CHAPTER XII.
Our young bride and bridegroom had not travelled farther than Ephesus,when the news reached them that Amasis was dead. From Ephesus theywent to Babylon, and thence to Pasargadae, which Kassandane, Atossa andCroesus had made their temporary residence. Kassandane was to accompanythe army to Egypt, and wished, now that Nebenchari had restored hersight, to see the monument which had lately been built to her greathusband's memory after Croesus' design, before leaving for so long ajourney. She rejoiced in finding it worthy of the great Cyrus, and spenthours every day in the beautiful gardens which had been laid out roundthe mausoleum.
It consisted of a gigantic sarcophagus made of solid marble blocks,and resting like a house on a substructure composed of six high marblesteps. The interior was fitted up like a room, and contained, beside thegolden coffin in which were preserved such few remains of Cyrus as hadbeen spared by the dogs, vultures, and elements, a silver bed and atable of the same metal, on which were golden drinking-cups and numerousgarments ornamented with the rarest and most costly jewels.
The building was forty feet high. The shady paradises--[Persianpleasure-gardens]--and colonnades by which it was surrounded hadbeen planned by Croesus, and in the midst of the sacred grove was adwelling-house for the Magi appointed to watch over the tomb.
The palace of Cyrus could be seen in the distance--a palace in which hehad appointed that the future kings of Persia should pass at leastsome months of every year. It was a splendid building in the style ofa fortress, and so inaccessibly placed that it had been fixed on as theroyal treasure-house.
Here, in the fresh mountain air of a place dedicated to the memory ofthe husband she had loved so much, Kassandane felt well and at peace;she was glad too to see that Atossa was recovering the old cheerfulness,which she had so sadly lost since the death of Nitetis and the departureof Darius. Sappho soon became the friend of her new mother and sister,and all three felt very loath to leave the lovely Pasargadm.
Darius and Zopyrus had remained with the army which was assembling inthe plains of the Euphrates, and Bartja too had to return thither beforethe march began.
Cambyses went out to meet his family on their return; he was muchimpressed with Sappho's great beauty, but she confessed to her husbandthat his brother only inspired her with fear.
The king had altered very much in the last few months. His formerly paleand almost noble features were reddened and disfigured by the quantitiesof wine he was in the habit of drinking. In his dark eyes there was theold fire still, but dimmed and polluted. His hair and beard, formerly soluxuriant, and black as the raven's wing, hung down grey and disorderedover his face and chin, and the proud smile which used so to improve hisfeatures had given way to an expression of contemptuous annoyance andharsh severity.
Sometimes he laughed,--loudly, immoderately and coarsely; but this wasonly when intoxicated, a condition which had long ceased to be unusualwith him.
He continued to retain an aversion to his wives; so much so that theroyal harem was to be left behind in Susa, though all his court tooktheir favorite wives and concubines with them on the campaign. Still noone could complain that the king was ever guilty of injustice; indeed heinsisted more eagerly now than before on the rigid execution of thelaw; and wherever he detected an abuse his punishments were cruel andinexorable. Hearing that a judge, named Sisamnes, had been bribedto pronounce an unjust sentence, he condemned the wretched man tobe flayed, ordered the seat of justice to be covered with his skin,appointed the son to the father's vacant place and compelled him tooccupy this fearful seat.--[Herodot. V. 25.]--Cambyses was untiring ascommander of the forces, and superintended the drilling of the troopsassembled near Babylon with the greatest rigor and circumspection.
The hosts were to march after the festival of the New Year, whichCambyses celebrated this time with immense expense and profusion. Theceremony over, he betook himself to the army. Bartja was there. He cameup to his brother, beaming with joy, kissed the hem of his robe, andtold him in a tone of triumph that he hoped to become a father. The kingtrembled as he heard the words, vouchsafed his brother no answer, drankhimself into unconsciousness that evening, and the next morning calledthe soothsayers, Magi and Chaldaeans together, in order to submit aquestion to them. "Shall I be committing a sin against the gods, if Itake my sister to wife and thus verify the promise of the dream, whichye formerly interpreted to mean that Atossa should bear a future king tothis realm?"
The Magi consulted a short time together. Then Oropastes cast himself atthe king's feet and said, "We do not believe, O King, that this marriagewould be a sin against the gods; inasmuch as, first: it is a customamong the Persians to marry with their own kin; and secondly, though itbe not written in the law that the pure man may marry his sister, itis written that the king may do what seemeth good in his own eyes. Thatwhich pleaseth thee is therefore always lawful."
Cambyses sent the Magi away with rich gifts, gave Oropastes fullpowers as regent of the kingdom in his absence, and soon after toldhis horrified mother that, as soon as the conquest of Egypt and thepunishment of the son of Amasis should have been achieved, he intendedto marry his sister Atossa.
At length the immense host, numbering more than 800,000 fighting men,departed in separate divisions, and reached the Syrian desert intwo months. Here they were met by the Arabian tribes whom Phanes hadpropitiated--the Amalekites and Geshurites--bringing camels and horsesladen with water for the host.
