they  showedTiii  llrjt  the  intrigues  of  tlTOLleuadas^ 
did  not  please  them.  For  as  soon  as  they  were  informed  that 
the  Persian  was  about  to  cross  over  into  Europe,  they  sent 
ambassadors  to  the  Isthmus  ;  and  at  the  Isthmus  deputies  from 
Greece  were  assembled  chosen  from  those  cities  that  Avere  better 
disposed  towards  Greece.  The  ambassadors  of  the  Thessalians, 
having  come  to  them,  said :  "  Men  of  Greece,  it  is  necessary  to 
guard  the  pass  of  Olympus,  that  Thessaly  aj^j^TGreece  may 
beslieltered  from  the  war.  Now  we  are  ready  to  assist  in  guard- 
ing it,  but  you  also  must  send  a  large  army  ;  for  if  you  will 
not  sendj  be  assured,  we  shall  come  to  teniis  with  thej[ilff"- 
sian  :  for  it  is  not  right  that  we,  who  are  situate(r""so"  far  in 
advance  of  the  rest  of  Greece,  should  perish  alone  in  your  de- 
fence. If  you  will  not  assist  us,  you  cannot  impose  any  obli- 
gation upon  us  ;  for  obligation  was  ever  inferior  to  inability  ; 
and  we  must  ourselves  endeavour  to  contrive  some  means  of 
safety."  173.  Thus  spoke  the  Thessalians.  And  the  G.rg; 
cians  thereupon  resolved  to  send  an  army  by  sea  to  Thessaly, 
to  guard  the  pass  ;  and  when  the  army  was  aesembled.  It 
sailed  through  the  Euripus,  and  having  arrived  at  Alus  of 
Achaia,  disembarked,  and  marched  to  Thessaly,  having  left 
the  ships  there  ;  and  arrived  at  Tempo,  at  the  pass  that  Jeads 
from  the  lower  ^MacedoniaTnto  Thessaly,  by  the  river^^iieus, 
between  Mount  Olympus  and  Ossa.  Tliere  heavy-armed  troops 
ofThe  Grecians,  being  assembled  together  to  the  number  of 
teiiJJiausand,  encamped,  and  to  them  was  added  the  cavalry  of 
tlie  Tjiessalians.  The  Lacedaemonians  were  commanded  by 
Eucenetus,  son  of  Carenus,  chosen  from  among  the  Polemarchs, 
though  not  of  the  royal  race,  and  the  Athenians  ivere  com.' 
manded  hy  Themistocles,  son  of  Neocles.  There  they  re- 
mained but  a  few  days,  for  messengers  coming  from  Alexan- 
der, son  of  Amyntas,  a  Macedonian,  advised. them  to  retii*e, 
and  not  to  stay  in  the  pass  and  be  trampled  under  foot  by  the 
invading  army  ;  describing  the  numbers  of  the  army  and  the 
•  See  chap.  6lSd  13(1       '        '  """"  ■ 


174—176.]  POLYMNIA.    Vll.  471 

eliips.  WheK  the  messengers  gave  this  advice,  as  the  Gre- 
cians conceived  the  advice  to  be  good,  and  the  Macedonian 
was  evidently  well-disposed  to  them,  they  determined  to  follow 
it ;  but,  in  my  opinion,  it  was  fear  that  persuaded  them,  when 
they  heard  that  there  was  nnothyf  pn^s  into  Thessaly  and 
Upper  Macedonia,  through  the  country  of  the  Perrhaibi,  near 
the  city  of  Gonnus ;  by  which^ijideed,  the  armj-  of  Xerxes 
did  enter.  The  Grecians,  therefore,  going  down  to  their  ships 
went  back  again  to  the  Isthmus.  174.  This  expedition  into 
Thessaly  took  place  while  the  king  w^as  about  to  cross  over 
from  Asia  into  Europe,  and  was  still  at  Abydos.  But  the 
Thessalians,  being  abandoned  by  their  allies,  then  readily  took 
part  with  the  Medes,  an"d  with  no  Turther  hesTtation,  so'miich 
so,  that  in  emergency  they  proved  most  useful  to  the  king. 

1 75.  The  Greeks,  when  they  arrived  at  the  Isthmus,  con- 
sulted on  the  message  they  had  received  from  Alexander,  in 
what  way  and  in  what  places  they  should  prosecute  the  war. 
The  opinion  which  prevailed  was,  that  they  should  defend  the 
pass  at  Thermopylas ;  for  it  appeared  to  be  narrower  than  tTfat 
in^Thessaly,  and  at  tljie^same  tinie  nearer  to  their  own  ter- 
ritorTesI  For  the  path  by  which  the  Greeks  who  were  taken 
at  Thermopylae  were  afterwards  surprised,  they  knew  nothing 
o^  tilirpn  their  arrival  at  Thermopylae,  they  were  informed 
of  it  bythe  Traclunians.  They  accordingly  resolved  to  guard 
this  pass,  ancTnot  suffer  the  barbarian  to  enter  Greece  ;  and 
thaFtlie  naval  force  should  sail  to  Artemisiuni,  in  the  terri- 
tory  of  Histiceotis,  for  these  places  are  near  one~another,  so 
that__they^  could  hear  what  liappened"to  each  other.  These 
spots  are  thus  situated.  176.  In  the  first  place,  Artemisium 
is  contra^iad-  from  a  wide  space  of  the  Thracian  sea  into  a 
narrow  frith,  which  lies  between  the  island  of  Sciathus  and 
the  continent  of  Magnesia.  From  the  narrow  frith  begins 
the  coast  of  Eubcea,  called  Artemisium,  and  in  it  is  a  temple 
of  Diana.  But  the  entrance  into  Greece  through  Trachis,  in 
the  narrowest  part,  is  no  more  than  a  half  plethrum  in  width  ; 
however,  the  narrowest  part  of^the  country  is  not  in  this  spot, 
but  before  ancT  behTnd  Thermopylae ;  for  near  Alpeni,  which 
IS  behind^' tnefS^sl)nly  a  single  carriage-road  ;  and  before,  by 
the  river  Phoenix,  near  the  city  of  Anthela,  is  another  single 
carriage-road.  On  the  western  side  of  Thermopylae  is  an  in- 
accessible and  precipitous  mountain,  stretcHng  toMount  CEta ; 


472  HEROBOTtlS.  [1?7-I7d. 

and  on  tlie  eastern  side  of  the  way,  is  tlie  sea,  and  a  morass. 
InTIiia  passage  there  are  hot  baths,  whlcli  the  inhabitants  call 
Chytri,  and  above  these  is  an  altar  to  Hercules.  A  wall  had 
been  built  in  this  pass,  and  formerly  there  were  gates  in  iT.' 
TliS"  Phocasans  built  it  through  fear,  wFeETthe  ThessalTans 
came  from  Thesprotia  to  settle  in  the  iEolian  territory  which 
they  now  possess  :  apprehending  that  the  Thessalians  would 
attempt  to  subdue  them,  the  Phocasans  took  this  precaution  : 
at  the  same  time  they  diverted  the  hot  water  into  the  en- 
trance, that  the  place  might  be  broken  into  clefts  ;  having  re- 
course to  every  contrivance  to  prevent  the  Thessalians  from 
making  inroads  into  their  country.  Now  this  old  wall  had 
been  built  a  long  time,  and  the  greater  part  of  it  had  already 
fallen  through  age  ;  but  they  deterniined  to  rebuild  it,  and 
in  that  place  to  repel  the  bar'baHan TrorrnGreece.  Very  near 
this  road  there  is  a  village  called  Alpeni ;  from  this  the  Greeks 
expected  to  obtain  provisions.  177.  Accordingly  these  situa- 
tions appeared  suitable  for  the  Greeks.  For  they,  having 
weighed  every  thing  beforehand,  and  considered  that  the 
barbarians  would  neither  be  able  to  use  their  numbers  nor 
their  cavalry,  there  resolved  to  await  the' invader  of  Greece. 
As  soon  as  they  tvei'e  informed  that  the  Persian  was  in  Pieria, 
breaking  up  from  the  Isthmus,  some  of  them  proceeded  by 
land  to  Thermopylae,  and  others  by  sea  to  Artemisium. 

178.  The  Greeks,  therefore,  being  appointed  in  two  divi- 
sions, hastened  to  meet  the  enemy.  But  at  the  same  time  the 
Delphians,  alarmed  for  themselves  and  for  Greece,  consulted 
the  oracle ;  and  the  answer  given  them  was,  "  that  they  should 
pray  to  the  winds,  for  that  they  would  be  po'werfud^xdlLfcsTto 
Greece,"  The  Delphians  having  received  the  oracle,  first  of 
all  communicated  the  answer  to  those  Greeks  who  were  zealous 
to  be  free ;  and  as  they  very  much  dreaded  the  barbarians, 
by  giving  that  message  they  acquired  a  claim  to  everlasting 
gratitude.  After  that,  the  Delphians  erected  an  altar  to  the 
winds  at  Tliyia,  wliere  there  is  an  enclosure  consecrated  to 
Thyia,  daughter  of  Cephisus,  from  whom  this  district  derives 
its  name,  and  conciliated  them  with  sacrifices.  And  the  Del- 
phians, in  obedience  to  that  oracle,  to  this  day  propitiate  the 
winds. 

179.  The  naval  force  of  Xerxes,  setting  out  from  the  city 
of  Therma,  advanced  with  ten"  of  the  fastest  sailing  ships 


I8a-188.j  POLYMNIA.    VII.  473 

straight  to  Scyatlius,  where  were  three  Grecian  ships  keeping 
a  look-out,  a  Troezenian,  an  u35ginetan,  and  an  Athenian. 
Thesefseeing  tTfe  ships  of  the  barharians  at  a  distance,  betook 
tIiemsetVE5"t(r!right;  180.  The  Troezenian  ship,  which  Prax- 
inus  commanded,  the  barbarians  pursued  and  soon  captured ; 
and  then,  having  led  the  handsomest  of  the  marines  to  the 
prow  of  the  ship,  they  slew  him,  deeming  it  a  good  omen  that 
tlie  first  Greek  they  had  taken  was  also  very  handsome.  The 
name  of  the  man  that  was  slain  was  Leon,  and  perhaps  he 
in  some  measure  reaped  the  fruits  of  his  name.  181.  The 
^^ginetan  ship,  which  Asonides  commanded,  gave  them  some 
trouble,  Pytheas,  son  of  Ischenous,  being  a  marine  on  board, 
a  man  who  on  this  day  displayed  the  most  consummate  valour  ; 
who,  when  the  ship  was  taken,  continued  fighting  until  he 
was  entirely  cut  to  pieces.  But  when,  having  fallen,  he  was 
not  dead,  but  still  breathed,  the  Persians  who  served  on  board 
the  ships  were  very  anxious  to  save  him  alive,  on  account  of 
his  valour,  healing  his  wounds  with  myrrh,  and  binding  them 
with  bandages  of  flaxen  cloth.  And  when  they  returned  to 
tlieir  own  camp,  they  showed  him  with  admiration  to  the 
wliole  army,  and  treated  him  well ;  but  the  others,  wliom  they 
took  in  this  ship,  tliey  treated  as  slaves.  182.  Thus,  then, 
two  of  tlie  ships  were  taken  ;  but  the  third,  whichPrrdrhius, 
nn  Athenian,  conunanJed,  in  its  flight  ran  ashore  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Peneus ;  and  the  barbarians  got  possession  of  the  ship, 
but  not  of  the  men:  forassoon  as  the  Athenians  had  run  tlie 
ship  agroiimT,  Ihey  leapt  out,  and,  proceeding  through  Thes- 
saly,  readied  Athens.  The  Greeks  who  were  stationed  at 
Artemisium  were  informed  of  this  event  by  signal-fires  from 
Sciathus ;  and  being  informed  of  it,  and  very  much  alarmed, 
they  retired  from  Artemisium  to  Chalcis,  intending  to  defend 
the  Euripus,  and  leaving  scouts  on  the  heights  of  Euboea. 
183.  Of  the  ten  barbarian  ships,  three  approached  tlie  sunken 
rock  called  Myrmex,  between  Sciathus  and  Magnesia.  Then 
tlie  barbarians,  when  they  had  erected  on  the  rock  a  stone 
column,  which  they  had  brought  with  them,  set  out  from 
Therma,  now  that  every  obstacle  had  been  removed,  and 
sailed  forward  with  all  their  ships,  having  waited  eleven  days 
after  the  king's  departure  from  Therma.  Pammon,  a  Scyrian, 
pointed  out  to  them  this  hidden  rock,  which  was  almost  di- 
rectly in  their  course.    The  barbarians,  sailing  all  day,  reached 


474  HERODOTUS.  [184,  185 

Sepias  in  Magnesia,  und  the  shore  that  lies  between  the  city 
of  Casthaniea  and  the  coast  of  Sepias. 

184.  As  far  as  this  place,  and  Thermopylse,  the  army  had 
suflered  no  loss,  and  the  numbers  were  at  that  time,  as  I  find 
by  calculations,  of  the  following  amount:  of  those  in  ships 
from  Asia,  amounting  to  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  seven, 
/  originally  the  whole  number  of  the  several  natians  ^yas  two 
I  hundred  forty-one  thousand  four  hundred  niTn,  alio W^ing  two 
\  hundred  to  each  ship;  and  on  these  ships  tliirt^TPe^Sns, 
I  Medes,  and  Sacaa  served  as  marines,  in  addition  to  the  native 
/  crews  of  each:  this  further  numbef~amounts~to  thirty-six 
1  thousand  two  hundred  and  ten.  To  this  and  tlTef orffi^f  num - 
ber  I  add  those  that  were  on  the  penteconters,  supposing 
eighty  men  on  the  average  to  be  on  board  of  €ach :  but,  as  I 
have  before  said,^  three  thousand  of  these  vessels  were  assem- 
bled ;  therefore  the  men  on  board  them  must  have  been  twx 
hundred  and  forty  thousand.  This,  then,  was  the  naval  force 
from  Asia,  the  total  being  five  hundred  and  seventeen  thousand 
six  hundred  and  ten.  Of  infantry  there  were  seventeelT  Hun- 
dred thousand,  and  of  cavalry  eighty  thousand;  to  these  I 
add  the  Arabians  who  rode  camels,  and  the  Libyans  who  drove 
chariots,  reckoning  the  number  at  twenty  thousand  nien. 
Accordingly,  the  numbers  on  board  thesliips  and  on  the  land 
added  together,  make  up  two  millions  three  hundred  and  seven- 
teen thousand  six  hundred  and  ten.  This,  then,  is  the  force 
wliich,  as  has  been  mentioned,  was  assembled  from  Asia  itself, 
exclusive  of  the  servants  that  followed,  and  the  provision 
ships,  and  the  men  that  were  on  board  them.  185.JButj[he 
force  iuiQuglit  from  Europe  must  still  be  added  to.  this  wliole 
number  that  has  been  summed  up  ;  but  it  is  necessary  to  speak 
by  guess.  Now  the  Grecians  from  Thrace,  and  the  islands 
contiguous  to  Thrace,  furnished  one  hundred  and  twenty 
ships ;  these  ships  give  an  amount  of  twenty-four  thousand 
men.  Of  land-forces,  which  were  furnished  by  Thracians, 
Pajonians,  the  Eordi,  the  Bottiaeans,  the  Chalcidian  race, 
Brygi,  Pierians,  Macedonians,  Perrhaebi,  ^nianes,  Dolopians, 
Magnesians,  and  Acheeans,  together  with  those  who  inhabit 
the  maritime  parts  of  Thrace ;  of  these  nations  I  suppose  that 
there  were  three  hundred  thousand  men.  So  that  these  my- 
riads added  to  those  from  Asia,  make  a  total  of  two  millions 
7  Chap.  97. 


1&6-189.]  POLYMNIA.    VII.  475 

gix  hundred  forty  one  thousand  sIk  hundred  and  ten  fighting 
raienl  186.  i  think"that  the  servants  who  followed  theniTahd 
witli  those  on  board  the  provision  ships  and  other  vessels  that 
sailed  with  the  fleet,  were  not  fewer  than  the  fighting  men,  but 
more  numerous  ;  but  supposing  them  to  be  equal  in  number 
with  the  fighting  men,  they  make  up  the  former  number  of 
myriads.  Thus  XerxeSj,joiij3£„Darij4Sj.IeJ  fiye^mi^^^^^  two  \^ 
hjindredjin J  ei;yhty-three  thojisand_t\yo Jiundred  and  twenty  >^1\ 
meryTo  Sepias;;gS^"TT]p^'"^f)l?yl"^  187.  This,  then,  was  the  ^ 
number  of  the  whole  force  of  Xerxes.  But  of  women  who 
ruaiiaJii^ad,  and  concubines,  and  eunuchs,  no  one  could  men- 
tion the  number  witfi  accuracy  ;~rior  of  draught-cattle  and 
other  beasts  of  burden  ;  nor  of  Indian  dogs  that  followed,  could 
any  one  mention  the  number,  they  were  so  many.  Therefore 
I  am  not  astonished  that  the  streams  of  some  rivers  failed  ; 
but  rather,  it  is  a  wonder  to  me,  how  provisions  held  out  for 
so  many  myriads.  For  I  find  by  calculation,  if  each  man  had 
a  chocnix  of  wheat  daily,  and  no  more,  one  hundred  and  ten 
thousand  three  hundred  and  forty  medimni  must  have  been 
consumed  every  day  ;  and  I  have  not  reckoned  the  food  for 
the  women,  eunuchs,  beasts  of  burden,  and  dogs.  But  of  so 
many  myriads  of  men,  not  one  of  them,  for  beauty  and  sta- 
ture, was  more  entitled  than  Xerxes  himself  to  possess  this 
power. 

188.  When  tliefleet,  havinp^  set  outA-mled^and  reached  the 
shore  of  Magnesia  tliat  lies  between  the  city  of  Casthanaia 
and  the  coast  of  Sepias,  the  foremost  of  the  ships  took  up  their 
station  close  to  land,  others  behind  rode  at  anchor,  (the  beach 
not  being  extensive  enough,)  with  their  prows  towards  the 
sea,  and  eight  deep.  Thus  they  passed  the  night,  but  at  day- 
break, after  serene  and  tranquil  weather,  the  sea  began  to 
swell,  and  a  heavy  storm  witli_  a  violent  gale  from  the  east, 
^  which  those  who  inhabit  these  parts  call  a  Hellespontine, 
burst  upon  them  ;  as  many  of  them,  then,  as  perceived  the 
gale  increasing,  and  who  were  able  to  do  so  from  their  position, 
anticipated  the  storm  by  hauling  their  ships  on  shore,  and  both 
they  and  their  ships  escaped.  But  such  of  the  ships  as  the 
storm  caught  at  sea,  it  carried  away,  some  to  the  parts  called  I  /^ 
Ipni,  near  Pelion,  others  to  the  beach  ;  some  were  dashed  on  ,  'p-s 
Canq  Sepias  itself ;  some  were  wrecked  at  Meliboea,  and  otherg 
at  Casthanaea.     The  storm  was  indeed  irresistible.     \  89.  A 


476  HERODOTUS.  [100,191 

story  is  tolJ,  that  the  Athenians  invoked  Boreas,  In  obedience 
to  an  oracle,  another  response  having  come  to  them,  "  tliat 
they  should  call  their  son-in-law  to  their  assistance."  But  Bo- 
reas, according  to  the  account  of  the  Greeks,  married  a  woman 
of  Attica,  Orithyia,  daughter  to  Erectheus.  On  account  of 
this  marriage,  the  Athenians,  as  the  report  goes,  conjecturing 
that  Boreas  was  their  son-in-law,  and  having  stationed  their 
fleet  at  Chalcis  of  Euboea,  when  they  saw  the  storm  increas- 
ing, or  even  before,  offered  sacrifices  to  and  invoked  Boreas 
and  Orithyia,  praying  that  they  would  assist  them,  and  de- 
stroy the  ships  of  the  barbarians,  as  they  had  done  before  at 
Mount  Athos.  Whether,  indeed,  the  north  wind  in  conse- 
quence of  this  fell  upon  the  barbarians  as  they  rode  at  anchor, 
I  cannot  undertake  to  say  ;  however,  the  Athenians  say,  that 
Boreas,  having  assisted  them  before,  then  also  produced  this 
effect ;  and  on  their  return  they  erected  a  temple  to  Boreas 
near  the  river  Ilissus.  190.  In  jthis  disaster  those  who  give 
the  lowest  account  say,  that  not  fewer  than  four  luindred  shjps 
perished,  and  innumerable  lives,  and  an  infinite  quantity  of 
treasure  ;  so  that  this  wreck  of  the  fleet  proved  a  .ioiii'ce 
of  great  profit  To  Aminocles,  son  of  Cretinus,  a  Magnesian, 
who  possessed  land^about__Sepias  ;  he  some  time  afterwards 
picked  up  many  golden  cups  tliat  had  been  driven  ashore,  and 
many  silver  ones ;  he  also  found  treasures  belonging  to  the 
Persians,  and  gained  an  unspeakable  quantity  of  other  golden 
articles.  He  then,  though  in  other  respects  unfortunate,  be- 
came very  rich  by  what  he  found  ;  for  a  sad  calamity,  which 
occasioned  the  death  of  his  son,^  gave  him  great  afiliction.  191. 
The  provision  ships  and  other  vessels  destroyed  were  beyond 
number  ;  so  that  the  commanders  of  the  naval  force,  fearing 
lest  the  Thessalians  should  attack  them  in  their  shattered  con- 
dition, threw  up  a  high  rampart  from  the  wrecks  ;  for  the 
storm  lasted  three  days.  But  at  length  the  Magi,  having 
sacrificed  victims,  and  endeavoured  to  charm  the  winds  by 
incantations,  and  moreover,  having  offered  sacrifices  to  Thetis 
and  the  Nereids,  laid  the  storm  on  the  fourth  day  ;  or  perhaps 
it  abated  of  its  own  accord.  They  sacrificed  to  Thetis,  having 
heard  from  the  lonians  the  story  that  she  had  been  carried  oti 
from  this  country  by  Peleus,  and  that  all  the  coast  of  Sepia:8 

•  nai5o<^ai/os,  is  by  others  understood  to   imply  "  that  he  killed  hij 
own  son."     I  have  followed  Baehr. 


I 


192-195]  POLYMNIA.     VII.  477 

belonged  to  her  and  the  other  Nereids,  Accordingly  the 
wind  was  lulled  on  the  fourth  day.  192.  The  scouts  on  the 
heights  of  Euboea,  running  down  on  the  second  day  after  the 
storm  first  began,  acquainted  the  Greeks  with  all  that  had 
occurred  with  respect  to  the  wreck  of  the  fleet.  They,  when 
they  heard  it,  having  offered  up  vows  and  poured  out  libations 
to  Neptune  the  Deliverer,  immediately  hastened  back  to  Arte- 
misium  ;  hoping  that  there  would  be  only  some  few  ships  to 
oppose  them.  Thus  they  coming  there  a  second  time  took  up 
their  station  at  Artemisium  ;  and  from  that  time  to  the  pre- 
sent have  given  to  Neptune  the  surname  of  the  Deliverer. 

193.  The  barbarians,  when  the  wind  had  lulled,  and  the 
waves  had  subsided,  having  hauled  down  their  ships,  sailed 
along  the  continent  ;  and  having  doubled  the  promontory  of 
Magnesia,  stood  directly  into  the  bay  leading  to  Pagasas.  There 
is  a  spot  in  this  bay  of  Magnesia,  where  it  is  sam  Hercules 
was  abandoned  by  Jason  and  his  companions,  when  he  had 
been  sent  from  the  Argo  for  water,  as  they  were  sailing  to 
Asia  in  Colchis,  for  the  golden  fleece  ;  for  from  thence  they 
purposed  to  put  out  to  sea,  after  they  had  taken  in  water  :  from 
this  circumstance  the  name  of  Aphetae  was  given  to  the  place. 
In  this  place,  then,  the  fleet  of  Xerxes  took  up  its  moorings. 
194.  l^ifteen  of  these  ships  happened  tcThe  Jriverf  out"To' sea 
some  time  after  the  rest,  and  somehow  saw  the  ships  of  the 
Greeks  at  Artemisium  ;  the  barbarians  thought  that  they 
were  their  own,  and  sailing  on  fell  in  among  their  enemies. 
They  were  commanded  by  Sandoces,  son  of  Thaumasius, 
governor  of  Cyme,  of  iEolia.  He,  being  one  of  the  royal 
judges,  had  been  formerly  condemned  by  king  Darius,  who 
had  detected  him  in  the  following  offence,  to  be  crucified. 
Sandoces  gave  an  unjust  sentence,  for  a  bribe.  But  while  ho 
was  actually  hanging  on  the  cross,  Darius,  considering  with 
himself,  found  that  the  services  he  had  done  to  the  royal  family 
were  greater  than  his  faults  ;  Darius  therefore,  having  dis- 
covered this,  and  perceiving  that  he  himself  had  acted  with 
more  expedition  than  wisdom,  released  him.  Having  thus 
escaped  being  put  to  death  by  Darius,  he  survived  ;  but  now, 
sailing  down  among  the  Grecians,  he  was  not  to  escape  a  se- 
cond time.  For  when,  the  Greeks  saw  them  sailing  towards 
them,  perceiving  the  mistnke  they  Jiad  committed,  tTiey  bore 
downjupon  them  and  easily  took  tliem.     19.').   In  oik?  of  tliese 


478  HERODOTUS.  [196  197 

Aridolis,  tyrant  of  the  Alabandians,  in  Caria,  was  taken  ;  and 
in  another,  the  Paphian  commander,  Penthylus,  son  of  De- 
monous.  He  brought  twelve  ships  from  Paphos  ;  but  having 
lost  eleven  in  the  storm  that  took  place  off  Sepias,  he  was  taken 
with  the  one  that  escaped,  as  he  was  sailing  to  Artemisium. 
The  Grecians,  having  learnt  by  inquiry  what  they  wished  to 
know  respecting  the  forces  of  Xerxes,  sent  these  men  away 
bound  to  the  isthmus  of  the  Corinthians. 

196.  Accordingly,  the  naval  force  of  the  barbarians,  with 
the  exception  of  the  fifteen  ships  which,  I  have  mentioned, 
Sandoces  commanded,  arrived  at  Aphetae.  But  Xerxes  and 
theJ[and-forces^  ma,rching  through  Tliessajy[_and  Achaia,  had 
entered  on  the  third  day  into  the  territories  of  thel&telians. 
In  Thessaly  he  had  made  a  match  with  his  own  horses,  for. 
the  purpose  of  trying  the  Thessalian~cavalry,  having  heard 
thajt  it  was  the  best  of  all  Greece  ;  and  on  that  occasion  the 
Grecian  horses  proved  very  inferior.  Of  the  rivers  in  Thes- 
saly, the  Onochonus  alone  did  not  suppTyli  sufficient  stream 
for  the  army  to  drink  ;  but  of  the  rivers  that  flow  in  Achaia, 
even  the  largest  of  them,  the  Epidanus,  scarcely  held  out.  197. 
When  Xerxes  arrived  at  Alos  in  Achaia,  the  guidesTwishing 
to  tell  every  thing,  related  to  him  the  tradition  of  the  coun- 
try, concerning  the  temple  of  Laphystian  Jupiter  i  how  Atha- 
mas,  son  of  JEolus,  conspiring  with  Ino,  planned  the  death  of 
Phryxus  ;  and  then,  how  the  Achaeans,  in  obedience  to  an 
oracle,  imposed  the  following  penalty  on  his  descendants. 
Whoever  is  the  eldest  person  of  this  race,  having  ordered  him 
to  be  excluded  from  the  prytaneum,  they  themselves  keep  watch; 
the  Achasans  call  the  prytaneum,  Leitum ;  and  if  he  should  enter, 
he  cannot  possibly  go  out  again  except  in  order  to  be  sacrificed : 
and  how  moreover  many  of  those  who  were  on  the  point  of 
being  sacrificed,  through  fear,  went  away  and  fled  the  country; 
but  in  process  of  time  having  returned  back  again,  if  they  were 
taken,  entering  the  prytaneum,  they  related,  how  such  an  one 
being  covered  with  sacred  fillets,  is  sacrificed,  and  how  con- 
ducted with  great  pomp.  The  descendants  of  Cytissorus,  son 
of  Phryxus,  are  liable  to  this  punishment ;  because  when  the 
Achaians,  in  obedience  to  an  oracle,  were  about  to  make  an 
expiation  for  their  country  by  the  sacrifice  of  Atharaas,  son  of 
JEohis^  Cytissorus,  arriving  from  Aia  of  Colchis,  rescued 
him,  gjid  having  done  so,  drew  down  the  anger  cf  the  gods 


198-201.J  POLYMNIA.    VII.  ^79 

upon  his  descendants.  Xerxes  having  heard  this,  when  he 
came  to  the  grove,  both  abstained  from  entering  it  himself, 
and  commanded  all  the  army  to  do  the  same ;  and  he  sliovved 
the  same  respect  to  the  dwelling  of  the  descendants  of  Atha- 
mas  as  he  did  to  the  sacred  precinct. 

198.  These  things  occurred  in  Thessaly  and  in  Achaia. 
From  these  countries  Xerxes  advanced  to  Malis,  near  a  bay 
of  the  sea  in  which  an  ebb  and  flow  takes  place  every  da}'. 
About  this  bay  lies  a  plain  country,  in  one  part  wide,  arid  in 
the  other  very  narrow,  and  around  it  high  and  impassable 
mountains,  called  the  Trachinian  rocks,  enclose  the  whole 
Malian  territory.  The  first  city  in  the  bay,  as  one  comes 
from  Achaia,  is  Anticyra,  by  which  the  river  Sperchius,  flow- 
ing from  the  country  of  the  iEnianes,  falls  into  the  sea :  and 
from  tlience  about  twenty  stades  is  another  river,  to  which 
the  name  of  Dyras  is  given,  which,  it  is  said,  rose  up  to  assist 
Hercules  when  he  was  burning.  From  this,  at  a  distance  of 
another  twenty  stades,  is  another  river,  which  is  called  Melas. 
199.  The  city  of  Trachis  is  distant  five  stades  from  this  river 
Melas  ;  and  in  this  part  where  Trachis  is  built,  is  the  widest 
space  of  all  this  country,  from  the  mountains  to  the  sea ;  for 
there  are  twenty-two  thousand  plethra  of  plain.  In  this 
mountain,  which  encloses  the  Trachinian  territory,  there  is  a 
ravine  to  the  south  of  Trachis,  and  through  the  ravine  tlie 
river  Asopus  flows,  by  the  base  of  the  mountain.  200.  To 
the  south  of  the  Asopus  is  another  river,  the  Phcenix,  not 
large,  which,  flowing  from  these  mountains,  falls  into  the 
Asopus.  At  the  river  Phoenix  it  is  the  narrowest ;  for  only 
a  single  carriage-road  has  been  constructed  there.  From  the 
river  Phoenix  it  is  fifteen  stades  to  Thermopylas ;  and  between 
the  river  Phoenix  and  Thermopyla3  is  a  village,  the  name  of 
which  is  Anthela,  by  which  the  Asopus  flowing,  falls  into  the 
sea:  the  country  about  it  is  wide,  and  in  it  is  situated  a  tem- 
ple of  Ceres  Amphictyonis,  and  there  are  the  seats  of  the 
Amphj^ityons,  and  a  temple  of  Amphictyon  himself  201. 
King  Xerxes^  then.,  encamped  in  the  Trachinian,.te3:j:itQi:v-Q£. 
Malis,  and  the  Gi''eeks  in  the  pass.  This  spot  is  called  by 
most  of  the  Greeks,  Thermopyl^,  but  by  the  inhabitants  and 
neighbours,  Pylae.  Both  parties,  then,  encamped  in  these 
pbices.  The  one  was  in  possession  of  all  the  parts  towards 
the  north,  as  i'ar  as  I'rachi^l   dfJ<l  l\\H'  Others,  ot  tne  parti 


480  HERODOTUS.  [202—205. 

whiclxJSteetelt-lQBrards  the  south  and  meridian,  on  this  con- 
tinent. 

202.  The  following  \vere  the  Greeks  who  awaited  tlic  Per- 
sian in  this  position.  Of  Spartans  three  hundred  heavy-arjned 
men  ;  of  Tegeans  and  Mantineans  one  tliousand,  half  of  each ; 
frotn  Orchomenus  in  Arcadia  one  hundred  and  twenty ;  and 
from  the  rest  of  Arcadia  one  thousand,  there  were  so  many 
Arcadians ;  from  Corinth  four  hundred ;  from  Phlius  two 
bundred  men,  and  from  Mycenas  eighty.  These  came  from 
Peloponnesus.  From  Boeotia,  of  Thespians  seven  hundred, 
and  of  Thebans  four  hundred.  203.  In  addition  to  these, 
the  Opuntian  Locrians,  being  invited,  came  with  all  their 
forces,  and  a  thousand  Phocians.  For  the  Greeks  themselves 
liad  invited  them,  representing  by  their  ambassadors  that 
"  they  had  arrived  as  forerunners  of  the  others,  and  that  the 
rest  of  the  allies  might  be  daily  expected  ;  that  the  sea  was 
protected  by  them,  being  guarded  by  the  Athenians,  the  ^gi- 
netas,  and  others,  who  were  appointed  to  the  naval  service ; 
and  that  they  had  nothing  to  fear,  for  that  it  was  not  a  god 
Avho  invaded  Greece,  but  a  man  ;  and  that  there  never  was, 
and  never  would  be,  any  mortal  who  had  not  evil  mixed  with 
his  prosperity  from  his  very  birth  ;  and  to  the  greatest  of  them 
the  greatest  reverses  happen.  That  it  must,  therefore,  needs 
be,  that  he  who  is  marching  against  us,  being  a  mortal,  will 
be  disappointed  in  his  expectation."  They,  having  heard  this, 
marched  with  assistance  to  Trachis.  204.  These  nations  had 
separate  generals  for  their  several  cities ;  but  the  one  most 
admired,  and  who  commanded  the  whole  army,  was  a  Lace- 
daemonian, Leonidas,  son  of  Anaxandrides,  son  of  Leon,  son 
of  Eurycratide*^  son  of  Anaxander,  son  of  Eurycrates,  son 
of  Polydorus,  son  of  Alcamenes,  son  of  Teleclus,  son  of 
Archelaus,  son  of  Agesilaus,  son  of  Doryssus,  son  of  Leo- 
botes,  son  of  Echestratus,  son  of  Agis,  son  of  Eurysthenes, 
son  of  Aristodemus,  son  of  Aristomachus,  son  of  Cleodaeus, 
son  of  Hyllus,  son  of  Hercules ;  who  had  unexpectedly  suc- 
ceeded to  the  throne  of  Sparta.  205.  For  as  he  had  two 
elder  brothers,  Cleomenes  and  Dorieus,  he  was  far  from  any 
thought  of  the  kingdom.  However,  Cleomenes  having  died 
without  male  issue,  and  Dorieus  being  no  longer  alive,  having 
ended  his  days  in  Sicily,^  the  kingdom  thus  devolved  upon 
»  B.  V.  chap.  42—45. 


aC^-^y.  ]  POLYMNIA     VII  481 

Leonidas ;  both  because  he  was  older  than  CleombrotuS;  ^^fb^ 
he  was  the  youngest  son  of  Anaxandrides,)  and  also  because 
he  had  married  the  daughter  of  Cleomenes.  He  then  marched 
to  Tliermopylce,  having  chosen  the  three  hundred  men  allowed 
by  law,^  and  such  as  had  children.  On  his  march  he  took 
with  him  the  Thebans,  whose  numbers  I  have  already  reck- 
oned,^  and  whom  Leontiades,  son  of  Eurymachus,  commanded. 
For  this  reason  Leonidas  was  anxious  to  take  with  him  the 
Thebans  alone  of  all  the  Greeks,  because  they  were  strongly 
accused  of  favouring  ^he  Medes :  he,  therefore,  summoned 
them  to  the  war,  wishing  to  know  whether  they  would  send 
their  forces  with  him,  or  would  openly  renounce  tlie  alliance 
of  the  Grecians.  But  they,  though  otherwise  minded,  sent 
assistance.  206.  The  Spartans  sent  these  troops  first  with 
.Leonidas,  in  order  that  the  rest  of  the  allies,  seeing  them, 

]  might  take  the  field,  and  might  not  go  over  to  the  Medes,  if 
they  heard  that  they  were  delaying.  But  afterwards,  for  the 
Carnean  festival  was  then  an  obstacle  to  them,  they  purposed, 
when  they  had  kept  the  feast,  to  leave  a  garrison  in  Sparta, 
and  to  march  immediately  with  their  whole  strength.  The 
rest  of  the  confederates  likewise  intended  to  act  in  the  same 
manner ;  for  the  Olympic  games  occurred  at  the  same  period 
as  these  events.  As  they  did  not,  therefore,  suppose  that  the 
engagement  at  ThermopylaB  would  so  soon  be  decided,  they 
despatched   an  advance-guard.      Thus,  then,   they  intended 

[  t9  do. 
/  207.  The  Greeks  aJ;,T4iei'mopylaB,  when  the  Persian  came 

/ne^  the  pass^T)eTng  alarmed,  consulted  about  a  retreat ;  ac- 
commj^ryy  it  _seemcd  best  to  the  other  Peloponnesians  to  retire 
toJPeloponnes us,  and  guard  the  Isthmus ;  but  Leonidas,  per- 
cei^ns^  the  Phocians  and  Locrians  very  indignant  at  this 
proposition,  deteiinined  to  stay  there,  and  to  despatch  nies- 
Sgngers  to  the  cities,"  desiring  them  to  come  to  their  assistance, 
as  being  too  ^<gw  to  repel  the  army  of  the  IVIedes.  208.  'While 
iXiey  were  deliberating  on  these  matters,  Xerxes  sent  a  scout 
on  horseback,  to  see  how  many  they  were,  and  what  they 
were  doing.  For  while  he  was  still  in  Thessaly,  he  had  heard 
that  a  small  army  had  been  assembled  at  that  spot,  and  as  to 

*  For  the  various  methods  of  rendering  tous  ku-j  ecrnwTav,  see  Baebr'i 
I   Bote  and  Gary's  Lexicon. 

•  Chap.  202. 


482  HERODOTUS.  [209, 210, 

their  leaders,  that  they  were  Lacedaemonians,  and  Leonidas^ 
wjbo  vras  of  Jthe  race  of  Hercules.  When  the  liorscnian  roTte 
up  to  the  camp,  he  reconnoitred,  and  saw  not  indeed  the  whole 
camp,  for  it  was  not  possible  that  they  should  be  seen  who 
were  posted  within  the  wall,  which,  having  rebuilt,  they  were 
now  guarding :  but  he  had  a  clear  view  of  those  on  the  out- 
side, whose  arms  were  piled  in  front  of  the  wall.  At  this 
time  the  Lacedaemonians  happened  to  be  posted  outside ;  and 
some  of  the  men  he  saw  performing  gymnastic  exercises,  and 
others  combing  their  hair.  On  beholding  this  he  was  aston- 
isHed,  arid  ascertained  their  number ;  and  having  informed 
himself  of  every  thing  accurately,  he  rode  back  at  his  leisure, 
for  no  one  pursued  him,  and  he  met  with  general  contempt. 
Onhis-jetuMLJb^e  gave  an  account  to  Xerxes  of  all  that  he 
hScTseen.  209.  When  Xerxes  heard  this,  he  couIT  not  coin- 
pfehehSf  the  truth,  that  the  Grecians  were  preparing  to  be 
slain  and  to  slay  to  the  utmost  of  their  power.  ^iiJ;,^  they 
aj)peared  to  behave  in  a  ridiculous  manner,  he  sent  for  Dema- 
ratus,  son  of  Ariston,  who  was  then  in  the  camp ;  and  when 
he  was  come  into  his  presence,  Xerxes  questioned  him  as  to 
each  particular,  wishing  to  understand  what  the  Lacedaemo- 
nians were  doing.  •  Demaratus  said,  "  You  before  heard  me, 
when  we  were  setting  out  against  Greece,  speak  of  these 
men ;  and  when  you  heard,  you  treated  me  with  ridicule, 
though  I  told  you  in  what  way  I  foresaw  these  matters  would 
issue.  For  it  is  my  chief  aim,  0  king,  to  adhere  to  the  truth 
in  your  presence ;  hear  it,  therefore,  once  more.  These  men 
have  come  to  fight  with  us  for  the  pa^^.and  are  now  pi^ 
paring  themselves  to  do  so.  For  such  is  their  custom,  when 
they  are  going  to  hazard  their  lives,  then  they  dress  their 
heads.  But  be  assured,  if  you  conquer  these  men,  and  those 
that"remain  in  Sparta,  there  is  no  other  nation  in  the  world 
that  will  dare  to  raise  their  hands  against  you,  0  king.  For 
you  are  now  to  engage  with  the  noblest  kingdom  and  city  of 
all  amongst  thejGreeks,  and  with_the  most  valiaivt_mij?." 
W  hat"~was~sar3r  seemed  very  incredible  to  Xerxes,  and  he 
asked  again,  "  how,  being  so  few  in  number,  they  could  con- 
tend with  liis  army."  He  answered,  "  0  king,  deal  with  me 
as  with  a  liar,  if  these  things  do  not  turn  out  as  1  say." 

210.  By  saying  this  he  did  not  convince  Xerxes.   He  there- 
fore let  four  days  pass,  constantly  expecting  that  they  wouW 


211,212.1  POLYMNIA.    VIL  483 

betake  themselves  to  flight.  But  on  the  fifth  day,  as  they  had 
not  retreated,  but  appeared  to  him  to_ita3iihrou^h  arrQjyance 
and  rashness,  he,being  enraged,  sent  the  MedeS-jaad-Xlissians 
agSftTsTthem,  witlTordSi'S  to  take  thenTalTve,  and  bring  them 
info  his  presence.  When  the  Medes  bore  dovm  impetuously 
upon  the  Greeks,  many^l^Th^mnpn^'otTier?  followed  to  the 
charge,  an^^'were  riot"  repulsed,  though  thej  suffered  greatly. 
But  they  made  it  evident  fd'every  one,  and  not  least  of  all  to 
the  king  himself,  that  they  were  indeed  many  men,  but  few 
soldiers.  The  engagement  iasied  through  the  day.  211. 
AV  lien  the  Medes  were  roughly  handled,  they  thereupon  re- 
tired ;  and  the  Persians  whom  the  king  called  "Immortal,'* 
and  whom  Hydarnes  commanded,  taking  their  place,  advanced 
to  the  attack  ;  ihinking'that  they  indeed  should  easily  settle 
the  business.  But  when  hey  engaged  with  the  Grecians, 
they  succ^.eded  no  better  than  the  Medic  troops,  but  just  the 
same,  as  they  fought  in  a  narrow  space,  and  used  shorter 
spears  than  the  Greeks,  and  were  unable  to  avail  themselves 
of  their  numbers.  The '  Lacedaeinonians  fought  memorably 
both  in  other  respects,  showing  that  they  knew  ho\y  to  fight 
with  men  who  knew  not,  and  whenever  they  turned  their 
backs,  they  retreated  in  close  order  ^  but  the  barbarians  seeing 
them  retreat,  followed  with  a  shout  and  clamour  ;  then  they, 
being  overtaken,  wheeled  round  so  as  to  front  the  barbarians, 
and  having  faced  about,  overthrew  an  inconceivable  number 
of  the  Persians  ;  and  then  some  few  of  the  Spartans  them- 
selves fell.  So  that  when  the  Persiangjsyfii'e  unflbl§...tO  .gain 
any  thing  in  their  attempt  on  the  pass,  by  attacking  in  troops 
^JMO.  in  every  possible  manner,  they  retired.  212.  It  is  said 
that  during  these  onsets  of  the  battle,  the  king,  who  witnessed 
them,  thrice  sprang  from  his  throne,  being  alarmed  for  his 
army.  Thus  they  strove  at  that  time.  On  the  following  day 
the  barbarians  fought  with  no  better  success  ;  for  considering 
that  the  Greeks  were  few  in  number,  and  expecting  that  they 
were  covered  with  wounds,  and  would  not  be  able  to  raise 
their  heads  against  them  any  more,  they  renewed  the  contest. 
But  the  Greeks  were  marshalled  in  companies  and  according 
to  their  several  nations,  and  each  fought  in  turn,  except  only 
the  Phocians.  thev  were  stationed  at  the  mountain  to  ^uard 
thfipaTh\\-ay.  Ivhen  therefore  the  Persians  found  notliing 
^^=^  2  I  2 


484  HERODOTUS.  [J1S~216 

different  from  what  they  had  seen  on  the  preceding  day,  they 
retired. 

213.  While  the  king  was  in  doubt  what  course  to  take  in 
the  present  state  of  affairs.  Ephialtes,  son  of  Eurydemus,  a 
Malian,  obtained  an  audience^  of  him,  expecting  that  he  should 
receive  a  great  reward  from  the  king,  and  infr^ji^Rri  j^jni,  of  the 
patji  which  leads  over  the  mountain  to'TEermopyla3 ;  and  by 
that  means  caused  the  destruction  of  those  (jlreeks  wh'o'WBTT* 
st^itioned  there.  But  afterwards,  fearing  the  XacMSihlSmansT' 
heTfed  to  Thessaly  ;  and  when  he  had  fled,  a  price  was  set  on 
his  head  by  the  Pylagori,  when  the  Amphictyons  were  assem- 
bled at  Pylse.  But  some  time  after,  he  went  down  to  Anti- 
cyra,  and  was  killed  by  Athenades,  a  Trachinian.  This  Athen- 
ades  killed  him  for  another  reason,  which  I  shall  mention  in  a 
subsequent  part  of  my  history;'*  he  was  however  rewarded 
none  the  less  by  the  Lacedaemonians.  214.  Another  account  is 
given,  that  Onetes,  son  of  Phanagoras,  a  Carystian,  and  Cory- 
dallus  of  Anticyra,  were  the  persons  who  gave  this  informa- 
tion to  the  king,  and  conducted  the  Persians  round  the  moun- 
tain. But  to  me  this  is  by  no  means  credible  :  for  in  the  first 
place  we  may  draw  that  inference  from  this  circumstance,  that 
the  Pylagori  of  the  Grecians  set  a  price  on  the  head  not  of 
Onetes  and  Corydallus,  but  of  Ephialtes  the  Trachinian,  having 
surely  ascertain^'-''  the  exact  truth ;  and  in  the  next  place  we 
know  that  Eptuaites  fled  on  that  account.  Onetes  indeed, 
though  he  was  not  a  Malian,  might  be  acquainted  with  this 
path,  if  he  had  •  -icn  much  conversant  with  the  country  ;  but 
it  was  Ephialtes  who  conducted  them  round  the  mountain  by 
the  path,  and  1  charge  him  as  the  guilty  person.  215.  Xerxes, 
since  he  was  pleased  with  what  Ephialtes  protttised  to  perform, 
being  exceedingly  delighted,  immediately  despatched  Hydarnes 
and  the  troops  that  Hydarnes  commanded;  and  he  started 
from  the  camp  about  the  hour  of  lamp-lighting.  The  native 
Malians  discovered  this  pathway ;  and  having  discovered  it, 
conducted  the  TliessaHans  by  it  against  the  Phocians,  at  tho 
time  when  the  Phocians,  having  fortified  the  pass  by  a  wall, 
were  under  shelter  from  an  attack.     From  that  time  it  ap- 

^  Literally,  "  came  to  speak  with  him." 

*  The  promised  account  is  no  where  given  in  any  extanl  writings  (A 
the  historian. 


216-219.]  POLYMNIA.    Vll.  .  485 

peared  to  have  been  of  no  service  to  the  Mallans. '  216.  Tliia 
path  is  situated  as  follows  ;  it  begins  from  thg^river  Asopus, 
whicli  flows  through  the  cleft ;  the  same  name  is  given  both 
to  the  mountain  and  to  the  path,  Anopasa  ;  and  this  Anopasa 
extends  along  the  ridge  of  the  mountain,  and  ends  near  Alpe- 
nus,  which  is  the  first  city  of  the  Locrians  towards  the  Ma- 
li ans,  and  by  the  rock  called  Melampygus,  and  by  the  seats  of 
the  Cercopes ;  and  there  the  path  is  the  narrowest.  217.  Along 
this  path,  thus  situate,  the  Persians,  having  crossed  the  Aso- 
pus, marched  all  night,  havmg  on  their  right  the  mountains 
of  the  Q^taians,  and  on  their  left  those  of  the  Trachinians  ; 
morning  appeared,  and  they  were  on  the  summit  of  the  moun- 
tain. At  this  part  of  the  mountain,  as  I  have  already  men- 
tioned, a  thousand  heavy-armed  Phocians  kept  guard,  to  de- 
fend their  own  country,  and  to  secure  the  pathway.  For  the 
lower  pass  was  guarded  by  those  before  mentioned  ;  and  tlte 
Phocians  had  voluntarily  promised  Lec)nidas  to  guard  the^patliT 
iacross  the  mountain.  218.  The  Phocians  discovered  them 
lafter  they  had  ascended,  in  the  following  manner  ;  for  the 
Persian  ascended  without  being  observed,  as  the  whole  moun- 
tain was  covered  with  oaks  ;  there  was  a  perfect  calm,  and  as 
was  likely,  a  considerable  rustling  taking  place  from  the  leaves 
strewn  under  foot,  the  Phocians  sprung  up  and  put  on  their 
arms,  and  immediately  the  barbarians  made  their  appearance. 
But  when  they  saw  men  clad  in  armour  they  were  astonished  f 
for,  expecting  to  find  nothing  to  oppose  them,  they  fell  in  with 
an  army.  Thereupon  Hydarnes,  fearing  lest  the  Pliocians  might 
be  Lacedaemonians,  asked  Ephialtes  of  what  nation  the  troops 
were  ;  and  being  accurately  informed,  he  drew  up  the  Per- 
sians for  battle.  The  Phocians,  when  they  were  hit  by  many 
and  thick-falling  arrows,  fled  to  the  summit  of  the  mountain, 
supposing  that  they  had  come  expressly  to  attack  them,  and 
prepared  to  perish.  Such  was  their  determination.  But  the 
Persians,  with  Ephialtes  and  Hydarnes,  took  no  notice  of  the 
Phocians,  but  marched  down  the  mountain  with  all  speed. 

219.  To  those  of  the  Greeks  who  were  at  Thermopyla),  the 
augur  Megistias,  haTing  inspected  the  sacrifices,  first  made" 
known  the  death  that  would  befal  them  in  tlie  morning  ;  cer- 
tain'deserters  afterwards  came  and  brought  intelligence  of  the 
circuit  the  Persians  were  taking  ;  tliese  brought  the  news 
while  it  wa3  yet  night ,  and,  thirdly,  the  scouts  running  down 


HERODOTUS.  [220, 221. 

from  the  heights,  as  soon  as  day  dawned,  brought  the  same 
vttelligence.  Upon  this  the  Greeks  held  a  consuhation,  and 
tlieir  opinions  were  divided.  For  some  would  not  hear  of 
abandoning  their  post,  and  others  opposecf  that  view.  After 
this,  when  the  assembly  broke  up,  some  of  them  departed,  and 
being  dispersed  betook  themselves  to  their  several  cities  ;  but 
others  of  them  prepared  to  remain  there  with  Leonidas.  220. 
It  is  said  that  Leonidas  himself  sent  themii^Yayvbeing  anxious 
that  they  shoutcT'^t  perish;  but  that  he,  and  the  Spartans 
\vHb  were  there  could  not  honourably  desert  the  post  wliicli 
they  originally  came  to  defend.  For  my  own  part,  I  am 
rather  inclined  to  think,  that  Leonidas,  when  he  perceived 
tKaTETie  aTTies  were  averse  and  unwilling  to  sliafe'The^anger 
witimrm,  bade~tKem  witliclf aw' ;  but  that  he  considered  it_^dis- 
Ipnourtible.for  himself  to  -  depart :  on  the  other  iTandTISy  re- 
maining  there,  great  renown  would  be  left  fpi\  hirni_and^  the 
prosperity  of  Sparta  would  not  be  obliterated.  For  it  had 
been  announced  to  the  Spartans,  by  the  Pythjanj  when  they 
consulted  the  oracle  concerning  this  war,  as  soon  as  it  com- 
menced, "  that  either  Lacedajmon  nukst  be  overthrown  by  the 
barbarians,  or  their  king  perish."  This  answer  she  gave  in 
hexameter  verses  to  this  effect :  *'  To  you,  0  inhabitants  of 
spacious  Lacedosmon,  either  your  vast,  glorious  city  shall  be 
destroyed  by  men  sprung  from  Perseus,  or,  if  not  so,  the  con- 
fines of  Lacedajmon  mourn  a  king  deceased  of  the  race  of 
Hercules.  For  neither  shall  the  strength  of  bulls  nor  of  lions 
withstand  him,^  with  force  opposed  to  force  ;  for  he  has  the 
strength  of  Jove  ;  and  I  say  he  shall  not  be  restrained,  before 
he  has,  certainly,  obtained  one  of  these  for  his  share."  I  think, 
therefore,  that  L^fifiidas,  considering  these, .Jfehings,  and  bemg 
desirous  to  acquire  glory  for  the  Spartans  alone,  sent  away 
the  allies,  rather  than  that  those  who  went  away  differed  "m" 
opinion,  and  went  away  in  such  an  unbecoming  manner.  22T. 
The  following  in  no  small  degree  strengthens  my  conviction^ 
on  this  point.  For  not  only  did  he  send  away  the  others,  but 
it  is  certain,  that  Leonidas  also  sent  away  tjie  augur  who  fol- 
lowed the  army,  Megistias  the  Acarnanian,  wTio  was  said  to 
have  been  originally  descended  from  MeTampus,  the  same  who 
announced  from  an  inspection  of  the  victims  what  was  about 
to  befal  them,  in  order  that  he  might  not  perish  with  them. 
*  The  Persian  king.  ^  <'  Is  not  the  least  proof  to  me." 


222—224.  POL^MNIA.    VII  487 

He,  however,  though  dismissed,  did  not  himself  depart,  but 
sent  away  his  son,  who  served  with  him  in  the  expedition, 
being  his  only  child.  A?22.  The^aUies  accordingly,  that  were 
dismissed,  departed,  ana  obeyed  'lieonidas  ;  but  only  the  Tlies- 
pjgns  an'd  tlie""Theban3  remained  with  the  Lacednsmonians : 
the  Thebans,  indeed,  remaiped  unwillingly,  and  against  theii 
inclination,  for  Leonidas  detained  them,  treating  them  as  host- 
ages; but_thQ__Thespians  willingly,  for  they  refused  to  go 
away  and  abandon  Leonidas  and  those  with  him,  but  remained 
and  died  with  them.  Demophilus,  son  of  Diadromas,  com- 
manded them. 

223.  X£;j:,jj£S,  after  he  had  poured  out  libations  at  sun-rise, 
having  waited  a  short  time,  began  his  attack  about  the  time 
of  full  market;  for  he  had  been  so  instructed  by  Epliialtes ; 
for  the  descent  from  the  mountain  is  more  direct,  and  the  dis- 
tance much  shorter,  than  the  circuit  and  ascent.  Xbe  bar- 
barians, therefore,  with  Xerxes,  advanced ;  and  the  Crreeks 
wfth  Leon i d as7  n^ ar eh i n g~ou t  as  if  for  certain  death,  now  ad- 
vanced much  farther  than  before  into  the  wide  part  of  the 
d^le«  Forlhe  fortification  of  the  wall  had  protected  them, 
and  they  on  the  preceding  days,  having  taken  up  their  posi- 
tion in  the  narrow  part,  there  fought.  Biit_riow_engaging 
outside  the  narrows,  great  numbers  of  the  barbarians  fell. 
For  the  officei~s  of  the  "coihpaliies  from  behind,  having  scourges, 
flogged  every  man,  constantly  urging  them  forward ;  in  con- 
sequence, many  of  them  falling  into  the  sea,  perished,  and 
many  more  were  trampled  alive  under  foot  by  one  another ; 
and  no  regard  was  paid  to  any  that  perished.  For  the  Greeks, 
knowing  that  death  awaited  them  at  the  hands  of  those  who 
were  going  round  the  mountain,  being  desperate,  and  regard- 
less of  their  own  lives,  displayed  the  utmost  possible  valour 
atrainst  the  barbarians.  1  224.  Already  were  most  of  their 
'avelins  broken,  and  they  had  begun  to  despatch  the  Persians 
with  their  swords.  In  this  part  of  the  struggle  fell  Leonidas, 
fighting  valiantly,  and  with  him  other  eminent  bpartans,  whose 
names,  seeing  they  were  deserving  men,  I  have  ascertained ; 
indeed  I  have  ascertained  the_  names  of  the  whole  three 
hundred.  On  tlieTTcIe  of  the  Persians,  also,  many  other  emi- 
nent men  fdll  on  this  occasion,  and  amongst  them  two  sons  of 
Darius,  Abrocomes  and  Hyperanthes,  born  to  Darius  of  Phra- 
tuguna,  daughter  of  Artanes  j   but  Artanes  was  brother  to 


SI. 


488  HERODOTUS.  [225—228. 

king  Darius,  and  sol  3f  Hystaspes,  son  of  Arsames.  Ho, 
when  he  gave  his  daughter  to  Darius,  gave  him  also  all  his 
property,  as  she  was  his  only  child.  2^.  Accordirgly,  two 
brothers  of  Xerxes  fell  at  this  spot,  figlitiJigloi^thT'Bcrdy  "of 
Ljgonidas,  and  there  was  a  violent  struggle  between  the  Per- 
sians and  Lacedsemonians,  until  at  last  the  Greeks  rescued  it 
by  their  valour,  and  four  times  repulsed  the  enemy.,  Thuij^ 
the  contest  continued  until  those  with  Ephialtes  came  up. 
When  the  Greeks  heard  that  they  were  approaching,  from  this 
time  the  battle  was  altered.  For  they  retreated  to  the  narrow 
part  of  the  way,  and  passing  beyond  the  wall,  came  and  took 
up  their  position  on  tEe  rismg  ground,  all  in^a  compact  V/fjdj, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Thebans :  the  rising  ground  is  at 
the  entrance  where  the  stone  lion  now  stands  to  the  memory 
of  ^eonidas.  On  this  spot,  while  they  defended  themselves 
with  swords,  such  as  had  them  still  remaining,  and  their  hands 
and  teeth,  the  barbarians  overwhelmed  them  with  ^issiles, 
some  of  them^atfacklng  them  In  front7"anT"liavTngthrown 
down  the  wall ;  and  others  surrounding  and  attacking  them 
on  every  side.  *""    ""^ 

226.  Though  the  Lacedsemonians  and  Thespians  behaved 
in  this  manner,  yet  Dieneces,  a  Spartan,  is  said  to  have  been 
the  bravest  man.  They  relate  that  he  made  the  following 
remark,  before  they  engaged  with  the  Medes,  having  heard 
a  Trachinian  say,  that  when  the  barbarians  let  fly  their  arrows^ 
they  would  obscure  the  sun  by  the  multitude  of  their  shaTts, 

Ij-  so  great  were  their  numbers :  but  he,  not  at  all  alarmed  at 
this,  safd,  holding  in  contempt  the  numbers  of  the  Medes, 
that  "  their  Trachinian  friend  told  them  every  thing  to  their 
advantage,  since  if  the  Medes  obscure  the  sun,  they  would 
then  have  to  fight  in  the  shade,  and  not  in  the  sun."  This 
arid"other  sayings  of  the  same  kind  they  relate  that  Dieneces;^ 

f  the~Xaceda3monian,  left  as  memorials.  227.  Next  to  him,  two 
Lacedasmonian  brothers,  Alpheus  and  ]\Iaron,  sons  of  Orisi- 
phantus,  are  said  to  have  distinguished  themselves  most ;  and  of 
the  Thespians,  he  obtained  the  greatest  glory  whose  name  was 
Dithyrambus,  son  of  Harmatides.  228.  In  honour  of  the  slain, 
who  were^uried  on  the  spot  where  they  tell,  anH^  tliose  who 
<B^H  before  they  who  were  dismissed l)7Xeonidas  went  away, 
the  following  inscription  has  berji  engraved  over  them :  "  Four 
thousand  from  I'eloponnesus  once  fought  on  this  spot  with 


22D-231.]  POLYMNIA.    VII.  489 

three  hundred  myriad's."  This  inscription  was  made  for  all; 
and  for  the  Spartans  in  particular :  "  Stranger,  go  tell  the 
Lacedaemonians,  t.hn.j^wQ  lip,  Jipr^,  o^grlipnt  to  thmr  CQIPmgiU^^P-" 
This^*was~loF~th^  Lacedasmonians  ;  and  for  the  prophet,  tho 
following  :  "  This  is  the  monument  of  the  illustrious  Megistias, 
whom  once  the  Medes,  having  passed  the  river  Sperchius, 
slew ;  a  prophet,  who,  at  the  time  well  knowing  the  impend- 
ing fatOCr6fflg_not  abandon  the  leaders  of  Sparta."  The 
Amphictyons  are  tlTe^  persons  who  honoured  them" with  these 
inscriptions  and  columns,  with  the  exception  of  the  inscription 
to  the  prophet ;  that  of  the  prophet  Megistias,  Simonides, 
son  of  Leoprepes,  caused  to  be  engraved,  from  personal 
friendship. 

229.  It  is  said,  that  two  of  these  three  hundred,  Eurytus 
and  Aristodemus,  when  it  was  in  the  power  of  both,  if  they 
had  agreed  together,  either  to  return  alike  safe  to  Sparta,  since 
they  had  been  dismissed  from  the  camp  by  Leonidas,  and  were 
lying  at  Alpeni  desperately  afflicted  with  a  disease  of  the  eyes ; 
or,  if  they  would  not  return,  to  have  died  ^ogetKer  with  the 
rest ;  when  it  was  in  their  power  to  do  either  of  these,  they 
could  not  agree  ;  and  being  divided  in  opinion,  Eurytus,  having 
heard  of  thejcircmt^jnade  by  the  Perriians,  and  having  called 
for  and  ^Sut^on  his  arms,  ordered  his  helot  to  lead  him  to  the 
conibataiits  ;  and  ^vh('n  he  had  led  him,  the  man  who  led  him 
ran  away,  l)ut  he,  ruslilng  into  the  midst  of  the  throng,  perished  ; 
buT  Aristodemus,  failing  in  courage,  was  left  behind.  iSTow  if  it 
haTl  happened  that  Aristodemus  alone,  being  sick,  had  returned 
to  Sparta,  or  if  both  had  gone  home  together,  in  my  opinion  the 
Spartans  would  not  have  shown  any  anger  against  them.  But 
now,  since  one  of  them  perished,  and  the  other,  who  had  only 
the~^me~~excusg,~T^fus''ecr  to  die,  it  was  necessary  for  them  to 
be  exceedingly  angry  with  Aristodemus.  230.  Some  say  that 
Aristodemus  thus  got  safe  to  Sparta,  and  on  such  a  pretext ; 
but  others,  that  being  sent  as  a  messenger  from  the  army, 
tliough  he  might  have  arrived  while  the  battle  was  going  on, 
he  would  not,  but  having  lingered  on  the  road,  survived; 
while  his  fellow-messenger,  arriving  in  time  for  the  battle, 
died.  231.  Aristodemus  having  returned  to  Laceda^mon,  met 
with  insults  and  infamy.  He  was  declared  infamous  by  being 
treated  as  follows :  not  one  of  the  Spartans  would  either  give 
him  fire  or  converse  with  him ;  and  he  met  with  insult,  being 


^90  HERODOTUS.  [232-234 

v,blled  Arlstodemus  the  coward.  However,  in  the  battle  of 
Plataea,  he  removed  all  the  disgrace  that  attached  to  him." 
232.  It  is  also  said,  that  another  of  the  three  hundred,  whose 
name  was  Pantites,  having  been  sent  as  a  messenger  to  Thes- 
saly,  survived ;  and  that  he,  on  his  return  to  Sparta,  finding 
himself  held  in  dishonour,  hung  himself.  233.  The  Thebans, 
whom  Leontiades  commanded,  as  long  as  they  wer^-withThe 
Greeks,  being  constrained  by  necessity,  fought  against  tlie 
king's  army ;  but  when  they  saw  the  forces  of  the  Persians 
gaining  the  upper  hand,  as  the  Greeks  with  Leonidas  werg 
hastening  to  the  hill,  having  separated  from  them,  they  held 
out  their  hands  and  went  near  the  barbarians,  saying  the  truest 
thing  they  could  say,  that  "  they  were  both  on  the  side"  of  the 
M§des,  and  were  among  the  first  who  gave  earth  and  water 
to  the  king,  and  that  they  came  to  Thermopylae  from  compul- 
sion, and  were  guiltless  of  the  blow  that  had  been  inflicted  on 
tlTeTiing.  So  that,  by  saying  this,  they  saved  their  lives ;  for 
they  had  the  Thessalians  as  witnesses  to  what  they  said :  they 
were  not,  however,  fortunate  in  every  respect ;  for  when  the 
barbarians  seized  them  as  they  came  up^„some_th^  slew,  and 
the^i'eD.ter  number  of  them,  by  the  command  ofXerxes,  they 
branded  with  the  royal  mark,  beginning  with  the  general, 
Leontiades ;  whose  son,  Eurymachus,  some  time  afterwards, 
the  Plataeans  slew,  when  he  was  commanding  four  hundred 
Thebans,  and  Lad  got  possession  of  the  citadel  of  the  Plataeans. 
234.  Thus  the  Greeks  fought  at  Thermopylae.  And  Xerxes, 
having  sent  for  Demaratus,  questioned  him,  beginning  as*tbi^ 
lows :  "  Demaratus,  you  are  an  honest  man  ;  I  judge  so  from 
experience ;  for  whatever  you  said,  has  turned  out  accord- 
ingly. Now  tell  me,  how  many  the  rest  of  the  Lacedaemonians 
may  be ;  and  how  many  of  them,  or  whether  all,  are  such  as 
these  in  war  ? "  He  answered,  "  OLMngi^the  B^j^ij^erjo^^ 
the  Lacedaemonians  is  great,  and  their  cities  are  manyi  butj 
shall  inform  you  of  that  which  you  desire  to  know.  In  La- 
conia  is  Sparta,  a  city  containing  about  eight  thousand  raerj ; 
all  these  are  equal  to  those  who  have  fought  here  j  the  rest 
of  the  Lacedaemonians,  however,  are  not  equal  to  these,  thougE" 
brave."  To  this  Xerxes  said :  "  Demaratus,  in  what  way  can 
we  conquer  these  men  with  the  least  trouble,  come  tell  me ; 
for  you  must  be  acquainted  with  the  course  of  their  counsels, 
'  See  B.  IX.  chap.  71. 


235,236.]  POLYMNIA.    VII.  491 

sines  you  have  been  their  king."  235.  He  replied :  "  0  king, 
since  you  ask  my  advice  so  earnestly,  it  is  right  that  I  should 
tell  you  what  is  best.  You  should^  then,  despatch  three  hun- 
tlrpfl  nhip'i  'i^f  jronr  nnrnl  force  to  the  Laconian  coast.  13ff~tliat 
coast  there  lies  an  islaml  calTed  0^- tliera,  wliich  Chilon,  the 
wisest  man  amongst  us,  said  woultPbe  more  advantageous  to 
the  Spartans  if  »unk  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  than  if  it 
remained  above  water ;  always  apprehending  that  some  such 
tiling  would  come  from  it,  as  I  am  going  to  propose ;  not  that 
he  foresaw  the  arrival  of  your  fleet,  but  fearing  equally  every 
naval  force.  Sallyin^g;^ fromj^iisis^  then,  let  them  alarm 
tlie  Lacedasmonians  ;  and  whenThey  liave  a  war  of  their  own 
near  home,  they  will  no  longer  give^ymrrrrfu5e'tO"tear,  lest 
they  should  succour  the  rest  of  Greece,  while  it  is  being  taken 
by  your  land-forces.  But  when  tlie  rest  of  Gree^e_is.-sub- 
dued,  the  Laconian  territory,  beingTeft  alone,  will  be  feeble. 
If  you  will  not  acfTii'this  manner,  you  may  expecTtHaFthis 
^yi  11  happen.,--  There  is  in  PeToponnesus  a  narrow  isthmus;  in 
this  pldce,  all  thb  Pel(j])oiinesian3  being  combined 'against  you, 
expect  to  meet  more  violent  struggles  than  the  past ;  whereas, 
if  you  do  as  1  advise,  both  this  isthmus  and  the  cities  will 
submit  to  you  without  a  battle."  236.  After  him  spoke  Achae- 
meneSj  who  was  brother  of  Xerxes,  and  commander  of  the 
naval  forces,  having  been  present  at  the  conversation,  and 
fearing  lest  Xerxes  might  be  induced  to  adopt  that  plan  :  "  O 
king,  I  perceive  you  listening  to  the  suggestions  of  a  man, 
who  envies  your  prosperity,  or  would  betray  your  cause.  For 
the  Greeks  are  commonly  ofjjiat  character ;  they  envjr  suc- 
_ccs3j  and  ha,te "superior  power.  If^lherefore^  m  the  present 
state  of  our  aifairs,  alter  four  Imndred  ships  have  been  wrecked, 
you  should  detach  three  hundred  more  from  the  fleet  to  sail 
round  Peloponnesus,  our  enemies  may  fight  us  upon  equal 
terms  ;  but  if  our  fleet  is  kept  to<yether,  it_becomes_invinQiile, 
and  they  will  be  unable  to  fight  witli  us  at  all :  moreover,  the 
whole  fleet  will  assist  the  land-forces,  and  the  land-forces  the 
fleet,  by  advancing  together ;  but  if  you  separate  them,  neither 
will  they "1)6  useful  to  you,  nor  you  to  them.  Having,  there- 
fore, ordered  your  own  matters  well,  resolve  to  pay  no  atten- 
iipn  to  what  your  enemies  are  doing,  how  they  will  carry  on 
thje  war,  what  they  will  do,  or  how  many  their  numbers  are. 
For  they  are  able  to  think  about  themselves,  and  we  in  like 


492  HERODOTUS.  1 237- 239. 

manner  about  ourselves.  But  the  Lacedaemonians,  if  they 
venture  a  battle  against  the  Persians,  will  not  cure  this  one 
present  wound."  237.  To  this  Xerxes  answered  :  "  Ach«3- 
raenes,  you  appear  to  me  to  speak~w5H:,"and  I  will  act  accord- 
ingly. But  Demaratus  said  what  he  thought  was  best  for  me, 
though  he  is  surpassed  by  you  in  judgment.  For  that  I  will 
not  admit,  that  Demaratus  is  not  well-disposed  to  my  interests, 
forming  my  conclusion  from  what  was  before  said  by  liim, 
and  from  the  fact,  that  a  citizen  envies  a  fellow-citizen  v/ho  is 
prosperous,  and  hates  him  in  silence  ;  nor,  when  a  citizen  asi^s 
for  advice,  will  a  fellow-citizen  suggest  what  seems  to  him  to 
be  best,  unless  he  has  reached  a  high  degree  of  virtue :  such 
persons,  however,  are  rare.  But  a  friend  bears  the  greatest 
regard  for  his  friend  in  prosperity  ;  and,  when  he  asks  his 
advice,  gives  him  the  best  advice  he  can.  I  therefore  enjoin 
all  men  for  the  future  to  abstain  from  calumny  concerning 
Demaratus,  since  he  is  my  friend.  238.  Xerxes  h^^ving  spoken 
thus,  passed  through  the  dead  ;  and  having  heard  that  Leo- 
nidas  was  king  and  general  of  the  Lacedasmonians,  he  com- 
manded them  to  cut  off  his  head,  and  fix  it  upon  a  pole.  It 
is  clear  to  me  from  many  other  proofs,  and  not  least  of  all 
from  this,  that  king  Xerxes  was  more  highly  incensed^  against 
Leonidas  during  his  life,  than  against  any  other  man ;  for 
otherwise  he  would  never  have  violated  the  respect  due  to 
his  dead  body  ;  since  the  Persians,  most  of  all  men  with  whom 
I  am  acquainted,  are  wont  to  honour  men  who  are  brave  in 
war.  They,  however,  to  whom  the  order  was  given  to  do 
this,  did  it. 

239.  But  I  return  to  that  part  of  my  narration  where  I 
before  left  it  incomplete.  The  Lacedsemonians  first  had  in- 
formation that  the  king  was  preparing  to  invade  Greece  ;  and 
accordingly  they  sent  to  the  oracle  at  Delphi,  whereupon  the 
answer  was  given  them,  which  I  lately  mentioned.^  But  they 
obtained  their  information  in  a  remarkable  manner.  For 
Demaratus,  son  of  Ariston,  being  in  exile  among  the  Medes, 
as  I  conjecture,  and  appearances  support  my  opinion,  was  not 
well  affected  to  the  Lacedaemonians.  However,  it  is  a  ques- 
tion, whether  he  acted  as  he  did  from  a  motive  of  benevolence, 
or  by  way  of  exultation.  For  when  Xerxes  had  determined 
to  invade  Greece,  Demaratus,  who  "was'then  at  Snsa,  and  had 
«  Chap.  220 


1,2.]  URANIA.    VIII.  493 

heard  of  his  intention,  communicated  it  to  tlie  Lacedasmcmians. 
But  he  was  unable  to  make  it  known  byliny  other  means,  for 
there  was  great  danger  of  being  detected  ;  he  therefore  had 
recourse  to  the  following  contrivance.  Having  taken  a  folding 
tablet,  he  scraped  oiF  the  wax,  and  then  wrote  the  king's  in- 
tcntion  on  the,  wood  ot  the  tableT;~and"Faving  done  this,  he 
melted  the  wax  agaiiro\'ertTie  writing?,  in  order  that  the  tablet, 
be^ngjcarried  with  nothrng  written  on  it,  might  occasion  him 
no  trouble  from  the  guards  upon  the  road.  When  it  arrived 
at  Sparta,  the  Laceda3monians  were  unable  to  compreliend  it ; 
until,  as  I  am  informed,  Gorgo,  daughter  of  Cleomenes,  and 
wife  to  Leonidas,  made  a  suggestion,  having  considered  the 
matter  with  herself,  and  bade  tliem  scrape  off  the  wax,  and 
tiiey  would  find  letters  written  on  the  wood.  They,  having 
obey(3d,  found  and  read  the  contents,  and  forwarded  them  to 
the  rest  of  the  Greeks.  These  things  are  reported  to  have 
happened  in  this  manner. 


I 


BOOK  YIII. 


U  HAN  I  A. 


T^tl5_(7^''TpJ-i\Yhft'^'^<^^'<^  "^signpd  tq  t.hfl  n{ivv.  wft|P  |li^>a<*..    The 

Athenians,  who  .i'urnished  one .  hundred  aha  twenty-seven 
«"Sip"  7  1^""^  thePlatgg^n^Sj  from  a  spirit  of  valour  and  zeal,  though 
inexperienced  in  the_.aeaciP^vicej  assisted  the  Athenians  in 
mahQing^  the  ships.  The  Corinthians  furnished  forty  ships  ; 
the  Megareans^enty  ;~tHe~Ctililci'diah3  manned  twenty,  the 
AtheniarisTiaving  furnished  them  with  ships  ;  the  ^ginetas, 
eighteen  ;  the  Sicyonians,  twelve ;  the  Lacedaemonians,  ten  ;  the 
Epidaurians,  eight ;  the  Eretrians,  seven  ;  the  Troezenians,  five ; 
ihe  Styreans,  two  ;  and  the  Ceians,  two  ships,  and  two  pente- 
conters  ;  the  Opuntian  Locrians  also  came  to  their  assistance, 
with  seven  penteconters.  2.  These,  then,  were  they  who  were  en- 
gaged in  the  war  at  Artemisium,  and  I  have  mentioned  how  each 
contributed  to  the  number  of  the  ships.    The  total  of  the  ships 


494  HERODOTUS.  [3— 5. 

assembled  at  Artemisium,  besides  the  penteconters,  was  two  hun- 
dmi  and  seventy-one.  The  admiral,  who  had  the  chief  po^ver^ 
the^partans'  supplied,  Eurybiades,  son  cf  Euryclides,  for  the 
allies  had  refused  "  if  tlie  LaceH^emonian  did  not  command,  to 
follow  Athenian  leaders,  but  said  they  would  break  up  the  in- 
tended fleet."  3.  For  from  the  first  there  was  a  talk,  even  before 
they  sent  to  Sicily  to  solicit  an  alliance,  that  it  would  be  proper 
to  intrust  the  navy  to  the  Athenians.  But  as  the  allies  opposed, 
the  Athenians  gave  way,  deeming  it  of  high  importance  that 
Greece  should  be  saved,  and  knowing  that  if  they  should 
quarrel  about  the  command,  Greece  would  be  lost ;  herein 
thinking  justly.  For  intestine  discord  is  as  much  worse  than 
vrar  carried  on  in  concert,  as  war  is  than  peace.  Being,  there- 
fore,  convinced  of  this,  they  did  not  resist,  but  yielded  as  long 
as  they  had  need  of  their  assistance,  as  they  clearly  showed. 
For  when,  having  repulsed  the  Persian,  they  were  now  con- 
tending for  his  country,  they  put  forward  as  a  pretext  the 
arrogance  of  Pausanias,  and  deprived  the  Lacedaemonians  of 
the  chief  command.  But  these  things  occurred  afterwards. 
4.  But  at  that  time,  those  Greeks  who  had  arrived  at  Arte- 
misium, when  they  saw  a  vast  number  of  ships  drawn  up  at 
Aphetae,  and  all  parts  full  of  troops,  since  the  aifairs  of  the 
barbarian  turned  out  contrary  to  their  expectation,  in  great 
consternation,  deliberated  about  retiring  from  Artemisium  to 
the  inner  parts  of  Greece.  The  Eubceans,  knowing  that  they 
were  deliberating  on  this  maffei7*entreated  Eurybiades  to  re- 
main a  short  time  longer,  until  they  could  rem6V5~ttIeir  cliil- 
dren  and  domestics  to  a  place  of  safety.  But  finding  tliey 
couTdni)t  persuade  him,  they  then  went  over  to  the  Athenian 
general,  and  prevailed  on  ..JJJjfiBaiatQgJg^,  by  a  bribe  ot  thirty 
talSnts^  to  promise  that  they  would  stay  and  engage  the  enemy 
by  sea  before  Euboea.  5.  Themistocles,  to  retain  the  Greeks, 
did  as  follows.  Of  this  money  he  gave  "fire  TTilenrs  to  Eury- 
biades,  as  if  indeed  he  gave  it  from  himself;  and  when  he 
had  gained  him  over,  as  Adimantus,  son  of  Ocytus,  the  Cor- 
inthian commander,  was  the  only  person  who  resisted,  affirming 
that  he  would  sail  away  from  Artemisium,  and  not  stay,  to 
him  Themistocles  said  with  an  oath  :  "  You  shall  not  aban- 
don us  ;  for  I  will  make  you  a  greater  present  than  the  king 
of  the  Medes  would  send  you  for  abandoning  the  allies."  He 
at  the  same  time  said  this  and  sent  three  talents  of  silver  on 


G— 8.]  URANIA.     VIII.  ^         495 

board  the  ship  of  Adimantus.  They  therefore,  being  swayed 
by  the  present,  were  gained  over,  and  complied  with  the 
wishes  of  the  Euboeans  ;  but  Themistocles  himself  was  a  con- 
sidfijialile  gainer,  as  he  secretly  kept  the  rest ;  but  those  who 
took  part  of  this  money,  thought  it  came  from  the  Athenians, 
on  that  condition. 

6.  They  accordingly  remained  in  Euboea,  and  came  to  an 
engr^emgirH^y-fieftr — jEtimppeiie^n  this  manner.     When  tHe* 
barbarians  arrived  at  Aphetag,  in  the  afternoon,  having  been 
already  informed  that  a  few  Grecian  ships  were  stationed,  and 
then  descrying  them  at  Artemisium,  they  were  eager  to  attack, 
in  the  hope  of  taking  them.     However,  they  did  not  think  it 
advisable  to  sail  directly  upon  them,  for  the  following  reasons, 
lest  the  Greeks,  seeing  them  sailing  towards  them,  should  be- 
take themselves  to  flight,  and  the  night  should  cover  their  re- 
treat, by  which  means  they  would  escape  ;  but,  according  to 
their  saying,  they  thought   that   not   even  the  torch-bearer 
I    would  escape  alive.     7.  For  this  purpose,  then,  they  had  re- 
j    course  to  the  following__E:kn  :   having  detached  two  hundred 
j    ships  from  the  whole  fleet,  they  sent  them  round,  mit?lTcIe 
;     Sciathus,  that  they  might  not  be  seen  by  the  enemy  sailing 
round  Euboea,  by  Caphareus  and  round  Geraestus  to  the  Eu- 
\    ripus  ;  that  so  they jnight  surround  them,  the  one  party  ar- 
I'l'vitTg^  at  the  place  appointed  in  that  way,  and  intercepting 
>    their  retreat,  and  themselves  attacking  them  in  front.     Having 
i    determined  on  this,  they  despatched  the  ships  appointed  for 
\    tliis  service,  themselves  not  intending  to  attack  the  Greeks  that 
j:    day,  nor  before  the  agreed  signal  should  be  seen,  given  by  those 
;   who  sailed  round,  announcing  their  arrival.     These,  then,  they 
;I   sent  round,  and  set  about  taking  the  number  of  the  rest  of  the 
fl   ships  at  Apheta3.     8.  At  this  time,  while  they  were  taking 
I    the  number  of  their  ships,  there  was  in  this  camp  Scyllias  of 
I'   Scyone,  the  best  diver  of  his  time  ;  he,  in  the  shipwreck  that 
I    happened  off  Pelion,  had  saved  much  of  their  treasure  for  the 
l    Persians,  and  had  acquired  a  good  deal  for  himself.      This 
I    Scyllias  had  long  before  entertained  the  design  of  deserting  to 
I  tll6  'Cr^Jieks,  but  had  had  no  opportunity  of  doing  so  until  that 
V    time.     In  what  way  he  at  length  made  his  escape  to  the 
^    Grecians  I  cannot  certainly  aflirm,  and  I  wonder  whether  the 
hf  account  given  is  true.     For  it  is  said,  that  having  plunged 
H>   into  the  sea  at  Aphetae,  he^hevef'TdsSnintil  he  reached  Arte- 


4^6  HERODOTUS.  [O-H. 

misiuni,  having  passed  this  distance  through  the  sea,  as  near  as 
can  be,  eighty  stadia.     Many  other  things  are  related  of  this 
man  that  are  very  like  falsehood,  and  some  that  are  true.     If, 
however,  I  may  give  my  opinion  of  this  matter,  it  is,  that  he 
,1  came  to  Artemisium  in  a  boat.     On  his  arrival,  he  immedi- 
y  ately  informed  the  commanders  of  the  shipwreck,  how  it  had 
I  occurred,  and  of  the  ships  that  were  sent  round  Euboca.     9. 
^''Tli^  Greeks,  having    heard  this,   held  a   conference  among 
themselves  ;  and,  after  much  debate,  it  was  resolved,  that  re- 
maining  there  and   continuing  in  their  station  during  that 
day,  then,  when  midnight  was  passed,  they  should  proceed, 
and  meet  the  ships  that  were  sailing  round.     But  after  this, 
when   no  ship  sa'led  against  them,   having  waited  for   the 
*  evening  of  the  day,  they  sailed  of  themselves  against  the 
Ij    barbarians,  being  desirous  to  make  trial  of  their  manner  of 
]L  fighting,  and  of  breaking  through  the  line.     10.  The  other 
soldiers  of  Xerxes,  and  the  commanders,  seeing  them  sailing  to- 
wards them  with  so  few  ships,  attributed  their  conduct  to  mad- 
ness, and  on  their  part  got  their  ships  under  weigh,  expecting 
that  they  should  easily  take  them  ;    and  their  expectations 
were  very  reasonable,  when  they  saw  that  the  Grecian  ships 
were  few,  and  their  own  many  more  in  number,  and  better 
sailers  :  taking  these  things  into  consideration,  they  enclosed^., 
them  in  the  middle  of.jixircle.     Now,  such  of  the  ionians  as 
were  well-afFected  to  the  Greeks,  and  joined  the  expedition 
unwillingly,  regarded  it  as  a  great  calamity,  when  they  saw 
them  surrounded,  feeling   convinced  that   not  one  of  them 
would  return  ;  so  weak  did  the  Grecian  forces  appear  to  them 
to  be.     But  such  as  were  pleased  with  what  was  going  on, 
vied  with  each  other  how  each  might  be  the  first  to  take  an 
\^y         Athenian  ship,  and  receive  a  reward  from  the  king.     For 
throughout  the  fleet  they  had  the   highest  opinion  of  the 
Athenians.    11.  When  the  signal  was  given  to  the  Greeks,  first 
of  all  turning  their  prows  against  the  barbarians,  they  contract- 
ed  their  sterns  inwardly  to  the'  middle  ;  and  when  the  second 
,  8ignal  was  given,  they  commenced  the  attack,  though  enclosed 
"  in  a  narrow  space,  and  that  prow  to  prow.     On  this  occasion 
they  took  thirty  ships  of  the  barbarians,  and  Philaon,  son  of 
Chersi^  the  brother  cf  Gorgus,  king  of  the  Salaminians,  a 
man  highly  esteemed  in  their  army.     Lycomedes,  son  of  JEs- 
chreus,  an  Athenian,  was  the  first  of  the  Greeks  who  took  a 


i2—U.)  tEANIA.     VlII.  41)7 

ship  from  the  enemy,  and  he  received  the  palm  of  valour. 
But  night  coming  on,  separated  the  combatants,  who  in  this 
engagement  fought  with  doubtful  success.  The  Greeks  re- 
turned to  Artemisium,  and  the  barbarians  to  Aplieta?,  having 
fought  v/it!H?tmitflferent  success  than  thej  expected.  In  this 
engagement  Antidorus,  a  Lemnian,  was  the  only  one  of  the 
Greeks  in  the  king's  service  who  went  over  to  the  Grecians  ; 
and  on  that  account  the  Athenians  presented  him  with  lands 
in  Salamis. 

