CHAPTER XVI.
Here we might end this tale, but that we feel bound to give our readerssome account of the last days of Cambyses. We have already describedthe ruin of his mind, but his physical end remains still to be told, andalso the subsequent fate of some of the other characters in our history.
A short time after the departure of the queens, news reached Naukratisthat Oroetes, the satrap of Lydia, had, by a stratagem, allured his oldenemy, Polykrates, to Sardis and crucified him there, thus fulfillingwhat Amasis had prophecied of the tyrant's mournful end. This act thesatrap had committed on his own responsibility, events havingtaken place in the Median kingdom which threatened the fall of theAchaemenidaean dynasty.
The king's long absence in a foreign country had either weakened orentirely dissipated, the fear which the mere mention of his name hadformerly inspired in those who felt inclined to rebel. The awe thathis subjects had formerly felt for him, vanished at the tidings ofhis madness, and the news that he had wantonly exposed the lives ofthousands of their countrymen to certain death in the deserts of Libyaand Ethiopia, inspired the enraged Asiatics with a hatred which, whenskilfully fed by the powerful Magi, soon roused, first the Medes andAssyrians, and then the Persians, to defection and open insurrection.Motives of self-interest led the ambitious high-priest, Oropastes, whomCambyses had appointed regent in his absence, to place himself at thehead of this movement. He flattered the people by remitting their taxes,by large gifts and larger promises, and finding his clemency gratefullyrecognized, determined on an imposture, by which he hoped to win thecrown of Persia for his own family.
He had not forgotten the marvellous likeness between his brother Gaumata(who had been condemned to lose his ears) and Bartja, the son of Cyrus,and on hearing that the latter, the universal favorite, as he well knew,of the Persian nation, had disappeared, resolved to turn this to accountby passing off his brother as the vanished prince, and setting him onthe throne in place of Cambyses. The hatred felt throughout the entirekingdom towards their insane king, and the love and attachment of thenation to Bartja, made this stratagem so easy of accomplishment, thatwhen at last messengers from Oropastes arrived in all the provinces ofthe empire declaring to the discontented citizens that, notwithstandingthe rumor they had heard, the younger son of Cyrus was still alive, hadrevolted from his brother, ascended his father's throne and granted toall his subjects freedom from tribute and from military service duringa period of three years, the new ruler was acknowledged throughout thekingdom with rejoicings.
The pretended Bartja, who was fully aware of his brother's mentalsuperiority, had obeyed his directions in every particular, had taken uphis residence in the palace of Nisaea,--in the plains of Media, placedthe crown on his head, declared the royal harem his own, and had shownhimself once from a distance to the people, who were to recognize in himthe murdered Bartja. After that time, however, for fear of being at lastunmasked, he concealed himself in his palace, giving himself up, afterthe manner of Asiatic monarchs, to every kind of indulgence, whilehis brother held the sceptre with a firm hand, and conferred all theimportant offices of state on his friends and family.
No sooner did Oropastes feel firm ground under his feet, than hedespatched the eunuch Ixabates to Egypt, to inform the army of thechange of rulers that had taken place and persuade them to revolt infavor of Bartja, who he knew had been idolized by the Soldiers.
The messenger had been well chosen, fulfilled his mission with muchskill, and had already won over a considerable part of the army for thenew king, when he was taken prisoner by some Syrians, who brought him toMemphis in hopes of reward.
On arriving in the city of the Pyramids he was brought before the king,and promised impunity on condition of revealing the entire truth.
The messenger then confirmed the rumor, which had reached Egypt, thatBartja had ascended the throne of Cyrus and had been recognized by thegreater part of the empire.
Cambyses started with terror at these tidings, as one who saw a deadman rise from his grave. He was by this time fully aware that Bartjahad been murdered by Prexaspes at his own command, but in this momenthe began to suspect that the envoy had deceived him and spared hisbrother's life. The thought had no sooner entered his mind than heuttered it, reproaching Prexaspes so bitterly with treachery, as toelicit from him a tremendous oath, that he had murdered and buried theunfortunate Bartja with his own hand.