At Accho, in the land of the Canaanites, the fleets of the Syrians,Phoenicians and Ionians belonging to Persia, and the auxiliary shipsfrom Cyprus and Samos, won by the efforts of Phanes, were assembled.The case of the Samian fleet was a remarkable one. Polykrates saw inCambyses' proposal a favorable opportunity of getting rid of allthe citizens who were discontented with his government, manned fortytriremes with eight thousand malcontent Samians, and sent them tothe Persians with the request that not one might be allowed to returnhome.--[Herod. III. 44.]
As soon as Phanes heard this he warned the doomed men, who at once,instead of sailing to join the Persian forces, returned to Samos andattempted to overthrow Polykrates. They were defeated, however, on land,and escaped to Sparta to ask help against the tyrant.
A full month before the time of the inundation, the Persian and Egyptianarmies were standing face to face near Pelusium on the north-east coastof the Delta.
Phanes' arrangements had proved excellent. The Arabian tribes had keptfaith so well that the journey through the desert, which would usuallyhave cost thousands of lives, had been attended with very little loss,and the time of year had been so well chosen that the Persian troopsreached Egypt by dry roads and without inconvenience.
The king met his Greek friend with every mark of distinction, andreturned a friendly nod when Phanes said: "I hear that you have beenless cheerful than usual since the death of your beautiful bride. Awoman's grief passes in stormy and violent complaint, but the sternercharacter of a man cannot so soon be comforted. I know what you feel,for I have lost my dearest too. Let us both praise the gods for grantingus the best remedy for our grief--war and revenge." Phanes accompaniedthe king to an inspection of the troops and to the evening revel. It wasmarvellous to see the influence he exercised over this fierce spirit,and how calm--nay even cheerful--Cambyses became, when the Athenian wasnear.
The Egyptian army was by no means contemptible, even when compared withthe immense Persian hosts. Its position was covered on the right by thewalls of Pelusium, a frontier fortress designed by the Egyptian kings asa defence against incursions from the east. The Persians were assured bydeserters that the Egyptian army numbered altogether nearly six hundredthousand men. Beside a great number of chariots of war, thirty thousandKarian and Ionian mercenaries, and the corps of the Mazai, twohundred and fifty thousand Kalasirians, one hundred and sixty thousandHermotybians, twenty thousand horsemen, and auxiliary troops, amountingto more than fifty thousand, were assembled under Psamtik's banner;amongst these last the Libyan Maschawascha were remarkable for
theirmilitary deeds, and the Ethiopians for their numerical superiority.
The infantry were divided into regiments and companies, under differentstandards, and variously equipped.
[In these and the descriptions immediately following, we have drawn our information, either from the drawings made from Egyptian monuments in Champollion, Wilkinson, Rosellini and Lepsius, or from the monuments themselves. There is a dagger in the Berlin Museum, the blade of which is of bronze, the hilt of ivory and the sheath of leather. Large swords are only to be seen in the hands of the foreign auxiliaries, but the native Egyptians are armed with small ones, like daggers. The largest one of which we have any knowledge is in the possession of Herr E. Brugsch at Cairo. It is more than two feet long.]
The heavy-armed soldiers carried large shields, lances, and daggers; theswordsmen and those who fought with battle-axes had smaller shields andlight clubs; beside these, there were slingers, but the main body of thearmy was composed of archers, whose bows unbent were nearly the heightof a man. The only clothing of the horse-soldiers was the apron, andtheir weapon a light club in the form of a mace or battle-axe. Thosewarriors, on the contrary, who fought in chariots belonged to thehighest rank of the military caste, spent large sums on the decorationof their two-wheeled chariots and the harness of their magnificenthorses, and went to battle in their most costly ornaments. They werearmed with bows and lances, and a charioteer stood beside each, so thattheir undivided attention could be bestowed upon the battle.
The Persian foot was not much more numerous than the Egyptian, but theyhad six times the number of horse-soldiers.
As soon as the armies stood face to face, Cambyses caused the greatPelusian plain to be cleared of trees and brushwood, and had thesand-hills removed which were to be found here and there, in order togive his cavalry and scythe-chariots a fair field of action. Phanes'knowledge of the country was of great use. He had drawn up a plan ofaction with great military skill, and succeeded in gaining not onlyCambyses' approval, but that of the old general Megabyzus and the besttacticians among the Achaemenidae. His local knowledge was especiallyvaluable on account of the marshes which intersected the Pelusian plain,and might, unless carefully avoided, have proved fatal to the Persianenterprise. At the close of the council of war Phanes begged to be heardonce more: "Now, at length," he said, "I am at liberty to satisfy yourcuriosity in reference to the closed waggons full of animals, which Ihave had transported hither. They contain five thousand cats! Yes, youmay laugh, but I tell you these creatures will be more serviceable to usthan a hundred thousand of our best soldiers. Many of you are aware thatthe Egyptians have a superstition which leads them rather to die thankill a cat, I, myself, nearly paid for such a murder once with my life.Remembering this, I have been making a diligent search for cats duringmy late journey; in Cyprus, where there are splendid specimens, in Samosand in Crete. All I could get I ordered to be caught, and now proposethat they be distributed among those troops who will be opposed to thenative Egyptian soldiers. Every man must be told to fasten one firmlyto his shield and hold it out as he advances towards the enemy. I willwager that there's not one real Egyptian, who would not rather fly fromthe battle-field than take aim at one of these sacred animals."