12.  When  night  came  on,  and  it  was  now  the  middle  of 
summer,  heavy  rain  fell  through  the  whole  night,  and  violent 
thunder  about  Pelion ;  but  the  dead  bodies  and  pie'cSS'^'of 
wrect  were  driven  to  AplT^tae,  and  got  entangled  round  the 
prows  of  tEe^sTiTps,  and  impeded  the  blades  of  the  oars.  But 
the  soldiers  who  were  on  board,  when  they  heard  the  thunder, 
were  seized  with  terror,  expecting  that  they  must  certainly 
perish,  into  such  catamitles  had  they  fallen.  For  before  they 
had  recovered  breath,  after  the  wreck  and  tempest  that  had 
ocfimxfid  off  Pelion,  a  fierce  engagement  followed ;  and  after 
the  engagement,  impetuous  rain  and  miglity  torrents  rushing 
into  the  sea,  and  violent  thunder.  Such  was  the  night  to 
them.  13.  But  to  those  who  had  been  appointed  to  sail 
Eftund^Euboea,  thissame  riigFt~proved  so  much  the  more  wild, 
in  that  it  fell  upon  theimwhTTe  they  were  in  the  open  sea  ; 
and  the  end  was  grievous  to  them ;  for  as  they  were  sailing, 
the  storm  and  rain  overtook  them  when  they  were  near  the 
Coela  of  Euboea,  and  being  driven  by  the  wind,  and  not  know- 
ing where  they  were  driven,  they  were  dashed  upon  the  rocks. 
All  this  was  done  by  the  deily,  that  tlie  Persian  inigTit  be 
bciiuglit  to  an  equality  with  the  Grecian,  or  at  least  not  be 
greatly  superior.  Thus  tliey  perished  near  the  Coela  of 
Euboea.  14.  The  barbarians  at  Aphetae,  when  to  their  great 
joy  day  dawned,  kept  their  ships  at  rest,  and  were  content, 
after  they  had  suffered  so  much,  to  remain  quiet  for  the  pre- 
sent. But  three  and  fifty  Attic  ships  came  to  reinforce  the 
!  Greeks ;  and  both  these  by  their  arrival  gave  them  additional 
I  courage,  as  did  the  news  that  came  at  the  same  time,  that 
'.  those  of  the  barbarians  who  were  sailing  round  Euboea  had 
ali  perished  in  tHeJate  storm  ;" Therefore  having  waited  to  the  ,T\ 
same  liour,  they  set  sail  and  attacked  the^Cilician  ships,  and  ^(ay 

— — -  2  K 


498  HERODOTltg.  [15-19. 

having  destroyed  thera,  as  soon  as  it  was  night  they  sailed 
back  to  Artemisium. 

15.  On  the  third  day  the  commanders  of ,ihe  barbarians, 
indignant  at  being  insulted  by  so  few  ships,  and  fearing '  tlie 
displeasure  of  Xerxes,  no  longer  waited  for  the  Greeks  to  be- 
gin the  battle  ;  but  encouraging  one  another,  got  under  weigh 
about  the  middle  of  the  day.  It  happened_that  these  actioiis 
by  sea  and  those  by  land  at  ThermopyTse~took  place  on  the 
same  days ;  and  the  whole  struggle  for  tliose  at  sea  was  for 
the  TEuripiis,  as  for  those  with  Leonidas  to  guard  tlie  pass. 
The  one  party  encouraging  each  other  not  to  sulil-r  the  bar- 
barians to  enter  Greece  ;  and  the  other,  to  destroy  the  Grecian 
forces,  and  make  themselves  masters  of  the  channel.  16. 
When  the  barbarians,  having  formed  in  line,  sailed  onwards, 
the  Grecians  remained  still  at  Artemisium ;  but  the  barbari- 
ans,  having  drawil-UP  their  shi£S_  in„th£_ibiuiLjC5ZcEis£^it, 
encircled  them  as  ifthey~wb"uTd  take  them ;  whereupon  the 
Gfgeks  sailed  outjg^TffeeTjgem,  arid~Bngaged.  "TiTthl^altre 

r  they  were  nearly  equal  to  one^anoi:E?f;' Tor  the  fleet  of  Xerxes, 

by  reason  of  its  magnitude  and  number,  impeded  itself,  as  the 
ships  incommoded  and  ran  foul  of  one  another  :  however  tjigy 

'  continued  to  fight,  and  would  not  yield,  for  they  were  ashamed 

to  be  put  to  flight  by  a  few  ships.     Accordingly  many  ships 

f'"^  of  jthe  Grecians  perished,  and  many  meii  ;  and  of  tliel5arbari- 

ans  a  much  greater  number  both  of  ships  and  men.  Having 
fougVit  in  this  manner  they  separated  from  each  other.  ~TT. 
In  this  engagement  the  Egyptians  signalized  themselves 
among  the  forces  of  Xerxes ;  for  they  both  achieved  other 
great  actions,  and  took  five  Grecian  ships,  with  their  crews. 
On  the  part  of  the  Greeks,  the  Athenians  signalized  them- 
selves on  this  day,  and  among  the" Athenians,  Clinias.  son  of 
Alcibiades  ;  who  at  his  own  expense  joined  the  fleet  with  two 
hundred  men,  and  a  ship  of  his  own. 

1 8.  When  they  had  separated,  each  gladly  hastened  to  their 
own  stations :  but  the  Grecians,  when,  having  left  the  battle, 
they  had  withdrawn,  were  in  possession  of  the  dead  and  of 
the  wrecks ;  yet  having  been  severely  handled,  and  especially 
the  Athenians,  the  half  of  whose  ships  were  disabled,  they 
consulted  about  a  retreat  to  the  interior  of  Greece.  19.  But 
Themis tocles  having  considered  with  himself,  that  if  the  loni* 


20—22.]  URANIA.     VIII.  499 

ans  and  Carlaiis^  could  be  detaclied  from  the  Larbarian,  the^ 
woula  DC  able  to  overcome  tlie  rest ;  as  the  Euboeans  were 
dfiviriff  tlieTr  cattle  down  to  the  shore,  he  there  assembled  the 
Grecian  commanders  together,  and  told  them  that  he  thought 
he  had  aT'^titriTance,  by  which  he  hoped  to  draw  off  the  best 
prtKe  ¥inor*s  allies.  This,  then,  he  so  far  discovered  to  them, 
but  in  the  present  state  of  affairs  he  told  them  what  they  ought 
to  do  ;  every  one  should  kill  as  many  of  the  Euboean  cattle  as 
he  thought  fit ;  for  it  was  Getter  that  their  own  army  should 
have  them  than  the  enemy.  He  also  advised  them  each  to 
direct  their  own  men  to  kindle  fires  ;  and  promised  that  he 
would  choose  such  a  timeTor  tliHr  departin^^THaOKe^  shoiild 
all  arrive  safe  in  Greece.  These  things  tKey  were  pleasednto 
do ;  and  forthwith,  having  kindled  fires,  they  fell  upon  the 
cattle.  20.  For  the  Euboeans,  disregarding  the  oracles  of 
Bacis  as  importing  notniflg,  had  neither  carried  out  any  thing 
to  a  place  of  safety,  nor  collected  stores,  as  if  war  was  ap- 
proaching ;  and  so  had  brought  their  affairs  into  a  precarious 
state.  The  oracle  of  Bacis  respecting  tnem  was  as  follows  : 
*'  lieware  of  the  barbarian-tongued,  when  he  shall  cast  a  byb- 
lus-yoke  across  the  sea,  remove  the  bleating  goats  from 
Euboea."  As  they  paid  no  attention  to  these  verses,  in  the 
calamities  then  present  and  those  that  were  impending,  they 
fell  into  the  greatest  distress.  21.  They,  then,  were  acting 
thus,  and  in  that  conjuncture  the  scout  arrived  from  Trachis. 
For  there  was  a  scout  stationed  off  Artemisium,  Polyas  of 
Anticyra,  who  had  been  ordered,  (and  he  had  a  well-furnished 
boat  ready,)  if  the  fleet  should  be  in  difficulty,  to  make  it 
known  to  those  that  were  at  Thermopylse  ;  and  in  like  man- 
ner Abronychus,  son  of  Lysicles  an  Athenian,  was  with 
Leonidas,  ready  to  carry  the  tidings  to  those  at  Artemisium  in 
a  trieconter,  if  any  reverse  should  happen  to  the  land-forces. 
This  Abronychus  then  arriving,  informed  them  of  what  had 
befallen" Leonidas  and  his  army ;  but  they,  when  they  heard 
it,  no  longer  deferred  their  departure,  but  retired  each  in  the 
order  in  which  they  were  stationed,  the  Corinthians  first,  and 
the  Athenians  last. 

22.  Themistocles,  having  selected  the  best  sailing  ships 

of  the  Athenians,  went  to  the  places  where  there  was  water 

fit  for  drinking,  and  engraved  upon  the  stones  iriscriptions, 

which  the  lonians,  upon  arriving^  next  day  at  Arteimsium, 

•"^ — — — -^•'-K  2  -~ — - 


500  HBllODOTUS.  t23~l& 

jread.  Tlie  inscriptions  were  to  this  effect :  *  Men  of  Ionia, 
y^ao  wrong  in  fighting  against  your  fathers,  arid  helping  to 
en^ave  Greece :  rather,  therefore,  come  oxfiaLlOiis ;  or,  if  yoiT" 
cannot  do  that,  withdraw  your  forces  from  the  contest,  and 
entreat  the  Carians'to  do  the  same.  But  if  neither  of  these 
things  is  possible,  and  you  are  bound  by  too  strong  a  necessity 
to  revolt,  yet  in  action,  when  we  are  engaged,  behay-e  ill  on 
purpose,  remembering  that  you  are  descended  from  us,  and 
that  the  enmity  of  the  barbarian  against  us  originally  sprung 
from  you."  Themistocles,  in  my  opinion,  wrote  this  with  two 
objects  in  view  ;  that  either,  if  the  inscriptions  escaped  the 
notice  of  the  king,  he  might  induce  the  lonians  to  change  sides 
and  come  over  to  them  ;  or,  if  they  were  reported  to  him,  and 
made  a  subject  of  accusation  before  Xerxes,  they  might^  make 
the  lonians  suspected,  and  cause  them  to  be  excftde^  from  the 
sea-fights.  23.  Themistocles  left  this  inscription,  and  imme- 
diately afterwards  a  certain  Histiaean  came  to  the  barbarians 
in  a  boat,  announcing  the  flight  of  the  Greeks  from  Artemi- 
sium ;  but  they,  through  distrust,'"kep!;  ttie  man  wh^"1]irought 
the  news  under  guard,  and  despatched  some  swift  vessels  to 
reconnoitre.  When  they  reported  the  truth  as  it  was,  the 
whole  fleet,  as  soon  as  the  sun's  rays  were  spread,  sailed  in  a 
body  to  Artemisium ;  and  having  waited  in  that  place  until 
mid-day,  they  then  sailed  to  IJistiaea,  and  on  their  arrival  pos- 
sessed  themselves  of  the  city  oFlfeFHistiaeans^and  ravagecTall 
the  maritime  villages  of  the  Ellopian  district,  in  the  terrftory 
orHisticeotis. 

24.  Whilst  they  were  on  this  coast,  Xerxes,  having  made 
preparations  with  respect  to  the  dead,  sent  a  herald  to  the 
fleet.     And  he  made  the  following  previous  preparations.    Of 
those  of  his  own  arrrr^,  who  were  slain  at  Thermppyla?,  and 
£hey  were  about  twenty  thousand,  of  tlieseTiavmg  left  about 
one  thousand,  the  remainder,  having  caused  pits  to  be  dug,  he 
buried,  throwing  leaves  over  them  and  heaping  up  earth,  that 
they  might  not  be  seen  by  those  who  should  come  from  the 
fleet.     When  the  herald  crossed  over  to  Histiaea,  having  con- 
vened a  meeting  of  the  whole  encampment,  he  spoke  as  follows:  i 
♦*  Allies,  king  Xerxes  permits  any  of  you  who  please,  to  leave  i 
his  post  and  come  and  see  how  he  fights  against  those  sense-  i 
less  men,  who  hoped  to  overcome  the  king's  power."     25.'  i 
After  Tie  bad  made  this  announcement,  nothing  was  more  \ 


26,27.]  URANIA.    VIII.  501 

scarce  than  boats,  ^  many  were  anxious  to  beliolcHlie  sj^ht ; 
and  having  crossed  over,  they  weiit  through  and  viewed  the 
dead  ;  and  all  thought  that  those  that  lay  there  were  all  Lace- 
daemonians and  Thespians,  though  they  also  saw  the  Helots : 
however  Xerxes  did  not  deceive  those  who  had  crossed  over  by 
fsrhat  he  had  done  with  respect  to  his  own  dead,  for  indeed  it 
was  ridiculous  ;  of  the  one  party  a  thousand  dead  were  seen 
lying  ;  but  the  others  lay  all  heaped  up  together,  to  the  number 
of  four  thousand.  This  day  they  spent  in  the  view,  and  on 
the  next  they  returned  to  Ilistiiea,  to  their  ships,  and  those 
with  Xerxes  set  out  on  their  march.  26.  Some  few  deserters 
came  to  them  froni__Arcadia,  in  want  of  subsistence,  and 
wished  to  be  actively  employed :  taking  these  men  into  the 
king's  presence,  the  Persians  inquired  concerning  the  Greeks, 
what  they  were  doing.  One  in  particular  it  was  who  asked 
them  this  question.  They  answered,  that  they  were  celebrating 
the  Olympic  games,  and  viewing  gymnastic  combats  and  horse- 
races. He  then  asked,  what  was  the  rewardpro£osed  to  them, 
for  which  they  contended.  They  mentioned  tBe  crown  of  olive 
that  is  given.  Upon  which  Tritantaechmes,  son  orArtaBanus, 
having  uttered  a  noble  sentiment,  incurred  the  charge  of  cow- 
ardice from  the  king :  for  having  heard  that  the  prize  was  a 
crown,  and  not  riches,  he  could  not  remain  silent,  but  spoke 
as  follows  before  all :  "  Heavens,  Mardonius,  against  what 
kind  of  men  haye.  you  brought  us  to  fight,  who  contend  not 
for  wealth,  but  for  glory  T"  This,  then,  was  said  by  him. 
"liT.  in  the  mean  time,  and  when  the  defeat  had  occurred  at 
Thermopylae,  the  TJiessajjang  immediately  sent  a  herald  to  the 
Phocians,  as  they  fiad  always  ^  entertained  a  grudge  against 
them,  an-d  particularly  since  their  last  defeat.  For  not  many 
years  before  this  expedition  of  the  king,  the  Thessalians  them- 
selves and  their  allies,  having  invaded  the  territories  of  the 
Phocians  with  all  their  forces,  had  been  worsted  by  the  Pho- 
cians and  roughly  handled.  For  when  the  Phocians  had  been 
shut  up  in  Mount  Parnassus,  having  with  them  the  Elean 
prophet  Tellias,  this  Tellias  thereupon  devised  the  following 
stratagem  for  them.  Having  smeared  over  with  challc  six 
liundred  of  the  bravest  Phocians,  both  the  men  themselves 
and  their  armour,  he  attacked  the  Thessalians  by  night,  having 
Ordered  theni  to  kill  every  man  they  should  see  not  Qoyeroc] 
?  Sec  B.  VII.  chap,  17G. 


502  HEKODOTUS  [2ft-»5L 

with  white.  The  sentinels  of  the  Thessalians,  accordingly, 
seeing  them  first,  were  terrified,  supposing  it  was  some  strange 
prodigy,  and  after  the  sentinels,  the  whole  army,  so  that  the 
Phocians  got  possession  of  four  thousand  dead  and  shields ; 
of  these  they  dedicated  one  half  at  Abae,  and  the  other  at 
Delphi.  The  tenth  of  the  treasures  taken  in  this  battle  com- 
posed those  great  statues  which  stand  about  the  tripod  in  the 
front  of  the  temple  at  Delphi,  and  others  like  them  were  dedi- 
cated at  Abae.  28.  Thus  the  Phocians  dealt  with  the  infantry 
of  the  Thessalians,  wTfio  were  besieging  them  j  and  they. jxi- 
flicted  an  irreparahle  blow  on  their  cavalry,  when  they  made 
an  Irruption  into  their  territory ;  for  in  the  entrance  which  is 
near  Hyampolis,  having  dug  a  large  pit,  they  put  empty  jars 
in  it,  and  having  heaped  soil  over  and  made  it  like  the  rest  of 
the  ground,  they  waited  the  attack  of  the  Thessalians ;  but 
they,  hoping  to  overwhelm  the  Phocians,  being  borne  violently 
on,  fell  among  the  jars,  whereupon  the  horses  had  their  legs 
broken.  29.  The  Thessalians,  bearing  a  .gjpAdg^e  against  them_ 
for  these  two  Ihihgs,  sent  a  herald  and  made  theTollowing 
announcement :  "  O  Phocians,  now  at  length  learn  better,  and 
know  that  you  are  not  equal  to  us.  For  both  before  among 
the  Greeks,  as  long  as  that  party  pleased  us,  we  always  proved 
superior  to  you ;  and  now,  we  have  so  great  influence  with 
the  barbarian,  that  it  is  in  our  power  to  deprive  you  of  your 
country ;  and,  moreover,  to  reduce  you  to  slavery.  We,  how- 
ever, though  possessing  full  power,  are  not  mindful  of  injuries  ; 
therefore,  let  fifty  talents  of  silver  be  given  us  by  way  of  re- 
paration, and  we  promise  you  to  avert  the  evils  that  impend 
over  your  country." 

30.  The  Thessalians  sent  them  this  message.  For  the 
Phocians  were  the  only  people  of  those  parts  who  did_npt 
side  with  the  Mede;  for  no  other  reason,  as  1  conjectrj'e, 
than  their  hatred  of  theThessalians ;  but  if  the  Thessalians 
had  taken  part  with  "the''Grreeks,  in  my  opinion  the  Phocians 
would  have  sided  with  the  Mede.  When  the  Thessalians  sent 
this  message,  they  said  they  would  not  give  money,  and  that 
it  was  in  their  power  to  join  the  Mede  as  well  as  the  Thes- 
salians, if  only  they  chose  to  do  so ;  but  that  they  would  not 
willingly  be  traitors  to  Greece.  31.  When  this  answer  was 
brought  back,  the  Thessalians  there  apon,  being  incensed  with 
the  Phocians,  became^fuTcles  to  the  barbarian ;  and,  accord- 


^B-; 


35.]  URANIA.     VIII.  503 

ingly,  they  entered  from  Trachinia  into  Doris.  For  a  narrow 
strip  of  Doric  territory  extends  that  way,  about  thirty  stades 
in  breadth,  and  situate  between  the  Malian  and  Phocian  terri- 
tory, and  which  was  anciently  Dryopis.  This  region  is  the 
mother  country  of  the  Dorians  in  Peloponnesus.  The  bar- 
barians, in  their  passage  through,  did  not  ravage  this  Doric 
territory ;  for  the  inhabitants  sided  with  the  Mede,  and  the 
Thessalians  wished  them  not  to  do  so.  32.  When  they 
entered  from  the  Doric  to  the  Phocian  territory,  they  did  not 
take  the  Phocians  themselves,  for  some  of  the  Phocians  had 
ascended  to  the  heights  of  Parnassus  ;  and  the  summit  of  Par- 
nassus lying  near  the  city  of  Neon,  which  stands  apart,  is  yilU 
adapted  to  receive  a  multitude  ;  its  name  is  Tithorea  ;  to  iliis, 
then,  they  carried  their  property,  and  ascended  themselves  ; 
but  the  greater  number  of  them  had  conveyed  their  effects  to 
the  Locrian  Ozolae,  to  the  city  of  Amphissa,  which  is  situate 
on  the  Crissean  plain.  But  the  barbarians  overran  the  whole 
Phocian  territory.  33.  For  marching  this  way  along  the 
river  Cephissus,  they  ravaged  the  whole  country,  and  burnt 
down  the  cities  of  Drymus,  Charadra,  Erochus,  Tethronium, 
Amphicsea,  Neon,  Pedieae,  Triteoe,  Elatea,  Hyampolis,  Parapo- 
taraii,  and  Aboe  ;  where  was  a  rich  temple  of  Apollo,  adorned 
with  many  treasures  and  offerings,  and  there  was  then,  and 
still  is,  an  oracle  there ;  this  temple  they  plundered  and  burnt ; 
and  pursuing  some  of  the  Phocians,  they  took  them  near  the 
mountains  ;  and  they  caused  the  death  of  some  women,  by 
having  intercourse  with  them  in  great  numbers.  34.  The 
barbarians  having  passed  by  Parapotamii,  arrived  at  Pano- 
pe«,  and  from  thence,  their  army  being  divided,  proceeded  in 
two  bodies.  The  largest  and  most  powerful  part  pj*.  the  arqiy 
marching  witliLXerxes  himself  towards  Athens,  entered  Boeo- 
tia,^_attheteri'itory  of  the  Orchomenians.  But  the  Boeotians 
sidedjivith'the  Mede  ;  Macedonian  soldiers  fherefore  posted  in 
different  places,  having  been  sent  by  Alexander,'  saved  their 
cities  J  and  they  saved  them  in  order  by  this  means  to  make 
it  known  to  Xerxes  that  the  Boeotians  favoured  the  cause  of 
the  Medes.     These  barbarians,  then,  took  this  route. 

35.  The  rest  of  them,  having  guides,  proceeded  towards 
j^e  lemp!e"of  DelpTii,  keeping  Parnassus  on  their  right :  and 
whatever  parts  of  Phocis  iliey  came  to,  they  pillaged  ;  for  they 
set  fire  to  the  city  of  the  Panopians,  and  cf  the  Daulians,  and 


504  HERODOTUS.  [36- 3§. 

the  ^olicla.  They  marched  this  way  detached  from  the 
rest  of  the  army  Tor  this  reason,  that  having  plundered  the 
temple  at  Delphi,  they  might  present  the  treasures  to  king 
Xerxes.  But  Xerxes,  as  I  am  informed,  knew  every  thing 
that  was  of  value  in  the  temple  better  than  what  he  had  left 
at  home,  many  persons  continually  telling  him,  especially  of 
the  offerings  of  Croesus,  son  of  Alyattes.  36.  Xhe  Delphians 
having  heard  of  this,  fell  into  a  great  consternation  ;  and  Being 
in  a  state  of  great  terror,  consulted  the  oracle  respecting  the 
sacred  treasures,  whether  they  should  hide  them  under  ground, 
or  transport  them  to  another  country.  But  the  god  would 
not  suffer  them  to  be  moved;  saying,  "  that  he  was  able  to^ 
protect  his  own."  The  Delphians  having  received  this  answer, 
began  to^hink  of  themselves :  accordingly  they  sent  their 
children  and  wives  across  to  Achaia ;  and  the  greater  part  of 
the  men  ascended  to  the  tops  of  Parnassus,  and  carried  their 
effects  into  the  Corycian  cavern  ;  whilst  others  withdrew  to 
the  Locrian  Amphissa.  Thus  all  the  Delphians  abandoned  the 
city,  except  only  sixty  men,  and  the  propRet.  '67.  When  the 
tJ^'barians  were  advanced  near,  and  saw  the  temple  in  the 
distance,  then  the  prophet,  whose  name  was  Aceratus,  saw  the 
sacred  arms,  which  it  was  not  lawful  for  any  mortal  to  touch, 
lying  before  the  temple,  having  been  brought  out  from  within 
the  fane.  He  therefore  went  to  make  known  the  prodigy  to 
the  Delphians  who  were  at  hand.  But  when  the  barbarians, 
hastening  their  march,  were  near  the  temple  of  Minerva  Pro- 
ncea  }2.i;odigic3_  still  greater  than  the  former  succeeded.  And 
this  indeed  is  a  great  wonder,  that  warlike  instruments  should 
be  seen,  self-moved,  lying  before  the  temple,  yet  the  second 
prodigies,  which  succeeded  after  this,  are  worthy  of  admira- 

I  tion  beyond  all  other  portents.  For  whgn  the  barbarians  had 
advanced  near  the  tcnVpTcTof  ]\Iinerva  Prona2a,  *aT  "Ehatjnoment 

i    tljunder  fell  on  them  from  heaven,  and  two  crags,  broken  a\Ya/ 

'  from  Parnassus,  bore  down  upon  them  with  a  loud  crash,  and 
killed  many  of  them,  and  a  loud  cry  and  a  war-shout  issuccT 
from  the  temple  of  the  Pronsea.  38.  All  these  things  being 
commingled  together,  a  panic  struck  the  barbarians  ;  and  the 
Delfiliians,  having  learnt  that  they  TiadTffed7came  down  after 

f  them,  and  slew  a  great  number  of  them :  th^  ^survivors  fled 
direct  into  Boeotia.  Those  of  the  barbarians  who  returned,  asl 
am  informed,  declaredj  that  besides  these  they  saw  other  mira- 


S9— 41.]  URANIA.    VIII  505 

culous  things,  for  tliat  two  heavy-armed  men,  of  more  than 
human  stature,  followedTTiem,  slaying  and  pursuing  them. 
39.  The  Delphians^y  these  two  were  heroes  of  the  country 
Phylacus  and  Autonous,  whose  precincts  are  near  the  temple  ; 
that  of  Phylacus  by  the  road-side,  above  the  temple  of  the  Pro- 
pjea  ;  and  that  of  Autonous,  near  the  Castalian  spring  under 
the  Hyampeian  summit.  The  rocks  that  fell  from  Parnassus 
were  still  preserved  in  my  time,  lying  in  the  enclosure  of 
Minerva  Pronaea,  where  they  fell  when  borne  among  the  barba- 
rians. Such,  then,  was  the  retreat  of  these  men  from  the  temple. 
40.  The  Grecian  fleet  from  Artemisium,  at  the  request  of 
the  Athenians,  put  iiilit  Salamis.  For  this  reason  the  Athe- 
nians requested  t^ni  to  JTrect  their  course  to  Salamis,  that 
thQZ  might  remove  their  children  and  wives  out  of  Attica,  and 
moreover  might  consult  of  what  measures  were  "to"be  taken. 
For  in  the  present  posture  of  affairs  they  intended  to  hold  a 
consultation,  as  they  had  been  disappointed  in  their  expecta- 
tion. For  whereas  they  expected  to  fmd  the  Peloponncsians 
with  all  their  forces  waiting  in  Ecjcotia  to  receive  the  barba- 
riaiij  they  found  nolliiiig  of  tlie  kind  ;  but  were  informed  that 
thej;  wire  fortifying  the  isthmus  leading  into  the  Pelopon- 
nesus, considering  it  of  the  greatest  importance  that  it  should 
be  saved,  and  that,  keeping  guard  there,  they  gave  up  all  the 
rest.  Il^^ng  been  informed  of  tliis,  they  thcrcforc_£ntreate<l 
theni  to  direct  tliclr  course  to  Salamis.  41.  The  rest  there- 
fore  held  on  to  Salamis,  but  the  Athenians  to  tlieir  own  coun- 
try  ;  and  on  theii'~arrivar  they  caused  proclamation  to  be 
made,  "  that  every  one  should  save  his  children  and  family  by 
the  best  means  he  could."  Thereiy3on  the  greatest  pail  sent 
s^y^^jjI^ixLjh2IliILi^.tOLTiaiZQne,  some  to  JEgina,  and  others  to 
Salamis.  They  used  all  diligence  to  remove  them  to  a  place 
of  safety,  both  from  a  desire  to  obey  the  oracle,  and  more 
particularly  for  the  following  reason  :  the  Athenians  say,  that 
a  large  serpent  used  to  live  in  the  temple  as  a  guard  to  the 
Acropolis  ;  they  both  say  this,  and,  as  if  it  were  really  there, 
they  do  it  honour  by  placing  before  it  its  monthly  food ;  the 
monthly  food  consists  of  a  honey-cake :  this  honey-cake  having 
been  in  former  time  always  consumed,  now  remained  untouch- 
ed. When  the  priestess  made  this  known,  the  Atheniang 
with  more  readinejs  abandoned  the  city,  since  even  the  god- 
dess i-ad  forsaken  the  Acropolis.    As  soon  as  every  thing  had 


506  HERODOTUf?.  [42—46. 

been  deposited  in  a  place  of  safety,  thej  sailed  to  the  encamp- 
ment. 42.  When  those  from  Artemisium  stationed  their  ships 
at  Salamis,  the  rest  of  the  naval  forces  of  the  Greeks  being 
informed  of  this  joined  them  from  Trcezene  ;  for  they  had 
been  ordered  to  assemble  at  Pogon,  a  harbour  of  the  Troeze- 
nians.  Many  more  ships  were  assembled  together  than  had 
fought  at  Artemisium,  and  fronV  a  great?f  nuinber  of  cTties'. 
The  same  admiral  commanded  them  as  at  Artemisium,  Eui;^ 
blades,  son  of  Euryclides,  a  Spartan,  though  he  was  not  of 
the  royal  family:  the  Athenians,  however,  furnished  by  far 
the  most  and  the  best  sailing  ships. 

^3.  The  following  joined  the  fleet.  From  the  Peloponnesus, 
the  Lacedasmonians,  furnishing  sixteen  ships  ;  the  Corinth- 
ians, furnishing  the  same  number  as  at  Artemisium  ;  the  Sicy- 
onians  furnished  fifteen  ships  ;  the  Epidaurians-  ten  ;  the 
Troezenians,  five  ;  and  the  Hermionians,  three  ;  all  these,  ex- 
cept the  Hermionians,  being  of  Doric  and  Macednic  extraction, 
having  come  from  Erineum,  and  Pindus,  and  last  of  all  from 
Dryopis.  The  Hermionians  are  Dryopians,  driven  out  by 
Hercules  and  the  Malians,  from  the  country  now  called  Doris. 
These,  then,  of  the  Peloponnesians  served  in  the  fleet.  44. 
The  following  were  from  the  outer  continent:  the  Athenians,  be- 
yond all  the  rest,  alone  furnished  one  hundred  and  eighty  ships  ; 
for  at  Salamis  the  Plataeans  did  not  join  their  forces  to  the 
Athenians,  on  account  of  the  following  circumstance.  When 
the  Greeks  retired  from  Artemisium,  and  were  ofi*  Chalcis,  the 
Plataeans,  having  landed  on  the  opposite  coast  in  Bceotia,  set 
about  carrying  away  their  families :  they,  therefore,  while 
saving  them,  were  left  behind.  The  Athenians,  when  the 
Pelasgians  possessed  that  which  is  now  called  Greece,  were 
Pelasgians,  and  went  by  the  name  of  Cranai :  under  the 
reign  of  Cecrops,  they  were  surnamed  Cecropidae  ;  but  when 
Erectheus  succeeded  to  the  government,  they  changed  their 
name  for  that  of  Athenians  ;  and  when  Ion,  son  of  Xuthus,  be- 
came their  leader,  from  him  they  were  called  lonians.  45. 
The  Megarenes  furnished  the  same  complement  as  at  Arte- 
sium  ;  the  Ambraciots  assisted  with  seven  ships  ;  and  the 
Leucadians,  three,  these  are  of  Doric  extraction,  from  Corinth. 
46.  Of  the  islanders,  the  -^ginetse  furnished  thirty  ships  j 
they  had  also  other  ships  ready  manned,  but  with  some  they 
guarded  their  own  country,  and  with  thirty  the  best  sailing 


I 


—490  URANIA.     VIII.  507 

vessels,  they  fought  at  Salamis.  The  -^ginetae  are  Dorians, 
from  Epidaurus,  and  their  island  formerly  had  the  name  of 
CEnone.  Next  to  the  JEginetae,  the  Chalcidians  furnished  the 
same  twenty  as  at  Artemisium,  and  the  Eretrians  the  same 
seven:  these  are  lonians.  Next,  the  Ceians  furnished  the 
same;  they  are  of  Ionian  extraction,  from  Athens.  The 
Naxians  furnished  four ;  though  they  had  been  sent  by  their 
fellow-citizens  to  join  the  Medes,  like  the  rest  of  the  island- 
ers; but  disregarding  their  orders,  they  went  over  to  the 
Greeks,  at  the  instigation  of  Democritus,  a  man  eminent 
amongst  the  citizens,  and  then  commander  of  a  trireme.  The 
Naxians  also  are  lonians,  sprung  from  Athens.  The  Styreans 
furnished  the  same  ships  as  at  Artemisium  ;  the  Cythnians 
one,  and  a  penteconter :  both  these  people  are  Dryopians. 
The  Seriphians,  the  Siphnians,  and  the  Malians  also  joined 
the  fleet ;  for  they  only  of  the  islanders  refused  to  give  earth 
and  water  to  the  barbarian.  47.  All  these  nations,  situate  on 
this  side  the  Thesprotians  and  the  river  Acheron,  joined  the 
fleet ;  for  the  Thesprotians  border  on  the  Ampraciots  and 
Leucadians,  who  joined  the  fleet  from  the  most  distant  coun- 
tries. Of  those  that  dwell  beyond  them,  the  Crotoniatae  were 
the  only  people  who  came  to  assist  Greece  in  this  time  of 
danger,  with  one  ship,  which  Phayllus,  who  had  thrice  been 
victorious  in  the  Pythian  games,  commanded.  The  Crotoniatse 
are  Achaeans  by  extraction.  48.  Now  the  rest  joined  tlie 
fleet,  furnishing  triremes;  but  the  Malians,  Siphnians,  and 
Seriphians,  penteconters.  The  Malians,  who  are  by  extrac- 
tion from  Lacedaemon,  furnished  two ;  the  Siphnians  and  the 
Seriphians,  who  are  lonians  from  Athens,  one  each.  So  that 
the  whole  number  of  ships,  besides  the  penteconters,  amounted 
to  three  hundred  and  seventy-eight. 

49.  When  the  leaders  from  the  above-mentioned  cities  jaet 
together  at  Salamis,  they  held  a  council,  wTwhicli  J^^ybiades 
proposed  ttiat  any  one  who  chose  should  deliver  his  opinion, 
wKirs^Ie  thought  it  would  be  most  advantageous  to  come  to 
an~engagement"Tj"y  sea,  of  all_^tlie  places  of  whicli  they  were 


still  in  possessToh :  for  Attica  was  already  given  up,  and  he 
made  this  proposition  concerning  the  rest.  Most  of  the  opin- 
ion^ of  those  who  spoke  coincided,  that  they  should  sail  to  the 
Isthmus,  and  fight  before  Pelopormesus  ;  alleging  this  reason, 
iEal  if  they  should  be  conquered  by  sea  while  they  were  at 


508  HERODOTUS  [50—53. 

Salamis,  they  should  bo  besieged  in  the  island,  where  no  suc- 
cour could  reach  them ;  but  if  at  the  Isthmus,  they  might 
escape  to  their  own  cities. 

50.  While  the  commanders  from  Peloponnesus  were  debat- 
ing  these  maflers,  an  Athenian  arrixed  with  intelligence,  that 
the  barbarian  had  entered  Attica,  and  was  devastating  the 
whole  of  it  by  fire.  For  the  army  with  Xerxes,  having  taken 
its  route  through  Boeotia,  after  having  burnt  the  'city  of  the 
Thespians,  who  had  departed  to  Peloponnesus,  and  likewise 
the  city  of  the  Plataeans,  had  arrived  at  Athens,  and  was  lay- 
ing waste  every  part  of  it.  They  set  fire  to  Thespia  and 
Plata^a,  being  informed  by  the  Thebans  that  they  were  not  on 
the  side  of  the  Medes.  5 1 .  From  the  passage  over  the  Helles- 
pont, thence  the  barbarians  began  to  march,  having  spent  one 
month  there,  including  the  time  they  were  crossing  over  into 
Europe ;  in  three  months  more  they  were  in  Attica,  when 
Calliades  was  archon  of  the  Athenians.  They  took  ihe  city, 
deserted  of  inhabitants,  but  found  some  few~TjftKOuEeilian s 
in  the  temple,  with  the  treasurers  of  the  temple,  and  some 
poor  people ;  who,  having  fortified  the  Acropolis  with  planks 
and  staltes,  tried  to  keep  off  the  invaders  :  they  had  not-with- 
drawn to  Salamis,  partly  through  want  of  means,  and  more- 
over they  thought  they  had  found  out  the  meaning  of  the 
oracle  which  the  Pythian  delivered  to  them,  that  the  wooden 
wall  "should  be  impregnable  ;"  imagining^  that  this  was  the 
refuge  according  to  the  oracle,  and  not  the  ships.  52.  The 
Pgj^gians,  posting  themselves  on  the  hill  opposite  the  Acro- 
polis, which  the  Athenians  call  the  Areopagus,  besieged  them 
in  the  following  manner  :  when  they  had  wrapped  tow  round 
their  arrows,  and  set  fire  to  it,  they  shot  them  at  the  fence. 
Thereupon  those  Athenians  who  were  besieged,  still  defended 
themselves,  though  driven  to  the  last  extremity,  and  the  fence 
had  failed  them  ;  nor,  when  the  Pisistratidae  proposed  them, 
would  they  listen  to  terms  of  capitulation  ;  but  still  defending 
themselves,  they  both  contrived  other  means  of  defence,  and 
jv^hen  the  barbarians  approached  the  gates,  they  hurled  down 
large  round  stones  ;  so  that  Xerxes  was  for  a  long  time  kept 
in  perplexity,  not  being  able  to  capture  them.  53.  At  length, 
in  the  midst  of  these  difficulties,  an  entrance  was  discovered 
by  the  barbarians ;  for  it  was  necessary,  according  to  the  ora- 
cle, that  all  Attica,  on  the  continent,  should  be  subdued  by  tbe 


U-S7.]  UiiA^NlA.    VIII.  50d 

Persians.  In  front  of  the  Acropolis,  then,  but  behind  the  gates 
and  the  road  up,  where  neither  any  one  kept  guard,  nor  would 
ever  have  expected  that  any  man  would  ascend  that  way,  there 
some  of  them  ascended  near  the  temple  of  Cecrops'  daughter 
Aglauros,  although  the  place  was  precipitous.  When  the 
Athenians  saw  that  they  had  ascended  to  the  Acropolis,  some 
throw  themselves  down  from  the  wall  and  perished,  and 
others  took  refuge  in  the  recess  of  the  temple.  But  the  Per- 
sians who  had  ascended  first  turned  to  the  gates,  and  having 
opened  them,  put  the  suppliants  to  death :  and  when  all  were 
thrown  prostrate,  having  pillaged  the  temple,  they  set  fire  to 
the  whole  Acropolis. 

54.  Xerxes  having  entire  possession  of  Athens,  despatched 
a  messenger  on  horseback  to  Susa,  to  announce  to  Artabanus 
his  present  success.  And  on  the  second  day  after  the  despatch 
of  the  herald,  having  summoned  the  exiled  Athenians  who  at- 
tended him,  he  ordered  them  to  offer  sacrifices  after  their  own 
manner,  having  ascended  to  the  Acropolis  ;  whether  he  gave 
this  order  from  having  seen  a  vision  in  a  dream,  or  a  religious 
scruple  came  upon  him  for  having  set  fire  to  the  temple.  The 
exiles  of  the  Athenians  performed  what  was  commanded.  55. 
Why  I  have  recorded  these  things,  I  will  now  mention.  There 
is  in  this  Acropolis  a  shrine  of  Erectheus,  who  is  said  to  be 
earth-born :  in  this  is  an  olive-tree  and  a  sea ;  which,  as  the 
story  goes  among  the  Athenians,  Neptune  and  Minerva,  when 
contending  for  the  country,  placed  there  as  testimonies.  Now 
it  happened  that  this  olive-tree  was  burnt  by  the  barbarians 
with  the  rest  of  the  temple ;  but  on  the  second  day  after  the 
burning,  the  Athenians  who  were  ordered  by  the  king  to  sacrifice, 
when  they  went  up  to  the  temple,  saw  a  shoot  from  the  stump, 
sprung  up  to  the  height  of  a  cubit.     This  they  affirmed. 

56.  Thgjjreeks  at  Salamis,  when  intelligence  was  brought 
them  how  matters  were  with  respect  to  the  Acropolis  of  the 
Athenians,  were  thrown  into  such  consternation,  that  some  of 
tEijgenerals  would  not  wait  until  the  subject  before  them  was 
decided  on,  but  rushed  to  their  ships  and  hoisted  sail^s  about 
to  huiTy  away  j  by  such  of  them  as  remained  it  was  determined 
to  come  to  an  engagement  before  the  Isthmus.  Night  came 
on,  and  they,  behig  dismissed  from  the  council,  went  on 
board  their  ships.  57.  Thereupon  Mnesiphilu.g,  an  Athenian, 
inquired  of  Themistocles,  on  his  return  to  his  ship,  what  had 


510  HERODOTUS.  [58—60. 

been  determined  on  by  them.  And  being  informed  by  him 
that  it  was  resolved  to  conduct  the  ships  to  the  Isthmus,  and 
to  come  to  an  engagement  before  the  Peloponnesus,  he  said, 
"  If  they  remove  the  ships  from  Salamis,  you  will  no  longer 
figlit  for  any  country;  for  they  will  each  betake  themselves  to 
their  cities  ;  and  neither  will  Eurybiades  nor  anylmerelse  be 
aljTe  to  detain  them,  so  that  the  flfc^t  should  not  be  dispersed"; 
and  Greece  will  perish  through  want  of  counsel.  Butj,_if 
there  is  any  possible  contrivance,  go  and  endeavour  to  annul 
the  decree,  if  by  any  means  you  can  induce  Eurybiades  to  alter 
liiTleferinination,  so  as  to  remain  here.  58.  The  suggestion 
pleased  Themistocles  exceedingly ;  and  without  giving  any 
answer  he  went  to  the  ship  of  Eurybiades  ;  and  on  reaching 
it  he  said  that  he  wished- to  tronfer'"v/tth  him  on  public  busi- 
ness. He  desired  him  to  come  on  board  his  ship,  and  say 
what  he  wished.  Thereupon  Themistocles,  seating  himself  by 
him,  repeated  all  that  he  had  heard  from  Mnesiphilus,  making 
it  his  own,  and  adding  much  more,  until  he  prevailed  on  him, 
by  entreaty,  to  leave  his  ship,  and  assemble  the  commanders 
in  council.  59.  When  they  were  assembled,  before  Eurybiades 
brought  forward  the  subject  on  account  of  which  he  had  con- 
vened the  commanders,  Themistocles  spoke  much,  as  being 
very  earnest ;  and  as  he  was  speaking,  the  Corinthian  general, 
Adimantus,'  son  of  Ocytus,  said :  "  O  Themistocles,  in  the 
games  those  who  start  before  the  time  are  beaten  with  stripes." 
But  he,  excusing  himself,  answered  :  "  But  Jhey  who  are  left 
behind  are  not  crmyned."  60.  At  that  time  iTelinswered  the 
Coi-inthian  mildly.  Sut  to  Eurybiades  he  said  not  a  word  of 
what  he  had  before  mentioned,  that  if  they  should  remove 
from  Salamis,  they  would  disperse  themselves  ;  for  when  the 
atir^^  were  present  it  would  be  by  no  means  becoming  in  him 
to  accuse  any  one  ;  lie.  therefore  made  use  of  anotheFargument, 
speaking  as  follows:  (1.)  ^' It  rests  how  with  yoiTTorsave 
Greece,  if  you  will  listen  to  me,  and,  remaining  here,  give 
battle,  and  not  attend  to  those  who  advise  you  to  remove  the 
^eet  to  the  Isthmus.  For  hear  and  compare  each  opinion. 
In  engaging  near  the  Isthmus,  you  wiU.jfighJLln  the  opfia^sea,^ 
where  it  is  least  advantageous  to  us,  who  have  heavier  ships 
and  fewer  in  number.  Besides,  yoii  will  lose  SalamiJIanH 
Megara,  and  jEgina,  even  if  we  succeed  in  other  respects ; 
for  the  land-forces  will  follow  close  upon  their  navy;  thus 


61,62j  tEANlA.     Vlll.  '  511 

you  will  yn]irfjf>]P  Iqad  them  to  the  Peloponnesus,  and  expose  all 
Greece  .ti?jto;£6£'  (2.)  iJut  if  you  should  do  what  1  advise, 
you  will  firi3"l;he  following  advantages  in  it.  First  of  all,  by 
engaging  in  a  narrow  space  with  few  ships  against  many,  if 
the  probable  resd!ts  of  wai^'Eappen7we~srfan"13e  much  superior. 
For  to^ghtjnliliarrow  space'  is  advantageo'us  to  us  ;  but  in 
a  wide  space,  to  tliem.  Agam  ;  SaTamis  is  preserved,  in  wliicli 
our  children  and  wiv&s  are  deposited;  Moreover,  there  is 
advantage  in  the  plan  I  advise,  for  which,  too,  you  are  very 
anxious:  by  remaining  liere,  you  will  fight  for  the  Pelopon- 
nesus  just  as"  nine] i  as  ;it  tlie  Tstlnnus  ;  nor^Tf  you  are  wise, 
will  you  lead  th(Mii  to  the  relopoiuiesus.  (3.)  But  if  what  I 
hope  should  liappen,  and  we  conquer  with  our  fleet,  neither 
wjll  the  barbarians  come  to  you  at  the  Isthmus,  nor  wiTl  they 
advance  farther  tlian  Attica,  but  will  retreat  in  disorder,  and  i 
we  shall  "garri,  by  saving  Megara,  and  ^gina,  and  Salamis,  | 
where  it  is  announced  by  an  oracle  we  shall  be  superior  to  our  \ 
enemies.  To  men  wlio  determine  on  what  is  reasonable,  cor-  '  , 
responding  results  are  for  the  most  part  wont  to  follow ;  but  rJiTi- 
to  those  who  do  not  determine  on  what  iaxeasaiiable;,.the.deity 
is  not  wont  to  further  human  designs."  61.  When  Themis- 
focles  liad  spoken  thus,  Adimantus  the  Corinthian  again  at- 
tacked him,  bidding  him  who  had  no  country  be  silent,  and 
urging  Eurybiades  not  to  go  to  the  vote  for  a  man  who  had 
no  city;  for  when  Themistocles  showed  a  city,  then  he  would 
allow  him  to  give  his  suffrage.  He  threw  out  this  against 
him,  because  Athens  had  been  taken  and  was  in  the  possession 
of  the  enemy.  Then,  at  length,  Themistocles  spoke  with  much 
severity  of  Adimantus  and  the  Corinthians ;  and  showed  by 
his  speech  that  the  Athenians  themselves  had  a  city  and  a 
territory  greater  than  they,  so  long  as  they  had  two  hundred 
ships  fully  manned ;  for  that  none  of  the  Greeks  could  repel 
their  attack.  ^2.  Having  intimated  this,  he  transferred  his 
discourse  to  Eurybiades,  saying  with  greater  earnestness :  "  If 
you  remain  here,  by  remaining  you  will  show  yourself  a  brave 
man  ; — if  not,  you  will  subvert  Greece  :  for  jhe  whole  success 
of  JilgJZgy  depends, pn  our,  fleet ;  therefore  yield  to  my  advice. 
But  if  you  will  not  do  so,  we,  as  we  are,  will  take  our  families 
on  board  and  remove  to  Siris  in  Italy,  which  is  an  ancient 
possession  of  ours,  and  oracles  say  it  is  fated  to  be  founded 
by  us.     And  you,  when  bereft  of  such  allies,  will  remember 


512  HURODOTtJS.  [63-65. 

my  words,  63.  When  Themistocles  had  spoken  thus,  Eury-_ 
blades  changed  his  opinion :  in  my  opinion,  he  changed  hig 
opmion  chiefly  from  a  dread  Of  the  Athenians,  lest  they  should 
desert  them,  if  he  took  the  fleet  to  the  Isthmus.  For  if  the 
Athenians  deserted  them,  the  rest  would  no  longer  be  a  match 
for  the  enemy.  He,  therefore,  adopted  this  advice,  to  stay 
there  and  come  to  a  decisive  engagement.  64.  Thus  they  at 
Salamis,  having  skirmished  in  words,  when  Eurybiades  had 
come  to  a  determination,  made  preparations  to  come  to  an 

J\/  engagement  there.  Day  came,  and  at  sun-rise  an  earthquake 
/  ^  took  place  on  land  and  at  sea.  ThS^TcIeferrarned  to  pray  to 
the  gods,  and  to  invoke  tlie  -ZEacidae  as  allies ;  and  as  they 
had  determined,  so  they  did.  For  having  prayed  to  all  the 
gods,  they  forthwith,  from  Salamis,  invoked  Ajax  and  Telamon; 
and  sent  a  ship  to  ^gina  for  ^acus  and  the  iEacidas.  65. 
Dicreiis,  son  of  Theocydes,  an  Athenian,  and  an  exile  at  that 
time  esteemed  by  the  Modes,  related,  that  wlien  the  Attic 
territory  was  being  devastated  by  the  land-forces  of  Xerxes, 
having  been  deserted  by  the  Athenians,  he  happened  then  to 
be  with  Demaratus  the  Lacedaemonian,  in  the  Thriasian  plain  ; 
and  he  saw  a  cloud  of  dust  coming  from  Eleusis,  as  if  occa- 
sioned  %j  about  thirty  thousand  men  :  they  were  wondering 
at  the  cloud  of  dust,  from  whatever  it  might  proceed,  and 
suddenly  heard  a  voice,  and  the  voice  appeared  to  him  to  be 
that  of  the  mystic  lacchus.  Demaratus  was  unacquainted 
with  the  mysteries  of  Eleusis,  and  asked  Dicaeus  what  it  might 
be  that  was  uttered;  but  he  said:  "  O  Demaratus,  it  cannot 
be  otherwise  than  that  some  ^reat  damage  will  befal  the  kingT 

a^V  array.  For  this  is  clear,  since  Attica  is  deserted,  that  what  i3_ 
I  **  uttered  is  supernatural,  proceedin^j::  from  Eleusis  to  the  assist- 
ajice_or'the  Athenians  an^  the  allies.  And  if  it  should  riislT 
towards  the  Peloponnesus,  there  will  be  danger  to  the  king 
himself  and  his  army  on  the  continent ;  but  if  it  should  turn 
toward  the  ships  at  Salamis,  the  king  will  be  in  danger  of 
losing  his  naval  armament.  The  Athenians  celebrate  this  feast 
every  year  to  the  Mother  and  the  Damsel,^  and  whoever  wishes 
of  them  and  the  other  Greeks  is  initiated ;  and  the  sound, 
which  you  hear,  they  shout  in  this  very  festival."  To  this 
Demaratus  said :  "  Be  silent,  and  tell  this  story  to  no  one 
else  J  for  if  these  words  should  be  reported  to  the  king  you 
•  Ceres  and  Proserpine. 


66-88.]  URANIA.     V^III.  513 

would  lose  your  head ;  and  neither  should  I  nor  any  other 
human  being  be  able  to  save  you.  Keep  quiet,  therefore ;  and 
the  gods  will  take  care  of  the  army."  He,  accordingly,  gave 
this  advice.  But  from  the  dust  and  voice  there  arose  a  cloud, 
and  being  raised  aloft  it  was  borne  towards  Salamis,  to  the 
encampment  of  the  Greeks.  Thus  they  understood  that  tlie 
fleet  of  Xerxes  was  about  to  perish.  Thi?  account  Dicjcue, 
son  of  Theocydes,  gave^ calling  on  Demaratus  and  others  as 
witnesses. 

66.  When  the  men  belonging  to  the  fleet  of  Xerxes,  having 
viewed  the  Lacedsemonian  loss,  crossed  over  from  Trachis  to 
Histisea,  they  remained  there  three  days,  and  then  sailed 
through  the  Euripus,  and  in  three  days  more  arrived  off 
Phalerus.  In  my  opinion,  they  were  not  fewer  in  number 
when__J]iey  entered  Athens,  as  well  those  that  came  by  the 
continent  as  those  in  the  ships,  than  when  they  arru-ed  at 
Sepias"  an cT  at  Thermopylae.  FqtJ^  set  off  against  those  that 
pej^sBedTiy^the  storm,  and  at  Thernaopylae,  and  at  the  sea- 
figlit  at  Xrtemisium,  the  following  who  at  that  time  did  not 
attend  the  king :  the  Malians,  Dorians,  Locrians,  and  Boeoti- 
ans, who  attended  with  all  their  forces,  except  the  Tliespians 
and  Plataeans ;  and  besides,  the  Carystians,  Andrians,  Tenians, 
and  all  the  rest  of  the  islanders,  except  the  five  cities  whose 
names  I  have  before  mentioned :  for  the  further  the  Persian 
advanced  into  the  interior  of  Greece^''  a  greater  number  of 
nations  attended  him.  67.  When,  therefore,  all  these,  except 
the  Parians,  arrived  at  Athens,  the  Parians,  being  left  behind 
at  Cythnus,  watched  the  war,  in  what  way  it  would  turn  out ; 
when,  however,  the  rest  arrived  at  Phalerus,  then  Xerxes 
himself  went  down  to  the  ships,  wishing  to  mix  with  them, 
and  to  learn  the  opinions  of  those  on  board.  When  he  had 
arrived  and  taken  the  fii'st  seat,  the  tyrants  and  admirals  of 
the  several  nations,  being  summoned  from  tli^ir  ships,  came, 
and  seated  themselves  according  as  the  king  had  given  pre- 
cedence to  each :  first,  the  Sidonian  king  ;  next,  the  Tyrian ; 
and  then  the  others.  AVhen  they  had  seated  themselves  in 
due  order,  Xerx^g^hayiug  sent-Mardonius,  asked,  in  order  to 
make  trial  of  the  disposition  of  each,  whether  he  should  come 
to  an  engagement  by  sea.  68.  When  Mardonius,  going  round, 
asire'd  the  question,  beginning  from  the  Sidonian,  all  the  others 
gave  an  opinion  to  the  same  effect,  advising  that  battle  should 

2  L 


614 


HERODOTUS. 


be  given,  Uu]y|Lrtemisia  spoke  as  follows :  "  Tell  the  king  froiL 
me,  Mardomus,  1  hat  I  say  this.  It  is  right  that  1,  sire,  who 
proved  myself  by  no  means  a  coward'in'tlie  sea-fight  ofl 
Euboea,  and  performed  achievements  not  inferior  to  others, 
should  declare  my  real  opinion,  and  state  what  I  thiflkJie.8t_ 
for  jyour  interest.  Therefore  I  say  this,  abstain  from  using 
your  ships,  nor  risk  a  sea-fight ;  for  these  meii'"arc  as  mucli 
superior  to  your  men  by  sea,  as  men  are  to  women.  And^ 
wiymust  ywi_run  a  risk  by  a  naval  engagement  ?  Have  you 
not  possession  of  Athens,  for  the  sake  of  which  you  undertoja^ 
this  expedition,  and  have  you  not  the  rest  of  Greece  ?  No 
one  stands  in  your  way ;  and  those  who  still  held  out  against 
you,  have  fared  as  they  deserved.  (2.)  In  what  way  the  affairs 
of  your  enemies  will  turn  out,  I  will  now  say.  If  you  should 
not  hasten  to  engage  in  a  sea-fight,  but  keep  your  fleet  here, 
remaining  near  land,  or  even  advancing  to  the  Peloponnesus, 
you  will  easily  effect  what  you  came  purposing  to  do.  For 
the  Greeks  will  not  be  able  to  hold  out  long  against  you ;  but 
you  will  disperse  them,  and  they  will  respectively  fly  to  their 
citicr.  For  neither  have  they  provisions  in  this  island,  as  I 
am  informed,  nor  is  it  probable,  if  you  march  your  land-forces 
against  the  JPeloponnesus,  that  those  of  them  who  came  from 
thence,  will,  remain  quiet ;  nor  will  they  care  to  fight  by  sea 
for  the  Athenians.  (3.)  Bu^t  if  you  should  hasten  forthwith 
to. engage,  I  fear  lest  the  sea-Jofces,"Being  worsted,  should  at 
the  same  time  bring  ruin  on  the  land-forcesI~^"esldes,*0  king, 
consider  this,  that  the  good  among  men  commonly  have  bad 
slaves,  and  the  bad  ones,  good ;  and  you,  who  are  the  best  of 
all  men,  have  bad  slaves,  who  are  said  to  be  in  the  number 
of  allies,  such  as  the  Egyptians,  Cyprians,  Cilicians,  and 
Pamphylians,  who  are  of  no  use  at  all."  69.  When  she  said 
this  to  Mardonius,  such  as  were  well  affected  to  Artemisia 
were  grieved  at  her  words,  thinking  she  would  suffer  some 
harm  at  the  king's  hand,  because  she  dissuaded  him  from 
giving  battle  by  sea  :  but  those  who  hated  and  envied  her,  as 
being  honoured  above  all  the  allies,  were  delighted  with  her  deci- 
sion, thinking  she  would  be  ruined.  When,  however,  the  opinions 
were  reported  to  Xerxes,  he  was  very  much  pleased  with  the 
opinion  of  Artemisia  ;  and  having  before  thought  her  an  ad- 
mirable woman,  he  then  praised  her  much  more.  HowfiKei^he 
gave  orders  to  follow  the  advice  of  the  majority  in  tHis  matter 


70-73.]  URANIA.    VIII.  615 

thinking  that  they  had  behaved  ill  at  Euboea  on  purpose,  be- 
cause he  was  not  present ;  he  now  prepared  in  person  to  behold 
them  engaging  by  sea. 

70.  When  they  gave  the  signal  for  putting  to  sea,  they  got 
the  ships  under  weigli  for  Salamis,  and  drew  up  near  it,  tak- 
ing their  stations  in  silence  :  at  that  time,  however,  there  was 
not  day  enough  for  them  to  enter  on  a  naval  engagement ;  for 
night  was  coming  on,  they  therefore  held  themselves  in  readi- 
ness for  the  next  day.  But  fear  and  dismay  took  possession 
of  the  Greeks,  and  not  least  those  from  Peloponnesus.  They 
were  dismayed,  because,  being  posted  at  Salamis,  they  were 
about  to  fight  for  the  territory  of  the  Athenians  ;  and  if  con- 
quered, they  would  be  shut  up  and  besieged  in  the  island, 
having  left  their  own  country  defenceless.  71.  The  land- 
forces  ofthe_barbaiuans  marched  that  same  night  agaii.st  the 
Fglopbhnesus  ;°  aTt'Eougli  every  possible  expedient  had  been 
contrived  to  hinder  the  barbarians  from  entering  by  the  main 
land.  For  as  soon  as  the  Peloponnesians  heard  that  those 
with  Leonidas  at  Thermopylae  had  perished,  they  flocked  toge- 
ther from  the  cities  and  stationed  themselves  at  thej^jimus  ; 
and  CleotmktaUis,  son  of  Anaxandrides,  and  brother  of  Leo- 
nidas, commanded  them.  Having  stationed  themselves  there- 
fore at  theTrstlimus7 and  having  blocked  up  the  Scironian  way, 
they  then,  as  they  determined  on  consultation,  built  a  wall 
across  the  Isthmus.  As  they  were  many  myriads  Tn'riumber, 
ana  every^niah  laboured,  the  work  progressed  rapidly  ;  for 
stones,  bricks,  timber,  and  baskets  fiill  of  sand  were  brought 
to  it,  and  those  who  assisted  flagged  not  a  moment  in  their 
work,  either  by  night  or  by  day.  72.  Those  v/ho  assisted  at  the 
Isthmus  with  all  their  forces,  were  the  following  of  the  Greeks ; 
the  Lacedaemonians,  and  all  the  Arcadians,  the  Eleans,  Cor- 
inthians, Sicyonians,  Epidaurians,  Phliasians,  Troezenians,  and 
Ilermionians.  These  were  they  who  assisted,  and  were  very 
much  alarmed  at  the  dangerous  situation  of  Greece  :  but  the 
rest  of  the  Peloponnesians  did  not  concern  themselves  about  it ; 
however,  the  Olympian  and  Carnian  festivals  were  now  past. 
73.  Seven  nations  inhabit  the  Peloponnesus :  of  these,  two, 
being  indigenous,  are  now  seated  in  the  same  country  in  which 
they  originally  dwelt,  the  Arcadians  and  Cynurians.  One 
nation,  the  Achaeans,  never  removed  from  the  Peloponnesus, 
though  they  did  from  their  own  territory,  and  now  occupy 
2  L  2 


516  HERODOTUS.  [1i,  75. 

another.  The  remaining  four  nations  of  the  seven  are  foreign, 
Dorians,  JEtolians,  Dryopians,  and  Lemnians.  The  Dorians 
have  many  and  celebrated  cities  ;  the  -Sitolians,  only  Elis : 
the  Dryopians,  Hermione  and  Asine,  situate  near  Cardamyle 
of  Laconia  ;  the  Lemnians  have  all  the  Paroreataj.  The  Cy- 
nurians,  who  are  indigenous,  are  the  only  people  that  appear 
to  be  lonians  ;  but  they  have  become  Dorians  by  being 
governed  by  the  Argives,  and  through  lapse  of  time,  being 
Orneata3^  and  neighbouring  inhabitants.  Of  these  seven  na- 
tions, the  remaining  cities,  except  those  I  have  enumerated, 
remained  neutral ;  or,  if  I  may  speak  freely,  by  remaining 
neutral,  favoured  the  Mede. 

74.  Those  at  the  Isthmus,  then,  persevered  with  such  zeal, 
as  having  now  to  contend  for  their  all,  and  as  they  did  not 
expect  to  distinguish  themselves  by  their  fleet ;  meanwhile, 
tliose  at  Salamis,  having  heard  of  these  things,  were  alarmed, 
not  fearing  so  much  for  themselves  as  for  the  Peloponnesus. 
For  some  time  one  man  standing  by  another  began  to  talk  in 
secret,  wondering  at  the  imprudence  of  Eurybiades  ;  till  at  last 
(heir  discontent  broke  out  openly,  and  a  council  was  called, 
and  much  was  said  on  the  same  subject.  Some  said,  that 
they  ought  to  sail  for  the  Peloponnesus,  and  hazard  a  battle 
for  that,  and  not  stay  and  fight  for  a  place  already  taken  by 
tlie  enemy ;  but  the  Athenians,  ^ginetj%  and  Megareans, 
thatthey  should  stay  there  and  defend  themselves.  75.  Tliere- 
iipon,  Themistocles,  when  he  saw  his  opinion  was  overruTecT 
byTTie  Peloponnesians,  went  secretly  out  of  the  counciT;' and 
having  gone  out,  he  despatched  a  man  in  a  boat  to  the  elTcanip- 
ment  of  the  Medes,  having  instructed  him  what  to  say^TTiis 
name  was  Sicinnus-;  and  he  was  a  domestic,  and  preceptor  to 
the  children  ofTThemistocles ;  hira,  after  these  events,  The- 
mistocles got  made  a  Thespian,  when  the  Thespians  augment- 
ed the  number  of  their  citizens,  and  gave  him  a  competent 
fortune.  He,  then,  arriving  in  the  boat,  spoke  as  folio wg, to 
the  generals  of  the  barbarians  :  "  The^eneral  of  the  Atheni- 
ans lias  sent  me  unknown  to  the  rest  omie^i'ClikB,  (for  he 
is  in  the  interest  of  the  king,  and  wishes  that  your  affairs 

'  Bielir  takes  the  word  Orneatse  to  describe  people  who  were  trans- 
planted from  a  distance,  and  made  to  dwell  near  Argos.  One  advantage 
in  following  hia  interpretation  is,  that  it  obviates  the  necessity  of  altenng 


76,77.]  URANIA.     VIII.  517 

may  jprosper,  rather  than  those  of  the  Greeks,)  to  inform  you, 
that  the  Greeks  in  great  consternation  are  deliberating  on 
^flight ;  and  you  have  now  an  opportunity  of  achieving  the 
mgst  glorious  of  all  enterprises,  if  you  do  not  suffer  them  to 
e^£a£^e.  For  they  do  not  agree  an]3ng  themselves,  nor  will 
they  oppose~you  ;  but  you  will  see  those  who  are  in  your  in- 
t^estf  and  those  who  are  not,  fighting  with  one  another."  He 
having  delivered  this  message  to  them,  immediately  departed. 
76.  As  these  tidings  appeared  to  them  worthy  of  credit,  in  the 
first  place,  they  landed  a  considerable  number  of  Persians  on 
the  little  island  of  Psyttalea,  lying  between  Salamis  and  the 
continent ;  and,  in  the  next  place,  when  it  was  midnight,  they 
got  their  western  wing  under  weigh,  drawing  it  in  a  circle 
towards  Salamis,  and  those  who  were  stationed  about  Ceos  and 
Cynosura  got  under  weigh  and  occupied  the  whole  passage  as 
far  as  Munychia,  with  their  ships.  And  for  this  reason  they 
got  their  ships  under  weigh,  that  the  GY^ks  might  have  no 
way  to  e^ape;^t)uL  being  shut  up  in  Salamis,  might  suffer 
puiiishment  for  the  co'nflicts  at  Artemlsium  ;  ancLthjey:-laii3(ld 
the  Persians  at  the  little  island  of  Psj^ttalea  for  this  reason, 
that,  when  an  engagement  should  take  place,  as  they  expected 
most  part  of  the^^n  and  wrecks  would  be  driven  thitlier, 
(for  that  island  lay  in  the  strait  where  the  engagement  was 
likely  to  take  place,)  they  might  save  the  one  party,  and  destroy 
the  other.  But  these  things  they  did  in  silence,  that  the  enemy 
might  not  know  what  was~g6irig  on.  ""They  therefore  made 
these  preparations  by  night,  without  taking^  ^"L£!?^** 

77.  I  am  unaBle  to  speak  againsFTTie  ""oracles  as  not  being  V'^ 
true,  no^  wish'" to '  rmpugn  the  authority  of  those  that  speaK 
dftjJjypwTieri  FTook  on  such  occurrences  as  the  following. 
"When  they  gliall  bridge jvith  ships  the  sacred  shore  of  Diana 
with  the  golden  sword,  and  sea-girt  Cynosura,  having  with 
mainTope  destroyed  beautiful  Athens,  then  divine  Vengeance 
shall  quench   strong  Presumption,   son   of  Tn.soleiice,   when 
thmkiiigTo'  subvert  all  things.'    ForHBrass  shall  engage  with 
brass,  and  Mars  shall  redden  the  sea  with  blood.     Then  the 
far-thundering  son  of  Saturn  and  benign  victory  shall  bring... 
a  day  of  freedom  to  Greece."     Looking  on  such  occurrences, 
and^  regardijig__Bacis,  who  spoke  thus  clearly,  I  neither  dare 
mysel?  say  any  tiling  in  contradiction  to  <^'"^cles,  norallojv^ 
others  to  do  so.  ~  ^'""'    "    "  ""^  ^/  \ 


518  HERODOTUS.  [7»--8l. 

78.  There  was  great  altercation  between  the  generals  jit 
Salamis  :  and  they  did  not  yet  know  that  the  barhariansliad 
surrounded  them  with  their  ships  ;  but  they  supposed  that 
they  were  in  the  same  place  as  they  had  seen  them  statione3~^ 
in  during  the  day.  79.  While  the  generals  were  disput- 
ing, ^istides,  son  of  Lysimachus,  crossed  over  from  ^gina  ; 
he  was  ^"^thenian,  but  had  been  banished  by  ostracism*, 
having  heard  of  his  manner  of  life,  I  consider  him  to  have 
been  the  best  and  most  upright  man  in  Athens.  This  per- 
son, standing  at  the  entrance  of  the  council,  called  Themis- 
tocles  out,  who  was  not  indeed  his  friend,  but  his  most 
bitter  enemy ;  yet,  from  the  greatness  of  the  impending 
danger,  he  forgot  that,  aFxd  called  him,  wishing  to  confer 
with  him  ;  for  he  had  already  heard  that  those  from  Pelopon- 
nesus were  anxious  to  get  the  ships  under  weigh  for  the  Isth- 
mus. When  TJiemistocles  came  out  to  him,  Aristides  spoke 
as  follows  :  ^''  It  is  right  that  we  should  strive,  both  on  other 
occasions,  and  particularly  on  this,  which  of  us  shall  do  the 
greatest  service  to  our  country.  I  assure  you,  that  to  say 
little  or  much  to  the  Peloponnesians  about  sailing  from  hence, 
is  the  same  thing ;  for  I,  an  eye-witness,  tell  you,  now,  even 
if  they  would,  neither  the  Corinthians,  nor  Eurybiades  him- 
self, will  be  able  to  sail  away ;  for_wejirg_mijtll  sidesenclosed 
bythe^^enemy.  Go  in  therefore,  and  acquaint  tliernwlth 
this?''"  SO.  He  answered  as  follows:  "  You  both  give 
very  useful  advice,  and  have  brought  good  news ;  for  you  are 
come  yourself  as  an  eye-witness  of  what  I  wished  should 
happen.  Know,  tlien,  that  what  has  been  done  by  the  Medes, 
proceeds  from  me.  For  jt.  was  necessary,  since  the  Qxfi^ka 
would  not  willingly  come  to  an  engagement^.  t]iatLth£y.should 
be  compelled  to  it  against  their  will.  But  do  you,  since  you 
come  bringing  good  news,  announce  it  to  them  yourself,  for  if 
I  tell  them,  I  shall  appear  to  speak  from  my  own  invention, 
and  shall  not  persuade  them,  as  if  the  barbarians  were  doing 
no  such  thing.  But  do  you  go  in,  and  inform  them  how  the 
case  is  :  and  when  you  have  informed  them,  if  they  are  per- 
suaded, so  much  the  better  ;  but  if  they  attach  no  credit  to 
what  you  say,  it  will  be  the  same  to  us  :  for  they  can  no 
longer  escape  by  flight,  if,  as  you  say,  we  are  surrounded  on 
all  sides."  81.  Aristides,  going  in,  gave  this  account,  saving 
that  he  came  from  TEgifta,  and  with  difficulty  sailed  through 


S2-86.]  URANIA.    VIII.  519 

unyiTcef  red  by  those  that  were  stationed  round ;  for  that  tlie 
whole  GrecJML^-duyfli=7.fi^^rro^]irtf^  by  the~~sliips  of  Xerxes. 
He  advised  them,  therefore,  to  prepare  themselves  for  tfieir 
defence.  And  he,  having  said  this,  withdrew ;  a  dispute,  how- 
ever, again  arose,  for  the  greater  part  of  the  generals  gave 
no  credit  to  the  report.  82.  While  thej^were  stUl  i.n.do[^ 
there  arrived  a  trireme  of  Tenians  that  had  deserted,  which 
Panoetius,  son  of  ^bcimeneSj  commanded,  and  which  brought 
an  account  of  the  whole  trutli.  For  that  iaction  the  name  oT 
tlie  i'enians  was  engraved  on  the  tripod  at  Delphi,  among 
those  who  had  defeated  the  barbarian.  With  this  ship  that 
came  over  at  Salamis,  and  with  the  Lemnian  before,  off  Arte- 
misium,'*  the  Grecian  fleet  was  made  up  to  the  full  number 
of  three  hundred  and  eighty  ships ;  for  before  it  wanted  two 
Df  that  number. 

83.  When  the  account  given  by  the  Tenians  was  credited  by 
the  Greeks,  thevprepared  for  an  engagement.  Day  dawned, 
and  when  they  had  niustered  the  m'armesTThemistocles,  above 
all  the  others,  harangued  them  most  eloquently.  His  speech 
was  entirely  taken  up  in  contrasting  better  things  with  worse, 
exhorting  them  to  choose  the  best  of  all  those  things  which 
depended  on  the  nature  and  condition  of  man.  Having  finished 
his  speech,  he  ordered  them  to  go  on  board  their  ships :  they 
accordingly  were  going  on  board,  when  the  trireme  from 
-ZEgina,  which  had  gone  to  fetch  the  JEacidae,  returned. 
Thereupon  the  Greeks  got  all  their  ships  under  weigh.  84. 
When  they  were  under  weigh,  the  barbarians  immediately  fell 
upon  them.  Nowall  tlie  other  Greeks  began  to  back  water 
and  made  ior  the  shore ;  but  Aminias  of  Pallene,  an  Athenian, 
being  carried  onwards,  attacked  a  ship  ;  and  his  ship  becoming 
entangled  with  the  other,  and  the  crew  not  being  able  to  clear, 
the  rest  thereupon  coming  to  the  assistance  of  Aminias,  en- 
gaged. Thus  the  Athenians  say  the  battle  commenced ;  but 
the  iEginetae  affirm,  that  the  ship  which  went  to  -^gina  to 
fetch  the  ^acidae,  was  the  first  to  begin.  This  is  also  said, 
that  a  phantom  of  a  woman  appeared  to  them,  and  that  on 
her  appearance  she  cheered  them  on,  so  that  the  whole  fleet  ov 
the  Greeks  heard  her,  after  she  had  first  reproached  them  in 
these  words:  "Dastards,  how  long  will  you  back  water?" 
85.  Opposite  the  Athenians  the  Phoenicians  were  drawn  up, 
'  *  See  chap    11. 


520  HERODOTUS.  [86, 87- 

for  they  occupied  the  wing  towards  Eleusis  and  westward ; 
opposite  the  Lacedaemonians,  the  lonians  occupied  the  wmg 
towards  tlie  e^ast^and  the  Pirseeus.  Of  these  some  few  be- 
liaved  ill  on  purpose,  in  compliance  with  the  injunctions  of 
Themistocles;^  but  most  of  them,  no*  so.  I  am  able  to 
mention  the  names  of  several  captains  of  triremes  who  took 
Grecian  ships ;  but  I  shall  make  no  use  of  them,  except  of 
Theomestor,  son  of  Androdamas,  and  Phylacus,  son  of  Histi- 
asus,  both  Samians.  I  mention  these  two  only  for  this  reason, 
because  Theomestor,  on  account  of  this  exploit,  was  made 
tyrant  of  Samos  by  the  appointment  of  the  Persians ;  and 
Phylacus  was  inscribed  as  a  benefactor  of  the  king,  and  a 
large  tract  of  land  was  given  him.  The  benefactors  of  the 
king  are  called  in  the  Persian  language,  Orosangae.  Such  was 
the  case  with  regard  to  these  men.  86.  The  greater  part  of 
the  ships  were  run  down  at  Salamis ;  some  being  destroyed 
by  the  Athenians,  others  by  the  JEginetae.  For  as  the  Greeks 
fought  in  good  order,  in  line,  but  the  barbarians  were  neither 
properly  formed  nor  did  any  thing  with  judgment,  such  an 
event  as  did  happen,  was  likely  to  occur.  However,  they  were 
and  proved  themselves  to  be  far  braver  on  this  day  than  off 
Euboea,  every  one  exerting  himself  vigorously,  and  dreading 
Xerxes ;  for  each  thought  that  he  himself  was  observed  by 
the  king. 

87.  As  regards  the  rest,  of  some  of  them  I  am  unable  to 
say  with  certainty  how  each  of  the  barbarians  or  Greeks 
fought ;  but  with  respect  to  Artemisia,  the  following  incident 
occurred,  by  which  she  obtained,  still  greater  credit  with  the 
king.  For  when  the  king's  forces  were  in  great  confusion,  at 
that  moment  the  ship  of  Artemisia  was  chased  by  an  Attic 
ship,  and  she  not  being  able  to  escape,  for  before  her  were 
other  friendly  ships,  and  her  own  happened  to  be  nearest  the 
enemy,  she  resolved  to  do  that,  which  succeeded  in  the  at- 
tempt. For  being  pursued  by  the  Athenian,  she  bore  down 
upon  a  friendly  ship,  manned  by  t^al3^dian§7arrd^T#tfcfe- 
masithymus  himself,  king  of  the  Calyndians,  on  board ;  whe- 
ther  slie  had  any  quarrel  with  him  while  they  were  at  the 
Hellespont,  I  am  unable  to  say,  or  whether  she  did  it  on  pur- 
pose, or  whether  the  ship  of  the  Calyndians  happened  by  chance 
to  be  in  her  way ;  however,  she  ran  it  down,  and  sunk  it,  and 
^  Sec  chap.  22. 


88—90.]  URANIA.    VI  521 

by  good  fortune  gained  a  double  advantage  to  herself.  For 
the  captain  of  the  Attic  ship,  when  he  saw  her  bearing  down 
on  a  ship  of  the  barbarians,  concluding  Artemisia's  ship  to  be 
either  a  Grecian,  or  one  that  had  deserted  from  the  enemy 
and  was  assisting  them,  turned  aside  and  attacked  others. 
88.  In  the  first  place,  this  was  the  result  to  her,  that  she 
escaped  and  did  not  perish ;  and  in  the  next,  it  fell  out  tliat 
she  having  done  an  injury,  in  consequence  of  it,  became  still 
more  in  favour  with  Xerxes.  For  it  is  said,  that  Xerxes  look- 
ing on  observed  her  ship  making  the  attack,  and  that  some 
near  him  said :  "  Sire,  do  you  see  Artemisia,  how  well  she 
fights,  and  has  sunk  one  of  the  enemy's  ships?"  Whereupon 
he  asked,  if  it  was  in  truth  the  exploit  of  Artemisia :  they 
answered,  "  that  tliey  knew  the  ensign  of  her  ship  perfectly 
well ;"  but  they  thought  that  it  was  an  enemy  that  was  sunk. 
For,  as  has  been  mentioned,  other  things  turned  out  fortunately 
for  her,  and  this  in  particular,  that  no  one  of  the  crew  of  the 
Calyndian  ship  was  saved  so  as  to  accuse  her.  And  it  is 
related  that  Xerxes  said  in  answer  to  their  remarks :  "  My 
men  have  become  women,  and  my  women,  men."  They  relate 
that  Xerxes  said  this. 

89.  In  thisbattle  perished  the  admiral,  Ariabignes,  son  of 
Darius,  and  brother  of  Xerxes,  and  many  other  illustrious 
men  of  the  Persians  and  Medes.  and  tt>e  other  aliiesTTuFonly 
some  few  of  the  Greeks :  for  as  they  knew  how  to  swim,  they 
wlToscTsliips  were  destroyed,  and'wHo  did' hot  perisli  in  actual 
conllict,  swam  safe  to  Salamis ;  whereas  many  of  the  barba- 
rians,  not  knowing  how  to  swim,  perished  in  the  sea.  When 
the  foremost  ships  were  put  to  flight,  then  the  greatest  num- 
bers were  destroyed ;  for  those  who  were  stationed  behind, 
endeavouring  to  pass  on  with  their  ships  to  the  front,  that 
they,  too,  might  give  the  king  some  proof  of  their  courage, 
fell  foul  of  their  own  flying  ships.  90.  The  following  event 
also  occurred  in  this  confusion.  Some  Phoenicians,  whose 
ships  were  destroyed,  going  to  the  king,  accused  the  lonians, 
that  their  shi))s  had  perished  by  their  means^  for  that  they 
hacT  betrayed  him.  It,  however,  turned  out  that  the  Ionian 
captains  were  not  put  to  death,  but  that  those  Phoenicians  who_ 
accused  them,  received  the  following  reward.  For  while  they 
were  yet  speaking,  a  Samothracran  ship  bore  down  on  an 
Athenian  sliip  ;   tlie  Athenian  was  sunk,  and  an  iKginetac 


522  HERODOTUS.  [91,92. 

ship,  coming  up,  sunk  the  ship  of  the  Samothracians.  But  the 
Saraothracians  being  javelin-men,  by  hurling  their  javelins, 
drove  the  marines  from  the  ship  that  had  sunk  them,  and 
boarded  and  got  possession  of  it.  This  action  saved  the 
lonians:  for  when  Xerxes  saw  them  perform  so  great  an 
exploit,  he  turned  round  to  the  Phoenicians,  as  being  above 
measure  grieved,  and  ready  to  blame  all,  and  ordered  their 
heads  to  be  struck  off,  that  they  who  had  proved  themselves 
cowards,  might  no  more  accuse  those  who  were  braver,  (For 
whenever  Xerxes  saw  any  one  of  his  own  men  performing  a 
gallant  action  in  the  sea-light,  being  seated  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain  opposite  Salamis,  which  is  called  -^galeos,  he  in- 
(piired  the  name  of  the  person  who  did  it,  and  his  secretaries 
wrote  down  the  family  and  country  of  the  captain  of  the 
trireme.)  Moreover,  Ariaramnes,  a  Persian,  who  was  a  friend 
to  the  lonians^  and  happened  to  be  present,  contributed  to  the 
ruin  of  the  Phoenicians.  They  accordingly  betook  themselves 
to  the  Phoenicians.^ 

91.  The  barbarians  being  turned  to  fiight;-°«»d  sailing  away 
towards  Flialerus,  the  JEgineta^  waylaying  them  in  the  sjrait, 
performed  actions  worthy  of  record.  For  the  Athenians  in 
the  rout  ran  down  both  those  ships  that  resisted  and  those 
that  fled ;  and  the  JEgineta3,  those  that  sailed  away  from  the 
battle :  so  that  when  any  escaped  the  Athenians,  being  borne 
violently  on,  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  JEginetae.  92. 
At  this  time  there  happened  to  meet  together  the  ship  of 
Themistocles,  giving  chace  to  one  of  the  enemy,  and  that  of 
Polycritus,  son  of  Crius,  an  JEginetan,  bearing  down  upon  a 
Sidonian  ship,  the  same  that  had  taken  the  JEginetan  ship, 
wliich  was  keeping  watch  off  Sciathus,  and  on  board  of  which 
sailed  Pytheas,  son  of  Ischenous,  whom,  though  covered  with 
wounds,  the  Persians  kept  in  the  ship  from  admiration  of  his 
valour.*^  The  Sidonian  ship  that  carried  him  about,  was  taken 
with  the  Persians  on  board,  so  that  Pytheas,  by  this  means> 
returned  safe  to  -^gina.  But  when  Polycritus  saw  the  Athe- 
nian sliip,  he  knew  it,  seeing  the  admiral's  ensign  j  and  shout- 
ing to  Themistocles,  he  railed  at  him,  upbraiding  him  with 
the  charge  of  Medism  brought  against  the  ^gineta).®  P^oly- 
critus,  accordingly,  as  he  was  attacking  the  ship,  threw  out 

•  That  B,  **  the  executioners  put  them  to  death  " 
•  JSee  B.  VII  chap.  181.  •  See  B.  VI.  chap.  49,  50 


93—95.]  URANIA.     VIH.  523 

these  reproaches  against  Themistocles.  BuLJhe  barbarians, 
whose  ships  survi^j3a^fled_and^rJTed  at  Phalerus,  under  the 
protection  of  theland -forces. 

9i5.  In  this  engagement  of  the  Greeks,  the  JEginetns  ob- 
tai.aedthe  greatest  renown  ;  and  next,  the  Athenians : — of  par- 
ticular  persons,  Pblycritns  of  ./liigina7"and  Athenians,  Eumenes 
the  Anagyrasian,  with  Aminias  a  Pallenian,  who  gave  chace 
to  Artemisia ;  and  if  he  had  known  that  Artemisia  sailed  in 
that  ship,  he  would  not  have  given  over  the  pursuit,  till  he 
had  either  taken  her,  or  been  himself  taken.  For  such  had 
been  the  order  given  to  the  Athenian  captains ;  and  besides, 
a  reward  of  ten  thousand  drachmas  was  offered  to  whoever 
should  take  her  alive ;  for  they  considered  it  a  great  indignity 
that  a  woman  should  make  war  against  Athens.  She,  how- 
ever, as  has  been  before  mentioned,  made  her  escape  ;  and 
the  others,  whose  ships  survived,  lay  at  Phalerus.  94.  The 
Athenians  say,  that  AdimantuSgthe  Corinthian  admiral,  im- 
mc?!fKtef^"from  the  comnicnopiiKnt, 'wTicn  the  ships  engaged, 
bQJng  dismayed  and  cxcossivoly  frightened,  hoisted  sail  and 
fled  ^  and_tnat  flie'^'Corlnthians,  seeing^jbifijr  admiral's  ship 
flying,  likewise  bore  away;  and  when,  in  their  flight,  they 
arrived  off  the  temple  "of  Minerva  Sciras,  on  the  coast  of 
Salamis,  a  light  bark  fell  in  with  them  by  the  guidance  of 
I  hfiaxgnj  that  no  one  appeared  to  have  sent  it,  and  that  it  came 
!  up  to  the  Corinthians,  who  knew  nothing  relating  to  the  fleet. 
;  From  this  circumstance  they  conjectured  the  circumstance  to 
j  be  divine ;  for  that  when  those  on  board  the  bark  neared  the 
i  ships,  they  spoke  as  follows:  ''AdimantuSj  haying  drawn  off 
I  yo.^r  ships^  you  have  hurried  away  m  flight,  betraying  the 
I  Greeks ;  they,  however,  arc  victorious,  as  far  as  they  could 
have  desiretf  to  conquer  their  enemies."  Having  said  this,  as 
Adimantus  did  not  credit  them,  they  again  spoke  as  follows : 
tliat  "  they  were  ready  to  be  taken  as  hostages,  and  be  put  to 
death,  if  the  Greeks  were  not  found  to  be  victorious:"  upon 
which,  having  put  about  ship,  hc^imd.  the  xeat  returned  to  the 
fleet,  when  the  work  was  done.  Such  a  story  is  told  of  them 
by  the  Athenians ;  the  Corinthians,  however,  do  not  admit  its 
truth,. but  affirm  that  they  were  among  the  foremost  in  the 
engagement ;  and  the  rest  of  Greece  bears  testimony  in  their 
^Yoilir  ^5.  Aristides,  son  of  Lysiraachus,  an  Athenian,  of 
whom  a  made  mention  a  little  before  as  a  most  upright  man, 


524  HERODOTUS.  [96—98. 

in  this  confusion  that  took  place  about  Salamis,  did  as  follows: 
taking  with  him  a  considerable  number  of  heavy-armed  men, 
who  were  stationed  along  the  shore  of  the  Salaminian  terri- 
tory, and  were  Athenians  by  race,  he  landed  them  Dn  the 
island  of  Psyttaleajiind  they  put  to  the  sword  alf  tKe'Pei^ians 
>vTio  were  on  that  little  island.  — -^™.       .^  ...^ 

06.  When  the  sea-fight  was  ended,  the  Greeks,  having  hauled 
on  shore  at  Salamis  all  the  wrecks  that  stiirTiappened~to7Je 
tTiere,"  held  themselves  ready  for  another  battle,  expecting  the 
,  kfrig  would  still  make  use  of  the  ships  that  survived.     But  a 
^  west  wind  carrying  away  many  of  the  wrecks,  drove  them  on 
the  shore  of  Attica,  which  is  called  Colias,  so  as  to  fulfil  both 
all  the  otiicr  oracles  delivered  by  Bacis  and  Mus^u?"con?!CTn- 
^  ing  this  sea-fjght,  and  also  that  relating  to  the  wrecks  which 
were  drifted  on  this  shore,  which  many  years  before  had  been 
delivered  by  Lysistratus,  an  Athenian  augur,  but  had  not  been 
understood  by  any  of  the  Greeks  :  "  The  Colian  women  sliall 
broil  their  meat  with  oars."^     This  was  to  happen  after  the 
departure  of  the  king. 