Oropastes' messenger was next asked whether he had seen the new kinghimself. He answered that he had not, adding that the supposed brotherof Cambyses had only once appeared in public, and had then shown himselfto the people from a distance. On hearing this, Prexaspes saw throughthe whole web of trickery at once, reminded the king of the unhappymisunderstandings to which the marvellous likeness between Bartja andGaumata had formerly given rise, and concluded by offering to stake hisown life on the correctness of his supposition. The explanation pleasedthe king, and from that moment his diseased mind was possessed by onenew idea to the exclusion of all others--the seizure and slaughter ofthe Magi.
The host was ordered to prepare for marching. Aryandes,--one of theAchaemenidae, was appointed satrap of Egypt, and the army startedhomeward without delay. Driven by this new delusion, the king took norest by day or night, till at last his over-ridden and ill-used horsefell with him, and he was severely wounded in the fall by his owndagger.
After lying insensible for some days, he opened his eyes and asked firstto see Araspes, then his mother, and lastly Atossa, although these threehad set out on their journey home months before. From all he said itappeared that during the last four years, from the attack of fever untilthe present accident, he had been living in a kind of sleep. He seemedastonished and pained at hearing what had happened during these years.But of his brother's death he was fully aware. He knew that Prexaspeshad killed him by his--the king's--orders and had told him that Bartjalay buried on the shores of the Red Sea.--During the night whichfollowed this return to his senses it became clear to himself also, thathis mind had been wandering for along time. Towards morning he fellinto a deep sleep, and this so restored his strength, that on waking hecalled for Croesus and required an exact relation of the events that hadpassed during the last few years.
His old friend and adviser obeyed; he felt that Cambyses was stillentrusted to his care, and in the hope, faint as it was, of bringinghim back to the right way, he did not suppress one of the king's acts ofviolence in his relation.
His joy was therefore great at perceiving, that his words made a deepimpression on the newly-awakened mind of the king. With tears in hiseyes, and with the ashamed look of a child, he grieved over his wrongdeeds and his madness, begged Croesus to forgive him, thanked him forhaving borne so long and faithfully with him, and commissioned him toask Kassandane and Sappho especially for forgiveness, but also, Atossaand all whom he had unjustly offended.
The old man wept too, but his tears were tears of joy and he repeatedlyassured Cambyses that he would recover and have ample opportunity ofmaking amends for the past. But to all this Cambyses shook his headresolutely, and, pale and wan as he looked, begged Croesus to have hiscouch carried on to a rising ground in the open air, and then to summonthe Achaemenidae. When these orders, in spite of the physicians, hadbeen obeyed, Cambyses was raised into an upright sitting position, andbegan, in a voice which could be heard at a considerable distance:
"The time to reveal my great secret has arrived, O ye Persians. Deceivedby a vision, provoked and annoyed by my brother, I caused him to bemurdered in my wrath. Prexaspes wrought the evil deed by my command, butinstead of bringing me the peace I yearned for, that deed has torturedme into madness and death. By this my confession ye will be convinced,that my brother Bartja is really dead. The Magi have usurped the throneof the Achaemenidae. Oropastes, whom I left in Persia as my vicegerentand his brother Gaumata, who resembles Bartja so nearly that evenCroesus, Intaphernes and my uncle, the noble Hystaspes, were oncedeceived by the likeness, have placed themselves at their head. Woe isme, th
at I have murdered him who, as my nearest kinsman, should haveavenged on the Magi this affront to my honor. But I cannot recall himfrom the dead, and I therefore appoint you the executors of my lastwill. By the Feruer of my dead father, and in the name of all good andpure spirits, I conjure you not to suffer the government to fall intothe hands of the unfaithful Magi. If they have obtained possessionthereof by artifice, wrest it from their hands in like manner; if byforce, use force to win it back. Obey this my last will, and the earthwill yield you its fruits abundantly; your wives, your flocks and herdsshall be blessed and freedom shall be your portion. Refuse to obey it,and ye shall suffer the corresponding evils; yea, your end, and that ofevery Persian shall be even as mine."
After these words the king wept and sank back fainting, on seeing which,the Achaemenidae rent their clothes and burst into loud lamentations.A few hours later Cambyses died in Croesus' arms. Nitetis was his lastthought; he died with her name on his lips and tears of penitence in hiseyes. When the Persians had left the unclean corpse, Croesus knelt downbeside it and cried, raising his hand to heaven: "Great Cyrus, I havekept my oath. I have remained this miserable man's faithful adviser evenunto his end."