This speech was met by a loud burst of laughter; on being discussed,however, it was approved of, and ordered to be carried out at once. Theingenious Greek was honored by receiving the king's hand to kiss, hisexpenses were reimbursed by a magnificent present, and he was urged totake a daughter of some noble Persian family in marriage.
[Themistocles too, on coming to the Persian court, received a high- born Persian wife in marriage. Diod. XI. 57.]
The king concluded by inviting him to supper, but this the Atheniandeclined, on the plea that he must review the Ionian troops, with whomhe was as yet but little acquainted, and withdrew.
At the door of his tent he found his slaves disputing with a ragged,dirty and unshaven old man, who insisted on speaking with their master.Fancying he must be a beggar, Phanes threw him a piece of gold; the oldman did not even stoop to pick it up, but, holding the Athenian fast byhis cloak, cried, "I am Aristomachus the Spartan!"
Cruelly as he was altered, Phanes recognized his old friend at once,ordered his feet to be washed and his head anointed, gave him wine andmeat to revive his strength, took his rags off and laid a new chitonover his emaciated, but still sinewy, frame.
Aristomachus received all in silence; and when the food and wine hadgiven him strength to speak, began the following answer to Phanes' eagerquestions.
On the murder of Phanes' son by Psamtik, he had declared his intentionof leaving Egypt and inducing the troops under his command to do thesame, unless his friend's little daughter were at once set free, and asatisfactory explanation given for the sudden disappearance of the boy.Psamtik promised to consider the matter. Two days later, as Aristomachuswas going up the Nile by night to Memphis, he was seized by Egyptiansoldiers, bound and thrown into the dark hold of a boat, which, after avoyage of many days and nights, cast anchor on a totally unknown shore.The prisoners were taken out of their dungeon and led across a desertunder the burning sun, and past rocks of strange forms, until theyreached a range of mountains with a colony of huts at its base. Thesehuts were inhabited by human beings, who, with chains on their feet,were driven every morning into the shaft of a mine and there compelledto hew grains of gold out of the stony rock. Many of these miserable menhad passed forty years in this place, but most died soon, overcome bythe hard work and the fearful extremes of heat and cold to which theywere exposed on entering and leaving the mine.
[Diodorus (III. 12.) describes the compulsory work in the gold mines with great minuteness. The convicts were either prisoners taken in war, or people whom despotism in its blind fury found it expedient to put out of the way. The mines lay in the plain of Koptos, not far from the Red Sea. Traces of them have been discovered in modern times. Interesting inscriptions of the time of Rameses the Great, (14 centuries B. C.) referring to the gold-mines, have been found, one at Radesich, the other at Kubnn, and have been published and deciphered in Europe.]
"My companions," continued Aristomachus, "were either condemnedmurderers to whom mercy had been granted, or men guilty of high treasonwhose tongues had been cut out, and others such as myself whom the kinghad reason to fear. Three months I worked among this set, submittingto the strokes of the overseer, fainting under the fearful heat, andstiffening under the cold dews of night. I felt as if picked outfor death and only kept alive by the hope of vengeance. It happened,however, by the mercy of the gods, that at the feast of Pacht, ourguards, as is the custom of the Egyptians, drank so freely as to fallinto a deep sleep, during which I and a young Jew who had been deprivedof his right hand for having used false weights in trade, managed toescape unperceived; Zeus Lacedaemonius and the great God whom this youngman worshipped helped us in our need, and, though we often heard thevoices of our pursuers, they never succeeded in capturing us. I hadtaken a bow from one of our guards; with this we obtained food, and whenno game was to be found we lived on roots, fruits and birds' eggs. Thesun and stars showed us our road. We knew that the gold-mines were notfar from the Red Sea and lay to the south of Memphis. It was not longbefore we reached the coast; and then, pressing onwards in a northerlydirection, we fell in with some friendly mariners, who took care of usuntil we were taken up by an Arabian boat. The young Jew understood thelanguage spoken by the crew, and in their care we came to Eziongeberin the land of Edom. There we heard that Cambyses was coming with animmense army against Egypt, and travelled as far as Harma under theprotection of an Amalekite caravan bringing water to the Persian army.From thence I went on to Pelusium in the company of some stragglers fromthe Asiatic army, who now and then allowed me a seat on their horses,and here I heard that you had accepted a high command in Cambyses' army.I have kept my vow, I have been true to my nation in Egypt; now it isyour turn to help old Aristomachus in gaining the only thing he still
cares for--revenge on his persecutors."
"And that you shall have!" cried Phanes, grasping the old man's hand."You shall have the command of the heavy-armed Milesian troops, andliberty to commit what carnage you like among the ranks of our enemies.This, however, is only paying half the debt I owe you. Praised bethe gods, who have put it in my power to make you happy by one singlesentence. Know then, Aristomachus, that, only a few days after yourdisappearance, a ship arrived in the harbor of Naukratis from Sparta.It was guided by your own noble son and expressly sent by the Ephoriin your honor--to bring the father of two Olympic victors back to hisnative land."