97.  XerxeSj  when  he  saw  the  defeat  he  had  sustained,  fear- 
ing lest  some  of  the  lonians  might  suggest  to  the  Greeks,  or 
lest  they  themselves  might  resolve  to  sail  to  the  Hellespont, 
for  the  purpose  of  breaking  up  the  bridges,  and  lest  he,  being 
shut  up  in  Europe,  might  be  in  danger  of  perishing,  meditated 
flight.  But  wishing  that  his  intention  should  not  be  known 
either  to  the  Greeks  or  his  own  people,  he  at^einpted  to  throw 
a  mound  across  to  Salamis;  and  he  fastened  together  Phcc- 
nTcian  merchantmen,  that  they  might  serve  instead  of  a  j:ai*t 
and  a  wall;  and  he  made  preparation  for  war,  as  if  about  to 
fight  another  battle  at  sea.  All  the  others %ho  saw  him  thus 
occupied,  were  firmly  convinced  that  he  had  seriously  deter- 
mined to  stay  and  continue  the  war  ;  but  none  of  these  things 
escaped  the  notice  of  Mardonius,  who  wj^s  well  acquainted 
with  his  design.  At  the  "same  time  that  Xerxes  was'doing 
this,  he  despatched  a  messenger  to  the  Persians,  to  inform 
them  of  the  misfortune  that  had  befallen  him.  98.  There  is 
nothing  mortal  that  reaches  its  destination  more  rapidly  than 
these  couriers :  it  has  been  thus  planned  by  the  Persians. 
They  say  that  as  many  days  as  are  occupied  in  the  whole 
journey,  so  many  horses  and  men  are  posted  at  regular  inter* 
«  Or,  "  shall  shuader  at  the  o  irs," 


99,100.3  URANIA.    Vlll.  526 

vals,  a  horse  and  a  maii  being  stationed  at  each  day*s  journey : 
neither  snow,  nor  rain,  nor  heat,  nor  night,  prevents  them 
from  performing  their  appointed  stage  as  quick  as  possible. 
The  first  courier  delivers  his  orders  to  the  second,  the  second 
to  the  third,  and  so  it  passes  throughout,  being  deUvered  from 
one  to  the  other,  just  like  the  torch-bearing  among  the  Greeks, 
which  they  perform  in  honour  of  Vulcan.  This  mode  of  tra- 
velling by  horses  the  Persians  call  angarei'on.  99.  The  first 
message  that  reached  Susa,  with  the  news  that  Xerxes  was  in 
possession  of  Athens,  caused  so  great  joy  among  the  Persians 
who  had  been  left  behind,  that  they  strewed  all  the  roads  with 
myrtle,  burnt  perfumes,  and  gave  themselves  up  to  sacrifices 
and  festivity.  But  the  second  messenger  arriving  threw  them 
into  such  consternation,  that  they  all  rent  their  garments,  and 
uttered  unbounded  shouts  and  lamentations,  laying  the  blame 
on  Mardonius.  The  Persians  acted  thus,  not  so  much  being 
grieved  for  the  ships,  as  fearing  for  Xerxes  himself.  And  this 
continued  with  thePersians  during  all  the  time  that  elapsed  until 
Xerxes  himself  arrived  and  stopped  them  from  doing  so. 

100.  Mardonius,  seeing  Xerxes  much  afflicted  on  account 

of  the  sea-fight,  and  suspecting  he  was  meditating  a  retreat 

from  Athens,  and  having  thought  within  himself,  that  he  should 

suffer  punishment  for  having  persuaded  the  king  to  invade 

Greece,  and  that  it  would  be  better  for  him  to  incur  the 

hazard  either  of  subduing  Greece,  or  ending  his  life  gloriously 

'  in  attempting  great  achievements :  however,  the  thouglit  of 

;  subduing  Greece  weighed  more  with  him ;  having,  therefore, 

\  considered  these  things,  he  thus  addressed  the  king :  -iL§i£e, 

j  do  not  grieve,  nor  think  you  have  suffered  any  great  loss  in 

ii  conMjpETence  of  what  has  happened ;  for  the  contest  with  us 

j  docs  not  depend  on  wood  alone,  but  on  men  and  horses.    None 

\  of  those  who  imagine  they  have  already  finished  tlie  wliole 

I  business,  will  quit  their  ships  and  attempt  to  oppose  you,  nor 

i  will  any  one  from  this  continent ;  and  they  who  have  opposed 

[■  us,  have  suffered  punishment.     If,  then,  you  think  fit,  let  us 

i  immediately  make  an  attempt  on  Peloponnesus ;  or  if  you 

j  think  right  to  delay,  you  may  do  so.    But  be  not  discouraged  ; 

I  for  the  Greeks  have  no  means  of  escape  from  rendering  an 

j*  account  of" what  they  have  done  now  and  formerly,  and  from 

I'  becoming  your  slaves.     By  all  means,  therefore,  do  this.     If, 

|:  however  you  have  determined  yourself  to  retire  and  to  witii 


526  HERODOTUS.  [101,  102 

draw  the  army,  I  have  then  other  advice  to  offer.  Do  not 
you,  O  king,  suffer  the  Persians  to  be  exposed  to  the  derision 
of  the  Greeks ;  for  where  the  Persians  fought,^  your  affaiia 
received  no  damage,  nor  can  you  say  that  we  have  oij^aiiL 
oc(;jasion  proved  cowards.  T3ut  Tf  the  Pltn^nl^atrs,  Egyptians, 
Cyprians,  and  Cilicians,  liave  shown  themselves  cowards,  this 
disaster  in  no  respect  extends  to  the  Persians.  Since,  there- 
fore, the  Persians  are  not  to  blame,  yield  to  my  advice.  If 
you  have  resolved  not  to  stay  here,  do  you  return  to  your  own 
home,  and  take  with  you  the  greatest  part  of  the  army ;  but 
it  is  right  that  I  should  deliver  Greece  t^  _ji)U  TiPdM^^fi  »^ 
slayei^,  having  selected  three  hundred  thousand  men  from  the 
arnr^."  101.  Xerxes,  having  heard  this,  was  rejoiced  and_de- 
li^hted,  as  relieved  from  troubles,  and  said  to  Mardomus,  that 
alter  deliberation,  he  would  give  him  an  answer  as  to  which 
of  these  plans  he  would  adopt.  While  he  was  deliberating 
with  his  Persian  counsellors,  he  thought  fit  to  send  for  Arte- 
misia to  the  council,  because  she  was  evidently  the  only  person 
who  before  understood  what  ought  to  have  been  done.  When 
Artemfeia  arrived,  Xerxes  having  ordered  his  other  counsel- 
lors of  the  Persians  and  his  guards  to  withdraw,  spoke  as 
follows:  "  J\  Jonius  advises  me  to  stay  here,  and  make  an 
attempt  on"^--  Peloponnesus;  saying,  that  the  Persians  and 
the  land  army  are  not  at  all  to  blame  for  the  defeat  I  have 
sustained,  and  wish  to  give  me  proof  of  it.  He,  therefore, 
advises  me  either  to  do  this,  or  wishes  himself,  having  selected 
three  hundred  thousand  men  frolh  tire  atmy,  to  deliver  Greece 
to  me  reduced  to  slavery ;  and  advises  me  to  return  to  my  own 
home  with  the  rest  of  the  army.  Do  you,  therefore,  for  you 
gave  me  good  advice  respecting  the  sea-fight  that  has  taken 
place,  in  dissuading  me  from  engaging  in  it,  advise  me  now, 
by  adopting  which  measure  I  shall  consult  best  for  my  inter- 
est." 102.  Thus  he  asked  her  advice.  She  answered  as  fol- 
lows :  "  O  king,  it  is  difficult  for  me  to  say  what  is  best  for 
you  who  ask  my  advice.  However,  in  the  present  state  of 
affairs,  it  appears  to  me  that  you  should  return  home,  and 
leave  Mardonius  here  with  the  troops  he  requires,  if  he  wishes 
it,  and  promises  to  effect  what  he  says.  For,  on  the  one 
hand,  if  he  conquers  what  he  says  he  will,  and  his  plans  should 
succeed,  the  achievement,  sire,  will  be  yours,  for  yc.ur  servants 
*  Literally,  "  among  the  Persians." 


103— 106.J  URANIA.    VIII.  527 

will  Lave  accomplished  it.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  things 
fall  out  contrary  to  the  expectation  of  Mardonius,  it  will  be  no 
great  misfortune,  so  long  as  you  survive,  and  your  own  affaire 
are  safe  at  home.  For  whilst  you  survive,  and  your  house, 
the  Greeks  will  have  to  hazard  frequent  struggles  for  them- 
selves. But  of  Mardonius,  if  he  should  suffer  any  reverse,  no 
account  will  be  taken  ;  nor  if  the  Greeks  are  victorious,  will 
they  gain  any  great  victory  in  destroying  your  slave.  "But  you, 
having  burnt  Athens,  for  which  you  undertook  this  expedi- 
tion, will  return  liome."  103.  Xerxes  was  pleased  with  her 
advice,  for  she  happened  to  say  "the  veryThirfgs  that  he  de- 
signed. For  even  if  all  the  men  and  women  of  the  world  had 
advised  him  to  stay,  in  my  opinion,  he  would  not  have  stayed, 
so  great  was  his  terror.  Having  commended  Artemisia,  he 
sent  her  to  conduct  his  sons  to  Ephesus  ;  for  some  of  hio 
natural  sons  had  accompanied  him. 

104.  With  the  children  he  sent  Hermotimus,  as  guardian, 
who  was  by  birth  a  Pedasian,  and  among  the  eunuchs  second 
to  none  in  the  king's  favour.  The  Pedasians  dwell  above 
Halicarnassus  ;  and  among  these  Pedasians  the  following  oc- 
currence takes  place  :  when  within  a  certain  time  any  calamity 
is  about  to  fall  on  the  different  neighbours  who  dwell  round 
their  city,  then  the  priestess  of  Minerva  has  a  large  beard. 
This  has  already  happened  twice  to  them.  105.  Hermotimus, 
then,  was  sprung  from  these  Pedasians ;  and  of  all  the  men  we 
know,  revenged  himself  in  the  severest  manner  for  an  injury 
he  had  received.  For  having  been  taken  by  an  enemy,  and 
sold,  he  was  purchased  by  one  Panionius,  a  Chian,  who  gained 
a  livelihood  by  most  infamous  practices.  For  whenever  ho 
purchased  boys  remarkable  for  beauty,  having  castrated  tliem, 
he  used  to  take  and  sell  them  at  Sardis  and  Ephesus  for  large 
sums ;  for  with  the  barbarians  eunuchs  are  more  valued  than 
others,  on  account  of  their  perfect  fidelity.  Panionius,  there- 
fore, had  castrated  many  others,  as  he  made  his  livelihood  by 
this  means,  and  among  them  this  man :  Hermotimus,  however, 
was  not  unfortunate  in  every  respect,  for  he  went  to  Sardif 
with  other  presents  to  the  king ;  and  in  process  of  time  wafe 
most  esteemed  by  Xerxes  of  all  his  eunuchs.  106.  When  the 
king  was  preparing  to  march  his  Persian  army  against  Athens, 
and  was  at  Sardis,  at  that  time  having  gone  down,  on  some  busi- 
er other,  to  the  M^sian  territory  which  the  Chians  possess, 


628  HERODOTUS.  fl07,  l08. 

and  is  called  Atarneus,  he  there  met  with  Panionius.  Hav- 
ing recognised  him,  he  addressed  many  friendly  words  to  him ; 
first  recounting  to  him  the  many  advantages  he  had  acquired 
by  his  means  ;  and  secondly,  promising  him  how  many  benefits 
lie  would  confer  on  him  in  requital,  if  he  would  bring  his 
family  and  settle  there  :^  so  that  Panionius,  joyfully  accepting 
the  proposal,  brought  his  children  and  wife.  But  when  Her- 
motimus  got  him  with  his  whole  family  in  his  power,  he  ad- 
dressed him  as  follows :  "  O  thou,  who  of  all  mankind  hast 
gained  thy  livelihood  by  the  most  infamous  acts,  what  harm 
had  either  I,  or  any  of  mine,  done  to  thee,  or  any  of  thine,  that 
of  a  man  thou  hast  made  me  nothing  ?  Thou  didst  imagine, 
surely,  that  thy  machinations  would  pass  unnoticed  by  the 
gods  ;  who  following  righteous  laws,  have  enticed  thee,  who 
hast  committed  unholy  deeds,  into  my  hands,  so  that  thou 
canst  not  complain  of  the  punishment  I  shall  inflict  on  thee." 
"When  he  had  thus  upbraided  him,  his  sons  being  brought  into 
his  presence,  Panionius  was  compelled  to  castrate  his  own 
sons,  who  were  four  in  number  ;  and  being  compelled,  he  did 
it ;  and,  after  he  had  finished  it,  his  sons,  being  compelled,  cas- 
trated him.  Thus  the  vengeance  of  Hermotimus^  overtook 
Panionius. 

107.  Xerxes,  when  he  had  committed  his  sons  to  Artemisia 
to  convey~to~Ephesus,  havinor  sent  for  Mardonius,  bade  him 
choose  what  forces  he  would  out  of  the  arm^%  and  endeavour 
to  niake  his  actions  correspond  with  his  wor3s.  "TlraS'mucb 
was  done  that  day  ;  but  in  the  night,  the  admirals,  by  the 
king's  order,  took  back  the  ships  from  Phalerui*fo"TIie  Helles- 
pont, as  quickly  as  each  was  able,  in  order  to  guard  th(5'^ridgSr 
for^ie  .kuigjQ^iaas^yer.  But  when  lh(S'"t5inl5!t!*f1I11s~were 
sailing  near  Zoster,  where  some  small  promontories  jut  out 
from  the  main  land,  they  fancied  that  they  were  ships,  and  fled 
for  a  considerable  distance  ;  but  after  a  while,  perceiving  that 
they  were  not  ships  but  promontories,  they  collected  together, 
and  pursued  their  voyage.  108.  When  day  came,  the  Greeks, 
seeing  the  land-forpe-q  remaining  jn.th'^  s.nmpi  pIace,.^suppo^ed 
that  their  ships  also  were  at  Phalerus ;  they  expected  also 
that  they  would  come  to  an  engagement,  and  preparedUo,dg£eiid 
themselves  ;  but  when  they  were  informed  tHat  tlie  ships  had 
departed,  they  immediately  determined  to  pursue  them.  How- 
»  At  Sardis. ^  Literally,  "venfieance  and  Hermotimus.*' 


109.J  URANIA.    VIII  ^29 

ever  they  did  not  get  sight  of  Xerxes'  naval  force,  althougi. 
they  pursued  them  as  far  as  Andros  :  on  arriving  at  Andros, 
therefore,  they  held  a  council.  Themistocles  accordingly  gave 
his  opinion,  "  that  shaping  their  course  between  the  islands, 
and  pursuing  the  ships,  they  should  sail  directly  to  the  Helles- 
pont, and  destroy  the  bridges."  But  Eurybiades  gave  a  con- 
trary opinion,  saying,  that  "  if  they'destroyednEhe  bridges,  they 
would  do  t^lie  greatest  possiblenarm  to  Greece  :  for  if  the 
Pers§n7  being  shut  in,  should  be  compelled  to  remain  in 
Europe,  he  would  endeavour  not  to  continuelnactive  ;  for  if 
he^ontlnued  inactive,  he  could  neither  advance  his  affairs,  nor 
fiml^aiiy  means  of  returning  home,  bi^t  hfs  army  must  perish 
byT^mine  ;  and  if  he  should  attack  them~and~appTy  himself  to 
action~lill  Europe  would  probably  go  over  to  him,  by  cities  and 
nations,  either  through  being  taken  by  force,  or  capitulating 
beforehand  ;  and  they  would  derive  sustenance  from  the  an- 
nual produce  of  the  Greeks.  He^hought  however  that  tlic 
Persian,  having  been  conquered  in  tHe "sea-fight,  would  not 
reQiamJn  Europe,"and  therefore  sliould  be  permitted  to  fly, 
until  inTIisHiglit  he  should  reach  his  Qwn  country.  After  thttt 
he*~a(Ivise(T~tliat  he  sliouid  be  compelled  to  fight  for  hfs  own 
termories."  ThTF'bpinion  tlie  commanders  of  the  other 
Peloponnesians  adhered  to. 

109.  When  Themistocles  perceived  that  he  could  not  per- 
suade the  mj^rity  topsail  for  the  Hellespont,  changing  his 
;  plan,  he  thiis  addressed  the  Athenians,  (for  they  were  exceed- 
ingly annoyed  at  thcescape  of  the  enemy,  and  were  desirous, 
having  consulted  among  themselves,  to  sail  to  the  Hellespont, 
even  if  the  others  would  not.)  "  I  have  myself,  ere  this,  wit- 
nessed many  such  instances,  and  have  heard  of  many  more  ; 
that  men,  when  driven  to  necessity  after  being  conquered, 
have  renewed  the  fight  and  repaired  their  former  loss.  Since, 
then,  we  have  met  with  unexpected  success  for  ourselves  and 
Greece,  by  having  repelled  such  a  cloud  of  men,  let  us  no 
longer  pursue  the  fugitives.  For  we  have  not  wrought  this 
deliverance,  but  the  gods  and  the  heroes,  who  'were  jealous 
thaVoneinan  should  reign  over  both  Asia  and  Europe,  and  he 
unlioiyirnd  wicked  ;  who  treated  sacred  and  profane  thinga 
aliSe^ burning  and  throwing  down  the  images  of  tlio  gods; 
wlio  even  scourgedT  the  sea,  and  threw  fetters  into  it.  Since, 
then,"5ur  affairs  are  in  a  prosperous  condition,  let  us  remain  in 
2  M 


530  HERODOTUS.  [110,111. 

Greece,  and  take  care  of  ourselves  and  our  families  j  let  every 
"O1I6  "repair  his  house  and  apply  attentively  to  sowing  liis 
ground,  after  he  has  thoroughly  expelled  the  barbarian  ;  and 
atjhe  beginning  of  the  spring  let  us  sail  to  the  Hellespont  and 
loqia.^*  This  he  said  wishing  to  secure  favour  with  the  Per- 
siaii,  that,  if  any  misfortune  should  overtake  him  from  tlie 
Athenians,  he  might  have  a  place  of  refuge ;  which  eventually 
came  to  pass.  110.  Themistocles,  in  saying.  .this,-,^ceivccl 
tliem  ;  and  the  Athenians  were  persuaded  ;  for  as  he  had  been 
beTore  considered  a  wise  man,  and  had  now  shown  himself  to 
be  re(illy  wise  and  prudent  in  counsel,  they  were  ready  to  yield 
implicmy  tcTwhat  he  said.  But  after  they  had  been  persuaded, 
'riiemistocles  presently,  sgnt  off  certain  pfii:&QngJ.a^a  boat,  who 
he  was  confident  would,  though  put  to  every  torture,  keep 
secret  what  he  had  enjoined  tliem  to  say  to  the  king  ;  and  of 
these  his  domestic  Sic]niiug'*  was  again  one.  When  they 
reached  the  shore  of  Attica,  the  rest  remained  in  the  boat,  and 
Sicinnus  having  gone  up  to  the  king,  spoke  as  follows  :  "  The- 
mistocles, son  of  Neoclcs,  general  of  tlic  Atlicnians,  the  niost 
valiant  and  wisest  of  all  the  aUies,  has  sent  me  to  tell  you,  that 
Themistocles,  the  Athenian,  wishing  to  serve  you,  has  with- 
held the  Greeks,  who  wished  to  pursue  your  ships,  and  t6"de- 
stroy  the  bridges  on  the  Hellespont ;  now  therefore  retire  at 
your  leisure."  They,  having  made  this  communication,  sailed 
back  again. 

111.  The  Greeks,  when  they  had  determined  neither  to 
pursue  the  ships  of  the  barbarians  any  farther,  nor  to  sail  to 
the  Hellespont  and  destroy  the  passage,  invested  Andros  with 
intention  to  destroy  it :  for  the  Andrianswere  the  first  of  the 
islanders  who,  when  asked  for  money  by  Themistocles,  re- 
fused to  give  it  :  but  when  Themistocles  held  this  language 
to  tliem,  that  "  the  Athenians  had  come  having  with  them  two 
powerful  deities.  Persuasion  and  Necessity,  and  that  therefore 
they  must  give  money  ; "  they  answered  to  this,  saying,  that 
"  the  Athenians  were  with  good  reason  great  and  prosperous, 
and  were  favoured  by  propitious  gods ;  since  however  the 
Andrians  were  poor  in  territory,  and  had  reached  the  lowest 
pitch  of  penury,  and  two  unprofitable  goddessea,  Poverty  and 
Impossibility,  never  forsook  their  island,  but  ever  loved  to 
dwell  there  ;  therefore  that  the  Andrians,  being  in  possossion 
*  See  chap.  7b. 


112,113.]  URANIA.    VIII.  531 

of  these  deities,  would  not  give  any  money  ;  for  that  the  power 
of  the  Athenians  would  never  prove  superior  to  their  in- 
ability."  They  then,  having  made  this  answer,  and  refused 
to  give  money,  were  besieged.  112.  Themistocles,  for  he 
never  erased  coveting  more  wealth,  sendmg  threatening  m es- 
says to  the  other  islands,  demanded  money  by  the  same  per- 
sons, "usTrig  the  same  language  he  had  used  with  the  Andrians  ; 
saymg  that  unless  they  gave  what  was  demanded,  he  would 
lead  tlie  forces  of  the  Greeks  against  them,  and  would  besiege 
and  destroy  them.  By^  saying  this  he  collected  large  sums 
from  the  Carystians^and  the  Parians ;  who  being  informed 
respecting  Andros  that  it  was  besieged  for  siding  with  the 
Mede,  and  with  regard  to  Themistocles,  that  he  was  in  the 
greatest  reputation  of  the  generals,  alarmed  at  these  things, 
sent  money.  Whether  any  other  of  the  islanders  gave  it  I 
am  unable  to  say ;  but  I  am  of  opinion  that  some  others  did, 
and  not  these  only.  However,  the  Carystians^  did  not  by 
tliese  means  at  all  defer  calamity  ;  though  the  Parians,  having 
conciliated  Themistocles  with  money,  escaped  a  visit  from  the 
army.  Themistocles,  accordingly,  setting  out  from  Andros, 
obtained  money  from  the  islanders,  unknown  to  the  other 
generals. 

113.  The  aumy  with  Xerxes  having  stayed  a  few  days  after 
the  sea-fight,  marched'  back"fnto  Boeqtia  by  the  same  way,  for 
it  appeared  to  Mardonius,  both  that  he  should  escort  the  king, 
and  that  the  season  of  the  year  was  unfit  for  military  opera- 
tions ;  and  that  ij  would  be  better  tjQ_winter  in  Thessaly,  and 
to  make  an  atternpt  on  the  I^eioponnesus  early  inTtlie^spring. 
(v  hen  he  arrived  m  'I'hessaly,  Alarclonius  tTiere  selectee!,  first,  all 
the  Persians  wlio  are  called  Immortals,  except  Hydarnes  their 
general,  ^r  Tie  declared  he  would  not  leave  the  king ;  after  these, 
out  of  tlie  rest  of  the  Persians,  the  cuirassier's,  and  the  body  of  a 
thbiisand  horse, '^  and  the  Medes,  Sacje,  Bactrians,  and  Indians, 
both  infantry  and  cavalry ;  he  chose  these  whole  nations  ; 
but  from  the  rest  of  the  allies  he  selected  a  few,  choosing 
such  as  were  of  a  good  stature,  or  by  whom  he  knew  some 
gallant  action  had  been  performed.  Amongst  them,  he  chose 
the  greatest  part  of  the  Persians,  Avho  wore  necklaces  and 
bracelets  ;  next  to  them,  the  Medes  ;  these  were  not  less  nu- 
merous than  the  Persians,  but  were  inferior  in  strength.    Thus 

»  See  c:    121  «  See  B.  VII.  ch.  40  and  IX.  ch.  62, 

2  M  2 


632  HERODOTUS.  [114—116. 

the  whole  together,  with  the  cavahy,  made  up  the  number  of 
threejmndred  thousand.  114.  At  this  time,  while  Mardonius 
was  selectmg  Hs^army,  and  Xerxes  was  in  Thessaly,  an  oracle 
came  to  the  Lacedaemonians  from  Delphi,  admonishing  them 
to  demand  satisfaction  of  Xerxes  for  the  death  of  Leonidas, 
and  to  accept  whatever  should  be  given  by  him.  Accordingly 
the  Spartans  immediately  despatched  a  herald  as  quickly  as 
possible,  who,  when  he  overtook  the  whole  army  still  in  Thes- 
saly, having  come  into  the  presence  of  Xerxes,  spoke  as  fol- 
lows :  "  King  of  the  Medes,  the  Lacedaemonians  and  Heracli- 
dae  of  Sparta  demand  of  you  satisfaction  for  blood,  because  you 
have  slain  their  king,  while  protecting  Greece."  But  he 
laughing,  and  having  waited  a  considerable  time,  as  Marclo- 
i^inilTappened  to  be  standing  near  him,  pointed  to  him,  and  said, 
"  This  Mardonius,  then,  shall  give  them  such  satisfaction  as  they 
deserve."  The  herald,  having  accepted  the  omen,  went  away. 
115.  Xerxes,  having  left  Mardonius  in  Thessaly;,Jiimself 
marched  m  all  haste  to  the  Hellespont ; "an3~arrived  at  the 
place  of  crossing  in  forty-five  days,  bnnging  back  no  part jof 
his_army:,..SO-to  speak.  Wherever,  and  among  whatever  na- 
tion, they  happened  to  be  marching,  tlicy  seized  and  consumed 
their  corn ;  but  if  they  found  no  fruit,  overcome  by  hunger, 
they  eat  up  the  herbage  that  sprung  up  from  the  ground,  and 
stripped  off  the  bark  of  trees  and  gathered  leaves,  both  from 
the  wild  and  cultivated,  andjeft  nothing  ;  this  they  did  from 
hunger.  But  a  pestilence  an3~^clysentery_ falling  on  the 
army,  destroyed  "them  on  their  march.  Such  of  them  as  were 
sick7  Xerxes  left  behind,  ordering  the  cities  through  which_he 
happened  to  be  passing,  to  take  care  of  and  Teed  them  :  some 
in-  Thessaly,  others  at  Siris  of  Paeonia,  and  in  Macedonia. 
Here  having  left  the  sacred  chariot  of  Jupiter,  when  he  march- 
ed against  Greece,  he  did  not  receive  it  back,  as  he  returned  ; 
for  the  Paeonians  having  given  it  to  the  Thracians,  when 
Xerxes  demanded  it  back,  said  that  the  mares  had  been  stolen, 
as  they  were  feeding,  by  the  upper  Thracians,  who  dwell 
round  the  sources  of  the  Strymon.  116.  There  the  king  of 
the  Bisalta3  and  of  the  Crestonian  territory,  a  Thracian,  per- 
petrated a  most  unnatural  deed :  he  declared  that  he  would 
not  willingly  be  a  slave  to  Xerxes,  but  went  up  to  the  top  cf 
Mount  Rhodope,  and  enjoined  his  sons  not  to  join  the  expe- 
dition against  Greece.     They,  however  disregarding  his  pro- 


117—119.3  tJKANIA.    Vllt.  533 

hibition,  from  a  desire  to  see  the  war,  served  in  the  army  Avith 
the  Persian :  but  when  they  all  returned  safe,  being  six  in 
number,  their  father  had  their  eyes  put  out  for  this  disobedi- 
ence ;  and  they  met  with  this  recompence. 

117.  The  Persians,  when  in  their  march  from  Thrace  they 
arrived  at  the  passage,  in  great  haste  crossed  over  the  Helles- 
pont to  Abydos  in  their  ships  ;  for  they  found  the  rafts  jip 
lon.fyer  stretched  across,  but  broken  up  by  a  storm.  While 
detamed  there,  they  got  more  food  than  on  their  march,  and 
having  filled  themselves  immoderately,  and  changed  their 
water,  a  great  part  of  the  army  that  survived,  died :  the  rest 
with  Xerxes  reached  Sardis.  118.  This  different  account  is 
also  given,  that  when  Xerxes  in  his  reti-eaFTrom  "Athens 
arrived  at  Ei'on  on  the  Strymon,  from  thence  he  no  longer 
continued  his  journey  by  land,  but  committed  the  army  to 
Hydarnes  to  conduct  to  the  Hellespont,  and  himself  going  on 
board  a  Phoenician  ship  passed  over  to  Asia:  that  during  his 
voyage  a  violent  and  tempestuous  wind  from  the  Strymon 
overtook  him ;  and  then,  for  the  storm  increased  in  violence, 
the  ship  being  overloaded,  so  that  many  of  the  Persians  who 
accompanied  Xerxes  were  on  the  deck,  thereupon  the  king 
becoming liTarmed,  and  calling  aloud,  asked  the  pilot  if  there 
were  'any  tio'pe  of  safety  for  them ;  and  he  said :  "  There 
is  none,  sire,  unless  we  get  rid  of  some  of  those  many  passen- 
gers."  It  is  further  related,  that  Xerxes,  having  heard  this 
answer,  said  :  "  O  Persians,  now  let  some  among  you  show  his 
regard  for  the  king,  :fpr  on  jou  my  safety  seems  to  depend." 
TlmtU§j£[oke_thusj_ and  that  tEey, Mving  done  homage,  leapt 
into  the  sea ;  and  that  the  ship,  being  lightened,  thus  got  safe 
to  Asia.  Zf  is  added,  that  Xerxes,  immediately  after  he  landed, 
did  as  follows :  he  presented  the  pilot  with  a  golden  crown, 
because  he  had  saved  the  king's  life ;  but  ordered  his  head  to 
be  struck  off,  because  he  had  occasioned  the  loss  of  many 
Persians.  119.  This  latter  story  is  told  of  the  return  of 
Xerxes,  but  appears^fd  tne  not  at  all  deserving  of  credit, 
either  in  other  respects,  nor  as  to  this  loss  of  the  Persiaiis  ;*  for 
if  this  speech  had  been  made  by  the  pilot  to  Xerxes,  I  should 
not  find  one  opinion  in  ten  thousand  to  deny  that  the  king 
would  have  acted  thus :  that  he  would  have  sent  down  into 
the  hold  of  the  ship  those  who  were  on  deck,  since  they  were 
Persians,  and  Persians  of  high  rank^  and  would  have  thrown 


634  HERODOTUS  [120-123. 

into  the  sea  a  number  of  rowers,  who  were"  Phoenicians, 
equal  to  that  of  the  Persians.  He,  however,  as  i  have  before 
rehited,  proceeding  on  the  march  with  the  rest  of  the  army, 
returned  to  Asia.  120.  This  also  is  a  strong  proof:  it  is 
known  that  Xerxes  reached  Abdera  on  his  way  back,  and 
made  an  alliance  of  friendship  with  the  people,  and  presented 
them  with  a  golden  scymetar,  and  a  gold-embroidered  tiara. 
And  as  the  Abderites  themselves  say,  saying  what  is  by  no 
means  credible  to  me,  he  there  for  the  first  time  loosened  his 
girdle  in  his  flight  from  Athens,  as  being  at  length  in  a  place 
of  safety.  Abdera  is  situated  nearer  to  the  Hellespont  than 
the  Strymon  and  Eion,  whence  they  say  he  embarked  on 
board  the  ship. 

121.  Meanwhile_tlie_Greeks,  finding  they  were  not  able  to 
reduce  Andros,  turiusd  to  Cary&tua».^d  having^  ravaged  thgir 
country^  returned  to  Salamis,  In  the  Urst  place,  then,~tliey 
set  apart  first-fruits  for  the  gods,  and  among  other  things, 
tliree  Phojnician  triremes  ;  one  to  be  dedicated  at  the  Isthmus, 
which  was  there  in  my  time ;  a  second  at  Sunium,  and  the 
third  to  Ajax,  there  at  Salamis.  After  that,  they  divided  the 
booty,  and  sent  the  first-fruits  to  Delphi,  from  which  a  statue 
was  made,  holding  the  beak  of  a  ship  in  its  hand,  and  twelve 
cubits  in  height ;  it  stands  in  the  place  whare  is  the  golden 
statue  of  Alexander  the  Macedonian.  122.  The  Greeks,  having 
sent  first-fruits  to  Delphi,  inquired  of  the  god  in  the  name  of 
all,  if  he  had  received  sufficient  and  acceptable  first-fruits : 
he  answered,  that  from  the  rest  of  the  Greeks  he  had,  but 
not  from  the  .^Eginetae ;  of  them  he  demanded  an  offering  on 
account  of  their  superior  valour  in  the  sea-fight  at  Salamis. 
The  iEginetas,  being  informed  of  this,  dedicated  three  golden 
stars,  which  are  placed  on  a  brazen  mast  in  the  corner,  very 
near  the  bowl  of  Croesus.'^  123.  AfW  tliA  rjivisjon  nf  th^ 
booty^  the.  Greeks  sailed  to  the  Isthmus,  for  the  purpose  of 
conferring  the  palm  of  valour  uponliim  among  the  Greeks 
who  had  proved  himself  most  deserving  throughout  the  war. 
When  the  generals,  having  arrived,  distributed  the  ballots  at 
the  altar  of  Neptune,  selecting  the  first  and  second  out  of  all ; 
thereupon  every  one  ^ave  his  vote.fox.himself,  each  thinking 
himself  the  fifost  vaHant ;  but  with  respect  to  the  second  place, 
the  majority  concurred  in  selecting  Themistocles.  They,  there* 
T  See  B.  I.  chap.  51. 


124—126.]  URANIA.     VIII.  635 

fore,  had  but-  one  vote,  whereas  Themistocles  had  a  great 
majority  for  the  second  honour.  124.  Though  the  Greeks, 
"out  of  envy,  would  not  determine  this  matter,  butnpgtnrned 
to  their  several  countries  without  coming  to  a  decision ;  yet 
Themistocles  was  applauded' arid  extolled  tliroughout  all 
Greece,  as  being  by  far  the  wisest  man  of  the  Greeks.  But 
because,  although  victorious,  he  was  not  honoured  by  those 
who  fought  at  Salamis,  he  immediately  afterwards  went  to 
Lacedaemon,  hoping  to  be  Loi7uurcd  tlierel  The" Xacedaemo- 
nians  received  Inm  nobly,  and  paid  him  the  greatest  honours. 
They  gave  the  prize  of  valour  to  Eurybiades.  a  crown  of 
olive ;  and  of  wisdom  and  Hexterity  to  Themistocles^^  to  him 
also  a  crown  of  olivet  AnU  they  presented  him  with  the  most 
magntticeiTt  chariot  in  Sparta ;  and  having  praised  him  highly, 
on  his  departure,  three  hundred  chosen  Spartans,  the  same 
that  are  called  knights,  escorted  him  as  far  as  the  Tegean 
boundaries.  He  is  the  only  man  that  we  know  of  whom  the 
Spartans  escorted  on  his  journey.  125.  When  he  arrived  at 
Athens,  from  Lacedaemon,  thereupon  Timodemus  of  Aphidnae, 
who  was  one  of  Themistocles'  enemies,  though  otherwise  a 
man  of  no  distinction,  became  mad  through  envy,  reproached 
Themistocles,  alleging  against  him  his  journey  to  Lacedaemon  ; 
and  that  the  honours  he  received  from  the  Lacedaemonians 
were  conferred  on  account  of  Athens,  and  not  for  his  own 
sake.  But  he,  as  Timodenms  did  not  cease  to  repeat  the  same 
thing,  said :  "  The  truth  is,  neither  should  I,  were  I  a  Bel- 
binite,  have  been  thus  honoured  by  the  Spartans  ;  nor  would 
you,  fellow,  were  you  an  Athenian."  So  far,  then,  this 
occurred. 

126.  In  the  mean  time,  Artabazus,  son  of  Pharnaces,  a  man 
even  before  of  high  repute  among  the  Persians,  and  much 
more  so  after  the  battle  of  Plataea,  having  with  him  sixty 
thousand  men  of  the  army  which  Mardonius  selected,  escorted 
the  kin^  as  far  a3_  the  passage.  And  when  the  king  arrived 
in  Asia7he,  marching"  back,  came  intonHi^T'iTeTghbourhood  tJt" 
Pallene:  but  as  Mardonius  was  wintering  in  Thessaly  and 
M^gdonia,  and  there  was  nothing  as  yet  to  urge  him  to  join 
the  rest  of  the  army,  he  did  not  think  it  right,  since  he  hap- 
pened to  be  in  the  way  of  the  Potidaeans  who  had  revolted, 
to  neglect  the  opportunity  of  reducing  them  to  slavery.  For 
the  Potidaeano,  as  soon  as  the  king  had  passed  by,  and  the 


636  HERODOTUS.  D27— 129. 

Persian  fleet  had  fled  from  Salamis,  opgnly  revolted  frpm.ihfi. 
barbarians ;  as  also  did  the  other  inhabrEants  6rFallene.  127. 
Artabazus,  therefore,  besieged  Potidaea.  And  as  he  suspected 
that  the  Qlynthians  intended  to  revolt  from  the  king,  he  also 
besieged  theirTTtj.  The  Bottiseans  then  held  it,  who  had 
been  driven  from  the  bay  of  Therma  by  the  Macedonians. 
When  he  liad  besieged  and  taken  them,  having  taken  them 
out  to  a  marsh,  he  slaughtered  them,  and  gave  the  city  to 
Critobulus  of  Torone  to  govern,  and  to  the  Chalcidian  race, 
thus  the  Chalcidians  became  possessed  of  Olynthus.  128. 
Artabazus,  having  taken  this  city,  applied  himself  vij;orously 
to  the  siege  of  Potidaea ;  and,  as  "he  vvas'earheStly'engaged 
with  it,  Timoxenus,  general  of  the  Scionaeans,  treated  with 
him  for  the  betrayal  of  the  city :  in  what  way  at  first  I  am 
unable  to  say,  for  it  is  not  reported  ;  at  last,  however,  the  fol- 
lowing plan  was  adopted.  When  either  Timoxenus  had  written 
a  letter  and  wished  to  send  it  to  Artabazus,  or  Artabazus  to 
Timoxenus,  having  polled  it  round  the  butt-end  of  an  arrow, 
and  put  the  feathers  over  the  letter,  they  shot  the  arrow  to  a 
spot  agreed  upon.  But  Timoxenus  was  detected  in  attempting 
to  betray  Potidaea.  For  Artabazus,  when  endeavouring  to 
shoot  to  the  spot  agreed  upon,  missed  the  right  spot  and 
wounded  one  of  the  Potidceans  on  the  shoulder ;  a  crowd  ran 
round  the  wounded  man,  as  is  usual  in  time  of  war ;  they 
liaving  immediately  drawn  out  the  arrow,  when  they  per- 
ceived the  letter,  carried  it  to  the  generals ;  and  an  allied 
force  of  the  other  Pallenians  was  also  present.  When  the 
generals  had  real  the  letter,  and  discovered  the  author  of 
the  treachery,  tliey  determined  not  to  in^peach  Timoxenus 
of  treason,  for  the  sake  of  the  city  of  the  Scionaeans,  lest 
the  Scionaeans  should  ever  after  be  accounted  traitors.  In 
this  manner,  then,  he  was  detected.  129.  After^threejnonths 
had  been  spent  by  Artabazus  in  the  siege,  there  happened  a 
great  ebb  of  the  sea,  wliTcIi  lasted  for  a  long  time.  The  bar- 
barians, seeing  a  passage  that  might  be  forded,  marched  acfosr 
towards  Pallene ;  and  when  they  had  performed  two  parts  ot 
tlieir  journey,  and  three  still  remained,  which  they  m  ut  have 
passed  over  to  be  within  Pallene,  a  strong  flood-tide  of  the 
sea  came  on  them,  such  as  was  never  seenDefore,~as  the  in- 
liablTaatrsay,i;hough  floods  are  frequent.  Those,  then^  jWl 
did  not  know  how  to  s^im,  perished,  and  those  that  did  know 


130,131.]  URANIA.    VIII.  537 

how,  the  Potidaeans,  sailing  upon  them  in  boats,  put  to  death. 
The  Potidaeans  say,  that  the  cause  of  this  flux  and  inundation, 
and  'ofTEe" Persian  disasferTwas'lhis,  that  these  very  Persians 
wlio  were  destroyed  by  the  sea,  had  committed  impieties  at 
the  temple  of  Neptune,  and  the  statue  which  stands  in  the 
suburbs;  and  in  saying  this  was  the  cause,  they  appear  to  me     v  L 
to  speak  correctly.    The  survivors  Artabazus  led  to  Thessaly,       %/' 
tbjom  Mardonius.     Such,  then,  was  the  fate  of  those  troops     /j^ 
thartad  escorted  the  king. 

130.  Tlie  naval  force  of  Xerxes,  that  survived  when  it 
reached  Asia  in  its  flight  from  Salamis,  and  had  transported 
the  king  and  his  army  from  the  Chersonese  to  Abydos,  winter- 
ed at  Cyme.  And  at  the  first  appearance  of  spring,  it  as- 
sembled early  at  Samos ;  and  some  of  the  ships  had  wintered 
there.  Most  of  t^'marines  were  Persians  and  Medes,  and 
their  generals  came  on  board,  Mardontes,  son  of  Bagaius,  and 
Artayntes,  son  of  Artachoeus  ;  and  Ithamitres,  nephew  of  the 
lailer,  shared  the  command  with  them,  Artayntes  himself  hav- 
ing associated  him  with  them.  As  they  had  sustained  a 
sev^e  blow,  they  did  not  advance  farther  fo  the  westward, 
nor  aid  any  one  compel  them ;  but  remaining,  they  kept  watch 
over^rofiTa  Test  it  should  revolt,  having;^^||jj^j^^jy^m]j;]^Yi'^  ships, 
iigtudirj^--ti«7st3~of--Ienia.  Neither  did  they  expect  that  the 
Greeks  would  come  to  Ionia,  but  thought  they  would  be  con- 
tent  to  guard  their  own  territory;  inferring  this,  because  they 
liad  not  pursued  them  in  their  flight  from  Salamis,  but  had 
readtty 'retired.  By^a  therefore  they  despaired  of  success, 
but  on  land  they  imagined^  that  Mardonius  would  be  decided- 
iy~~3uperior.  While  they  were  at  Samos,  they  at  the  same 
time  consulted  together  whether  they  could  do  the  enemy  any 
damage,  and  listened  anxiously  for  news  of  how  the  affairs  of 
Mardonius  would  succeeH.  131.  The  approach  of  spring,  — 
and  Mardonius  being  in  Thessaly,  aroused  the  Grecians. 
Tiieir  lantb-forces  were  not  yet  assembled  ;  but  their  fleet  ar- 
rived at  .^Egina,  in  number  one  hundred  and  ten  ships.  Their 
leader  andradmiral  was  Lqptychides,  son  of  Menares,  son  of 
Agesilaus,  son  of  Hippocratides,  son  of  Leotychides,  son  of 
Anaxilaus,  son  of  Archidamus,  son  of  Anaxandrides,  son  of 
Theopompus,  son  of  Nicander,  son  of  Charillus,  son  of  Euno- 
mus,  son  of  Polydectes,  son  of  Prytanis,  son  of  Euryphon,  son 
of  Procles,  son  of  Ai-istodemus,  son  of  Aristomachus,  son  ot 


638  HERODOTUS.  [132—134. 

Cleodseus,  son  of  Hyllus,  son  of  Hercules:  he  was  of  the 
second  branch  of  the  royal  family.  All  these,  except  the  two 
mentioned  first  after  Leotychides,  were  kings  of  Sparta. 
Xanthippus,  son  of  Ariphron,  commanded  the  Athenians. 
132.  When  all  these  ships  were  assembled  at  ^gina,  ambas- 
sadors  from  tlie.JLonians  arrived  at  the  encampment  of  tlie 
Greeks ;  who  a  short  time  before  had  gone  to  Sparta,  and  en- 
treated  the  Lacedasmonians  to  liberate  Ionia ;  and  amonglhem" 
was  Hero3otusf^n  oflBasilides.  These,  who  were  originally 
seven  in  number,  having  conspired  together,  formed  a  plan  of 
putting  Strattis,  the  tyrant  of  Chios,  to  death ;  but  as  tliey 
were  detected  in  their  plot,  one  of  the  accomplices  having 
given  information  of  the  attempt,  thereupon  the  rest,  being  six, 
withdrew  from  Chios  and  went  to  Sparta,  and  at  the  present 
time  to  ^gina,  beseeching  the  Greeks  to  sail  down  to  Ionia; 
they  with  difficulty  prevailed  on  them  to  advance  as  far  as 
Delos.  For  all  beyond  that  was  dreaded  by  the  Greeks,  wljc 
werS  unacquainted  with  those  countries,  and  thought  alljparts 
were  full  of  troops  ;  Samos,  they  were  convinced  in  their 
imaginations,  was  as  far  distant  as  the  columns  of  Hercules. 
Thus  it  fell  out,  that  at  the  same  time  the  barbarians  durst  not 
sail  farther  westward  than  Samos ;  nor  the  tJreeks,  though 
the  Chians  besought  them,  further  eastward  thairT)eIos. 
Thus  fear  protected  the  midway  between  them. 

133.  The  Greeks,  then,  sailed  to  Delos,  and  Mardoniuswas 
in  winter-quarters  about  Thessaly.  When  preparing  to  set  out 
from  thence,  he  sent  a  man,  a  native  of  Europus,  whose  name 
was  j^yg,  to  consult  the  oracles,  with  orders  to  go  every  wheie 
and  consult  all  that  it  was  possible  for  him  to  inquire  of.  What 
he  wished  to  learn  from  the  oracles  when  he  gave  these  orders, 
I  am  unable  to  say,  for  it  is  not  related ;  I  am  of  opinion, 
liowever,  that  he  sent  to  inquire  about  the  aifairs  then  depend- 
ing^ and  not  about  any  others.  134.  This  Mys  clearly  appears 
to  have  arrived  at  Lebadea,  and  having  persuaded  a  native  of 
the  place  by  a  bribe,  descended  into  the  cave  of  Trophonius  ; 
and  arrived  also  at  the  oracle  of  Abae  of  the  Phocians  ;  more- 
over, as  soon  as  he  arrived  at  Thebes,  he  first  of  all  consulted 
the  Ismenian  Apollo,  and  it  is  there  the  custom,  as  in  Olympia, 
to  consult  the  oracle  by  means  of  victims ;  and  next,  having 
persuaded  some  stranger,  not  a  Thoban,  by  money,  he  caused 
him  to  sleep  in  the  temple  of  Amphiaraus.    For  none  of  tho 


I 


135,136.]  URANIA.    VIII.  539 

Tliebans  are  permitted  to  consult  there,  for  the  following 
reason  :  Amphiaraus,  communicating  with  them  by  means  of 
eracles,  bade  them  choose  whichever  they  would  of  these  two 
things,  to  have  him  either  for  their  prophet,  or  their  ally,  ab- 
'iaining  from  the  other  :  they  chose  to  have  him  for  their  ally : 
for  this  reason  therefore  no  Theban  is  allowed  to  sleep  there. 
135.  The  following,  to  me  very  strange  circumstance,  is  re- 
lated by  the  Theban  to  have  happened :  that  this  Mys,  of 
Europus,  in  going  round  to  all  the  oracles,  came  also  to  tlie 
precinct  of  the  Ptoan  Apollo ;  this  temple  is  called  Ptoan, 
but  belongs  to  the  Thebans,  and  is  situate  above  the  lake  Co- 
pais,  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain,  very  near  the  city  of  Acraiphia: 
that  when  this  man,  called  Mys,  arrived  at  this  temple,  tliree 
citizens,  chosen  by  the  public,  accompanied  him  for  the  pur- 
pose of  writing  down  what  the  oracle  should  pronounce :  and 
forthwith  the  priestess  gave  an  answer  in  a  foreign  tongue ; 
and  that  those  Thebans  who  accompanied  him  stood  amazed 
at  liearing  a  foreign  language  instead  of  Greek,  and  knew 
not  what  to  do  on  the  present  occasion  ;  but  that  Mys  suddenly 
snatciiing  from  them  the  tablet  which  they  brought,  wrote  on 
it  the  words  spoken  by  the  prophet ;  and  said  that  he  had 
given  an  answer  in  the  Qurian  tongue  ;  and  after  he  had 
written  it  down  he  departed^  for  Thessaly. 

136.  Mardonius  having  read  the  answers  of  the  oracles,  af- 
terward*s""5OTrAlexander,  son  of  Amyntas,  a  Mficedonian,  as 
an  ambassador  to  Athens ;  as  well  because  the  Persians  were 
related  to  Him,  (for  Bubares,  a  Persian,  had  married  Alexan- 
der's sister  Grygaea,  daughter  of  Amyntas,  by  whom  he  had  the 
Amyntas  in  Asia,  who  took  his  name  from  his  maternal  grand- 
father :  to  him  Alabanda,  a  large  city  of  Phrygia,  had  been 
given  by  the  king  to  govern,)  as  because  he  had  been  informed 
that  Alexander  was  a  friend  and  benefactor  of  the  Athenians; 
Mardonius  therefore  sent  him.  For  iii  this  way  he  thought 
he  should  best  be  able  to  gain  over  the  Athenians,  having 
heaf^lthat  they  were  a  numerous  and  valiant  people ;  and 
besides,  he  knew  that  the  Athenians  had  been  the  principal 
cause  of  the  late  disaster  of  the  Persians  at  sea.  If  these 
were  won  over,  he  hoped  that  he  should  easily  become  master 
at  sea,  which  indeed  would  have  been  the  case ;  and  on  land 
he  imagined  that  lie  was  much  superior :  thus  he  calculated  that 
his  power  would  get  the  upper  hand  of  the  Grecian.     Per- 


540  HERODOTUS,  [137,  138  | 

I  haps  also  the  oracles  had  given  him  this  warning,  advising ' 
)  him  to  make  Athens  his  ally ;  accordingly,  relying  on  them, 
he  sent.  1 

137.  The  seventh  ancestor  of  this  Alexander  vp-as  Perdic-| 
cas,  who  obtained  the  sovereignty  of  the  Macedonians  in  the 
following  manner.  Gauanes,  Aeropus,  and  Perdiccas,  three 
brothers,  of  the  descendants  of  Temenus,  fled  from  Argos  to  the : 
Illyrians,  and  crossing  over  from  the  Illyrians  into  the  upper 
Macedonia,  they  arrived  at  the  city  of  Leboea ;  there  they 
entered  into  the  king's  service  for  wages.  One  of  them  had 
the  care  of  his  horses  ;  another,  of  his  oxen  ;  and  the  youngest: 
of  them,  Perdiccas,  of  the  lesser  cattle.  Formerly,  even 
monarchs  were  poor  in  wealth,  and  not  only  the  people ;  so 
that  the  wife  of  the  king  used  herself  to  cook  their  food. 
Whenever  the  bread  of  the  hireling  lad  Perdiccas  was  baked,! 
it  became  twice  as  large  as  at  first :  and  when  this  alwayj 
happened,  she  told  it  to  her  own  husband.  It  immediatelj- j 
occurred  to  him,  when  he  heard  it,  that  it  was  a  prodigy,  andj 
boded  something  of  importance.  Having  therefore  summoned | 
the  hirelings,  he  commanded  them  to  depart  out  of  his  territo-| 
ries.  They  answered,  that  they  were  entitled  to  receive  theirj 
wages,  and  then  they  would  go.  Thereupon  the  king,  hearingl 
about  wages,  as  the  rays  of  the  sun  reached  into  the  house 
down  the  chimney,  said,  being  deprived  of  his  senses  by  thej 
deity  :  "  I  give  you  this,  as  your  wages  equal  to  your  scr-l 
vices  ;"  pointing  to  the  sun.  Gauanes  and  Aeropus,  the  eklerj 
stood  amazed  when  they  heard  this.  But  the  lad,  for  he  hap-j 
pened  to  have  a  knife,  saying  thus,  "  We  accept  thy  offer,  Oi 
king,"  traced  a  circle  on  the  floor  of  the  house  round  the  sun's! 
rays,  and  having  so  traced  the  circle,  and  having  drawn  thej 
sun's  rays  three  times  on  his  bosom,  departed,  and  the  others} 
with  him.  138.  They  accordingly  went  away  ;  but  one  ofi 
tliose  who  were  sitting  by  him,  informed  the  king  what  the! 
lad  had  done,  and  how  the  youngest  of  them  accepted  the  offerl 
with  some  design.  He,  on  hearing  this,  being  in  a  rage,  des-: 
patched  after  them  some  horsemen  to  kill  them.  In  thisj 
country  is  a  river,  to  which  the  descendants  of  these  men  from! 
Argos  sacrifice  as  their  deliverer.  It,  when  the  Temenida3; 
had  crossed  over,  swelled  to  such  a  height,  that  the  horsemen, 
were  unable  to  cross  it.  They,  then,  coming  to  another  dis- 
trict of  Macedonia,  settled  near  the  gardens  ttiit  are  said  to 


^^Wy, 


,140.]  UEANIA.     YIH.  541 

have  belonged  to  Midas,  son  of  Gordias ;  in  which  wild  rosea 
grow,  each  one  having  sixty  leaves,  and  surpassing  all  others 
in  fragrance.  In  these  gardens,  Silenus  was  taken,  as  is  re- 
lated by  the  Macedonians.  Above  the  gardens  is  a  mountain, 
called  Bermion,  inaccessible  from  the  cold.  Issuing  from 
thence,  when  they  had  possessed  themselves  of  this  tract,  they 
subdued  the  rest  of  Macedonia.  139.  From  this  Perdiccas, 
Alexander  was  thus  descended.  Alexander  was  the  son  of 
Amyntas,  Amyntas  of  Alcetes,  the  father  of  Alcetes  was  Ae- 
ropus,  of  him  Philip,  of  Philip,  Argseus,  and  of  him,  Perdic- 
cas, who  acquired  the  sovereignty.  Thus,  then,  was  Alexan- 
der son  of  Amyntas  descended. 

140.  When_ he  arrived  at  Athens,  being  sent  by  Mardonius, 
he  spoke  asfollQws:  (1.)  "Men  of  Athens,  Mardonius  says 
thus:  ATmessage  has  come  to  me  from  the  king,  conceived  in 
these  terms:  'I  forgive  the  Athenians  all  the  injuries  com- 
mitted by  them  against  me;  therefore,  Mardonius,  do  thus. 
First7' restore  to  them  their  territory;   and  next,  let  them 
choose,  in  addition  tolfianotTier  country,  whatever  they  please, 
aiidnive  under  their  own  laws ;  and  rebuild  all  their  temples 
wliicliThave  burnt,  if  they  are  willing  to  come  to  terms  with 
me.'     These  orders  having  come  to  me,  I  must  of  necessity 
execute  them,  unless  you  on  your  part  oppose.     And  now  I 
say  this  to  you.     Why  are  you  so  mad  as  to  levy  war  ao;ainst 
the  king :  for  neither  can  you  get  the  better  of  him,  nor  can 
^  you  resist  him  for  ever.     You  are  acquainted  with  the  multi- 
tude of  Xerxes' army,  and  their  acKTevements  ;  you  have  heard 
of^he  force  "ffi at  is  even  now  with  me ;  so  that  even  if  you 
;  should  get  thej)etter  of  us  and  conquer,  (ofwKrch,  however, 
i  you  can  "TTave  no  hope,  if  you  think  soberly,)  another  much 
<  more  numerous  will  come  against  you.     Suifer  not  yourselves, 
I  then,  i6  be^dep'rlved^  of  your  country,  and  to  be  continually 
running  a  risk  for  your  existence,  by  equalling  yourselves  with 
t  thejdng;,  but  be  reconciled  to  him  ;  and  it  is  in  your  powei 
to  be  reconciled  honourably,  since  the  king  is  so  disposed. 
Be  free,  having  contracted  an  alliance  with  us,  without  guile 
'  or  deceit.    ( 2.)  This,  0  Athenians,  Mardonius  charged  me  to 
say  to  you.    But  I,  for  my  own  part,  will  say  nothing  of  the 
good-will  I  bear  towards  you ;  for  you  would  not  learn  it  for 
the  first  time.    But  I  entreat  you,  listen  to  Mardonius,  for  I 
^  see  that  you  will  not  always  be  able  to  carry  on  war  against 


542  HERODOTUS.  [Ul,  142, 

Xerxes.     For  if  I  had  seen  this  power  in  jou,  I  would  never 
liave  come  to  you  bringing  such  a  proposal.     For  the  power 
of  the  king  is  more  than  human,  and  his  arm  exceeding  long. 
If,  then,  you  do  not  immediately  come  to  terms,  when  they 
offer  such  favourable  conditions  on  which  they  are  willing  to  | 
agree,  I  greatly  fear  for  you,  who  of  all  the  allies  dwell  in  j 
the  most  beaten  road,  and  who  must  continually  be  the  only 
people   destroyed,  since   ye  possess  a  territory  exposed,  as 
being  between  both  armies.     Be  persuaded,  then ;  for  this  j 
is  a  high  honour  to  you,  that  the  great  king,  forgiving  your  ' 
offences  alone  among  all  the  Greeks,  is  willing  to  become 
your  friend."    Thus  spoke  Alexander.     141.  But  the  Lace- 
daemmi^s,  having  been  informed  that  Alex anHeF" had  ar- 
rived  at   Athens,  in  order  to  induce  the  Athenians  to  an 
agreement  with  the  barbarian  ;  and  remembering  the  oracles,  j 
how  it  was  fated  that  they,  with  the  rest  of  the  Dorians,  should 
be  driven  out  of  Peloponnesus  by  the  Medes  and  Athenians, 
wer^je^very  much  afraid  lest  the  Athenians^sh.ould_make  terins 
with  the  Persian,  and  theretbr(r resolved  forthwith  to  send  I 
ambaaaadors.     It  so  happened  that  the  introduction  of  botli 
took  place  at  the  same  time.     For  the  Athenians  had  pur- 
posely delayed  the  time,  well  knowing  that  the  Lacedsemonians 
would  hear  that  an  ambassador  had  come  from  the  barbarian  I 
to  negociate  a  treaty,  and  that  when  they  did  hear  of  it,  they  I 
would  send  ambassadors  with  all  speed.     They,  therefore,  de-  j 
signedly  so  contrived,  as  to  show  their  intentions  to  the  Lacc-| 
diemonians.     142.  W]ien^lexander]ia.d  ceaagd^eaking,  tliej 
ambassadors  from  Sparta,  speaking  next,  said  :  *^~The  Lacedie-j 
momans  have  sent  us  to  entreat  you  not  to  adopt  any  new  mea-i 
sures  with  respect  to  Greece,  nor  to  listen  to  proposals  from  thei 
barbarian  ;  for  neither  would  it  be  by  any  means  just  nor  hon-i 
ourable  either  in  any  others  of  the  Greeks,  and  least  of  all  in  you,; 
for  many  reasons.    For  you  raised  this  war,  against- our,,, wish,; 
and  the  contest  arose  about  your  sovereignty  ;  but  it  now  re-i 
^Brteg  to  the  whole  of  Greece.  Besid-?*,  that  the  AthemansTwKbi 
are  the  authors  of  all  these  things,  should  prove  the  occasion; 
of  slavery  to  Greece,  is  on  no  account  to  be  borne  ;  you,  whoj 
always,  and  from  of  old,  have  been  seen  to  assert  thJS^Sfiff 
of  many  nations.     We,  However,  sympathize  with  you  in  your; 
difficulties,  and  that  you  have  already  been  deprived  of  two; 
harvests,  and  that  your  property  has  been  so  long  involved  ini 


143,  144.]  URANIA.    VIII.  543 

ruin.  But  in  compensation  for  this,  the  Lacedaemonians  and 
the  allies  promise  to  support  your  wives  and  all  the  rest  of 
your  families  which  are  useless  in  war,  as  long  as  the  war 
shall  continue.  Therefore,  let  not  Alexander  the  Macedonian 
persuade  you,  by  glossing  over  the  proposal  of  Mardonius  ; 
for  this  is  what  he  would  naturally  do ;  for  being  himself  a 
tyrant,  he  aids  a  tyrant's  cause.  But  you  should  not  so  act, 
if  indeed  you  think  rightly ;  because  you  know  that  with  bar- 
barians there  is  neither  faith  nor  truth."  Thus  spoke  the  am- 
bassadors. 143.  The  Athenians  gave  the  following  answer  to 
Alexander :  "  We  ourselves  are  aware  of  this,  that  the  power 
of  the  Medes  is  far  greater  than  ours ;  so  that  there  was  no 
need  to  insult  us  with  that.  But,  nevertheless,  being  ardent 
for  liberty,  we  will  defend  ourselves  in  such  manner  as  we  are 
able.  But  do  not  you  attempt  to  persuade  us  to  come  to  terms 
with  the  barbarian,  for  we  will  not  be  persuaded.  Go,  then, 
and  tell  Mardonius,  that  the  Athenians  say,  so  long  as  tlie  sun 
shall  contrTTQeTn  the  same  course  as  now,  we  will  never  make 
tefms'witli  Xerxes  :  Init  we  will  go  out  to  oppose  him,  trusting 
in  tTie  gods,  who  figlit  for  us,  and  in  the  heroes,  whose  temj)les 
artd'imagt^s  he,  holding  them  in  no  reverence,  has  burnt.  And 
do  ^yoTT^appear  no  more  in  the  presence  of  the  Athei)Ians, 
bringing  such  proposals ;  nor,  imagining  that  you  do  us  good 
service,  urge  us  to  do  wicked  deeds.  For  we  are  unwilling 
that  you,  who  are  our  guest  and  friend,  should  meet  with  any 
ungracious  treatment  at  the  hands  of  the  Athenians."  144. 
To  Alexander  they  gave  this  answer  ;  and  to  the  ambassadors 
from  Sparta  the  following  :  "  That  the  Lacedseinonians  should 
fear  lesFwe  should  make  terms  with  the  barbarian,  was  very 
natural ;  yet,  knowing  as  you  do  the  mind  of  the  Athenians, 
youjippear  to  entertain  an  unworthy  dread ;  for  there  is  nei- 
ther so  much  gold  any  where  in  the  world,  nor  a  country  so 
pre-eminent  in  beauty  and  fertility,  by  receiving  which,  we 
should  be  willing  to  side  with  the  Mede  and  enslave  Greece. 
For  there  are  many  and  powerful  considerations  that  forbid 
us  to  do  so,  even  if  we  were  inclined.  First  and  chief,  the 
images  and  dvvellini^s  of  the^^ods,  burnt  and  laid  in  ruins : 
this  we  must  needs  avenge  to  the  utmost  of  our  power,  rather 
than  make  terms  with  the  man  who  has  perpetrated  such  deeds. 
Secondly,  the  Grecian  race  bein^j_pj[  the  same  blood  and^the 
saDie'"language,  and  the  temples  of  the  gods  and  sacrifices  in 


544  HERODOTUS.  [1, 1. 

common ;  and  our  similar  customs ;  for  the  Athenians  to  be- 
coine  betrayers  of  these  would  not  be  well.  Know,  therefore, 
if  you  did  not  know  it  before,  that  so  long  as  one  Athenian  is 
left  alive,  we  will  never  make  terms  with  Xerxes.  Your  fore- 
thought, however,  which  you  manifest  towards  us,  we  admire^ 
in  that  you  provide  for  us  whose  property  is  thus  ruined,  so 
as  to  be  willing  to  support  our  families ;  and  you  have  fulfilled 
the  duty  of  benevolence;  we,  however,  wilTcgntinue  tlitrs^ i n 
the  s^ate  we  are,  without  being  burdensomg~'tp~ you.  Now, 
since  matters  stand  as  they  do,  send  out  an  army  with  all  pos- 
sible expedition ;  for,  as  we  conjecture,  the  barbarian  will  in 
no  long  time  be  here  to  invade  our  territories,  as  soon  as  he 
shall  hear  our  message  that  we  will  do  none  of  the  things  he 
required  of  us.  Therefore,  before  he  has  reached  Attica,  it  is 
fitting  that  we  go  out  to  meet  him  in  Boeotia."  AYlien  the 
Athenians  had  given  this  answer,  the  ambassadors  returned 
to  Sparta. 


BOOK   IX. 

CALLIOPE. 

Mardonius,  when  Alexander,  having  returned,  had  made 
known  the  answer  from  the  Athenians,  set  out  from  Thessaly, 
and  led  his  army  in  haste  against  Athens;  and  wherever  he 
arrived  from  time  to  time,  he  joined  the  people  to  his  own 
forces.  The  leaders  of  Thessaly  were  so  far  from  repenting 
of  what  had  been  before  done,  that  they  urged  on  the  Persian 
much  more :  and  Thorax  of  Larissa  both  assisted  in  escorting 
Xerxes  in  his  flight,  and  now  openly  gave  Mardonius  a  passage 
into  Greece.  2.  When  the  army  on  its  march  arrived  among 
the  Boeotians,  the  Thebans  endeavoured  to  restrain  Mardonius, 
and  advised  him,  saying  that  there  was  no  country  more  con- 
venient to  encamp  in  than  that,  and  dissuaded  him  from  ad- 
vancing farther,  but  urged  him  to  take  up  his  station  there, 
and  contrive  so  as  to  subdue  the  whole  of  Greece  without  a 
battle.  '*  For  that  if  the  Greeks  continue  firmly  united,  aa 
they  had  dene  before,  it  would  be  difficult  even  for  all  man- 


8—6.]  CALLIOPE.    IX.  645 

kind  to  overcome  them.  But,"  they  continued,  "  if  you  will 
do  what  we  advise,  you  will  without  difficulty  frustrate  all 
their  plans :  send  money  to  the  most  powerful  men  in  the 
ci|ies  ;  andj)y^  sending  it  you  wiir split  Greece  into  parties, 
and  then,  with  the  assistance  of  tho^e.of  your  party,  you  may 
e^L^Tubclue, those  w^ho  are  not  in_your^interest."  3.  They 
gave  this  advice ;  he,  however,  was  not  prevailed  on,  but  a 
vehement  desire  of  taking  Alliens  a  second  time  was  instilled 
into  him  ;  partly  by  presumption,  and  partly  he  hoped,  by  sig 
nal  fires  across  the  islands,  to  make  known  to  the  king  while 
he  was  at  Sardis,  that  he  was  in  possession  of  Athens.  When 
he  arrived  in  Attica,  he  did  not  find  the  Athenians  there  ;  but 
was  informed  that  most  of  them  were  at  Salamis,  and  onboard 
their  ships  ;  he  therefore  took  the  desgrtfid  .city.  The  capture 
by  the  king  was  ten  months  before  this  second  invasion  by 
Mardonius. 

4.  While  Mardonius  was  at  AthQns,  he  sent  Murychides, 
a  Hellesp5ntTne,  to^^alamis,  witli  the  same  proposals  which 
Alexander  the  Macedonian  had  already  conveyed  to  the 
Athenians.  He  sent  this  second  time,  although  before  aware 
that  the  disposition  of  the  Athenians  was  not  friendly  to  him, 
but  expecting  they  would  remit  something  of  their  haughti- 
ness, since  the  whole  Attic  territory  was  taken  and  now  in 
his  power.  For  these  reasons  he  sent  Murychides  to  Salamis. 
5.  He,  on  coming  before  the  council,  delivered  the  message 
of  Mardonius.  And  Lycidas,  one  of  the  councillors,  gave  his 
opinion,  that,  ''it  appeared  to  him  to  be  best  to  entertain  the 
proposal  whicli  Murychides  brought  to  them,  and  to  report  it 
to  the  people."  He  delivered  this  opinion,  either  because  he 
had  iieceived  money  from  Mardonius,  or  because  such  was 
really  his  opinion.  But  the  Athenians,  immediately  being 
very  indignant,  both  those  belonging  to  the  council,  and  those 
without,  as  soon  as  they  were  informed  of  it,  surrounded 
Lycidas,  and  stoned  him  to  death  ;  but  they  dismissed  Mury- 
cliides  the  Hellespontine  unharmed.  A  tumult  having  taken 
place  at  Salamis  respecting  Lycidas,  the  Athenian  women  ob- 
tained information  of  what  had  happened ;  whereupon  one 
woman  encouraging  another,  and  uniting  together,  they  went 
of  their  own  accord  to  the  house  of  Lycidas,  and  stoned  his 
wife  and  children.  0.  The  Atheniana  had  crossed  over  to 
Salamis  under  the  following  circumstances.  As  long  as  they 
-  2  N 


546  HERODOTUS.  [7. 

expected  that  an  army  would  come  from  the  Peloponnesus  to 
assist  them,  they  remained  in  Attica ;  but  when  they  had 
recourse  to  delay  and  extreme  tardiness,  and^MajCilQiliusjwas 
advancing  and  reported  to  be  in  gflaotia,  they  then  removed 
all  their  effects,  and  themselves  crossed  over  to  Salamis  :  they 
also  sent  ambassadors  to  Lacedaemon,  partly  to  blame  the 
Lacedaemonians,  because  they  had  allowed  tne  barbarian  to 
invade  Attica,  and  had  not  gone  out  with  them  to  meet  him 
in  Boeotia  ;  and  partly  to  remind  them  of  what  the  Persian 
had  promised  to  give  them,  if  they  would  change  sides;  and 
to  forewarn  them,  that  unless  they  assisted  the  Athenians, 
they  would  themselves  find  some  means  of  escape.  7.  At  that 
Tme  the  Lacedaemonians  were  employed  in  celebrating  a 
festival,  and  it  was  the  Hyacinthia  with  them  ;  and  they 
deemed  it  of  the  greatest  importance  to  attend  to  the  service 
of  the  deity.  At  thg^same  time  they  were  busied  in  building 
th^wall  at  th.e  Isthmus,  and  it  had  ah-eady  received  the 
breast-wor^s^-^'^""    "" 

When  the  ambassadors  from  the  Athenians  arrived  at 
Lacedaemon,  bringing  with  them  ambassadors  from  Megara 
and  Plataea,  they  went  before  the  ephori,  and  spoke  as  follows  : 
[  (1.)  "  The  Athenians  have  sent  us  to  tell  you,  that  the  king 
of  the  Modes  in  the  first  place  offers  to  restore  our  country ; 
and,  secondly,  is  willing  to  make  us  his  allies  on  fair  and  equal 
terms,  without  fraud  or  deceit ;  he  is  also  willing  to  give  us 
another  territory,  in  addition  to  our  own,  whatever  we  our- 
selves may  choose.  We,  however,  reverencing  the  Grecian 
Jupiter,  and  thinking  it  disgraceful  to  betray  Grreece,  have  not 
acceded  to,  but  rejected  his  offers ;  though  we  are  unjustly 
treated,  and  betrayed  by  the  Greeks,  and  know  that  it  is  more 
for  our  own  interest  to  come  to  terms  with  the  Persian,  than 
1  to  continue  the  war ;  still  we  will  never  willingly  come  to 
l^terms  with  him.  (2.)  Thus  sincerely  we  have  acted  towards  the 
Greeks.  But  you,  who  were  then  in  the  utmost  consternation 
lest  we  should  come  to  terms  with  the  Persian,  when  you  were 
clearly  assured  of  our  resolution,  that  we  will  never  betray 
Greece,  and  because  your  wall  drawn  across  the  Isthmus  is 
now  nearly  completed,  no  longer  show  any  regard  for  tlie 
Athenians.  For  having  agreedJjo-ft4¥aiica_witli  us  to^jneet 
the  Persian  Jn~^^eofiap:yiJ^''EaYje»J^^^  al- 

iowed  tiio  barbarian  to  invade  Attica.     Hittierto"Tlie''3jthem* 


8-10.]  CALLIOPE.    IX.  547 

ana  are  angry  with  you,  for  you  have  not  acted  in  a  becoming 
manner ;  and  now  they  exhort  you  to  send  out  forces  with  us 
with  all  expedition,  that  we  may  receive  the  barbarian  in 
Attica ;  for  since  we  have  missed  Bceotia,  the  Thriasian  plain 
in  our  own  territory  is  the  most  convenient  place  to  give  battle 
in."  8.  When  the  epliori  hjid  heard  this  message,  they  put  off 
tHeir  ansjKfir  to  the  next  day,  and  on  the  next  day  to  the  mor- 
row. This  they  did  for  ton  days,  putting  them  off  from  day 
to  day.  During  this' time  tliey  proceeded  with  the  wall  at  the 
^"thn'"°j  ""^^  ^^'*^  Polnpnnnp^i'.ing  usiug  thc  utmost  dih'gcnce; 
and  it  was  nearly  completed.  I  can  give  no  reason  why, 
when  Alexander  the  Macedonian  went  to  Athens,  they  took 
such  pains  to  prevent  the  Athenians  from  siding  with  the 
Mede,  and  then  took  no  trouble  about  it,  except  that  tlie 
Isthmus  was  now  fortified,  and  they  thought  they  had  no 
further  need  of  the  Athenians;  whereas,  when  Alexander  ar- 
rived in  Attica,  the  wall  was  not  yet  built,  but  tliey  were 
working  at  it,  being  in  great  dread  of  the  Persians. 

9.  At  length,  the  answer  and  march  of  the  Spartans  hap- 
pened in  the  following  manner.^  On  the  day  preceding  that 
on  which  tlie  last  audience  was  to  take  place,  Chileusof  Tegea, 
who  had  the  greatest  influence  in  Lacedoemon  of  any  stranger, 
was  informed  by  the  ephori  of  all  that  the  Athenians  had  said. 
Chileus,  having  heard  it,  spoke  to  them  as  follows  :  "  The  case 
is  thus,  0  ephori;  if  the  Athenian  s^ar^JlOtimitedwitl;  us,  hut 
are  alired  To  tlie  barbarian,  although  a  strong  wall  has  been 
carried  across  the  Tsthmus,  wide  doors  leading  into  the  Pelo- 
ponnesus are  open  to  the  Persian  ;  therefore  give  heed,  before 
the  Athenians  come  to  any  other  determination  which  may 
bring~ruln  on  Greece."  10.  He,  then,  gave  them  this  advice  ; 
art'5~They, " taking  his  remark  into  consideration,  forthwith, 
without  saying  any  thing  to  the  ambassadors  who  had  come 
from  the  cities,  while  it  was  still  night,  sent  out  five  thousand  Vy 
Spartans,  appointing  seven  helots  to  attend  each7and  commTT'  "^ 
ting" the  conduct  of  them  to  Pausania,s,  son  of  Cleombrotus. 
The  command  properly  belonged  to  Pleistarch us,  son  of  Leo- 
nidas  ;  but  he  was  still  a  boy,  and  the  former  his  guardian  and 
cousin.  For  Cleombrotus,  the  father  of  Pausanias,  and  son  to 
Anaxandrides,  was  no  longer  living,  but  having  led  back  the 

V  Literally  **  the  following  manner  ^  the  an8\¥er  and  march  tof^k 
■place." 

2  M  2 


548  HERODOTUS.  [11— It 

army  that  had  built  the  wall,  from  the  Isthmus,  he  died  shortly 
afterwards.  Cleombrotus  led  back  the  army  from  the  Isthmus 
for  this  reason  ;  as  he  was  sacrificing  against  the  Persians,  the 
sun  darkened  in  the  heavens.  Pausanias  chose  as  his  col- 
league Euryanax,  son  of  Dorieus,  who  was  a  man  of  the  same 
family.  "TThese  forces,  accordingly,  marched  from  Sparta  witli 
Pausanias.  11.  The  ambassadors,  when  they  came,  knowing 
nothing  of  the  m'arcli  (^iKelroops,  went  to  the  ephori,  being 
resolved  themselves  also  to  depart  severally  to  their  own  cities  ; 
and  having  come  into  their  presence,  they  spoke  as  follows : 
"  You,  O  Lacedgemonians,  remaining  here,  celebrate  t)^(^ 
Hyacinthia,  and  divert  yourselves,  while  _^u.  are  betraying 
tlie_^jjlies.  But  the  Athenians,  being  injured  by  you,  and 
(Restitute  of  allies,  will  make  peace  with  the  Persian  on  sucli 
terms  as  they  can.  And  having  made  peace,  it  is  evident  that 
we  shall  become  the  king's  allies,  and  shall  march  with  them 
against  whatever  country  they  shall  lead  us ;  and  then  you 
will  learn  what  the  consequence  will  be  to  yourselves."  When 
the  ambassadors  had  thus  spoken,  the  gghojjpSaid  with  an  oatli, 
"  that  those  who  had  set  out  against  theToTetgners,  were  al- 
ready at  Oresteum  ; "  for  they  call  the  barbarians  foreigners. 
The  ambassadors  asked  what  was  meant ;  and  on  inquiry, 
learnr^the  whole  truth,  so  that,  being  much  surprised,  they 
followed  after  fh^Hl  With  all  possible  expedition  ;  amLmth 
tliem,  five  thousand  chosen  heavy-armed  troops  of  the  neigji,- 
bouiping  Eacedcomonians  did  the  same.  12.  TITey  then  hastened 
towards  the  Isthmus.  But  the  Argives,  as^soonTas  they  hean! 
that  the  troops  with  Pausanias  had  lel't  Sparta,  sent  a  herald 
tOjAttica.  having  looked  out  the  best  of  their  couriers,  for  they 
had  before  promised  Mardonius  to  prevent  the  Spartans  from 
going  out.  He,  when  he  arrived  at  Atliens,  spoke  as  follows  : 
"  Mardonius,  the  Arj^ives  have  sent  jne^  to  inform  you,  that 
the  youth  of  Lacedasmon  are  marched  out,  and  that  the  Ar- 
gives were  unable  to  prevent  them  Iroin  going  out.  Under 
these  circumstances  take  the  best  advice  you  can."  He,  hav* 
ing  spoken  thus,  went  home  again. 

1 3.  Mardonius,  when  he  heard  this,  was  by  no  means  desiroiia 
to_st{ix,langer  in  Attica.  Before  he  lieard  This, Tie  lingered 
there,  wishing  to  know  from  the  Athenians  what  they  would 
do  ;  buthejifiitherxayaged  nor  inj  ured  the  Attic  territory,  be- 
ing  in  Expectation  all  along  that  they  would  come  to  terms.  But 


I 


16.]  CALLIOPE.    IX.  549 

when  he  could  not  persttade  them,  being  informed  of  the  wliole 
truth,  he  withdrew,  before  those  with  Pausanias  reached  the 
Isthmus,  having  first  set  fire  to  Athens,  and  if  any  part  of  the 
walls,  or  houses,  or  tempTes,  happened  to  be  standing,  having 
thrown  down  and  laid  all  in  ruins.  He  marched  out  for  th^ 
following  reasons,  because  the  Attic  country  was  not  adapted 
for  cavalry  ;  and  if  he  s!i"(5atST)e  conquered  in  an  engagement, 
there  was  no  way  to  escape  except  through  a  narrow  pass,  so 
thaTeviffn  a"smair  number  of  men  could  intercept  them.  He 
determined  therefore  to  retire  to  Thebes,  and  to  fight  near  a 
friendly  ciiyi  and  in  a  country  adapted  for  cavalry.  14.  Mar- 
donius  accordingly  "i-efi^eated;  and  while  he  was  yet  on  his 
march,  another  message  came  in  advance,  thatjinother  army 
h^dreached  Megara,  consisting  of  Vi  thousand  Laceda3monians. 
WKeii  he  heilrd  ^his,'Tie  deliberated,  wishing,  if  by  any  means 
he  could,  to  take  these  first ;  therefore,  wheeling  roundjhe  led 
his  army  against  Megara ;  and  his  cavalry  going  onDelore 
scoured  the  Megarian  territory.  This  was  the  farthest  part 
of  Europe,  towards  the  sun-set,  to  WTTich  this  Persian  army 
re^Jjjsd.  lo.  After  this,  news  came  to  Mardonius,  that  the 
Greeks  were  assembled  at  the  Isthmus  ;  he  therefore  marched 
back  through  Decelea.  For  the  Boeotian  chiefs  had  sent  for 
the  neighbours  of  the  Asopians ;  and  they  conducted  him 
along  the  way  to  Sphendale,  and  from  thence  to  Tanagra ; 
and  having  passed  the  night  at  Tanagra,  and  on  the  next  day 
turned  towards  Scolus,  he  arrived  in  the  territory  of  the  The- 
bans.  There  he  cleared  the  lands  of  the  Thebans,  jthough 
they  sided^itli'lhe'Mede,  not  out  of  enmity  towards  tliem, 
but  cohsfrained  by  urgent  necessity  ;  wishing  to  make  a  for- 
tification for  his  army,  and  in  case,  when  he  engaged,  the  re- 
suTt""sTi6urd  not  be  such  as  he  wished,  he  might  have  this  as  a 
pLice  of  refuge.  His  camp  beginning  at  Erytlir^e,  passed  by 
Hysias  and  extended  to  the  Platiean  territory,  stretching  to 
the  river  Asopus.  The  wall,  however,  was  not  built  of  this 
extent,  but  each  front  was  about  ten  stades  in  length. 

AVhile  the  barbarians  were  employed  in  this  task,  Atta- 
ginus,  son  of  Phrynon,  a  Theban,  having  made  great  prepar- 
ations, invited  Mardonius  himself  and  fifty  of  the  most  eminent 
Persians  to  an  entertainment ;  and  they,  being  invited,  came. 
The  feast  was  held  at  Thebes.  16.  The  rest  I  heard  from 
Thersander  an  Orchomenian,  a  man  of  high  repute  at  Orcho 


550  HERODOTUS.  [17 

menus  Thersander  said  that  he  also  was  invited  by  Atta- 
ginus  to  this  feast,  and  that  fifty  Thebans  were  also  invited ; 
and  that  he  did  not  place  each  person  on  a  separate  couch, 
but  a  Persian  and  a  Theban  on  each  couch.  When  supper 
was  over,  and  they  were  drinking  freely,  the  Persian  who  was 
on  the  same  couch,  using  the  Grecian  tongue,  asked  him  of 
what  country  he  was ;  he  answered  that  he  was  an  Orchome- 
iiian,  whereupon  the  other  said :  "  Since  you  are  a  partaker 
of  the  same  table  and  of  the  same  cups  with  me,  I  wish  to 
leave  with  you  a  memorial  of  my  opinion,  in  order  that,  being 
forewarned,  you  may  be  able  to  consider  what  is  best  for  your 
own  interest.  Do  you  see  these  Persians  feasting  here,  and 
the  army  that  we  left  encamped  near  the  river  ?  Of  all  these  you 
will  see,  after  the  lapse  of  a  short  time,  only  some  few  surviv- 
ing." As  the  Persian  said  this,  he  shed  abundance  of  tears ; 
and  he  himself,  being  astonished  at  his  words,  said  to  him  : 
"  Would  it  not  be  right  to  tell  this  to  Mardonius,  and  to  those 
Persians  who  are  next  to  him  in  authority  ?"  To  this  he  an- 
swered :  "  My  friend,  that  which  is  fated  by  the  deity  to  hap- 
pen, it  is  impossible  for  man  to  avert ;  for  no  one  will  listen  to 
those  who  say  what  is  worthy  of  credit.  And  though  many 
of  tlie  Persians  are  convinced  of  this,  we  follow,  being  bound 
by  necessity.  The  bitterest  grief  to  which  men  are  liable  is 
this,  when  one  knows  much,  to  have  no  power  to  act."  This 
I  heard  from  Thersander  the  Orchomenian  ;  and  this  besides, 
that  he  immediately  told  this  to  several  persons  before  the  battle 
was  fought  at  Platsea. 

17.  While  Mardonius  encamped  in  Boeotia,  all  the  rest 
furnishedTroops,  and  joined  in  the  attack  up^  Athens,  such 
however~of  the  Greeks  who,  dwelling  in  these  parts,  sided 
with  the  Mede  :  but  the  Phocians  only  did  not  join  in  the  at- 
tack ;  for  they  took  part  with  the  Mede  very  unwillingly  and 
by  necessity.  But  not  many  days  after  his  arrival  at  Thebes, 
a  thousand  of  their  heavy-armed  troops  arrived  ;  Harmocydes, 
a  man  of  high  repute  among  the  citizens,  commanded  them. 
AVhen  they  also  arrived  at  Thebes,  Mardonius,  having  sent 
some  horsemen,  ordered  them  to  encamp  by  themselves  in  the 
plain  ;  and  when  they  had  done  this,  the  whole  cavalry  came 
«p.  Upon  this  a  rumour  spread  through  the  Grecian  forces, 
who  were  with  the  Modes,  that  they  were  going  to  despatch 
them  with  their  javelins  j  this  same  rumour  also  spread  among 


18,19.1  CALLIOPE.    IX.  651 

the  Pliociana  themselves.  Whereupon,  their  general  Harmo- 
cjdes  encouraged  them,  addressing  them  as  follows  :  "  O  Pho- 
cians,  it  is  plain  that  these  men  are  about  to  deliver  us  up  to 
certain  death,  we  having  been  calumniated  by  the  Thessalians, 
as  I  conjecture.  Now,  therefore,  it  is  fitting  that  every  one 
of  you  should  prove  himself  valiant,  for  it  is  better  to  die 
doing  something,  and  defending  ourselves,  than  expose  our- 
selves to  be  destroyed  by  a  most  disgraceful  death.  Let  some 
of  these  men  learn,  then,  that  being  barbarians,  they  have 
plotted  death  against  men  who  are  Greeks."  18.  Thus  he 
encouraged  them.  But  the  cavalry,  when  they  had  surrounded 
them  on  all  sides,  rode  up  as  if  to  destroy  them,  and  brandished 
their  javelins,  as  if  about  to  hurl  them ;  and  one  here  and 
there  did  hurl  his  javelin.  They,  however,  faced  them,  form- 
ing themselves  into  a  circle,  and  closing  their  ranks  as  much 
as  possible :  whereupon  the  cavalry  wheeled  round  and  rode 
away.  I  am  unable  to  say  with  certainty,  whether  they  came 
to  destroy  the  Phocians  at  the  request  of  the  Thessalians,  and 
when  they  saw  them  prepared  to  defend  themselves,  were 
afraid  lest  they  might  receive  some  wounds,  and  therefore 
rode  off,  (because  Mardonius  had  so  ordered  them,)  or  whether 
he  wished  to  try  whether  they  had  any  courage.  But  when 
the  cavalry  had  ridden  back,  Mardonius  sent  a  herald  and 
spoke  as  follows :  "  Be  of  good  heart,  O  Phocians,  for  you 
have  proved  yourselves  to  be  brave  men,  contrary  to  what  I 
heard.  Therefore  sustain  this  war  with  resolution,  and  you 
shall  not  surpass  me  or  the  king  in  generosity."  Such  were 
the  events  in  regard  to  the  Phocians. 