The next morning the old man betook himself, accompanied by his sonGyges, to the town of Barene, which belonged to him, and lived theremany years as a father to his subjects, revered by Darius and praised byall his contemporaries.
........................
After Cambyses' death the heads of the seven Persian tribes helda council, and resolved, as a first measure, on obtaining certaininformation as to the person of the usurper. With this view, Otanes senta confidential eunuch to his daughter Phaedime, who, as they knew, hadcome into the possession of the new king with the rest of Cambyses'harem.
[The names of the seven conspiring chiefs, given by Herodotus agree for the most part with those in the cuneiform inscriptions. The names are: Otanes, Intaphernes, Gobryas, Megabyzus, Aspatines, Hydarnes and Darius Hystaspis. In the inscription Otana: Vindafrand, Gaubaruva, Ardumams, Vidarna, Bagabukhsa and Darayavus.]
Before the messenger returned, the greater part of the army haddispersed, the soldiers seizing this favorable opportunity to returnto their homes and families, after so many years of absence. At last,however, the long-expected messenger came back and brought for answer,that the new king had only visited Phaedime once, but that during thatvisit she had, at great personal risk, discovered that he had lost bothears. Without this discovery, however, she could assert positively thatthough there were a thousand points of similarity between the usurperand the murdered Bartja, the former was in reality none other thanGaumata, the brother of Oropastes. Her old friend Boges had resumed hisoffice of chief of the eunuchs, and had revealed to her the secrets ofthe Magi. The high-priest had met the former keeper of the women beggingin the streets of Susa, and had restored him to his old office with thewords: "You have forfeited your life, but I want men of your stamp."In conclusion. Phaedime entreated her father to use every means inhis power for the overthrow of the Magi, as they treated her with thegreatest contempt and she was the most miserable of women.
Though none of the Achaemenidae hall really for a moment believed; thatBartja was alive and had seized on the throne, so clear an accountof the real person of the usurper was very welcome to them, and theyresolved at once to march on Nisaea with the remnant of the army andoverthrow the Magi either by craft or force.
They entered the new capital unassailed, and finding that the majorityof the people seemed content with the new government, they alsopretended to acknowledge the king as the son of Cyrus, to whom they wereprepared to do homage. The Magi, however, were not deceived; they shutthemselves up in their palace, assembled an army in the Nisaean plain,promised the soldiers high pay, and used every effort to strengthen thebelief of the people in Gaumata's disguise. On this point no one coulddo them more injury, or, if he chose, be more useful to them, thanPrexaspes. He was much looked up to by the Persians, and his assurance,that he had not murdered Bartja, would have been sufficient to tame thefast-spreading report of the real way in which the youth had met hisdeath. Oropastes, therefore, sent for Prexaspes, who, since the king'sdying words, had been avoided by all the men of his own rank and had ledthe life of an outlaw, and promised him an immense sum of money, if hewould ascend a high tower and declare to the people, assembled in thecourt beneath, that evil-disposed men had called him Bartja's murderer,whereas he had seen the new king with his own eyes and had recognizedin him the younger son of his benefactor. Prexaspes made no objection tothis proposal, took a tender leave of his family while the people werebeing assembled, uttered a short prayer before the sacred fire-altar andwalked proudly to the palace. On his way thither he met the chiefs ofthe seven tribes and seeing that they avoided him, called out tothem: "I am worthy of your contempt, but I will try to deserve yourforgiveness."
Seeing Darius look back, he hastened towards him, grasped his hand andsaid: "I have loved you like a son; take care of my children when I amno more, and use your pinions, winged Darius." Then, with the same prouddemeanor he ascended the tower.