The old man's limbs trembled visibly at these words, his eyes filledwith tears and he murmured a prayer. Then smiting his forehead, he criedin a voice trembling with feeling: "Now it is fulfilled! now it hasbecome a fact! If I doubted the words of thy priestess, O PhoebusApollo! pardon my sin! What was the promise of the oracle?
"If once the warrior hosts from the snow-topped mountains descending, Come to the fields of the stream watering richly the plain, Then shall the lingering boat to the beckoning meadows convey thee, Which to the wandering foot peace and a home can afford. When those warriors come, from the snow-topped mountains descending, Then will the powerful Five grant thee what long they refused."
"The promise of the god is fulfilled. Now I may return home, and I will;but first I raise my hands to Dice, the unchanging goddess of justice,and implore her not to deny me the pleasure of revenge."
"The day of vengeance will dawn to-morrow," said Phanes, joining inthe old man's prayer. "Tomorrow I shall slaughter the victims for thedead--for my son--and will take no rest until Cambyses has piercedthe heart of Egypt with the arrows which I have cut for him. Come, myfriend, let me take you to the king. One man like you can put a wholetroop of Egyptians to flight."
.......................
It was night. The Persian soldiers, their position being unfortified,were in order of battle, ready to meet any unexpected attack. Thefoot-soldiers stood leaning on their shields, the horsemen held theirhorses saddled and bridled near the camp-fires. Cambyses was ridingthrough the ranks, encouraging his troops by words and looks. Only onepart of the army was not yet ranged in order of battle--the centre. Itwas composed of the Persian body-guard, the apple-bearers, Immortals,and the king's own relatives, who were always led into battle by theking in person.
The Ionian Greeks too had gone to rest, at Phanes' command. He wanted tokeep his men fresh, and allowed them to sleep in their armor, while hekept watch. Aristomachus was welcomed with shouts of joy by the Greeks,and kindly by Cambyses, who assigned him, at the head of one half theGreek troops, a place to the left of the centre attack, while Phanes,with the other half, had his place at the right. The king himself was totake the lead at the head of the ten thousand Immortals, preceded by theblue, red and gold imperial banner and the standard of Kawe. Bartja wasto lead the regiment of mounted guards numbering a thousand men, andthat division of the cavalry which was entirely clothed in mail.
Croesus commanded a body of troops whose duty it was to guard the campwith its immense treasures, the wives of Cambyses' nobles, and his ownmother and sister.
At last Mithras appeared and shed his light upon the earth; the spiritsof the night retired to their dens, and the Magi stirred up the sacredfire which had been carried before the army the whole way from Babylon,until it became a gigantic flame. They and the king united in feeding itwith costly perfumes, Cambyses offered the sacrifice, and, holding thewhile a golden bowl high in the air, besought the gods to grant himvictory and glory. He then gave the password, "Auramazda, the helper andguide," and placed himself at the head of his guards, who went intothe battle with wreaths on their tiaras. The Greeks offered their ownsacrifices, and shouted with delight on hearing that the omens wereauspicious. Their war-cry was "Hebe."
Meanwhile the Egyptian priests had begun their day also with prayer andsacrifice, and had then placed their army in order of battle.
Psamtik, now King of Egypt, led the centre. He was mounted on a goldenchariot; the trappings of his horses were of gold and purple, and plumesof ostrich feathers nodded on their proud heads. He wore the doublecrown of Upper and Lower Egypt, and the charioteer who stood at his lefthand holding the reins and whip, was descended from one of the noblestEgyptian families.
The Hellenic and Karian mercenaries were to fight at the left of thecentre, the horse at the extreme of each wing, and the Egyptian andEthiopian foot were stationed, six ranks deep, on the right and left ofthe armed chariots, and Greek mercenaries.
Psamtik drove through the ranks of his army, giving encouraging andfriendly words to all the men. He drew up before the Greek division, andaddressed them thus: "Heroes of Cyprus and Libya! your deeds in armsare well known to me, and I rejoice in the thought of sharing your gloryto-day and crowning you with fresh laurels. Ye have no need to fear,that in the day of victory I shall curtail your liberties. Malicioustongues have whispered that this is all ye have to expect from me; but Itell you, that if we conquer, fresh favors will be shown to you andyour descendants; I shall call you the supporters of my throne. Yeare fighting to-day, not for me alone, but for the freedom of your owndistant homes. It is easy to perceive that Cambyses, once lord of Egypt,will stretch out his rapacious hand over your beautiful Hellas and itsislands. I need only remind you, that they be between Egypt and yourAsiatic brethren who are already groaning under the Persian yoke. Youracclamations prove that ye agree with me already, but I must ask for astill longer hearing. It is my duty to tell you who has sold, not onlyEgypt, but his own country to the King of Persia, in return for immensetreasures. The man's name is Phanes! You are angry and inclined todoubt? I swear to you, that this very Phanes has accepted Cambyses' goldand promised not only to be his guide to Egypt, but to open the gates ofyour own Greek cities to him. He knows the country and the people, andcan be bribed to every perfidy. Look at him! there he is, walking bythe side of the king. See how he bows before him! I thought I had heardonce, that the Greeks only prostrated themselves before their gods. Butof course, when a man sells his country, he ceases to be its citizen.Am I not right? Ye scorn to call so base a creature by the name ofcountryman? Yes? then I will deliver the wretch's daughter into yourhands. Do what ye will with the child of such a villain. Crown her withwreaths of roses, fall down before her, if it please you, but do notforget that she belongs to a man who has disgraced the name of Hellene,and has betrayed his countrymen and country!"