19.  The  Laceda3monians,  when  they  arrived  at  the  Isth- 
mus, there  encamped.  And  the  rest  of  the  Peloponnesians, 
who  favoured  the  better  cause,  when  they  heard  of  this,  and 
others  also  who  saw  the  Spartans  marching  out,  thought  it 
would  be  a  disgrace  to  absent  themselves  from  the  expedition 
of  the  Lacedasmonians.  Accordingly,  the  victims  having 
proved  favourable,  they  all  marcTied  out  from  the  Isthmus, 
and~ad vance3T5  Eleusis.  And  having  consulted  the  victims 
there  also,  when  they  were  again  favourable,  they  continued 
their  march  ;  and  the  Athenians  with  them,  they  having 
crossed  over  from  Salamis,  and  joined  them  at  Eleusis.  When 
they  reached  Erythraa  in  Boeotia,  they  learnt  that  the  bar- 
barians  were  encamped ,  on. Jlig,.Asop.as,  and  having  there- 


552  HERODOTUS.  [20-22 

upon  consulted  together,  they  formed  themselves  opposite,  at 
the  foot  of  Mount  Citliaeron.  20.  J^Iardoaius,  \y hen  the  Greeks 
did,  not^m'5  down  to  the  plain,  sent  against_them  all  Ms'^ca* 
ys^rj,  which  Masistius  commanded,  a  man  highly  esteemed 
among  the  PefsraHs'  (and  whom  the  Greeks  call  Macistius)  :' 
he  was  mounted  on  a  Nisaean  horse,  that  had  a  golden  bit, 
.and  was  otherwisegorgeously  caparisoned.  Thereupon,  when 
jfthe  cavalry  rode  up  to  the  Greeks,  they  charged  them  in 
I  squadrons,  and  in  charging  them  did  them  much  mischief,  and 
flcalled  them  women.  21.  By  chance  the  Mep;arians  happened 
^o  be  stationed  in  that  part  which  was  most  e^^poaed.  and  there 
the  cavalry  chiefly  made  their  attack.  When,  therefore,  the 
cavalry  charged,  the  Megarians,  being  hard  pressed,  sent  a 
herald  to  the  Grecian  generals  ;  and  the  herald,  when  he  came 
into  their  presence,  addressed  them  as  follows  :  "  The  Mega- 
rians say  ;  We,  O  confederates,  are  not  able  alone  to  sustain  the 
Persian  cavalry,  retaining  the  post  in  which  we  were  originally 
stationed:  hitherto  we  have  held  out  against  them  by  our  con- 
stancy and  courage,  though  hard  pressed ;  but  now,  unless  you 
will  send  some  others  to  relieve  us,  know  we  must  abandon  our 
post."  He  accordingly  delivered  this  message.  Pausaniasthere- 
fore  made  trial  of  the  Greeks,  io  see  if  any  otherswoulcTvoTTnT- 
teer  to  go  to  tliat  position,' and  to  relieve  the  Megarians.  'When 
all  the  others  refused,  the  Athenians  undertook  to  do  it,  and 
of  the  Athenians  three  hundred  chosen  men,  wlioiii'^'OIym- 
piodorus,  son  of  Lampon,  commanded.  22.  These  were  they 
who  undertook  that  service,  and  who  were  stationed  in  front 
of  all  the  Greeks  at  Erythra3,  having  taken  with  them  some 
archers.  After  they  had  fought  for  some  time,  the  result  o\ 
the  battle  was  as  follows.  As  the  cavalry  charged  in  squa- 
drons, the  horse  of  Masistius,  being^ln  advance  of  the  others, 
was  wounded  in  the  liank  by  an  arrow ;  and  being  in  pain,  he 
reared  and  threw  Masistius.  As  he  fell,  the  Athenians  imme- 
diately  attacked  Jiim :  accordingly  they  seized  his  horse,  and 
Mtted-Masistius,  a's  he  endeavoured  to  defend  himself,  though 
aFftr^^^Refwere  unable  to  do  so :  for  he  was  thus  armed ; 
underneath  he  had  a  golden  cuirass  covered  with  scales,  and 
over  the  cuirass  he  wore  a  purple  cloak.  By  striking  against 
the  cuirass  they  did  nothing  ;  until  one  of  them,  perceiving 
what  was  the  matter,  pierced  him  in  the  eye,  so  he  fell  and 
died.  By  some  means  this,  while  it  was  goin^  on,  escaped  the 


I 


-25.]  CALLIOPE.    IX.  568 


A. 


tice  of  the  otler  horsemen,  for  they  neither  saw  him  when 
he  fell  from  his  horse^  nor  when  he  was  killed ;  for  while  a 
etreat  and  wheeling  round  was  taking  place,  they  did  not 
tice  what  had  happened.  But  when  they  halted,  they  im- 
ediately  missed  him,  as  there  was  no  one  to  marshal  them. 
And  as  soon  as  they  learnt  what  had  happened,  all,  cheering 
one  another  on,  pushed  their  horses  to  the  charge,  in  order  to 
recover  the  body.  23.  The  Atheniang.^,Sje£iBi;,t.he  cavalliy.  j^o 
longer  advancing  in  squactfSnsTout  all  together,  called  out  for 
as3'i^tHTTT!e~'tO' 'the  rest  of  the  army ;  and  while  the  whole  in- 
fantry^was  coming  up  to  their  aid,  a  sharp  struggle  took  place 
for-thie  bDi35^.  Now  as  long  as  the  three  hundred  were  alone, 
tney^*were  much  inferior,  and  abandoned  the  body ;  but  when 
the  multitude  came  up  to  their  assistance,  the  cavalry  no  longer 
maintained  their  ground,  nor  did  they  succeed  in  recovering 
the  body,  but  lost  many  others  of  their  number,  besides  him ; 
having  therefore  retired  about  two  stades,  they  consulted 
about  what  ought  to  be  done ;  and  determined,  as  they  were 
without _a  commnnrlor.  to  retreat  to  IMardonius.  24.  When 
the  cavalry  arrived  at  the  camp,  tlie  whole  army,  and  Mardo- 
nius  most  of  all,  mourned  tlie  loss  of  Masistius ;  cutting  off 
eir  own  hair,  and  that  of  their  horses  and  beasts  of  burden, 
d  giving  themselves  up  to  unbounded  lamentations  ;  for  the 
und  reached  over  all  Boeotia,  as  for  the  loss  of  a  man  who^ 
next  to  MardoniuSy  was  most  est^eiBgd  by  tlie  Persians  and 
tl^Tonfy.  Thus  the  barbarians,  according  to  their  custom, 
honoured  Masistius  wWri' dead. 

2o."~Thft  rTY:eeks,  when  they  had  withstood  the  attack  of  the 
cavalrvT'lind  having:  withstood  had  repulsed  it,  were  much 
more  encouraged,  and  firsl;  of  all,  having  placed  the  body  on 
a  carriage,  they  carried  it  along  the  line ;  but  the  body  was 
wortliy  of  admiration,  on  account  of  his  stature  and  beauty ; 
for  that  reason  they  did  this,  and  the  men,  leaving  their  ranks, 
came  out  to  view  Masistius.  After  this,  they  determinecLla 
go  down  towni-d^PhitiEa.  for  the  Plata3an  territory  appeared 
to  be  much  more  convenient  for  them  to  encamp  in  than  the 
Erythraean,  both  in  other  respects,  and  as  it  was  better  sup- 
plied with  watgr-  To  this  country,  therefore,  and  to  the  foun- 
tain Gargaphia,  which  is  in  this  countrv,  they  decided  that  it 
would  be  besrrc  remove,  and  having  drawn  up  their  hne,  there 
to  encamp.     Accordingly   having  taken  up  their  arms,  they 


654  HERODOTUS.  [26 

marched  by  the  foot  of  Mount  Cithasron,  near  Hyaiae,  into  the 

PlaffEan  territory ;  and  on  arriving  there,  theylorm^in  Enej 
nation  by  nation,  neaFthe  fountain  of  Gargaphia,  and  the  pre- 
cinct of  theliero  Androcrates,  on  slight  elevations  and  the  level 
plain.  26.  There  in  the  distribution  of  the  stations  a  vehement 
dispute  arose  between  the  Tegeans  and  the  Athenians  j  for 
each  claimed  a  right  to  occupy  the  other  wing,'^  alleging  both 
their  recent  and  former  exploits.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Tegeans  spoke  thus :  "  We  have  ever  been  thought  entitled 
to  this  station  by  all  the  allies,  in  whatever  common  expeditions 
have  been  undertaken  by  the  Peloponnesians,  both  anciently 
and  recently,  from  the  time  when  the  Heraclidas,  after  the 
death  of  Eurystheus,  attempted  to  return  to  Peloponnesus. 
We  then  obtained  this  honour  on  the  following  occasion. 
When  we,  in  conjunction  with  the  Achaeans  and  lonians, 
who  were  then  in  Peloponnesus,  having  marched  out  to  the 
Isthmus,  were  posted  opposite  the  invaders,  then  it  is  related 
that  Hyllus  made  proclamation,  that  it  would  be  better  not  to 
run  the  hazard  of  engaging  army  with  army ;  but  that  from 
the  Peloponnesian  camp,  the  man  amongst  them  whom  they 
judge  to  be  the  best,  should  fight  singly  with  him  on  certain 
conditions.  The  Peloponnesians  determined  that  this  should 
be  done ;  and  they  took  oaths  on  the  following  terms :  that  if 
Hyllus  should  conquer  the  Peloponnesian  leader,  the  Heraclidaj 
should  return  to  their  paternal  possessions ;  but  if  he  should 
be  conquered,  the  Heraclidae  should  depart  and  lead  off  their 
army,  and  not  seek  to  return  into  Peloponnesus  during  the 
space  of  a  hundred  years.  And  Echemus,  son  of  Aeropus, 
son  of  Phegeus,  who  was  our  king  and  general,  having  volun- 
teered, was  chosen  out  of  all  the  allies,  and  fought  singly  and 
slew  Hyllus.  From  this  exploit  we  obtained  among  the  Pe- 
loponnesians of  that  day  both  other  great  privileges,  which 
we  continue  to  enjoy,  and  that  we  should  always  command  one 
wing,  whenever  a  common  expedition  is  undertaken.  With 
you,  then,  O  Lacedagmonians,  we  do  not  contend,  but  giving 
you  the  choice  of  whichever  wing  you  wish  to  command,  we 
concede  it  to  you  ;  but  we  say  that  it  belongs  to  us  to  lead  the 
other,  as  in  former  times.  And  besides  this  exploit  that  has 
been  mentioned,  we  are  more  entitled  to  have  that  station  than 
the  Athenians,  for  many  and  well-contested  battles  have  been 
2  The  Lacedsemonians  chose  which  wing  they  pleased. 


^/  CALLIOPE.    IX.  666 

fought  hy  us  with  you,  O  men  of  Sparta,  and  many  with  others. 
It  is  right,  therefore,  that  we  should  have  one  wing,  rather 
than  the  Athenians  ;  for  such  exploits  have  not  been  achieved 
by  them  as  by  us,  either  in  modern  or  ancient  times."  Thus 
they  spoke.  27.  To  this  the  Athenians  answered  as  follows : 
"  ^^  are  aware  that  this  assemblage  was  made  for  the  pur- 
posejoT fighting  witE  the  barbarian,  and  not  for  disputes  ;  but 
since  the  Tegean  has  proposed  to  mention  the  former  and  re- 
cent actions  that  have  been  achieved  by  each  nation  in  all 
times,  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  make  known  to  you,  whence 
it  is  our  hereditary  right,  having  ever  proved  ourselves  valiant, 
to  hold  the  first  rank,  rather  than  the  Arcadians.  As  to  the 
Heraclidae,  whose  leader  they  affirm  they  slew  at  the  Isthmus  ; 
in  the  first  place,  these  men  formerly,  when  rejected  by  all  the 
Greeks  to  whom  they  came,  when  flying  from  slavery  at  the 
hands  of  the  Mycenceans,  we  alone  received,  and  put  an  end  to 
the  insolence  of  Eurystheus,  by  conquering  in  battle,  in  con- 
junction with  them,  the  people  who  then  possessed  Pelopon- 
nesus. In  the  next  place,  when  the  Argives  who  marched 
with  Polynices  against  Thebes  were  killed,  and  lay  unburied, 
we  having  led  an  army  against  the  Cadm^ans,  affirm  that  we 
recovered  the  bodies  and  buried  them  in  our  own  territory  at 
Eleusis.  "We  also  performed  a  valiant  exploit  against  the 
Amazons,  who  once  made  an  irruption  into  Attica  from  the 
river  Thermodon  ;  and  in  the  Trojan  war  we  were  inferior 
to  none.  But  it  is  of  no  avail  to  call  these  things  to  mind  ; 
for  those  who  were  then  valiant,  the  same  may  now  be  cow- 
ards ;  and  those  who  were  then  cowards,  may  now  be  brave. 
Enough,  then,  of  ancient  exploits.  But  if  no  other  achieve- 
ment had  been  performed  by  us,  though  there  were  many  and 
gallant  ones,  if  by  any  others  of  the  Greeks,  yet  from  our 
exploit  at  Marathon  we  are  worthy  of  this  honour,  and  more 
than  this  ;  we  who  alone  of  the  Greeks,  having  fought  single- 
handed  with  the  Persian,  and  having  attempted  such  a  feat, 
survived,  and  conquered  six  and  forty  nations.  Do  we  not, 
then,  from  this  single  action,  deserve  to  hold  this  post  ?  But  as 
it  is  not  becoming  on  such  an  occasion  as  this  to  be  contending 
about  position,  we  are  ready  to  submit  to  you,  0  Lacedaemo- 
nians, wherever  it  seems  most  convenient  to  place  us,  and 
against  whatsoever  nation.  For,  wheresoever  we  are  stationed, 
we  shall  endeavour  to  prove  ourselves  brave.     Command  us, 


556  HERODOTUS  [28, 29. 

then,  as  ready  to  obey."  28.  Thus  they  answered ;  and  the 
whole  army  of  the  Lacedagmonians  shouted  out,  that  the  Athe- 
nians were  more  worthy  to  occupy  the  wing  than  the  Arca- 
dians. Accordingly  the  Athenians  had  it,  and  got  the  better 
of  the  Teggiins^  -— -         _ 

At!er  tliis,  those  of  the  Greeks  who  came  up  later,  and  those 
who  arrived  at  first,  were  drawn  up  in  the  following  manner. 
Ten  thousand  of  the  Lacedaemonians  occupied  the  rig:ht  wing  ; 
five^ thousand  of  tliese  b"emg  Spartans,  were  attended  by  thirty- 
five  thousand  lightly  armed  Helots,  seven  being_assigned  to 
each  man.  The  Spartans  chose  the  Tegeans  to  stand  next 
themselves,  both  for  honour  and  valour  ;  ofthese  there  were 
fifteen Jiun.dred  heavy-armed  men:  next  to  them  stood ^five 
Thousand  of  the  Corinthiaiis  ;  and  with  them  they  got  permis- 
sion from  Pausanias  for  three  hundre<dPotidaearis,  who  came 
from  Pallene,  to  stand :  next  these  stood  six  hundred  Arca- 
dians of  Orchomenus  ;  next  them  three  thousand  Sicyonians  ; 
next  them  were  eight  hundred  Epidaurlans ;  and  by  the  side 
of  these  were  stationed  three  thousand  of  the  Trcezenians ; 
and  next  tlie  Trcezenians  two  hundred  Lepreata? ;  next  these 
four  hundred  of  the  Mycenreans  and  Tirynthians ;  next  them 
one  thousand  Phliasians  ;  and  by  the  side  of  them  stood  three 
hundred  Hermionians  ;  next  the  Hermionians  were  stationed 
six  hundred  of  the  Eretrians  and  Styrians ;  and  next  them 
four  hundred  Chalcidians ;  next  them  five  hundred  Ambra- 
ciots  ;  after  them  stood  eight  hundred  of  the  Leucadians  and 
Anactorians  ;  next  them  two  hundred  Paleans  from  Cephal- 
lenia ;  and  after  them  five  hundred  of  the  iEginette  were  sta- 
tioned ;  and  by  the  side  of  them  were  posted  three  thousand 
of  the  Megarians  ;  and  next  them  six  hundred  Platseans  ;  and 
last  of  all,  and  at  the  same  time  first,  eight  thousand  Atheniano 
took  their  station,  occupying  the  left  wing,  Aristides,  son  of 
LysimachuSj  commanding  them.  29.  These,  except  the  seven 
assigned  to  each  of  the  Spartans,  were  heavy-armed ;  their 
total  number  amounting  to  thirty-eight  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred. All  the  heavy-armed  men  assembled  to  oppose  the 
barbarian  were  so  many.  Of  the  light-armed  the  number 
was  as  follows :  in  the  Spartans'  line  thirty-five  thousand 
men,  there  being  seven  to  each  man ;  every  one  of  these  was 
equipped  as  for  war :  and  the  light-armed  of  the  rest  of  the 
Lacedaemonians  and  other  Greeks,  about  one  to  each  man, 


I 


80-82.]  CALLIOPE.    IX.  557 

ftmounted  to  thirty-four  thousand  five  hundred.  So  that 
the  number  of  the  light-armed  fighting  men  was  sixty-nine 
thousand  five  hundred.  30.  Thus,  then,  the  whole  of  the 
Grecian  army  assembled  at  Platjea,  reckoning  heavy-armed 
and  light-armed  fighting  men,  amounted  to  one  hundred  and 
ten  thousand,  wanting  one  thousand  eight  hundred  men :  and 
with  the  Thespians  who  came  up,  the  full  number  of  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  thousand  was  completed  ;  for  the  survivors  of 
the  Thespiuns  joined  the  army,  to  the  number  of  one  thousand 
eight  hundred,  but  they  had  not  heavy  armour.  These,  then, 
being  drawn  up  in  line,  encamped  on  the  Asopus. 

31.  The  barbarians,  with  Mardonius,  when  they  had  ceased 
to  mourrTlor  ^lasistius,  having  heard  that  the  Greeks  were  at 
Platoea^t  hem  selves  also  marched  to  the  Asopus»  which  flows 
ther^j  and  on  their  arrival,  they  were  thus  drawn  up  by  Mar- 
donius. Opposite  the  Laceda3monians  he  stationed  tlie  Per- 
sians ;  and  as  the  Persians  far  exceeded  them  in  number,  they 
were  both  drawn  up  several  ranks  deep,  and  extended  opposite 
the  Tegeans  :  and  he  arrayed  them  thus  ;  having  selected  all 
the  most  powerful  of  his  forces,  he  stationed  them  opposite 
the  Lacedaemonians,  and  the  weaker  he  arrayed  by  their  side 
against  the  Tegeans :  this  he  did  by  the  advice  and  direction 
of  the  Thebans.  Next  the  Persians  he  ranged  the  Medes ; 
these  fronted  the  Corinthians,  Potidjeans,  Orchomenians,  and 
Sicyonians.  Next  the  Medes  he  ranged  the  Bactrians  ;  these 
fronted  the  Epidaurians,  Troezenians,  Lepreata),  Tirynthians, 
Mycenaeans,  and  Phliasians.  Next  the  Bactrians  he  stationed 
the  Indians;  these  fronted  the  Hermionians,  Eretrians,  Sty- 
rians,  and  Chalcidians.  Next  the  Indians,  he  ranged  the 
Sacas ;  these  fronted  the  Ampraciots,  Anactorians,  Leucadians, 
Paleans,  and  ^ginetae.  And  next  the  Sacae,  and  opposite  to 
the  Athenians,  Plataeans,  and  Megarians,  he  ranged  the  Boe- 
otians, Locrians,  Melians,  Thessalians,  and  the  thousand  Pho- 
cians ;  for  all  the  Phocians  did  not  side  with  the  Mode;  but  some 
of  them  assisted  the  cause  of  the  Greeks,  being  shut  up  about 
Parnassus  ;  and  sallying  from  thence,  they  harassed  the  army  ot 
Mardonius,  and  the  Greeks  who  were  with  him.  He  also  ranged 
the  Macedonians,  and  those  that  dwelt  about  Thessaly,  against 
the  Athenians.  32.  These^  Jlie  most  considerable  of  the.  na- 
tions that  were  ranged  under  Mardonius,  have  been  named, 
an^  which  were  the  most  distinguished  and  of  most  account ; 


558  HERODOTUS  [88. 

y(;t  there  were  also  mixed  with  them  men  of  other  nations, 
I'hrygians,  Thracians,  Mysians,  Paeonians,  -Ethiopians,  and 
others ;  and  among  them  those  of  the  -Ethiopians  and  Egyp- 
tians who  are  called  Hermotybians  and  Calasirians,  armed 
with  swords;  who  are  the  only  Egyptians  that  are  warriors.* 
Tliese,  while  he  was  still  at  Phalerus,  he  took  from  on  board 
the  ships,  they  being  marines ;  for  the  Egyptians  were  not 
arrayed  with  the  land-forces  that  came  with  Xerxes  to  Athens. 
Of  barbarians  there  were  three  hundred  thousand,  as  has  been 
already  shown  ;'*  but  of  Greeks  who  were  allies,  of  Mardonius 
no  one  knows  the  number,  for  they  were  not  reckoned  up ; 
but,  to  make  a  guess,  I  conjecture  that  they^ere  assembled 
to  the  number  of  fl|^;,iliflliaaod.  These,  who  were  thus  ar- 
rayed, were  infantry ;  the  cavalry  were  marshalled  apart. 

33.  When  they  were  nil  ranged  by  nations  and  battalions, 
thereupon,  on  the  second  day,  both  sides  offered  sacrifices. 
For  the  Greeks,  Tisamenus,  son  of  Antiochus,  was  the  person 
who  sacrificed,  for  he  accompanied  this  army  as  diviner ;  him, 
though  an  Elean,  and  by  extraction  a  Clytiad  of  the  lamidae, 
the  Lacedaemonians  had  admitted  into  the  number  of  their 
citizens.  For  when  Tisamenus  was  consulting  the  oracle  at 
Delphi  about  offspring,  the  Pythian  answered,  that  he  should 
be  victorious  in  five  very  great  contests.  He  accordingly, 
mistaking  the  answer,  applied  himself  to  gymnastic  exercises, 
as  if  he  were  to  be  victorious  in  gymnastic  contests ;  and 
having  practised  the  pentathlon,  he  missed  winning  the  Olym- 
pic prize  by  one  wrestling  match,  having  contended  with  Hie- 
ronymus  of  Andros.  The  Lacedaemonians,  having  learnt  that 
the  oracle  delivered  to  Tisamenus  referred  not  to  gymnastic 
but  to  martial  contests,  endeavoured  by  offers  of  money  to 
persuade  Tisamenus  to  become  the  leader  of  their  wars,  in 
conjunction  with  their  kings  of  the  Heraclidge.  But  he,  seeing 
the  Spartans  very  anxious  to  make  him  their  friend,  having 
discovered  this,  enhanced  his  price,  acquainting  them,  "  that 
if  they  would  make  him  their  own  citizen,  granting  him  a  full 
participation  of  all  privileges,  he  would  comply,  but  not  on 
any  other  terms."  *  The  Spartans,  when  they  first  heard  this, 
were  very  indignant,  and  altogether  slighted  his  proplictic 
skill ;  but  at  last,  when  great  terror  of  this  Persian  army  was 
hanging  over  them,  they  sent  for  him  and  assented.  But  he, 
'  See  B.  II.  chap.  164.  *  See  B.  YJII.  chap.  113. 


34—37.]  CALLIOPE.    IX.  559 

perceiving  they  had  changed  their  minds,  said  he  would  no 
longer  be  contented  with  these  things  only,  but  that  his  brother 
Hegias  must  also  be  made  a  Spartan,  on  the  same  terms  as 
himself.  34.  In  saying  this  he  imitated  Melampus,  to  com- 
pare a  kingdom  with  citizenship  in  his  demands.  For  Me- 
lampus also,  the  women  at  Argos  being  smitten  with  madness, 
when  the  Argives  would  have  hired  him  from  Pylus  to  cure 
their  women  of  the  disease,  demanded  one  half  of  the  king- 
dom for  his  recompence.  But  the  Argives  not  yielding  to  his 
terms,  but  going  away,  when  many  more  of  their  women  be- 
came mad,  they  at  length  submitted  to  what  Melampus  de- 
manded, and  went  to  present  it  to  him.  But  he  thereupon, 
seeing  them  changed,  coveted  still  more,  saying,  that  "  unless 
they  would  give  a  third  part  of  the  kingdom  to  his  brother 
Bias,  he  would  not  do  what  they  wished."  The  Argives, 
therefore,  being  driven  to  a  strait,  granted  that  also.  35.  In 
like  manner  the  Spartans,  for  they  wanted  Tisamenus  ex- 
ceedingly, yielded  to  him  entirely  :  and  when  the  Spartans 
had  thus  yielded  to  him,  Tisamenus  the  Elean,  having  become  a 
Spartan,  accordingly  assisted  them  by  his  art  of  divination  in 
gaining  five  most  important  battles.  These,  then,  were  the 
only  persons  of  all  mankind  who  were  made  Spartan  citizens. 
The  five  battles  were  as  follows:  one  and  the  first,  this  at 
Plataea;  next,  that  which  took  place  at  Tegea,  against  the 
Tegeans  and  Argives  ;  afterwards,  that  at  Dipasa,  against  all 
the  Arcadians  except  the  Mantineans  ;  next,  that  of  the  Mes- 
senians,  near  Ithomae ;  and  the  last,  that  which  took  place  at 
Tanagra,  against  the  Athenians  and  Argives :  this  was  the 
last  achieved  of  the  five  victories.  36.  This  Tisamenus,  then, 
the  Spartans  bringing  him,  officiated  as  diviner  to  the  Greeks 
at  Plataea :  now  the  sacrifices  were  favourable  to  the  Greeks, 
if  they  stood  on  the  defensive ;  but  if  they  crossed  the  Asopus, 
and  began  the  battle,  not  so. 

37.  To  Mardonius,  who  was  very  desirous  to  begin  the 
battle,  the  sacrifices  were  not  propitious ;  but  to  him  also,  if 
he  stood  on  the  defensive,  they  were  i\ivourable :  for  he  too 
adopted  the  Grecian  sacrifices,  having  for  his  diviner  Hegesis- 
tratus,  an  Elean,  and  the  most  renowned  of  tiie  Telliadae.  Tliis 
man,  before  these  events,  the  Spartans  had  taken  and  bound 
for  death,  because  they  had  suffered  many  and  atrocious  things 
from  him.     He  being  in  this  sad  :  audition,  as  being  in  penJ 


560  HERODOTUS.  [38,39. 

for  his  life,  and  having  to  suffer  many  tortures  before  death, 
performed  a  deed  beyond  belief.  For  as  he  was  confined  in 
stocks  bound  with  iron,  he  got  possession  of  a  knife,  which 
had  been  by  some  means  carried  in,  and  immediately  contrived 
the  most  resolute  deed  of  all  men  we  know  of:  for  having 
considered  in  what  way  the  rest  of  his  foot  would  get  out,  he 
cut  off  the  broad  part  of  the  foot ;  and  having  done  this,  as 
he  was  guarded  by  sentinels,  he  dug  a  hole  through  the  wall 
and  escaped  to  Tegea,  travelling  by  night,  and  by  day  hiding 
himself  in  the  woods  and  tarrying  there.  Thus,  though  the 
Lacedaemonians  searched  for  him  with  their  whole  population, 
on  the  third  night  he  arrived  at  Tegea ;  but  they  were  struck 
with  great  amazement  at  his  daring,  when  they  saw  half  his 
foot  lying  on  the  ground,  and  were  not  able  to  find  him.  Thus 
Hegesistratus,  having  escaped  from  the  Lacedaemonians,  fled  to 
Tegea,  which  was  at  that  time  not  on  friendly  terms  with  the 
Lacedasmonians  :  and  having  been  cured  of  his  wounds,  and 
procured  a  wooden  foot,  he  became  an  avowed  enemy  to  the 
Lacedjemonians.  However,  at  last  his  hatred  conceived 
ugainst  the  Lacedaemonians  did  not  benefit  him  ;  for  he  was 
taken  by  them  when  acting  as  diviner  at  Zacynthus,  and  put 
to  death.  Now  the  death  of  Hegesistratus  took  place  after  the 
battle  of  Platoea:  but  at  that  time,  on  the  Asopus,  being 
hired  by  Mardonius  for  no  small  sum,  he  sacrificed  and  was 
very  zealous,  both  from  hatred  to  the  Lacedaemonians,  and 
from  a  love  of  gain. 

38.  As  the  victims  were  not  favourable  for  fighting,  either 
to  the  Persians  themselves,  or  the  Greeks  who  were  with 
them,  (for  they  also  had  a  diviner  for  themselves,  Hippoma- 
chus,  a  Leucadian,)  and  as  Greeks  were  flowing  in,  and  their 
numbers  increasing,  Timagenides,  son  of  Herpys,  a  Theban, 
advised  Mardonius  to  guard  the  passes  of  Mount  Cithaeron  ; 
saying,  that  the  Greeks  were  continually  pouring  in  every 
day,  and  that  he  would  intercept  great  numbers.  39.  Eight 
days  had  already  elapsed  since  they  had  been  posted  opposite 
each  other,  when  he  gave  this  advice  to  Mardonius.  But  he, 
perceiving  that  the  suggestion  was  good,  as  soon  as  it  was 
night,  sent  some  cavalry  to  the  passes  of  Citha3ron,  that  lead  to 
Plataea,  which  the  Boeotians  call  The  Three  Heads ;  but  the 
Athenians,  The  Heads  of  Oak.  The  horsemen  that  were  sent  did 
not  arrive  in  vain  ;  for  issuing,  on  the  plain,  they  took  five  hun- 


40,  41.] 


CALLIOPE.    IX.  661 


dred  beasts  carrying  provisions  from  Peloj>onnesus  to  the 
army,  with  the  men  who  attended  the  beasts  of  burden.  The 
Persians,  having  taken  this  booty,  killed  them  without  mercy, 
sparing  neither  beast  nor  man :  and  when  they  had  had 
enough  of  slaughter,  they  surrounded  the  rest  of  them,  and 
drove  them  off  to  Mardonius  and  to  the  camp.  40.  After 
this  action  they  passed  two  more  days,  neither  being  will- 
ing_to_begin  the  battle ;  for  the  barbarians  advanced  as  far  as 
the  Asopus,  to  tempt  the  Greeks,  but  neither  crossed  over. 
However,  Jthe  cavalry  of  Mardonius  continually  pressed  on 
ani  harassed  tlie  Greeks  ;  for  the  Thebans,  being  entirely  in 
tlie~ interest"  of  tlie  Modes,  carried  on  the* war  with  vigour, 
and  constantly  led  on  even  to  actual  fighting ;  but  after  that 
the  Persians  and  Medes,  coming  up,  gave  signal  proofs  of 
valour. 

41.  Accordingly^  durinpr  the  ten  days  nothing  more  than 
this  took'^pEce ;  but  when  the  eleventh  day  came  after  the 
t\fo]armies  ITad  been  encamped  opposite  each  other  in  Platcea, 
anXtheGreeks  had  become  much  more  numerous,  and  Mar- 
donius was  exceedingly  vexed  at  the  delay,  thereupon  Mardo- 
nius, son  of  Gobryas,  and  Artabazus,  son  of  Pharnaces,  who 
was  one  of  the  Persians  esteemednfTy  Xerxes,  came  to  a  con- 
ference. And  on  consulting,  the  following  were  their  opinions  : 
that  of  Artabazus,  that  "  it  was  expedient  to  remove  their  whole 
army  away  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  march  to  the  walla 
of  Thebes,  where  a  large  store  of  provisions  had  been  laid  up 
for  themselves,  and  forage  for  their  horses  ;  and  that  sitting 
down  quietly  they  might  accomplish  their  enterprise,  by  doing 
as  follows :  for,  as  they  had  much  coined  gold  and  much  un- 
coined, and  much  silver  and  many  goblets,  they  should  spare 
none  of  these,  but  distribute  them  among  the  Greeks,  espe- 
cially among  the  principal  men  of  the  Greeks  in  the  cities  ; 
and  they  would' quickly  surrender  their  liberty,  nor  run  the 
hEtgta^g^fnH  enfragement.'*  Thus  his  opinion  was  the  same  as 
tharoFtheThebans,^  since  he  had  more  foresight  than  the 
other. ^  But  the  opinion  of  Mardonius  was  more  violent,  per- 
tinacious, and  by  no  means  inclined  to  yielding.  "  For  he 
thought  that  their  army  was  far  superior  to  the  Greciah,"  and 
that"  they^ should  engage  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  not  suffer 
more  to  be  assembled  than  were  already  assembled ;  and  that 

'  See  chap.  2.  »  Mardonius. 

2  o 


1 


562  HERODOTUS.  t*^-**- 

they  should  dismiss  the  victims  of  Hegesistratus,  and  not  do 
violence  to  them',  l)ut,  following  the  usages  of  the  Persians,  to 
engage!**""  42:  When  he  thus  decided,  no  one  contradicted  him, 
so  that  his  opinion  prevailed,  for  he  helcfihe  command~bT  the 
army  from  the  king,  and  not  from  Artabazus.  Having  there- 
fore summoned  the  commanders  of  battalions,  and  the  generals 
of  the  Greeks  who  were  in  his  service,  he  asked  if  they  knew 
any  oracle  respecting  the  Persians,  which  predicted  that  they 
should  be  destroyed.  But  when  those  who  were  convoked 
remained  silent,  some  not  knowing  the  oracles,  and  others 
knowing  indeed,  but  not  deeming  it  safe  to  mention  them, 
jNIardonius  himself  said,  "  Since  you  either  know  nothing,  or 
dare  not  speak,  I  will  tell  you,  as  I  know  perfectly  well.  There  is 
an  oracle,  importing,  that  the  Persians  arriviiig  in  Greece  should 
sSck~thB  tiemple  at  Delphi,  and  after  the  sacking,  airperish. 
"We,  therefore,  being  apprized  of  this,  neither  marcTi  against 
that  temple,  nor  intend  to  sack  itj  and  thus  we  shall  not 
perish  on  that  account.  Let  such  of  you,  then,  as  are  well 
affected  to  the  Persians,  rejoice  on  this  account,  that  we  shall 
vanquish  the  Greeks."  Having  said  this  to  them,  he  next 
gave  orders  to  get  all  things  in  readiness,  and  put  them  in 
good  order,  for  that  a  battle  would  take  place  early  the  next 
morning.  43.  This  oracle,  which  Mardonius  said  related  to 
the  Persians,  I  know  was  delivered  in  reference  to  the  lUy- 
rians,  and  the  army  of  the  Enchelians,  and  not  to  the  Persians. 
But  the  following  had  been  delivered  by  Bacis  in  reference  to 
this  battle  :  "  The  meeting  of  the  Greek  and  the  barbarian- 
voiced  shout  on  the  Thermodon  and  grassy-banked  Asopus  ;  in 
which  many  of  the  bow-bearing  Medes  shall  fall,  despite  of 
Lachesis  and  fate,  when  the  destined  day  shall  come."  These, 
and  others  like  these,  I  know  were  pronounced  by  Musaeus  in 
reference  to  the  Persians ;  but  the  river  Thermodon  flows  be- 
tween Tanagra  and  Glisas. 

44.  After  the  inquiry  respecting  the  oracles,  and  the  ex- 
hortation given  by  Mardonius,  niofht  came  on^  and  they  set  the 
watch.  But  when  the  night  was  far  advanced,  and  silenco 
appeared  to  prevail  throughout  the  camps,  and  the  men  were 
in  the  most  profound  sleep,  at  that  time  Alexander,  son  of 
Amyntas,  who  was  general  and  king  of  the  Macedonians,  hav- 
ing ridden  up  on  horseback  to  the  sentries  of  the  Athenians, 
desired  to  confer  with  tWir  generals.   Most  of  the  sentries  ro- 


45,46.]  CALLIOtJi-    .t^  563 

mained  at  their  post,  while  some  ran  to  the  generals,  and  hav- 
ing arrived  told  them,  "that  a  man  had  come  on  horseback 
from  the  camp  of  the  Medes,  who  uttered  not  a  word  more, 
but,  naming  the  generals,  said  he  wislied  to  confer  with  them.** 
45.  When  they  heard  this,  they  immediately  followed  to  the 
out-posts ;  and  on  their  arrival  4-}^;^^Jider  addressed  them  as 
follows :  "  0  Athenians,  I  leave  these  words  with  you  as  a 
deposit,  entreating  you  to  keep  them  secret,  and  not  tell  them 
to  any  other  than  Pausanias,  lest  you  should  even  ruin  me. 
For  I  should  not  utter  them,  were  I  not  extremely  concerned 
for  the  safety  of  all  Greece ;  for  I  am  both  myself  a  Grecian 
originally,  and  would  by  no  means  wish  to  see  Greece  enslaved_ 
instead  of  free.  I  tell  you,  then,  that  the  victims  have  no 
been  favourable  to  Mardonius  and  his  army,  or  else  you  would 
have  fought  long  ago ;  tnlX  now,  he, has  determined  to  dismiss 
the  victims,  and  to  come  to  an  engagement  at  ^wn  of  day ; 
fearing,  as  I  conjecture,  lest  you  should  assemBre  fn  greater 
numbers.  Therefore  be  ready.  But  if  Mardonius  should 
defer  the  engagementj'~arrd''not  undertake  it,  do  you  persevere 
remainini5,jyhere  you  are,  for  in  a  few  days  provisions  will 
^jUTEKT^  And  if  this  war  should  terminate  according  to  your 
wishes,  it  is  right  that  you  should  bear  it  in  mind  to  eifect 
my  freedom,  who  on  behalf  of  the  Greeks  have  undertaken  so 
hazardous  a  task,  out  of  zeal  for  them,  wishing  to  acquaint  you 
with  the  intention  of  Mardonius,  in  order  that  the  barbarians 
may~iiot  fall  upon  you  unexpectedly.  I  am  Alexander  the 
Macedonian."  He,  having  spoken  thus,  rode  back  to  the 
ctSip  and  his  own  station. 

46.  The  generals  of  the  Athenians,  having  gone  to  the  right 
wing,  told  Pausanias  what  they  had  heard  from  Alexander ; 
but  he,  on  receiving  this  intelligence,  being  in  dread  of  the 
Persian,  spoke  thus :  "  Seeing  an  engagement  will  take  place 
in  the  morning,  it  is  proper  that  you  Athenians  should  be 
placed  opposite  to  the  Persians,  and  we  opposite  to  the  Boeo- 
tians and  those  Grecians  who  are  now  drawn  up  opposite  to 
you,  for  this  reason :  you  are  acquainted  with  the  Medes,  and 
their  manner  of  fighting,  having  fought  with  them  at  Mara- 
thon ;  whereas  we  are  inexperienced  in  and  unacquainted 
witli  those  men,  for  no  Spartan  has  ever  made  trial  of  the 
Medes  ;  but  we  have  made  trial  of  the  Boeotians  and  Thes- 
salians.     It  is  therefore  right  that  you  should  take  up  youi 

2  o  2 


564  liJiKODOTUS.  [47—43. 

arms  and  come  to  this  wing,  and  we  go  to  the  left."  To  this 
the  Athenians  answered  as  follows :  "To  us  also  from  the  xavy 
first,  when  we  saw  the  Persians  drawn  opposite  to  you,  it  oc- 
curred to  mention  the  very  thing  which  you  have  now  been 
the  first  to  propose ;  but  we  feared  that  the  proposal  might 
not  be  agreeable  to  you  ;  since,  liowever,  you  yourselves  have 
mentioned  it,  the  proposal  is  both  agreeable  to  us,  and  we  are 
ready  to  act  accordingly.  47.  ^s  this  pleased  both  parties,  aa 
soon  as  morning  dawned  they  changed  their  stations :  the 
Boeotians  having  perceived  what  was  done,  gave  notice  to 
J^ardonius  ;  and  he,  when  he  had  heard  it,  imrnediatelj^egan 
to  alter  his  order  of  battle,  leading  the  Persians  opposite  to  the 
Lacedaemonians.  But  when  Pausanias  obseirxidn^hat  tliis  was 
Ijeing  done,  perceiving  that  he  was  discovered,  he  led  the  Spar- 
tans back  to  the  right  wing  ;  and  Mardonius  in  like  manner 
towards  the  left. 

48.  When  they  were  stationed  in  their  original  positions, 
Mardonius;  having  sent  a  herald  to  the  Spartans,  sp6k"e  as 
follows :  "  O  Lacedaemonians,  you  are  said  to  be  the  bravest, 
by  the  people  in  these  parts,  who  admire  you  exceedingly,  be- 
cause you  neither  fly  from  the  field  of  battle,  nor  quit  your 
ranks,  but  continuing  firm,  either  kill  your  adversaries,  or  are 
killed  yourselves.  Of  all  this  however  notliing  is  true.  For 
even  before  w^e  engaged,  and  came  to  the  decision  of  blows, 
we  have  seen  you  flying  and  quitting  your  ranks,  leaving  the 
first  risk  to  the  Athenians,  and  ranging  yourselves  against  our 
slaves ;  this  is  by  no  means  the  conduct  of  brave  men  :  we, 
then,  have  been  very  much  deceived  in  you  ;  for  whereas  we 
expected,  on  account  of  your  renown,  that  you  would  have 
sent  a  herald  to  challenge  us,  and  that  you  would  be  desirous 
of  fighting  with  the  Persians  alone,  though  we  were  ready  to 
accept  these  terms,  we  have  found  you  proposing  nothing  of 
the  kind,  but  rather  shrinking  from  us.  Now,  therefore,  since 
you  have  not  begun  this  proposal,  we  will  begin  it ;  why,  then, 
should  not  you,  on  the  part  of  the  Greeks,  since  you  are  deemed 
to  be  the  bravest,  and  we,  on  the  part  of  the  barbarians,  en- 
gage with  equal  numbers  on  both  sides  ?  If  you  think  the 
rest  ought  also  to  fight,  let  them  fight  afterwards  ;  but  if  you 
do  not  think  so,  and  that  we  only  are  sufficient,  we  will  fight  it 
out ;  and  whichever  of  us  shall  obtain  the  victory,  let  them  be 
victorious  for  the  whole  army."     49.  He  having  spoken  thu^ 


50,  51.]  CALLIOPE.    IX.  665 

and  waited  some  time,  when  no  one  gave  him  any  answer, 
returned  back  again,  and  on  his  arrival  gave  Mardonius  an 
account  of  what  had  happened.  But  he,  being  above  measure 
rejoiced  and  elated  by  a  cold  victory,  sent  his  cavalry  to 
charge  the  Greeks.  When  the  horsemen  rode  up  they  harassed 
the  wlioleGrecian  army,  hurling  javelins  and  shooting  arrows, 
since  tlieywere  mounted  archers,  and  very  difficult  to  be 
brought  to  a  close  engagement ;  and  they  disturbed  and  choked 
up  the  fountain  of  Gargap.hia,  frorii  which'tKe  wIETole  Grecian 
army  obtained  wator.  Near  this  fountain  the  Lacedaemonians 
only  were  posted,  but  the  fountain  was  farther  off  from  the 
rest  of  the  Greeks  according  as  they  severally  happened  to  be 
stationed  ;  but  the  Asopus  was  near.  However,  being  re- 
pulsed from  the  Asopus,  they  then  had  recourse  to  the  foun- 
tain ;  for  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  get  water  from  the 
river,  by  reason  of  the  cavalry  and  the  arrows. 

50.  VY heii  tliis  happened,  the^^enerals  ol:'  the  Greeks,  as  the 
army  was  deprived  of  water  and  harassed  by  the  cavalry^  as- 
sembled together  to  deliberate  on  these  and  other  matters,' 
going  to  Jt^aiisanias  on  the  right  wing.  For  when  these  things 
were  so,  other  circumstances  troubled  them  still  more;  for 
they  had  no  longer  any  provisions,  and  their  attendants,  who 
had  been  despatched  to  the  Peloponnesus  to  get  provisions, 
were  shut  out  by  the  cavalry,  and  unable  to  reach  the  camp. 

51.  On  consultation  the  generals  resolved,  if  the  Persians 
should^defet'  ipaking  .the  attack  on  that  day,  to  remove  to  the 
i^and.  Tliis  island  is  ten  stades  distant  from  the  Asopus  and 
theTountain  of  Gargaphia,  on  which  they  were  then  encamped, 
before  the  city  of  the  Plata^ans.  Thus  it  is  an  island  in  the 
"^''^°^  "^^  ^hft  rnr'^'""'"^  For  the  river,  dividmg  itseltTlTgher 
up,  flows  down  to  the  plain  from  Mount  Citha^ron,  having  its 
streams  about  three  stades  separate  from  each  other  ;  and  then 
they  unite  together,  and  the  name  of  it  is  Oeroe ;  the  inhabitants 
say  that  she  is  the  daughter  of  Asopus.  To  this  place  thgy 
determined  to  remove,  that  they  might  have  an  abundant  sup- 
pl}f  of  water,  and  the  cavalry  iiils^ht  not  harass  them,  as  when 
they  were  directly  o^osite.  They  determined  to  remove 
when  it  should  be  the  second  watch  of  the  night,  in  order  that 
the  Persians  might  not  see  them  setting  out,  and  the  cavalry 
might  not  follow  and  annoy  them.  They  also  resolved,  that 
when  they  should  arrive  at  this  spot  which  the  Asopian  Oero« 


566  HERODOTUS.  [52-64 

encompasses  flowing  from  Cithaeron,  they  would  on  the  same 
night  send  away  one  half  of  their  forces  to  Cithaeron,  in  order 
to  bring  in  the  attendants  who  had  gone  for  provisions  j  for 
they  were  shut  up  in  Cithaeron.  52.  Having  taken  these  re  ■ 
solutions,  during  the  whole  of  that  day,  they  suffered  inces* 
sant  labour  by  the  cavalry  pressing  on  them  ;  but  when  the  day 
ended,  and  the  cavalry  had  ceased  to  attack  them,  night  hav- 
ing come,  and  it  being  the  hour  at  which  they  had  agreed  to 
decamp,  thereupon  the  greater  part  taking  up  their  arms 
marched  away,  without  any  intention  of  going  to  the  place 
agreed  upon  :  whilst  others,  as  soon  as  they  were  put  in 
motion,  gladly  fled  from  the  cavalry  towards  the  city  of 
the  Plataeans;  and  in  their  flight  they  arrived  at  the 
temple  of  Juno  :  it  stands  before  the  city  of  the  Platseans, 
twenty  stades  distant  from  the  fountain  of  Gargaphia ; 
and  having  arrived  there,  they  stood  to  their  arms  before 
the  sacred  precinct.      53.  They  then  encamped   round  the 

IHeraeum ;  and  !]^usanias,  seeing  them  departing  from  the 
^camp,  ordered  the  Lacedaemonians  also  to  take  up  their  arms 
land  go  Tii  the  same  direction  as  the  others,  supposing  tliey 
were  going  to  the  place  which  they  had  agreed  to  ^cTto. 
Whereupon  all  the  other  commanders  of  troops  were  ready 
to  obey  Pausanias ;  but  Amompharetus,  son  of  Poliades, 
(^^tain  of  the  band  of  Pitanetae/said,  "he  would  not  fly  from 
theioreigners,  nor  willingly  bring  disgrace  on  Sparta;"  and 
he  was  astonished  at  seeing  what  was  being  done,  because  lie 
had  not  been  present  at  the  preceding  conference.  Pausanias 
and  Euryanax  considered  it  a  disgrace  that  he  should  not  obey 
them,  but  still  more  disgraceful,  when  he'^  had  so  resolved,  to 
forsake  the  band  of  Pitanetae,  lest  if  they  should  forsake  him 
in  order  to  do  what  they  had  agreed  on  with  the  rest  of  the 
Grecians,  Amompharetus  himself,  being  left  behind,  and  those 
with  him  should  perish.  Considering  these  things,  they  kept 
the  Laconian  forces  unmoved,  and  prwWyr^mipprl  tn  pprsnaflft 
hinijhat  it  was  not  right  for  him  to  do  as  he  did. 

54.  They,  then,  were  expostulating  with  Affiiiiophaiietus, 
who  alone  of  the  Lacedaemonians  and  Tegeans  was  J  eft  hor 
hiijid.  Butjhe  Athenians  did  as  fiaUows:  they  kept  themselves 
uufiioved  where  they  had  been  stationed,  knowing  tlic  dispo- 
sitions of  the  Lacedaemonians,  who  purpose  one  thing  and  say 
•  Amom^aretus. 


M^-^.]  CALLIOPE.    IX.  567 

ynft^lip.r.  WheR,  therefore,  the  army  was  in  motion,  they  sent 
one  of  their  horsemen  to  see  whether  the  Spartans  were  be- 
ginning to  depart,  or  whether  they  did  not  intend  to  depart 
at  all ;  and  to  inquire  of  Pausanias  what  it  was  right  to  do. 
55.  When  the  herald  came  up  to  the  Lacedaemonians,  he  saw 
them  drawn  up  in  the  same  spot,  and  their  chiefs  engaged  in 
disputes.  Fgr  when  Euryanax  and  Pausanias  urged  Amom- 
pharetus  not  fj  incur  danger  hy  remummg jvifh  his  men  alone 
ofjalljlie  Lacedajmonians,  they  were  by  no  means  able  to  pre- 
vail with  him,  until  they  fell  into  an  open  quarrel ;  and  the 
herald  of  the  Athenians  haying^ come  up  stood  by  them.  And 
Amomphnretus  quarrelling,  took  up  a  stone  with  both  his 
hands,  and^  laying  it  down  at  the  feet  of  Pausanias,  said, 
"  With  this  pebble  I  give  my  vote,  not  to  fly  from  the  foreign- 
ersj"  by  foreigners  meaning  the  barbarians.  But  Pausanias, 
calling  him  a  mad-man  and  out  of  his  senses,  then  turned  to 
the  herald  of  the  Athenians,  who  was  making  the  inquiry  he 
had  been  ordered  to  make,  and  bade  liim  inform  them  of  the 
present  poslin-o  of  affairs,  and  entreated  the  Athenians  to  come 
over  to  them,  and  act,  in  relation  to  i\ni  departure,  just  as  they 
should.  56.  He  accordingly  went  back  to  the  Athenians. 
But  when  morning  found  them  still  disputing  with  one  ano- 
ther, Pausanias,  having  stayed  during  all  that  time,  and  sup- 
poaing^(as  indeed  happened)  that  Aniorhph'aretus  would  not 
stay  behind  when  the  rest  of  the  Lacedaemonians  were  gone, 
having  gfven  the  signal,  led  all  the  rest  away  along  the  hills ; 
and  the  Tegeahs  followed.  But  the  Athenians,  drawn  up  in  Vj^ 
or^r  of  battle,  marched  by  a  dliffbrent  way  from  the  Lacedae-  V^ 
monians;  for  they  kept  to  the  rising  ground  and  the  base  of 
Cftfaseron.  through  fear  of  the  cavalry;  but  the  Athenians 
took  their  route  towards  the  plain.  57.  But  Amompharetus, 
thinking  that  Pausanias  would  on  no  account  dare  to  forsake 
them,  was  very  earnest  that  they  should  remain  there  and  not 
abandon  their  post ;  but  when  those  with  Pausanias  had  ad- 
vaneedsome  distance,  supposing  that  they  were  in  real  earnest 
deserting  him,  he  ordered  his  band  to  take  up  their  arms, 
and  led  them  slowly  towards  the  main  body ;  which,  having 
marched  about  ten  stades,  waited  for  the  band  of  Amompha- 
retus, halting  at  the  river  Moloeis,  at  a  place  called  Argiopius, 
where  stands  a  temple  of  Eleusinian  Ceres ;  and  they  waited 
there  for  this  reason,  that  if  Amompharetus  and  his  hand 


568  HERODOTUS.  [58, 69 

should  not  leaye  the  post  in  which  they  had  been  stationed, 
but  should  remain  there,  they  might  go  back  to  their  assist- 
ance. However,  those  with  Amompharetus  came  up;  and 
the  whole  of  the  barbarian's  cavalry  pressed  upon  them.  For 
tlie  horsemen  did  as  they  were  always  accustomed  to  do ;  but 
seeing  the  place  empty  in  which  the  Greeks  had  been  drawn 
up  on  the  preceding  days,  they  pushed  on  continually  in  ad- 
vance, and  as  soon  as  they  overtook  them,  they  pressed  them 
closely. 

58.  Mardonius^  when  he  was  informed  that  the  Grecians 
had  withcli-awn  under  cover  of  night,  and  &a3K— the  place 
deserted,  having  summoned  Thorax  of  Larissa,  and  his 
brotliers  Eurypilus  and  Thrasydeius,  said  :  "  0  sons  of 
Aleuas,  what  will  you  say  now,  when  you  see  tliis  ground 
deserted  ?  For  you,  their  neighbours,  said  that  the  Lacedae- 
monians never  fled  from  battle,  but  were  the  first  of  men  in 
matters  of  war ;  these,  whom  you  before  saw  changing  their 
station,  and  who  now  we  all  see  have  fled  away  during  the 
past  night.  They  have  clearly  shown,  when  they  had  to  come 
to  the  issue  of  battle  with  those  who  are  truly  the  most  valiant 
in  the  world,  that  being  themselves  good  for  nothing,  they 
have  gained  distinction  among  worthless  Greeks.  And  I 
readily  forgave  you,  who  are  unacquainted  with  the  Persians, 
when  you  extolled  them  by  whom  you  knew  something  had 
been  done  :  but  I  wondered  more  at  Artabazus,  that  he  should 
dread  the  Lacedaemonians,  and  dreading  them,  should  have 
advanced  a  most  cowardly  opinion,  that  it  was  expedient  to 
remove  our  camp,  and  retire  to  the  city  of  the  Thebans  to  be 
besieged :  of  this  the  king  shall  hereafter  hear  from  me.  But 
these  matters  will  be  discussed  elsewhere.  For  the  present, 
we  must  not  suffer  them  to  do  what  they  intend,  but  they 
must  be  pursued,  until  they  shall  be  overtaken,  and  have  given 
us  satisIacTTdn'  for  all  the  mischief  they  have  done  to  the  Per- 
sians." 59.  Hayijig  spoken  thus,  he  led  the  Persians  at  full 
speed,  crossing  the  Asopus  in  the  track  of  the  Greeks,  as  if 
tlTey  had  betaken  themselves  to  flight ;  he  directed  his  course 
only  against  the  Lacedeemonians  and  Tegeans  ;  for  on  account 
of  the  hills  he  did  not  discern  the  Atlienians,  who  had  turned, 
into  the  plain.  The  rest  of  the  commanders  of  the  barbarian's 
brigades,  seeing  the  Persiana.jadyancing~tb  pursue  the  Greeks, 
all  immediately  toolr  up  their  stan^^fdspand  pursued,  eaBHis 


GO— 62.]  CALLIOPE.    IX  569 

quick  as  he  could,  without  observing  either  rank  or  order: 
thus  they  advanced  with  a  shout  and  in  a  throng,  as  if  they 
were  about  to  overwhelm  the  Greeks. 

60.  Pausanias,  when  the  cavalry  pressed  on  him,  having 
despatclrS'fl  il  Jl'Orseman  to  the  Athenians  with  this  message, 
spoke  as,  follows :  "  Menjgf_AjJiens,  when  the  mighty  contest 
liesbefore  us,  v,-hetITer  Greece  shall  be  free  or  enslaved,  we 
areH^etrayed  by  the  allies,  (bqtli  we  Lacedaemonians  and  you 
Atlioiiians,)  v;h_o_haY£L.fled-away  during  the  past  night.  It  is 
now,  therefore,  determined  what  we  must  henceforth  do  ;  for 
defending  ourselves  in  the  best  manner  we  can,  we  must  sup- 
port  each  other.  Now  if  the  cavalry  had  attackeH  ybtf 'fifsT, 
it  woTttTt^rSve  behoved  us  and  the  Tegeans,  who  with  us  have! 
not  betrayed  Greece,  to  assist  you.  But  now,  since  the  whole] 
body  has  advanced  ^gainst  us,  you  ought  in  j  usHceTo^come 
to  the  succour  ot'  that  (iivision  which  fs  rhost  hardly  pressed. 
If,  However,  any  mabiTrty  to  assist  has  beftillen  you,  you  will 
confer  a  favour  on  us  by  sending  your  archers  to  us.  We  are 
aware  of  your  being  by  far  the  most  zealous  in  this  present 
war,  so  as  in  this  instance  to  listen  to  our  request."  61. 
the  Athenians  lieard  this,  they  prepared  to  assist,_and^Jo^ 
fencrTrTertT'to  flic  iTtifiost  of  their  power  ;  but  as  Tliey  were 
already  on  their  way,  thoseofjhejjreeks  ^vho  sided."vvith  tlic 
king,  that  were  arrayed  agamst  them^  attacked  them,  so  that 
they  were  no  lonfyeFabTe  to  render  assistance  ;  for.  the  divisioB' 
tl)^t  pressed  upon  them  harassed  them.  Thus  the  Lacedaj- 
monians  and  Ten;cniis  being  left  alpae,  the  former  with  the 
light-armed  men,  amounting  in  number  to  fifty  thousand,  and 
the" Tegeans  to" three  thousand,  (for  these  last  had  never  sepa- 
ratedTroM"  f he  Uacedasmonian s, )  performed  sacrifices,  purpos- 
inp;  to  enga^fyp.  with  Mftrdonius  and  the  forces  with  hjni.  But 
as  the  victims  were  not  favourable  to  them,  many  of  them  fell 
during  this  interval,  and  many  more  were  wounded ;  fur  tlie 
Persians,  having  made  a  fence  with  their  osier-shields,  let  fly 
a  number  of  arrows  so  incessantly,  that,  the  Spartans  being 
hard  pressed,  and  the  victims  continuing  unfavourable,  Pau- 
sanias, looking  towards  the  temple  of  Juno  o-f  the  Plata3ans, 
invoked  the  goddess,  praying  that  they  might  not  be  disap- 
pointed of  their  hopes. 

62.  While  he  was  yet  making  this  invocation,  the  Tegeans, 
starting  first,  advanced  against  the  barbarians ;  and  immedi* 


570  HEEODOTUS. 

ately  after  the  prayer  of  Pausanias,  the  victims  hecame  favour* 
abie  to  the  LacecRemoTriaTre"When  they  sacrificeST'  When  some 
time  had  elapsed,  they  also  advanced  against  the  Persians,  and 
the  Persians  withstood  them,  laying  aside  their  bows.  First 
of  all  a  battle  took  place  about  the  fence  of  bucklers ;  and 
when  that  was  thrown  down,  an  obstinate  fight  ensued  near 
the  temple  of  Ceres,  and  for  a  long  time,  till  at  last  they  came 
to  a  close  conflict :  for  the  barbarians  laying  hold  of  the  enemy's 
spears,  broke  them.  And  indeed,  in  courage  and  strength, 
the  Persians  were  not  inferior ;  but  being  lightly  armed,  they 
were  moreover  ignorant  of  military  discipline,  and  not  equal 
to  their  adversaries  in  skill ;  but  rushing  forward  singly,  or 
in  tens,  or  more  or  fewer  in  a  body,  they  fell  upon  the  Spartans 
and  perished.  63.  In  that  part  where  Mardonius  happened 
to  be,  fighting  from  a  white  horse,  at  the  head  of  a  thousand 
chosen  men,  the  best  of  the  Persians,  there  they  pressed  their 
adversaries  most  vigorously.  For  as  long  as  Mardonius  sur- 
vived, they  held  out,  and  defending  themselves  overthrew  many 
of  the  LacedaBmonians  ;  but  when  Mardonius  had  died,  and 
the  troops  stationed  round  him,  which  were  the  strongest,  had 
fallen,  then  the  rest  turned  to  flight,  and  gave  way  to  the 
Lacedaemonians.  Their  dress,  too,  was  particularly  disadvan- 
tageous to  them,  being  destitute  of  defensive  armour ;  for  being 
light-arrated,  they  had  to  contend  with  heavy-armed  men.  64. 
Here  satisfaction  for  the  death  of  Leonidas,  according  to  the 
oracle,  was  paid  to  the  Spartans  by  Mardonius ;  and  Pausa- 
nias, son  of  Cleombrotus,  son  to  AnaxanSridCS,  obtained  the 
most  signal  victory  of  all  that  we  know  of.  (The  names  of 
his  earlier  ancestors  have  been  mentioned  in  the  genealogy  of 
Leonidas  ;^  for  they  were  the  same.)  Mardonius  died  by  the 
hand  of  A'imnestus,  a  man  of  distinction  at  Sparta,  who,  some 
time~attef  "tHelMeHic  affairs,  at  the  head  of  three  hundred  men, 
engaged  at  Stenyclerus  with  all  the  Messenians,  there  being 
war;  and  he  himself  perished  and  his  three  hundred.  65. .The 
Persians  at  Plataea,  when  they  were  put  to  flight  by  the  Lace- 
dasmoniaiTs,  fled  in  disorder  to  their  own  canjp,  and  To  the 
wooden  fortification  which  they  had  made  in  the  Theban  ter- 
ritory. "Tt  13  a' WOfidfer 'to  me,  that^when  they  fought  near 
tlie  grove  of  Ceres,  not  one  of  the  barbarians  was  seen  to 
enter  into  the  sacred  enclosure,  or  to  die  in  it,  but  most  fell 
•  See  B.  VII.  chap.  204. 


66—69.]  CALLIOPE.     IX.  571 

round  the  precinct  in  unconsecrated  ground.  I  am  of  opinion, 
if  it  is  allowable  to  form  an  opinion  concerning  divine  things, 
that  the  goddess  would  not  receive  them,  because  they  had 
burnt  her  royal  temple  at  Eleusis.  Such  was  the  issue  of  this 
battle. 

66.  A^tabazus,  son  of  Pharnaces,  from  the  very  first  had 
disapproved  Tjf^Mardonius  being  left  by  the  king,  and  at  that 
time,  though  he  strongly  dissuaded  him,  he  could  not  prevail, 
urging  him  not  to  engage.  He  therefore  acted  as  toiiowSTHtje- 
mg  displeasedlvlfh  the  conduct  of  Mardonius.  Those  whom 
Ai'^nh^yjll^c^  ffliniin^"^^^  (and  he  had  no  small  force,  butlcTfhe 
number  of  forty  thousand  men  with  him,)  these,  as  soon  as  tlie 
action  commenced,  well  knowing  what  the  result  of  the  battle 
would  be,  he  drew  up^nTorder  and  advanced,  having  ordered 
them  to  go  where  he  should  lead,  whenever  they  should  see 
him  advancing  at  a  quick  pace ;  having  given  this  order,  he 
led  his  forces  as  if  to  join  in  the  engagement :  bjij^eing  irrttd- 
vance  of  his  troops,  lie  discovered  the  Persians_fly^in^;  where- 
upon, he  no  longer  led  his  forces  in  the  same  order,  but  fled 
with  all  possible  speed ;  neither  towards  the  wooden  fortifica- 
tion nor  the  walls  of  Thebes,  but  to  the  Phocians,  wishing  to 
reach  the  Hellespont  as  soon  as  he  could.  '"These,  then,Tb61c 
that  direction.  ()t.  Alfirough  the  rest  of  the  Greeks  in  tlie 
king*3  army  behaved  themselves  ill  on  purpose,  the  Bccotians 
fought  with  the  Athenians  for  a  considerable  time.  For  those 
Theban3.jrhn  sided  with  the  Mede  displayed  no  little  zeal, 
fightmg  and  not  willingly  behaving  ill,  so  that  three  liundred 
of  them,  the  first  and  most  valiant,  fell  there  by  the  hands  of 
the  Athenians :  but  when  they  also  were  put  to  flight,  they 
fled  to  Thebes,  not  as  the  Persians  fled,  and  the  whole  throng 
of  the  other  allies,  without  having  fought  at  all,  or  performed 
any  thing  considerable.  68.  And  it  is  manifest  to  me  that  on 
the  side  of  the  barbarians  all  depended  on  the  Persians,  since 
the  others,  before  they  engaged  wiltTThe"  611  eiliy,  fli3d  lit  once, 
because  they  saw  the  Persians  flying.  Accordingly  all  fled, 
except  the  rest  of  the  cavalry  and  especially  the  Boeotian : 
they  so  far  assisted  the  fugitives,  keeping  constantly  close  to 
them  against  the  enemy,  and  separating  their  friends  who  were 
flying,  from  the  Greeks.  69.  The  victors  however  followed, 
pursuing  and  slaying  the  soldiers  of  Xerxes.  In  the  midst  of 
this  rout  news  came  to  the  rest  of  the  Greeks  who  were  drawn 


572  HERODOTUS.  [Ttt 

up  about  the  Heraeum,  and  were  absent  from  tlic  battle,  that 
a  battle  had  been  fought,  and  Pausanias's  party  were  vic- 
torious. When  they  heard  this,  wirhoui  observing  any  kind 
01  order,  the  Corinthians  took  the  road  that  leads  by  the  base 
of  the  mountain  and  the  hills  direct  to  the  temple  of  Ceres, 
and  the  Megarians  and  the  Phliasians  the  most  level  of  the 
roads  across  the  plain.  But  when  the  Megarians  and  Phli- 
asians were  near  the  enemy,  the  Theban  cavalry  seeing  them 
hurrying  on  without  any  order,  charged  them  with  the  horse, 
which  Asopodorus,  son  of  Timander,  commanded  ;  and  having 
fallen  on  them  they  threw  down  and  killed  six  hundred  of 
them,  and  pursuing  the  rest,  drove  them  headlong  to  Mount 
Cithseron.     Thus  they  perished  ingloriously. 

70.  'J'he  Persians  and  the  rest  of  the  throng,  when  they  ar- 
rived in  their  fli2:ht  at  the  wooden  wall,  mounted  the  towers 
before  the  Lacedaemonians  came  up,  and'  having  mounted  it, 
defended  the  wall  in  the  best  way  they  could ;    so  that  when 
^^'^  ^^-fl^'P^^^ftr^'""'^  arrived,  a  vigorous  battle  took  place  be- 
fore the  wal]^-    For  so  long  as  the  Athenians  were  aDs'ent, 
tiie  barbarians   defended  themselves,   and  had  much  the  ad- 
vantage over  the  Lacedaemonians,  as  they  were  not  skilled  in 
attacking  fortifications;    but  when  tlie  Athenians  came  up, 
tlien_a^V£ll£Hi£nt_J^gl^^^    the  walls  took  place,  and  continued 
for  a  long  time.    But  at  length  the  Athenians,  by  their  valour 
and  constancy,   surmounted   the  wall,   and    madeaT'TjTeacli ; 
there  at  length  the  Greeks  poured  in.     The  Tegeans  entered 
first  within  the  wall ;  and  these  were  they  who  plundered  the 
tent  of  Mardonius,  and  among  other  things  took  away  the 
manger  for  the  horses,  all  of  brass,  and  well  worth  seeing: 
this  manger  of  Mardonius  the  Tegeans  placed  in  the  temple  of 
the  Alean  Minerva ;    but  all  the  other  things  they  took,  they 
carried  to  the  same  place  as  the  rest  of  the  Greeks.     The  bar- 
barians, when  the  wall  had  fallen,  no  longer  kept  in  close 
order,  nor  did  any  one  think  of  valour ;    but  they  were  in  a 
state  of  consternation,  as  so  many  myriads  of  men  were  en- 
i   closed  within  a  small  space ;  and  the  Greeks  had  such  an  easy 
1  opportunity  of  slaughtering  them,  that  of  an  army  of  three 
I  lyHidredj^hpusand  men,  except  the  forty  thousand  with  whStl- 
fi  A£tabazus  Heel,  not  three  thousand  survived.     Of  Lacedse- 
*^1  monians  irohi   Sparta,  all  that  died  inHthe  engagement  were 
J,  ninety-one  ;  of  Tegeans,  sixteeji ;  and  of  Athenians.,  fifty-two. 


71— 7S.j  CALLIOPE.    IX  57^ 

71.  Of  the  barbarians,  the  infantry  of  tlie  Persians  and  the 
cavalry  of  the  Sacae  most  distinguished  themselves ;  and 
Mardonius  is  said  to  have  shown  himself  the  bravest  man. 
Of  the  Greeks,  though  the  Tegeans  and  Athenians  showed 
great  bravery,  the  Lacedsemonians  exceeded  in  valour.  I  can 
prove  this  in  no  other  way,  {wr  all  these  conquered  those  op- 
posed to  them,)  except  that  they  were  engaged  witli  the 
strongest  part  of  the  enemy's  army,  and  conquered  them.  And 
in  my  opinion  Aristodemus  proved  himself  by  fiir  the  bravest  : 
he  being  the  only  one  of  the  three  hundred  saved  from  Ther- 
mopylae, was  held  in  disgrace  and  dishonour.  After  him, 
Posidonius,  Philocyon,  and  Amompharetus  the  Spartan,  most 
distinguished  themselves.  However,  when  it  was  debated 
which  of  them  had  been  the  bravest,  the  Spartans  who  were 
present  decided,  that  Aristodemus,  evidently  wishing  to  die  on 
account  of  the  disgrace  attached  to  him,  and  acting  like  a  mad- 
man, and  leaving  the  ranks,  had  performed  great  deeds  ;  but  that 
Posidonius,  not  wishing  to  die,  had  shown  himself  a  brave  man  ; 
and  therefore  that  he  was  the  better.  Perhaps,  however,  they 
may  have  said  this  through  envy.  All  these  that  I  have  men- 
tioned, except  Aristodemus,  of  those  that  died  in  this  battle, 
were  honoured,  but  Aristodemus,  wishing  to  die  on  account  of 
the  before-mentioned  guilt,  was  not  honoured.  72.  These,  then, 
were  they  who  acquired  the  greatest  renown  at  Plataea.  For 
Callicratides  died  out  of  the  battle,  who  came  to  the  army  the 
handsomest  man  of  the  Greeks  of  that  day,  not  only  of  the 
Lacedaemonians  themselves,  but  also  of  the  other  Greeks  ;  he, 
when  Pausanias  was  sacrificing,  was  wounded  in  the  side  by 
an  arrow ;  and  then  they  fought,  but  he  being  carried  off,  re- 
gretted his  death,  and  sa'd  to  Arimnestus  a  Plataean,  that  he 
did  not  grieve  at  dying  for  Greece,  but  at  not  having  used  his 
arm,  and  at  not  having  performed  any  deed  worthy  of  him- 
self, though  he  desired  to  perform  it.  73.  Of  the  Athenians, 
Sophanes,  son  of  Eutychides,  of  the  borough  of  Decelea,  is 
said  to  have  acquired  great  renown ;  of  the  Deceleans,  who  had 
once  performed  an  action  that  was  beneficial  for  all  future 
time,  as  the  Athenians  themselves  say.  For  in  ancient  time, 
when  the  Tyndaridai  entered  the  Attic  territory  with  a  numer- 
ous army  in  search  of  Helen,  and  drove  out  the  people,  not 
knowing  where  Helen  had  been  carried  to,  then  they  say  that 
the  Deceleans.  but  ?ome  say  that  Decelus  himself,  being  in- 


574  HERODOTUS.  [74—76 

dignant  at  the  insolence  of  Theseus,  and  fllarmed  for  the  whole 
country  of  the  Athenians,  discovered  the  whole  matter  to  them, 
and  conducted  them  to  Aphidnae,  which  Titacus.  a  native  of  the 
place,  delivered  up  to  the  Tyndaridse.  In  consequence  of  that 
action,  the  Deceleans  in  Sparta  continue  to  enjoy  immunity 
from  tribute  and  precedence  up  to  the  present  time,  so  that  in 
the  war  that  occurred  many  years  after  these  events  between 
the  Athenians  and  Peloponnesians,  when  the  Lacedaemonians 
ravaged  the  rest  of  Attica,  they  abstained  from  Decelea. 
74.  Of  this  borough  was  Sophanes,  and  having  at  that  time 
distinguished  himself  above  all  the  Athenians,  he  has  two  dif- 
ferent accounts  given  of  him.  One,  that  he  carried  an  iron 
anchor  fastened  by  a  brass  chain  from  the  girdle  of  his  cuirass  ; 
which,  when  he  approached  the  enemy,  he  used  to  throw  out, 
in  order  that  the  enemy,  rushing  from  their  ranks,  might  not 
be  able  to  move  him  from  his  position  ;  and  when  the  flight  of 
his  adversaries  took  place,  he  determined  to  take  up  the  anchor 
and  so  pursue.  Thus  this  account  is  given.  But  the  other 
account,  varying  from  that  before  given,  relates,  that  on  his 
shield,  which  constantly  turned  round  and  was  never  at  rest, 
he  wore  an  anchor  as  a  device,  and  not  one  of  iron  fastened 
from  his  cuirass.  75.  There  is  also  another  splendid  feat  done 
by-  Sophanes,  for  that  when  the  Athenians  invested  JEginn,  he 
challenged  and  slew  Eurybates  of  Argos,  who  had  been  victor 
in  the  pentathlum.  But  some  time  after  these  events  it  befel 
this  Sophanes,  who  proved  himself  a  brave  man,  as  he  was 
commanding  the  Athenians  jointly  with  Leagrus,  son  of 
Glaucon,  to  die  at  the  hands  of  the  Edoni  at  Datus,  as  he  was 
fighting  for  the  gold  mines. 

76.  When  the  barbarians  were  overthrown  by  the  Greeks 
at  Plat^ea,  thereupon  a  woman  came  voluntarily  over  to  them  ; 
who,  when  she  learnt  that  the  Persians  had  perished,  and  that 
the  Greeks  were  victorious,  being  a  concubine  of  Pharandates, 
6on  of  Theaspes,  a  Persian,  having  decked  herself  and  her 
attendants  in  much  gold,  and  in  the  richest  attire  bhe  liad, 
alighted  from  her  carriage,  and  advanced  towards  the  Lace- 
daemonians, who  were  still  employed  in  slaughter,  and  when 
she  observed  that  Pausanias  directed  every  thing,  having  be- 
fore become  acquainted  with  his  name  and  country,  since  she 
had  often  heard  of  them,  she  knew  it  must  be  Pausanias,  and 
embracing  his  knees,  spoke  as  follows :  "  King  of  Sparta,  de« 


77,78.]  CALLIOPE.    IX  675 

liver  me,  your  suppliant,  from  captive  servitude ;  for  you 
have  thus  far  benefited  me,  by  destroying  these  men,  who 
pay  no  regard  either  to  gods  or  heroes.  I  am  by  birth  a 
Coan,  daughter  to  Hegetorides,  son  of  Antagoras.  The  Per- 
sian having  taken  me  away  by  force  at  Cos,  kept  me."  He 
answered  as  follows  :  "  Lady,  be  of  good  heart,  both  as  a  sup- 
pliant, and  moreover,  if  you  have  spoken  the  truth,  and  are 
indeed  the  daughter  of  Hegetorides  the  Coan,  who  is  the  best 
friend  I  have  of  all  who  dwell  in  those  parts."  Having  thus 
spoken,  he  committed  her  to  the  care  of  the  ephori,  who  were 
present ;  and  afterwards  sent  her  to  JEgina,  where  she  her- 
self wished  to  go.  77.  Presently  after  the  arrival  of  the  lady;-^ 
the  Mantineans  came  up  when  all  was  over  ;  and  finding  they  ] 
were  come  too  late  for  the  engagement,  they  considered  it  a  / 
great  calamity,  and  confessed  that  they  deserved  to  be  punish-  f 
ed.  But  being  informed  that  the  Medes  with  Artabazus  had  | 
fled,  they  wished  to  pursue  them  as  far  as  Thessaly  ;  but  the 
Lacedajmonians  dissuaded  them  from  pursuing  the  fugitives.  ) 
Tiiey  therefore,  having  returned  to  their  own  country,  banish- 
ed the  generals  of  their  army  from  the  land.  After  tlie  Man- 
tineans came  the  Eleans :  and  the  Eleans,  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  Mantineans,  considering  it  a  calamity,  marched  away ; 
and  they  also  on  their  return  home  banished  their  generals. 
Such  were  the  events  relating  to  the  Mantineans  and  Eleans. 
78.  In  the  camp  of  the  ^ginetse  at  Plateea,  was  Lampon, 
son  of  Pytheas,  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  JEgmetdn  : 
he  having  a  most  iniquitous  proposal  to  make,  went  to  Pausa- 
nias ;  and  having  come  into  his  presence,  spoke  with  earnest- 
ness as  follows :  "  Son  of  Cleombrotus,  a  superhuman  feat 
has  been  achieved  by  you,  both  on  account  of  its  greatness 
and  splendour ;  and  God  has  granted  to  you,  by  delivering 
Greece,  to  acquire  the  greatest  renown  of  all  the  Greeks 
whom  we  know  of.  But  do  you  complete  what  remains  to  be 
done  after  this,  in  order  that  still  greater  fame  may  attend 
you,  and  henceforth  every  barbarian  may  beware  of  attempting 
to  do  wicked  deeds  against  the  Greeks.  For  when  Leonidas 
died  at  Thermopylae,  Mardonius  and  Xerxes,  having  cut  off 
his  head,  fixed  it  on  a  pole.  By  requiting  him  in  the  same 
manner,  you  will  have  praise  first  from  all  the  Spartans,  and 
then  from  the  rest  of  the  Greeks.  ^SrV  impaling  Mardo- 
l^ua,  you  will  avenge  your  uncle  Leja^l5^/'_ '  Hy  spoke Ihus, 


576  Herodotus.  f79--8l. 

thinking  tc  gratify  Pauscuiias.  79.  But  lie  answered  as  fol' 
lows  :  "  ^^netan  friend,  I  admire  your  good  intentions  and 
your  foresTgnt";  "But  you  have  failed  to  form  a  right  judgment ; 
for  having  highly  extolled  rae,  my  country,  and  my  achieve- 
ment, you  have  thrown  all  down  again  to  nothing^,  by  advising 
lUe  to  insult  a  dead  body,  and  saying,  that  if  i  do  so" T  shall 
increase  my  fame,  whicli  is  more  fit  for  barbarians  to  do  than 
Greeks,  and  which  we  abhor  even  in  them.  I  cannot  there- 
fore in  this  matter  please  the  ^ginetai,  nor  those  to  v/hom 
such  things  would  be  pleasing  ;  it  is  sufficient  for  rae  to  please 
the  Spartans,  by  doing  and  speaking  what  is  right.  As  for 
I^nidas,  whose  death  you  exhort  me  to  avenge,  I  affirm, 
tliaTlre  has  been  amply  avenged  ;  both  he  and  all  the  others 
who  fell  at  Thermopyla:,  have  been  avenged  by  th^  COUllttess 
deaths  of  these  men.  However,  do  not  you  hereafter  come 
to  me  with  such  a  proposal,  nor  give  such  advice ;  and  be 
tliankfiil  that  you  escape  unpunished."  He  having  received 
this  answer,  went  away. 

80.  Pausanias,  haying  made  prr>fk^iQiatiiQP  that  no  one 
should  touch  the  booty,  commanded  the  helots  to  bring  toge- 
tfTer  all  the  treasures."  Tiiey  accordingly,  dispersing  them- 
selves through  the  camp,  found  tents  decked  with  gold  and 
silver,  and  couches  gilt,  and  plated  and  golden  bowls,  and  cups 
and  other  drinking  vessels  ;  they  also  found  sacks  on  the  wag- 
gons in  which  were  discovered  gold  and  silver  caldrons  :  and 
from  the  bodies  that  lay  dead  they  stripped  bracelets,  neck- 
laces^ and  scymetars  of  gold ;  but  no  account  at  all  was  taken 
of  the  variegated  apparel.  Here  the  helots  stole  a  great  deal 
and  sold  it  to  the  -^ginetae,  and  they  also  produced  a  great 
deal,  such  of  it  as  they  could  not  conceal :  so  that  the  great 
wealth  of  the  iEginetae  hence  had  its  beginning,  for  that  they 
purchased  gold  from  the  helots  as  if  it  had  been  brass.  81. 
Having  collected  the  treasures  tog^ether,  and  taken  from  them  a 
tithe  for  the  god  at  Delpbi,  from  which  the  golden  tripod  was 
dedicated,  which  stands  on  the  three-headed  brazen  serpent, 
dose  to  the  altar  ;  and  having  taken  out  a  tithe  for  the  god  at 
Olympia,  from  which  they  dedicated  the  brazen  Jupiter,  ten 
cubits  high  ;  and  a  tithe  to  the  god  at  the  Isthmus,  from  which 
was  made  the  brazen  Neptune,  seven  cubits  high  ;  having 
taken  out  these,  they  divided  the  rest,  and  each  took  the  share  , 
they  were  entitled  to,  as  well  the  concubines  of  the  Persian^  j 


82-84.1  CALLIOPE.    IX.  577 

as  the  gold,  silver,  and  other  treasures,  and  beasts  of  burden. 
Now  what  choice  presents  were  given  to  those  who  most  dis- 
tinguished themselves  at  Plataea,  is  mentioned  by  no  one ;  yet 
I  am  of  opinion  that  such  presents  were  given  to  them.  But 
for  Pausanias  ten  of  every  thing  was  selected  and  given  him, 
women,  horses,  talents,  camels,  and  all  other  treasures  in  like 
manner.  82.  It  is  said  also  that  the  following  occurred :  that 
Xerxes,  flying  from  Greece,  left  all  his  own  equipage  to  Mar- 
donius ;  Pausanias,  therefore,  seeing  Mardonius's  equipage 
furnished  with  gold,  silver,  and  various-coloured  hangings,  or- 
dered the  bakers  and  cooks  to  prepare  a  supper  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  for  Mardonius :  and  when  they  being  ordered  had  so  done, 
that  Pausanias  thereupon,  seeing  gold  and  silver  couches  hand- 
somely carved,  and  gold  and  silver  tables,  and  magnificent  pre- 
parations for  the  supper,  being  astonished  at  the  profusion  set 
before  him,  in  derision  ordered  his  own  attendants  to  prepare  a 
Laconian  supper ;  and  that  when  the  repast  was  spread,  the 
difference  was  great,  and  Pausanias  laughing  sent  for  the  gene- 
rals of  the  Greeks ;  and  when  they  had  assembled,  Pausanias, 
pointing  to  each  preparation  for  supper,  said,  **  Men  of  Greece, 
I  have  called  you  together  for  this  reason,  to  show  you  the 
folly  of  the  leader  of  the  Medes  ;  who  having  such  fare  as 
this,  has  come  to  us,  who  have  such  poor  fare,  to  take  it  from 
us."  It  'is  related  that  Pausanias  said  this  to  the  generals  of 
the  Greeks.  83.  A  considerable  time  after  these  events, 
many  of  the  Plataeans  found  chests  of  gold  and  silver,  and 
other  precious  things.  And  still  later  than  this,  the  following 
also  was  discovered,  when  the  bodies  were  bared  of  flesh ;  for 
the  Plataeans  brought  together  the  bones  to  one  place ;  there 
was  found  a  skull  without  any  seam,  consisting  of  one  bone  ; 
there  was  also  discovered  a  jaw,  and  the  upper  jaw  had  teeth 
growing  in  a  piece,  all  in  one  bone,  both  the  front  teeth  and 
the  grinders  ;  there  was  likewise  discovered  the  skeleton  of  a 
man  five  cubits  high. 

84.  The  next  day  after,  the  body  of  Mardonius  had  disap- 
peared ;  by  whom  removed^  I  am  unable  to  say  for  certain.  I 
have  indeed  heard  of  many  men  and  of  various  nations,  who 
are  said  to  have  buried  Mardonius,  and  I  know  that  several 
have  received  large  presents  from  Artontes,  son  of  Mardo- 
nius, for  so  doing.  Yet  who  of  them  it  was  that  carried  off  ^ 
and  buried  the  body  of  Mardonius,  I  am  unable  to  ascertair   I 

2  p  I 


578  HERODOTUS.  {SB—SI 

with  certainty.  However,  Dionysiophanes,  an  Ephesian,  ig 
commonly  reported  to  have  buried  Mardonius.  Thus,  then, 
he  was  buried.  85.  But  the  Greeks,  when  they  had  divided 
the  booty  at  Plataea,  buried  their  own  dead,  each  nation  sepa- 
rately. The  Lacedaemonians  made  three  graves  ;  there,  then^ 
they  buried  the  young  officers,^  amongst  whom  were  Posido- 
nius,  Amompharetus,  Phylocion,  and  Callicrates  ;  according- 
ingly  in  one  of  the  graves  the  young  officers  were  laid ;  in 
another,  the  rest  of  the  Spartans ;  and  in  the  third,  the  he- 
lots :  thus  they  buried  their  dead.  The  Tegeans  buried  all 
theirs  together,  in  a  separate  spot ;  and  the  Athenians,  theira 
in  one  place ;  as  also  did  the  Megareans  and  Phliasians,  those 
that  had  been  destroyed  by  the  cavalry.  Ot  all  these,  there- 
fore, the  sepulchres  were  full.  But  of  all  the  others  whose 
sepulchres  are  seen  in  Plataea,  they,  as  I  am  informed,  being 
ashamed  of  their  absence  from  the  battle,  severally  threw  up 
empty  mounds,  for  the  sake  of  future  generations.  For  in- 
stance, there  is  a  sepulchre  there  called  that  of  the  ^ginetans, 
which,  I  hear,  Cleades,  son  of  Autodicus,  a  Plataean,  who  was 
their  friend,  threw  up  ten  years  after  these  events,  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  -^ginetans. 

86.  When  the  Greeks  had  buried  their  dead  in  Plataaa^ey 
immediately  determined,  on  consultation,  to.  march  agaiaat 
Thebes,  and  to  demand  the  surrender  of  those  who  had^sided 
^vi_th  the  Medes,  and  amongst  the  first  of  them  Timegenides 
and  Attaginus,  who  were  the  chief  leaders,  ahdiffhey  should 
not  give  them  up,  the^  resolved  not  to  depart  from  the  city 
beTore  they  had  taken  it.  When  they  had  determined  on  this, 
they  thereupon,  in  the  eleventh  day  after  the  engagement,  ar- 
rived and  besieged  the  Thebans,  requiring  them  to  give  up 
the  men.  And  when  the  Thebans  refused  to  give  them  up, 
they  both  ravaged  their  country,  aiidattacked  the  waits'." — 87. 
As  they  did  not  cease  damaging  them,  on  the  twentieth  day 
Timegenides  spoke  thus  to  the  Thebans :  "  Men  of  Thebes, 
since  the  Greeks  have  so  resolved  that  they  will  not  give  over 
besieging  us  until  either  they  have  taken  Thebes,  or  you  have 
delivered  us  up  to  them,  let  not  the  Boeotian  territory  suffer 
any  more  on  our  account.     But  if,  being  desirous  of  money, 

'  'Ipivtv  were  those  who  had  attained  their  second  year  from  boyhood, 
and  now  held  a  command.  The  MSS.  read,  Ipiat,*'  those  wL.c  held  sacred 
offices." 


88, 89.J  CALLIOPE.    IX.  579 

they  demand  us  as  a  pretence,  let  us  give  them  money  from  the 
public  treasury ;  for  we  sided  with  the  Mede  by  general  con- 
sent, and  not  of  ourselves  alone.  If,  however,  they  carry  on 
the  siege  really  because  they  want  us,  we  will  present  our- 
selves before  them  to  plead  our  cause."  He  appeared  to  speak 
well  and  to  the  purpose ;  and  the  Thebans  immediately  sent  n 
herald  to  Pausanias,  expressing  their  willingness  to  surrender 
the  men.  88.  When  they  had  agreed  on  these  terms„  Att^- 
ginus  escaped  from  the  city,  and  his  sons,  who  were  brought 
betore  him,  Pausanias  acquitted  from  the  charge,  saying  that 
boys  could  have  no  part  in  the  guilt  of  siding  with  the  Mede. 
As  to  the  othe^^q  wh'^TP  ^hp.  TLpLnna  flp]iY|g];f^«1  up,  Ihey  thoug-lit 
thaj^hey^ should  be  admitted  to  plead  their  cause^  and  more- 
o^ertrusted  to  repeTflTe  cTiarge  by  bribery ;  but  lie,  as  soon 
as  he  IukI  lliem  in  Iiis  power,  suspecting  this  very  tiling,  dis- 
mlssed"  tlic  whole  army  of  the  allies,  and  conducting  the  men 
to  Coriiiili,  put  tlieiu  to  death.  Such  were  the  events  at 
I*Ijitieri  and  Thcbes.       "-'-•----■^ 

89.  In  the  mean  time  Artabazus,  son  of  Pharnaces.  flying 
from  Plata3a,  was  already  ai  a  considerable  distance.  Andon 
his  arrival  amongst  them,  the^^liessalians  invited  him  to  an 
entertainment,  and  asked  him  news  of  tlie  rest  of  the  army, 
knowing  nothing  of  what  had  happened  in  Plata^a.  But  Arta- 
bazus, being  aware  that  if  he  should  tell  the  whole  truth  re- 
specting the  conflicts,  both  he  and  his  army  would  be  in  danger 
of  destruction,  ^or  he  tJIPPght  that  every  one  would  attack  liiin, 
when  informed  of  what  had  happened  ; — considering  this,  he 
told  nothing  to  the  Phocians,  and  to  the  Thessalians  he  spoke 
as  follows :  "  I,  O  men  of  Thcssaly,  as  you  see,  am  hastening 
my  march  to  Thrace  with  the  utmost  expedition,  and  am  using 
all  possible  diligence,  having  beensent  on  cerhiin  busingss 
wi th  these  forces  fi-Qj]a..thelanpy.  MarHonius  himself  and  his 
army  may  be  expected  following  close  on  my  heels.  Entertain 
htm  also,  and  do  him  all  the  good  offices  you  can ;  for  you 
will  never  have  cause  to  repent  of  doing  so."  Having  said_ 
this,  he  marclyd  his  army  with  all  speed  through  Thessaly 
and  Macedonia  dlrecF  towards  Thrace,  mala iTg  all  the  haste 
he  could,  an^  cutting  across  by  the  inland  road.  At  last  he 
reached  Byzannum,  having  left  many  of  his  men  beliTnTT,™ 
partly  cut  off  by  the  THracians  on  the  inarch",  ahcr~paftly 
having  to  contend  with  hunger  and  fatigue.     From  Byzan« 

2  p  •> 


580  HERODOTUS.  [90^94 

tium  he  crossed  over  in  boats.     Thus,  then,  he  returned 
to  Asia. 

90.  Qn  the  same  day  on  which  the  defeat  at  Plataea  oc- 
curred, another  happened  to  take  place  at  Mjcale  in  Ionia. 
For  while  the  Greeks  ^  were  stationed  at  Delos,  those  who  had 
gone  there  on  ship-board  with  Leotychides  the  Xacedaemonian, 
th"ere  came  to  them  as  ambassadors  from  Samos,  Lampon,  son 
of  Thrasycleus,  Athenagoras,  son  of  Archestratides,  and  He- 
gesistratus,  son  of  Aristagoras,  being  sent  by  the  Samians, 
unknown  to  the  Persians  and  the  tyrant  Theomestor,  son  of 
Androdamas,  whom  the  Persians  had  made  tyrant  of  Samos. 
When  they  came  to  the  generals,  Hegesistratus  used  many 
and  various  arguments,  and  that  "  if  only^TIonians  should 
see  them,  they  would  revolt  from  theTPersians,  and  that  "the 
barbarians  would  not  withstand  them  ;  or  if  they  should  with- 
stand  them,  the  Greeks  would  not  find  any  other  suchTbooTy.** 
Invoking,  too,  their  common  gods,  he  besought  them  tcTdeliver 
Grecian  men  from  servitude,  and  to  repel  the  barbarian ;  and 
he  said,  "  that  this  would  be  easy  for  them  to  do,  for  that  their 
ships  sailed  badly,  and  were  not  fit  to  fight  with  them  ;  and, 
if  they  suspected  at  all  that  they  were  leading  them  on  deceit- 
fully, they  were  themselves  ready  to  go  on  board  their  ships 
as  hostages."  91.  As  the  Samian  stranger  was  earnest  in  his 
entreaties,  Leotychides,  either  wishing  to  hear  for  the  sake  of 
the  presage,  or  t)3rchance,  the  deity  so  directing  it,  asked: 
"O  Samian  friend,  what  is  your  name?"  He  answered: 
"  Hegesistratus  ;"  upon  which  he,  interrupting  the  rest  of  his 
discourse,  if  Hegesistratus  intended  to  add  more,  said :  *'  I 
accept^  the  Hegesistratus,  my  Samian  friend ;  only  do  you 
take  care  that  before  you  sail  away,  both  you  yourself  and 
those  who  are  with  you,  pledge  your  faith  that  the  Samians 
will  be  zealous  allies  to  Gs7^"^^.  He  ?rti;he  same  time"said 
this,  and  added  the  deed.  For  the  Samians  immediately  pledged 
their  faith  and  made  oath  of  confederacy  with  the  Greeks : 
and  having  done  this,  the  others  sailed  home,  but  he  ordered 
Hegesistratus  to  sail  with  the  fleet,  regarding  his  name  as  an 
omen.  The  Greeks,  therefore,  having  tarried  that  day,  on  the 
next  sacrificed  auspiciously,  Deiphonus,  son  of  Eveniua,  of 
ApoUonia  in  the  Ionian  gulf,  acting  as  diviner. 

»  See  B.  VIII.  chap.  131,  132. 
'  Hegesistratus  means,  "  leader  of  an  army," 


93,94]  CALLIOPE.    IX.  581 

93  The  followiug  incident  befel  his  father,  Evenius.  There 
are  in  this  Apollonia  sheep  sacred  to  the  sun,  which  by  day 
feed  near  the  river  that  flows  from  Mount  Lacmon  through 
the  Apollonian  territory  into  the  sea,  near  the  port  of  Oricus ; 
but  by  night,  chosen  men,  the  most  eminent  of  the  citizens 
for  wealth  and  birth,  keep  watch  over  them,  each  for  a  year : 
for  the  ApoUonians  set  a  high  value  upon  these  sheep,  in  con- 
sequence of  some  oracle.  They  are  folded  in  a  cavern  at  a 
distance  from  the  city.  There,  then,  on  a  time,  Evenius,  being 
chosen,  kept  watch,  and  one  night  when  he  had  fallen  asleep 
during  his  watch,  wolves  entered  the  cave,  and  destroyed  about 
sixty  of  the  sheep.  He,  when  he  discovered  what  had  hap- 
pened, kept  silence,  and  mentioned  it  to  no  one,  purposing  to 
buy  others^  and  put  them  in  their  place.  This  occurrence, 
however,  did  not  escape  the  notice  of  the  ApoUonians ;  but 
as  soon  as  they  discovered  it,  having  brought  him  to  trial, 
they  gave  sentence  that,  for  having  fallen  asleep  during  his 
watch,  he  should  be  deprived  of  sight.  When  they  had  blinded 
Evenius,  from  that  time  forward  neither  did  their  sheep  bring 
forth,  nor  did  the  land  yield  its  usual  fruit.  An  admonition 
was  given  them  at  Dodona  and  Delphi,  when  they  inquired 
of  the  prophets  the  cause  of  the  present  calamities ;  they  told 
them,  "that  they  had  unjustly  deprived  Evenius,  the  keeper 
of  the  sacred  sheep,  of  his  sight;  for  that  they  themselves 
had  sent  the  wolves,  and  would  not  cease  avenging  him,  until 
they  should  give  such  satisfaction  for  what  they  had  done,  as 
he  himself  should  choose,  and  think  sufficient :  and  when  they 
had  done  this,  the  gods  themselves  would  give  such  a  present 
to  Evenius,  that  most  men  would  pronounce  him  happy,  from 
possessing  it."  94.  This  answer  was  delivered  to  them :  and 
the  ApoUonians,  having  kept  it  secret,  deputed  some  of  their 
citizens  to  negotiate  the  matter ;  and  they  negotiated  it  for 
them  in  the  following  manner.  When  Evenius  was  seated  on 
a  bench,  they  went  and  sat  down  by  him,  and  conversed  on 
different  subjects,  till  at  length  they  began  to  commiserate  his 
misfortune,  and  having  in  this  way  artfully  led  him  on,  they 
asked,  "  what  reparation  he  would  choose,  if  the  ApoUonians 
were  wiUing  to  give  him  satisfaction  for  what  they  had  done." 
He,  not  having  heard  of  the  oracle,  made  his  choice,  saying, 
''  if  any  one  would  give  him  the  lands  of  certain  citizens,** 
naming  those  who  he  knew  had  the  two  best  estates  in  Apol* 


582  HERODOTUS.  [96-97. 

Ionia ;  "  and  besides  these  a  house,"  which  he  knew  was  the 
handsomest  in  the  city ;  "  if  put  in  possession  of  these,"  he 
said,  "  he  would  thenceforth  forego  his  anger,  and  this  repara- 
tion would  content  him."  He  accordingly  spoke  thus ;  and 
those  who  sat  by  him,  immediately  taking  hold  of  his  answer 
said,  "  the  Apollonians  make  you  this  reparation  for  the  loss 
of  your  eyes,  in  obedience  to  an  oracle  they  have  received." 
He  thereupon  was  very  indignant,  on  hearing  the  whole  truth, 
as  having  been  deceived ;  but  the  Apollonians,  having  bought 
them  from  the  owners,  gave  him  what  he  chose ;  and  imme- 
diately after  this,  he  had  the  gift  of  divination  implanted  in 
him,  so  that  he  became  celebrated. 

95.  Deiphonus,  who  was  the  son  of  this  Evenius,  the  Cor- 
inthians having  brought  him,  officiated  as  diviner  to  the  army. 
Yet  I  have  heard  this  also,  that  Deiphonus,  having  assumed 
the  name  of  Evenius's  son,  let  out  his  services  for  hire  through- 
out Greece,  though  he  was  not  really  the  son  of  Evenius. 

96.  When,  therefore,  the  sacrifices  were  favourable  to  the 
Greeks,  they  got  their  ships  under  weigh  from  Delos  for  Sa- 
mos  :  and  when  they  were  off  Calami  of  the  Ionian  territory, 
liaving  taken  up  their  station  there  near  the  temple  of  Juno 
on  that  coast,  they  made  ready  for  an  engagement.  But  the 
Persians,  being  informed  that  they  were  sailing  towards  them, 
on  their  part  also  got  the  other  ships  under  weigh  for  the  con- 
tinent, and  permitted  those  of  the  Phoenicians  to  sail  home. 
For  on  consultation,  they  determined  not  to  come  to  an  en- 
gagement by  sea,  because  they  thought  they  were  not  equal. 
They,  therefore,  sailed  away  to  the  continent,  that  they  might 
be  under  the  protection  of  their  land-forces  that  were  at  My- 
cale,  which  by  the  order  of  Xerxes  had  been  left  behind  by 
the  rest  of  the  army,  and  guarded  Ionia ;  their  number  was 
sixty  thousand;  Tigranes  commanded  them,  who  surpassed 
tlie  Persians  in  beauty  and  stature.  Under  the  protection  of 
this  army  the  commanders  of  the  navy  resolved,  having  fled, 
to  draw  their  ships  on  shore,  and  to  throw  up  a  rampart,  as  a 
defence  for  the  ships,  and  a  place  of  refuge  for  themselves. 

97.  Having  taken  this  resolution,  they  got  under  weigh :  and 
naving  passed  by  the  temple  of  the  Eumenides  in  Mycale,  they 
came  to  the  Gaeson  and  Scolopois,  where  is  a  temple  of 
Eleusinian  Ceres,  which  Philistus,  son  of  Pasicles,  built,  who 
accompanied  Neleus,  son  of  Codrus,  for  the  purpose  of  found- 


CALLIOrE.    IX.  583 

mg  Miletus :  there  they  drew  their  ships  on  shore,  and  threw 
up  a  rampart  of  stone  and  wood,  having  cut  down  the  fruit- 
trees,  and  around  the  rampart  they  drove  in  sharp  stakes. 
They  made  preparations  to  sustain  a  siege,  and  to  gain  a  vic- 
tory, both  one  and  the  other ;  for  they  made  their  preparations 
deliberately. 

98.  The  Greeks,  when  they  learnt  that  the  barbarians  had 
gone  to  the  continent,  were~vexed'tliat  they  had  escaped  ;  and 
were  in  doubt  what  to  do,  whether  they  should  return  Jiome, 
or  sail  to  the  Hellespont:  aV length  they  determined  to  do 
neither  of  these,  but  to  sail  to"tTie  cofitinent :  having  therefore 
prepared  for  a  saasijght  both  boarding-ladders,  and  all  other 
things  that  were  necessary,  they  sailed  to  Mycale.  When 
they  were  near  the  camp,  and  no  one  was  seen  ready  to  meet 
them,  but  they  beheld  tlie  ships  drawn  up  within  the  fortifica- 
tion, and  a  numerous  land-force  disposed  along  the  beach, 
thereupon  Leotjeliides,  advancing  first  in  a  ship,  and  nearing 
tlie  beach  as  nuicli  as  possible,  made  proclamation  by  a  herald 
to  the  loniaiis,  saying,  "  i\Ien  of  Ionia,  as  many  of  you  as  hear 
me,  aHend  to  wliat  j[_.'^iiy;  for  tlie  Persians  will  understand 
nothing  of  the  advice  1  give  you.  When  we  engage,  it  be- 
hoves every  one  first  of  all  to  remember  Liberty ;  and  next 
the  watch-word,  Hebe  ;  and  let  him  who  does  not  hear  this, 
learn  it  from  those  who  do  hear."  The  meaning  of  this  pro- 
ceeding was  the  same  as  that  of  ThemistocTesTat^Artemisium ; 
fo?~^her  these  words,  being  concealed  from  the  barbarians, 
would  induce  the  lonians  to  revolt,  or  if  they  should  be  re- 
pqrted  to^thel5arbarians,  would  make  them  distrustful  of  the 
Greeks.  99.  Leotychides,  having  made  this  suggestion,  the 
Grecians  in  the  next  "place  did  as  follows  :  putting  their  ships 
to  shore  they  landed  on  the  beach,  and  drew  up  in  order  of 
battle.  But  the  I'ersians;  when  they  saw  the  Greeks  prepar- 
mg  themselves  for  aetion,  and  knew  that  they  had  admonished 
the  lonians,  in  the  first  place  Tusp'elcHngjEhat^ ^^^^^ 
favoured  the  Greeks,  took  away  their  "arms ;  foFwEen  the 
Atlieman  captives,  whom,  being  left  in  Attica,  the  forces  of 
Xerxes  had  taken,  arrived  in  the  ships  of  the  barbarians,  hav- 
ing ransomed  them  all,  they  sent  them  back  to  Athens, 
furnishing  them  with  provisions  for  the  voyage :  on  this  ac- 
count they  were  under  no  slight  suspicion,  having  redeemed 
five  hundred  of  the  enemies  of  Xerxes.      In  the  next  place, 


584  "BERODOTUS.  [100—102. 

the  passes  that  lead  to  the  heights  of  Mycale  they  appointed 
the  Milesians  to  guard,  because  forsooth  they  were  best  ac- 
quainted with  the  country,  but  they  did  it  for  this  purpose, 
that  they  might  be  at  a'distance  from  the  army.  Those  of  the 
lonians,  then,  who  they  suspected  might  attempt  something 
new  if  they  had  the  power,  the  Persians  took  such  precautions 
against ;  and  they  themselves  brought  their  bucklers  together, 
to  serve  as  a  rampart. 

100.  When,  therefore,  the  Greeks  were  prepared,  they  ad- 
vanced towards  the  barbarians  ;  and  as  they  were  marching,  a 
rumour  flew  through  the  whole  army,  and  a  herald's  staff  was 
seen  lying  on  the  beach :  the  rumour  that  spread  among  them 
was  this,  that  the  Greeks  had  fought  and  conquered  the  army 
of  Mardonius  in  Boeotia.  Thus  the  interposition  of  heaven  is 
manifest  by  many  plain  signs ;  since  on~thls  same  day  on 
which  the  defeat  at  Plataea  took  place,  and  when  that  at  Mycale 
was  just  about  to  happen,  a  rumour  reached  the  Greeks  in 
this  latter  place  ;  so  that  the  army  was  inspired  with  much 
greater  courage,  and  was  more  eager  to  meet  danger.  "TOl. 
There  was  also  this  other  coincidence,  namely,  that  there  was 
a  temple  of  Eleusinian  Ceres  near  both  the  engagements. 
For  at  Plataea,  as  I  have  already  said,  the  battle  took  place 
near  the  temple  of  Ceres  ;  and  at  Mycale  it  was  about  to  hap- 
pen in  like  manner.  The  rumour  that  a  victory  had  been  ob- 
tained by  the  Greeks  under  P^ausanias,  turned  out  to  be  cor- 
rect ;  for  the  battle  of  Platasa  was  fought  while  it  Has  jet  early 
in  thejay,  and  that  of  Mycale  towards  evenmg  :  and  that 
both  happened  on  the  same  day  of  the  same  month,  not  long 
afterwards  became  manifest  on  inquiry.  Before  the  rumour 
reached  them,  great  alarm  prevailed  amongst  them,  not  so 
much  for  themselves,  as  for  the  Greeks,  lest  Greece  should 
stumble  in  the  contest  with  Mardonius.  "When,  however, 
this  report  flew  amongst  them,  they  advanced  with  greater 
readiness  and  alacrity.  Accordingly  the  Greeks  and  the  bar- 
barians hastened  to  the  battle,  as  both  the  islands  and  the 
Hellespont  were  held  out  as  the  reward  of  victory.   '  —"—•—— 

102.  The  Athenians,  and  those  who  were  drawn  up  next 
them,  forming  about  half  the  army,  had  to  advance  along  the 
shore  over  level  ground ;  but  the  Lacedaemonians,  and  those 
drawn  up  near  them,  along  a  ravine  and  some  hills.  So  that 
whilst  the  Lacedaemonians  were  making  a  circuit,  those  in  the 


103,  104.  J  CALLIOPE.    IX.  586 

other  wing  were  already  engaged.  Now,  so  long  as  the  buck- 
lers of  the  Persians  remained  standing,  they  defended  them- 
selves strenuously,  and  had  not  the  worst  of  the  battle ;  but 
when  the  Athenians  and  those  next  them,  having  mutually 
encouraged  one  another,  in  order  that  the  victory  might  belong 
to  them,  and  not  the  Lacedsemonians,  applied  with  more 
vigour  to  the  battle,  then  the  face  of  affairs  immediately 
changed ;  for  having  broke  through  the  bucklers,  they  fell 
in  a  body  on  the  Persians  ;  and  they  having  sustained  their 
attack  and  defended  themselves  for  a  considerable  time,  at  last 
fled  to  the  fortification.  The  4:thenians,  Corinthians,  Sicy- 
onians,  and  Trcezenians,  for  thus  they  were  drawn  up  in  order, 
following  close  upon  them,  rushed  into  the  fortification  at  the 
same  time.  When,  therefore,  the  fortification  was  taken,  the 
barbarians  no  longer  thought  of  resisting,  but  all  except,  the 
Persians  "Betook  themselves  to  flight ;  they,  in  small  detach- 
menTs7  fought  with  the  Greeks  who  were  continually  rushing 
within  the  fortification.  And  of  the  Persian  'generals,  two 
made  their  escape,  and  two  died.  Artayntes  and  Ithramitres, 
commanders  of  the  naval  forces,  escaped ;  but  Mardontes,  and 
Tigr?^nes.  general  of  the  land  army,  died  fig^hting.  lU'd.  While 
tn?  Persians  were  still  fighting,  the  Lacedaemonians  and  those 
with  them  came  up,  and  assisted  in  accomplishing  the  rest. 
Of  the  Greeks  themselves  many  fell  on  this  occasion  ;  both 
others,  and  especially  the  ISicyonians,  and  their  general  Peri- 
laus.  The  Samians,  who  were  in  the  camp  of  the  Medes,  and 
had  been  deprived  of  their  arms,  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  battle 
turning,  did  all  they  could,  wishing  to  help  the  Greeks ;  and 
the  rest  of  the  lonians,  seeing  the  Samians  lead  the  way, 
thereupon  revolte^l^m  the  Persians  and  attacked  the  bar- 
barians. Ity?^^  'TheJIileshins  had  been  appointed  to  guard 
thejasses  for  the  i^ersians,  in  order  for  their  safety,  to  the  end 
that,  if  that  should  befal  them  which  did  befal  them,  they  might, 
having  guides,  get  safe  to  the  heights  of  Mycale.  The  Milesi- 
ans accordingly  had  been  appointed  to  this  service  for  this 
reason,  and  in  order  that,  by  being  present  in  the  army,  they 
might  not  form  any  new  design.  They,  however,  did  every 
thing  contrary  to  what  was  ordered  ;"botli  guiding  them  in 
tlieir  flight  by  other  ways  which  led  to  the  enemy,,  and  at  last 
themselves  became  most  Tiostile  in  slaying:  them.     TJiusIonia 


586  HERODOTUS.  [105-107. 

revolted  a  second  time^  from  the  Persians.  105.  In  this  battle 
ol'  the  OreekH,  the*Athenians  most  distinguished  themselves  ; 
and  of  the  Athenians,  Hermolycus,  son  of  Euthynus,  who  had 
practised  in  the  pancratium :  it  befel  this  Hermolycus  after 
these  events,  when  there  was  war  between  the  Athenians  and 
the  Carystians,  to  die  fighting  at  Cyrnus'  of  the  Carystian 
territory,  and  to  be  buried  at  Gerrestus.  After  the  Athenians, 
the  Corinthians,  Troezenians,  and  Sicyonians  distinguished 
themselves.  106.  When  the  Grecians  had  killed  most  of  the 
barbarians,  some  fighting  and  TJMiyi's  flying,  they  burnt  the 
slijps^  and  the  whole  fortification,  having  first  brought  out  all 
the  booty  on  tli'e1)eacH ;  and  they  found  several  chests  of 
money,  and  having  burnt  the  fortification  and  the  ships  they 
sailed  awj^y.  The  Greeks,  having  arrived  at  Samos,  con- 
sulted abouttransplantin^^the^^  of 
GreecSpjf^^hich  tliey  themselves'were  masters,  it  wouid  be 
best  to  settle  them,  intending  to^leaye  Ionia  tojhef  b^T'hari^^ns : 
for  it  was  clearlyimpossible  for  them  to  protect  and  guard  the 
lonians  for  ever ;  and  if  they  did  not  protect  them,  they  had 
no  hope  that  the  lonians  would  escape  unpunished  by  the 
Persians.  Upon  this  it  seemed  expedient  to  the  men  of  rank 
among  the  Peloponnesians  to  remove  the  marts  of  the  Grecian 
nations  that  had  sided  with  the  Modes,  and  give  their  territory 
to  the  lonians  to  inhabit ;  but  it  did  not  appear  at  all  expedi- 
ent to  the  Athenians  that  the  lonians  should  be  removed,  or 
that  the  Peloponnesians  should  give  advice  respecting  their 
colonies.  However^  as  they  opposed," -tl*«—P«iopoxinesi^ns 
readily  gave  way  :  and  accordingly  they  took  into  the  alliance 
the  Samians,  Chians,  Lesbians,  and^ther  islanders,  who  were 
then  serving  with  the  Greeks,  binding  them  by  pledgfi^^jaiid^ 
oafhs  that  they  would  remain  firm  and  not  revolt :  when  they 
had  bound  them  by  oaths,  they  set  sail  to  destroy  the  bridges, 
for  they  expected  to  find  them  still  stretched  across :  accord- 
ingly they  sailed  to  the  Hellespont. 

107.  The^^barbamus  who  fled,  and  were  shut  up  in  the 
heights  of  Mycale,  not  many  in  number,  got  safe  to  Sardis. 
But  as  they  were  marching,  on  their  way  Masistespson  of 
Darius,  having  been  present  at  the  defeat,  uttered  many  hard 
words  to  the  general  Artayntes ;  saying,  amongst  other  things, 

'  The  lonians  were  first  subjugated  by  Harpagus,  (i.  164,  &c.,)  after- 
wards revolted,  (v.  28,)  and  were  again  reduced,  (vi.  32.) 


109.]  CALLIOPE.    IX  587 

that  he  was  more  cowardly  than  a  woman,  for  having  com- 
manded the  army  in  such  a  manner,  and  that  he  deserved  the 
most  extreme  punishment,  for  having  brought  mischief  on  the 
king's  house.  Now  among  the  Persians  to  be  called  more 
cowardly  than  a  woman  is  the  greatest  affront :  he,  therefore, 
when  he  had  heard  a  good  deal,  being  exceedingly  indignant, 
drew  his  scymetar  upon  Masistes.  But  Xenagoras,  son  of 
Praxilaus,  a  Halicarnassian,  who  stood  behind  Artayntes,  per- 
ceiving him  rushing  forward,  seized  him  round  the  middle, 
and  having  lifted  him  up,  threw  him  on  the  ground ;  and  in 
the  mean  while  the  guards  of  Masistes  came  to  his  assistance. 
Xenagoras  did  this,  thereby  laying  an  obligation  both  on  Ma- 
sistes himself,  and  on  Xerxes,  by  saving  his  brother ;  and  for 
this  action  Xenagoras  received  the  government  of  all  Cilicia, 
as  the  gift  of  the  king.  While  they  were  marching  on  the 
road,  nothing  more  than  this  occurred,  but  they  arrived  at 
Sardis.  At  Sardis  the  king  happened  to  be  from  the  time 
when  he  fled  thither  from  Athens,  after  his  failure  in  the  sea- 
fight. 

108.  While  he  was  at  Sardis  he  fell  in  love  with  the  wifeof 
Masistes,  who  also  was  there ;  but  when  she  could  not  be  moved 
by  sending  to  solicit  her,  and  he  did  not  offer  violence,  out  of 
regard  for  his  brother  Masistes ;  (and  this  same  circumstance 
restrained  the  woman,  for  she  well  knew  that  she  would  not 
meet  with  violence  ;)  thereupon  Xerxes,  being  shut  out  from 
any  other  resource,  brought  about  the  marriage  of  his  son 
Darius  with  the  daughter  of  this  woman  and  Masistes  ;  think- 
ing that  he  should  get  possession  of  her  if  he  did  thus.  Hav- 
ing, therefore,  concluded  the  marriage  and  performed  the  usual 
ceremonies,  he  departed  for  Susa.  When  he  arrived  there, 
he  introduced  the  wife  of  Darius  into  his  own  house  ;  and 
then  his  passion  for  the  wife  of  Masistes  ceased  ;  and  having 
changed  his  inclinations,  he  fell  in  love,  and  succeeded,  with 
the  wife  of  Darius,  the  daughter  of  Masistes :  the  name  of  this 
woman  was  Artaynte.  109.  In  course  of  time  the  matter  was 
discovered  in  the  following  manner.  Amestris,  the  wife  of 
Xerxes,  having  woven  a  large,  various-coloured,  and  beautiful 
mantle,  presented  it  to  Xerxes,  and  he,  being  delighted,  put 
it  on,  and  went  to  Artaynte.  Being  pleased  also  with  her,  he 
bid  her  ask  whatever  she  pleased  as  a  reward  for  the  favours 
she  had  granted  him,  for  that  she  should  have  whatever  she 


588  HERODOTUS.  [110,  111. 

asked.  Thereupon,  for  it  was  fated  that  misfortune  should 
befal  the  whole  family  by  her  means,  she  said  to  Xerxea, 
"  Will  you  give  mc  whatever  I  shall  ask  of  you  ?"  He,  ima- 
gining she  would  ask  for  any  thing  rather  than  what  she  did, 
promised  and  swore ;  and  she,  when  he  had  sworn,  boldly 
asked  for  the  mantle.  Xerxes  used  every  expedient,  not 
wishing  to  give  it ;  for  no  other  reason  than  that  he  was  afraid 
of  Amestris,  lest  having  before  suspected  what  was  going  on, 
he  should  thus  be  detected ;  he  therefore  offered  her  cities, 
and  a  vast  quantity  of  gold,  and  an  army,  which  no  one  but 
herself  should  command :  but  an  army  is  a  common  Persian 
gift.  However,  as  he  could  not  persuade  her,  he  gave  her  the 
mantle ;  and  she,  being  overjoyed  with  the  present,  wore  it, 
and  prided  b'ji*self  in  it :  and  Amestris  was  informed  that  she 
had  it.  110.  Having  learnt  what  had  been  done,  she  was  not 
angry  with  the  woman  herself ;  but  believing  that  her  mother 
was  the  cause,  and  that  she  had  done  this,  she  planned  the 
destruction  of  the  wife  of  Masistes.  Having  therefore  watched 
the  time  when  her  husband  Xerxes  should  give  the  royal 
feast ;  (this  feast  is  prepared  once  a  year,  on  the  day  on  which 
the  king  was  born  ;  and  the  name  of  this  feast  is,  in  the  Per- 
sian language,  "  tycta,"  and  in  the  Grecian  language,  "  per- 
fect ; "  and  then  only  the  king  washes  his  head  with  soap, 
and  makes  presents  to  the  Persians ;)  Amestris  then,  having 
watched  that  day,  asked  Xerxes  to  give  her  the  wife  of  Ma- 
sistes. He  considered  it  a  dreadful  and  cruel  thing  first  of 
all  to  give  up  the  wife  of  his  brother,  and  next,  one  who  was 
innocent  of  what  had  taken  place ;  for  he  understood  why 
she  made  this  request.  111.  At  last,  however,  as  she  per- 
sisted, and  being  constrained  by  custom,  for  it  is  not  allowed 
for  any  petitioner  to  be  denied  when  the  royal  feast  is  spread, 
he  therefore  very  reluctantly  granted  her  request :  and  hav- 
ing delivered  the  woman  to  her,  he  did  as  follows.  He  bade 
her  do  what  she  pleased,  and  then,  having  sent  for  his  brother, 
spoke  thus :  *'  Masistes,  you  are  the  son  of  Darius,  and  my 
brother,  and,  moreover,  you  are  also  a  brave  man.  Cohabit, 
then,  no  longer  with  the  wife  you  now  have ;  and  instead  of 
her  I  will  give  you  my  own  daughter.  Cohabit  with  her ;  but 
the  wife  whom  yoH  now  have,  as  it  does  not  seem  well  to  me, 
no  longer  retain."  Masistes,  astonished  at  what  was  said, 
answered,  "  Sire,  what  mischievous  language  do  you  hold  to 


111^-114.]  CALLIOPE.    IX.  689 

me,  bidding  me  put  away  a  wife,  by  whom  I  have  three  young 
sons,  and  daughters,  of  whom  you  have  married  one  to  your 
own  son,  and  this  wife  too  is  very  much  to  my  mind ;  you 
bid  me  put  away  her,  and  marry  your  own  daughter  ?  I,  how- 
,ever,  O  king,  though  I  deem  it  a  great  honour  to  be  thought 
worthy  of  your  daughter,  will  do  neither  of  these  things ; 
and  do  not  you  use  force  in  your  desire  to  accomplish  this 
end.     Some  other  man,  not  inferior  to  me,  will  be  found  for 
your  daughter ;  but  let  me  cohabit  with  my  own  wife."    Such 
was  the  answer  he  gave  ;  but  Xerxes  in  a  rage  replied,  "  Ma- 
sistes,  you  have  thus  done  for  yourself;   for  neither  will  I 
give  you  my  daughter  in  marriage,  nor  shall  you  any  longer 
cohabit  with  your  present  one  ;  that  so  you  may  learn  to  ac- 
cept what  is  offered."     He,  when  he  heard  this,  withdrew, 
having  said  this  much :  "  Sire,  you  have  not  yet  taken  away 
my  life."     112.  In  the  intermediate  time,  while  Xerxes  was 
in  conference  with  his  brother,  Amestris,  having  sent  for  the 
body-guards  of  Xerxes,  mutilated  the  wife  of  Masistes :  hav- 
ing cut  off  her  breasts,  she  threw  them  to  the  dogs,  and  also 
her  nose,  ears,  and  lips ;  and  then,  having  cut  out  her  tongue, 
she  sent  her  home  thus  mutilated.     113.  Masistes,  who  had 
not  yet  heard  any  thing  of  this,  but  suspecting  some  evil  had 
befallen  him,  rushed  home  in  great  haste ;  and  seeing  his  wife 
utterly  destroyed,  he  thereupon  consulted  with  his  sonsi,  and 
set  out  with  them  and  some  others  for  Bactria,  designing  to        j. 
induce  the  Bactrian  district  to  revolt,  and  to  do  the  king  all       A 
the  mischief  he  could;  which,  in  my  opinion,  would  have       |  \ 
happened,  if  he  had  been  beforehand  in  going  up  to  the  Bac- 
trians  and  Sacae;  for  they  were  attached  to  him,  and  he  was     yi 
governor  of  the  Bactrians.     But  Xerxes,  being  informed  of     ^ 
his  intentions,  sent  an  army  after  him,  and  slew  him,  and  his       ' 
sons,  and  his  forces  upon  the  way.     Such  were  the  circum- 
stances respecting  the  amour  of  Xerxes  and  the  death  of  M.2iy^^ 
sistes.  >?r^ 

114.  The  Greeks  having  set  out  from  Mycale  towardsthe 
Hel}^^jj[9nt.  being  overtaken  bv  a  storm,  anchored  near  Eec- 
tisTandnrom  thence  they  went  to  Abydos,  and  found  the 
l)ri(^ges  Tjrnken  in  pieces,  which  they  gSfected  to  find  stretch- 
ed across ;  and  for  this  reason  chiefly  they  came  to  the  Helles- 
pont. Upon  this  the  Peloponnesians  with  Leotychides  deter- 
mined to  sail  back  to  Greece :  but  the  Athenians  and  their 


590  HERODOTUS.  [llih-117 

c.ommander  Xanthippus  resolved  to  stay  ther£L^jQLcl  lojake  an 
attempt  on  tHe  '  Chersoriesus.  The  former  therefore  sailed 
away;  but  the  Athenians,  having  crossed  over  from  Abydo3 
td'' URersonesus,  besieged  Sestos.  115.  To  this  Sestos,  as  be- 
ing the  strongest  fortress  in  these  parts,  "when  they  heard  that 
the  Greeks  were  arrived  in  the  Hellespont,  there  came  toge- 
ther men  from  other  neighbouring  places,  and  among  oth^s, 
CEobazus  a  Persian  from  Cardia,  who  had  had  all  the  mate- 
rials of  the  bridges  conveyed  thither.  Native  ^olians  occu- 
pied it,  and  there  were  with  them  Persians,  and  a  great  body 
of  other  allies.  116.  X^erxes'  viceroy  Artayctes  ruled  over 
this  district,  a  Persian  wickeH  an^d  rm"plpus7'^  had  even 
deceived  Jke  king,"6n  his  march  to  Athens,  by  sSetly  taMng 
away  from  Elaeus  the  treasures  of  Protesilaus,  son  of  Iphiclus. 
For  in  Ela^us  of  the  Cliersonesus  is  a  sepulchre  of  Protesilaus, 
and  a  precinct  around  it,  where  were  great  treasures,  both  gold 
and  silver  vessels,  and  brass,  and  robes,  and  other  offerings, 
which  Artayotes  plundered  by  permission  of  the  king.  By 
speaking  as  follows,  he  deceived  Xerxes  :  "  Sire,  there  is  here 
the  habitation  of  a  certain  Grecian,  who  having  carried  arms 
in  your  territories,  met  with  a  just  punishment  and  perished. 
Give  me  this  man's  house,  that  every  one  may  learn  not  U) 
carry  arms  against  your  territory."  By  saying  this  he  wouhl 
easily  persuade  Xerxes  to  give  him  the  man's  house,  as  he  had 
no  suspicion  of  his  intentions.  He  said  that  Protesilaus  had 
carried  arms  against  tlie  king's  territory,  thinking  thus ;  the 
Persians  consider  that  all  Asia  belongs  to  them  and  the  reign- 
ing monarch.  When,  however,  the  treasures  were  granted 
he  carried  them  away  from  Elaeus  to  Sestos,  and  sowed  part 
of  the  precinct,  and  pastured  it ;  and  whenever  he  went  to 
Elaeus,  he  used  to  lie  with  women  in  the  sanctuary.  At  this 
time  he  was  besieged  by  the  Athenians^  neither  being_^re- 
pared  for  a  siege,  nor  expecting  the  Greeks  ;  so  that  tTiey  fell 
upon  him  somewhat  unawares.  117.  But  when  autumn  came 
on,  as  they  were  engaged  in  the  siege,  and  the  Athenians  were 
impatient  at  being  absent  from  their  own  country,  and  not 
able  to  take  the  fortification,  they  besought  their  leaders  to 
take  them  back ;  they,  however,  refused,  until  either  they 
should  take  the  place,  or  the  people  of  Athens  should  recal 
them ;  accordingly,  they  acquiesced  in  the  present  state  of 
things. 


118—121.]  CALLIOPE.    IX.  691 

118.  In  the  mean  while  those  who  were  within  the  fortifica- 
tion were  reduced  to  the  last  extremity,  so  that  they  boiled 
and  ate  the  cords  of  their  beds ;  and  when  they  had  these  no 
longer,  then  the  Persians,  and  Artayctes  and  (Eobazus,  made 
their  escape  by  night,  clescendmgnSy  the  back  of  the  fortifica- 
tionrwnere  it  was  most  deserted  by  the  enemy.  Wli£ii  it  w.as 
day^theTJIiersonesians  from  the  towers  made,  knjiwn  to  the 
At'Henians  v/hat  liad  happened,  and  opened  the  gates ;  and 
the  greater  part  of  them  went  in  pursuit,  but  some  took  posses- 
sion  of  tlTe'city.  119.  As  CEobazus  was  fleeing  into  Thrace, 
the  ApsintKian  Thracians  seized  him,  and  sacrificed  him  to 
Plistorus,  a  god  of  the  country,  according to^'their  custom; 
but  those  who  were  with  him  they  slaughtered  in  another 
manner.  Those  with  Artayctes,  who  had  taken  to  flight  the 
last,  when  they  were  overtaken  a  little  above  JEgos-Potami, 
having  defended  themselves  for  a  considerable  time,  some  were 
killed,  and  others  taken  alive,  and  the  Greeks,  having  put  them 
in  bonds,  conveyed  them  to  Sestos  ;  and  with  them  they  took 
Artayctes  bound,  himself  ana  nis  son.  120.  It  is  related  by 
the  Chersonitae,  that  the  following  prodigy  occurred  to  one  of 
the  guards  as  he  was  broiling  salt-fish ;  the  salt-fish  lying  on 
the  fire  leapt  and  quivered  like  fish  just  caught ;  and  the  per- 
sons who  stood  around  were  amazed  ;  but  Artayctes,  when  he 
saw  the  prodigy,  having  called  the  man  who  was  broiling  the 
salt-fish,  said,  "  Athenian  friend,  be  not  afraid  of  this  prodigy, 
for  it  has  not  appeared  to  you ;  but  Protesilaus,  who  is  in 
Elajus,  intimates  to  me,  that  though  dead  and  salted,  he  has 
power  from  the  gods  to  avenge  himself  on  the  person  that  has 
injured  him.  Now,  therefore,  I  wish  to  make  him  reparation, 
and  instead  of  the  riches  which  I  took  out  of  his  temple,  to 
repay  one  hundred  talents  to  the  god  ;  and  for  myself  and  my 
children,  I  will  pay  two  hundred  talents  to  the  Athenians,  if 
I  survive."  By  offering  this,  he  did  not  persuade  the  general, 
X^^ip£us ;  for  the  Elaeans,  wishing  to  avenge  Protesilaus, 
beggedthat  he  might  be  put  to  death,  and  th-e  mind  of  the 
general  himself  inclined  that  way.  Having,  therefore,  con- 
ducted him  to  that  part  of  the  shore  where  Xerxes  bridged 
over_the._paprTn7;;aF^The^^^  city^af 

Madytus,  they  nailed  him  to  a  plank  and  hoisted  him  aloft, 
and  his  §0n  they  stoned  before  the  eyes  or~Artayctes.  121. 
Having  done  these  tliin^js,  they  sailed  back  to  Greece  ;  taking 


592  HERODOTUS.  [122, 

with  them  other  treasures  and  the  materials  of  the  bridges,  in 
order  to  dedicate  them  in  the  temples ;  and  during  this  year 
nothing  more  was  done.  "  ~ 

122r'lCft5mhares,"the  grandfather  of  this  Artayctes  who 
was  hoisted  aloft,  was  the  person  who  originated  a  remark 
which  the  Persians  adopted  and  conveyed  to  Cyrus,  in  these 
terms :  "  Since  Jupiter  has  given  the  sovereign  power  to  the 
Persians,  and  among  men,  to  you,  O  Cyrus,  by  overthrowing 
Astyages ;  as  we  possess  a  small  territory,  and  that  rugged, 
come,  let  us  remove  from  this,  and  take  possession  of  another, 
better.  There  are  many  near  our  confines,  and  many  at  a 
distance.  By  possessing  one  of  these,  we  shall  be  more 
admired  by  most  men ;  and  it  is  right  that  those  who  bear 
rule  should  do  so ;  and  when  shall  we  have  a  better  oppor- 
tunity, than  when  we  have  the  command  of  many  nations,  and  of 
all  Asia  ?  "  Cyrus  having  heard  these  words,  and  not  admiring 
the  proposal,  bade  them  do  so ;  but  when  he  bade  them  he 
warned  them  to  prepare  henceforward  not  to  rule,  but  to  be 
ruled  over ;  for  that  delicate  men  spring  from  delicate  countries, 
for  that  it  is  not  given  to  the  same  land  to  produce  excellent 
fruits  and  men  valiant  in  war.  So  that  the  Persians,  perceiv- 
ing their  error,  withdrew  and  yielded  to  the  opinion  of  Cyrus  ; 
and  they  chose  rather  to  live  in  a  barren  country,  and  to 
command,  than  to  cultivate  fertile  plains,  and  be  the  slaves 
of  othera 


THE  END. 


INDEX. 


Ab  k,  a  city  of  Phocis,  with  a  temple  of 

Apollo,  i.  46  ;  viii.  27,  33,  134 
Abaiites,  a  people  who   migrated   from 

Euboea  to  Ionia,  i.  146 
Abaris,  an  Hyperborean,  iv.  36 
Abdera,  a  town  in  Thrace,  i.  168 ;  vi.  4C  ; 

vii.  109,  126  ;  viii.  120 
Abrocomes,  son  of  Darius,  vii.  224 
Abronychus,  an  Athenian,  son  of  Lysicles, 

viii.  21 
Abydoni,  the,  vii.  44 
Abydos,  a  city  on  the  Asiatic  side  of  the 

Hellespont,  where  Xerxes  threw  over 

the  bridge  of  boats,  v.  117:  vii.  32,  33, 

34,  43,  174 
Acanthians,  the,  vii.  22, 117 
Acanthus,  a  city  of  Macedonia,  vi.  44 ; 

vii.  116 
Acarnania,  in  Epirus,  ii.  10 
Aceratus,  a  prophet  at  Delphi,  viii.  37 
Aces,  a  river  in  Asia,  iii.  117 
Achaeans,  twelve  states  of,  i.  145  ;  viii.  73. 

,  of  Phthiotis,  vii.  132,  197 

/  chsemenes,  son  of  Darius,  iii.  12  ;  vii.  7, 

97,  236 
,  father  of  Teispes,  and    an 

cestor  of  Darius,  vii.  1 1 
Achaemenidae,  the    royal  family  of   the 

Persians,  i.  125 ;  iii.  65 
Achaia,  of  the  Peloponnesus,  i.  145  ;    of 

Thessaly,  vii.  173  ;  viii.  36 
Achelous,a  riverof  iEtolia,  ii.  10  ;  vii.  126 
Acheron,  a  river  of  Thesprotia  in  Epirus, 

V.  92,  (7.) ;  viii.  47 
Achilleian  Course,  a  district  near  the  Bo- 

rysthenes  in  Scythia,  iv.  55,  76 
Aohilleium,  a  town  near  Sigeura  in  the 

Troad,  v.  94 
Acraephia,  a  city  in  Boeotia,  viii.  135 
Acrisius,  father  of  Danae,  vi.  53 
Acrothoon,  a  town  on  Mount  Athos,  vii. 

22 
Adicran,  an  African  king,  iv.  159 
Adiraantus,  father  of  Aristeas  of  Corinth, 

vii.  137 
— ,  son  of  Ocytus  of  Corinth,  viii. 

5.  59,  Gl,  94 
Adrastus,  son  of  Gordius,  and  grandson  of 

Midas,  i.  35,  41,43,  45 

,  king  of  Sicyon,  v.  67,  68 

Adria,  in  Italy,  i.  163  ;  v.  9 
4drimaehida,  a  people  of  Libya,  iv.  168 


.Sa,  a  city  of  Cokhis,  i.  2  ;  vii.  193,  197 
.(Eaces,  son  of  Syloson,  and  father  of  Poly 

crates,  iii.  39;  vi.  13 
,  son  of  Syloson,  and  tyrant  of  Sa 

mos,  iv.  138;  vi.  13,25 
.(Eacidse,  viii.  64 
iEacus,  of  jEgina,  vi.  35 
-ilga,  a  city  of  Pallene,  vii.  123 
^gae,  in  Achaia,  i.  145 
.Sgaeae,  a  city  of  .Spoils,  i.  149 
^gaean  sea,  iv.  85 

uEgaleos,  a  mountain  in  Attica,  viii.  90 
.lEgeus,  son  of  Oiolycus,  iv.  149 

,  son  of  Pandion,  i.  173 

JEgialees,  Pelasgians,  vii.  94 
.iEgialeus,  son  of  Adrastus,  v.  68 
.Sgicores,  son  of  Ion,  v.  66 
..Egidae,  a  tribe  in  Sparta,  iv.  149 
.Sgila,  or  Augila,  in  Libya,  iv.  172 
^gileans,  v.  68 

.Sgilia,  an  island  of  the  Styreans  in  Eu- 
boea, vi.  107; — in  Eretria,  vi.  101 
iEgina,  daughter  of  Asopus,  v.  80 

* ,  the  island  of,  viii.  41,  46 

iEginetae,  iii.  59;  iv.  152;  v.  80—89;  vi 

49,  50,  73,  85,  92;  vii.  145;  viii.  46,  74, 

93,122;  ix.  28,  79,85 
iEgira,  a  city  of  Achaia,  i.  145 
.Sgiroessa,  a  city  of  JEolia,  i.  119 
^gis  of  Minerva,  iv.  180,  189 
.^gium,  a  city  of  Achaia,  i.  145 
M^W,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  92 
.Sgos  Potami,  ix.  119 
^gyra,  a  city  of  Achaia,  i.  145 
Aehnnestus,  a  Spartan,  ix.  68 
iEnea,  a  town  in  Macedonia,  vii.  123 
.iEnesidemus,  son  of  Patacus  and  father 

of  Theron.  vii.  154,  165 
vEnus,  a  city  of  Thrace,  iv.  90 ;  vii.  58 
.^nyra,  a  district  of  Thrace,  vi.  47 
MoWz.,  a  region  of  Asia  Minor,  v.  123 
-Eolian  cities,  i.  149,  151 ;  viii.  35 
^olians,  i.  6,  26,  28,  141 ;  ii.  1,  90  ;  v.  94, 

122;  vii.  95;  ix.  115 
iEolis,  vii.  176 

^olus,  father  of  Athamas,  vii.  197 
iEorpata,  or  Oiorpata,  Scythian  name  sf 

the  Amazons,  iv.  110 
Aeropus,  father  of  Echemus,  vf.  26 

-,  father  of    Alcetas  and  son  of 


Philip,  viii.  139 
,  descendant  of  Teraenui.vlil.  VW 


594 


INDEX 


^sanius,  father  of  Grin  as,  iv.  150 
j^lschines,  son  of  Nothon,  vi  100 
^schreas,  father  of  Lycomedes,  viii.  1 1 
-(Eschrionians,  a  trihe  in  Samos,  iii.  26 
^schylus,  the  poet,  ii.  156 
^sop,  the  fabulist,  ii.  134 
^Ethiopia,  ii.  22,  29,  100,  110  ;  iii.  114 
-(Ethiopians,  ii.  29,  30,  32,  104  ;  iii.  17—25, 

94,  97  ;  iv.  183, 197  ;  vii.  69,  70,  79 
Aetion,  son  of  Echecrate6,v.  92,  (2.) 
iEtolia,  vi.  127 
Africa,  ii.  26,  32  ;    iv.  17,  41,  42,  44.    See 

Libya 
Agsus,  an  Elian,  fether  of  Onomastus,  vi. 

127 
Agamemnon,  i.  67;  vii.  159 
Agarista,  daughter  of  Clisthenes,  vi.  12G, 

127,  130,  131 

,  mother  of  Pericles,  vi.  131 

AgasicleSjOf  Halicarnassus,  i.  144 
A^athyrsi,  a  Scythian  people,  iv.  49,  100, 

102,  103,  125 
Agathyrsus,  son  of  Hercules,  iv.  10 
Agbalus,  father  of  Merbalus,  vii.  98 
Agbatana,  see  Ecbatana 
Agenor,  father  of  Cilix,  a  Phoenician,  vii. 

91 
Agesilaus,  son  of  Doryssus,  vi:.  204 

',  son  of  Hippocra'.ides,  viii.  131 

Agetus,  son  of  Alcides,  vi.  61,  62 
Agis,  father  of  Menares,  vi.  65 

,  king  of  Sparta,  vii.  204 

Aglaiiros,  daughter  of  Cecrops,  viii.  53 

Aglomachus,  of  Cyrene,  iv.  164 

Agora,  a  town  of  Thrace,  vii.  58 

Agrianes,  v.  16 

Agrianis,  a  river  of  Thrace,  iv.  90 

Agrigentines,  a  people  of  Italy,  vii.  170 

Agron,  king  of  Sardis,  i.  7 

Agyllaeans,  i.  167 

Ajax,  father  of  Philaeus,  vi.  35 

,  son  of  Telamon,  v.  66  ;  viii.  64,  121 

Alabanda,  a  city  of  Phrygia,  viii.  136 
Alabandians,  a  people  of  Caria,  vii.  195 
Alalia,  a  city  of  Corsica,  i.  165 
Alarodians,  a  people  of  Pontus,  iii.  94 ; 

vii.  79 
Alazir,  king  of  Barca,  iv.  164 
Alazones,  a  Scythian  nation,  iv.  17,  52 
llcasus,  the  poet,  v.  95 

-,  son  of  Hercules,  i.  7 

Alcamenes,  son  of  Telecles,  vii.  204 
Alcetes,  father  of  Amyntas,  viii.  39 
Alcibiades,  father  of  Clinias,  viii.  1 7 
Alcides,  father  of  Agetus,  vi.  61 
Alcimachus,  father  of  Euphorbus,  vi.  101 
Alcinor  and  Chromius,  Argrives,  i.  82 
Alcmaeon,  father  of  Megacles,  i.  59 

,  son  of  Megacles,  vi.  125,  i27 

Alcmseonidse,  the,  i.  61,  64;    v.  63,  66, 

6©— 73;  vi.  121—151 
Alcmena,  mother  of  Hercules,  ii.  43,  145 
Alcon,  a  Molossian,  vi.  127 
Alcades  v.  Cleades. 
Alca  JVIinerva,  a  temple  of  Tegea,  i.  6^  , 

ix.  70 


Aleium,  a  plain  of  Cilicia,  ?i.  95 

Aletes,  V.  92,  (2.) 

Aleuadae,  Thessalian  chiefs,  vii,  6,  184 

172;  ix.  58 
Alexander,  king  of  Macedonia,  v.  19,  20, 

22;  v;i.  137,  173;  viii.  121,  136, 139, 140, 

ix.  44,  45 

,  son  of  Priam,  i.  3  ;  ii.  113—117 

Alilat,  Arabian  Urania,  iii.  8 
Alitta,  the  Venus  of  the  Arabians,  ii.  131 
Alopecae,  a  village  in  Attica,  v.  63 
Alpeni,  a  town    near  Thermopyla,  vii. 

176,229 
Alpheus,  and  Maron,  vii.  227 
Alpis,  a  river  falling  into  the  Ister,  iv.  49 
Aliis,  a  city  of  Thessaly,  vii.  173,  197 
Alyattes,  king  of  Sardis,  i.  16—22,  25,  73, 

74,91,92 
Amasis,  king  of  Egypt,  i.  30,  77,  181 ;   ii. 

154,  161-163,  169,  172—176,  178,   181, 

182;  iii.  1,10,  16,39—43,47 
,  a  Persian  general,  iv.  167,  201, 

203 
Amathus,  a  city  of  Cyprus,  v.  104—108 
Amathusians,  v.  104, 114 
Amazons,  in  Scythia,  iv.  110 — 117,  193; 

ix.  27 
Amestris,  wife  of  Xerxes,  vii.  61,  114 ;  ix. 

108.  Ill 
Amiai.tus,  vi.  127 

Amilcar,  king  of  Carthage,  vii.  165 — 167 
Aminias,  an  Athenian  captain,  viii.  84,  87, 

93 
Aminocles  of  Sepias,  vii.  190 
Amitres,  or  Ithamitres,  a  Persian  general, 

viii.  ISO 
Ammon,  a  Libyan  oracle,  i.  46  ;  ii.  32,  55 
Ammonians,  a  Libyan  people,  ii.  32,  42  ; 

iii.  25,  26;  iv.  181,185 
Amompharetus,  a  Spartan,  ix.  53—57,  71 

85 
Amorges,  a  Persian  general,  i.  121 
Ampe,  a  city  on  the  Red  Sea,  vi.  20 
Ampelus,  a  promontory  of  Torone,  vii.  1; 
Arophiaraus,  father  of  Amphilochus 

.his  oracular  temple  at  Thebei 

i.  45.  4«.  .52;  viii.  134 
Aixipniow,  a  'Aty  of  Phocis,  viii.  33 
AmyliioratiiK,  king  of  Samos,  iii.  59 
AmplilctfOT*,  seat  and  council  of,  ii.  180; 

V.  62;  vu.  208,  213,228 
Amphilochus,  son  of  Amphiaraus,  iii.  91  j 

vii.  91 
Amphilytus,  a  seer,  i.  62 
Ainphimnestus,  of  Epidamnus,  vi.  127 
Ainphion,  of  Corinth,  v.  92 
Auipliipolis,  V.  126  ;  vii.  114 
Amphissa,  a  city  of  the  Locrians,  viii.  £2 
Amphitryon,  father  of  Hercules,  ii.  43 ;  V. 

59 ;  vi.  53 
Ampracia,  a  city  of  Epirus,  viii.  47 ;  ix« 

28,31 
Arajratas,  son  of  Alcetas,  v.  17—21,  94' 

vii.  173;  viii.  136,  139 
,  son  of  Bubares,  viii.  136 


;i 


INDEX. 


595 


Aiti/rgian  Scythians,  vii.  64 
Amyris,  called  the  sage,  vi.  127 
Amyrtaeus,  kingof  Egypt,  ii.  140;  iii.  15, 

16 
Amsrtheon,  father  of  Melampus,  ii.  49 
Anacharsis,  a  Scythian  sage,  iv  46,  76,  77 
Anacreon,  the  poet,  iii.  121 
Anactorians,  of  Epirus,  ix.  28,  65 
Anaphes,  leader  of  the  Cissians,  vii.  62 
Anaphlystus,  a  village  of  Attica,  iv.  99 
Anaaa,  a  city  of  Phrygia,  vii.  30 
Anaxagoras,  i.  103;  ii.  21  ;  iii.  108 
Anaxander,  son  of  Eurycrates,  vii.  204 
Anaxandrides,  king  of  Sparta,  i.  67 ;  v. 

39--tl ;  vii.  204,  205 

,  son  of  Theopompus,  viii.  131 

Anaxilaus,  son  of  Archidamus,  viii.  131 
,  tyrant  of  Rhegium,  vi.  23 ;  vii. 

165 
Anchimolius,  a  Spartan,  v.  63. 
Andreas,  ancestor  of  Clisthenes,  vii.  126 
Andrians,  viii.  66,  111 
Androbulus,  father  of  Timon,  vii.  161 
Androcrates,  a  hero,  ix.  25 
Androdamas,  father  of  Theomestor,  viii. 

85  ;  ix.  90 
Andromeda,  wife  of  Perseus,  vii.  61,  150 
Androphagi,  iv.  18,  102,  106,  119,  125 
Androsphlnxes,  ii.  175 
Andros,  one  of  the  Cyclades,  iv.  33;  v 

31,  33;  viii.  Ill 
Aneristus,  father  of  Sperthias,  vii.  134 

,  son  of  Sperthias,  vii.  137 

Angites,  a  river  flowing  into  the  Strymon, 

vii.  113 
Angrus,  a  river  of  Illyria,  iv.  49 
Anopaja,  a  mountain  path  at  Thermopylae, 

vii.  216 
Aiitacaeus,  a  fish,  iv.  53 
Antagoras,  of  Coos,  father  of  Hegetorides, 

ix.  76 
Antandrug,  a  city  of  Troas,  v.  26 ;  vii.  42 
Anthela,  a  city  near  Tliermopylae,  vii.  1 76, 

200 
Anthemus,  a  city  of  Macedonia,  v.  94 
Anthylla,  a  city  of  Egypt,  ii.  98 
Antichares,  an  Elian,  v.  43 
Anticyra,  a  city  of  Thessaly,  vii.  198 
Antidorus,  a  Lemnian,  viii.  11 
Antiochus,  father  of  Tisamenes,  ix.  33 
Antipater,  a  Thasian,  vii.  118 
Antiphemus,  general  of  the  Lindians,  vii. 

153 
Anysis,  king  of  Egypt,  ii.  137,  140 

,  a  city  of  Egypt,  ii.  137,  166 

Anysus,  father  of  Tetramnestus,  vii.  98 
Aparytes,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  91 
Apaturian  festival,  i.  147 
Aphetae,  a  port  of  Magnesia,  vii.  193 ;  viii. 

4,6 
Aphidna,  a  town  of  Attica,  viii.  125  ;  ix.  73 
Aphrodisias,  an  island  on  the  coast   of 

Libya,  iv.  109 
Ajjhthis,  a  district  in  Egypt,  ii.  166 
Aphytis,  a  city  of  Pallene,  vii.  123 
Apia,  a  Scythian  divinity,  iv.  59 
2  Q  2 


Apidanus,  a  river  of  Thessaly,  vii.  129, 196 
Apis,  an  Egyptian  god,  ii.  153  ;  iii.  27 
Apollo,  the  Egyptian  Orus,  ii.  83,  144, 155, 

156;  iv.  15,  158;  vii.  26.    Ismenian,  i. 

52,  92 ;  v.  59.  Ptoan,  viii.  135.  Scythian, 

iv.  59 ;  Triopian,  i.  144 
ApoUonia  on  the  Euxine,  iv.  90 

on  the  Ionian  gulf,  ix.  92,  93 


ApoUophanes,  father  of  Bisaltes,  vi.  26 
Apries,  king  of  Egypt,  ii.  161, 169 ;  iv.  159 
Apsinthians,  or  Absinthians,  a  people  ol 

Thrace,  vi.  34;  ix.  119 
Apulia,  iii   138;  iv.  99 
Arabia,  ii.  8, 12  ;  iii.  107, 112  ;  iv.  S9;  vii.  69 
Arabians,  1.  198;  iii.  8,  9,  86,  88,  97;  vii. 

69,  86 
Arabian  gulf,  ii.  11  ;  iv.  39 
Aratus,   a  river  of  Scythia,  iv.  48 
Araxes,  a  river  of  Scythia,  i.  126,  202,  205 ; 

iii.  36;  iv.  11,  40 
Arcadians,  i.  66,  146  ;  ii.  171  ;  v.  49;  tI 

74  ;  vii.  202  ;  viii.  26,  73 
Arcesilaus,  son  of  Battus,  iv.  159 

son  of  Battus  the  lame,  iT.  ICI 


Archander,  son  of  Achseus,  ii. 

a  city  in  Egypt,  ii.  i)7 


Archelaeans,  a  tribe  of  Sicyon,  v.  68 
Archelaus,  of  Sparta,  vii.  204 
Archestratidas,  a  Samian,  ix.  90 
Archias,  a  Spartan,  iii.  55 
a  Samian,  iii.  55 


Archidamus,  of  Sparta,  viii.  131 
Archidice,  a  courtesan,  ii.  135 
Archilochus,  a  Parian  poet,  i.  12 
Ardericca,  a  town  of  Assyria,  i.  1 85 
in  Cissia,  vi.  114 


Ardys,  king  of  Sardis,  i.  15 
Areopagus,  viii.  52 
Argada^,  son  of  Ion,  v.  66 
Argasus,  king  of  Macedonia,  viii.  139 
Ar^anthonius,  king  of  Tartessus,  1.  16S 
Arge  and  Opis,  Hyperborean  virgins,  iv.  2i 
Aruia,  wife  of  Aristodemus,  vi.  52 
Ajgllus,  a  city  of  Bisaltia,  vii.  1)5 
Argiopius,  near  the  Asopus,  ix.  57 
Argippaei,  a  people  bordering  on  Scythi& 

iv.  23 
Argives,  people  of  Peloponnesus,  i.  01 ,  82 ; 

iii.  131;  v.  86;  vi.  78,  83,  92,  93;  vii. 

148—152;  ix.  27,  35 
Argo,  the  ship  of  Jason,  iv.  179 ;  vii.  193 
Argolis,  in  Peloponnesus,  i.  82 
Argonauts,  companions  of  Jason,  i.  3;  ir. 

145,  179 
Argos,  city  of  Peloponnesus,  LI;  v.  67; 

vi.  83;  vii.  150 
Argus,  a  hero,  vi.  80 

Ariabignes,  son  of  Darius,  vii.  97 ;  viii.  8§ 
Ariantas,  a  Scythian  king,  iv.  81 
Ariapithes,  a  Scythian  king,  iv.  76,  78 
Ariaramnes,  a  Persian,  viii.  90 
Aridolis,  tyrant  of  Alabanda,  vii.  195 
Arians,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  93.    Ancient 

name  of  the  Medes,  vii.  62,  66 
Arimaspians,  a  people  of  northern  Europ*, 

iii.  116;  iv.  13 


596 


INDEX 


ArimnestQS,  a  Piataean,  ix.  72 

Ariomardus.generaloftheCaspians.vii.  67 

,  son  of  Darius,  vii.  78 

Arion,  a  poet,  i.  23,  24 

Ariphron.  father  of  Xantippus,  vi.  13J, 

134;  vii.  33;  viii.  131 
Arisba,  a  city  of  I-esbos,  i.  151 
Aristagoras,  tyrant  of  Cyme,  iv.  138;  v. 

37,  38 

of  Cyzicus,  iv.  138 

,  tyrant  of  Miletus,  v.  30—51, 

£4,  98,  100,  124,  126;  vii.  8 

—    .. ,  father  of  Hegesistratus,  ix.  90 

Ansteas,  a  poet  of  Proconnesus,  iv.  13—15 

,  a  Corinthian,  vii.  137 

Aristides,  the  Just,  an  Athenian,  v.ii.  79, 

82;  viii.  79,  81,  95;  ix.  28 
Aristocrates,  father  of  Casambus,  vi.  73 
Aristocyprus,  king  of  Solias,  v.  1 13 
Aristodemus,  king  of  Sparta,  iv.  147 ;  vi. 

52;  vii.  204;  viii.  131 

,  a  Spartan,  vii.  229, 231 ;  ix.71 

Aristodicus,  of  Cyme,  i.  158,  159 
Aristogiton  and  Harmodius,  v.  55 ;   vii. 

109,  123 
Aristolaides,  an  Athenian,  i.  59 
Aristoraachus,  father  of  Aristodemus,  vi. 

52;  vii.  204;  viii.  131 
Arlston  of  Byzantium,  iv.  138 

,  king  of  Sparta,  i.  G7  ;  vi.  01—63,  69 

Aristonice,  the  Pythian,  vii.  HO 
Aristonymus  of  Sicyon,  vii.  126 
Aristophantus,  father  of  Cobon,  vi.  66 
Aristophilides,  king  of  Tarentum,  iii.  136 
Arizanti,  a  Median  tribe,  i.  lOi 
Arizus,  a  Persian  prince,  vii.  82 
Armenians,  i.  194;  iii.  93;  v.  49;  vii.  73 
Armenius,  Mount,  i.  72 
Arpoxais,  ancestor  of  the  Scythians,  iv.  5, 6 
Arsamenes,  son  of  Darius,  vii.  68 
Arsames,  grandfather  of  Darius,  i.  209; 

vii.  11,  224 
Arsanes,  son  of  Darius,  vii.  68 
Artabanus,  uncle  of  Xerxes,  iv  83 ;  vii. 

10,11,17,46—53,66,67,75 
Artabates,  a  Persian,  vii.  65 
Arlabazanes,  eldest  son  of  Darius,  vii.  2 
Ariabazup,  a  Persian  general,  vii.  66  ;  viii. 

126—129:  ix.  41,  66,  89 
Artace,  a  city  of  the  Propontis,  iv.  14;  vi.  33 
Artachaees,  a  Persian  general,  vii.  117,  122 
Artachaeus,  father  of  Artayntes,  viii.  130 

■ ,  father  of  Otaspis,  vii.  63 

Artreans,  ancient  name  of  the  Persians, 

vi.  98;  vii.  61 
Ariaeus,  father  of  Artachaeus,  vii.  22 

,  father  of  Azanes,  vii.  66 

Aitanes,  brother  of  Darius,  vii.  224 

,  a  river  of  Thrace,  iv.  49 

Ar*aphernes,  brother  of  Darius,  v.  23,  25, 

30—32,73,  JOO,  123;  vi.  1,4 
,  son  of  Artaphernes,  Persian 

general  at  Marathon,  vi.  94,  116;  vii. 

10,  74 
Artaxerxes,  son  of  Xerxes,  vi.  98;   vii. 

106,  151 


Artayctes,  a  Persiar    genexsl,  vli.  S8,  H 

ix.  116,  118—120 
Artaynta,  niece  of  Xerxes,  ix.  108 
Artavntes.  a  Persian  admiral,  viii  130 ;  bt 

102,  107 
Artazostra,  daughter  of  Darius,  vi.  43 
Artembares,  a  Mede,  i.  114 — 116 
Persian,  ix.  122 


Artemisia,  queen  of   Halicarnassus,  vii 

99  ;  viii.  68,  87,  88,  93,  101—103 
Artemisium,  a  port  of  Euboea,  iv.  35  ;  viL 

175,  176,  195  ;  viii.  9—11,  14—17 
Artimpasa,  Scythian  Venus,  iv.  59 
Artiscus,  a  Scythian  river,  iv.  92 
Artochmes,  son-in-law  of  Darius,  vii.  73 
Artontes,  father  of  Bagaeus,  iii.  128 
son  of  Mardonius,  ix.  84 


Artybius,  a  Persian  commander,  v.  108, 

110 
Artyntes,  a  Persian  general,  vii.  67  ;  viii 

130 
Artyphius,  brother  of  Ariomardus,  vii.  66, 

67 
Artystone,  daughter  of  Cyrus,  iii.  88 ;  vii. 

69 
Aryandes,  prefect  of  Egypt,  iv.  166,  167, 

200 
Aryenis,  daughter  of  Alyattes,  i.  74 
Asbystae,  a  Libyan  people,  iv.  170 
Ascalon,  a  city  of  Palestine,  i.  105 
Asia,  wife  of  Prometheus,  iv.  45 

,  geography  of,  iv.  37 — 40 

Asian  tribe  at  Sardis,  iv.  45 
Asias,  son  of  Cotys,  iv.  45 
Asinarius,  vi.  68 

Asine,  a  city  of  Peloponnesus,  viii.  73 
Asonides,  a  captain  of  .Sgina,  vii.  181 
Asopians,  a  people  of  Bceotia,  ix.  15 
Asopodorus,  a  Theban  commander,  ix.  68 
Asopus,  a  river  of  Bceotia,  vi.  108;    vii. 

199,  200,216;  ix.  15,  29,  43,  51 
Aspathines,  a  Persian  prince,  iii.  70,  78 , 

vii.  97 
Assa,  a  city  of  Mount  Athos,  vii.  122 
Assesus,  a  town  of  the  Milesians,  i.  19 
Assyria,  i.  102,  106,  177  ;  ii.  17  ;  iv.  39 
Assyrians,  i.  95,  102, 103, 106,  177  ;  ii.  141 ; 

vii.  62,  63 
Astacus,  father  of  Melanippus,  v.  67 
Aster,  father  of  Anchimolius,  v.  63 
Astrabacus,  a  hero  of  Sparta,  vi.  69 
Astyages,  king  of  the  Medes,  i.  46,  73—75, 

107,  108,  123,  127—130,139 
Asychis,  king  of  Egypt,  ii.  136 
Atarantes,  a  Libyan  people,  iv.  184 
Atarbechis,  a  ciif  of  Egypt,  ii.  141 
Atarneus,  or  Atarnea,  a  city  and  territory 

of  Mysia,  i.  160;    vi.  28,  29;    vii.  42; 

viii.  106 
Atarnes,  a  rivei  of  Thrace,  iv.  49 
Athamas,  son  ofiEolus,  vii.  197 
Athenades,  a  Tiachinian,  vii.  213 
Athenagoras,  a  Samian,  ix.  90 
Athens  and  Athenians,  passim 
Athos,  Mount,  vi.  44,  95  ;  vii.  21,  2ft 
Athribis,  a  distiict  in  Egypt,  iL  16(C 


I 


INDEX. 


.597 


Athrys,  a  river  of  Thrace,  iv.  49 
Atlantes,  or  Atarantes,  a  people  of  Libya, 

iv.  184 
Atlantic  Sea,  i.  102 
Atlas,  a  river  of  Mount  Haemus,  iv.  49 

,  Mount,  iv.  184 

Atossa,  daughter  of  Cyrus,  iii.  68,  88, 133, 

134;  vii.  2,  3 
Atramytteum,  or  Adramyttium,  a  town  of 

Troas,  vii.  42 
Atridae,  the  sons  of  Atreus,  vii.  20 
Attaginus,  a  Theban,  ix.  15,  86,  88 
Attica,  i.  59;  v.  76;  ix.  13 
Attic  people,  i.  56  ;  v.  87  ;  vi.  138 
Atys,  king  of  Sardis,  i.  7,  94  ;  vii.  27,  74 

,  son  of  Croesus,  i.  34 — 43 

Auchatae,  a  family  of  Scythians,  iv.  6 
Augila,  a  country  of  Libya,  iv.  172,  182 
Auras,  a  river  of  Mount  Haemus,  iv.  49 
Auschisae,  a  people  of  Libya,  iv.  171 
Auses,  a  people  of  Libya,  iv.  180,  191 
Autesion,  father  of  Theras,  iv.  147  ;  vi.  52 
Autodicus,  a  Plataean,  ix.  85 
Automoli,  a  colony  of  Egyptians,  ii.  30 
Autonous,  and  Phylacus,  viii.  39 
Auxesia  and  Dam ia,  v.  82,  83 
Axius,  a  river  of  Macedonia,  vii.  123 
Axus,  a  city  of  Crete,  iv.  154 
Azanes,  a  Persian  general,  vii.  06 
Azen,  in  Arcadia,  vi.  127 
Aziris,  a  district  in  Libya,  iv.  157,  109 
Azotus,  a  city  of  Syria,  ii.  157 

Babylon,  i.  178—185,  192  ;  iii.  158,  159 

Babylonia,  i.  193 

Babylonians,  L  77,  190—200;   ii.  109  ;  iii. 

150—159 
Bacchus,  Egyptian  Osiris,  ii.  42,  48,  123, 

144,  146  ;  iii.  97 ;  iv.  79.    The  Arabian, 

iii.  8,  10.     The  Ethiopian,  ii,  29.    The 

Grecian,  ii.  49,  145, 146  ;  iii.  97  ;   v.  C7  ; 

vi.  79,  108;  vii.  Ill 

,  temple  of,  at  Byzantium,  iv.  87 

Bacchanalia,  iv.  79 

Bacchiads  of  Corinth,  v.  92 

Bacis,  predictions  of,  viii.  20,  77,  9G  ;    ix. 

43 
Bactra,  a  city  of  Assyria,  vi.  9  ;  ix.  113 
Bactria,  a  country  of  Asia,  iv.  204 
Bactrians,  vii.  68,  86 
Badres,  or  Bares,  a  Persian  admiral,  iv. 

167,  203 
Bagaeus,  a  Persian,  son  of  Artontes,  iii. 

128 

,  father  of  Mardontes,  vii.  80 

B-.igasaces,  son  of  Artabanus,  vii.  76 
Barca,  a  city  of  Libya,  iii.  91  ;  iv.  160,  200, 

et  seq. 

,  a  village  of  Bactria,  iv.  204 

Barcsans,  iii.  13,  91 ;  iv.  164, 167,  201—204 

Bares,  tee  Badres 

Basilides,  an  Ionian,  viii.  132 

Battus,  king  of  Cyrene,  iv.  150,  155,  159 

,  son  of  Arcesilaus,  ii.  181 ;  iv.  159 

Battiadaj.  iv.  202 

Belides,  gates  of  Babylon,  iii.  155,  15S 


Belus,  father  of  Ninus,  I  7 

,  father  of  Cepheus,  vii.  61 

Bermion,  a  mountain  of  Macedonia,  viii 

138 
Bessians,  interpreters  of  Bacchus,  vii.  Ill 
Bias  of  Priene,  i.  27,  170 

,  brother  of  Melampus,  ix.  34 

Bisaltes,  son  of  ApoUophanes,  vl.  26 
Bisaltia,  a  region  of  Macedonia,  vii.  115 

viii.  116 
Bisanthe,  a  city  of  the  Hellespont,  vii, 

137 
Bistones,  a  people  of  Thrace,  vii.  110 
Bistonis,  a  lake,  vii.  109 
Bitliynia,  a  province  of  Asia  Minor,  i.  28 
Bithynians,  vii.  75 
Biton,  and  Cleobis,  Argives,  i.  31 
Bcebeis,  a  lake  of  Thessaly,  vii.  129 
Boeotia,  ii.  49  ;  v.  57 
Boeotians,  v.  74,  77,  79  ;  vi.  108  ;  vii.  202  ; 

viii.  34  ;  ix.  68 
Boges,  governor  of  E'ion,  vii.  107,  113 
Bolbitic  mouth  of  the  Nile,  ii.  17 
Boreas,  son-in-law  of  the  Athenians,  vl^ 

189 
Borysthenes,  a  river  of  Scythia,  iv.  18,  45, 

47,  53;— and  city,  iv.  78 
Borysthenians,  iv.  17, 18,  53,  78 
Bosphorus,  the  Cimmerian,  iv.  12,  28,  10(1 
,  the  Thracian,  iv.  83,  85,  86, 


Bottiaea,  a  region  of  Macedonia,  vii.  123, 

127,185;  viii.  127 
Branchidae,  i.  46,  92  ;  ii.  159;  v.  36 
Brauron,  a  town  of  Attica,  iv.  145 ;  vi.  138 
Briantica,  a  region  of  Thrace,  vii.  108 
Briges,  Phrygians,  viii.  73 
Brongus,  a  river  flowing  into  the  Ister,  iv 

49 
Brundusium,  a  city  of  Italy,  iv.  99 
Bryges,  apeople  of  Thrace,  vi.  45  ;  viL  18S 
Bubares,  a  Persian,  iv.  167  ;    v.  21 ;    vii. 

22  ;   viii.  136 
Bubastis,  a  city  of  Egj^it,  ii.  59,  67,  156, 

1G6 

,  the  Egyptian  Diana,  ii.  137,  15  j 

Bucolic  mouth  of  the  Nile,  ii.  17 
Budians,  a  people  of  Media,  i.  101 

of  Scythia,  iv.  21,  108,  109 


Bulls,  a  Spartan,  vii.  134 — 137 
Bura,  a  city  of  Achaia,  ii.  145 
Busa;ans,  a  people  of  Media,  i.  101 
Busiris,  a  city  and  district  of  Egypt,  ii.  ^il 

61,  165 
Butacides,  father  of  Philip  of  Crotona,  i 

47 
Buto,  a  city  of  Egypt,  ii.  59,  63,  75,  155 
Bybassia,  a  peninsula  of  Caria,  i.  174 
Byzantium,  iv.  14-1 ;  v.  26,  103 

Cabales,  a  people  of  Libya,  iv.  171 
Cabalian  Meonians,  vii.  77 
Cabalians,  a  people  of  Asia  Minor,  iii.  90 
Cabiri,  Ii.  51 ;  iii.  37 

Cadmeans  of  Peloponnesus,  i.  f6, 146  ;  v 
fc7,  61 ;  ix.  27       , 


598 


INDEX. 


Cadmus,  son  of  Ageuoi,  ii.  45,  49 ;  iv.  147 ; 

V.  57—59 

-,  of  Coos,  viiL  163,  164 
Cadytis,  a  city  of  Palestine,  ii.  1 59 ;  iii.  5 
Caenis,  ancestor  of  E^tion,  t.  92,  (2.) 
Caicus,  a  plain  of  Mysia,  vi.  28 

•,  a  river  of  Mysia,  vii.  42 

Calactfi,  on  the  coast  of  Sicily,  vL  22 

Calantian  Indians,  iii.  97 

Calasiries,  Egyptian -warriors,  iLlG4 — 168 ; 

vii.  89 ;  ix.  32 
Calchas,  vii.  91 

Calchedon,  or  Chalcedon,  iv.  85, 144 ;  v.  26 
Callatebus,  a  city  of  Lydia,  vii.  31 
Calliades,  an  Athenian  archon,  viii.il 
Callias,  an  Elian  diviner,  v.  44,  45 

,  father  of  Hipponicus,  vi.  121, 122 

,  son  of  Hipponicus,  vii.  151 

Callicrates,  a  Spartan,  ix.  72,  85 
Callimachus  of  Aphidna,  vi.  109,  114 
Callipides,  a  Scythian  people,  iv.  17 
Callipolis,  a  city  of  Sicily,  vii.  154 
Callista,  afterwards  Thera,  iv.  147 
Calydne,  a  city  of  Asia  Minor,  viii.  87 
Calyndian  mountains,  i.  172 
Calyndians,  viii.  87 
Camarina,  a  city  of  Sicily,  vii.  154,  15G 
Cambyses,  father  of  Cyrus,  L  46.  107,  112, 

207;  vii.  11 
,  son  of  Cyrus,  ii.  1,  208;  iii.  1,  4, 

7—38,  44,  61—66,  89,  139,  181  ;  iv.  165 
Camicus,  a  city  of  Sicily,  vii.  169,  170 
Camirus,  a  Dorian  city,  i.  144 
Campsa,  a  city  of  Crossaea,  vii.  123 
Cana,  Mount,  in  Mysia,  vii.  42 
Canastraeum,  promontory  of  Pallene,  vii. 

123 
Candaules,  king  of  Sardis,  i.  7 — 12 

,  father  of  Damasithymus,  vii.  98 

Canobic  mouth  of  the  Nile,  ii.  15,  17,  113, 

179 
Canobus,  a  city  of  Egypt,  ii.  97 
Caphareum,    a   promontory    of   Euboea, 

viii.  7 
Cappadocia,  i.  73 

Cappadocians,  i.  71 — 73  ;  v.  49  ;  vii.  72 
Car,  brother  of  Lydus  and  Mysus,  1. 171 
Carcinitis,  a  city  of  Scythia,  iv.  69,  99 
Cardamyle,  a  town  of  Laconia,  viii.  73 
Cardia,  a  city  of  the  Chersonese,  vi.  33  ; 

vii.  58;  ix.  115 
Carenus,  father  of  Evaenetus,  vii.  173 
Caria,  i.  142  ;  vi.  25 
Carians,  L  28,  146,  171,  174  ;   ii.  61,  152  ; 

iii.  4, 11 ;  V.  117—120;  vii.  93  ;  viii.  133, 

135 
Carina,  a  city  of  Mysia,  vii.  42 
Carpathus,  an  island  near  Rhodes,  iii.  45 
Carpis,  a  river  flowing  into  the  Ister,  iv.  49 
Carthage,  iii.  119 
Carthaginians,  i.  166;  ii.  32;  iii.  17,  19; 

iv.  43, 197 ;  vii.  165, 167 
Caryanda,  iv.  44 
Carystus,  a  city  of  Euboea,  iv.  33 ;  vL  »9 ; 

viii.  112 
Carystians,  viii.  112,  121 ;  ix.  105 


Casambus  of  jEgina,  vi.  75 
Casius,  Mount,  in  Arabia,  ii.  6, 158;  iii.  i 
Casmena,  a  city  of  Sicily,  vii.  155 
Caspatyrus,acityof  Pactyica,iii.  102;  iv.44 
Caspian  Sea,  i.  202,  203  ;  iv.  40 
Caspians,  iii.  92  ;  vii.  67,  84 
Cassandane,  wife  of  Cyrus,  iL  1 ;  Iii.  2 
Cassiterides,  western  islands,  iii.  1 15 
Castalian  spring  on  Parnassus,  viii.  39 
Casthanaea,  a  city  of  Magnesia,  vii.  183, 188 
Castor  and  Pollux,  ii.  43 ;  vi.  127 
Catarractes,ariver  tributary  to  the  Macan- 

der,  vii.  26 
Catiarians,  a  Scythian  tribe,  iv.  6 
Caucasus,  Mount,  i.  104,  203,  204;  iii.  97; 

iv.  12 
Cauconian  Pylians,  i.  147  ;  iv.  148 
Caunus,  a  city  of  Caria,  i.  172, 176 ;  v.  lOS 
Caustrobius,  father  of  Aristeas,  iv.  13 
Cayster,  a  river  of  Lydia,  v.  100 
Cecrops,  king  of  Athens,  viiL  44 
Celaenae,  a  city  of  Phrygia,  vii.  26 
Celeas,  an  associate  of  Dorieus,  v.  46 
Celts,  a  people  of  Europe,  ii.  33  ;  iv.  49 
Ceos,  an  island  of  tlie  ^Egaean  sea,  iv.  S5 ; 

V.  102;  viii.  1,  46,  7fi 
Cephallenia,  an  island  ol  the  Ionian  sea, 

ix.  28 
Cephenes,  Persians,  vii.  61 
Cepheus,  father  of  Andromeda,  vii.  61 
Cephissus,  father  of  Thyia,  vii.  178 

,  a  river  of  Phocis,  viii.  33 

Ceramic  gulf,  i.  174 

Cercasora,  a  city  of  Egypt,  ii.  15,  17,  97 

Ceres,  the  Egyptian  Isis,  ii.  59, 156.   Eleu- 

sinian,  ix.  62,  65,  97 
Chalcedonians,  or  XJalchedonians,  iv.  1  H  ; 

V.  26  ;  vi.  33 
Chalcidians  of  Euboea,  v.  74,  77,  99  ;  viiL 

127;  ix.  28 
Chaldaeans,  a  people  of  Assyria,  vii.  63 

,  of  Babylon,  i.  181,  183 

Chalestra,  a  city  of  Macedonia,  vii.  123 
Chalybians,  of  Asia  Minor,  i.  28 ;  vii.  76 
Charadra,  a  city  of  Phocis,  viii.  33 
Charaxus,  brother  of  Sappho,  ii.  135  ;  iv. 

135 
Charilaus  of  Samos,  iii.  145 
Charillus,  son  of  Eunomus,  viii.  131 
Charopinus,  brother  of  Aristagoras,  v.  99 
Chemmis,  a  floating  island  in  Egypt,  ii.  I5fi 

,  a  city  of  Egypt,  ii.  91, 165 

Cheops,  an  Egyptian  king,  ii.  124 
Chephren,  an  Egyptian  king,  ii.  127,  128 
Cherasmes,  a  Persian,  vii.  78 
Chersis,  father  of  Gorgus  and  Onesiliw, 

V.  104;  vii.  98;  viii.  11 
Chersonese  of  Thrace,  vi.  33,  34,  39,  140, 

ix. 118 
Chersonesus  Trachea,  iv.  99 
Chilaus,  a  Tegean,  ix.  9 
ChUon,  a  Lacedaemonian,  i.  59 ;  vi.  69 ; 

vii.  235 
Chios,  a  city  of  Ionia,  i.  18,  142,  160;  IL 

178;  vi.  15,  1^,26,  31;  viii.  132 
Cboaspes,  a  river  near  Susa,  i.  1 88 ;  v.  49,  it 


INDEX. 


599 


CKjtreates,  a  tribe  at  Sicyon,  v.  68 
Choereae,  a  city  of  Eubcea,  vi.  101 
Choerus,  father  of  Micythus,  vii.  170 
Chorasmians,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  93,  117; 

vii.  66 
Chromiug,  an  Argive,  i.  82 
Ciconians,  a  people  of  Thrace,  vii.  59,  108, 

110 
Cilicia,  a  country  of  Asia,  ii.  17,  34;  iii.  90 ; 

V.  52;  ix.  107 
Cilicians,  i.  28,  72  ;  iii.  90 ;  v.  49,  52  ;  vii. 

91  ;  viii.  14 
Cilix,  son  of  Agenor,  a  Phoenician,  vii.  91 
Cilia,  an  jEolian  city,  i.  149 
Cinimeria,  a  region  of  Scythia,  iv.  12 
Cimmerian  Bosphorus,  iv.  12,  28, 100 
Cimmerians,  i.  6,  15,  16;  iv.  1,  11,  12; 

vii.  20 
Cimon,  father  of  Miltiades,  vi.  34,  38,  39, 

103 

,  son  of  Miltiades,  vi.  136;  vii.  107 

Cineas,  king  of  Thessaly,  v.  63 
Cinyps,  a  river  of  Libya,  iv.  175  ;  v.  42 

,  a  region  of  Libya,  iv.  198 

Cion,  a  city  of  Mysia,  v.  122 

Cissia,  a  country  of  Asia,  iii.  91 ;  v.  49,  52  , 

vi.  116 
Cissian  gate  of  Babylon,  iii.  155,  158 
Cissians,  iii.  91  ;  vii.  62,  86,  210 
Cithaeron,  Mount,  v.  74;  vii.  141;  ix.  \U. 