As he finished speaking the men raised a wild cry of rage and tookpossession of the trembling child. A soldier held her up, so that herfather--the troops not being more than a bow-shot apart--could see allthat happened. At the same moment an Egyptian, who afterwards earnedcelebrity through the loudness of his voice, cried: "Look here,Athenian! see how treachery and corruption are rewarded in thiscountry!" A bowl of wine stood near, provided by the king, from whichthe soldiers had just been drinking themselves into intoxication. AKarian seized it, plunged his sword into the innocent child's breast,and let the blood flow into the bowl; filled a goblet with the awfulmixture, and drained it, as if drinking to the health of the wretchedfather. Phanes stood watching the scene, as if struck into a statueof cold stone. The rest of the soldiers then fell upon the bowl likemadmen, and wild beasts could not have lapped up the foul drink withgreater eagerness.--[Herodotus tells this fearful tale (III. ii.)]
In the same moment Psamtik triumphantly shot off his first arrow intothe Persian ranks.
The mercenaries flung the child's dead body on to the ground; drunk withher blood, they raised their battle-song, and rushed into the strife farahead of their Egyptian comrades.
But now the Persian ranks began to move. Phanes, furious with painand rage, led on his heavy-armed troops, indignant too at the brutalbarbarity of their countrymen, and dashed into the ranks of thosevery soldiers, whose love he had tried to deserve during ten years offaithful leadership.
At noon, fortune seemed to be fa
voring the Egyptians; but at sunset thePersians had the advantage, and when the full-moon rose, the Egyptianswere flying wildly from the battle-field, perishing in the marshes andin the arm of the Nile which flowed behind their position, or being cutto pieces by the swords of their enemies.
Twenty thousand Persians and fifty thousand Egyptians lay dead onthe blood-stained sea-sand. The wounded, drowned, and prisoners couldscarcely be numbered.
[Herod. III. 12. Ktesias, Persica 9. In ancient history the loss of the conquered is always far greater than that of the conquerors. To a certain extent this holds good in the present day, but the proportion is decidedly not so unfavorable for the vanquished.]
Psamtik had been one of the last to fly. He was well mounted, and, witha few thousand faithful followers, reached the opposite bank of the Nileand made for Memphis, the well-fortified city of the Pyramids.
Of the Greek mercenaries very few survived, so furious had been Phanes'revenge, and so well had he been supported by his Ionians. Ten thousandKarians were taken captive and the murderer of his little child waskilled by Phanes' own hand.
Aristomachus too, in spite of his wooden leg, had performed miracles ofbravery; but, notwithstanding all their efforts, neither he, nor any ofhis confederates in revenge, had succeeded in taking Psamtik prisoner.
When the battle was over, the Persians returned in triumph to theirtents, to be warmly welcomed by Croesus and the warriors and priestswho had remained behind, and to celebrate their victory by prayers andsacrifices.
The next morning Cambyses assembled his generals and rewarded them withdifferent tokens of distinction, such as costly robes, gold chains,rings, swords, and stars formed of precious stones. Gold and silvercoins were distributed among the common soldiers.
The principal attack of the Egyptians had been directed against thecentre of the Persian army, where Cambyses commanded in person; andwith such effect that the guards had already begun to give way. Atthat moment Bartja, arriving with his troop of horsemen, had put freshcourage into the wavering, had fought like a lion himself, and by hisbravery and promptitude decided the day in favor of the Persians.
The troops were exultant in their joy: they shouted his praises, as "theconqueror of Pelusium" and the "best of the Achaemenidae."
Their cries reached the king's ears and made him very angry. He knewhe had been fighting at the risk of life, with real courage and thestrength of a giant, and yet the day would have been lost if this boyhad not presented him with the victory. The brother who had embitteredhis days of happy love, was now to rob him of half his military glory.Cambyses felt that he hated Bartja, and his fist clenched involuntarilyas he saw the young hero looking so happy in the consciousness of hisown well-earned success.
Phanes had been wounded and went to his tent; Aristomachus lay near him,dying.
"The oracle has deceived me, after all," he murmured. "I shall diewithout seeing my country again."
"The oracle spoke the truth," answered Phanes. "Were not the last wordsof the Pythia?"
'Then shall the lingering boat to the beckoning meadows convey thee, Which to the wandering foot peace and a home will afford?'
"Can you misunderstand their meaning? They speak of Charon's lingeringboat, which will convey you to your last home, to the one greatresting-place for all wanderers--the kingdom of Hades."
"Yes, my friend, you are right there. I am going to Hades."
"And the Five have granted you, before death, what they so longrefused,--the return to Lacedaemon. You ought to be thankful to the godsfor granting you such sons and such vengeance on your enemies. When mywound is healed, I shall go to Greece and tell your son that his fatherdied a glorious death, and was carried to the grave on his shield, asbeseems a hero."
"Yes, do so, and give him my shield as a remembrance of his old father.There is no need to exhort him to virtue."
"When Psamtik is in our power, shall I tell him what share you had inhis overthrow?"
"No; he saw me before he took to flight, and at the unexpected visionhis bow fell from his hand. This was taken by his friends as a signalfor flight, and they turned their horses from the battle."
"The gods ordain, that bad men shall be ruined by their own deeds.Psamtik lost courage, for he must have believed that the very spirits ofthe lower world were fighting against him."
"We mortals gave him quite enough to do. The Persians fought well. Butthe battle would have been lost without the guards and our troops."
"Without doubt."
"I thank thee, O Zeus Lacedaemonius."
"You are praying?"
"I am praising the gods for allowing me to die at ease as to my country.These heterogeneous masses can never be dangerous to Greece. Ho,physician, when am I likely to die?"
The Milesian physician, who had accompanied the Greek troops to Egypt,pointed to the arrow-head sticking fast in his breast, and said with asad smile, "You have only a few hours more to live. If I were to drawthe arrow from your wound, you would die at once."
The Spartan thanked him, said farewell to Phanes, sent a greeting toRhodopis, and then, before they could prevent him, drew the arrow fromhis wound with an unflinching hand. A few moments later Aristomachus wasdead.
The same day a Persian embassy set out for Memphis on board one ofthe Lesbian vessels. It was commissioned to demand from Psamtik thesurrender of his own person and of the city at discretion. Cambysesfollowed, having first sent off a division of his army under Megabyzusto invest Sais.
At Heliopolis he was met by deputations from the Greek inhabitants ofNaukratis and the Libyans, praying for peace and his protection, andbringing a golden wreath and other rich presents. Cambyses receivedthem graciously and assured them of his friendship; but repulsed themessengers from Cyrene and Barka indignantly, and flung, with his ownhand, their tribute of five hundred silver mince among his soldiers,disdaining to accept so contemptible an offering.
In Heliopolis he also heard that, at the approach of his embassy, theinhabitants of Memphis had flocked to the shore, bored a hole in thebottom of the ship, torn his messengers in pieces without distinction,as wild beasts would tear raw flesh, and dragged them into the fortress.On hearing this he cried angrily: "I swear, by Mithras, that thesemurdered men shall be paid for; ten lives for one."
Two days later and Cambyses with his army stood before the gates ofMemphis. The siege was short, as the garrison was far too small forthe city, and the citizens were discouraged by the fearful defeat atPelusium.
King Psamtik himself came out to Cambyses, accompanied by his principalnobles, in rent garments, and with every token of mourning. Cambysesreceived him coldly and silently, ordering him and his followers tobe guarded and removed. He treated Ladice, the widow of Amasis, whoappeared at the same time as her step-son, with consideration, and, atthe intercession of Phanes, to whom she had always shown favor, allowedher to return to her native town of Cyrene under safe conduct. Sheremained there until the fall of her nephew, Arcesilaus III. and theflight of her sister Pheretime, when she betook herself to Anthylla,the town in Egypt which belonged to her, and where she passed a quiet,solitary existence, dying at a great age.
Cambyses not only scorned to revenge the imposture which had beenpractised on him on a woman, but, as a Persian, had far too much respectfor a mother, and especially for the mother of a king, to injure Ladicein any way.
While he was engaged in the siege of Sais, Psamtik passed hisimprisonment in the palace of the Pharaohs, treated in every respect asa king, but strictly guarded.
Among those members of the upper class who had incited the people toresistance, Neithotep, the high-priest of Neith, had taken the foremostplace. He was therefore sent to Memphis and put in close confinement,with one hundred of his unhappy confederates. The larger number of thePharaoh's court, on the other hand, did homage voluntarily to Cambysesat Sais, entitled him Ramestu, "child of the sun," and suggested that heshould cause himself to be crowned King of Upper and Lower Egypt, withall the necessary form
alities, and admitted into the priestly casteaccording to ancient custom. By the advice of Croesus and Phanes,Cambyses gave in to these proposals, though much against his own will:he went so far, indeed, as to offer sacrifice in the temple of Neith,and allowed the newly-created high-priest of the goddess to give hima superficial insight into the nature of the mysteries. Some ofthe courtiers he retained near himself, and promoted differentadministrative functionaries to high posts; the commander of Amasis'Nile fleet succeeded so well in gaining the king's favor, as to beappointed one of those who ate at the royal table.
[On a statue in the Gregorian Museum in the Vatican, there is an inscription giving an account of Cambyses' sojourn at Sais, which agrees with the facts related in our text. He was lenient to his conquered subjects, and, probably in order to secure his position as the lawful Pharaoh, yielded to the wishes of the priests, was even initiated into the mysteries and did much for the temple of Neith. His adoption of the name Ramestu is also confirmed by this statue. E. de Rough, Memoire sur la statuette naophore du musee Gregorian, au Vatican. Revue Archeol. 1851.]