25,  39 
Cius,  or  Scius,  a  river  tributary  to  the  Ister, 

11.49 
Clazomenae,  an  Ionian  city,  i.  16,  51,  142  ; 

ii.  178;  v.  123 
Cleades,  a  Platsean,  ix.  85 
Cleander,  a  seer,  vi.  83 

,  son  of  Hippocrates,  vii.  155 

,  son  of  Pantares,  vii.  154 

Cleobis  and  Biton,  i.  31 

Cleodseus,  son  of  Hyllus,  vi.  52  ;  vii.  204  ; 

viii.  131 
Cleombrotus,  son  of  Anaxandrides,  iv.  81 ; 

v.  41;  viii.  71  ;  ix.  10 
Cieomenes,  king  of  Sparta,  ii.  148;  v.  41  — 

51,  64,  70,  76;  vi.49— 51,  65,  73—80,  81 
Cleonae,  a  city  of  Mount  Athos,  vii.  22 
Clineas,  son  of  Alcilnades,  viiL17 
Clisthenes,  tyrant  of  Sicyon,  a^67  ;  vi.  1_'(; 

,  an  Athenian,  v.  66 — 70  ;  vi.  1 :  I 

Clytiadae,  an  Elian  family,  ix.  33 
Cnidus,  a  town  of  Caria,  i.  144 ;  li.  178 
Cnidians,  i.  174;  iii.  138;  iv.  164 
Cncethus,  father  of  Nicodromus,  vi.  88 
Cobon,  son  of  Aristophantus,  vi.  66 
Codrus,  king  of  Athens,  v.  65,  76 

,  son  of  Melanthus,  i.  147 

,  father  of  Neleus,  ix.  97 

Coenyra,  a  town  in  Thasos,  vi.  47 
Cots,  tyrant  of  Mitylene,  iv.  97;  v.  11,  37 
Colzeus,  a  Samian  captain,  iv.  152 
Colaxais,  ancestor  of  the  Scythians,  iv.  5,  7 
Colchians,  iii.  97 ;  iv.  37,  40 ;  viL  79 
Colchis,  a  country  on  the  Euxine  sea,  i.  2 
Colias,  on  the  coast  of  Attica,  viii.  96 
Colophon,  an  Ionian  city,  i.  14  »42. 147. 150 


Colosse,  a  city  of  Phrygia,  vii   30 
Combrea,  a  city  of  Crossaea,  vii.  123 
Compsatus,  a  river  of  Thrace,  vii.  109 
Coniaeus,  a  Thracian  race,  v.  63 
Contadesdus,  a  river  of  Thrace,  iv.  89 
Copais,  a  lake  of  Bceotia,  viii.  135 
Corcyra,  colonized  from  Corinth,  iii.  42, 49 
Corcyraeans,  iii.  48,  53  ;  vii.  168 
CoFessus,  a  port  near  Ephesus,  v.  100 
Corinth,  and  Corinthians,  i.  14,  50,  51 ;  ii. 

167;  iii.  48,49,  52;  iv.  162;  V.  75,  87, 

92  ;  vi.  89  ;  vii.  202 ;  viii.  1,  94 ;  ix.  102 
Corobius,  a  Cretan,  iv.  151 
Coronaeans,  neighbours  of  the  Thebans, 

v.  79 
Corycium,  a  cavern  of  Parnassus,  viii.  36 
Corydallus,  of  Anticyra,  vii.  214 
Corys,  a  river  of  Arabia,  iii.  9 
Cos,  a  Doric  island,  i.  144;  vii.  164 
Cotys,  father  of  Asias,  iv.  45 
Cranaspes,  a  Persian,  iii.  126 
Cranai,  ancient  name  of  the  Athenians. 

viii.  44 
Crastis,  a  river  near  Sybaris,  v.  45 
Crathis,  a  river  of  Achaia,  i.  145 
Cratines,  father  of  Anaxilaus,  vii.  165 
Cratinus,  father  of  Aminocles,  vii.  190 
Cremni,  a  port  in  the  Maeotic  gulf,  iv.  20, 

110 
Creston,  Crestona,  a  city  of  Thrace,  i.  57  ; 

v.  3;  vii.  124,  127;  viii.  116 
Crete,  Cretans,  i.  2,  65,  173;  iv.  151 ;  vii. 

169—171 
Crinippus,  father  of  Terillus,  vii.  165 
Crisasan  plain,  of  Locris,  viii.  32 
Critalla,  a  city  of  Cappadocia,  vii.  26 
Critobulus,  of  Torona,  viii.  127 
Crius,  father  of  Polycritus,  viii.  92 

,  son  of  Polycritus,  vi.  50,  73 

Crobyzian  Thracians,  iv.  49 
Crocodiles,  city  of,  in  Egypt,  ii.  148 
Croesus,  king  of  Lydia,  i.  7,  26—30,  34—45, 

50,  73—87,  92,  155,  207,  208;  iii.  14,  34  ; 

vi.  125  ;  viii.  35 
Crophi,  a  mountain  in  Upper  Egypt,  ii.  28 
Crossaea,  a  district  of  Macedonia,  vii.  123 
Croton,  a  town  in  the  gulf  of  Tarentum, 

iii.  136,  137 
Crotonians,  iii.  131  ;  v.  44;  viii.  47 
Cuphagoras,  an  Athenian,  vi.  117 
Curium,  a  city  of  Cyprus,  v.  113 
Cyanean  islands  in  the  Euxine,  iv.  85 
Cyaxares,  king  of  Media,  i.  16,  73,  74,  103, 

106 
Cybebe,  a  temple  at  Sardis,  v.  102 
Cyberniscxis,  a  Lycian,  vii.  98 
Cyclades,  islands  of  the  Mge&n  sea,  v.  30, 

31 ;  vii.  95 
Cydippa,  daughter  of  Terillus,  vii.  Ki.') 
Cydonia,  a  city  of  Crete,  iii.  44,  59 
Cydrara,  a  city  on  the  borders  of  Phrygfc 

vii.  30 
Cyllyrians,  slaves  of  SicDy,  vii.  155 
Cylon,  an  Athenian,  v.  71 
Cyme,  an  .ffiolian  city,  i.  149,  K'  •  ?.  ?3i  j 

vJJ,  194i  viii.  130 


600 


INDEX. 


Cymceans,  i.  157,  1G5  ;  v.  3 
Cynaegirus,  a  valiant  Athenian,  vi.  114 
Cyneas,  father  of  Philager,  vi.  101 
Cynetes,   Cynesians,    farthest  people    of 

Europe  towards  the  west,  ii,  33 ;  iv.  49 
Cyniscus,  son  of  Leotychides,  vi.  71 
Cyno,  or  Spaco,  nurse  of  Cyrus,  1.  110, 112 

—122 
Cynosarges  in  Attica,  v.  63  ;  vi.  110 
Cynosura,  an  island  near  Salamis,  viii.  76 
Cynurians,  people  of  Peloponnesus,  viii.  73 
Cyprus,  Cyprians,  i.  199;  ii.  182;   iii.  19, 

91  ;  iv.  1G2;  v.  104,  IIC;  vii.  90 
Cypselus,  tyrant  of  Corinth,  i.  20  ;  v.  92  ; 

vi.  128 

,  father  of  Miltiades,  vi.  35 

Cyraunis,  an  island  near  Libya,  iv.  195 
Cyrene,  a  city  of  Libya,  iv.  150 — 170,  199, 

203 
Cyrenaeans,  ii.  32  ;   iii.  131  ;  iv.  152—162, 

186 
Cymus,  an  island  in  the  Tyrrhenian  sea, 

vii.  165 

,  a  city  of  Carystia,  ix.  105 

,  a  hero,  i.  167 

Cyrus,  father  of  Cambyses,  i.  Ill 

-,  king  of  Persia,  i.  46,  73—75,  79— 

88,  91,  95,  108,  111,  113—116,  122—130, 

141,  153—155,  188—191,  201—205,  207, 

244;  iii.  69,  89;  vii.  11;  ix.  122 
Cythera,  an  island  off  Peloponnesus,  i.  82, 

105  ;  vii.  235 
Cythnus,  an  island  near  Attica,  vii.  90 ; 

viii.  67 
Cythnians,  viii.  46 
Cytissorus,  son  of  Phixus,  vii.  197 
Cyzicus,  a  city  of  Propontis,  iv.  14,  7G  ; 

vi.  33 

Dadicae,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  91  ;  vii.  6G 

Daedalus,  vii.  170 

Daians,  a  Persian  tribe,  i.  125 

Damasithymus,  king  of  the  Calyndians, 
vii.  98  ;  viii.  87 

Damasus,  son  of  Amyris,  vi.  127 

Damia  and  Auxesia,  v.  82 

Danae,  mother  of  Perseus,  i.  91  ;  vi.  53  ; 
vii.  60,  150 

Danaus  and  Lynceus,  ii.  91 

,  son-in-law  of  Archander,  ii.  98 

•  and  Xuthus,  vii.  94 

Daphnae,  Pelusian,  of  Egypt,  ii.  30,  107 

Daphnis,  tyrant  of  Abydos,  iv.  138 

Dardanus,  a  city  near  Abydos,  v.  117  ;  vii 
43 

Dardanians,  a  people  of  Asia,  i.  189 

Daritje,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  92 

Darius,  king  of  Persia,  i.  183,  187,  209 ;  ii. 
110;  iii.  39,  70,  82—96,  101,  126—129, 
135—144,  150—160;  iv.  39,44,  85—87, 
97,  118,  120,  124,  127,  140—144;  v.  12, 
17,97,  101,  105;  vi.  43,48,  94,  98,  111, 
118;  vii.  1—4,  10,  11,  69,  72,  82,  133, 
224 ;  viii.  89 

Dascyleum,  a  city  of  Bithynia,  iii.  120, 
12Q;  vi.  33 


Dascylus,  father  of  Gyges,  I.  8 

Datis,  a  Mede,  general  of  the  Persiane  »1 , 

Marathon,  vi.  94,  97, 118  ;  vii.  88 
Datus,  a  city  of  the  Edonians,  ix.  75 
Daulians,  a  people  of  Phocis,  viii.  35 
Daurises,  son-in-law  of  Darius,  v.  116,  121 
Decelea,  a  district  of  Attica,  ix.  15,  73 
Derelus,  ix.  73 
Deioces,  king  of  the  Medes,  i.  16,  73,  96— 

102 
Deiphonus,  son  of  Evenius,  ix.  92 
Delians,  iv.  33;  vi.  97 
Delium,  a  Theban  city,  vi.  118  ;  ix.  15 
Delphi  and  Delphians,  i.  14, 46,  48,  50—51, 

92;  ii.  180;  v.  42,  62  ;  vii.  1 78;  viii.  36, 

37 
Delta,  of  the  Nile,  ii.  13—16 
Delos,  an  island  of  the  JEgean  sea,  J.  64  j; 

iv.  33—35  ;  vi.  97  ;  viii.  132,  133;  ix. 
Demaratus,  king  of  Sparta,  vi.  50,  61— ,| 

70  ;  vii.  3,  101—104,  209,  234-239 
Demarmenus,  father  of  Prinetades 

Chilon,  V.  41  ;  vi.  65 
Democedes,  a  physician  of  Crotona,  ilj 

129—137 
Democritus,  of  Naxos,  viii.  46 
Demonax,  a  Mantinean,  iv.  161 
Demonous,  father  of  Penthylus,  vii.  195' 
Demophilus,  a  Thespian  general,  vii.  22 
Dersaei,  a  Thracian  tribe,  vii.  110 
Derusiaeans,  a  Persian  tribe,  i.  125 
Deucalion,  king  of  Thessaly,  i.  56 
Diactorides,  father  of  Eurydame,  vi.  71 

— ,  a  Cranonian,  vi.  127 

Diadromus,  father  of  Demophilus,  vii.  2S 
Diana,  i.  26;  ii.  59, 156;  iii.  48;  iv.  33, 1 

105;  V.  7;  vi.  138;  vii.  176;  viii.  77 
Dicaea,  a  city  of  Thrace,  vii.  109 
Dicaeus,  an  Athenian  exile,  viii.  65 
Dictynna,  her  fane,  iii.  59 
Didymus,  oracle  of,  vi.  19 
Dienecis,  a  Spartan,  vii.  226 
Dindymene,  i.  80 

Dinomenes,  father  of  Gelon,  vii.  145 
Diomede,  ii.  116 

Dionysius,  a  Phocsean,  vi.  11,  17 
Dionysoplianes,  an  Ephesian,  ix.  84 
Dionysus,  iv.  79 
Dioscuri,  ii.  43,  50  ;  vi.  127 
Dipaea,  a  place  in  Peloponnesus,  ix.  35 
Dithyrambus,  son  of  Hermatidas,  vii.  21 
Dium,  a  city  of  Mount  Athos,  vii.  22 
Doberes,  a  people  of  Paeonia,  v.  16 ; 

113 
Dodona,  oracle  of,  i.  46  ;  ii.  52,  55,  57  ; 

93 
Dolonci,  a  people  of  Thrace,  vi.  34,  3.) 
Dolopes,  a  people  of  Thessaly,  vii.  132, 1{ 
Doriats,  ,  6,  28,  56,  141, 144, 171 ;  iii.  5fi  ; 

V.  68,  76,  86;   vL  53;    vii.  93,  99,   102; 

viii.  31,  73 
Dorieus,  son  of  Anaxandrides,  v.  41,  41, 

43,  45,  46  ;  vii.  158,  205  ;  ix.  10 
Doris,  formerly  Dryopis,  viii.  31 
Doriscus,  a  shore  of  Thrace,  t.  93  ;    vlfc 

25,  r9,  i05 


INDEX. 


601 


DoruS;  king  of  the  Dorians,  i.  56 
Doryssus,  son  of  Leobotes,  vii.  204 
Dotus,  a  Persian  general,  vii.  72 
Dropici,  a  Persian  race,  i.  125 
Drymus,  a  city  of  Phocis,  viii.  33 
Dryopis,  a  region  of  Thessaly,  i.  56  ;  viii. 
Dryopians  in  Asia,  i,  146 

■ of  Peloponnesus,  viii.  73 

Dyma,  a  town  of  Achaia,  i.  145 
Dymanates,  a  tribe  at  Sicyon,  v.  68 
Dyras,  a  river  of  Trachinia,  vii.  198 
D>sorum,  Mount,  v.  17 

Ecbatana,  a  city  of  Media,  i.  110, 153 ;  ii:. 

64,  92 

,  of  Syria,  iii.  62 

Echecrates,  father  of  Eetion,  v.  92 
Echemus,  son  of  Aeropus,  ix.  26 
Echestratus,  son  of  Agis,  vii.  204 
Echidorus,  a  river  of  Thrace,  vii.  124 
Echinades,  islands  at  the  mouth  of  the 

Achelous,  ii.  10 
Edonians,  a  people  of  Thrace,  v.  11,  23, 

124;  vii.  110,  114;  ix.  75 
E«tion,  father  of  Cypselus,  v.  92,  (5.) 
Egestasans,  a  people  of  Sicily,  v.  46 
Ejon,  a  city  on  the  Strymon,  vii.  25,  113 , 

viii.  118 
Elaeus,  a  city  of  the  Thracian  Chersonese, 

vi.  140;  vii.  22,  33;  ix.  116, 120 
Elatea,  a  city  of  Pliocis,  viii.  33 
Elbe,  an  island  of  the  Nile,  ii.  140 
Eleans,  ii.  160;  iv.  30,  148;  vi.  127,  viii. 

27  ;  ix.  77 
Elephantine,  a  city  of  Upper  Egypt,  ii.  9, 

17,28,69;  iii.  19,  20 
Eleusis,  a  town  of  Attica,  i.  130;  v.  74 — 

76  ;  vi.  75  ;  viii.  65 ;  ix.  27 
Eleusinian  Ceres,  viii.  65  ;  ix.  57,  101 
Elis,  a  country  of  Peloponnesus,  viii.  73 
Ellopia,  a  district  of  Euboea,  viii.  23 
Elorus,  a  river  of  Sicily,  vii.  154 
Encheleae,  a  people  of  lllyria,  v.  61 ;  ix.  43 
Enians  of  Thrace,  vii.  132,  185,  198 
Enipeus,  a  river  of  Thessaly,  vii.  129 
Eordians  of  Macedonia,  vii.  185 
Epaphus,  god  of  the  Memphians,  ii.  153  ; 

iii.  27,  28 
Ephesians,  i.  26,  147 
Ephesus,  i.  142;  ii.  10,  148,  158;  v.  64 
Ephialtes,  the  traitor,  vii.  213 
Epicydes,  father  of  Glaucus,  vi.  86 
F.yidamnus.ariverof  Thessaly,  vii.  129,  IOC. 
Epidaurus,  a  town  of  Peloponnesus,  iii. 

52  ;  V.  82,  83  ;  viii.  43,  46  ;  ix.  28 
Rpistrophus,  father  of  Ampliimnestris,  vi. 

127 
Ei)ium,  a  city  of  the  Minyans,  iv.  148 
Kjiizelus,  son  of  Cyphagoras,  vi.  117 
F.pizepliyrian  Locrians,  vi.  23 
Krasinus,  a  river  of  the  Stymphalian  lake, 

vi.  76 
Erechtheus,  king  of  Athens,  v.  82 ;  vii. 

1S9;  viii.  44,  55 
Kretria,  a  city  of  Euboea,  i.  6!  •  vi.  4?  94, 

lOJ,  119;  viii.  46;  ix.  28 


Eridanus,  a  river  of  Europe,  iii.  115 
Erineum,  a  mountain,  viii.  43 
Erochus,  a  city  of  Phocis,  viii.  33 
Erxander,  father  of  Coes,  iv.  97 ;  v.  37 
Erythea,  an  island  near  Gades,  iv.  8 
Erythrae,  a  city  of  Ionia,  i.  18,  142 ;  vi.  8 

,  a  town  of  Boeotia,  ix.  15,  19 

Erythrebolus,  a  city  of  Egypt,  ii.  Ill 
Eryx,  a  region  of  Sicily,  v.  43,  45 
Eryxo,  wife  of  Arcesilaus,  iv.  160 
Etearchus,  king  of  Axus,  iv,  154 

,  king  of  the  Ammonians,  ii.  52 

Eteocles,  father  of  Laodamas,  v.  61 
Euaenetus,  son  of  Carenus,  vii.  173 
Euagoras,  a  Lacedaemonian,  vi.  103 
Eualcides,  general  of  the  Eretrians,  v.  lOJ 
Eubcea,  "iv.  33;  v.  31;  vi.  100;  vii.  15i  ; 

viii.  4,  13,  20 
Euclides  and  Cleander,  vii.  155 
Euelthon,  king  of  Salamis,  in  Cj^jrus,  iv, 

162;  V.  104 
Evenius,  father  of  Deiphonus,  ix.  92 — 9! 
Euesperides,  islands  on  the  coast  of  Libva, 

iv.  171 

,  people  of  Libya,  iv.  198 

Eumenes,  an  Atlienian  captain,  viii.  93 
Eumenides,  temple  of  the,  iv.  149 ;  ix.  97 
Eunomus,  son  of  Polydectes,  viii.  131 
Eupalinus,  son  of  Naiistrophus,  iii.  60 
Euphorbus,  son  of  Alcimachus,  vi.  101 
Euphorion,  father  of  iEschylus,   ii.  156 ; 

vi.  114 

father  of  Laphanes,  vi.  127 


Euphrates,  i.  180,  184,  185,  191 ;  v.  52 
Euripus,  the  strait  of  Euboea,  v.  77 ;  V  i. 

173,  182;  viii,  15 
Europa  of  Tyre,  i.  2,  173  ;  iv.  45 
Europe,  iii.  115;  iv.  42,  45  ;  vii,  5 
Euryanax,  son  of  Dorieus,  ix,  10,  53,  55 
Eurybates  of  Argos,  vi.  92  ;  ix,  75 
Eurybiades,  commander  of  the  Grecian 

fleet,  viii,  2,42,74,  124 
Euryclides,  father  of  Eurybiades,  viii.  2 
Eurycrates,  son  of  Polydorus,  vii.  204 
Eurycratides,  son  of  Anaxander,  vii.  204 
Eurydame,  wife  of  Leotychides,  vi.  71 
Eurydemus,  father  of  Ephialtes,  vii.  213 
Euryleon,  a  companion  of  Dorieus,  v.  46 
Eurymachus,  father  of  Leontiades,  vii.  205 
son  of  Leontiades,  vii.  233 


Euryphon,  son  of  Procles,  viii.  131 
Eurypylus,  son  of  Aleuas,  ix.  58 
Eurysthenes,  son  of  Aristodemxis,  iv.  117  ; 

V.  40;  vi.  51,52;  vii.  204;  viii.  131 
Eurystheus,  king  of  Argos,  ix,  26,  27 
Eurytus,  a  Spartan,  vii.  229 
Euthynus,  father  of  Hermolycus,  ix.  105 
Eutychides,  father  of  Sonhanes,  ix,  73 
Euxine  sea,  i.  6,  72 ;  iv,  »7,  46 
Exampaeus,  a  Scythian  region,  iv.  52,  81 

Gades,  beyond  the  Pillars  of  Hercules, 

iv.  8 
Gaeson,  a  river  near  Mycale,  ix.  97 
i;alepsus,  a  city  of  Macedonia,  ■sn.  Vii 
Gallaica,  a  region  of  Macedonia,  vii.  IOI» 


G02 


INDEX. 


Gandarians,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  90 ;  vii. 

66 
Garamantes,  a  people  of  Libya,  iv.  174,  183 
Gargaphian  fountain,  near  Plataea,  ix.  25, 

49,50 
Gauanes,  brother  of  Perdiccas,  viii.  137 
Gebeleizis,  god  of  the  Getae,  iv.  94 
Gela,  a  city  of  Sicily,  vi.  23 ;  vii.  153,  154, 

156 
Geleon,  son  of  Ion,  v.  66 
Gelon,  tyrant  of  Syracuse,  vii.  145 — 162 
Gelonus,  son  of  Hercules,  iv.  10 
,  a  wooden  city  in  Scythia,  iv.  108, 

123 
Gephyraeans,  a  family  at  Athens,  v.  57, 62 
GeraDstus,  a  town  of  Eubcea,  viii.  7 ;   ix. 

105 
Gergis,  a  Persian  general,  vii,  82 
GergithjB,Teucrians,  v.  122  ;  vii.  43 
Germanians,  a  Persian  tribe,  i.  125 
Gerrhus,  a  region  and  river  of  Scythia,  iv. 

19,47,  53,  71 
Geryon,  a  monster,  iv.  8 
Getae,  a  people  of  Thrace,  iv.  93 — 96 
Gigonus,  a  town  of  Crossaea,  vii.  123 
Giligammae,  a  people  of  Libya,  iv.  109 
Gillus,  an  exile  of  Tarentum,  iii.  138 
Gindanes,  a  people  of  Libya,  iv.  176 
Glaucou,  father  of  Leager,  ix.  75 
Glaucus,  aChian  artist,  i.  25 

,  a  Spartan,  vi.  86 

-,  son  of  Hippolochus,  i.  147 

Glisas,  a  town  near  the  Thermodon,  ix. 

43 
Gnurus,  a  Scytluan,  iv.  76 
Gobryas,  father  of  Mardonius,  iii.  70,  73, 

iv.  132,  134;  vi.  43  ;  vii.  5,  82 
Gonnus,  a  city  of  Thessaly,  vii.  128,  173 
Gordius,  father  of  Midas,  i.  14 ;  viii.  138 

•,  son  of  Midas,  i.  35 

Gorgo,  daughter  of  Cleomenes,  v.  48,  51 , 

vii.  239 
Gorgus,  king  of  Salamis,  in  Cyprus,  v. 

104,  115 

,  a  Persian  general,  vii.  98 

Greeks,  passim. 

Grinus,  king  of  Thera,  iv.  150 

Grynea,  an  ^olian  city,  i.  149 

Gygaea,  daughter  of  Amyntas,  v.  21  ;  viii. 

136 
Gyges,  king  of  Sardis,  i.  8—14,  91 

-,  father  of  Myrsus,  iii.  122  ;  v.  121 

Gyndes,  a  river  of  Armenia,  i.  189,  202; 

V.  52 
Gyzantes,  a  people  of  Libya,  iv.  194 

Haemus,  Mount,  iv.  49 

Haliacmon,  a  river  of  Macedonia,  vii.  127 

Halicamassus,  a  city  of  Asia  Minor,  i. 

144  ;  ii.  178  ;  viii.  104 
Ilalys,  a  river  of  Asia  Minor,  i.  6,  72,  75  ; 

V.  52  ;  vii.  26 
Hanno,  father  of  Amilcar,  vii.  165 
Hannamithres,  a  Persian  general,  vii.  88 
Harmitides,  father  cf  Dithyrambus,  viii. 


Harmocydes,  general  of  the  r'nocians,  ix. 

17 
Harmodius  and  Aristogiton,  v.  55  ;  vi.  109, 

123 
Harpagus,  a  Median  prince,  L  80,  108— 

116,  118,  119,  123,  162—176 

,  a  Persian  general,  vi.  28,  30 

Hebe,  ix.  98 

Hebrus,  a  river  of  Thrace,  iv.  90  ;  vii.  59 

Hecatseus,  a  Greek  historian,  iL  143  ; 

36,  125  ;  vi.  137 
Hector,  son  of  Priam,  iii.  120 
Hegesander,  father  of  Hecataeus,  v.  125 

vi.  137 
Hegesicles,  king  of  Sparta,  i.  65 
Hegesipyla,  daughter  of  Olorus,  vi.  39 
Hegesistratus,  tyrant  of  Sigeum,  v.  94 

,  an  Elian  diviner,  iv.  37 

,  a  Saraian,  ix.  90 

Hegetorides  of  Coos,  ix.  76 

Hegias,  brother  of  Tisamenus,  ix.  33 

Helen,  wife  of  Menelaus,  ii.  112,  113  ; 

94;  vi.  61;  ix.  73 
Helice,  a  city  of  Achaia,  i.  145 
Heliconian  Neptune,  i.  148 
Helioiwlis,  a  city  of  Egypt,  ii.  3,  7—9,  &'i, 

63 
Helisycians,  a  people  of  Gaul,  vii.  165 
Helle,  daughter  of  Athamas,  vii.  58 
Hellen,  father  of  Dorus,  i.  56 
Hellespont,  iv.  38,  85,  95  ;    v.  11 ;   vi.  33 

vii.  33—36,  54,  137 
Hellopian  district  in  Euboea,  viii.  23 
Helots  of  Sparta,  vi.  58,  75,  80,  81 ;  ix.  10, 

11,  28,  80 
Hephaestia,  a  town  of  Lemnos,  vi.  140 
Heraclea,  a  city  of  Sicily,  iv.  93 
Heraclidae,  kings  of  Sardis,  i.  7,  13,  91 

,  of  Sicily,  V.  43 

,  return  to  Peloponnesus,  ix.  26 

Heraclides,  son  of  Ibanolis,  v.  121 

,  father  of  Aristodicus,  i.  158 

,  father  of  Aristagoras,  v.  37 

Herseum,  a  city  of  Thrace,  iv.  90 
Hercules,  ii.  42— 45,  83,   113,  145;  iv.  S^: 

10,59,  82;   vi.  108,  116;  vii.  179,  193, 

198,  204  ;  viii.  131 
,  Pillars  of;  ii.  33;  iv.  8,  42,  43 J 

181,  185 
Hennione,  a  town  of  Peloponnesus,  iii.  59  ; 

viii.  43,  73;  ix.28 
Hermippus,  of  Atarnea,  vi.  4 
Herinolycus,  a  valiant  Athenian,  ix.  105 
Hermophantes,  an  Asian  Greek,  v.  99 
Hennotimus  of  Pedasus,  viii.  104 — 106 
Hermotybies,  Egyptian  warriors,  ii.  164— 

168  ;  vii.  89  ;  ix.  42 
Hermu?,  a  river  of  Asia  Minor,  i.  55,  SO  • 

V.  101 
Herodotus,  i. 

•,  an  Ionian,  viii.  132 


Herophantus  of  Parium,  iv.  138 
Herpys,  a  Theban,  ix.  38 
Hesiod,  the  poet,  ii.  53 ;  iv.  32 
Hiero,  brother  of  Gelon,  vii.  156 
Hieronyrous,  an  Andrian,  ix.  83 


INDEX 


603 


Htmera,  a  city  of  Sicily,  vi.  24  ;  vii.  165 
Hipparchus,  son  of  Pisistratus,  v.  55,  56  ; 

vi.  123;  vii.  6 
Hippias,  son  of  Pisistratus,  i.  61 ;  v.  55, 

91,93,96;  vi.  107 
Hippoclides,  an  Athenian,  vi.  127, 128, 130 
Hippoclus  of  Lampsacus,  iv.  138 
Hippocoon,  father  of  Scseus,  v.  60 
Hippocrates,  father  of  Pisistratus,  i.  59 ; 

v.  65 
,  tyrant  of  Gela,  vi.  23 ;   vii. 

154, 155 

,  son  of  Megacles,  vi.  131 

,  father  of  Smyndyrides,  vi.  127 

Hippocratides,  son  of  Leotychides,  viii. 

131 
Hippolaus,  promontory  in  the  Euxine,  iv. 

53 
Hippolochus,  father  of  Glaucus,  i.  147 
Hippomachus,  a  diviner,  ix.  38 
Hipponicus,  father  of  Callias,  vii.  151 

,  son  of  Callias,  vi.  121 

IlistijEotis,  a  region  of  Euboea,  vii.  175  ; 

viii.  23 

,  a  region  of  Thessaly,  i.  56 

Histiaeus,  tyrant  of  Miletus,  iv.  137,  138, 

141 ;  V.  11,  23,  24,  30,  35,  105—107  ;  vi. 

1—5,  26—30 

,  father  of  Phylacus,  viii.  85 

,  tyrant  of  Termera,  v.  37  ;  vii.  98 

Homer,  ii.  23,  53,  116,  117;  iv.  29,  32;  v. 

67  ;  vii.  161 
Hoples,  son  of  Ion,  v.  66 
llyampeus,  summit  of  Parnassus,  viii.  39 
Hyampolis,  a  city  of  Thessaly,  viii.  28,  33 
Hyatae,  a  tribe  at  Sicyon,  v.  68 
Hybla,  a  city  of  Sicily,  vii.  155 
Hydarnes,  a  Persian,  iii.  70;  vi.  133;  vii. 

135 
,  son  of  Hydarnes,  leader  of  the 

Immortals,  vii.  83,  211 

,  father  of  Sisamnes,  vii.  65 

Hydrea,  an  island  off  Peloponnesus,  iii.  59 
Hyela,  a  city  of  CEnotria,  i.  167 
Hygennians,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  90 
Hylaea,  a  region  of  Scythia,  iv.  9,  18,  54, 

55,  76 
Hylleans,  a  tribe  at  Sicyon,  v.  68 
Hyllus,  son  of  Hercules,  vi.  52  ;  vii.  204  ; 

viii.  131  ;  ix.  26 

,  a  river  of  Lydia,  i.  80 

Hymeas,  sonin-law  of  Darius,  v.  116,  122 
Hymettus,  Mount,  vi.  137 
Hypachaeans,  Cilicians,  vii.  91 
Hypacyris,  a  river  of  Scythia,  iv.  •i7,  55 
Hypanis,  a  river  of  Scythia,  iv.  17,  IS,  47, 

52 
Hyperanthes,  son  of  Darius,  vii.  224 
Hyperboreans,  iv.  13,  33,  35 
Hyperoche    and     Laodice,    Hyperlwrean 

damsels,  iv.  33 — 35 
Hyrcanians,  iii.  117;  vii.  fl2 
Hyrgis,  a  river  of  Scythia,  iv.  57 
Hyria,  a  city  of  Italy,  vii  170 
Hyroeades,  a  Mardian,  i.  «4 
Hysia,  a  town  of  Attica,  v.  74 


Hysise,  a  town  of  Boeotia,  v.  74;  vi.  108; 

ix.  2j,  35 
Hystanes,  father  of  Badres,  vii.  77 
Hystaspes,  father  of  Darius,  i.  209;    iii 

70  ;  V.  83  ;  vii.  224 
,  son  of  Darius,  vii.  64 


lacchus  the  mystic,  viii.  65 
ladmon,  master  of  jEsop,  ii.  134 
lalyssus,  a  Doric  city,  i.  144 
lamidise,  diviners  of  Elis,  v.  44 ;  ?iii.  134 

ix.  33 
lapygia,  or  Apulia,  iii.  138  ;  iv.  99 
lapyges,  Messapian,  vii.  170 
lardanus,  i.  7 

lason,  the  Argonaut,  iv.  179;  vii.  195 
latragoras,  an  Ionian,  v.  37 
Ibanoles,  father  of  Oliatus,  v.  37,  122 
Iberia,  i.  163;  vii.  165 
Icarian  sea,  vi.  95 
Ichnae,  a  city  of  Bottiseis,  vii.  123 
Ichthyophagi,  iii.  19,  20,  23 
Ida,  Mount,  i.  151  ;  vii.  42 
Idanthyrsus,  king  of  Scythia,  iv.  76,  120, 

127 
Idrias,  a  region  of  Caria,  v.  118 
ienysus,  a  town  of  Arabia,  iii.  5 
Ilias,  Troas,  v.  122 
Ilissus,  a  river  of  Attica,  vii.  189 
Ilium,  a  city  of  Troas,  i.  5 ;  ii.  10,  118;  v. 

94 ;  vii.  41 
Illyrians,  i.  196;  iv.  49;  ix.  43 
Imbros,  an  island  of  the  ^Egaean  sea,  \ 

26  ;  vi.  41 
Inarus,  a  Libyan  king,  iii.  12, 15  ;  vii.  7 
India,  its  rare  productions,  iii.  98, 106  ;  iv 

40 
Indians,  iii.  94,  97,  98,  100—106  ;   iv.  44  ; 

V.  3;  vii.  187 
Indus,  the  river,  iii.  98  ;  iv.  44 
Ino,  wife  of  Athamas,  vii.  197 
Intaphernes,  a  Persian  prince,  iii.  70,  78, 

118,119 
Inycus,  a  city  of  Sicily,  vi.  23 
lo,  daughter  of  Inachus,  i.  1,  5 ;  ii.  41 
lolcus,  a  town  of  Magnesia,  v.  94 
Ion,  ancestor  of  the  lonians,  v.  106  ;  vii. 

94 ;  viii.  44 
Ionia,  lonians,  i.  6,  27,  28,  56,  76,  141— 

148, 169,  170  ;  ii.  4,  16,  153, 154,  163, 178; 

iii.  90  ;    iv.  95,  98,  133,  136  ;    v.  28,  35— 

38,  59,  66,  69,  100—102,  108,  117;  vi.  7, 

a,  11,  14,  31,  32,  42,  43  ;  vii.  51,  94,  95  ; 

viii.  22,44,  90,  132;  ix.  90—92,  98,  104, 

106 
Ionian  gulf,  vi.  127 
Iphiclus,  father  of  Protesilaus,  ix.  116 
Iphigenia,  daughter  of  Agamemnon,  iv. 

103 
Irasa,  a  region  of  Libya,  iv.  158 
Is,  a  city  and  river  of  Babylonia,  i.  179 
Isagoras,  son  of  Tisander,  v.  66,  69—73 
Ischenous,  father  of  Pytheas,  vii.  181 ;  riit 

92 
I8i8  of  the  Egyptians,  ii    40,  41,  59,  61 

156;  ir.  166 


604 


INDEX. 


Ismnris,  a  lake  of  Thrace,  vli.  109 
I»monian  Apollo,  i.  52,  92  ;  v.  59 ;  viii.  134 
Isse<)oniaiis,  a  people  of  Northern  Asia, 

i.  201 ;  iv.  13,  15,  25—27 
Ister,  a  river  of  Scythia,  ii.  33 ;  iv.  47—50 
Isthmus  of  Corinth,  viii.  40;  ix.  7, 10 

,  Cnidian,  i.  174 

of  the  Chersonese,  vi.  36 

Istria,  country  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ister, 

ii.  33  ;  iv.  78 
Italy,  i.  167  ;  iii.  136  ;  iv.  15  ;  v.  43 ;  vi.  127 
Itanus,  a  city  of  Crete,  iv.  151 
Ithamatres,  a  Persian  general,  vii.  67 
Ithamitres,  a  Persian  admiral,  vfii.  130; 

ix.  102 
Juno,  i.  31 ;  ii.  50,  vi,  81,  82, 182  ;  ix.  52,61 
Jupiter,  Belus,  i,  181,  183;  iii.  158 

,  Uodonaean,  ii.  54,  55 

,  E;,'yptian,  i.  182  ;  ii.  32,  42,  54,  56, 

83;  iv.  181 

,  Ethiopian,  ii.  29;  iii.  25;  iv.  5 

,  Grecian,  i.  171  ;  ii.  7 ;  iii.  142;  v. 

66,  119;  vi.  56,58;  ix.  7,  81 

,  Persian,  i.  131 ;  vii.  40;  viii.  115 

,  Scythian,  iv.  59 

lyrces,  a  Scythian  people,  iv.  22 

Labda,  daughter  of  Amphion,  v.  92 
Labdacus,  father  of  Laius,  v.  59 
Labranda,  a  city  of  Caria,  v.  119 
Labynetus,  king  of  Babylon,  i.  74,  7t 

,  king  of  Assyria,  i.  188 

Lacedaemon,    Lacedaemonians,  i.  56,  65, 
70,  82,  83,  141,  152;   iii.  39,  46,  47,  54— 
56  ;  iv  145,  149,  161 ;  v.  15,  29,  39, 42,  62, 
63,  68,  91,  92;  vi.  48,  52,  56—65,  84,  85, 
105,  106,  108,  120,  129;  vii.  133,  137,  138, 
149,   153—156,  202—212,  223—226,  231, 
234,  239;  viii.  1—3,  114,  124,  142;    ix. 
6—11,  19,  28,  33,  35,  54,  62,  64,  70,  71, 
73,  81,  85,  102,  106,  124 
Lacraon,  Mount,  ix.  92 
Lacrines,  a  Spartan,  i.  152 
Lada,  an  island  near  Miletus,  vi.  7 
Ladice,  wife  of  Amasis,  ii.  181 
Laius,  iv.  149;  v.  43,  59 
Lampito,  daughter  of  Leotychides,  vi.  71 
Lampon,  an  jEginetan,  ix.  78 

,  son  of  Thrasycles,  ix.  90 

,  father  of  Olympiodorus,  ix.  21 

Lamponium,  a  city  of  Troas,  v.  26 
Lampsacus,  a  city  of  the  Hellespont,  v.  17; 

vi.  37,  38 
Laodamas,  son  of  Eteocles,  v.  61 

,  a  Phocaean,  iv.  138 

Laodice  and  Hyperoche,  iv.  33 

Laphanes,  son  of  Euphorion,  vi.  127 

Laphystian  Jupiter,  vii.  197 

Lasonians,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  90 ;  vii.  77 

Lasus  of  Hermione,  vii.  6 

Latona,  oracle  of,  ii.  155,  156 

Laurian  mines,  vii.  144 

Laus,  a  city  of  the  Sybarites,  vi.  21 

Leager,  son  of  Glaucon,  ix.  75 

Learchus,  brother  of  Arcesilaus,  iv.  IGO 

Lehadia,  a  town  of  Roec'ia,  viii.  13* 


Lebaea,  a  city  of  Macedonia,  vlli.  1 )/ 
Lebedus,  a  city  of  Lydia,  i.  142 
Lectus,  promontory,  ix.  114 
Leipsydrium,  a  city  above  Paeonia,  v.  GS 
Lemnos,  an  island  of  the  Mgssaji  sea,  iv 

145  ;  v.  26  ;  vi,  138,  140 ;  viii.  73 
Leo,  a  Troezenian,  vii.  180 
Leobotes,  king  of  Sparta,  i.  65  ;  vii.  204 
Leocedes,  son  of  Phidon,  vi.  127 
Leon,  king  of  Sparta,  i.  65 ;  vii,  205 
Leonidas,  king  of  Sparta,  v,  41 ;  vii.  204— 

206,219—228,238;  viii.  114 
Leontiades,  aTheban  general,  vii.  205,  23S 
Leontinians,  a  people  of  Sicily,  vii.  154 
Leoprepes,  father  of  Theasides,  vi.  85 

,  father  of  Simonides,  vii.  228 

Leotychides,  king  of  Sparta,  vi.  65 — 67, 

71—73,  85;  vii.  86;  viii.  131;  ix.  90— 


« 


92,  98 


-,  son  of  Anaxilaus,  viii  131 


Lepreum,  a  city  of  the  Minyans,  iv.  148 

ix.  28 
Leros,  an  island  near  Miletus,  v.  125 
Lesbos,  an  island  of  the  iEgaean  sea,  L 

151,  100;  iii.  39;  iv.  61;  vi.  31 
Leucadians,  islanders  of  the  Ionian  sea, 

viii.  45,47;  ix,  28 
Leuce-actI,  a  coast  of  Thrace,  viL  25 
Leucon,  a  city  of  Libya,  iv.  160 
Libya,  Libyans,  ii,  15—17,  32,  33,  50,  158 ; 

iii,  13,  91,  96;   iv.  42,45,  150,  155,  159, 

168,  172,  180,  181,  186—191,  196— 19S; 

vii.  71,  86,  165,  184 
Liches,  a  Spartan,  i.  67 
Lida,  Mount,  1.  174 

Ligures,  a  people  of  Gaul,  v.  9  ;  vii.  165 
Ligyes,  a  people  of  Asia,  vii,  72 
Limeneum,  a  place  in  the  Milesian  terri- 
tory, i.  118 
Lindus,  a  Doric  city,  i.  144;  ii.  182;  iii. 

47;  vii.  153 
Lipaxus,  a  city  of  Crossaea,  vii,  123 
Lipoxais,  son  of  Targitaus,  iv.  5,  6 
Lipsydrium,  see  Leipsydrium. 
Lisae,  a  city  of  Crossaea,  vii.  123 
Lissus,  a  river  of  Thrace,  vii.  108 
Locrians,  vii,  132 

,  Epizephyrian,  vi.  23 

,  Opuntian,  vii.  132,  203;  viii.  1 

,  Osolae,  viii.  32 

Lotophagi,  iv.  177 

Lucina,  iv.  35 

Lycaean  Jupiter,  iv.  203 

Lycaretus,  brother  of  Maeandrius,  iii.  143; 

V.  27 
Lycia,  Lycians,  i.  28,  173, 176;  iii.  90  ;  vii 

77,  92 
Lycidas,  an  Athenian  senator,  ix.  5 
Lycomedes,  a  valiant  Athenian,  viiL  11 
Lycopas,  a  valiant  Spartan,  iii.  55 
Lycophron,  son  of  Periander,  iii.  50 — 53 
Lycurgus,  the  Spartan  legislator,  i.  65^  <X 

,  an  Athenian,  i.  59 

,  an  Arcadian,  vi.  127 

Lycus,  a  river  of  Phrj'gia,  vii.  30 
,  a  river  of  Scytliia,  iv.  123 


I 


IKDEX. 


605 


t/cu8,  a  Scythian,  iv.  76 

,  son  of  Pandion,  i.  1 73 ;  vii.  92 

Lydia,  Lydians,  i.  7,  35,  54,  74,  76,  79,  80, 

93,  94,  103,  154—157,  171 ;  iii.  90 ;  v.  49, 

101  ;  vii.  74 
I.ydias,  a  river  of  Macedonia,  vii.  127 
Lydus,  son  of  Atys,  i.  7,  171  ;  vii.  74 
Lygdamis,  fatiier  of  Artemisia,  vii.  99 

,  a  Naxian,  i.  Gl,  64 

f.ynceus  and  Danaus,  ii.  91 
I-ysagoras,  a  Parian,  vi.  133 

,  father  of  Histiaeus,  v.  30 

Lysanias,  an  Eretrian,  vi.  127 
Lysimachus,  father  of  Aristides,  viii.  75, 9 J 
Lysistratus,  an  Athenian  diviner,  viii.  96 

Maces,  a  people  of  Libya,  iv.  172,  175; 

V.  42 
Macednic  race,  i.  56  ;  viii.  43 
Macedonia,  Macedonians,  v.  22 ;  vi.  44 ; 

vii.  126,  127  ;  viii.  137  ;  ix.  30 
Machlyes,  a  people  of  Libya,  iv.  178 
Macistius,  or  Masistius,  a  Persian  general, 

ix.  20—24 
Macistus,  a  city  of  the  Minyans,  iv.  148 
Macrobian  ^Ethiopians,  see  ^Ethiopians 
Macrones,  a  people  beyond  the  Thermo- 

don,  ii.  104;  iii.  94;  vii.  78 
Mactorium,  a  town  of  Sicily,  viL  153 
Madyes,  a  Scythian,  i.  103 
Madytus,  a  city  of  the  Chersonese,  vii.  33  ; 

ix.  120 
Ma2ander,  a  river  of  Caria,  i.  18;  ii.  29; 

iii.  122;  v.  118;  vii.  26 
Ma;andrius,  a  Samian,  iii.  123,  142—148; 

V.  27 
Maeonians,  Lydian,  i.  7 ;  vii.  74 

,  Cabalian,  vii.  77 

Maeotis,  Palus,  i.  104;   iv.  3,  5,  57,  86, 

99,  101 
Magdolus,  a  city  of  Syria,  ii.  159 
Magi,  a  Median  tribe,  i.  101 
Magnesia  of  Asia  Minor,  i.  161  ;  iii.  122 

of  Macedonia,  vii.  176,  183,  193 

Magnetes  of  Europe,  vii.  132 

of  Asia,  iii.  90 

Malean  promontory,  i.  82  ;  iv.  179 ;  vii.  168 
Malena,  a  city  of  Atarnea,  vi.  29 
Males,  brother  of  Titormus,  vi.  127 
Maliac  territory  and  gulf,  iv.  33  ;  vii.  132, 

196,  198;  viii.  31 
Mandane,  daughter  of  Astyages,  i.  107 
Mandrocles,  a  Samian  architect,  iv.  87,  88 
Manes,  king  of  Lydia,  i.  94 ;  iv.  45 
Mantineans,  iv.  161 ;  vii.  202  ;  ix.  77 
Mantyas  and  Pigres,  v.  12 
Mapen,  son  of  Siromus,  vii.  98 
Maraphians,  a  tribe  of  Persians,  i.  125 ; 

iv.  167 
Marathon,  i.  62  ;  vi.  106,  107 
Mardians,  a  Persian  tribe,  i.  84,  125 
Mardonius,  vi.  43 — 45,  94 ;  vii.  5—9,  82  ; 

viii.  100—113,  133—136;   ix.  1—4,  12— 

15,  38,  49,  59,  63,  84 
Mardontes,  a  Persian  general,  vii.  80 ;  viii. 

laO;  ix.  102 


Marei,  f  dty  of  Egypt,  ii.  18,  30 
Mares,  or  Marsians,  iii.  94  ;  vii.  79 
Mariandynians,  a  people  of  Asia  Min<w 

i.  28  ;  iii.  90 ;  vii.  72 
Maris,  a  river  of  Scythia,  iv.  49 
Maron  and  Alpheus,  vii.  227 
Maronea,  a  city  of  Thrace,  vii.  109 
Mars,  the  Egyptian,  ii.  63,  83 

,  the  Scythian,  iv.  59,  62 

Marsyas,  a  river  of  Phrygia,  v.  119 

,  Silenus,  vii.  26 

Mascames,  a  Persian  governor,  vii.  105 

106 
Masistes,  son  of  Darius,  vii.  82  ;  ix.  lOf 

113 
Masistius,  see  Macistius 

,  son  of  Siromitres,  vii.  79 

Mafpians,  a  Persian  tribe,  i.  125 
Massages,  a  Persian  general,  vii.  71 
Massagetae,  a  people  of  Northern  Asia,  i. 

201,  205,  212,  214—216;  iv.  11,  172 
Matianian  mountains,  i.  189,  202 
Matienians,  i.  72  ;  iii.  94 ;  v.  49,  52  ;  vii.  72 
Mausolus,  V.  118 
Maxyes  of  Libya,  iv.  191 
Mazares,  a  Mede,  i.  156,  161 
Mecistes,  brother  of  Adrastus,  v.  67 
Mecyberna,  a  city  of  Thrace,  vii.  122 
Medea,  daughter  of  the  king  of  Colcliis, 

i.  2  ;  vii.  62 
Modes,  i.  95—101 ;  iv.  37,  40 ;  vii.  62,  67, 

80,  210;   ix.  73,  74,  77,  102—104,  106, 

130 
Media,  i.  72,  110,  132,  135;  iii.  82,  92;  vL 

112;  vii.  116 
Megabates,  a  Persian  general,  v.  32  ;  vii.  97 
Megabazus,  son  of  Megabates,  vii.  97 
Megabyzus,  (also  called    Megabazus,)  a 

Persian  general,  iii.  70,  81 ;  iv.  143,  144  ; 

V.  1,  14,23 

,  son  of  Zopyrus,  iii.  160 ;  vii.  82 

Megacles,  an  Athenian,  i,  59,  61 — 64;  vi. 

125 

,  son  of  AlcnicEon,  vi.  127—130 

,  son  of  Hippocrates,  vi.  131 

Megacreon  of  Abdera,  vii.  120 
Megadostes,  father  of  Mascames,  vii.  10.5 
Megapanus,  governor  of  Babylon,  vii.  6l 
Megara,  Megarians,  i.  59  ;  ix.  14,  21 

of  Sicily,  vii.  156 

Megasidras,  father  of  Dotus,  vii.  72 
Megistias,  diviner  to  the  Spartans  at  The> 

mopylae,  vii.  219,  221,  228 
Melampus,  a  seer,  ii.  49;  vii.  221 ;  ix.  34 
Melampygus,  a  rock  near  the  Asopus,  vii. 

216 
Mclan'Jilajnians,  a  people  of  Northern 

Asia,  iv.  20,  100.  102,  107 
Melanippus,  a  hero,  v.  67 

of  Mitylene,  v.  95 

Melanthius,  an  Athenian  commander,  t. 

97 
Melanthus,  father  of  Codrus,  i.  147 ;  t.  Cj 
Melas,  a  river  of  Thessaly,  vii.  198 
Meianic  gulf  and  river,  vi.  41 ;  vii.  S6 
Mele«,  king  of  Sardis,  i.  S4 


606 


IKDEX. 


Meliboea,  a  city  of  Magnesia,  vii.  188 

Melians,  «r  Malians,  vii.  132 

Melissa,  wife  of  Periander,  iii.  50 ;  v.  92 

Membliarus,  son  of  Pseciles,  iv.  147 

Memnon,  city  of,  vii.  151 

Memphis,  a  city  of  Egypt,  ii.  3,  10,  99 

Menares,  father  of  Leotycliides,  vi.  65,  71  ; 

viii.  131 
Menda,  a  city  of  Pallene,  vii,  123 
Mendes,  Egyptian  Pan,  ii.  42,  46 
Mendesian  plain,  ii.  42,  4G,  166 

mouth  of  the  Nile,  ii.  17 

Menelaus,  husband  of  Helen,  ii.  119 
Menes,  first  king  of  Egypt,  ii.  4,  99 
Menius,  brother  of  Eurydame,  vi.  71 
Merbal,  son  of  Agbal,  vii.  98 
Mercury,  ii.  51,  138 

,  Thracian,  v.  7 

Mermnades,  kings  of  Sardis,  i.  7,  14 
MeroJi,  a  city  of  Ethiopia,  ii  29 
Mesambria,  a  city  of  Thrace,  iv.  93  ;    vi. 

33;  vii.  108 
Messana,  a  city  of  Sicily,  vii.  164 
Messapian  Japyges,  vii.  170 
Messenians  of  Peloponnesus,  ix.  35,  64 
Metapontines  of  Italy,  iv.  15 
Methymnae,  a  city  of  Lesbos,  i.  151 
Metiochus,  son  of  Miltiades,  vi.  41 
Metrodorus,  tyrant  of   Proconnesus,   iv. 

138 
Micythus,  servant  of  Anaxilaus,  vii.  170 
Midas,  king  of  Phrygia,  i.  14,  35  ;  viii.  138 
Miletus  and  Milesians,  of  Ionia,  i.  14,  15, 

17—22,  142,  143;    ii.  33;    v.  28— 30,  3G, 

120;  vi.  5,  18,20,  21  ;  ix.  97 
Milo,  a  wrestler,  iii.  137 
Miltiades,  son  of  Cypselus,  vi.  34 — 38 
,    son  of  Cimon,  tyrant  of  the 

Chersonese,  iv.  137;    vi.  33—41,   104, 

109,  132—137,  140 
Milyas,  a  province  of  Asia,  i.  175  ;  iii.  90  ; 

vii.  77 
Minerva,  Egyptian,  ii.  62,  83,  175,  182 
,  Grecian,  i.  19,  22,  62,  92,  160, 

175;  iii.  59;  iv.  180,188,  189;  v.  45,59, 

72,  82,  83,  95 ;    vii.  43,  72  ;    viii.  37,  39, 

55,  94,  104 ;  ix.  70 

-,  Libyan,  iv.  189 

Minoa,  a  colony  from  Selinus,  v.  46 

Minos,  of  Cnossus,  iii.  122 

,  son  of  Europa,  i.  173  ;   vii.  169 — 

171 
Minyans,  descendants  of  the  Argonauts, 

i.  146  ;  iv,  145—148 
Mitra,  the  Persian  Venus,  i.  131 
Mitradates,  foster  father  of  Cyrus,  i.  110, 

111 
Mitrobates,  a  Persian  prince,  iii.  120 — 127 
Mitylene,  capital  of  Lesbos,  i.  27,  160;  ii. 

78 ;  V.  94 
Mnesarchus,  father  of  Pythagoras,  iv.  95 
Mnesiphilus,  friend  of  Themistocles,  viii. 

57 
MoeriB,  king  of  Egypt,  ii.  13, 101 

,  lake  of,  ii.  4,  69,  148, 149 ;  ill.  9J 

Molneis,  a  stream  of  Boeotia,  ix.  67 


Molossians,  a  people  of  Eoirus,  i.  146  ;  vi 

127 
Molpagoras,  father  of  Aristagoras,  v,  SO 
Momemphis,  a  city  of  Egypt,  ii,  163 
Mophi,  a  mountain  of  Upper  Egypt,  ii,  28 
Moschians,  a  peoole  of  Asia,  iii,  94 ;   viL 

73 
Mosynoeci,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii,  94  ;  vii. 

78 
Munychia,  a  port  of  Attica,  viii,  76 
Murichides,  a  Hellespontine,  ix.  4 
Musaeus,  a  seer,  vii.  6  ;  viii.  96  ;  ix.  4 
Mycale,  a  promontory  opposite  Samos,  i. 

148;  vi.  16;  vii.  80;  ix.  90,  96,98,  104, 

107 
Mycenaeans,  a  people  of  Argolis,  vii.  202  ; 

ix,  27,  28 
Mycerinus,  king  of  Egypt,  ii.  129,  132, 131 
Mycians,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  93  ;  vii.  68 
Myconos,  an  island  near  Delos,  vi,  118 
Myecphoris,  a  district  in  Egypt,  ii.  1G6 
Mygdonia,  a  district  of  Macedonia,  vii 

123,  124,  127 
Mylasa,  a  Carian  town,  i.  171 ;  v.  37,  121 
Mylitta,  Assyrian  Venus,  i.  131,  199 
Myndian  ship,  v,  33 

Myrcinus,  a  town  of  Edonia,  v.  11,  23,  124 
Myriandrian  gulf,  iv.  38 
Myrina,  an  iEolian  city,  i.  149 
Myrinseans,  a  people  in  Lemnos,  vi.  140 
Myrmex,  a  rock  near  Sciathus,  vii.  183 
Myron,  father  of  Aristonymus,  vi.  126 
Myrsilus — Candaules,  i.  7 
Myrsus,  father  of  Candaules,  i.  7 

son  of  Gyges,  iii.  122 ;  v.  121 


Mys,  of  Europus,  viii.  133—135 
Mysians,  a  people  of  Asia  Minor,  i.  28, 160, 

171;  iii.  90;  v.  122  ;  vii.  20,  42,  74 
Mytilene,  see  Mitylene 
Myus,  a  town  of  Ionia,  i.  142  ;  v.  36  ;  vi.  I 

Naparis,  a  river  of  Scythia,  iv.  48 
Nasamones,  a  people  of  Libya,  ii.  32  •   \y. 

172,  182,  190 
Natho,  an  island  of  the  Nile,  ii.  165 
Naucratis,  a  port  of  the  Delta,  ii.  97,  135, 

178,  179 
Nauplia,  a  port  of  Argolis,  vi.  76 
Naustrophus,  father  of  Eupalinus,  iii.  60 
Naxos,  one  of  the  Cyclades,  i,  64  ;   v.  28, 

30  ;  vi,  9& ;  vii.  154  ;  viii.  46 
Neapolis,  a  town  of  Pallene,  vii,  123 

,  a  city  of  Egypt,  ii.  91 

Neco,  father  of  Psammitichus,  ii.  152 

,  king  of  Egypt,  ii,  158,  159;  iv,  42 

Neleus,  son  of  Codrus,  v.  65 ;  ix.  21 
Neocles,  father  of  Themistocles,  vii.  173 
Neon,  a  town  of  Phocis,  viii.  32,  33 
Neon-Teichos,  an  iEolian  town,  i.  149 
Neptune,  i.  148;   ii.  50;   iv.  59,  180,  188j 

vii.  129,  192;  viii.  55, 123,  129;  ix.  81 
Nereids,  vii.  191 

Nestor,  father  of  Pisistratus,  T.  65 
Nestus,  a  river  near  Abdera,  vii.  10J>.  IM 
Neurians,  a  Scythian  people,  \y.  IT,  &\ 

100,  105 


IJ^DEX. 


607 


k»nder,  king  of  Sparta,  viii.  181 

icandra.  priestess  at  Dodona,  ii.  Si 

icodroiiius,  of  iEgina,  vi.  88 

icolaus,  son  of  Bulls,  vii.  137 
Nile,  a  river  of  Egypt,  ii.  10—34,  61,  99  ; 

iv.  45,  53;  vi.  50 
Nineveh,  i.  102,  103,  106,  150,  185,  193; 

iii.  155 
Ninus,  son  of  Belus,  i.  7 
Nipsaean  Thracians,  i.  59 
Nissea,  a  town  of  Megara,  iii.  106  ;  vii.  40 
Nisaean  plain,  vii.  40 
Nisyros,  an  island  near  Rhodes,  vii.  99 
Nitetis,  daughter  of  Apries,  iii.  1 
Nitocris,  queen  of  Babylon,  i.  185,  187 

,  queen  of  Egypt,  ii.  100 

No6s,  a  river  of  Thrace,  iv.  49 
Nonacris,  a  toAvn  of  Arcadia,  vi.  74 
Nothon,  father  of  iEschines,vi.  100 
Notium,  an  iEolian  town,  i  149 
Nudium,  a  town  of  the  Mii;yans,  ii.  148 
Nymphodorus,  son  of  Pytheas,  vii.  137 
Nysa,  a  town  of  Ethiopia,  ii.  146  ;  iii.  1 1 1 

Oarizus,  father  of  Massages,  vii.  71 
Oarus,  a  river  of  Scythia,  iv.  123 
Oasis,  a  city  of  Libya,  iii.  26 
Ocean,   a  supposed  river,  encompassing 

the  earth,  ii.  23  ;  iv.  8,  36 
Octamasades,  brother  of  Scylas,  iv.  80 
Ocytus,  father  of  Adimantus,  viii.  5,  59 
Odomantians,  a  people  of  Thrace,  v.  16  ; 

vii.  112 
Odrysaeans,  a  people  of  Thrace,  iv.  92 
CEa,  a  place  in  Mg'ma,  v.  80,  83 
O-'.bares,  groom  of  Darius,  iii.  85 

,  son  of  Megabazus,  vi.  33 

(Edipus,  son  of  Laius,  iv.  149 ;  v.  60 

tEnoe,  a  town  of  Attica,  v.  74 

CEnone,  ancient  name  of  iEgina,  viii.  46 

CEnotria,  a  district  of  Italy,  i.  167 

(Enyssae,  islands  ofFMessenia,  i.  105 

OSobazus,  a  Persian,  iv.  84 

,  a  Persian,  slain  by  the  Thra 

cians,  ix.  115,  119 

,  father  of  Siromitres,  vii.  68 

OSroe,  daughter  of  Asopus,  ix.  51 
CEta,  Mount,  vii.  176,  217 
(Etosyrus,  Scythian  Apollo,  iv.  59 
(Eolycus,  i.  149 
Olen,  a  poet,  iv.  35 
Olenus,  a  town  of  Achaia,  i.  145 
Oliatus,  tyrant  of  Mylasa,  v.  37 
Olophyxus,  a  town  of  Mount  Athos,  vii.  22 
Olorus,  king  of  Thrace,  vi.  39,  41 
Olympia,  Olympic  games,  ii.  7,  160 ;  v.  22, 

47,71;   vi.  70,  103,  125;   vii.  206;  viii. 

26,  134;  ix.34,  81 
Olympiodorus,  son  of  Lampon,  ix.  21 
Olympus,  Mount,  of  Mysia,  i.  36,  43 ;  vii. 

,  Mount,  of  Thessaly,  i.  56  ;   vii. 

128,129,172 
Olynthus,  a  town  of  Sithonia,  vii.  122; 

viii.  127 
Oneatae,  a  tribe  at  Sicyon,  v.  68 


Onesilus,  brother  of  Gorgus,  v.  104—115 
Onetes,  son  of  Phanagoras,  vii.  214 
Onochonus,  a  river  of  Thessaly,  vii.  129, 

196 
Onomacritus,  a  diviner,  vii.  6 
Onomastus,  son  of  Agasus,  vi.  127 
Onuphis,  a  district  of  Egypt,  ii.  166 
Oplirynium,  a  town  of  Troas,  vii.  43 
Opis  and  Arge,  iv.  35 
,  a  town  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tigris, 

i.  189 
Opo-'a,  wife  of  Scylas,  iv.  78 
Opuntian  Locrians,  vii.  203 
Orbelus,  Mount,  of  Paeonia,  v.  16 
Orcliomenians,  of  Boeotia,  viii.  34 

^  of  Arcadia,  vii.  202  ;  ix.  28 

,  Minyan,  i.  146 

Ordessus,  a  river  of  Scythia,  iv.  48 
Orestes,  son  of  Agamemnon,  i.  68,  69  ;  ix 

11 
Orges,  father  of  Antipater,  vii.  118 
Oricus,  a  port  of  Apollonia,  ix.  93 

,  son  of  Ariapithes,  iv.  78 

Orithyia,  wife  of  Boreas,  vii.  189 
Orneates,  a  people  of  Peloponnesus,  v.  68 ; 

viii.  73 
Oroetes,  governor  of  Sardis,  iii.  120—127 
Oromedon,  father  of  Syennesis,  vii.  98 
Oropus,  a  port  of  Boeotia,  vi.  100 
Orsiphantus,  a  Spartan,  vii.  227 
Orthocorybantians,  a  neople  of  Media,  iii. 

92 
Orus,  son  of  Osiris,  ii.  144 
Osiris,  I'^gyptian  Bacchus,  see  Bacchus 
Ossa,  Mount,  of  Thessaly,  i.  56  ;  vii.  128, 

129 
Otanes,  a  Persian  prince,  iii.  67 — 72,  76, 

83,  141,144,  147,  149 

,  son  of  Sisamnes,  v.  25,  26, 116, 12S 

,  father  of  Amestris,  vii.  61 

,  father  of  Pitaramphes,  vii.  40 

Otaspes,  son  of  Artachaeus,  vii.  63 
Othryades,  a  Spartan,  i.  82 
Othrys,  Mount,  of  Thessaly,  vii.  129 
Ozolae,  Locrians,  viii.  32 

Pactolus,  a  river  of  Lydia,  v.  101 
Pactya,  a  town  of  the  Chersonese,  vi.  36 
Pactyas,  a  Lydian,  ii.  153—100 
Pactyica,  a  country  of  Asia,  iii.  93,  102  ; 

iv.  44;  vii.  67,  85 
Padaean  Indians,  iii.  99 
Paeanians,  a  tribe  at  Athens,  i.  60 
Paeonia,  Pasonians,  iv.  33,  49;  v.  1,  12— 

15,  98;  vii.  124,185 
Pasoples,  a  people  of  Thrace,  v.  15  ;  vii. 

113 
Pacsus,  a  town  of  the  Hellespont,  v.  117 
Paetians,  a  people  of  Thrace,  vii.  110 
Paeum,  a  town  of  Arcadia,  vi.  127 
Pagasa.  a  town  of  Magnesia,  vii.  193,  198 
Paleans  of  Cephallenia,  ix.  28 
Palestine,  i.  104,  105 ;  ii.  106 ;   iii.  5;  vU. 

69,89 
Pallene,  a  peninsula  of  Macedoni*,  tU. 

123;  viii.  126 


608 


INDEX. 


Pamisus,  a  river  of  Thessaly,  vii.  129 
Pammon,  a  Scyrian,  vii.  183 
Pamphylians,  a  people  of  Asia  Miuor,  i. 

28 ;  iii.  90  ;  vii.  91 

of  Sicyoii,  V.  68 

Pan,  ii.  46,  145,  146  ;  vi.  105,  106 
Panaetius,  son  of  Sosimen««,  viii.  82 
Panathenaea,  (festival,)  v.  56 
I'andion,  father  of  Lycus,  i.  173 ;  vii.  92 
Paii{,'a2us,  Mount,  of  Paeonia,  v.  16;  vii. 

112 
Panionia,  (festival,)  i.  148 
Panionium,  place  of  meeting  of  tho  states 

general  of  Ionia,  i.  143,  147,  148;  vi.  7 
Panionius,  a  Cliian,  viii.  103 — 106 
Panites,  a  Messenian,  vi.  52 
Panopians  of  Phocis,  viii.  34,  35 
Panormus,  a  Milesian  port,  i.  157 
Pantagnotus,  brother  of  Polycrates,  iii.  39 
Pantaleon,  brother  of  Croesus,  i.  92 
Pantareus,  father  of  Cleander,  vii.  154 
Panthialaians,  a  tribe  of  Persians,  i.  125 
Panticapes,  a  river  of  Scythia,  iv.  18,  47, 

54 
Pantimathians,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  92 
Pantites,  a  Spartan,  vii.  232 
Papaeus,  Scythian  Jupiter,  iv.  59 
Paplilagonians,  a  people  of  Asia  Minor, 

i.  6,  28,  72  ;  iii.  90  ;  vii.  72 
Papremis,  a  city  of  Egypt,  ii.  59,  63,  71. 

165 ;  iii.  12 
I'arsebates,  a  Spartan,  v.  46 
Paralates,  Scythians,  iv.  6 
Parapotamii,  a  town  of  Phocis,  viii.  33 
Paretacenians,  Medes,  i.  101 
Paricanians,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  94;  vii. 

68,  86 
Parium,  a  town  of  the  Hellespont,  v.  1 1 7 
Paris,  see  Alexander 
Parmys,  daughter  of  Smerdis,  iii.  88 ;  vii. 

78 
I'arnassus,  Mount,  of  Thessaly,  viii.  27,  32 
Paroreatae,  a  people  of  Peloponnesus,  iv. 

148 ;  viii.  73 
Paros,  one  of  the  Cyclades,  V.  28,  31 ;  vi. 

133,  135;  viii.  67,  112 
Parthenius,  a  river  of  Thrace,  ii.  104 
,  Mount,  in  Peloponnesus,  vi. 

105 
Parthians,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  93,  117; 

vii.  GG 
Fasargadie,  a  tribe  of  Persians,  i.  125 
pasargades,  a  Persian  commander,  iv.  167 
Pasicles,  father  of  Philistus,  ix.  97 
Pataicus,  father  of  ^Enesidemus,  vii.  154 
Patara,  a  town  of  Lycia,  i.  182 
Patarbemis,  an  Egyptian  prince,  ii.  162 
Patiramphes,  charioteer  to  Xerxes,  vii.  40 
Patizithes,  a  magus,  iii.  61 — 78 
Patrae,  a  town  of  Achaia,  i.  145 
Patumos,  a  town  of  Arabia,  ii.  158 
Pausanias,  son  of  Cleombrotus,  iv.  81  ;  v. 

32;  vii.  204;  viii.  3;  ix.  10,  21,  46,  60, 

53—57,  60—64,  78—82,  88 
Pausicae,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  92 
Paus'jris.  son  of  Amyrtaeus,  iii.  15 


Pedasus,  a  town  of  Caria,  i.  175;  ▼.  lit 

vi.  20 ;  viii.  104 
Pedieae,  a  town  of  Phocis,  viii.  33 
Pelasgians,  i.  56,  57,  146;  ii.  61 ;  iv.  145 1 

V.  26;  vi.  137;  vii.  94;  viii.  44 
Peleus,  king  of  Thessaly,  vii.  191 
Pelion,  Mount,  of  Thessaly,  iv.  179;  viJ. 

129 
Pella,  a  town  of  Bottiaea,  vii.  123 
Pellena,  a  district  of  Peloponnesus,  i.  145 
Peloponnesus,  i.  56,  68;  vii.  137,  233;  viii. 

31,  73;  ix.  73 
Pelops,  a  Phrygian,  vii.  8,  11 
Pelusian  mouth  of  the  Nile,  ii.  1",  154 1 

iii.  10 
Penelope,  mother  of  Pan,  ii.  145 
Peneus,  a  river  of  Thessaly,  viL  20,  128, 

129,  173,  182 
Pentapolis,  a  Dorian  district,  i.  144 
Penthylus,  general  of  the  Paphians,  vii. 

195 
Percalos,  wife  of  Demaratus,  vi.  65 
Percote,  a  town  of  the  Hellespont,  v.  117 
Perdiccas,  ancestor  of  Arayntas,  v.  22  ;  viii. 

137—139 
Pergamus,  citadel  of  Troy,  vii.  43 
-,  a  fort  in  Thrace,  vii.  112 


i 


Perialla,  Pythoness,  vi.  66 

Periander,  tyrant  of  Corinth,  i.  20,  23  ;  iii 

48,  50,  53  ;  v.  92,  (6.) 
Pericles,  his  parentage,  vi.  131 
Perilaus,  general  of  the  Sicyonians,  ix. 

103 
Perinthus,  a  town  of  the  Chersonese,  iv. 

90;  V.  1,  2;  vi.  33;  vii.  25 
Perpherees,  iv.  33 
Perrhaebians,  a  people  of  Thessaly,  vii 

128,  132,  173 
Perses,  son  of  Perses,  vii.  61,  150 
Perseus,  son  of  Danae,  ii.  91 ;  iv.  82 ;  v:, 

53,  54;  vii.  61,  150 
Persians,  passim 
Petra,  a  town  of  the  Corinthians,  v.  92, 

(2.) 
Phaedyma,  daughter  of  Otanes,  iii.  68, 

69,  88 
Phaenippus,  father  of  Callias,  vi.  121        I 
Phagres,  a  fort  of  Pieria,  vii.  112  * 

Phalerus,  the  port  of  Athens,  v.  63,  85; 

vi.  116;  viii.  6G,  91  ;  ix.  V?, 
Phanagoras,  father  of  OriUti;,  vii.  214 
Phanes,  a  Halicarnassian,  iii.  4,  11 
Pharandates,  son  of  Theaspes,  vii.   79; 

ix.  76 
Pharbaethis,  a  district  of  Egypt,  ii.  166 
Pharees,  a  town  of  Achaia,  i.  145 
Pharnaces,  father  of  Artabazus,  vii.  66, 

ix.  41 
Pharnaspes,  father  of  Cassandane,  ii.  1  ,• 

iii.  2 
Pharnazathres,  a  Persian  general,  vii.  65 
Pharnuches,  general  of  cavalry,  viL  88 
I'haselis,  a  Doric  town,  ii.  178 
Phasis,  a  river  of  Colchis,  i.  2,  104 ;  iL  lOfi 

iv   37,  38,  45.  86;  vi.  84 
P'layllus  of  Crotona,  viiu  47 


i 


< 


INDEX. 


609 


PLeg«U3,  father  of  Afcopus,  ix.  26 
Pheneus,  a  town  of  Arcadia,  vi.  74 
Phereiidatea,  son  of  Megabazus,  vii.  67 
Pheretiina,  wife  of   Arcesilaus,   iv.   162, 

202,  205 
Pheron,  king  of  Egypt,  ii.  11 
Phidippides,  a  courier,  vi.  105 
Phidon,  tyrant  of  Argos,  vi.  127 
Phigalia,  a  district  of  Arcadia,  vi.  83 
Philaeus,  son  of  Ajax,  vi.  35 
Philager,  son  of  Cyneas,  vi.  101 
Philaon,  son  of  Chersis,  viii.  11 
Philes,  father  of  Rhoecus,  iii.  60 
Philip  of  Crotona,  v.  47 

,  king  of  Macedonia,  viii.  139 

Philistus,  son  of  Pasicles,  ix.  97 
Philition,  an  Egyptian  shepherd,  ii.  128 
PTiilocyon,  a  Spartan,  ix.  72,  85 
Philocyprus,  tyrant  of  Soli,  v.  113 
Phla,  an  island  of  the  lake  Tritonis,  iv. 

178 
Phlegra,  ancient  name  of  Pallene,  vii.  123 
Phlius,  a  town  of  Peloponnesus,  ix.  28 
Phocaea,  an  Ionian  city  of   Lydia,  i.  80, 

142,  152,  163—167;  ii.  106,  177,  178;  vi. 

8,  11  —  17 
Phocis,  Phocians,  i.  146;  vii.  176,  212,215, 

217;   viii.  27,  30,  32;  ix.  17,  31 
Phnebeum,  temple  of,  vi.  01 
Phoenicia,  ii.  44,  116;  iii.  136;  iv.  39 
Phoenicians,  i.  1,  105;  ii.  44,  104,  112;  iii. 

6,  19,  107,  110,  113,  115;   iv.  42;  v.   58, 

89;   vi.  47;  vii.  28,  34,  44,  89;  viii.  90 
Phoenix,  a  river  near  Antliela,  vii.  176, 

200 
Phomius,  an  Athenian,  vii.  182 
Phraortes,  king  of  the  Medes,  i.  73,  102 
Phrataguna,  wife  of  Darius,  vii.  224 
Phriconis,  Cjrma,  i.  149 
Phrixae,  a  town  of  the  Minyans,  iv.  148 
Phrixus,  father  of  Cytissorus,  vii.  197 
Phronima,  daughter  of  Etearchus,  iv.  154 
Phrygia,  Phrygians,  i.  27,  28,  72  ;  ii.  2  ;  iii. 

90 ;  vii.  73 
Phrjnichus,  an  Athenian  poet,  vi.  21 
Phrynon,  father  of  Attaginus,  ix.  15 
Phthiotis,  a  region  of  Thessaly,  i.  56 :  vii. 

132 
Phya,  a  woman  of  Attica,  i.  60 
Phylacus  and  Autonous.  viii.  39 

,  son  of  Histiaeus,  viii.  85 

Phyllis,  a  region  near  Mount  Pangaeus, 

vii.  113 
Pieria,  a  region  of  Macedonia,  vii.  112, 

131,  185 
Pigres,  son  of  Seldomus,  vii.  98 

and  Mantyes,  brothers,  v.  12 

Pilorus,  a  town  of  Mount  Athos,  vii  122 

Pindai-,  the  poet,  iii.  38 

Pindus,  Mount,  of  Thessaly,  i.  56 ;  vii. 

129 
Pirene,  fountain,  near  Corinth,  v.  92 
Piromis,  ii.  143 

Pirus,  a  river  of  Achaia,  i.  145 
Pisa,  a  town  of  Elis,  ii.  7 
Pi«i*tratidae.  v.  63,  65,  90 ;  viii.  52 
-       '2  » 


Pisistratus,  son  cf  Nestor,  v.  65 
,  son  of  Hippocrates,  i.  59 — 64  ; 

V.  65  ;  vi.  35,  103 
Pistyrus,  a  town  of  Thrace,  vii.  109 
Pitana,  an  ^Eolian  town,  i.  149 
Pitane,  a  town  of  Laconia,  iii.  55 ;  ix.  53 
Pittacus  of  Mitylene,  i.  27 
Pixodarus,  son  of  Mausolus,  v.  128 
Placia,  a  Pelasgian  town  of  the  Helles- 
pont, i.  57 
Plataea,  Plataeans,  vi.  108;  viii.  1,  44,  50; 

ix.  25,  28,  29,  51,  53—85 
Platea,  an  island  off  the  coast  of  Libya, 

iv.  151,  153,  156,  169 
Pleistarchus,  son  of  Leonidas,  ix.  10 
Pleistorus,  divinity  of   the  Absinthian* 

ix.  119 
Plinthine,  gulf  of,  ii.  6 
Plynus,  a  lake  of  Libya,  iv.  168 
Pceciles,  father  of  Membliares,  iv.  147 
Pogon,  a  port  of  the  Trcezenians,  viii.  42 
Poliades,  father  of  Amompharetus,  ix.  53 
Polichnitae,  Cretans,  vii.  170 
Pollux,  see  Tyndarides 
Polyas  of  Anticyra,  viii.  21 
Polybus,  ancestor  of  Adrastus,  v.  67 
Polycrates,  tyrant  of  Samos,  iii.  39 — 44. 

54—56,  121,  122,  125 
Polycritus  of  ^Egina,  viii.  92,  93 
Polydectes,  king  of  Sparta,  viii.  131 
Polydorus,  son  of  Alcamenes,  vii.  204 

\ ,  grandfather  of  Laius,  v.  59 

Polyranestus,  father  of  Battus,  iv.  150, 

155 
Polynices,  father  of  Thersander,  vi.  52, 

147;  ix.  27 
Pontus,  tee  Euxine 
Porata,  a  river  of  Scythia,  iv.  12,  48 
Porthmea,  Cimmerian,  iv.  12,  45 
Posideum,  a  town  of  Cilicia,  iii.  91  ;  vii. 

115 
Posidonians,  .'.  167 
Posidonius,  a  Spartan,  ix.  71,  85 
Potidaea,  a  city  of  Pallene,  vii.  123;  viii 

126,  129 
Praesian  Cretans,  vii.  170,  171 
Prasias,  a  lake  of  Thrace,  v.  16 
Praxilaus,  father  of  Xenagoras,  ix.  107 
Praxinus,  a  Trcezenian  captain,  vii.  180 
Prexaspes,  a  Persian  prince,  iii.  30,  33,  34, 

62.  66,  74 

,  son  of  Asnathines,  vii.  97 

Priam,  king  of  Troy,*i.  4  ;  ii.  120  ;  vii.  43 
Priene,  a  town  of  Caria,  i.   15,  142,  161  ; 

vi.  8 
Prinetades,  son  of  Demarmenus,  v.  41 
Procles,  son  of  Aristodemus,  vi.  51,  52; 

viii.  131,  147 

,  tyrant  of  Epidaurus,  iii.  50,  52 

Proconnesus,  an  island  of  the  Propontis 

iv.  13,  14;  vi.  33 
Prometheus,  iv.  45 
Pronaeau  Minerva,  i.  92  ;  iii.  108;  viii.  37 

39 
Propontis,  iv.  85 
Proserpine,  feast  of,  rli  65.    Sec  C«rar 


610 


INDEX. 


Prosopitis,  an  island  of  the  Nih    ii.  41,  1C5 
Protesilaus,  a  hero,  vii.  33;  ix.  116 
Proteus,  king  of  Egypt,  ii.  1 12,  '  16 
Protothyes,  a  Scythian,  i.  103 
Prytanis,  king  of  Sparta,  viH.  131 
Prytaneum,  at  Athens,  i.  146;  vii.  139 

■ ,  of  the  Achseans,  vii.  197 

Psammenitus,  king  of  Egypt,  iii.  10 — 15 
Psammis  king  of  Egypt,  ii.  160 
Psammitichus,  king  of  Egypt,  i.  105  ;    ii. 

2,152—157 

,  father  of  Inarus,  vii.  7 

Psyllians,  a  Libyan  people,  iv.  173 
Psyttalea,  an  i«l£nd  near  Salamlc,  tlii.  76, 

95 
Pteria,  a  town  of  Ca])pa(locia,  i.  76 
Ptous,  Apollo,  viii.  135 
Pylae,  see  Thennopylae 
Pylagori,  vii.  213 
Pylians,  Cauoonian,  i.  147;  v.  65 
Pylus,  a  toAvn  of  Laconia,  vii.  ITS 

,  a  town  of  Elis,  ix.  34 

Pyrene,  a  town  near  the  Ister,  ii.  33 
Pyretos,  a  river  of  Scythia,  iv.  48 
Pyrgus,  a  town  of  the  Minyans,  iv.  148 
Pythagoras,  ii.  81  ;  iv.  94,  95 

,  a  Milesian,  v.  126 

,  tyrant  of  Selinus,  v.  46 

Pytheas.  an  ^Eginetan,  vii.  181  ;  viii   92  ; 

ix.  78 
Pythermiis,  a  Phocsean,  i.  152 
Pythius,  a  Lydian,  vii.  27—29,  38,  39 
Pythogenes,  a  Scythian,  vi.  23 

Rhampsinitus,  king  of  Egypt,  ii.  121,  122 
Rhegium,  a  town  of  Italy,  vii.  170 
Rhenaea,  an  island  near  Delos,  vi.  97 
Rhodes,  i.  174;  ii.  178:  vii.  153 
Rhodope,  Mount,  of  Thrace,  iv.  49;  viii. 

116 
Rhodopis,  a  courtesan,  ii.  134,  135 
Rhnecus,  an  architect,  iii.  GO 
Rhoetium,  a  town  of  Troas,  vii.  43 
Rhypes,  a  town  of  Achaia,  i.  145 

Sabacon.  king  of  the  ^Ethiopians,  ii.  137— 

139,  152 
Sabyllus,  of  Gela,  vii.  154 
Sacae,  a  people  of  Asia,  i.  153  ;  iii.  93  ;  vii. 

64 
Sadyattes,  king  of  Lydia,  i.  16,  18 
Sagartian  Persians,  i.  125;  iii.  93;  vii.  8 
Sais,a  city  of  Egypt,  ii.  28,  29,62,  163,165, 

169,  170 
Saitic  mouth  of  the  Nile,  ii.  17 
Sala.  a  town  of  Samothracia,  vii.  59 
Salamis,  vii.  166  ;  viii.  40,  56,  83—96 

,  a  city  of  Cyprus,  iv.  162  ;  v.  104 

Salniydessus,  a  town  of  Thrace,  iv.  93 
Sarios,  Samians,  i.  70,   142;    ii.  148;    iii. 

Y6.  39,  46,  47.  54,  60,  139—149  ;    iv.  152 

1G.° ;  vi.  14,  22  ;  ix.  90,  99 
S^mothracians,  ii.   51;    vi.  47;    vii.  108 

viii.  90 
Faiia,  a  town  of  Mount  Athos,  vii.  22,  12.' 
Sandanis,  a  Lydian,  i.  71 


Sandoces,  a  Persian  judge,  vii.  194 

Sappho,  the  poetess,  ii.  135 

Sarangeans,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  93,   ?ll 

67 
Sardanapalus,  king  of  Nine\eh,  ii.  150 
Sardinia,  i.  170  ;  v.  106,  124;  vii.  169 
Sardis,  1.  7,  15,  84,  86  ;  v.  100,  101,  ICi 
Sardonian  sea,  i.  166 
Sarpedon  and  Minos,  i.  173 

,  promontory,  vii.  58 

Sarta,  a  town  of  Mount  Athos,  vii.  122 
Saspires,  a  people  of  Asia,  i.  104  ;    iii.  M 

It.  87 ;  vii.  79 
fetsapea,  a  Persian,  iv.  4S 
Satrae,  a  people  of  Thrace,  vii.  i:o,  ill 
Sattagydae,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  91 
Saulius,  king  of  Scythia,  iv.  76 
Sauromatje,  a  Scythian  people,  iv.  21,  43 

110—117 
Scaeus,  a  pugilist,  v.  60 
Scamander,  a  river  of  Troas,  v.  65  ;  vii.  4  J 
Scamandronymus,  fatlier  of  Charaxus,  IL 

l.'?5 
Scapte-Hyle,  a  place  in  Thrace,  vi.  46 
Sciathos,  an  island  near  Artemisium,  vH 

176,  179,  182,183;  viii.  7 
Scidrus,  a  town  of  the  Sybarites,  vi.  21 
Sciona,  a  town  of  Pallene,  vii.  123 
Sciras,  Minerva,  viii.  94 
Scironian  road  at  the  Isthmus,  viii.  71 
Sciton,  servant  of  Democedes,  iii.  13P 
Scius,  a  river  of  Scythia,  iv.  49 
Scolos,  a  town  of  Boeotia,  ix.  15 
Srolopoe'is,  a  river  near  Mycale,  ix.  97 
Scoloti,  Scythians,  iv.  6 
Scopades,  Thessalians,  vi.  127 
Scopasis,  king  of  the  Scythians,  iv. 

128 
Scylace.  a  Pelasgian  town,  i.  57 
Scylas,  king  of  the  Scythians,  iv.  78, 
Scylax,  a  voyager,  iv.  44 

,  a  Mindian  captain,  v.  33 

Scyllias,  a  diver,  viii.  8 
Scyrmiadae,  Thracians,  iv.  93 
Scythes,  son  of  Hercules,  iv.  10 

— ,  of  Zancla,  vi.  23,  24 

,  of  Coos,  vii.  163 

Scvthia.  Scythians,  i.  15,  37,  73,  103,  10& 

106;    iv.   1—12,  17—20,40,46—81,109 

114,  120,  121,  127,  131,  1.%;  vi.  84;  vii 

10,  (1.),  20,  64 
Sebennj's,  a  district  of  Egyi?t,  ii.  166 
Sebennytic  mouth  of  the  Nile,  ii.  17 
Seldomus,  father  of  Pigres,  vii.  98 
Selinus,  a  town  of  Sicily,  v.  66 
Selybria,  a  town  of  the  Chersonese,  vi  33 
Semiramis,  queen  of  Babylon,  i.  184 
Senacherib,  king  of  As.syria,  ii    141 
Sepia,  a  town  of  Argolis,  vi.  77 
Sepias,  a  shore  of  Magnesia,  vM.  1S3,  IW, 

188.  191,  195 
Serb(>nis,  a  lake  of  Eg>'pt,  ii.  6  ;  iii.  5 
Seriphos,  an  island  of  the  JEgean  sea,  t:'' 

44.48 
Sermyla,   a  Greek  town  of  Sithor.ia,  v!l 

122 


INDEX 


611 


Be-7rheutn,  promontory  of  Thrace,  vii.  58, 

59 
Besostris,  king  of  Egvpt,  ii.  102,  103,  106— 

110 
Sestus,  a  city  of  the  Chersonese,  iv.  147  ; 

vii.  32,  33;  ix.  114,  115 
Setlion,  king  of  Egypt,  ii.  141 
Sicania,  Sicily,  vii.  170 
Sicas,  father  of  Cyberniscus,  vii.  98 
Sicinnus,  bondman  of  Themistodes.  viii. 

75,  110 
Sicyon,  a  state  of  Peloponnesus,  v.  07,  68  ; 

vi.  92  ;  viii.  43  ;  ix.  28 
Sidon,  Sidonians,  ii.  116  ;  iii.  136;  vii.  99, 

100 
Sigffium,  promontory,  iv.  38 
Sigeum,  a  town  on  the  Scamander,  v.  65, 

S4 
Sipynnae,  a  people  beyond  the  Ister,  v.  9 
Silenus,  Marsyas,  vii.  26;  viii.  138 
Simonides,  the  poet,  v.  102  ;  vii.  228 
Sindians,  a  people  of  the  Cimmerian  Bos- 

phorus,  iv.  3,  28,  86 
Sindus,  a  town  of  Mygdonia,  vii.  123 
Singus,  a  town  of  Sithonia,  vii.  122 
Sinope,  a  town  of  the  Euxine,  i.  76 ;  ii.  34; 

iv.  12 
Siphnos,  one  of  the  Cyclades,  iii.  57,  58 ; 

viii.  46,  48 
Siris,  a  town  of  Italy,  viii.  62 

,  a  town  of  Paeonia,  v.  15  ;  viii.  115 

Siromitres,  a  Persian  general,  vii.  68,  79 
Siromus,  a  Tyrian,  vii.  98 

,  a  Cyprian,  v.  104 

Si&amnes,  a  Persian  general,  vii.  65 

,  father  of  Otanes,  v.  25 

Sislmaces,  a  Persian  general,  v.  121 
Sitalces,  king  of  Thrace,  iv.  80  ;  vii.  137 
Sithonia,  a  region  of  Thrace,  vii.  122 
Siuph,  a  city  of  Egypt,  ii.  172 
Smerdis,  son  of  Cyrus,  Iii.  30,  65 

,  the  magus,  iii.  61 — 79 

Smerdomenes,  son  of  Otanes,  vii.  82,  121 

Smila,  a  town  of  Pallene,  vii.  123 

Smindyrides,  a  Sybarite,  vi.  127 

Smyrna,  i.  14,  16,  149 

Sogdians,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  93  ;  vii.  66 

Soli,  a  town  of  Cyprus,  v.  115 

SoloSis,  western  promontory  of  Libya,  ii. 