On leaving Sais, Cambyses placed Megabyzus in command of the city; butscarcely had the king quitted their walls than the smothered rage of thepeople broke forth; they murdered the Persian sentinels, poisoned thewells, and set the stables of the cavalry on fire. Megabyzus at onceapplied to the king, representing that such hostile acts, if notrepressed by fear, might soon be followed by open rebellion. "The twothousand noble youths from Memphis whom you have destined to death asan indemnification for our murdered ambassadors," said he, "ought tobe executed at once; and it would do no harm if the son of Psamtik wereadded to the number, as he can some day become a rallying centre forthe rebels. I hear that the daughters of the dethroned king and of thehigh-priest Neithotep have to carry water for the baths of the noblePhanes."
The Athenian answered with a smile: "Cambyses has allowed me to employthese aristocratic female attendants, my lord, at my own request."
"But has forbidden you to touch the life of one member of the royalhouse," added Cambyses. "None but a king has the right to punish kings."
Phanes bowed. The king turned to Megabyzus and ordered him to have theprisoners executed the very next day, as an example. He would decide thefate of the young prince later; but at all events he was to be taken tothe place of execution with the rest. "We must show them," he concluded,"that we know how to meet all their hostile manifestations withsufficient rigor."
Croesus ventured to plead for the innocent boy. "Calm yourself, oldfriend," said Cambyses with a smile; "the child is not dead yet, andperhaps will be as well off with us as your own son, who fought so wellat Pelusium. I confess I should like to know, whether Psamtik bears hisfate as calmly and bravely as you did twenty-five years ago."
"That we can easily discover, by putting him on trial," said Phanes."Let him be brought into the palace-court to-morrow, and let thecaptives and the condemned be led past him. Then we shall see whether heis a man or a coward."
"Be it so," answered Cambyses. "I will conceal myself and watch himunobserved. You, Phanes, will accompany me, to tell me the name and rankof each of the captives."
The next morning Phanes accompanied the king on to a balcony which ranround the great court of the palace--the court we have already describedas being planted with trees. The listeners were hidden by a grove offlowering shrubs, but they could see every movement that took place,and hear every word that was spoken beneath them. They saw Psamtik,surrounded by a few of his former companions. He was leaning againsta palm-tree, his eyes fixed gloomily on the ground, as his daughtersentered the court. The daughter of Neithotep was with them, and somemore young girls, all dressed as slaves; they were carrying pitchers ofwater. At sight of the king, they uttered such a loud cry of anguishas to wake him from his reverie. He looked up, recognized the miserablegirls, and bowed his head lower than before; but only for a moment.Drawing himself up quickly, he asked his eldest daughter for whom shewas carrying water. On hearing that she was forced to do the work of aslave for Phanes, he turned deadly pale, nodded his head, and cried tothe girls, "Go on."
A few minutes later the captives were led into the court, with ropesround their necks, and bridles in their mouths.
[This statement of Herodotus (III. 14.) is confirmed by the monuments, on which we often see representations of captives being led along with ropes round their necks. What follows is taken entirely from the same passage in Herodotus.]
At the head of the train was the little prince Necho. He stretched hishands out to his father, begging him to punish the bad foreigners whowanted to kill him. At this sight the Egyptians wept in their exceedinggreat misery; but Psamtik's eyes were dry. He bowed his tearless facenearly to the earth, and waved his child a last farewell.
After a short interval, the captives taken in Sais entered. Among themwas Neithotep, the once powerful high-priest, clothed in rags and movingwith difficulty by the help of a staff. At the entrance-gate he raisedhis eyes and caught sight of his former pupil Darius. Reckless of allthe spectators around him, he went straight up to the young man, pouredout the story of his need, besought his help, and ended by begging analms. Darius complied at once, and by so doing, induced others of theAchaemenidae, who were standing by, to hail the old man jokingly andthrow him little pieces of money, which he picked up laboriously andthankfully from the ground.
At this sight Psamtik wept aloud, and smote upon his forehead, callingon the name of his friend in a voice full of woe.
Cambyses was so astonished at this, that he came forward to thebalustrade of the veranda, and pushing the flowers aside, exclaimed:"Explain thyself, thou strange man; the misfortunes of a beggar, noteven akin to thee, move thy compassion, but thou canst behold thy sonon the way to execution and thy daughters in hopeless misery withoutshedding a tear, or uttering a lament!"
Psamtik looked up at his conqueror, and answered: "The misfortunes ofmy own house, O son of Cyrus, are too great for tears; but I may bepermitted to weep over the afflictions of a friend, fallen, in his oldage, from the height of happiness and influence into the most miserablebeggary."
Cambyses' face expressed his approval, and on looking round he saw thathis was not the only eye which was filled with tears. Croesus, Bartja,and all the Persians-nay, even Phanes himself, who had served asinterpreter to the kings-were weeping aloud.
The proud conqueror was not displeased at these signs of sympathy, andturning to the Athenian: "I think, my Greek friend" he said, "we mayconsider our wrongs as avenged. Rise, Psamtik, and endeavor to imitateyonder noble old man, (pointing to Croesus) by accustoming yourself toyour fate. Your father's fraud has been visited on you and your family.The crown, which I have wrested from you is the crown of which Amasisdeprived my wife, my never-to-be-forgotten Nitetis. For her sake I beganthis war, and for her sake I grant you now the life of your son--sheloved him. From this time forward you can live undisturbed at our court,eat at our table and share the privileges of our nobles. Gyges, fetchthe boy hither. He shall be brought up as you were, years ago, among thesons of the Achaemenidae."
The Lydian was hastening to execute this delightful commission, butPhanes stopped him before he could reach the door, and placing himselfproudly between the king and the trembling, thankful Psamtik, said: "Youwould be going on a useless errand, noble Lydian. In defiance of yourcommand, my Sovereign, but in virtue of the full powers you once gaveme, I have ordered the grandson of Amasis to be the executioner's firstvictim. You have just heard the sound of a horn; that was the sign thatthe last heir to the Egyptian throne born on the shores of the Nile hasbeen gathered to his fathers. I am aware of the fate I have to expect,Cambyses. I will not plead for a life whose end has been attained.Croesus, I understand your reproachful looks. You grieve for themurdered children. But life is such a web of wretchedness anddisappointment, that I agree with your philosopher Solon in thinkingthose fortunate to whom, as in former days to Kleobis and Biton, thegods decree an early d
eath.
[Croesus, after having shown Solon his treasures, asked him whom he held to be the most fortunate of men, hoping to hear his own name. The sage first named Tellus, a famous citizen of Athens, and then the brothers Kleobis and Biton. These were two handsome youths, who had gained the prize for wrestling, and one day, when the draught- animals had not returned from the field, dragged their mother themselves to the distant temple, in presence of the people. The men of Argos praised the strength of the sons,--the women praised the mother who possessed these sons. She, transported with delight at her sons' deed and the people's praise, went to the statue of the goddess and besought her to give them the best that could fall to the lot of men. When her prayer was over and the sacrifice offered, the youths fell asleep, and never woke again. They were dead. Herod. I, 31. Cicero. Tuscul. I. 47.]
"If I have ever been dear to you, Cambyses--if my counsels have beenof any use, permit me as a last favor to say a few more words. Psamtikknows the causes that rendered us foes to each other. Ye all, whoseesteem is worth so much to me, shall know them too. This man's fatherplaced me in his son's stead at the head of the troops which had beensent to Cyprus. Where Psamtik had earned humiliation, I won success andglory. I also became unintentionally acquainted with a secret, whichseriously endangered his chances of obtaining the crown; and lastly,I prevented his carrying off a virtuous maiden from the house of hergrandmother, an aged woman, beloved and respected by all the Greeks.These are the sins which he has never been able to forgive; these arethe grounds which led him to carry on war to the death with me directlyI had quitted his father's service. The struggle is decided now. Myinnocent children have been murdered at thy command, and I have beenpursued like a wild beast. That has been thy revenge. But mine!--Ihave deprived thee of thy throne and reduced thy people to bondage. Thydaughter I have called my slave, thy son's death-warrant was pronouncedby my lips, and my eyes have seen the maiden whom thou persecutedstbecome the happy wife of a brave man. Undone, sinking ever lower andlower, thou hast watched me rise to be the richest and most powerful ofmy nation. In the lowest depth of thine own misery--and this has beenthe most delicious morsel of my vengeance--thou wast forced to seeme--me, Phanes shedding tears that could not be kept back, at the sightof thy misery. The man, who is allowed to draw even one breath oflife, after beholding his enemy so low, I hold to be happy as the godsthemselves I have spoken."
He ceased, and pressed his hand on his wound. Cambyses gazed at himin astonishment, stepped forward, and was just going to touch hisgirdle--an action which would have been equivalent to the signing of adeath-warrant when his eye caught sight of the chain, which he himselfhad hung round the Athenian's neck as a reward for the clever way inwhich he had proved the innocence of Nitetis.
[The same sign was used by the last Darius to denote that his able Greek general Memnon, who had offended him by his plainness of speech, was doomed to death. As he was being led away, Memnon exclaimed, in allusion to Alexander, who was then fast drawing near: "Thy remorse will soon prove my worth; my avenger is not far off." Droysen, Alex. d. Grosse, Diod. XVII. 30. Curtius III. 2.]
The sudden recollection of the woman he loved, and of the countlessservices rendered him by Phanes, calmed his wrath his hand dropped.One minute the severe ruler stood gazing lingeringly at his disobedientfriend; the next, moved by a sudden impulse, he raised his right handagain, and pointed imperiously to the gate leading from the court.
Phanes bowed in silence, kissed the king's robe, and descended slowlyinto the court. Psamtik watched him, quivering with excitement, sprangtowards the veranda, but before his lips could utter the curse which hisheart had prepared, he sank powerless on to the ground.
Cambyses beckoned to his followers to make immediate preparations for alion-hunt in the Libyan mountains.