32;  iv.  43 
Solon,  the  Athenian  legislator,  i.  29—33  ; 

ii.  177;  v.  113 
Solymi,  Milyans,  i.  173 
Sophanes,  of  Decelea,  vi.  92  ;  ix.  73—75 
Sosicles,  a  Corinthian,  v.  92 
Sosimenes,  father  of  Panaetius,  viii.  82 
Sostratus  of  iEgina,  iv.  152 
Spargapises,  son  of  Tomyris,  i.  211 
Hpargapithes,  king  of  the  Agathyrsl,  iv.  78 
Sparta,  tee  Lacedaemon   ' 
Sperchius,  a  river  of  Thessaly,  vii.  198, 

228 
Sperthies  and  Bulis,  vii.  134,  137 
Sphendale,  a  town  of  Attica,  ix.  15 
Stagirus,  a  town  of  Macedonia,  vii.  115 
StentorJs,  a  lake  of  Thrace,  vii.  58 
2    P    2 


Stenyclerus,  a  town  of  Messenia,  ix.  64 
Stesagoras,  father  of  Cimon,   vi.  34,  38 

103 
Stesenor,  tyrant  of  Curium,  v.  113 
Stesilaus,  son  of  Thrasylaus,  vi.  114 
Strattis,  tyrant  of  the  Cliians,  Iv.  138;   viii. 

132 
Struchates,  a  people  of  Media,  i.  101 
Stryme,  a  town  of  Briantica,  vii.  108,  109 
Strymon,  a  river  of  Macedonia,  i.  13,  23, 

64;  vii.  24,  113;  viii.  115 
Strymonians,  vii.  75 
Stymphalis,  lake,  vi.  96 
Styreans  of  Dryopea,  vi.  107  ;  viii.  1,  48; 

ix.  28 
Styx,  a  river  of  Arcadia,  vi.  74 
Sunium,  southern  promontory  of  Attica, 

iv.  99;  vi.  87,  115 
Susa,  residence  of  the  Persian   kings,  i. 

188 ;  iii.  63,  70,  91  ;   iv.  83,  91  ;  v.  49,  52 

—54;  vii.  151,  239 
Syagrus,  a  Spartan,  vii.  153 — 159 
Sybaris,  a  city  of  Italy,  v.  44;  vi.  21, 127 
Syene,  a  city  in  Upper  Egypt,  ii.  28 
Syennesis.  king  of  the  Cilicians,  i.  74;  v. 

118;  vii.  98 
Syl6,  plain  in  Thrace,  vii.  115 
Syloson,  brother  of  Polycrates,  iii.  39,  139 

—149 
Syme,  sea  of,  i.  174 
Syracuse,  vii.  155 — 162 
Syrgis,  a  river  of  Scythia,  iv.  123 
Syria,  Syrians,  i.  6,  72,  76,  105  ;    ii.  12,  90, 

104,  116,  158,  159  ;    iii.  5,  90,  91 ;  iv.  39, 

49;  vii.  72,  89,  140 

,  also  called  Assyrians,  vii.  63 

Syrtis,  region  and  gulf  of,  ii.  32,  150;    iv 


Tabalus,  governor  of  Sardis,  i.  154 
Tahiti,  Scytliian  Vesta,  iv.  59 
Tachompso,  an  island  of  the  Nile,  ii.  29 
Taenarus,  a  place  in  Laconia,  i.  23, 24 ;  vii. 

168 
Talaus,  fathej  of  Adrastus,  v.  07 
Talthybius,  a  hero  honoured  at  Sparta, 

vK.  134,  137 
Tamynae,  a  town  of  Euboea,  vi.  101 
Tanagra,  a  town  of  BcEotia,  v.  57,  79  ;  ix. 

15,43 
Tanais,  a  river  of  Scythia,  iv.  20,  21,  45, 

57,  100,  123 
Tanis,  a  district  in  Egypt,  ii.  166 
Tarentum,  a  city  of  Italy,  i.  24;    iii.  136, 

138;  iv.  99;  vii.  170 
Targitaus,  ancestor  of  tlie  Scythians,  iv.  5 
Tarichea,  a  city  of  Egypt,  ii.  15,  113 
Tartessus,  a  city  of  Iberia,  i.  163;  iv.  152 

192 
Tauchira,  a  town  of  the  Barcaeans,  iv.  17 1 
Taurica,  Tauriaiis,  iv.  3,  20,  99,  103 
Taxacis,  king  of  Scythia,  iv.  120 
Taygetus,  Mount,  of  Laconia.  iv.  145 
Tearus,  a  river  of  Thrace,  iv.  90,  91 
Teaspes,  father  of  Sataspes,  iv.  43  •    vii. 

7»;  ix  76 


612 


INDEX 


Tegea,  Tegeans.  of  Arcadia,    ,  65  ;  vi.  72, 

105,  vii.  170,  202  ;  ix.  ?5,  26.  28,  35,  37, 
70 
Teios,  a  town  of  Ionia,  i.  168 ;  vi.  8 
Telamon,  a  liero,  viii.  64 
Teleboans,  a  people  of  ^Etolia,  v.  59 
Telecles,  a  Saraian,  iii.  41 
Teleclus,  son  of  Archelaus,  vii.  204 
Telesarchus,  a  Samian,  iii.  143 
Telines,  ancestor  of  Gelon,  vii.  153 
Telliads,  diviners,  ix.  33,  37 
Tellias,  a  diviner,  viii.  27 
Tellus,  an  Athenian,  i.  30 

,  a  Scythian  goddess,  iv.  59 

Telmcssus.  a  town  of  Caria,  i.  78 
Telos,  an  island  olFTriopium,  vii.  153 
Telys,  tyrant  of  Sybaris,  v.  44 
Temenus,    ancestor  of  the    Macedonian 

kings,  viii.  137 
Temnos,  an  iEolian  island,  i.  149 
Tempe,  vale  of  Thessaly,  vii.  128,  173 
Tenedos,  an  iEolian  island,  i.  151  ;  vi.  31 
Tenos,  an  island  near  Delos,  iv.  33 ;   vi. 

97  ;  viii.  82 
Teos,  a  town  of  Lvdia,  i.  142,  168 ;  ii.  178 
Teras,  a  Thracian,  iv.  80  ;  vii.  137 
Terillus,  tyrant  of  Himera,  vii.  165 
Terniera,  a  town  of  Caria,  v.  37 
Termilae,  Cretans,  i.  173  ;  vii.  92 
Tethronium,  a  town  of  Phocis,  viii.  33 
Tetramnestus,  a  Sidonian,  vii.  98 
Teucrians,  iv.  191  ;  v.  13,  122;  vii.  20,  43, 

75 
Teuthrania  a  part  of  Mysia,  ii.  10 
Thales,  of  Miletus,  i.  74,  75,  170  ;  ii.  20 
Thamanaeans,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  93,  117 
Thamasius,  fatlier  of  Sandoces,  vii.  194 
Thamimasidas,  Scythian  Neptune,  iv.  59 
Thannyras,  a  Libyan,  iii.  15 
Thasos,  an  island  of  the  JEaean  sea,  ii.  44  • 

vi.  28,  4G,  47;  vii.  108,  118 
Theasides,  a  Spartan,  vi.  85 
Theban,  plain,  in  Asia,  vii.  42 
Thebe,  daughter  of  Asopus,  v.  80 
Thebes,  of  Egypt,  i.  182  ;  ii.  3,  4,  9,  15,42, 

54 — 5f>,  83,  IGf)  ;   iii.  10  ;   iv.  181 
,  Thehans,  of  Bceotia,  i.  46,  49,  52 ; 

V.  74,77,  79;  vi.  108;  vii.  202,  205,233; 

viii.  134;  ix.Sl,  41,  67,86—88 
Theiaiscyra,  a  town  on  the  Therniodon,  iv. 

86 
Themison,  of  Thera,  iv.  154 
Theinistocles,  son  of  Neocles,  vii.  143,  144, 

173;  viii.  4,  19,  22,  56,  59,74—83,  108— 

112,123,124 
Theocydes,  father  of  Dfcseus,  viii.  65 
Theodorus,  a  Samian  engineer,  i.  51 ;    iii. 

41 
TheomestoT,  son  of  Androdamas,  viii.  85  ; 

ix.  90 
Theopompus,  king  of  Sparta,  viii.  131 
Thera,  an  island  of  the  ^Egean  sea,  iv. 

147— 15G 
Therambus,  a  town  of  Pallene,  vii.  123 
Therapne,  a  town  of  l.aconia,  vi.  61 
Theras,  a  Cadmaean,  iv.  147,  148 


Therma,  a  town  of  Mygdonia.   vii.   U' 

127,  179,  183;  viii.  127 
Thermodon,  a  river  of  Cappadocia,  ii.  12 

iv.  86  ;  ix.  27 
,  a  river  of  Bceotia,  iv.  110 ;  L 

43 
Thermopylae,  or  Pylae,  vii.  175,  176,  \8i 

186,  201—234 
Theron,  king  of  Agrigentum,  vii.  165 
Thersander,  son  of  Polynices,  iv.  147  ;  tI 

52 

,  of  Orchomenus,  ix.  16 

Theseus,  ix.  72 

Thespia,  Thespians,  of  Boeotia,  v.  79  ;  vii. 

202,  222,  226  ;  viii.  50,  75  ;  ix.  30 
Thesprotia,  a  country  of  Epirus,  ii.  56  ;  v. 

92,  (7.);  vii.  176;  viii.  47 

Thessaly,   Thessalians,  i.  57 ;   v    63,  64  ; 

vii.  6,  30,  128—130,   172—174,   176,  1«€  ; 

viii.  27,  29,30;  ix.  31,  89 
Thessalus,  companion  of  Dorieus,  v.  46 
Thestae,  a  fountain  in  Libya,  iv.  158,  15S» 
Thetis,  vii.  191 

Thmuitis,  a  district  of  Egypt,  ii.  166 
Thoas,  king  of  Lemnos,  vi.  138 
Thonis,  an  Egyptian  gorvernor,  ii.  114 
Thorax,  of  Larissa,  ix.  1,  58 
Thoricus,  a  place  in  Attica,  iv.  99 
Thornax,  Mount,  of  Laconia,  i.  69 
Tlirace,  Thracians,  i.  168  ;  ii.  103  ;  iv.  74, 

93,  99;    V.  2,  3,  6—9;    vi.  33,  176;    vii 
75,  110,  185;  viii.  115,  116;  ix.  89 

Thracians  of  Asia,  i.  28 ;  iii.  90 ;  vii.  75 
Thrasybulus,  tyrant  of  Miletus,  i.  20-22 

V.  92,  (6.) 
Thrasycles,  father  of  Lampon,  ix.  90 
Thrasydeius,  son  of  Aleuas,  ix.  58 
Thrasylaus,  father  of  Stesilaus,  vi.  114 
Thriasian  plain,  in  Attica,  viii.  65;  ix.  ' 
Thyia,  daughter  of  Cephissus,  vii.  178 
Thynians,  a  people  of  Asia,  i.  28 
Thyrea,  a  town  of  Argolis,  i.  82  ;  vi.  76 
Thyssagetse,  a  people  of  Europe,  iv.  22 

123 
Thyssus,  a  town  of  Mount  Athos,  vii.  22 
Tiarantus,  a  river  of  Scythia,  iv.  48 
Tibarenians,   a  people  of  Asia,   iii.   91; 

vii.  78 
Tibisis,  a  river  of  Scythia,  iv.  49 
Tigranes,  general  of  the  Medes,  vi.  62 ; 

ix.  96,  102 
Tigris,  river,  i.  189;  v.  52;  vi.  20 
Timagenides,  a  Theban,  L\.  38,  86 
Timagoras,  father  of  Timonax,  vii.  i'S 
Timander,  father  of  Asopidorus,  ix.  CV 
Timureta,  priestess  at  Dodona,  ii.  55 
Timesitheus  of  Delphi,  v.  72 
Timesius  of  Clazomcnse,  i.  168 
Timnas,  a  Scythian,  iv.  76 
Timo,  priestess  at  Paros,  vi.  134,  135 
Timon  of  Delphi,  vii.  141 
Timonax,  son  of  Timagoras,  vii.  98 
Timoxenus,  general  of  the  Scionian&,  vlil 

128 
Tiryns,  Tirynthia,  in  Argolis,  vi.  78,  Ti 

83;  vii.  137;  ix.  28 


INDEX. 


613 


llsamenus,  a  diviner,  \x.  33 — 35 

,  a  Spartan,  iv.  147;  vi.  52 

Tisander,  father  of  Isagoras,  v.  (56 
,  father  of   HippocJules,   vi.  127, 


129 


133 


Tisias,  father  of  Lysagoras.  vi. 

Titacus  of  Aphidna,  ix.  73 

Tithaeus,  son  of  Datis,  vii.  88 

Tithorca,  summit  of  Parnassus,  viii.  32 

Titonnus  of  iEtolia,  vi.  127 

Tmolus,   Mount,   near  Sardis,  i.  84,  93 ; 

V.  101 
ToinjTis,  queen  of  the  Massagetes,  i.  205, 

212,214 
Torone,  a  town  of  Sithonia,  vii.  22,  122 
Trachea  of  tlie  Scythian  Chersonese,  iv.  99 
Trachis,  Trachinians,  vii.   175,  176,   198, 

199,  201,  203;  viii.  31 
'^rapezus,  a  town  of  Arcadia,  vi.  127 
Traspian  Scythians,  iv.  6 
Prausians  of  Thrace,  v.  4 
Trauus,  a  river  of  Thrace,  vii.  109 
Trihallian  plain,  iv.  49 
Triopiura,  promontory,  1.  144,  174;  iv.  38 
Tritasa,  a  town  of  Achaia,  1.  145 
Tritantaechmes,  a  Persian  general,  vii.  82, 

121  ;  viii.  26 
,  governor  of  Babylonia,  i. 

192 
Triteae,  a  town  of  Phocis,  viii.  33 
Triton,  a  river  of  Libya,  iv.  178,  180,  191 

,  a  diviijity,  iv.  179 

Trcezen,  a  town  of  Argolis,  vii.  99 ;  viii. 

41,43;  ix.  28 
Troglodyte  .Ethiopians,  iv.  183 
Troy,  Trojans,  ii.  10,  118,  120;  iii.  90;  iv. 

191  ;   V.  13,  122;  vii.  171 
Trophoiiius,  oracle  of,  i.  46  ;  viii.  134 
Tydeus,  son-in-law  of  Adrastus,  v.  67 
Tymnes,  father  of  Ilistiacus,  v.  37  ;  vii.  98 
Tyndaridea,  Argonauts,   iv.  145;   v.   75; 

tx    78 


Tyndarus,  ii  112 

Typhon,  ii.  144,  150  ;  iii.  5 

Tyras,   a   river   of    Scythia,   iv.    11,   47, 

51,  82 
Tyre,  Tyrians,  ii.  44,  112,  116;  iii.  19 
Tyrodiza,  a  town  of  Thrace,  vii.  25 
Tynrhenia,  Etruria,  i.  94,  163,  166 ;  vi.  22 
Tyrrhenian  Thracians,  i.  57.  163,  166 

Venetians,  tee  Enetians 

Vesta.  Tahiti  of  the  Scythians,  iv.  59  68. 

127 
Umbrians  of  Italy,  i.  94  ;  iv.  49 
Urania,  Venus,  i.  105;  iii.  8 
Utians,  a  people  of  Asia,  iii.  93  ;  vii.  68 
Vulcan,  ii.  3,  99—101,  121    136,  147.  176 

iii.  37  ;  viii.  98 

Xanthippus,  father  of  Pericles,  vi.  131. 

136;  vii.  33;  viii.  131  ;   ix.  114,  126 
Xanthus,  a  town  of  Lycia,  i.  176 
Xenagoras  of  Halicarnassus,  ix.  107 
Xerxes,  son  of  Darius,  vi.  98;  vii.  1—20, 
20,  32,  44,  56,  60,  89,  104,  130,  l.'?6,  147, 
18-i— 187 ;  viii.  24—54,  59,  67,  68,  88,  90, 
100—121,  128,  146,  147,  193—201,  210— 
213,  223—225,  228 
Xuthus,  father  of  Ion,  vii.  94 

Zacynthus,  an  island  of  the   Ionian  sea, 

iii'.  59;  iv.  195;  vi.  70;  ix.  37 
Zalmoxis,  divinity  of  the  Getae,  iv.  94,  9t 
Zancla,  a  town  of  Sicily,  vi.  22,  23 ;  vii. 

154,  164 
Zaueces,  a  Libyan  people,  iv.  193 
Zeuxidamus,  son  of  Leotychides,  vi.  71 
Zona,  a  town  of  Samothracia,  vii.  59 
ZopjTus,  a  Persian  prince,  iii.  153 — 160; 
iv.  43 

,  grandson  of  Zopyrus,  iii   ISO 

Zoster,  promontory  of  Attic*,  viii   Jl* 


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Boswell.     2  vols.     y.  6d.  each. 

Ranke's  History  of  the  Popes.    Trans, 
by  E.  Foster.     3  vols.     35.  6d.  each. 

Latin    and     Teutonic     Nations. 

Trans,  by  P.  A.  Ash  worth,     y.  6d. 

History  of   Servia.      Trans,    by 

Mrs.  Kerr.     3^,  6d. 

Rennie's  Insect  Architecture.    (J.  G. 

Wood. )    SJ. 
Reynold's    Discourses    and    Essays. 

(Beechy.)    2  vols.     35.  6d.  each. 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF 


Elcardo's  Political  iExxjnomy.  (Gcmi- 
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Roger  de  Hovenden's  Annals. 
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Roger  of  Wendover.    Trans,  by  Dr. 

Giles.     2  vols,     55.  each. 

Roget's  Animal  and  Vegetable  Phy- 
siology.    2  vols.     6j-.  each. 

Rome  in  the  Nineteenth  Century. 
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Roscoe's  Leo  X.  2  vols.  y.  6d.  each. 

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'  of  the  Thirty  Years' War,  Revolt  of  the 
Netherlands,  Wallenstein,  William 
Tell,  Don  Carlos,  Mary  Stuart,  Maid 
of  Orleans,  Bride  of  Messina,  Robbers, 
Fiesco,  Love  and  Intrigue,  Demetrius, 
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Mary  Stuart  and   The    Maid   of 

Orleans.  Trans,  by  J.  Mellish  and 
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Sohlegel's  (F.)  Lectures  and  Miscel- 
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. (A.  W.)     Lectures  on  Dramatic 

Art  and  Literature.     35.  6d. 

Schopenhauer's  Essays.  Selected 
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Schouw's  Earth,  Plants,  and  Man. 
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Schumann's  Early  Letters.     Trans. 

by  May  Herbert,    y.  6d. 
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A.  L.  Alger.     3^.  6d. 


on    Benefits.      Tian^     by 
Aubrey  Stewart,     y.  6d. 

Minor  Essays  and  On  Clemency. 

Trans,  by  Aubrey  Stewart.     5^. 

Sharpe's  History  of  Egypt.     2  vols. 
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Sheridan's  Dramatic  Works.    3^.  6d. 

Plays.     IS.  and-ij.  6d. 

Sismondi's   Literature  of  the  South 

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vols.     3^.  6d.  each. 
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Theory    of     Moral    Sentiments 

Ss.  6d. 

Smith  (Pye).    Geology  and  Scripture 

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each, 
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Socrates'  Ecclesiastical  History.     5 
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ridge,  M.A.     5^. 
Southey's  Life  of  Nelson.     5^. 

Life  of  Wesley.     5^. 

Life,  as  told  in  hi^  ^"s,      I 

J.  Dennis.     3s.  6d. 

Sozomen's  Ecclesiastical  History.  1 
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R.  H.  M.  Elwes.     2  vols.     5J.  eacl 
Stanley's  Dutch  and  Flemish  Painte 

Starling's  Noble  Deeds  of  Wom( 

Staunton's  Chess  Player's  Handbo( 
5J.  Chess  Praxis,  ^j.  Chess  Playe 
Companion.  55.  Chess  Tournam 
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BOHJSrs  LIBRARIES. 


4> 


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duction by  W.  E.  H.  Lecky.    10  vols. 
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Tacitus.    The  Oxford  trans,  revised. 
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Tales  of  the  Genii.     Trans,  by  Sir 

Charles  Morell.     sj'. 

Tasso's  Jerusalem  Delivered.    TraiiS. 
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Taylor's    Holy    Living    and    Holy 

Dying.     3J.  dd. 
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H.  T.  Riley,     sj. 

Theocritus,     Bion,    Moschus,    and 
Tyrtseus.     Tmn».  by  Rev.  J.  Banks. 

Theodoret  and  Evagrius.     5^. 

Thierry's  Norman  Conquest.    Trans, 
by  W.  Hazlitt.     2  vols.    3J.  6d.  each. 

Thuoydides.     Trans,    by    Rev.'   H. 

Dal«.     2  vols.     3.9.  6d.  each. 
Wheeler's  Analysis  and  Summary 

of.     5J. 
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Trerelyan's    Ladies  in  Parliament. 

If.  and  \s.  6d. 
TJlrioi's  Shakespeare's  Dramatic  Art. 

Trans,  by  L.  Uora  Schmitz.     2  vols. 

3 J,  6d.  each. 

Uncle  Tom's  Cabin.    3^.  6d, 


lyre's  Cotton  Manofacttire  of  Great 

Britain.     2  vdis.     5^.  each. 

Philosophy  of  Manufacture,  js.  6d. 

Vasari's  Lives  of  the  Painters.  Trans. 

by  Mrs.  Foster.    6  vols.    3J.  6d.  each. 
Virgil.      Trans,     by    A.     Hamilton 

Bryce,  LL.D.     y.  6d. 
Voltaire's  Tales.     Trans,  by  R.  B. 

Boswell.     y.  6d. 
Walton's  Angler.     5^. 

Lives.     (A.  H.  Bullen.)     5^. 

Waterloo  Days.     By  C.  A.  Eaton. 

xs.  and  is.  6d. 
Wellington,  Life  of.     By  'An  Old 

Soldier. '    5$. 
Werner's    Templars    in    Cyprus. 

Trans,  by  B.  A.  M.  Lewis,     y.  6d. 
Westropp's    Handbook    of  Archae- 
ology.    55. 
Wheatley.    On  the  Book  erf"  Common 

Prayer,     y.  6d. 
Wheeler's  Dictionary  of  Noted  Names 

of  Fiction.     55. 
White's  Natural  History  of  Selborne. 

Wieseler's  Synopsis  of  the  Gospels. 

William  of  Malmesbury's  Chronicle. 

Wright's  Dictionary  of  Obsolete  and 

Provincial  English.    2  vols.    y.  each. 
Xenophon.    Trans,    by  Rev.  J.  S. 

Watson  and  Rev.  H.  Dale.     3  vols. 

5j.  each. 
Young's  Travels  hi  France,  1787-89. 

(M.  Betham- Edwards.)    y.Sd. 
• Tour  in  Ireland,  1776-9.     (A.  W. 

Hutton. )    2  vols.     35.  6d.  each. 

Yule-Tide  Stories.    (B.  Thorpe.     5j. 


(        48        ) 
tliE  ONLY  AUTHORISED  AND  COMPLETE     WEBSTER.' 


^WEBSTER'S 

INTERNATIONAL    DICTIONARY. 


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SOME  PRESS  OPINIONS  ON  THE  NEW  EDITION. 

^  *  We  believe  that,  all  things  considered,  this  will  be  found  to  be  the  best 
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WEBSTER'S 
BRIEF    INTERNATIONAL    DICTIONARY. 

With  800  Illustrations.    Demy  8z/^.,  3J. 

A  Pronouncing    Dictionary    of   the   English    Language, 

Abridged  from  Webster's  International  Dictionary. 

With  a  Treatise  on   Pronunciation,    List  of  Prefixes  and  Suffixes,  Rules 

for  Spelling,    a    Pronouncing    Vocabulary  of  Proper   Names    in    History, 

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Weights,  and  Measures. 


London  :  GEORGE  BELL  &  SONS,  York  Street,  Covent  Garden. 


CLASSIFIED  CATALOGUE 


OF 


SELECTED  WORKS 

INCLUDING  AN  ALPHABETICAL  LIST 
OF  BOHNS  LIBRARIES 


PUBLISHED   BY 


GEORGE  BELL  ^  SONS 


LONDON  :   YORK  ST.,  COVENT  GARDEN 

New  YORK:  66  FIFTH  AVENUE;  ^  BOMBAY 

CAMBRIDGE  :  DEIGHTON,  BELL  i^  CO. 

1898. 


CONTENTS, 


PAGE 

POETRY    3 

THE  ALDINE  POETS 7 

BIOGRAPHY  AND  HISTORY 8 

STANDARD  BOOKS        12 

DICTIONARIES  AND  BOOKS  OF  REFERENCE      .         .  15 
ART  AND  ARCHEOLOGY   .        .        .        .        .        .        .16 

THEOLOGY 20 

NAVAL  AND  MILITARY 23 

TECHNOLOGY 24 

SCIENCE 26 

PHILOSOPHY 27 

ECONOMICS  AND  FINANCE 28 

SPORTS  AND  GAMES 28 

ALL-ENGLAND  SERIES 30 

CLUE  SERIES          . 30 

FICTION   ......                 ....  31 

BOOKS  FOR  THE  YOUNG 32 

ROYAL  NAVY  HANDBOOKS 34 

BELL'S  CATHEDRAL  SERIES 35 

ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  BONN'S  LIBRARIES   .       .  39 


London^  January  1898. 

MESSRS.  BELL'S 
CLASSIFIED    CATALOGUE 

OF 

SELECTED  WORKS. 

*^*  Messrs.  Bell  ivill  be  glad  to  send  their   Complete  Cataloyue^ 
Catalogue  of  Bohn^s  Libraries^  or  Educational  Catalogue^ 
to  any  address,  post  free. 

POETRY. 

Aid6  (Hamilton).    Songs  without  Music.    3rd  edition.    With  ad- 
ditional Pieces.    Fcap.  8vo.  5s. 

Aldlne  Edition  of  the  Poets.    See  List,  page  7. 

Barry  Cornwall.    English  Songs  and  Lyrics.    2nd  edition.    Fcap. 

8vo.  6fi. 

Bridges  (R.)     Shorter  Poems.    4th  edition.    Fcap.  8vo.  5s.  net. 

■ Eros    and    Psyche:    A  Poem   in   Twelve   Measures.      The 

Story  doae  into  English  from  the  Latin  of  Apuleius.      2nd  edition  revised. 
Fcap.  8vo.  5s.  net. 

Prometheus  the  Firegiver.  {Out  of  print. 

A  Series  of  Plays.    Fcap,  4to.  printed  on  hand-made  paper, 

double  columns,  paper  wrappers,  each  2s.  6d.  net  (except  No.  8).    The  eight 
Plays  are  paged  consecutively,  and  are  intended  to  form  a  Volume : — 

1.  NERO.  The  First  Part.  History  of  the  first  five  years  of  Nero's  reign 
with  the  Murder  of  Britannicus  to  the  Death  of  Agrippina. 

[Out  of  •print  at  present. 

2.  PALICIO.    A  Romantic  Drama  in  Five  Acts,  in  the  Elizabethan  manner. 

3.  THE  RETURN  OF  ULYSSES.  A  Drama  in  Five  Acts,  in  a  mixed 
manner. 

4.  THE  CHRISTIAN  CAPTIVES.  A  Tragedy  in  Five  Acts,  in  a  mixed 
manner,  without  change  of  scene. 

5.  ACHILLES  IN  SCYROS.  A  Drama  in  Five  Acts,  in  a  mixed  manner 
without  change  of  scene. 

6.  THE  HUMOURS  OF  THE  COURT.  A  Comedy  in  Three  Acts,  in  the 
Spanish  manner. 

7.  THE  FEAST  OP  BACCHUS.  A  Comedy  in  Five  Acts,  in  the  Latin 
manner,  without  change  of  scene. 

8.  NERO.  The  Second  Part.  In  Five  Acts  :  comprising  the  Conspiracy  of 
Piso  to  the  Death  of  Seneca,  in  the  Elizabethan  manner.  38.  net,  with  general 
title-page,  A;o.,  for  the  volume. 

-  Achilles  In  Scyros.    New  Edition.     Fcp.  8vo.  2a.  Qd.  net. 

-  Eden.    A  Cantata  in  Three  Acts,  set  to  music  by  0,  Villiera 
Stanford.    Words  only,  by  Robert  Bridgea,    2a.  net. 


4  A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works, 

Browning's  Strafford.  With  Notes  by  E.  H.  Hickey,  and  an  Intro- 
duction by  S.  R.  Gardiner,  LL.D.    2nd  edition.    Crown  8vo.  2s.  6d. 

Handbook  to  Robert  Browning's  Works.  By  Mrs.  Sutherland 
Orr.    7th  edition,  witli  bibliography.     Fcap.  8vo.  6,s. 

Stories  from  Robert  Browning.  By  Frederic  M.  Holland. 
With  an  Introdnction  by  Mrs.  Sutherland  Orr.    Wide  fcap.  4s.  6d. 

Calverley  (C.  S.)    Works  by  the  late  C.  S.  Calverley,  M.A„  late  Fellow 
of  Christ's  College,  Cambridge. 

New  and  Cheaper  uniform  Edition  in  4  vols.    Crown  8vo.  5s.  each. 
Vol.  I.   LITERARY  REMAINS,  with  Portrait  and  Memoir.     Edited  by 

Sir  Walter  J.  Sendall,  K.C.M.G. 
Vol.  II.  VERSES  AND  FLY  LEAVES. 
Vol.  III.  TRANSLATIONS  into  English  and  Latin. 
Vol.  IV.  THEOCRITUS,  in  English  Verse. 

Original  Editions, 
FLY  LEAVES.    17th  edition.    Fcap.  8vo.  3s.  6d. 
VERSES  AND  TRANSLATIONS.    15th  edition.    Fcap.  8vo.  5s. 

De  Vers  (Sir  Aubrey).    Mary  Tudor  :  an  Historical  Drama,  in  Two 
Parts.    By  the  late  Sir  Aubrey  De  Vera.    New  edition.    Fcap.  8vo.  5s. 

De  Vere  (Sir  Stephen).      Translations  from  Horace.      By  Sir 

Stephen  E.  De  Vere,  Bart.    3rd  edition  enlarged.    Imperial  16mo.  7s.  6d.  net. 

Endymion  Series  (The). 

Poems  by  John  Keats.    Illustrated  and  decorated  by  Robert 

Annirg  Bell.      With  an  Introduction  by  Professor  Walter  Raleigh,  M.A. 
Post  8vo.  7s.  6d. 

Poems  by  Robert  Browning.  Illustrated  and  decorated  by 
By  am  Shaw.  With  an  Introduction  by  Richard  (Jamett,  LL.D.,  C.B.  Poet 
8vo.  7s.  6d. 

Fanshawe  (R.)     Two  Lives.    A  Poem.     By  Eeginald  Fanshawe, 

M.A.    4s.  6cl.  net. 

Ferguson  (Sir  S.)    Congal:  A  Poem  in  Five  Books.    By  the  late 

Sir  Samuel  Ferguson,  Knt.,  Q.C.,  LL.D.,  P.R.I.A.    Fcap.  8vo.  28. 

Poems.    Demy  8vo.  7s.  6d. 

Field  (Michael).     Underneath  the  Bough.     A  Book  of  Verses. 

2nd  edition.    Royal  16mo.  4s,  6d.  net. 

. Callirrhoe,  Fair    Rosamund.      2nd  edition.      Crown  8vo. 

parchment  cover,  68. 

. Canute  the  Great ;  a  Cup  of  Water.    Two  Plays.    Crown 

8vo.  7s.  6d. 

« The  Father's  Tragedy ;  William  Rufus ;  Loyalty  or  Love  P 

Crown  8vo.  parchment  cover,  7s.  6d. 

The  Tragic  Mary.    On  hand-made  paper,  bound  in  brown 

boards,  with  Design  by  Selwyn  Image,  imperial  16mo.  7s.  6d.  net. 

Large-paper  Edition,  on  Whatman's  paper,  bound  in  vellum,  with  design 
in  gold,  60  copies  only  (numbered),  fcap.  4to.  21s.  net. 

Lang  (Andrew).     Helen  of  Troy.    A  Poem.     5th  edition.    Wide 

fcap.  8vo.  cloth,  2s.  6d.  net. 


A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works,  5 

Patmore  (Coventry).     Poems.    Collective  Edition  in  2  vols.    6tb 
edition.    Fcap.  8vo.  Qs. 

The  Unknown  Eros,  and  other  Poems.    3rd  edition.    Feap. 

8vo.  2s.  Qd. 

The  Angel  in  the  House.    7th  edition.    Fcap.  8vo.  3s.  6d. 


Procter  (A.  A.)    Legends  and  Lyrics.    By  Adelaide  Anne  Procter. 

With  Introduction  by  Charles  Dickens.  New  edition,  printed  on  hand-made 
paper.    2  vols,  pott  8vo.,  extra  binding,  10s. 

Original  Edition.  First  Series,  69th  thousand.  2s.  6d.  Second  Series. 
61st  thousand.    2s.  Qd. 

Ceown  Svo  Edition.  New  Issue,  with  additional  Poems,  and  10  Illustra- 
tions by  Ida  Lovering.     19th  thousand.     Post  Svo.  cloth,  gilt  edges,  5s. 

Cheap  Edition,  with  18  Illustrations,  double  columns.  2  Series.  30th 
thousand.    Fcap.  4to.  paper  cover.  Is.  each ;  or  in  1  vol.  cloth,  3s. 

The  Procter  Birthday  Book.    Demy  16mo.  Is.  M. 
Rickards   (M,   S.  C.)      Lyrics  and  Elegiacs.     By  Marcus  S.  C. 

Rickards.    Crown  Svo.  4s.  net. 

Poems  of  Life  and  Death.    Crown  Svo.  4s.  6d.  net. 

The  Exiles :  A  Romance  of  Life.    Crown  Svo.  4s.  6d.  net. 

Sweetman  (E.)      The  Footsteps  of  the  Gods,  and  other  Poems. 
Crown  Svo.  6s.  net. 

Tennyson  (Lord).     A  Key  to  Tennyson's  'In  Memoriam.'     By 

Alfred  Gatty,  D.D.,  Vicar  of  Ecclesfield  and  Sub-Dean  of  York.  Fourth 
edition,  with  Portrait  of  Arthur  Hallam.  3s.  6d. 

Hai^dbook  to  Lord  Tennyson's  Works.     By   Morton   Luce. 

With  Bibliography.    2nd  edition.     Fcap.  Svo.  6s, 

Trevelyan  (Sir  O-,  O.)    The  Ladies  in  Parliament,  and  other  Pieces. 

Republished,  with  Additions  and  Annotations.  By  Sir  George  Otto  Trevelyan, 
Crown  Svo.  Is.  6d. 

Waddington  (S.)    A  Century  of  Sonnets.    Fcap.  4to.  4s.  M, 

Poems.    Fcap.  Svo.  4s. 


Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  their  finest  Scenes,  Lyrics,  and  other 
Beauties  (selected),  with  Notes  and  Introduction  by  Leigh  Hunt.  Small 
post  Svo,  3s,  6d. 

Butler's  Hudibras,  with  Variorum  Notes,  a  Biography,  and  a  General 
Index,  a  Portrait  of  Butler,  and  28  Illustrations.    Small  post  Svo.  5s. 

Chaucer's  Poetical  Works.  With  Poems  formerly  printed  with  his 
or  attributed  to  him.  Edited,  with  a  Memoir,  Introduction,  Notes,  and  a 
Glossary,  by  Robert  Bell.  Revised,  with  a  Preliminary  Essay  by  Rev,  Prof. 
Skeat,  M.A.    With  Portrait.    4  vols,  small  post  Svo,  3s.  Qd.  each, 

Greene,  Marlowe,  and  Ben  Jonson,  Poems  of.  Edited,  with 
Critical  and  Historical  Notes  and  Memoirs,  by  Robert  Bell.  Small  post 
Svo.  3s,  6d. 

Milton's  Poetical  Works.  With  a  Memoir  and  Critical  Kemarks  by 
James  Montgomery,  an  Index  to  Paradise  Lost,  Todd's  Verbal  Index  to  all 
the  Poems,  and  a  Selection  of  Explanatory  Notes  by  Henry  G.  Bohn.  Illus- 
trated with  120  Wood  Engravings  by  Thompson,  Williams,  O.  Smith,  and 
Linton,  from  Drawings  by  W,  Harvey,    2  vols,  small  post  Svo,  3s,  6d.  each. 


6  A  Classified  Catalogue  oj  Selected  Works. 

Pope's  Poetical  Works.     Edited,  with  copiouB  Notes,  by  Eobert 

Oarmthers.     2  vols,  with  numerous  Illustrations,  small  post  8yo.  10s. 
. Homer's  Iliad  and  Odyssey.    With  Introduction  and  Notes 

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The  Diary  of  Samuel  Pepys.     Transcribed  from  the  Shorthand 

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Handbooks  of  English  Literature.    Edited  by  J.  W.  Hales,  M.A., 

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King's  College,  London.    Crown  8vo.  38.  6d.  each. 

The  Age  of  Milton.  By  J.  Bass  MuUinger,  M.A.,  and  the 
Rev.  J.  H.  B.  Masterman. 

The  Age  of  Dryden.    2nd  edition.    By  R.  Garnett,  LL.D. 

The  Age  of  Pope.    2nd  edition.     By  John  Dennis. 

The  Age   of  Wordsworth.    2nd  edition.     By  Prof.   C.   H. 

Herford,  Litt.D. 

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Walker. 

Preparing. 

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The  Age  of  Chaucer.    By  Professor  Hales. 

The  Age  of  Shakespeare.    By  Professor  Hales. 

The  Age  of  Johnson.    By  Thomas  Seccombe. 

^pn  Brink's  History  of  Early  English  Literature.    3  vols.     Small 

post  8vo.  3s.  6(J.  each.  Vol.  L— (To  Wiclif).  Translated  by  Horace  M. 
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Reviews  and  Essays  in  English  Literature.    By  the  Eev.  D.  C. 

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1 2  A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works. 

STANDARD   BOOKS. 

{See  also  ^  Biography  and  History  ^^  *  Poetry,^  'Fiction,'  (&c.) 

Addison's  Works.     With  the  Notes  of  Bishop  Hurd.     Edited  by 
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Rev.  A.  R.  Shilleto,  M.A.,  and  an  Introduction  by  A.  H.  BuUen.  3  vols. 
Deiny  8vo.  with  binding  designed  by  Gleeson  White,  31s.  6d.  net.  Also  a 
Cheap  Edition,  in  3  vols.    Small  post  Bvo.  3s.  6cl.  each. 

Coleridge's  Prose  Works.    Edited  by  T.  Ashe.    6  vols.    With  Por- 
trait.   Small  post  Bvo.  3s.  6d.  each. 

Defoe's  Novels  and  Miscellaneous  Works.    7  vols.    With  Portrait. 

Small  post  Bvo.  3s.  6d.  each, 

Dunlop's  History  of  Prose  Fiction.     Revised  by  Henry  Wilson. 

2  vols.    Small  post  Bvo.  5s.  each, 

Emerson's  Works.    3  vols.    Small  post  Bvo.  3s.  6if.  each. 

aoldsmlth's  (O.)  Works.    Edited  by  J.  W.  M.  Gibbs.    5  vols.    With 
Portrait.    Small  post  Bvo.  3s.  6d.  each. 

Gray's  Letters.    New  Edition,  by  the  Rev.  D.  C.  Tovey,  M.A. 

\In  the  press. 

Kazlitt  (William).    Lectures  and  Essays.    7  vols.    Small  post  Bvo. 

3s.  6d.  each. 

L:^lng  (Washington).     Complete  Works.     15  vols.     With  Por- 
traits,  &c.    Small  post  Bvo.  Ss.  6d.  each. 

Lamb's  Essays  of  Ella  and  Eliana.    With  Portrait.     Small  post 

Bvo.  3s.  QA. 

Locke  (John).    Philosophical  Works.    Edited  by  J.  A.  St.  John. 

2  vols.    With  Portrait.    Small  post  Bvo.  3s.  6d.  each. 

Mill  (John  Stuart).     Essays.     Collected  from  various  sources  by 

J.  W.  M.  Gibbs.    Small  post  Bvo.  3s.  6d. 

Milton's  Prose  Works.    Edited  by  J.  A.  St.  John.    5  vols.    With 

Portraits.    Small  post  Bvo.  3s.  Od.  each. 

Prout's  (Father)  Reliques.    By  Rev.  F.  Mahony.    Copyright  edition. 
With  Etchinsre  by  Macliee.    Small  post  8vo.  Se. 


A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works.  i^ 

Swift  (Jonathan).     Prose  Works.     Edited  by  Temple  Scott.     With 

Introduction  by  W.  E.  H.  Lecky,  M.P.    In  10  volumes.    Small  post  8vo. 
3s.  6d.  each. 

Vol.  I.— 'A  Tale  of  a  Tub,'  'The  Battle  of  the  Books,*  and  other  early 
works.  Edited  by  Temple  Scott.  With  Biographical  Introduction  by  W.  E.  H. 
Lecky,  M.P.    With  Portrait  and  Facsimile. 

Vol.  II.— 'The  Journal  to  Stella.'  Edited  by  F.  Eyjand,  M.A.  With  a 
Facsimile  Letter  and  two  Portraits  of  Stella. 

Vol.  III.— Writings  on  Religion  and  the  Church.  Edited  by  Temple  Scott. 
With  a  portrait  in  photogravure  after  Jerva?.  [In  the  press, 

Walton's  (Izaak)  Angler.      Edited  by  Edward  Jesse.      With  229 
Engravings  on  Wood  and  Steel.     Small  post  8vo.  6s. 

White's  Natural  History  of  Selborne.    Edited  by  Edward  Jesse. 
With  40  Portraits  and  Coloured  Plates.     Small  post  8vo.  58. 

Young  (Arthur).    Travels  in  France  during  the  Years  1787-89. 

Edited  by  M.  Betham-Edwards.    With  Portrait.    Small  post  Svo.  3s.  6d. 

Tour  in  Ireland  during  the  years  1776-0.    Edited  by  A. 

W.  Hutton,  Librarian,  National  Liberal  Club.    With  Bibliography  by  J.  P. 
Anderson,    Index  and  Map.    2  vols.    Small  post  Svo.,  3s.  6d.  each. 


Hugo  (Victor).    Dramatic  Works.  Hernani — Euy  Bias — The  King's 

Diversion.    Translated  by  Mrs.  Newton  Crosland  and  F.  L.  Slous.    Small 
post  Svo.  3s.  6d. 

Poems,  chiefly  Lyrical.    Translated  by  various  Writers,  col* 

lected  by  J.  H.  L.  Williams.    With  Portrait.    Small  post  Svo.  3s.  6d. 

Moli^re's  Dramatic  Works.     Translated  by  C.  H.  Wall.     3  vols. 

With  Portrait.    Small  post  Svo.  3s.  6d.  each. 

Montaigne's    Essays.      Cotton's    Translation.    Edited    by    W.    C. 

Hazlitt.    3  vols.    Small  post  Svo.  3.s.  (Id.  each. 

Montesquieu's  Spirit  of  Laws,  Translated  by  Dr.  Nugent.  Ee- 
vised  by  J.  V.  Prichard.    2  vols.   With  Portrait.    Small  post  Svo.  3s.  6d.  each. 

Pascal's  Thoughts.  Translated  by  C.  Kegan  Paul.  Small  post 
Svo.  38.  6cl. 

Racine's  Tragedies.   Translated  by  R.  Bruce  Boswell.   2  vols.    With 

Portrait.    Small  post  Svo.  3s.  6d.  each, 

Goethe's  Works.  Including  his  Autobiography  and  Annals,  Dramatic 
Works,  Poems  and  Ballads,  Novels  and  Tales,  Wilhelm  l^eister's  Apprentice- 
ship and  Travels,  Tour  in  Italy,  Miscellaneous  Travels,  Early  and  Miscel- 
laneous Letters,  Correspondence  with  Schiller  and  Zelter,  and  Conversations 
with  Eckermann  and  Soret.  Translnted  by  J.  Oxeiiford,  Anna  Swanwick, 
R.  D,  Boylan,  E.  A.  Bowring,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Edward  Bell,  L.  Dora 
Schmitz,  A.  D.  Coleridge,  and  A.  Rogers.  16  vols.  With  Portraits.  ^Small 
post  Svo.  38.  6d.  each. 

Faust.     German  Text  with  Hay  ward's  Prose  Translation  and 

Notes.     Revised  with  Introduction  by  Dr.  C.  A.  Buchheim.    Sm.  post  Svo.  5s. 

Heine's  Poems.    Translated  by  E.  A.  Bowring.    Sm.  post  Svo.  3s,  Gd. 

Travel-Pictures.    Translated  by  Francis  Storr.     With  Map. 

Small  post  Svo.  3s.  6d. 


14  A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works. 


Lessing's  Dramatic  Works.     Edited  by  Ernest  Bell.    2  vols.    With 

Portrait.     Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6(J.  each. 

Laokoon,  Dramatic  Notes,  &c.    Translated  by  E.  C.  Beesley 

and  Helen  Zimmern.  Edited  by  Edward  Bell.  "With  Frontispiece.  Small 
post  8vo.  38.  6d. 

Eichter  (Jean  Paul).    Levana.    Translated.     Sm.  post  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

Flower,  Fruit,  and  Thorn  Pieces  (Siebenkas).    Translated 

by  Lieut.-Col.  A.  Ewing.    Small  post  8vo.  38.  &i,. 

Schiller's  Works.    Including  the  History  of  the  Seven  Years'  War, 

Revolt  in  the  Netherlands,  &c.,  Dramatic  and  Poetical  Works,  and  Aesthe- 
tical  and  Philosophical  Essays.  Translated  by  Rev.  A.  J.  W.  Morrison, 
A.  Lodge,  B.  A.  Bowring',  J.  Chnrchill,  S.  T.  Coleridge,  Sir  Theodore  Martin, 
and  others.    7  vols.    With  Portraits.    Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6d.  each. 

F.  Schlegel's  Lectures,  and  other  Worbs.      5  vols.      Small  post 

8vo.  3s.  6d.  each. 

A.  W.  Schlegel's  Lectures   on    Dramatic   Art    and   Literature. 

Translated  by  the  Rev.  A.  J.  W.  Morrison.     Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6cl. 


Alfieri's  Tragedies.    Translated  by  E.  A.  Bowring.     2  vols.     Small 

post  8vo.  3s.  6d.  each. 

Ariosto's  Orlando  Furioso,  «feG.     Translated  by  W.  S.  Eose.     2  vols. 
With  Portrait  and  24  Steel  Engravings.    Small  post  8vo.  h'i.  each. 

Dante.     Translated  by  Rev.   H.  F.  Gary.     With  Portrait.     Small 
post  8vo.  38.  6d. 

Translated  by  I.  C.  Wright.     With  Flaxman's  Illustrations. 

Small  post  8to.  5s. 

The  Italian  Text,  with  English  Translation.     The  Inferno. 


By  Dr.  Oarlyle.    The  Purgatorio.    By  W.  S.  Dngdale.    Sm.  post  8vo.  Ss,  each, 

Petrarch's  Sonnets,  and  other  Poems.    Translated  by  various  hands. 

With  Life  by  Thomas  Campbell,  and  Portrait  and  15  Steel  Engravings. 
Small  post  8vo.  58. 

Tasso's  Jerusalem  Delivered.  Translated  into  English  Spenserian 
Verse  by  J.  H.  WifEen.  With  Woodcuts  and  8  Steel  Engravings.  Small 
post  8vo.  58.  

Camoens'  Lusiad.    Mickle's  Translation  revised  by  E.  R.  Hodges. 

Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

Antoninus  (Marcus  Aurelius).     The  Thoughts   of.     Translated 

literally,  with  Notes.  Biographical  Sketch,  Introductory  Essay  on  the 
Philosophy,  and  Index.  By  George  Long,  M.A.  New  edition.  Printed  at 
the  Chiswick  Press,  on  hand-made  paper,  and  bound  in  buckram.  Pott 
8vo.  6s.     (Or  in  Bohn's  Classical  Lihrary,  3s.  6d.) 

Epictetus.  The  Discourses  of,  with  the  Encheiridion  and  Frag- 
ments. Translated,  with  Notes  and  Introduction,  by  George  Long,  M.A. 
New  edition,  printed  at  the  Chiswick  Press,  on  hand-made  paper,  and  bound 
in  buckram.  2  vols.  Pott  8vo.  10s.  6d.  (Or  in  BoTin's  Classical  Lihrary, 
1vol.,  5s.) 


A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works,  1 5 


Plato's  Dialogues,  referring  to  the  Trial  and  Death  of  SocrateSj 

Enthyphro,  The  Apology,  Crito  and  Phffido.  Translated  by  the  late  William 
Whewell,  D.D.  Printed  at  the  Chiswick  Press  on  hand-jnade  paper,  and 
bound  in  buckram.     Pott  8vo.,  4s.  QA. 

Horace.   The  Odes  and.  Carmen  Saeculare.  Translated  into  English 
Verse  by  the  late  John  Conington,  M.A.    11th  edition.    Pcap.  8vo.  Ss.  6iJ. 

The  Satires  and  Epistles.    Translated  into  English  Verse 

by  John  Couiugton,  M.A.    8th  edition,    3s.  6d. 


Dictionaries  and  Books  of  Reference. 

Webster's  International  Dictionary  of  the  English  Language, 
being  the  authentic  edition  of  Webster's  Unabridged  Dictionary,  comprising 
the  issues  of  1847,  1864,  and  1880,  now  thoroughly  revised  and  enlarged  under 
the  supervision  of  Noah  Porter,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  of  Yale  University,  with 
Valuable  Literary  Appendices.  Medium  4to.  2118  pages,  3600  Woodcuts, 
rioth,  II.  lis.  6d.;  half  calf,  21.  2s.;  half  russia,  21.  5s.;  full  calf,  21.  8s. 
Also  in  2  vols,  cloth,  11. 14s. 

The  Standard  in  the  Postal  Telegraph  Department  of  the  British  Isles. 

The  Standard  in  the  United  States  Government  Printing  OflSce. 

Prospectuses  with  specimen  pages  sent  free  on  application. 

Webster's  Brief  International  Dictionary.  A  Pronouncing  Dic- 
tionary of  the  English  Language.  Abridged  from  Webster's  International 
Dictionary.    With  800  Illustrations.     Demy  8vo.  38. 

A  Dictionary  of  Slang,  Jargon,  and  Cant.  By  A.  Barr^re  and 
C.  G.  Leland.    2  vols.    Medium  8vo.  7s.  M.  each. 

A  Biographical  and  Critical  Dictionary  of  Painters  and  Engravers. 

With  a  List  of  Ciphers,  Monograms,  and  Marks.  By  Michael  Bryan.  Im- 
perial  8vo.  New  edition,  thoroughly  revised  and  enlarged  by  R.  E.  Graves 
(of  the  British  Museum)  and  Walter  Armstrong.  2  vols.  Imperial  8vo. 
buckram,  31.  3s. 

A  Biographical  Dictionary,  Containing  Concise  Notices  (upwards 
of  16,000)  of  Eminent  Persons  of  all  Ages  and  Countries,  and  more  particu- 
larly  of  Distinguished  Natives  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  By  Thompson 
Cooper,  F.S.A.  With  a  new  Supplement,  bringing  the  work  down  to  1883. 
2  vols.    Crown  8vo.  58.  each. 

Kluge's    Etymological    Dictionary    of  the    German    Language. 

Translated  by  J.  F.  Davia,  D.Lit ,  M.A.    Cheap  Edition.    Crown  4to.  7s.  6d. 

Grimm's  Teutonic  Mythology.  Translated  from  the  4th  edition, 
with  Notes  and  Appendix,  by  James  Stephen  Stallybrass.  Demy  8vo.  4  Vols. 
31.  3s. ;  Vols.  I.  to  III.  16s.  each ;  Vol.  IV.  (containing  Additional  Notes  and 
Heferences,  and  completing  the  Work),  18s. 

French  and  English  Dictionary.    By  F.  E.  A.  Gasc.     8th  edition, 

reset  and  considerably  enlarged.    Large  8vo.  half -buckram,  128.  6d. 
A  Pocket  Dictionary.    16mo.    57th  Thousand.    2s.  6d. 

Synonyms  and  Antonyms  of  the  English  Language.  Collected 
and  Contrasted.    By  the  late  Ven.  C.  J.  Smith,  M.A.    Small  post  8vo.  5s. 


1 6  A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works, 

Synonyms  Discriminated.    A  Dictionary  of  Synonymous  Words  in 

the  English  Larenage,  showing  the  accurate  signification  of  words  of  similar 
meaning.  Illuttra';ed  with  Quotations  from  Standard  Writers.  By  Ven.  C.  J. 
Smith,  M.A.  Edited  by  the  Rev.  H.  Percy  Smith,  M.A.,  of  Balliol  College, 
Oxford.    Demy  bvo.  148. 

A  History  of  Roman  Literature.  By  Professor  W.  S.  Teuffel. 
6th  edition,  revised,  with  considerable  Additions,  by  Professor  L.  Schwabe. 
Translated  by  G.  C.  W.  Warr,  M.A.,  Professor  of  Classical  Literature  at 
King's  College,  London.    2  vols.    Medium  8vo.  15s.  each. 

Corpus  Poetarum  Latinorum,  a  se  aliisque  denuo  recognitorum  et 

brevi  lectionum  yarietate  instructorum,  edidit  Johannes  Percival  Postgate. 
Vol.  I.    Large  post  4to.  21s.  net.    Or  in  2  parts,  paper  wrappers,  9s.  each  net. 

[Vol.  II.  preparing, 

Lowndes'  Bibliographer's  Manual  of  English  Literature.  En- 
larged edition,  by  H.  G.  Bohn.  6  vols.  Small  post  8vo.  5s.  each ;  or  4  voljJ., 
half  morocco,  21.  2s. 

A  Dictionary  of  Roman  Coins,  Republican  and  Imperial.  Com- 
menced by  the  late  Seth  W.  Stevenson,  F.S.A.,  revised  in  part  by  0.  Roach 
Smith,  F.S.A.,  and  completed  by  P.  W.  Madden,  M.R.A.S.  With  upwards 
of  700  engravings  on  wo  )d,  chiefly  executed  by  the  late  F.  W.  Fairholt,  F.S.A. 
8vo.  21.  2s. 

Henfrey's  Guide  to  English  Coins,  from  the  Conquest  to  the  present 

time.  New  and  revised  edition.  By  0.  F.  Keary,  M.A.,  F.S.A.  With  an 
Historical  Introduction  by  the  Editor.    Small  post  8vo.  6s. 

Humphreys'  Coin  Collector's  Manual,  or  Guide  to  the  Numismatic 
Student  in  the  Formation  of  a  Cabinet  of  Coins.  By  H.  N.  Humphreys.  With 
Index  and  upwards  of  140  Illustrations  on  Wood  and  Steel.  2  vols.  Small 
post  8vo.  5s.  each. 

Clark's   Introduction  to  Heraldry.      18th  edition.      Revised  and 

Enlarged  by  J.  R.  Planch^,  Rouge  Croix.  With  nearly  1000  Illustrations. 
Small  post  8vo.  5s. ;  or  vrtth  the  Illustrations  Coloured,  half-morocco,  rox- 
burgh,  15s. 


ART   AND   ARCHAEOLOGY. 

Sir    Edward    Burne-Jones,   Bart.      A  Record   and   Review.     By 

Malcolm  Bell.  Illustrated  with  over  100  Reproductions  of  the  most  popular 
paintings,  drawings,  and  designs  by  the  Artist.  3rd  edition,  with  binding 
designed  by  Gleeson  White.    Small  Colombier  8vo.  21s.  net. 

Albert  Moore :  his  Life  and  Works.  By  A.  Lys  Baldry.  Illus- 
trated with  10  Photogravures  and  about  70  other  Reproductions,  Small 
Colombier  8vo.  with  binding  by  Gleeson  White,  2l8.  net. 

Frederic,  Lord  Leighton,  P.R.A.  An  Illustrated  Chronicle.  By 
Ernest  Rhys.  With  Introduction  by  P.  G.  Stephens.  Illustrated  with  15 
Photogravures  and  100  other  Reproductions.    Super  royal  4to.  31.  3s. 

William  Morris :  his  Art,  his  Writings,  and  his  Public  Life.    By 

Aymer  Vallance,  M.A..  F.S.A.  With  40  Reproductions  in  half-tone  of  designs 
bv  William  Morris,  and  a  Coloured  Frontispiece  and  Portrait.  Imperial  8vo. 
25s.  net. 

Thomas  Gainsborough:  his  Life  and  Works.  By  Mrs.  Arthur 
Bell  (N.  D'Anvers).  With  numerous  Illustrations  in  photogravure  and  half- 
tone.   Sm9^11  Colombier  8vo.    25s.  net.  '  ■ 


A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works.  1 7 

The  Art  of  Velasquez.    A  Critical  Study.     By  E.  A.  M.  Stevenson. 

With  20  Photogravures  and  60  other  Illustrations.    Small  royal  4to.  21. 5s.  net. 

Raphael's  Madonnas,  and  other  Great  Pictures.  Keproduced  from 
the  Oriprinal  Paintings.  With  a  Life  of  Raphael,  and  an  Account  of  hia 
Chief  Works.  By  Karl  Karoly,  With  64  Illustrations,  including  9  Photo- 
gravures.     Small  Oolombier  8vo.  21s.  net. 

The  Glasgow  School  of  Painting.  Ey  David  Martin.  With  Intro- 
duction by  Francis  Newbury.  With  Reproduct  ons  of  paintings  by  W.  Y. 
Macgregor,  James  Gruthrie,  James  Lavery,  E.  A.  Walton,  E.  A.  Homel,  and 
many  others.     Royal  8vo.  10s.  6d.  net. 

Masterpieces  of  the  Great  Artists  A.D.  1400-1700.     By  Mrs. 

Arthur  Bell  (N.  D'Anvers).     With  43  full- page  Illustrations,  including  8 
Photogravures.     Small  Oolombier  8to.  21s.  net. 


Bell  (Sir  C.)    The  Anatomy  and  Philosophy  of  Expression  as 

Connected  with  the  Fine  Arts.  By  Sir  Charles  Bell,  K.H.  7th  edition, 
revised.    Small  post  Svo.  5.s. 

Bell's  Cathedral  Series.  A  new  Series  of  Handbooks  on  the  great 
Cathedrals.  Edited  by  Gleeson  White  and  B.  P.  Strange.  Well  illustrated. 
Cloth,  Is.  %d..  each.    See  'Page  35. 

Blomfield    (R.)      A    History    of    Renaissance    Architecture    in 

England.  A.D.  1500-1800.  By  Rpginald  Blomfield,  M.A.  With  150  Illus- 
trations drawn  by  the  Author,  and  90  Plates  from  Photographs  and  Old  Prints 
and  Drawings.    Imperial  8vo.  2  vols.  50s.  net. 

Bloxam  (M.  H.)  The  Principles  of  Gothic  Ecclesiastical  Archi- 
tecture. By  M.  H.  Bloxam.  With  numerous  Woodcuts  by  Jewitt.  11th 
edition.  Crown  8vo.  2  vols.  15s.  Companion  Volume  on  CHURCH  VEST- 
MENTS.   78.  6d. 

Bryan's  Biographical  and   Critical  Dictionary  of  Painters  and 

Engravers.  With  a  List  of  Cyphers,  Monograms,  and  Marks.  By  Michael 
Bryan.  New  edition,  thoroughly  revised  and  enlarged  by  R.  E.  Graves, 
of  the  British  Museum,  and  Walter  Armstrong,  R.A.  2  vols,  imperial  Svo. 
buckram,  31.  3s. 

Burn  (R.)    Ancient  Rome  and  its  Neighbourhood.    An  Illustrated 

Handbook  to  the  Ruins  in  the  City  and  the  Campagna,  By  Robert  Burn, 
M.A.,  Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  Author  of  '  Rome  and  the 
Campagna,'  &c.    With  numerous  Illustrations.    78.  6d. 

*^*  This  volume  is  also  issued  in  limp  red  cloth,  with  Map  Pocket,  for  the 
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Hiatt  (C.  T.  J.)  Picture  Posters.  A  Handbook  on  the  His- 
tory of  the  Illustrated  Placard.  With  numerous  Reproductions  of  the  most 
artistic  examples  of  all  countries.    By  0.  T.  J.  Hiatt.    8vo.  12s.  6d.  net. 

Strange  (E.  F.)  Japanese  Illustration.  A  History  of  the 
Arts  of  Woodcutting  and  Colour  Printing  in  Japan.  By  Edward  P.  Strange, 
M.J.S.  With  8  Coloured  Plates  and  88  other  Illustrations,  Demy  Svo. 
12s.  65.  net. 

Watson  (R.  M.)    The  Art  of  the  House.    By  Bosamund 
Marriott  Watson.    Illustrated.    Demy  Svo.  6s.  net. 
A   2 


iS  A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works. 


Connoissetir  Series — Continued. 

Wheatley  (H.  B.)     British.    Historical    Portraits.      Some 

Notes  on  the  Painted  Portraits  of  Celebrated  Characters.  By  H.  B.  Wheatley. 
With  71  Illustrations  taken  direct  from  the  Originals  at  the  National  Portrait 
GuUery  and  elsewhere.    10s.  6d.  net. 

Williamson  (G.  C.)  Portrait  Miniatures,  from  the  time  of 
Holbein  (1631)  to  that  of  Sir  William  Ross  (1860).  A  Handbook  for  Collectors. 
By  G.  C.  Williamson,  Litt.  D.    With  194  Illustrations.    12s.  tJd.  net. 

Crane  (W.).  The  Bases  of  Decign.  By  Walter  -  Crane.  With  200 
Illustrations.    Medium  8vo. 

Decorative  Illustration  of  Books.     See  Ex-Libris  Series. 

Ciuiningham's  Lives  of  the  Most  Eminent  British  Painters.     A 

new  edition,  with  Notes  and  Sixteen  fresh  Lives.  By  Mrs.  Heaton.  3  vols. 
smaU  post  8vo.  3s,  6d.  each. 

Delamotte  (P.  H.)  The  Art  of  Sketching  from  Nature.  By 
P.  B.  Delamotte.  Illustrated  by  24  Woodcuts  and  20  Coloured  Plates, 
arranged  progressively,  from  Water-colour  Drawings  by  Prout,  E.  W.  Cooke, 
R.A.,  Girtin,  Varley,  De  Wint,  and  the  Author.    New  edition.   Royal  ^to.  21s. 

Demmin's  Illustrated  History  of  Arms  and  Armour,  from  the 
Earliest  Period.  By  Auguste  Demmin.  Translated  by  C.  C.  Black,  M.A. 
With  nearly  2000  Illustrations.     Sinall  post  8vo.  7s.  6d. 

Didron's  Christian  Iconography.  A  History  of  Christian  Art  in  the 
Middle  Ages.  Transit  ted  from  the  French,  with  additions,  &c.,  by  Margaret 
Stokes.    2  vols,  small  post  8vo.  5s.  each. 

Endymion  Series  of  Poets.  Illustrated  by  E.  Anning  Bell  and 
Byam  Shaw.    See  page  2. 

Ex-Libris  Series.    Edited  by  Gleeson  White. 

English  Book-Plates  (Ancient  and  Modern).  By  Egerton 
Oastle,  M.A.,  F.S.A.  With  more  than  200  Illustrations.  3rd  edition. 
10s.  6d.  net. 

French  Book-Plates.  By  Walter  Hamilton.  With  nearly  200 
Illustrations.    2nd  edition,  revised  and  enlarged.    8s.  6d.  net. 

German  Book-Plates.  By  Dr.  Heinrich  Pallmann  and  G. 
Ravenscroft  Dennis.    With  numerous  Illustrations.  [Preparing. 

American  Book-Plates.  By  Charles  Dexter  Allen.  With 
Bibliography  by  Eben  Newell  Hewins,  and  numerous  Illustrations.  128.  6d.  net. 

Ladies'  Book-Plates.  By  Noma  Labouchere.  With  numerous 
Illustrations.    8s.  6cl.  net. 

Decorative  Heraldry.  By  G.  W.  Eve.  With  188  Illustra. 
tions,  including  4  in  colour  and  1  copperplate.     10s.  6d.  net. 

The  Decorative  Illustration  of  Books.  By  Walter  Crane, 
With  more  than  150  Illustrations.     10s.  6d.  net. 

Modem  Book  Illustration.  By  Joseph  Pennell.  With  172 
Illustrations.    10s.  6d.  net. 

Bookbindings,  Old  and  New.  By  Brander  Matthews.  With 
numerous  Illustrations.     7s.  6d.  net. 

Durer's  Little  Passion.    Printed  from  stereotypes  taken  from 
the  original  wood-blocks.    With  Introduction  by  Austin  Dobson.    5s.  net. 
Tairholt's  Costume  in  England.    A  History  of  Dress  to  the  end  of 
the  Eighteenth  Century.    3rd  edition.     Revised  by  Viscount  Dillon,  P.S.A, 
Illustrated  with  above  700  Engravings.    2  vols.  sm.  post  Svo.  5s.  each. 


A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works.  19 


Flaxman.  Lectures  on  Sculpture,  aa  delivered  before  the  Presiden 
and  Members  of  the  Eloyal  Academy.  By  J.  Flaxman,  R.A.  With  63  Plates. 
New  edition.    Small  post  8vo.  6s. 

O-atty  (Mrs.)  The  Book  of  Sun-dials.  Collected  by  Mrs.  Alfred 
Gatty.  Edited  by  Horatio  K.  P.  Eden  and  Eleanor  Lloyd.  '  With  numerous 
Illustrations.    3rd  edition.    Fcap.  4to.  15s. 

Heaton  (Mrs.)     A  Concise  History  of  Painting.     By  Mrs.  Charles 

Heaton.    New  edition,  revised,  by  Cosmo  Monkhouse.     Small  post  8vo.  5s. 

Law  (E.)  A  Short  History  of  Hampton  Court.  By  Ernest  Law, 
B.A.    With  numerous  Illustrations.    Crown  8vo.  7s,  6d.  net. 

Leonardo  da  Vinci's  Treatise  on  Painting.  With  a  Life  of  Leonardo. 
New  edition,  revised,  with  numerous  Plates.     Small  post  8vo.  5s. 

Moody  (F.  W.)  Lectures  and  Lessons  on  Art.  By  the  late  F.  W. 
Moody,  Instructor  in  Decorative  Art  at  South  Kensington  Museum.  With 
Diagrams  to  illustrate  Composition  and  other  matters.  5th  edition.  Demy 
8vo.  sewed,  4s.  6d. 

Patmore(C.)  Principle  in  Art.  By  Coventry  Patmore.  2nd  edition. 
Fcap.  8vo.  5s. 

Petit  (J.  T.)  Architectural  Studies  in  France.  By  the  late  Rev. 
J.  T.  Petit,  F.S.A.  New  edition,  revised  by  Edward  Bell,  M.A.,  F.S.A. 
Fcap.  4to.  with  260  Illustrations,  15s.  net. 

Planche's  History  of  British  Costume,  from  the  Earliest  Time  to 
the  close  of  the  Eigkteenth  Century.  By  J.  R.  Planche,  Somerset  Herald. 
With  Index  and  upwards  of  400  Illustrations.     Small  post  8vo.  5s. 

Prior  (E.  S.)    History  of  Gothic  Art  in  England.    By  E.  S.  Prior. 

Illustrated  by  G.  C.  Horsley  and  others.     Imperial  8vo.  [In  the  Press. 

Renton  (E.)  Intaglio  Engraving,  Past  and  Present.  By  Edward 
Renfcon.  With  numerous  Illustrations  from  Gems  and  Seals.   Fcap.  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

Roberts  (W.)  Memorials  of  Christie's.  By  W.  Roberts.  With 
64  Collotype  Reproductions  and  Coloured  Frontispiece.    2  vols.    8vo.  258.  net. 

Stokes  (Margaret).    Three  Months  in  the  Forests  of  France.    A 

Pilgrimage  in  Search  of  Vestiges  of  the  Irish  Saints  in  France.     With  nnme. 
rous  Illustrations.    By  Margaret  Stokes,  Hon.  M.R.I. A.    Fcap.  4to.  128.  net. 

Strange  (B.  F.)  Alphabets.  A  Handbook  of  Lettering  for  the  use 
of  Artists,  Architects,  and  Students.    With  200  Illustrations.     Grown  8vo.  53. 

Vasari's  Lives.  A  Selection  of  Seventy  of  the  Lives.  Edited  and 
annotated  in  the  light  of  modern  discoveries  by  B.  H.  and  E.  W.  Blashfield 
and  A.  A.  Hopkins.    Illustrated.    4  vols,  pott  4to.  36s.  net. 

Way  (T.  R.)  Reliques  of  Old  London.  Drawn  in  lithography  by 
T.  R.  Way,  Witii  Introduction  and  Explanatory  Letterpress  by  H.  B. 
Wheatley,  F.S.A.    Demy  4to.  21s.  net. 

Later  Reliques  of  Old  London.      By  the  same  artist  and 

editor.    Demy  4to.  21s.  net. 

Wedmore  (F.)      Etching  in  England.      By  Frederick  Wedmore. 

With  numerous  Illustrations.    Small  4to.  8s.  6d.  net. 

White  (Gleeson).  Practical  Designing.  A  Handbook  on  the  Pre- 
paration of  Working  Drawings,  showing  the  Technical  Methods  eoaployed  in 
preparing  them  for  the  Manufacture,  and  the  Limits  imposed  on  the  Design 
by  the  Mechanism  of  Reproduction  and  the  materials  employed.  Freely 
Illustrated     Edited  by  Gleeson  White.    3rd  edition.    5s. 


20  A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works. 


THEOLOGY. 

A  Kempis.  On  the  Imitation  of  Christ.  A  New  Translation. 
By  the  Rt.  Rev.  H.  Goodwin,  D.  D.  3rd  edition.  With  fine  Steel  Engraving 
after  Guido,  3s.  6d. ;  without  the  Engraving,  2s.  6cl.  Cheap  edition,  Is.  cloth  j 
6d.  sewed. 

Alford  (Dean).  The  Greek  Testament.  With  a  critically  revised 
Text;  a  Digest  of  various  Readings;  Marginal  References  to  Verbal  and 
Idiomatic  Usage  ;  Prolegomena;  and  a  Critical  and  Exegetical  Commentary. 
For  the  Use  of  Theoloffical  Students  and  Ministers.  By  the  late  Henry 
Alford,  D.D.,  Dean  of  Canterbury.    4  vols.  8vo.  51.  2s.     Sold  separately. 

The  New  Testament  for  English  Readers.     Containing  the 

Authorised  Version,  with  additional  Corrections  of  Readings  and  Renderings, 
Marginal  References,  and  a  Critical  and  Explanatory  Commentary.  In  4 
Parts,  21.  14s.  Qd.     Sold  separately. 

Augustine  (St.):  De  Civitate  Dei.  Books  XI.  and  XII.  By  the 
Rev.  Henry  Gte,  B.D.,  F.S.A.  I.  Text  only,  2s.  II.  Introduction,  Literal 
Translation,  and  Notes,  3s. 


In  Joannis  Evangelium  Tractatus.    XXIV. -XXVII.     Edited 


by  the  Rev.  Henry  Gee,  B.D,,  F.S.A.,  Is.  6d.  Also  the  Translation  by  the 
late  Rev.  Canon  H.  Brown,  Is.  6d. 

Barrett  (A.  C.)  Companion  to  the  Greek  Testament.  For  the 
Use  of  Theological  Students  and  the  Upper  Forms  in  Schools.  By  A.  C. 
Barrett,  M.A.,  Cams  College.    6th  edition,  revised.     Fcap.  8vo.  5s. 

Barry  (Dr.)  Notes  on  the  Catechism.  For  the  Use  of  Schools. 
By  the  Rev.  Canon  Barry,  D.D.,  Principal  of  King's  College,  London.  10th 
edition.    Fcap.  2s. 

Bede's  Ecclesiastical  History,  and  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle. 
Edited  by  Rev.  Dr.  Giles.    With  Map.     Small  post  8vo.  5s. 

Birks  (T.  R.)  Horas  Evangelicae,  or  the  Internal  Evidence  of  the 
Gospel  History.  By  the  Rev.  T.  R.  Birks,  M.A.,  late  Hon.  Canon  of  Ely. 
Edited  by  the  Rev.  H.  A.  Birks,  M.A.,  late  Scholar  of  Trin.  Coll.,  Oamb. 
Demy  8vo.  10s.  6cl. 

Bleek  (F.)  An  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament.  By  Friedrich 
Bleek.  Edited  by  Johann  Bleek  and  Adolf  Kamphausen.  Translated  from 
the  Second  Edition  of  the  German  by  G.  H.  Venables,  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Rev.  E.  Venables,  Residentiary  Canon  of  Lincoln.  2nd  edition,  with 
Corrections.     With  Index.    2  vols.  10s. 

Burbidge  (Rev.  E.)  Liturgies  and  Ofl&ces  of  the  Church  for  the  use 

of  English  Readers,  in  illustration  of  the  Growth  and  Devotional  value  of  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,  with  a  Catalogue  of  the  remains  of  the  Library  of 
Archbishop  Cranmer.  By  Edwar-d  Burbidge,  M.A.,  Prebendary  of  Wells. 
Cr.  8vo.  9s. 

The  Parish  Priest's  Book  of  OflBces  and  Instructions  for 

the  Sick:  with  Appendix  of  Rea«'ings  and  Occasional  Offices.  4th  edition, 
thoroughly  revised,  with  much  additional  matter.     Small  post  Svo.  3s.  6d. 

Biurgon  (Dean).  The  Traditional  Text  of  the  Holy  Gospels 
Vindicated  and  Established.  By  the  late  John  William  Burgon,  B.D.,  Dean 
of  Chichester.  Arranged,  Completed,  and  Edited  by  Edward  Miller,  M.A., 
Wykehamical  Prebendary  of  Chichester.    Demy  Svo.  10s.  6<J.  net. 

The  Causes  of  the  Corruption  of  the  Traditional  Text  of 

the  Holy  Gospels.  Edited  by  the  Rev.  Edward  Miller,  M.A.  Demy  Svo. 
10s.  6d.  net. 


A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works.  2 1 

Denton  (W.)    A  Commentary  on  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  for  the 

Sundays  and  other  Holy  Days  of  the  Christian  Year,  and  on  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles.  By  the  Rev.  W.  Denton,  M.A.,  Worcester  College,  Oxford,  and 
Incumbent  of  St.  Bartholomew's,  Cripplegate.     In  7  vols,  each  9s. 

ETisebius.  Ecclesiastical  History.  Translated  by  Eev.  C.  F.  Cruse.  5s. 

Cternier  (T.  P.)  Church  or  Dissent  ?  An  Appeal  to  Holy  Scripture, 
addressed  to  Dissenters.  By  T.  P.  Gamier,  late  Fellow  of  All  Souls'  College, 
Oxford.    2nd  edition.    Crown  8vo.    2s. ;  in  stiff  paper  cover  for  distribution,  !.«. 

Hardwick  (C.)    History  of  the  Articles  of  Religion.    By  Charles 

Hardwick.     3rd  edition  revised.    5s. 
Hawkins  (Canon).    Family  Prayers: — Containing  Psalms,  Lessons, 

and  Prayers,  for  every  Morning  and  Evening  in  the  Week.    By  the  late  Rev. 

Ernest  Hawkins,  B.  D.,  Prebendary  of  St.  Paul's.    20th  edition.    Fcap.  8vo.  Is. 

Hook  (W.  F.)    Short  Meditations  for  Every  Day  in  the  Year. 

Edited  by  the  late  Very  Rev    W.  F.   Hook,    D.D.,    Dean   of    Chichester. 

Revised  edition.    2  vols.    Fcap.  8vo.    Large  type.    14s.    Also  2  vols.  32mo. 

Cloth,  5s. ;  calf,  gilt  edges,  9s. 
The  Christian  Taught  by  the  Church's  Services.    Kevised 

edition.      Fcap.  Svo.     Large  type,  68.  6(1.      Royal  32mo.      Cloth,  2s.   M. 

calf,  gilt  edges,  4s.  Qd. 

Holy  Thoughts  and  Prayers,  arranged  for  Daily  Use  on 


each  Day  of   the   Week,  according  to  the  stated  Hours  of  Prayer.     8th 
edition.    16ino.    Cloth,  red  edges,  2s;  calf,  gilt  edges,  3s.     Cheap  edition,  3d. 

Humphry  (W.  G-.)  An  Historical  and  Explanatory  Treatise  on 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  By  W.  G.  Humphry,  B.D.,  late  Fellow  of 
Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  Prebendary  of  St.  Paul's,  and  Vicar  of  St. 
Martin's-in-the-Fields.     6th  edition.     Fcap.  Svo.  Is. 

Latham  (H.)    Pastor  Pastorum;  or,  the  Schooling  of  the  Apostles 

by  our  Lord.     By  the  Rev.  Henry  Latham,  M.A.,  Muster  of  Trinity  Hall, 

Cambridge.    3rd  edition.    Crown  8vo.  6s.  6d. 

The  Risen  Master.    A  Sequel  to  Pastor  Pastorum. 

A  Service  of  Angels.    Crown  Svo.  3s.  6d.  ^^^  "''  ^'''''^ 

Lewin  (T.)    The  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul.    By  Thomas  Lewin, 

M.A.,    F.S.A.,    Trinity    Collage,    Oxford,    Barrister-at-Law.       5th    edition. 

Illustrated   with   nuiaerous  tine  Engravings  on  Wood,  Maps,  and  Plans. 

2  vols.    Demy  4to.     21.  2s. 
Miller  (E.)     Guide  to  the  Textual  Criticism  of  the  New  Testament. 

By  Rev.  E.  Millar,  M.A.  Oxon,  Rector  of  Bucknell,  Bicester.    Crown  8vo.  4s. 
Monsell  (Dr.)    Watches  by  the  Cross.     Short  Meditations,  Hymns, 

and  Litanies  on  the  Last  Seven  Words  of  our  Lord.    4th  edition.     Cloth,  red 

edges,  Is. 
Near  Home  at  Last.    A  Poem.     10th  thousand.     Cloth,  red 

edges.     Imp.  32mo.  2s.  6cl. 
Our  New  Vicar ;  or,  Plain  Words  about  Eitual  and  Parish 


Work.     Fcap.  8vo.     11th  edition,  2s.  6d. 

The  Winton  Chiurch  Catechism.     Questions  and  Answers  on 


the  Teaching  of  the  Church  Catechism.    4th  edition.     32 mo.  cloth,  3s. 

Pascal.    The  Thoughts  of  Blaise  Pascal.     Translated  from  the  Text 

of  M.  Auguste  Molinier  by  C.  Kegan  Paul.    3s.  6d. 

Perowne  (Bp.)  The  Book  of  Psalms:  a  New  Translation,  with 
Introductions  and  Notes,  Critical  and  Explanatory.  By  the  Right  Rev.  J.  J. 
Stewart  Perowne,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Worcester.  8vo.  Vol.  I.  8th  edition, 
revised,  18s.     Vol.  II.    8th  edition,  revised,  16s. 


2  2  A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works. 

Perowne  (Bp.)     The  Book  of  Psalms.     An  abridged  Edition  for 

Scliocls  and  Private  Students.    Crown  8vo.     Oth  edition,  10>-.  6d.     . 

Pearson  (Bp.)     Exposition  of  the  Creed.     Edited  by  E.  Walford, 

M.A.     5s. 

Prudentius.  Selected  Passages,  with  Verse  Translations  on  the 
opposite  pages.  By  the  Rev.  F.  St.  John  Thackeray,  late  Assistant^Master, 
Eton  CoUege.    Crown  8vo.  7s.  6d. 

Sadler  (M.  F.)  The  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew.  By  the  Rev.  M.  F. 
Sadler,  Rector  of  Honiton  and  Prebendary  of  Wells.  With  Notes,: Critical 
and  Practical,  and  Two  Maps.    6  jh  edition.    Crown  8vo.    7s.  6d. 

The  Gospel  of  St.  Mark.    4th  edition.     Crown  8vo.  75.  6d. 

The  Gospel  of  St.  Luke.    4th  edition.     Crown  8vo.  9s. 

The  Gospel  of  St.  John.     6th  edition.     Crown  8vo.  7s.  6d. 

The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.     4th  edition.     Crown  Bvo.  7s.  6d. 

St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans,     3rd  edition.     Crown  Bvo. 

7s.  U. 
St.  Paul's  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians.    2nd  edition.    Crown 

8vo.  7s.  6(i. 

St.    Paul's    Epistles    to    the    Galatians,    Ephesians,   and 


Philippians.    3rd  edition.     Crown  8vo. 

St.  Paul's  Epistles  to  the  Colossians,  Thessalonlans,  and 

Timothy.     2nd  edition.     Crown  8vo.  6s. 

St  Paul's  Epistles  to  Titus,  Philemon,  and  the  Hebrews. 

2nd  edition.    Crown  8vo.  6s. 

The    Epistles    of   SS.    James,  Peter,    John,    and    Jude. 

2nd  edition.    Crown  8vo.  6s. 

The    Revelation  of  St.    John  the  Divine.      With   Notes 


Critical  and  Practical,  and  Introduction.     2nd  edition.     6s. 

Sermon  Outlines  for  the  Clergy  and  Lay  Preachers,  arranged 

to  accord  with  the  Church's  Year.    2nd  edition.     Crown  8vo.  5s. 

Church  Divine — Bible  Truth.     49th  thousand.    Fcap.  Bvo. 

3s.  6cl. 
'The  objective  nature  of  the  faith,  the  Athanasian  Creed,  the  Baptismal 
Services,  the  Holy  Eucharist,  Absolution  and  the  Priesthood,  Church 
Government  and  Confirmation,  are  some  of  the  more  prominent  subjects 
treated.  And  Mr.  Sadler  handles  each  with  a  marked  degree  of  sound 
sense,  and  with  a  thorough  mastery  of  his  subject.' — dvLdviiian. 

The  Church  Teacher's  Manual   of  Christian  Instruction. 


Being  the  Church  Catechism  expanded  and  explained  in  Question  and 
Answer,  for  the  use  of  Clergymen,  Parents,  and  Teachers.  46th  thousand. 
Feap.  8vo.  2s.  6d. 

Confirmation.     An    Extract    from    the    Church    Teacher's 

Manual.    70th  thousand.    Id. 

The  One  Offering.     A  Treatise  on  the  Sacrificial  Nature 

of  the  Eucharist.    Fcap.  8vo.    11th  thousand,  2s.  6d. 
The  Second  Adam  and  the  New  Birth;  or,  the  Doctrine  of 


Baptism  as  contained  in  Holy  Scripture.    12th  edition.     Fcap.  8vo.  4s.  6<i. 

Justification  of  Life:  its  Nature,  Antecedents,  and  Eesults. 

2nd  edition,  revised.    Crown  8vo.  4s.  6d. 


A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works.  23 

Sadler  (M.  F.)  The  Sacrament  of  Responsibility;  or,  Testimony  of  the 
Scripture  to  the  Teaching  of  the  ChuTclj  on  Holy  Baptism,  with  especial 
reference  to  the  Cases  of  Infants ;  and  Answers  to  Objections.  9th  thousand, 
6d.  With  an  Introduction  and  an  Appendix.  On  fine  paper,  bound  in  cloth, 
7th  edition,  2s.  U. 


Scripture  Truths.    A  Series  of  Ten  Tracts  on  Holy  Baptism, 

The  Holy  Communion,  Ordination,  &c.    9d.  per  set.    Sold  separately. 

The    Communicant's    Manual;     being    a    Book    of    Self- 


examination,  Prayer,  Praise,  and  Thanksgiving.  Royal  32mo.  114th 
thousand.  Clcth,  Is.  Qd. ;  roan,  gilt  edges,  2s.  6d. ;  padded  calf,  5s. 
A  Cheap  edition  in  limp  cloth,  8d. 

A  Larger  Edition  on  fine  paper,   red  rubies.     Fcap. 


8vo.  2s,  6d. 

Scrivener  (Dr.)  Novum  Testamentum  Graece  Textus  Stephanicl, 
A.D.  1550.  Accedunt  variaa  lectiones  editionum  Bezas,  Elzeviri,  Lachmauni, 
Tischendorfii,  Tregellesii,  curante  F.  It.  Scrivener,  A.M.,  D.C.L.,  LL.D. 
16mo.  4s.  6d.— Editio  Major.  Small  port  8vo.  2nd  edition.  7s.  6d.— An 
Edition  with  wide  Margin  for  Notes.    4to.  half  bound,  12s. 

A    Plain    Introduction    to    the    Criticism    of   the    New 

Testament.  For  the  Use  of  Biblical  Students.  4th  edition,  revised  and 
enlarged  by  the  Rev.  E.  Miller,  M.A.,  formerly  PhUow  and  Tutor  of  New 
College,  Oxford.  With  Portrait  and  numerous  Lithographed  Facsimiles  of 
M88.    Demy  8vo.    2  vols.  32s. 

Socrates'  and  Sozomen's  Ecclesiastical  Histories.  Translated  from 
the  Greek.    2  vols.  5s.  each. 

Steers  (E.)  Notes  of  Sermons,  arranged  in  Accordance  with  the 
Church's  Year.  Edited  by  Rev.  R.  M.  Heanley,  M.A.  Oxon.  With 
Introduction  by  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln.    Crown  8vo.    3rd  Series,  7s.  Qd. 

Theodoret  and  Evagrius.     Histories  of  the  Church.    Translated 

from  the  Greek.    5s. 

Young  (Rev.  P.)    Daily  Readings  for  a  Year  on  the  Life  of  Our 

Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  By  the  Rev.  Peter  Young,  M.A.  6th 
edition.    2  vols.  8vo.  11.  Is. 


NAVAL   AND    MILITARY. 

The  British  Fleet :  the  Growth,  Achievements,  and  Duties  of  the 
Navy  of  the  Empire.  By  Commander  Charles  N.  Robinson,  R.N.  With  150 
Illustrations.     Cheaper  edition.     Crown  8vo.  Qs. 

Royal  Navy  Handbooks.  Edited  by  Commander  Charles  N.  Kobinuon, 
R.N.    Crown  8vo.  Illustrated,  5s.  each.    For  List  see  paje  34, 

Allen's  Battles  of  the  British  Navy.  Revised  edition,  with  Indexes 
of  Names  and  Events,  and  57  Steel  Engravings,  including  Portraits  of  Earl 
Ch.  Howard,  Drake,  Raleigh,  Earl  Th.  Howard,  Blake,  G.  Monk,  Earl 
Montagu,  Prince  Rupert,  Sir  E.  Hawke,  Sir  G.  Collier,  Sir  R.  Pear-on,  Visct. 
Rodney,  R.  Kompenfelt,  Lord  Hood,  Earl  Howe,  Visct.  Bridport,  Earl  St. 
Vincent,  William  IV.,  Sir  J.  Saum-rez,  Sir  K.  Keats,  Adm.  Rainier,  Nelson, 
CoUibgwood,  Sir  S.  Smith,  Sir  T.  H.  Hardy,  Capt.  E.  P.  Bnnton,  Capt. 
Willoughbv,  Sir  W.  Ho>te,  Sir  G.  Cockburn,  Lord  Exinouth,  Adm.  Codrington, 
Sir  R  Stopt'ord,  and  Plans  of  all  the  Chief  Battles.  2  vols,  small  post  8vo.  10s. 

Achievements  of  Cavalry.  By  General  Sir  Evelyn  Wood,  V.C, 
G.C.B.,  G.C.M.G.     Crown  8vo.  with  Maps  and  Plans.    7s.6d.net. 

The  Campaign  of  Sedan:  The  Downfall  of  the  Second  Empire, 
August-September  1870.  By  George  Hooper.  With  General  Map  and  Six 
Plans  of  Battles.    New  edition.     Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6d. 


24  A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works. 

Waterloo :  The  Downfall  of  the  First  Napoleon.  A  History  of  the 
Campaign  of  1816.  By  Greorge  Hooper.  With  Maps  and  Plans.  New  edition, 
revised.     Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6^. 

History  of  the  Irish  Rebellion  in  1798.      By  W.  H.   MaxwelL 

Illustrated  by  George  Crniksliank.    13th  edition.     7s.  6d. 

The  War  of  the  Succession  in  Spain  dxiring  the  Reign  of  Queen 

Anne,  1702-1711.   Based  on  Original  Manuscripts  and  Contemporary  Records. 
By  Col.  the  Hon.  Arthur  Parnell,  R.E.    Demy  8vo.  14s.    With  Map,  «&c. 

The  Revolutionary  Movements  of  1848-9  in  Italy,  Austria,  Hun- 
gary, and  Germany.  With  some  Examination  of  the  previous  Thirty-three 
Years.    By  C.  Edmund  Maurice.    With  Illustrations.    Demy  Svo.  16s. 


TECHNOLOGY. 

TECHNOLOGICAL    HANDBOOKS. 

Edited  by  Sir  H.  Trueman  Wood. 
Illustrated  and  uniformly  printed  in  small  post  8vo. 
A  Series  of  Technical  Manuals  for  the  use  of  Workmen  and  others 
practically  interested  in  the  Industrial  Arts,  and  specially  adapted 
for  Candidates  in  the  Examinations  of  the  City  Guilds  Institute. 

'  The  excellent  series  of  technical  handbooks.' — Textile  Manufactureii\ 
'  The  admirable  series  of  technological  handbooks.' 

British  Journal  of  Commerce, 
'  Messrs.  Bell's  excellent  technical  series.' — Manchester  Guardian. 
'  Of  inestimable  value  to  manufacturers  as  well  as  teachers  and  students,' 

Manchester  Courier, 
Cotton  Weaving:   Its  Development,  Principles,  and  Practice.    By 
R.  Marsden,  Honorary  Examiner  to  the  City  and  Guilds  of  London  Institute, 
and  Editor  of  the  Textile  Mercury.    With  numerous  Illustrations.    10s.  6d. 

Cotton  Spinning :  Its  Development,  Principles,  and  Practice.    With 

an  Appendix  on  Steam  Engines  and  Boilers.    By  R.  Marsden.    4th  edition. 

6s.  6d. 
Woollen  and  Worsted  Cloth  Manufacture.    By  Professor  Eoberts 

Beaumont,  Textiie  Industries  Department  of  the  Yorkshire  College,  Leeds. 

2nd  edition,  revised.    7s.  6d. 

Silk  Dyeing.  By  G.  H.  Hurst,  F.C.S.,  Lecturer  at  the  Manchester 
Technical  School,  Member  of  the  Society  of  Chemical  ladustry,  Silver 
Medallist,  City  and  Guilds  of  London  Institute.  With  numerous  Coloured 
Patterns.    7s.  6d. 

Coal-Tar  Colours,  The  Chemistry  of.  With  special  reference  to 
their  application  to  Dyeing,  &c.  By  Dr.  R.  Benedikt,  Professor  of  Ohemistry 
in  the  University  of  Vienna.  Translated  from  the  German  by  E.  Knecht, 
Ph.D.,  Head  Master  of  the  Chemistry  and  Djeing  Department  in  the 
Techical  College,  Bradford.    2nd  edition,  revised  and  enla'ged.    6s.  6d. 

[New  edition  preparing. 

Dyeing  and  Tissue-Printing.  By  William  Crookes,  F.K. S.,  V.P.C.S., 
5s.  [Out  of  print. 

Plumbing :  Its  Theory  and  Practice.  By  S.  Stevens  Hellyer,  Author 
of  ♦  The  Plumbfr  and  Sanitary  Houses,'  'Lectures  on  the  Science  and  Art  of 
Sanitary  Plumbing,'  &c.    With  Illustrations.    5s. 

Bookbinding.  A  Practical  Treatise  on  the  Art.  By  J.  W.  Zaehns- 
dorf.  With  8  Coloured  Plates  and  numerous  Diagrams.  2nd  edition  re- 
vised.   5s. 


A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works.  25 

Printing.  A  Practical  Treatise  on  the  Art  of  Typography  as  applied 
more  particularly  to  the  Printing  of  Books.  By  C.  T.  Jacobi,  Manager  of 
the  Chiswick  Press ;  Examiner  ■  in  Typography  to  the  City  and  G-uilds  of 
London  Institute.  With  upwards  of  160  Illustrations,  many  useful  Tables, 
and  Crlossarial  Index  of  Technical  Terms  and  Phrases.    5s. 

Glass  Manufacture.    Introductory   Essay  by  H.   J.  Powell,   B.A. 

(Whitefriars  GIa«s  Works) ;  Crown  and  Sheet  Glass,  by  Henry  Chance,  M.A. 
(Chance  Brop.,  Birmingham) ;  Plate  Glass,  by  H.  G.  Han  is,  Assoc.  Memb, 
Inst.  C.B.    3s.  6d. 

Soap  Manufacture.  A  Practical  Treatise  on  the  Fabrication  of 
Hard  and  Soft  Soaps,  and  Analytical  Methods  for  the  determination  of  their 
Chemical  Composition  ;  together  with  a  short  account  of  the  materials  em- 
ployed. By  W.  Lawrence  G^dd,  F.T.O.,  F.C.S.,  Registered  Lecturer  on  Soap 
Makine,  and  the  Technology  of  Oils  and  Fats ;  also  on  Bleaching,  Dyeing, 
and  Calico  Printing,  to  the  City  and  Guilds  of  London  Institute.    5s. 

Gas  Manufacture.  By  John  Hornby,  F.I.C. ,  Honours  Medallist  in 
Gas  Manufacturps  ;  Lecturer  under  the  City  and  Guil'ls  of  London  Institute ; 
Author  of  '  The  Gas  Engineer's  Laboratory  Handbook.'    5s. 

The  Art  and  Craft  of  Coach  Building.  By  John  Philipson, 
M.Inst.M.E.,  Past  President  of  the  Institute  of  British  Carriage  Manu- 
facturers ;  Member  of  the  Coachmakers'  and  Coach  Harness  Makers'  Co., 
London ;  the  Sociaty  of  Arts,  and  the  Carriage  Builders'  National  Association  ; 
U.S.A.,  &c.    6s.  

BELL'S    AGRICULTURAL   SERIES. 
Crown  8vo.  Illustrated,  2s.  6d.  each. 

*  The  most  popular,  the  most  practical,  the  handiest,  and  the  cheapest  collec- 
tion of  works  of  the  kind  ever  published.'— Westmoreland  Gazette. 

'  We  cannot  t-peak  too  hii<hly  of  Bell's  Series  of  Agritmltnral  Handbooks,  which 
are  standard  works  by  eminent  authors  ;  and  go-ahead  agriculturists  should  pro- 
cure  copies  of  the  handbooks  noticed  without  del&y.'  —South  African  Agriculturist. 

The  Farm  and  the  Dairy.  By  Professor  J.  P.  Sheldon,  formerly 
of  the  Koyal  Agricultural  College,  and  of  the  Downton  College  of  Agriculture ; 
late  Special  Commissioner  of  the  Canadian  Government. 

Manures  and  their  Uses.    By  Dr.  A.  B.  Griffiths,  F.E  S.E.,  F.C.S., 

late  Principal  of  the  Sohool  of  Science,  Lincoln. 

The  Diseases  of  Crops  and  their  Remedies.   By  Dr.  A.  B.  Griffiths. 
Soils  and  their  Properties.      By  Dr.  W.  Fream,  B.Sc,  London, 

F.L.S.,  F.G.S.,  F.S.S.     Witti  a  Geological  Map  of  Great  Britain. 
Tillage  and  Implements.     By  Walter  J.  Maiden.  Professor  of  Agri. 
culture  in   the  College  of  Agriculture,   Downton ;   late   Resident  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society's  Experimental  Farm  at  Wobum. 

Practical  Fruit  Culture.  A  Treatise  on  Planting,  Growing,  and 
Storage  of  Hardy  Fruits  for  Market  and  Private  Growers.  By  J.  Cheal, 
F.R.H.S.,  Member  of  Fruit  Committee,  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  &c.  &c. 

Specially  adapted  for  Agricultural  Classes. 
Crown  8vo.  Illustrated,  Is.  each. 

Practical  Dairy  Farming.    By  Professor  Sheldon.     Reprinted  from 

the  Author's  larger  work  entitled  '  The  Farm  and  the  Dairy.' 

Practical  Fruit  Growing.    By  J.  Cheal,  F.R.H.S.    Reprinted  from 

the  Author's  larger  work  entitled  '  Fruit  Culture. 


26  A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works. 

SCIENCE. 

Chevreul  on  Colour.     Containing  the  Principles   of  Harmony  and 

OoDtrasfc  of  Colours,  and  their  Application  to  the  Arts ;  including  Painting, 
Decoration,  Tapestries,  Carpets,  Mosaics,  Glazintr.  Staining.  Calico  Printing, 
Letterpress  Printing'.  Map  Colouring,  Dress,  Landscape  and  Flower  Gardening, 
&c.  Translated  from  the  French  by  Charles  Martel.  3rd  and  only  complete 
edition,  with  Introduction  by  the  Translator.  Index  and  several  Plates. 
Small  post  8vo.  Ss. 

With  an  additional  series  of  16  Plates  in  Colours,  7s.  6d. 

Humboldt's  Cosmos;  or,  Sketch  of  a  Physical  Description  of  the 

Universe.  Translated  by  E.  0.  Otto,  B.  H.  Paul,  and  W.  S.  Dallas,  F.L.S. 
With  Portrait.     5  vols.     Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6(i.  each,  excepting  Vol.  V.,  5s. 

Views  of  Nature ;  or,  Contemplations  of  the  Sublime  Phe^ 

nomena  of  Creation.  With  Scientific  Illustrations.  Translated  by  E.  C.  Otte 
and  H.  G-.  Rohn.  With  a  Facsimile  Letter  from  the  Author,  Translations  of 
the  Quotations,  and  a  very  complete  Index.    Small  post  8vo.  5s. 

Jukes-Browne  (A.  J.)  The  Student's  Handbook  of  Physical 
Geology.  With  numerous  Diagrams  and  Illustrations.  2nd  edition,  much 
enlarged.     Small  post  Svo.  7s.  QA, 

The  Student's  Handbook  of  Historical   Geology.     With 

numerous  Diagrams  and  Illustrations.     Small  post  Svo.  6s. 

The  Building  of  the  British  Isles.   A  Study  in  Geographical 


Evolution.     Illustrated  by  numerous  Maps  and  Woodcuts.     Second  edition, 
revised.    Small  post  Svo.  7s.  6d. 

Stockhardt.  Experimental  Chemistry.  A  Handbook  for  the  Study 
of  the  Science  by  Simple  Experiments.  Edited  by  C.  W.  Heaton,  F.O.S. 
With  Index  and  numerous  Woodcuts.  New  edition,  revised  throughout. 
Small  post  Svo.  5s. 

Baker  (J.  O-.)    A  Flora  of  the  English  Lake  District.     By  J.  G. 

Baker,  F.R.S.,  F.L.S.,  Keeper  of  the  Herbarium  of  the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew. 
Demy  Svo.  7s.  6d. 

Handbook  of  the  Fern  Allies.     A  Synopsis  of  the  Genera 

and  Species  of  the  Natural  Orders,  Equisetaceae,  Lycopodiaceae,  Selaginel- 
laceae,  Rhizocarpeae.    Demy  Svo.  5s. 

Handbook  of  the  Amaryllldeae,  including  the  Alstroemerieae 


and  Agaveae.    Demy  Svo. 

Handbook  of  the  Bromeliaceae.     Demy  Svo.  5s. 

Handbook  of  the  Irideae.     Demy  Svo.  5s. 


English  Botany.  Containing  a  Description  and  Life-size  Drawing 
of  every  British  Plant.  Edited  by  T.  Boswell  (formerly  Stme),  LL.D., 
F.L.S.,  &c.  The  Figures  by  J.  C.  Sowerby,  F.L.S.,  J.  De  C.  Sowerby  F.L.S., 
J.  W.  Salter,  A.L.S.,  F.G.S.,  and  J.  E.  Sowerby.  3rd  edition,  entirely 
revised,  with  descriptions  of  all  the  species  by  the  Editor,  and  1937  full-page 
Coloured  Plates.  In  12  vols.  241. 3s.  cloth ;  271. 15s.  half  morocco  ;  and  31i.  ISs. 
whole  morocco.  Also  in  89  parts,  5s.  each,  except  part  89,  containing  an  Index 
to  the  whole  work,  7s.  6d.    Volumes  sold  separately. 

*4«.*  A  Supplement  to  the  third  edition  is  now  in  preparation.  Vol.  I.  (Vol. 
XIII.  of  the  complete  work)  containing  orders  I.  to  XL.,  by  N.  E.  Brown,  of 
the  Royal  Herbarium,  Kew,  now  ready,  17s.    Or  in  three  parts,  5s.  each. 

Elementary  Botany.  By  Percy  Groom,  M.A.  (Cantab,  et  Oxon.). 
F.L.S. ,  Examiner  in  Botany  to  the  University  of  Oxford.  With  275  Illustra- 
tions.    Crown  Svo.  3s.  6d. 


A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works.  27 


Johnson's  Gardener's  Dictionary.  Describing  the  Plants,  Fruits, 
and  Vegetables  desirable  for  the  Garden,  and  explaining  the  Terms  and 
Operations  employed  in  their  cnltivation.  New  edition  (1893-4),  revised  by 
0.  H.  Wright,  F.R.M.S.,  and  D.  Dewar,  Curator  of  the  Botanic  Gardens, 
Glasgow.    Demy  8vo.  9s.  net. 

British  Fungus-Flora.    A  Classified  Text-book  of  Mycology.     By 

George  Massee.    With  numerous  Illustrations.    4  yols.    Post  8vo.  7s.  6d.  each. 

Botanist's  Pocket -Book.  By  W.  B.  Hay  ward.  Containing  the 
botanical  name,  common  name,  soil  or  situation,  colour,  growth,  and  time  of 
flowering  of  all  plants,  arranged  in  a  tabulated  form.  8th  edition,  reyised, 
with  a  new  Appendix.    Fcap.  8vo.  4s.  6d. 

Index  of  British  Plants,  according  to  the  London  Catalogue  (8th 

edition),  including  the  Synonyms  used  by  the  principal  authors,  an  alphabetical 
list  of  Euglish  names;  also  references  to  the  iliustrfitions  of  Syme's  '  English 
Botany  *  and  Bentham's  '  British  Flora.'  By  Robert  Turnbull.  Paper,  2s.  6d. ; 
cloth,  3s. 

The  London  Catalogue  of  British  Plants.  Part  I.,  containing  the 
British  Phaenogamia,  Filices,  Equisetaceae,  Lycopodiaceae,  Selaginellaceae, 
Marsileaceae,  and  Gharaceae.  9th  edition.  Demy  8yo.  6d. ;  interleaved,  in 
limp  cloth.  Is. 

PHILOSOPHY. 

Bacon's  Novum  Organum  and  Advancement  of  Learning.  Edited, 
with  Notes,  by  J.  Devey,  M.A.    Small  post  8yo.  5s. 

Bax's  Manual  of  the  History  of  Philosophy,  for  the  use  of  Students. 
By  E.  Belfort  Bax,  Editor  of  Kant's  '  Prolegomena.'     Small  post  8vo.  5s. 

Berkeley's  (George)  Works.  Edited  by  George  Sampson.  With  a 
Biopripbical  Introduction  by  the  Right  Hon.  A.  J.  Balfour,  M.P.  3  vols. 
Small  post  8vo.  5s.  each. 

Comte's    Positive    Philosophy.      Translated    and    Condensed   by 

Harriet  Martineau.  With  Introduction  by  Frederic  Harrison.  3  vols.  Small 
post  8vo.  5s.  each. 

Philosophy  of  the  Sciences,  being  an  Exposition  of  the 

Principles  of  the  '  Cours  de  Philosophie  Positive.'  By  G.  H.  Lewes.  With 
Index.    Small  post  Svo.  Ss. 

Draper's  (J.  W.)  A  History  of  the  Intellectual  Development  of 
Europe.  By  John  William  Draper,  M.D.,  LL.D.  A  new  edition,  thoroughly 
revised  by  the  Author,  with  Index.        2  vols.    Small  post  8yo.  5s.  each. 

Falckenberg's  History  of  Modern  Philosophy.  Translated  by 
Professor  A.  0.  Armstrong.    Demy  Svo.  16s. 

Hegel's  Philosophy  of  Right  (Grundlinien  der  Philosophie  des 
Rechts).  Translated  by  Samuel  W.  Dyde,  M.A.,  D.Sc,  Professor  of  Mental 
Philosophy  in  Queen's  University,  Kingston,  Canada.     Grown  8vo.  7s.  6cl. 

Kant's  Critique  of  Pure  Reason.    Translated  by  J.  M.  D.  Meikle- 

john.     Small  post  Svo.  5s. 

Prolegom-na  and  Metaphysical  Foundations  of  Natural 

Science.  Translated,  with  Biography  and  Introduction,  by  E.  Belfort  Bax. 
Small  post  8vo.  Ss. 

Plotinus,  Select  Works  of.  Translated  from  the  Greek  by  Thomas 
Taylor.  Wi'h  an  Introduction  containing  the  substance  of  Porphyry's 
Plotinus.    Edited  by  G.  R.  S.  Mead,  B.A.,  M.R.A.S.    Small  post  Svo.  5s. 


28  A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works. 


Byland  (F.)  Psychology;  an  Introductory  Manual.  Designed 
chiefly  for  the  Loudon  B.A.  and  B.Sc.  By  F.  Ryland,  M.A.,  late  Scholar 
of  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge.  Cloth.  7th  edition,  rewritten  and  reset. 
Crown  8vo.  4s.  6d. 

Ethics:    An  Introductory  Manual  for  the  use  of  University 

Students.     Crown  8vo.  3s.  6cl. 
Logic :  An  Introductory  Manual.     Crown  8vo.  4s.  6d!. 


Schopenhauer.    On  the  Fourfold  Root  of  the  Principle  of  SufS- 

cient   Reason,  and  on  the  'Will  in   Nature.      Translated  by    Madame 
Hillebrand.    Small  post  8vo.  5s. 

Essays.     Selected  and  Translated,  with  a  Biographical  Intro- 

duction  and  Sketch  of  his  Philosophy,  by  B.  Belfort  Bax.    Small  post  8vo.  58. 

Spinoza's  Chief  Works.     Translated,  with  Introduction,  by  E.  H.  M. 
Elwes.    2  vols.    Small  post  8vo.  5s.  each. 


ECONOMICS    AND    FINANCE. 

The  Case  against  Bimetallism.     By  Sir  Robert  Giffen,  C.B. ,  LL.D. 

5th  edition.    Crown  8vo.  78.  6d. 
The  Growth  of  Capital.    By  the  same  author.     Demy  8vo.  7s.  6(Z. 


Ricardo  on  the  Principles  of  Political  Economy  and  Taxation. 

Edited  by  E.  C.  K.  Gonner,  M.A.,  Lecturer,  University  College,  Liverpool. 
Sm.  post  8vo.  5s. 

Smith  (Adam).     The  Wealth  of  Nations.     Edited  by  E.  Belfort 

Bax.    2  vols.    Sm.  post  8vo.  7s. 

The  History,  Principles,  and  Practice  of  Banking.     By  the  late 

J.  W,  Gilbart,  F.R.8.,  formerly  Director  and  General  Manager  of  the  London 
and  Westminster  Bank.  New  edition,  revised  by  A.  8.  Michie,  of  the  Royal 
Bank  of  Scotland,  Glasgow.    2  vols,  small  post  8vo.  10s. 


SPORTS   AND    GAMES. 

Bohn's  Handbooks  of  Athletic  Sports.    In  8  vols.     Sm.  post  8vo. 

3s.  6d.  each. 

Vol.  I. — Cricket,  by  Hon.  and  Rev.  E.  Lyttelton.  Lawn  Tennis,  by  H.  W.  W. 
Wilberforce.  Tennis,  Rackets,  and  Fives,  by  Julian  Marshall,  Major  Spens, 
and  Rev.  J.  A.  Tait.     Golf,  by  W.  T.  Linskill.     Hockey,  by  F.  S.  Creswell. 

Vol.  II. — Rowing  and  Sculling,  by  W.  B.  Woodgate.  Sailing,  by  E.  F. 
Knight.    Swimming,  by  M.  and  J.  R.  Cobbett. 

Vol.  III. — Boxing,  by  R.  G.  Allanson-Wiun.  Broadsword  and  Single  Stick, 
with  chapters  on  Quarterstaif,  Bayonet,  Cudgel,  Shillalah,  Walking- Stick, 
and  Umbrella,  by  R.  G.  AUanson-Winn  and  C.  Phillipps-Wolley.  Wrestling, 
by  Walter  Arms  rong.    Fencing,  by  H.  A.  Oolmore  Dunn. 

Vol.  IV. — Rugby  Football,  by  Harry  Vassall.  Association  Football,  by 
0.  W.  Alcock.  Baseball,  by  Newton  Crane.  Rounders,  Bowls,  Quoits, 
Curling,  Skittles,  &c.,  by  C.  C.  Mott  and  J.  M.  Walker. 

Vol.  v.— Cycling  and  Athletics,  by  H.  H.  Griffin.  Skating,  by  Douglas 
Adams. 

Vol.  VI. — Practical  Horsemanship,  including  Riding  for  Ladies,  by  W.  A. 
Kerr,  V.C. 

Vol.  VII. — Camping  Out,  by  A.  A.  Macdonald.  Canoeing,  by  Dr.  J.  D. 
Hayward. 

Vol.  VIIL— Gymnastics,  by  A.  F.  Jenkin.  Clubs,  by  G.  T.  B.  Cobbett  and 
A.  F.  Jenkin. 


A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works.  29 

Bohn  s  Handbooks  of  Games.     New  edition.    In  2  vols.     Small 

post  8vo.  3s.  6d.  each. 

Vol.  I.— Table  Games  :  Billiards,  with  Pool,  Pyramids,  and  Snooker.'^by 
Major-General  A.  W.  Draysou,  F.R.A.S.,  with  a  preface  by  W.  J.  Peall. 
Bagatelle,  by  'Berkeley.'  Chess,  by  R.  F.  Green.  Draughts,  Backgammon, 
Dominoes,  Solitaire,  Reversi,  Go-Bang,  Rouge  et  Noir,  Roulette,  E.G.,  Hazard, 
Faro,  by  *  Berkeley.' 

Vol.  II.— Card  Games:  Whist,  by  Dr.  William  Pole,  F.R.S.,  Author  of 
'  The  Philosophy  of  Whist,'  &c.  Solo  Whist,  by  R.  F.  Green.  Piquet,  Ecart^, 
Euchre,  Bezique,  and  Cribbage,  by  'Berkeley.'  Poker,  Loo,  Vingt-et-un, 
Napoleon,  Newmarket,  Pope  Joan,  Speculation,  iSfcc.  &c.,  by  Baxter-Wray. 

Morphy's   Games  of  Chess,  being  the  Matches  and  best  Games 

plaved  by  the  American  Champion,  with  explanatory  and  analytical  Notes  by 
J.  L6  wenthal.    With  short  Memoir  and  Portrait  of  Morphy.    Sm.  post  8vo.  5s. 

Staunton's  Chess-Player's  Handbook.      A  Popular  and  Scientifio 

Introduction  to  the  Game.    Wibh  numerous  diagrams.    5s. 

Chess  Praxis.  A  Supplement  to  the  Chess-player's  Hand- 
book. Containing  the  most  important  modem  improvements  in  the  Openings ; 
Code  of  Chess  Laws ;  and  a  Selection  of  Morphy's  Games.     Small  post  8vo.  Ss. 

Chess-Player's  Companion.   Comprising  a  Treatise  on  Odds, 

Collection  of  Match  Games,  and  a  Selection  of  Original  Problems.    With 
coloured  Frontispiece.     Small  post  8vo.  5s. 

Chess  Studies  and  End-Games.  In  Two  Parts.  Part  I.  Chess 
Studies.  Part  II.  Miscellaneous  End-Games.  By  B.  Horwitz  and  J.  Kling. 
2nd  edition,  revised  by  the  Rev.  W.  Wayte,  M.A.    Demy  8vo.  7s.  Qd. 

Hints  on  Billiards.  By  J.  P.  Buchanan.  Illustrated  with  36 
Diagrams.    Crown  8vo.  3s.  Qd. 

Sturges's  Guide  to  the  Game  of  Draughts.  With  Critical  Situa- 
tions. Revised,  with  Additional  Play  on  the  Modern  Openings,  by  J.  A.  Kear, 
Editor  of  •  The  International  Draught  Magazine.'  2nd  Ediiion.  Crown  8vo. 
3s.  U. 

Hints  on  Driving.  By  Captain  C.  Morley  Knight,  E.A.  Illustrated 
by  G.  H.  A.  White,  Royal  Artillery.  2nd  edition,  revised  and  enlarged. 
Crown  8vo.  3s.  6(J. 

Golf,  in  Theory  and  Practice.  Hints  to  beginners.  By  H.  S.  C. 
Everard,  St.  Andrew's.  With  22  Illustrations,  2nd  Edition.  Crown  8vo.  3s.  6cl. 

Half-Hours  with  an  Old  Golfer;  a  Pot-pourri  for  Golfers.  By 
Calamo  Currente.  With  40  Illustrations  and  4  Coloured  Plates  by  G.  A, 
Laundy.    Crown  8vo.  3s.  6<J. 

Schools  and  Masters  of  Fence,  from  the  Middle  Ages  to  the 
Eighteenth  Century.  With  a  Sketch  of  the  Development  of  the  Art  of 
Fencing  with  the  Rapier  and  the  Small  Sword,  and  a  Bibliography  of  the 
Fencing  Art  during  that  Period.  Bj  Egerton  Castle,  M.A.  With  numerous 
Illustrations.    2nd'' edition.    Small  post  8vo.  6s. 

Oars  and  Sculls,  and  How  to  Use  them.    By  W.  B.  Woodgate,  M.A. 

Brasenoso  College,  Oxford.    Crown  8vo.  2s.  6d. 

Dancing  as  an  Art  and  Pastime.  With  40  full-page  illustrations 
from  life.    By  Edward  Scott.    Crown  8vo.  Qs. 


30 


A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works. 


THE     ALL-ENGLAND     SERIES. 

HANDBOOKS   OF   ATHLETIC    GAMES. 

The  only  Series  issiied  at  a  moderate  price,  by  Writers  who  are  in 
the  first  rank  in  their  respective  departments. 

•  The  best  instruction  on  games  and  sports  by  the  best  authorities,  at  the  lowest 
prices.' — Oxford  Magazine. 

Small  8vo.  cloth,  Illustrated.    Price  Is.  each. 


Cricket.     By  the   Hon.  and  Eev. 

B.  Lyttelton. 
Lawn    Tennis.      By    H.  W.   W. 

WiLBERFORCE.     With  a  Chapter  for 

Ladies,  by  Mrs.  Hilltard. 

Tennis  and  Rackets  and  Fives. 

By  Julian  Marshall,  Major  J.  Spens, 

and  Rev.  J.  A.  Arnan  Tait. 
G-olf.    By  W.  T.  LiNSKiLL. 
Rowing  and  ScuUing.    By  W.  B. 

WOODGATE. 

Sailing.  By  E.  F.  Knight,  dbl.vol.  2s. 
Swimming.     By  Martin  and  J. 

Racster  Cobbett. 
Camping  out.     By  A.  A.  Macdon- 

ELL.    Double  vol.    2s. 
Canoeing.    By  Dr.  J.  D.  Haywaed. 

Double  vol.    2s. 
Mountaineering.     By  Dr.  Claude 

Wilson.    Double  vol.    2s. 
Athletics.     By  H.  H.  Gbiffin. 
Riding.     By  W.  A.   Kebe,    V.C. 

Double  vol.    2s. 

Ladies' Riding.  ByW,A.KERR,V.C. 

Boxing.  By  B.  G.  Allanson-Winn. 
With  Prefatory  Note  by  Bat  Mullins. 

Cycling.  By  H.  H.  Griffin,L.A.C., 
N.C.U.,  C.T.C.  With  a  Chapter  for 
Ladies,  by  Miss  Agnes  Wood. 

Fencing.    By  H.  A.  Colmore  Dunn. 


Wrestling.  By  Walter  Arm- 
strong (' Cross-but  tocker'). 

Broadsword  and  Singlestick. 
By  R.  G.  Allanson-Winn  and  C.  Phil- 

LIPPS-WOLLE-X. 

Gymnastics.     By  A,  F.   Jenkin. 

Double  vol.  2s. 

Gymnastic  Competition  and  Dis- 
play Exercises.  Compiled  by 
F.  Graf. 

Indian  Clubs.  By  G.  T.  B.  Cob- 
BETT  and  A.  P.  Jenkin. 

Dumb-bells.     By  F.  Graf. 

Football  —  Rugby  Game.  By 
Harry  Vassall. 

Football — Association  Game.  By 
C.  W.  Alcocs.    Revised  Edition. 

Hockey.  By  F.  S.  Creswell. 
(In  Paper  Cover,  6d.) 

Skating.  By  Douglas  Adams. 
With  a  Chapter  for  Ladies,  by  Miss  L. 
Cheetham,  and  a  Chapter  on  Speed 
Skating,  by  a  Fen  Skater.   Dbl.  vol.  2s. 

Baseball.  By  Newton  Crane. 
Rounders,  Fieldball,  Bowls, 

Quoits,    Curling,   Skittles,    &c. 

By  J.  M.  Walker  and  C.  C.  Mott. 
Dancing.      By    Edward    Scott. 

Double  vol.    2s. 


THE  CLUB  SERIES  OF  CARD  AND  TABLE  GAMES. 

No  well-regulated  club  or  country  house  should  be  without  this  useful  series  of  books. 
Small  8vo.  cloth.  Illustrated.     Price  Is.  each.  Globe, 

Dominoes  and  Solitaire. 

By  '  Berkeley.' 
Bezique  and  Cribbage. 


Whist.    By  Dr.  Wm.  Pole,  F.R.S. 
Solo  Whist.  By  Egbert  F.  Green. 

Billiards.  With  Chapters  on  Pool, 
Pyramids,  and  Snooker.  By  Major- 
Gen.  A.  W.  Drayson,  F.R.A.S.  -  With 
a  Preface  by  W.  J.  Peall. 

Chess.     By  Robert  F.  Green. 

The  Two-Move  Chess  Problem. 
By  B.  G.  Laws. 

Chess  Openings.  By  I.  Gunsberg. 
Draughts  and  Backgammon. 

By  •  Berkeley.' 
Reversi  and  Go  Bang. 
By '  Bebkxsley  ' 


By  '  Berkeley.* 
Ecarte  and  Euchre. 

By  '  Berkeley.' 
Piquet  and  Rubicon  Piquet 

By  '  Berkeley.' 
Skat.     By  Louis  Diehl, 

*^*  A  Skat  Scoring-book.     Is. 

Round  Games,  including  Poker, 
Napoleon,  Loo,  Vingt-et-un,  &c.  By 
Baxter- Weay. 

School  and  Parlour  Games. 
By  Mrs.  Laurence  Gomme. 


A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works.  3 1 


FICTION. 

(See  also  *  Standard  Books.^) 

Bjomson's  Arne  and  the  Fisher  Lassie,  Translated  from  the 
Norse  with  an  Introduction  by  W.  H.  Low,  M.A.     Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

Bumey's  Evelina;  or,  The  History  of  a  Young  Lady's  Entrance 
into  the  World.  By  Frances  Burney  (Mme.  D'Arblay) .  With  an  Introdnc. 
tion  and  Notes  by  A.  R.  Ellis.     Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

Cecilia.     2  vols,  small  post  8vo.  3s.  6d.  each. 

Cervantes'  Galatea.  A  Pastoral  Eomance.  Translated  from  the 
Spanish  by  G.  W.  J.  Gyll.     Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

Exemplary  Novels.    Translated  from  the  Spanish  by  Walter 

K.  Kelly.     Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

Don  Quixote  de  la  Mancha.    Motteux's  Translation,  revised. 


With  Lockhart's  Life  and  Notes.    2  vols,  email  post  8vo.  3s.  6d.  each. 
Classic  Tales,  containing  Basselas,  Vicar  of  Wakefield,  Gulliver's 

Travels,  and  The  Sentimental  Journey.     Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6(J. 
De  Stael's  Corinne  or  Italy.    By  Madame  de  Stael.    Translated  by 

Emily  Baldwin  and  Paulina  Driver.     Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6d. 
Ebers'  Eg3notian  Princess.    An  Historical  Novel.    By  George  Ebers. 

Translated  by  E.  S.  Buchheim.     Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6d. 
Edmonds  (Mrs.)     Amygdala.    A  Story  of  the  French  Eevolution. 

2s.  6d.  net. 

Fielding's  Adventures  of  Joseph  Andrews  and  His  Friend  Mr. 

Abraham  Adams.     With  Cruikshank's  Illustrations.    3s.  6d. 

History  of  Tom  Jones,  a  Foundling.     Boscoe's  Edition, 

with  George  Cruikshank's  Illustrations,    2  vols,  small  post  8vo.  3s.  6d.  each. 
Amelia.     Illustrated  by  George  Cruikshank.     5s. 


Gift  (Theo.)     Dishonoured. 

Gil  Bias,  the  Adventures  of.    Translated  by  Smollett.    Illustrated 

by  Smirke  and  Ci'uikshank.     Small  post  8vo.  6s. 
HaufF's  Tales.    The  Caravan — The  Sheik  of  Alexandria — The  Inn 

in  the  Spessart.     Translated  by  S.  Mendel.     Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6d. 
Hawthorne's  Tales.    4  vols.     Small  post  8vo.  3».  6d.  each, 

Hoffmann's  Tales.    The  Serapion  Brethren.     Translated  by  Lieut.- 

Col.  Ewing.    2  vols.     Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6d.  each. 
Holnut  (W.  S.)    Olympia's  Journal.     Crown  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

Manzoni.       The    Betrothed.       By    Alessandro    Manzoni.       With 

numerous  Woodcut  Illustrations     Small  post  8vo.  5s. 
PoushMn's  Prose  Tales.    Translated  from  the  Eussian  by  T.  Keane. 

Small  post  8vo.  38.  6d. 
Smollett's  Roderick  Random.    With  Cruikshank's  Illustrations  and 

Bibliography.     Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

Peregrine  Pickle.    With  Cruikshank's  Illustrations.    2  vols. 

Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6d.  each. 

Humphry  Clinker.    With  Cruikshank's  Illustrations.    Small 


post  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

Steele  (]y4Jrs.  A.  C.)    Lesbia.     A  Study  in  one  volume.     6«. 
Stinde  (J.)    The  Buchholss  Family.    Sketches  of  Berlin  Life.    By 

Julius  Stinde.    Translated  from  the  49th  edition  of  the  German  by.L.  Dora 
Schmitz.    Popular  edition,  picture  boards,  2s. 


32  A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works. 

Stlnde  (J.)    The  Buchliolz  Family.    Second  Part.    Popular  edition. 

Picture  boards,  2s. 
The   Buchholzes   in   Italy.      Translated    from    the    37th 

edition  of  the  original  by  Harriet  F.  Powell.    Crown  8vo.  cloth,  3s. 

Frau  Wilhelmine.    Being  the  Conclusion  of  '  The  Buchholz 


Family.'    Translated  by  Harriet  F.  Powell.    Crown  8vo.  cloth,  3s. 


BOOKS    FOR   THE    YOUNG. 

Andersen  (Hans  Christian).  Fairy  Tales  and  Sketches.  Trans- 
lated by  C.  C.  Peachey,  H.  Ward,  A.  Plesner,  &c.  With  numerous  Illus- 
trations by  Otto  Speckter  and  others.    7th  thousand.    Crown  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

Tales  for    Children.     With  48  full -page  Illustrations    by 

Wehnert,  and  57  small  Engravings  on  Wood  by  W.  Thomas.  13th  thousa  d. 
Crown  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

Danish  Legends  and  Fairy  Tales.     Translated  from  the 

Original  by  Caroline  Peachey.  With  a  Short  Life  of  the  Author,  and  120 
Wood  Engravings,  chiefly  by  Foreign  Artists.    Small  post  8vo,  5s. 

Edgeworth's  Stories  for  Children.  With  8  Illustrations  by  L.  Speed. 

Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

Ford  (Mrs.  Gerard).  Master  Rex.  By  Mrs.  Gerard  Ford.  Illus- 
trated  by  James  Cadenhead,  Florence  M.  Cooper,  and  Louise  S.  Sweet.  2nd 
edition.    Crown  8vo.  3s. 

Pixie:   and  the  Hill -House  Farm.     Illustrated  by  James 

Cadenhead  and  Florence  M.  Cooper.    2nd  edition.    Crown  8vo.  3s. 

Gatty's  Parables  from  Nature.    With  Notes  on  the  Natural  History, 

and  numerous  full-page  Illustrations  by  W.  Holman  Hunt,  E.  Burne  Jones, 
J.  Tenniel,  J.  Wolf,  and  other  eminent  artists.  Complete  edition  with  short 
Memoir  by  J.  H.  Ewing.     Crown  8vo.  5s. 

Pocket  Volume  Edition.    2  vols.    Imp.  32mo.  5s. 

Cheap  Edition.    Illustrated.    2  vols.    Fcap.  4to.  paper  covers,  Is.  each ; 

or  bound  in  1  vol.  cloth,  3s. 

Grimm's  Gammer  Grethel;  or,  German  Fairy  Tales  and  Popular 

Stories,  containing  42  Fairy  Tales.     Translated  by  Edgar  Taylor.     With 

numerous  Woodcuts  after  George  Cruikshank  and  Ludwig  Grimm.    3s.  6d. 

Tales,    With  the  Notes  of  the  Original.     Translated  by  Mrs. 

A.  Hunt.   With  Introduction  by  Andrew  Lang,  M.A.    2  vols.    3s.  6d.  each. 

Harald  the  Viking.    A  Book  for  Boys.     By  Capt.  Charles  Young. 

With  Illustrations  by  J.  Williamson.     Crown  Svo.  5s. 
Stowe's  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin ;  or,  Life  among  the  Lowly.    With  In- 
troductory Remarks  by  Rev.  J.  Sherman,     With  8  full-page  Illustrations. 
Small  post  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

The  Wide,  Wide  World.    A  Story.    By  Elizabeth  WethereU.    Sm. 

post  Svo.  3s.  6d. 
Uncle  Peter's  Riddle.    By  Ella  K.  Sanders.     Illustrated  by  Florence 

M.  Coop«r.    2s. ^ 

CAPT.  MARRYAT'S  BOOKS  FOR  BOYS. 

Uniform  Illustrated  Edition.     Small  post  Svo.  3s.  &d.  each. 
Poor  Jack.  The  Settlers  in  Canada. 

The  Mission ;  or,  Scenes  in  Africa.  The  Privateersman. 

The  Pirate,  and  Three  Cutters.  Masterman  Ready. 

Peter  Simple.  Midshipman  Easy. 


A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works.  33 


MRS.   EWING'S    BOOKS. 

Uniform  Edition,  in  9  vols. 
We  and  The  World.     A  Story  for  Boys.     By  the  late  Juliana 

Horatio  Ewing.    With  7  Illustrations  by  W.  L.  Jones.    5th  edition.    3s. 

A  Flat  Iron  for  a  Farthing ;  or,  Some  Passages  in  the  Life  of  an 

Only  Son.    With  12  Illustrations  by  H.  Allingham.    16th  edition.    3s. 

Mrs.  Overtheway's  Remembrances.    Illustrated  with  9  fine  fuU- 

papje  Engravings  by  Pasquier,  and  Frontispiece  by  Wolf.    6th  edition.    3s. 

Six  to  Sixteen :  A  Story  for  Girls.     With  10  Illustrations  by  Mrs. 

AUingham.    8th  edition.    3s. 

Jan  of  the  Windmill :  a  Story  of  the  Plains.    With  11  Illustrations 

by  Mrs.  Allingham.    5th  edition.    3s. 

A  Great  Emergency.  A  very  Ill-tempered  Family — Our  Field — 
Madame  Liberality.    With  4  Illustrations.    3rd  edition.    3s. 

Melchior's  Dream.  The  Blackbird's  Nest — Friedrich's  Ballad — A 
Bit  of  Green— Monsieur  the  Viscount's  Friend — The  Yew  Lane  Ghosts— A 
Bad  Habit— A  Happy  Family.  With  8  Illustrations  by  Gordon  Browne.  7th 
edition.    3s. 

Lob-Lie-by-the-Fire,  or  the  Luck  of  Lingborough  ;  and  other  Tales. 

With  3  Illustrations  by  George  Cruikshank.    4th  edition.    Imp.  16mo.  3s.  6d. 

The  Brownies.  The  Land  of  Lost  Toys— Three  Christmas-trees — 
An  Idyl  of  the  Wood— Christmas  Crackers — Amelia  and  the  Dwarfs — Timothy's 
Shoes— Benjy  in  Beastland.  Illustrated  by  George  Cruikshank.  8th  edition. 
Imp.  16mo.  3s.  6d. 


THE    SHILLING   SERIES. 

Fcap.  4io,  double  columns,  Illustrated,  Is.  each. 
Mrs.  Ewing's  Melchior's  Dream,  and  other  Tales. 

A  Flat  Iron  for  a  Farthing. 

— Six  to  Sixteen. 

We  and  the  World. 

Mrs.  Overtheway's  Remembrances, 

Jan  of  the  Windmill. 

A  Great  Emergency,  and  other  Tales. 

The  Brownies,  and  other  Tales. 

Mrs.  Gatty's  Parables  from  Nature.    Two  Series,  each  Is. 

Miss  Procter's  Legends  and  Lyrics.     Two  Series,  each  Is 

Hector.      A  Story  for  Young  People.      With  12  Illustrations  by 
W.  J.  Hennessey.    By  Flora  Shaw,  Author  of  '  Castle  Blair.' 

Andersen's  Tales.    Translated  by  Caroline  Peachey. 


34  ^  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works. 


ROYAL  NAVY  HANDBOOKS. 

EDITED    BY 

COMMANDER  C.  N.  ROBINSON,  R.N. 

Profusely  Illustrated.     Crown  8vo.  5^-.  each. 
Now  Ready. 

1.  NAVAL  ADMINISTRATION.      By  Admiral   Sir  R.   Vesey 

Hamilton,  G.C.B.     With  Portraits  and  other  Illustrations. 

2.  THE  MECHANISM  OF  MEN-OF-WAR.     By  Fleet-Engineer 

Reginald  C.  Oldknow,  R.N.    With  6i  Illustrations. 

3.  TORPEDOES  AND  TORPEDO-VESSELS.      By  Lieutenant 

G.  E.  Armstrong,  late  R.N.     With  53  Illustrations. 

4.  NAVAL  GUNNERY,  a  Description  and  History  of  the  Fighting 

Equipment  of  a  Man-of-War.     By  Captain  H.  Garbett,  R.N.     With 
125  Illustrations. 

The  following  Volumes  are  in  preparation. 

5.  THE    ENTRY    AND    TRAINING    OF    OFFICERS    AND 

MEN   OF  THE   ROYAY   NAVY  AND  THE   ROYAL   MARINES. 
By  Lieutenant  J.  N.  Allen,  late  R.N. 

6.  NAVAL  STRATEGY  AND  THE  PROTECTION  OF  COM- 

MERGE.     By  Professor  J.  K.  Laughton,  R.N. 

7.  THE  INTERNAL  ECONOMY  OF  A  MAN-OF-WAR. 

8.  NAVAL  ARCHITECTURE. 

9.  DOCKYARDS  AND  COALING  STATIONS. 

10.  NAVAL  TACTICS. 

11.  NAVAL  HYGIENE. 

12.  THE  LAWS  OF  THE  SEA. 

PRESS   OPINIONS. 

'Commander  Robinson,  whose  able  work,  "The  British  Fleet,"  was  reviewed  in  these 
columns  m  November,  1894,  has  now  undertaken  the  editing  of  a  series  of  handbooks,  each 
of  which  will  deal  with  one  particular  subject  connected  with  that  great  creation,  the  Royal 
Navy.  Our  national  literature  has  certainly  lacked  much  in  this  respect.  Such  books  as 
have  heretofore  been  produced  have  almost  invariably  been  of  a  character  too  scientific  and 
technical  to  be  of  much  use  to  the  general  public.  The  series  now  being  issued  is  intended  to 
obviate  this  defect,  and  when  completed  \\  ill  form  a  description,  both  historical  and  actual,  of  the 
Royal  Navy,  which  will  not  only  be  of  use  to  the  professional  student,  but  also  be  of  interest 
to  all  who  are  concerned  in  the  maintenance  and  efficiency  of  the  'iia-vy.'— Broad  Arrow. 

'The  series  of  naval  handbooks  edited  by  Commander  Robinson  hjfS  made  a  most  hopeful 
beginning,  and  may  be  counted  upon  to  supply  the  growing  popular  demand  for  information 
in  regard  to  the  Navy,  on  which  the  national  existence  depends.' — Titties. 

'Messrs.  Bell's  series  of  "Royal  Navy  Handbooks"  promises  to  be  a  very  successful 
enterprise.  They  are  practical  and  definitely  informative,  and,  though  meant  for  the  use  of 
persons  closely  acquainted  with  their  subjects,  they  are  not  so  discouragingly  technical  as  to 
be  useless  to  the  lay  seeker  after  knowledge.' — Bookmati 


A  Classified  Catalogue  of  Selected  Works.  35 


BELL'S    CATHEDRAL   SERIES. 

illustrated  /iftonosrapba  In  IbanDs  Sl3c» 

EDITED  BY 

GLEESON    WHITE    and    E.    F.    STRANGE. 
In  specially  designed  cloth  cover ^  crown  Svo.   is.  6d.  each. 

Already  Published. 
CANTERBURY.     By  Hartley  Withers.     2nd  Edition,  revised. 

36  Illustrations. 
SALISBURY.     By  Gleeson  White.     2nd  Edition,  revised. 

50  Illustrations. 
CHESTER.     By  Charles  Hiatt.     24  Illustrations. 
ROCHESTER.     By  G.  H.  Palmer,  B.A.      38  Illustrations. 
OXFORD.     By  Rev.  Percy  Dearmer,  M.A.     34  Illustrations. 
EXETER.     By  Percy  Addleshaw,  B.A.     35  Illustrations. 
WINCHESTER.    By  P.  W.  Sergeant.     50  Illustrations. 
NORWICH.     By  C.  II.  B.  Quennell.     38  Illustrations. 
LICHFIELD.     By  A.  B.  Clifton.    42  Illustrations. 
PETERBOROUGH.    By  Rev.  W.  D.  Sweeting.     51  Illustrations. 
HEREFORD.     By  A.  Hugh  Fisher.     34  Illustrations. 
In  the  Press. 
LINCOLN.     By  A.  B.  Kendrick,  B.A. 
DURHAM.      By  J.  E.  Bygate. 
GLOUCESTER.     By  H.  J.  L.  Mass6, 
YORK.     By  A.  Cluiton  Brock,  B.A. 

Preparing. 
WELLS.   By  Rev.  Percy  Dbarmer,  M.A.        ELY.    By  T.  D.  Atkinson. 
ST.  DAVID'S.     By  Philip  Robson.  WORCESTER.     By  E.  F.  Strange. 

SOUTHWELL.     By  Rev.  Arthur  Dimock. 

CHICHESTER.  CARLISLE.  ST.  PAUL'S.  BRISTOL. 

ST.  ALBANS.  RIPON. 

Uniform  with  above  Series. 
BEVERLEY  MINSTER.     By  Charles  Hiatt.  ^Preparing. 


'  The  volumes  are  handy  in  size,  moderate  in  price,  well  illustrated,  and  written  in  a 
scholarly  spirit.  The  history  of  cathedral  and  city  is  intelligently  set  forth  and  accompanied 
by  a  descriptive  survey  of  the  building  in  all  its  detail.  The  illustrations  are  copious  and  well 
selected,  and  the  series  bids  fair  to  become  an  indispensable  companion  to  the  cathedral 
tourist  in  England.' — Times. 

'  We  have  so  frequently  in  these  columns  urged  the  want  of  cheap,  well-illustrated  and 
w«ll-written  handbooks  to  our  cathedrals,  to  take  the  place  of  the  out-of-date  publications  of 
local  booksellers,  that  we  are  glad  to  hear  that  they  have  been  taken  in  hand  by  Messrs. 
George  Bell  &  Sons.'— 5"^.  fames' s  Gazette. 

'For  the  purpose  at  which  they  aim  they  are  admirably  done,  and  there  are  few  visitants 
to  any  of  our  noble  shrines  who  will  not  enjoy  their  visit  the  better  for  being  furnished  with 
(^e  of  these  delightful  books,  which  can  be  slipped  into  the  pocket  and  carried  with  ease,  and 
yet  is  distinct  and  l&gWA^.'— Notes  and  Queries. 


(        36       ) 
NEW  AND   FORTHCOMING    VOLUMES   OP 

BOHN'S  LIBRARIES. 


THE  PROSE  WORKS  OF  JONATHAN  SWIFT.  A  New  Edition, 
edited  by  Temple  Scott,  with  an  Introduction  by  the  Right  Hon.  W.  E.  H. 
Lecky,  M.P.     In  about  ten  volumes.     3^.  6d.  each. 

'  An  adequate  edition  of  Swift — the  whole   of  Swift,  and  nothing  but  Swift — has  long  been 

one  of  the  pressing  needs  of  students  of  English  literature Mr.  Temple  Scott  may  well 

be  congratulated  on  his  skill  and  judgment  as  a  commentator.' — Atheitceuin. 

'  From  the  specimen  now  before  us  we  may  safely  predict  thai  Mr.  Temple  Scott  will  easily 
distance  boih  Roscoe  and  Swift.  He  deserves  the  gratitude  of  all  lovers  of  literature  for  enabling 
Swift  again  to  make  his  bow  to  the  world  in  so  satisfactory  and  complete  a  garb.' — Manchester 
Guardian. 

•  The  re-issue  is  a  worthy  addition  to  Bohn's  Libraries,  and  promises  to  be  by  far  the  most 
valuable  edition  of  Swift's   works  yet  published.' — Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

Vol.  I.— A  Tale  of  a  Tub,  The  Battle  of  the  Books,  and  other  early 
works.  Edited  by  Temple  Scott.  With  Biographical  Introduction  by 
W.  E.  H.  Lecky,  M.P.     With  Portrait  and  Facsimile. 

Vol.  II.— The  Journal  to  Stella.  Edited  by  F.  Ryland,  M.A.  With  a 
Facsimile  Letter  and  two  Portraits  of  Stella. 

Vol.  III. — Writings  on  Religion  and  the  Church.  Edited  by  Temple 
Scott.     With  a  portrait  in  photogravure  after  Jervas.  \^In  the  press. 

THE  WORKS  OF  GEORGE  BERKELEY,  Bishop  of  Cloyne.  Edited 
by  George  Sampson.  With  a  Biographical  Introduction  by  the  Right  Hon. 
A.  J.  Balfour,  M.P.     3  vols.     5^.  each.  [  Vol.  I  ready. 

THE  LAY  OF  THE  NIBELUNGS.  Metrically  translated  from  the  Old 
German  Text  by  Alice  Horton,  and  Edited  by  Edward  Bell,  M.A.  To 
which  is  prefixed  the  Essay  on  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  by  Thomas  Carlyle.    5^. 

LELAND'S  ITINERARY.  Edited  by  Laurence  Gomme,  F.S.A.  In 
several  volumes.  {Preparing, 

GASPARY'S  HISTORY  OF  ITALIAN  LITERATURE.  Translated 
by  Plermann  Oelsner,  Ph.D.     Vol.  I.  {Preparing. 

MOTLEY'S   HISTORY  of  the   RISE  of  the  DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

With  Introduction  by  Moncure  D.  Conway,  and  Portrait  of  Motley.     3  vols. 
3^.  6d.  each. 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  SEDAN  ;  The  Downfall  of  the  Second  Empire, 
August-September,  1870.  By  George  Hooper,  Author  of  'Waterloo;  the 
Downfall  of  the  First  Napoleon  :  a  History  of  the  Campaign  of  1815.'  With 
General  Map  and  Six  Plans  of  Battle.     New  Edition.     3^-.  6d. 

COLLIER'S  ANNALS    OF   THE    STAGE   TO   THE   RESTORA- 

TION.     By  J.  Payne  Collier,  F.S.A.     2  vols.       .  In  the  press. 

COLLIER'S  HISTORY  OF  ENGLISH  DRAMATIC  POETRY  TO 
THE  TIME  OF  SHAKESPEARE.     3  vols.  [Preparing. 

I 


BOHN'S    LIBRARIES 

1847-1897. 
Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  Publication. 


'T^HE  inauguration  of  this  series  of  copyright  works  was  the  first 
-L  attempt  on  the  part  of  English  publishers  to  provide  good 
literature  at  a  low  price.  It  was  commenced  in  1847  by  Mr.  H.  G. 
Bohn  with  the  issue  of  his  Standard  Library,  which  consisted 
of  reprints  and  translations  of  the  classical  literature  of  England, 
Germany,  France,  and  Italy.  The  success  which  attended  this  was 
so  great  that  Mr.  Bohn  was  encouraged  to  extend  the  field,  and  he 
started  the  various  'Libraries'  known  as  The  Scientific,  The 
Illustrated,  The  Classical,  The  Antiquarian,  &c.  In  every 
case  the  works  were  admirably  printed  on  good  paper,  and  furnished 
with  illustrations,  portraits,  and  maps  of  the  highest  quality.  So 
important  an  influence  has  this  series  obtained  in  the  advancement  of 
English  education,  that  there  is  hardly  a  library,  public  or  private, 
the  nucleus  of  which  is  not  founded  in  '  Bohn.' 

THOMAS  CARLYLE  said  of  it :  '/  may  say,  in  regard  to  all 
manner  of  books,  Bohn's  Publication  Series  is  the  usefullest  thing 
I  knowj^  and  his  friend  EMERSON  recognised  its  admirable 
purpose  when  he  said :  '  The  translations  of  Bohn's  Library  have 
done  for  literature  what  railroads  have  done  for  internal  intercourse.^ 

In  1864  Messrs.  Bell  &  Sons  acquired  the  series,  and  from  time 
to  time  added  new  works,  until  to-day  it  includes  over  770  volumes  in 
all  departments  of  literature,  art,  and  science.  With  the  progress  of 
scholarship  and  research,  Messrs.  Bell  &  Sons  have  found  that  new 
editions  and  new  translations  were  necessary,  and  these  they  have 
initiated,  with  the  result  that  Bohn's  Libraries  are  unrivalled  for 
accuracy  of  text.  As  for  the  editorial  work,  the  chief  literary  organ 
of  America — the  New  York  CRITIC — considers  ''the  Imprint  of 
Bohn's  Standard  Library  is  a  guaranty  of  good  editing.^ 

Within  late  years  the  publishers  have  so  far  improved  the  paper, 
printing,  and  binding,  that  the  volumes  form  handsome  as  well  as 
essential  additions  to  every  library. 


'  An  important  body  of  cheap  literature,  for  which  every  living  worker  in  this 
country  who  draws  strength  from  the  past  has  reason  to  be  grateful.' 

Professor  Henry  Morley. 

'  Messrs.  Bell  &  Sons  are  still  energetically  pursuing  their  task  of  adding  to 
and  improving  the  famous  series  of  Bohn's  Libraries,  which  Thomas  Carlyle  pro- 
nounced to  be  "the  usefullest  thing  I  know,"  and  are  .  .  .  constantly  adding  to 
the  Libraries,  in  the  new  and  certainly  pleasanter  form,  reprints  of  Standard 
Works  which  no  gentleman's  library  should  be  without.' — Mr.  Frederic  Harrison 
in  the  Daily  Chronicle. 


BOHN'S  LIBRARIES 


STANDARD   LIBRARY . 
HISTORICAL   LIBRARY        . 
PHILOSOPHICAL  LIBRARY 
ECCLESIASTICAL   LIBRARY 
ANTIQUARIAN  LIBRARY    . 
ILLUSTRATED   LIBRARY    . 
SPORTS  AND  GAMES. 
CLASSICAL   LIBRARY  . 
COLLEGIATE  SERIES. 
SCIENTIFIC   LIBRARY. 
ECONOMICS   AND   FINANCE 
REFERENCE   LIBRARY 
NOVELISTS'   LIBRARY 
ARTISTS'   LIBRARY       . 
CHEAP  SERIES       . 


SELECT  LIBRARY  OF  STANDARD  WORKS    31 


361  Volumes. 

23  Volumes. 

21  Volumes. 

15  Volumes. 

36  Volumes. 

76  Volumes. 

16  Volumes. 

107  Volumes. 

10  Volumes. 

44  Volumes. 

5  Volumes. 

30  Volumes. 

17  Volumes. 

10  Volumes. 

55  Volumes. 

31  Volumes. 

'Messrs.  Bell  are  determined  to  do  more  than  maintain  the  reputation  of 
"Bohn's  Libraxies."'— Guardian. 

'  The  imprint  of  Bohn's  Standard  Library  is  a  guaranty  of  good  editing.' 

Crilic  (N.Y.) 
•This  new  and  attractive  form  in  which  the  volumes  of  Bohn's  Standard 
Library  are  being  issued  is  not  meant  to  hide  either  indifference  in  the  selection  of 
books  included  in  this  well-known  series,  or  carelessness  in  the  editing.' 

Si.  James's  Gazette, 
'  Messrs.  Bell  &  Sons  are  making  constant  additions  of  an  eminently  acceptable 
character  to  "  Bohn's  Libraries.'" — Athenceum. 

'  The  seven  hundred  and  forty-eight  volumes  of  which  the  set  consists  form  a 
collection  of  literature  which,  for  general  usefuhiess  and  convenience,  is  quite 
unequalled  ;  and  in  their  new  form  this  convenience  is  decidedly  increased.' 

National  Observer^ 


AN  ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF 

THE  BOOKS  CONTAINED  IN 

BOHN'S    LIBRARIES. 

771  Volumes,   Small  Post   8vo.  cloth.     Price   £164   6s. 
Complete  Detailed  Catalogue  will  be  sent  on  application. 


Addison's  Works.     6  vols.     3^.  dd. 

each. 
Aeschylus.     Verse   Trans,  by  Anna 

Swanwick.     5^. 
Prose  Trans,  by  T.  A.  Buckley. 

3J.  td. 
Agassiz    &    Gould's    Comparative 

Physiology.     55.    ■ 
Alfleri's  Tragedies.     Trans,  by  Bow- 
ring.     2  vols.     3^.  6)d.  each. 
Alford's   Queen's   English.      \s.  and 

J.S.  6d. 
Allen's  Battles  of  the  British  Navy. 

2  vols.     $s.  each. 
Ammianus  Marcellinus.    Trans,  by 

C.  D.  Yonge.     js.  6d. 

Andersen's  Danish  Tales.     Trans, 
by  Caroline  Peachey.     5-r. 

Antoninus  ( Marcus  Aurelius).  Trans 
by  George  Long.     y.  6d. 

Apollonius  Rhodlus.       The  Argo 
nautica.  Trans,  by  E.  P.  Coleridge,  y. 

Apuleius,  The  Works  of.     5^. 

Ariosto's  Orlando  Furioso.     Trans, 
by  W.  S.  Rose.     2  vols.     5^.  each. 

Aristophanes.      Trans,    by    W.    J, 
Hickie.     2  vols.     5^.  each. 

Aristotle's  Works.    5  vols.    5^.  each 

2  vols,     3^..  6d.  each, 
Arrian.  Trans,  by  E.  J,  Chinnock.  $s 

Ascham's   Scholemaster.     (J.  E.  B 

Mayor. )     u. 
Bacon's  Essays  and  Historical  Works, 

2,3.    6d.  ;    Essays,    i^.    and    is.   6d. 

Novum  Organum,  and  Advancement 

of  Learning,  5J. 


Ballads  and  Songs  of  the  Peasantry, 
By  Robert  Bell.     35.  6d. 

Bass's  Lexicon  to  the  Greek  Test.   2s. 

Bax's  Manual  of  the  History  of  Philo- 
sophy.    5s. 

Beaumont  and  Fletcher.  Leigh 
Hunt's  Selections.     3J.  6d. 

Bechstein's    Cage    and     Chamber 

Birds,     5^, 

Beckmana's  History  of  Inventions. 
2  vols.     35.  6d.  each. 

Bede's  Ecclesiastical  History  and  the 

A.S.  Chronicle.     5^. 
BeU  (Sir  C)  On  the  Hand.     5^. 

Anatomy  of  Expression.     55. 

Bentley's  Phalaris.     5j. 

Berkeley's  Works.  (Sampson.)  With 
Introduction  by  Right  Hon.  A.  J, 
I5alfour,  M.  P.    3  vols.   [  Vol.  i  ready. 

Bjornson's  Arneand  The  Fisher  Las- 
sie.   Trans,  by  W.  H.  Low.     3J.  6//. 

Blair's  Chronological  Tables.  \os. 
Index  of  Dates,     2  vols,     5J.  each. 

Bleek's  Introduction  to  the  Old 
Testament.     2  vols.     5J.  each. 

Boethius'  Consolation  of  Philosophy, 
&c.     55. 

Bohn's  Dictionary  of  Poetical  Quota- 
tions.    6j. 

Bond's  Handy  Book  for  Verifying 
Dates,  &c.    5^. 

Bonomi's  Nineveh.     5j. 

Boswell's  Life  of  Johnson.  (Napier. 
6  vols.    3 J.  6d.  each. 

(Croker.)    5  vols.     aor. 


40 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF 


Brand's  Popular  Antiquities.  3  vols. 
55.  each. 

Bremer's  Works.  Trans,  by  Mary 
Hewitt.     4  vols.     3 J.  td.  each. 

Bridgewater  Treatises.  9  vols.  Vari- 
ous prices. 

Brink  (B.  Ten).  Early  English  Litera- 
ture.    3  vols.     2>s,  6d.  each. 

Five    Lectures  on   Shakespeare. 

3^.  6d. 

Browne's  (Sir  Thomas)  Works.  3 
vols.     35.  (id.  each. 

Buchanan's  Dictionary  of  Scientific 
Terms,     ds. 

Buckland's  Geology  and  Mineralogy. 
2  vols.     1 55. 

Burke's  Works  and  Speeches.  8  vols. 
3J.  dd.  each.  The  Sublime  and 
Beautiful,  xs.  and  \s.  6d.  Reflections 
on  the  French  Revolution,     is. 

Life,  by  Sir  James  Prior,    y.  6d. 

Burney's  Evelina.     3J.  6d.     Cecilia. 

2  vols.*  $s.  6d.  each. 

Bums'  Life  by  Lockhart.  Revised 
by  W.  Scott  Douglas.     3^.  6d. 

Bum's  Ancient  Rome.     Js.  6d. 

Burton's  Anatomy  of  Melancholy. 
(A,  R,  Shilleto.)  3  vols.   3^.  6d.  each. 

Butler's  Analogy  of  Religion,  and 
Sermons,     y.  td. 

Butler's  Hudibras.     5^. ;  or  2  vols., 

5 J.  each. 

Caesar.    Trans,  by  W.  A.  M  'Devitte. 

Camoens'  Lusiad.  Mickle's  Trans- 
lation, revised.     3J-.  6d. 

Carafas  (The)  of  Maddaloni.  By 
Alfred  de  Reumont.     35,  6d. 

Carpenter's  Mechanical  Philosophy, 
SJ.  Vegetable  Physiology,  6s.  Animal 
Physiology,  6^. 

Carrel's  Counter  Revolution  under 
Charles  II.  and  James  II.     35.  6d. 

Cattermole's  Evenings  at  Haddon 
HalL     5J. 

Catullus  and  Tibullus.  Trans,  by 
W.  K.  Kelly,     sj. 

Cellini's  Memoirs.    (Rpscpe.)   3^.  ed. 


Cervantes' Exemplary  Novelg.  Trans, 
by  W.  K.  Kelly,     y.  6d. 

Don  Quixote,     Motteux's  Trans. 

revised.     2  vols.     3^.  6d.  each. 

Galatea.     Trans,   by    G.   W.   J. 

Gyll.     3s.  6d. 

Chalmers  On  Man.     5^. 

Channing's  The  Perfect  Life,     is, 

and  IS.  6d, 
Chaucer's   Works.      Bell's  Edition, 

revised  by  Skeat.   4  vols.   y.  6d.  each. 
Chess  Congress  of  1862.     By  J, 

LowenthaL     5s. 
Chevreul  on  Colour.    5^.  and  Js.  6d, 
Chllllngworth's    The    Religion    of 

Protestants.    3^.  6d. 
China:    Pictorial,    Descriptive,   and 

Historical.     5J. 
Chronicles  of  the  Crusades.    5^. 
Cicero's  Works.     Trans,  by  Prof.  C. 

D.Yonge  and  others.  7  vols.  5^.  each. 

1  vol.,  ss.  6d. 

Friendship  and  Old  Age.     is.  and 

IS.  6d. 

Clark's  Heraldry.      (Planch^.)     Sj. 

and  15J. 
Classic  Tales.     3^.  6d. 

Coleridge's  Prose  Works,     (Ashe.) 

6  vols.     3r.  6d.  each. 
Comte's  Philosophy  of  the  Sciences. 

(G.  H.  Lewes.)    5s. 

Positive    Philosophy.       (Harriet 

Martineau.)    3  vols.     5 j.  each. 

Conde's    History  of   the   Arabs  in 
Spain.     3  vols.     3^.  6d.  each. 

Cooper's    Biographical    Dictionary, 

2  vols,     y.  each. 

Cowper's  Works.   (Southey.)   8  vols. 

3J.  6d.  each. 
Coxe's   House  of  Austria.     4  vols. 

y.Sd.  each.  Memoirs  of  Marlborough. 

3  vols.     3 J.  6d.  each.     Atlas  to  Marl- 
borough's Campaigns.     los.  6d. 

Craik's  Pursuit  of  Knowledge.    5^. 

Craven's  Young  Sportsman's  Manual, 

Cruikshank's  Punch  and  Judy.      5^. 

Three  Courses  and  a  Desert,     y. 
Cunningham's     Lives     of    British 

Painters.    3  vols.    y.  6d.  eacli. 


^ouk^s  tiMAAiM. 


Dante.  Trans,  by  Rev.  H.  F.  Gary. 
3J.  6d,  Inferno.  Separate,  xs.  and 
xs.  6d.  Purgatorio.  xs.  and  is.  td. 
Paradise,     xs.  and  xs.  6d. 

Trans,  by  I.  C.  Wright.  (Flax- 
man's  Illustrations. )    $s. 

Inferno.     Italian  Text  and  Trans. 

by  Dr.  Carlyle.     5^. 

Purgatorio.       Italian    Text    and 

Trans,  by  W.  S.  Dugdale.     5^. 

De  Commines'  Memoirs.  Trans,  by 
A.  R.  Scoble.     2  vols.     y.  6d.  each. 

Defoe'a  Novels  and  Miscel.  Works. 
6  vols.  3J.  6d.  each.  Robinson 
Crusoe  (Vol.  VII.)  y.  6d.  or  5J. 
The  Plague  in  London,  xs.  and 
IJ.  6d. 

Delolme  on  the  Constitution  of  Eng- 
land.   3^.  6d. 

Demmin's  Arms  and  Armour.  Trans, 
by  C.  C.  Black.    7s.  6d. 

Demosthenes'  Orations.  Trans,  by 
C.  Rann  Kennedy.    4  vols.   5^.,  and 

1  vol.  3J.  6d. 

Orations  On  the  Crown,    xs.  and 

xs.  6d. 

De  Stael's  Corinne.  Trans,  by  Emily 
Baldwin  and  Paulina  Driver.     3J.  6d. 

Devey's  Logic.     5^. 

Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Latin 
Quotations.    $5. 

of  Poetical  Quotations  (Bohn).  6j-. 

of  ScientificTerms.  (Buchanan.)  6s. 

of  Biography,     (Cooper.)    2  vols. 

5^.  each. 

—  of  Noted  Names  of  Fiction. 
(Wheeler.)    sj. 

— -  Of  Obsolete  and  Provincial  Eng- 
lish.    (Wright.)    2  vols.    5 J.  each. 

Didron's    Christian    Iconography. 

2  vols.     c^s.  each. 

Diogenes  Laertlua.    Trans,  by  C.  D. 

Yonge.     5J. 
Dobree's    Adversaria.        (Wagner.) 

(2  vols.)    SJ.  each. 
Dodd's  Epigrammatists.    6s, 
Donaldson's  Theatre  of  the  Greeks. 

5J. 
Draper's  History  of  the  Intellectual 

Development  of  Europe.    2  vols.    5^. 

each. 


Dunlop's  Histoiy  of  Fiction.    ^  vols. 

5J.  each. 
Dyer's  History  of  Pompeii.     7j.  6d. 

The  City  of  Rome.    $5. 

Dyer's  British  Popular  Customs,    ^s. 
Early  Travels  in  Palestine.    (Wright.) 

Eaton's  Waterloo    Days.      is.   and 

IJ.  ed.  • 

Ebers'  Egyptian  Princess.    Trans,  by 

E  S.  Buchheim.     3J.  6d. 
Edgewortb's    Stories  for  Children. 

3J.  6d. 
Ellis'   Specimens    of  Early   English 

Metrical  Romances.    (Halliwell.)  5 J. 

Elze's  Life  of  Shakespeare.     Trans. 

by  L.  Dora  Schmitz.     5J. 
Emerson's  Works.     3  vols.     3j.  6d. 

each,  or  5  vols.  u.  each. 
Ennemoser's    History  of   Magic. 

2  vols.  5J.  each. 
Epictetus.    Trans,  by  George  Long. 

Euripides.   Trans,  by  E.  P.  Coleridge. 

2  vols.  5J.  each. 
Eusebius'  Eccl.  History.     Trans,  by 

C.  F.  Cruse.  5J. 
Evelyn's  Diary  and  Correspondence. 

(Bray.)    4  vols.    5J.  each. 

Pairholt's    Costume     in     England. 

(Dillon. )     2  vols,     s^'  ^^^h. 
Fielding's  Joseph  Andrews.     3J.  6d. 

Tom  Jones.     2  vols.     3 J.  6d.  each, 

Amelia.    5J. 
Flaxman's  Lectures  on  Sculpture.  6s. 
Florence  of  Worcester's  Chronicle. 

Trans,  by  T.  Forester,     sj. 
Foster's  Works.     10  vols.     3j.  6d. 

each. 
Franklin's  Autobiography,     is. 
Gesta  Eomanorum.  Trans,  by  Swan 

and  Hooper.  $s. 
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42 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF 


Gbethe's  Works  and  Correspond- 
ence, including  Autobiography  and 
Annals,  Faust,  Elective  Affinities, 
Werther,  Wilhelm  Meister,  Poems 
and  Ballads,  Dramas,  Reinecke  Fox, 
Tour  in  Italy  and  Miscellaneous 
Travels,  Early  and  Miscellaneous 
Letters,  Correspondence  with  Ecker- 
mann  and  Soret,  Zelter  and  Schiller, 
&c.,  &c.  By  various  Translators. 
16  vols.     35.  6d.  each. 

Faust.      Text    with    Hayward's 

Translation,     (Buchheim.)     51. 

-  -  Faust.  Part  I.  Trans,  by  Anna 
Swanwick.     is.  and  is.  6d. 

Boyhood.  (Part  I.  of  the  Auto- 
biography.^ Trans,  by  J.  Oxenford. 
IS.  and  IS.  6d. 

Reineclce    Fox.      Trans,     by  A. 

Rogers,     is.  and  is.  6d. 

Goldsmith's  Works.   (Glbbs.)  5vob. 

3^,  6d.  each. 
— —  Plays.     IS,  and  is.  6d.     Vicar  of 

Wakefield,     u.  and  is.  6d. 

Grammont's  Memoirs  and  Boscobel 

Tracts.     5^^. 
Gray's  Letters.     (D.  C.  Tovey.) 

[/«  the  p}'ess. 
Greek    Anthology.      Trans,    by  E. 

Burges.     55. 
Greek  Romances.      (Theagenes  and 

Chariclea,  Daphnis  and  Chloe,  Cli- 

topho    and    Leucippe.)      Trans,    bv 

Rev.  R.  Smith.     55. 

Greek  Testament.     5^. 

Greene,  Marlowe,  and  Ben  Jonson's 
Poems.     (Robert  Bell.)     y.6d. 

Gregory's  Evidences  of  the  Christian 
Religion,     y.  6d. 

Grimm's  Gammer  Grethel.  Trans, 
by  E.  Taylor.     3^.  6d. 

German  Tales.      Trans,  by  Mrs. 

Hunt.     2  vols.     35.  6.7.  each. 

Grossi's  Marco  Visconti.     3.?.  6d. 

Guizot's    Origin    of    Representative 

Government  in  Europe.      Trans,  by 

A.  R.  Scoble.     3^.  6d. 
• The  English  Revolution  of  1640. 

Trans,  by  W.  Hazlitt.     3^.  6d.  ^ 
History  of  Civilisation.    Trans,  by 

W.  Hazlitt.     3  vols.     3^.  6d.  each. 


Hall  ( Robert).  Miscellaneous  Works. 
3J.  6d. 

Handbooks  of  Athletic  Sports.  8  vols. 
3J.  6d.  each. 

Handbook  of  Card  and  Table  Games. 
2  vols.     ss.  6d.  each. 

of  Proverbs.    By  H.  G.  Bohn.    5J. 

of  Foreign  Proverbs,     ^s. 

Hardwick's  History  of  the  Thirty- 
nine  Articles.     5^. 

Harvey's  Circulation  of  the  Blood. 
(Bowie.)     IS.  and  is.  6d. 

Hauff 's  Tales.  Trans,  by  S.  Mendel. 
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andria.    IS.  and  IS.  6d. 

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Hazlitt'a  Lectures  and  Essays.  7  vols. 
3J.  6d.  each. 

Heaton's  History  of  Painting.  (Cosmo 
Monkhouse.)     55. 

Hegel's  Philosophy  of  History.  Trans, 
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Heine's  Poems.  Trans,  by  E.  A. 
Bowring.     3T.  6d. 

Travel  Pictures,   Trans,  by  Francis 

Storr,     2^-  6^- 
Helps  (Sir  Arthur).  Life  of  Columbus. 

3s.  6d. 

Life  of  Pizarro.     3s.  6d. 

Life  of  Cortes,      2  vols.      3s.  6d. 

each. 

Life  of  Las  Casas.     3s.  6d. 

Life  of  Thomas  R-assey.     is.  and 

is.  6d. 
Henderson's   Historical  Documents 

of  the  Middle  Ages,     5^. 

Henfrey's  English  Coins.     (Keary.) 

6s. 
Henry  (Matthew)  On  the  Psalms.   5^. 

Henry  of  Huntingdon's  History. 
Trans,  by  T.  Forester.     5J. 

Herodotus.      Trans,  by  H.  F.  Gary. 

3s.  6d. 

Wheeler's  Analysis  and  Summary 

of,     S-y.      Turner's  Notes  on.     55. 


BONN'S  LIBRARIES. 


43 


Heslod,  CalUmachus  and  Theognis. 

Trans,  by  Rev,  J,  Banks.     55. 
Hofiinann's  Tales.      The   Serapion 

Brethren.     Trans,  by  Lieut. -Colonel 

Ewing.     2  vols.     3^,  6d. 
Hogg's    Experimental    and    Natural 

Philosophy.     5J. 

Holbein's  Dance  of  Death  and  Bible 

Cuts.     5J. 
Homer.     Trans,  by  T.  A.  Buckley. 

2  vols.     5^.  each. 
Hooper's  Waterloo.     35.  6d. 

Sedan.     3^.  6d 

Horace.  Smart's  Translation,  revised, 

by  Buckley.     3^.  6d. 
A  New  Literal  Prose  Translation, 

By  A.  Hamilton  Bryce,  LL.  D.   3^,  6d. 
Hugo's  Dramatic  Works.     Trans,  by 

Mrs,  Croslandand  F.  L.  Slous.  y.6d. 
Hernani.     Trans,  by  Mrs.  Cros- 

land.     xs. 
Poems.    Trans,  by  various  writers. 

Collected  by  J,  H.  L.Williams.  3^.6^. 
Humboldt's    Cosmos.       Trans,    by 

Ott6,  Paul,  and  Dallas.  4  vols.  3J.  6d. 

each,  and  i  vol,  5^. 
Personal  Narrative  of  his  Travels, 

Trans,  by  T.  Ross.    3  vols.    5^.  each.' 
Views  of  Nature.    Trans,  by  Ott6 

and  Bohn.     e,s. 
Himiphreys'  Coin  Collector's  Manual. 

2  vols.     55.  each. 
Hungary,  History  of.     3^.  bd. 
Hunt's  Poetry  of  Science.     $s. 
Hutchinson's  Memoirs.     3J.  6d. 
India  before  the  Sepoy  Mutiny.     5^. 
Ingulph's  Chronicles.     $s. 

Irving  (Washington).  Complete 
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in  18  vols.  IS.  each,  and  2  vols.  is.  6d. 
each. 

Life  and  Letters.      By  Pierre  E. 

Irving.     2  vols.     31.  6d.  each. 

Isocrates.    Trans,  by  J.  H.  Freese. 

Vol.  I.     5J. 
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Life  and  Times  of  Louis  XIV. 

2  vols.     3f.  6d,  each. 


Jameson  (Mrs.)  Shakespeare's  Hero- 
ines.    3^.  6d. 

Jesse  (E.)    Anecdotes  of 'Dogs.    5^. 

Jesse  (J.  IL)  Memoirs  of  the  Court 
of  England  under  the  Stuarts.  3  vols. 
5^.  each. 

Memoirs  of  the  Pretenders.     $s. 

Johnson's     Lives      of    the     Poets. 

(Napier,)    3  vols,     y.  6d.  each. 

Josephus.  Whiston's  Translation, 
revised  by.  Rev.  A  R.  Shilleto.  5 
vols,     y.  6d.  each. 

Joyce's  Scientific  Dialogues.     5^. 

Jukes-Browne's  Handbook  of  Phy- 
sical Geology,  yj.  6d.  Handbook  of 
Historical  Geology.  6s.  The  Build- 
ing of  the  British  Isles    7s.   6d. 

Julian  the  Emperor.  Trans,  by  Rev. 
C.  W.  King.    5J. 

Junius's  Letters.  Woodfall's  Edition, 
revised.     2  vols,     3i-,  6d.  each. 

Justin,  Cornelius  Nepos,  and  Eutro- 
pius.  Trans,  by  Rev.  J.  S.  Watson.  55. 

Juvenal,  Persius,  Sulpicia,  and  Lu- 
cilius.     Trans,  by  L,  Evans.     5^. 

Kant's  Critique  of  Pure  Reason. 
Trans,  by  J,  M,  D.  Meiklejohn,     5^. 

Prolegomena,  &c.     Trans,  by  E. 

Belfort  Hax.     5^. 

Keightley's  Fairy  Mythology.  5.r. 
Classical  Mythology.  Revised  by 
Dr.  L,  Schmitz.     5^. 

Kidd  On  Man.     35.  6d. 

Kirby  On  Animals.    2  vols.    $s.  each. 

Knight's  Knowledge  is  Power.     55-. 

La  Fontaine's  Fables.  Trans  by  E. 
Wright,     y.  6d. 

Lamartine's  History  of  the  Giron- 
dists. Trans,  by  H.  T.  Ryde.  3 
vols.     35.  6d.  each. 

Restoration  of  the  Monarchy  in 

France.      Trans,    by    Capt.    Rafter. 
4  vols,     3^,  6d.  each. 

French  Revolution  of  1848.  3^.  6d. 

Lamb's  Essays  of  Elia  and  Eliana. 

y.  6d. ,  or  in  3  vols,  is.  each, 
Memorials  and  Letters.  Talfourd's 

Edition,  revised  by  W.  C.   HazUtt. 

2  vols.     y.  6d.  each.  , 
Specimens  of  the  English  Dramatic 

Poets  of  the  Time  of  Elizabeth,  y.  6d, 


44 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF 


Lanzl's  History  of  Painting  in  Italy. 

Trans,  by  T.  Roscoe.   3  vols.   3J.  6^. 

each. 
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Anglo-Saxon  Kings.     Trans,  by  B. 

Thorpe.     2  vols.     3J.  6d.  each. 
Lectiires  on   Painting.      By  Barry, 

Opie,  and  Fuseli.     5^. 
Leonardo    da  Vinci's  Treatise  on 

Painting.  Trans,  by  J.  F.  Rigaud,  ^s. 
Lepsius'   Letters   from    Egypt,    &c. 

Trans,  by  L.  and  J.  B,  Horner.     55. 
Lessing's  Dramatic  Works.     Trans. 

by  Ernest  Bell.    2  vols.    35.  dd.  each, 

Nathan   the  Wise  and    Minna  von 

Barnhelm.    u.  and  \s.  6d.    Laokoon, 

Dramatic  Notes,  &c.  Trans,  by  E.  C. 

Beasley  and  Helen  Zimniern.    3^.  6d. 

Laokoon  separate,     is.  or  is.  td. 
Lilly's    Introduction    to    Astrology. 

(Zadkiel. )    5J-. 
Livy.     Trans,    by   Dr.    Spillan   and 

others.     4  vols.     5^.  each. 
Locke's  Philosophical  Works.    (J.  A. 

St.  John. )    2  vols.     3^.  dd.  each. 

Life.     By  Lord  King.     3^.  dd. 

Lodge's  Portraits.    8  vols.    5^.  each. 
Longfellow's    Poetical    and     Prose 

Works.     2  vols.     5^.  each. 
Loudon's  Natural  History.     5^. 
Lowndes'    Bibliographer's     Manual 

6  vols.     55.  each. 
Lucan's  Pharsalia.    Trans,  by  II.  T. 

Riley.     5^. 
Lucian's    Dialogues.     Trans,  by  H. 

Williams.     5^. 
Lucretius       Trans,    by   Rev.  J.   S. 

Watson.     5J-. 
Luther  s  Table  Talk.     Trans,  by  W. 

Hazlitt.     3.f.  6d. 
Autobiography.       (Michelet.) 

Trans,  by  W.  Hazlitt.     3 v.  6d. 
Machiavelli's   History   of  Florence, 

&c.     Trans,     -y.  6d. 
Mallet's  Northern  Antiquities.     <,s. 
Mantell's      Geological      Excursions 

through  the.  Isle  of  Wight,  &c.     5^. 

Petrifactions    and    their    Teachings. 

6s,     Wonders   of  Geology.      2  vols. 

•js.  6d.  each. 
Manzoni's  The  Betrothed.     5^. 


Marco  Polo's  Travels.  Marsden's 
Edition,  revised  by  T.  Wright.     5^. 

Martial's  Epigrams.    Trans.    7^.  6d. 

Martineau's  History  of  England, 
1800-15.     3J.  6d. 

History   of  the   Peace,    1816-46. 

4  vols.     y.  6d.  each. 

Matthew  Paris.   Trans,  by  Dr.  Giles. 

3  vols.     5J.  each. 
Matthew  of  Westminster.    Trans. 

by  C.  D.  Yonge.     2  vols.     ^s.  each. 
Maxwell's  Victories  of  Wellington. 

Menzel's  History  of  Germany.  Trans, 
by  Mrs.  Horrocks.    3  vols.    3^.  6d.  ea. 

Michael  Angelo  and  Raffaelle.  By 
Duppa  and  Q.  de  Quincy.     .5^. 

Michelet' s  French  Revolution. 
Trans,  by  C.  Cocks.     35.  6d. 

Mignet's  French  Revolution.    3^.  6d, 

MiU  (John  Stuart).  Early  Essays. 
y.  6d. 

Miller's  Philosophy  of  History.  4 
vols.     3J-.  6d.  each. 

Milton's  Poetical  Works.  (J.  Mont- 
gomery.)    2  vols.     y.  6d.  each. 

Prose  Works.     (J.   A.  St.  John.) 

5  vols.     3J.  6d.  each. 

Mitford's  Our  Village.   2  vols.  3^.  6d. 

each, 
Mohere's   Dramatic  Works.     Trans. 

by  C.  H.  Wall,    3  vols.    y.  6d.  each. 
• •  The  Miser,  Tartuffe,  The  Shop- 
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Montagu's   (Lady   M.    W.)    Letters 

and  Works.     (Wharncliffe  and  Moy 

Thomas.)     2  vols.     ^s.  each. 
Montaigne's  Essays.   Cotton's  Trans. 

revised   by  W.    C.    Hazlitt.     3  vols. 

3^.  6d.  each. 
Montesquieu's  Spirit  of  Laws.     Nu- 

gent's     Trans,     revised     by    J.    V. 

Prichard.     2  vols.     y.  6d.  each. 
Morphys   Games  of  Chess.      (Lo- 

wenthal. )     5^. 
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vols.     5^.  each. 
Naval  and  Military  Heroes  of  Great 

Britain.     6i. 


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