Many thousands of the citizens of Nisaea were within reach of his voice,as he cried aloud: "Ye all know that the kings who have, up to thepresent time, loaded you with honor and glory, belonged to the house ofthe Achaemenidae. Cyrus governed you like a real father, Cambyses was astern master, and Bartja would have guided you like a bridegroom, ifI, with this right hand which I now show you, had not slain him on theshores of the Red Sea. By Mithras, it was with a bleeding heart thatI committed this wicked deed, but I did it as a faithful servant inobedience to the king's command. Nevertheless, it has haunted me by dayand night; for four long years I have been pursued and tormented by thespirits of darkness, who scare sleep from the murderer's couch. I havenow resolved to end this painful, despairing existence by a worthy deed,and though even this may procure me no mercy at the bridge of Chinvat,in the mouths of men, at least, I shall have redeemed my honorable namefrom the stain with which I defiled it. Know then, that the man whogives himself out for the son of Cyrus, sent me hither; he promised merich rewards if I would deceive you by declaring him to be Bartja, theson of the Achaemenidae. But I scorn his promises and swear by Mithrasand the Feruers of the kings, the most solemn oaths I am acquaintedwith, that the man who is now ruling you is none other than the MagianGaumata, he who was deprived of his ears, the brother of the king'svicegerent and high-priest, Oropastes, whom ye all know. If it be yourwill to forget all the glory ye owe to the Achaemenidae, if to thisingratitude ye choose to add your own degradation, then acknowledgethese creatures and call them your kings; but if ye despise a lie andare ashamed to obey worthless impostors, drive the Magi from the thronebefore Mithras has left the heavens, and proclaim the noblest of theAchaemenidae, Darius, the exalted son of Hystaspes, who promises tobecome a second Cyrus, as your king. And now, in order that ye maybelieve my words and not suspect that Darius sent me hither to win youover to his side, I will commit a deed, which must destroy every doubtand prove that the truth and glory of the Achaemenidae are clearer tome, than life itself. Blessed be ye if ye follow my counsels, but cursesrest upon you, if ye neglect to reconquer the throne from the Magi andrevenge yourselves upon them.--Behold, I die a true and honorable man!"
With these words he ascended the highest pinnacle of the tower and casthimself down head foremost, thus expiating the one crime of his life byan honorable death.
The dead silence with which the people in the court below had listenedto him, was now broken by shrieks of rage and cries for vengeance. Theyburst open the gates of the palace and were pressing in with cries of"Death to the Magi," when the seven princes of the Persians appeared infront of the raging crowd to resist their entrance.
At sight of the Achaemenidae the citizens broke into shouts of joy, andcried more impetuously than ever, "Down with the Magi! Victory to KingDarius!"
The son of Hystaspes was then carried by the crowd to a rising ground,from which he
told the people that the Magi had been slain by theAchaemenidae, as liars and usurpers. Fresh cries of joy arose in answerto these words, and when at last the bleeding heads of Oropastes andGaumata were shown to the crowd, they rushed with horrid yells throughthe streets of the city, murdering every Magian they could lay hold of.The darkness of night alone was able to stop this awful massacre.
Four days later, Darius, the son of Hystaspes, was chosen as king by theheads of the Achaemenidae, in consideration of his high birth and noblecharacter, and received by the Persian nation with enthusiasm. Dariushad killed Gaumata with his own hand, and the highpriest had receivedhis death-thrust from the hand of Megabyzus, the father of Zopyrus.While Prexaspes was haranguing the people, the seven conspiring Persianprinces, Otanes, Intaphernes, Gobryas, Megabyzus, Aspatines, Hydarnesand Darius, (as representative of his aged father Hystaspes), hadentered the palace by a carelessly-guarded gate, sought out the partof the building occupied by the Magi, and then, assisted by their ownknowledge of the palace, and the fact that most of the guards had beensent to keep watch over the crowd assembled to hear Prexaspes easilypenetrated to the apartments in which at that moment they were to befound. Here they were resisted by a few eunuchs, headed by Boges, butthese were overpowered and killed to a man. Darius became furious onseeing Boges, and killed him at once. Hearing the dying cries of theseeunuchs, the Magi rushed to the spot and prepared to defend themselves.Oropastes snatched a lance from the fallen Boges, thrust out one ofIntaphernes' eyes and wounded Aspatines in the thigh, but was stabbedby Megabyzus. Gaumata fled into another apartment and tried to barthe door, but was followed too soon by Darius and Gobryas; the latterseized, threw him, and kept him down by the weight of his own body,crying to Darius, who was afraid of making a false stroke in thehalf-light, and so wounding his companion instead of Gaumata, "Strikeboldly, even if you should stab us both." Darius obeyed, and fortunatelyonly hit the Magian.
Thus died Oropastes, the high-priest, and his brother Gaumata, betterknown under the name of the "pseudo" or "pretended Smerdis."
A few weeks after Darius' election to the throne, which the peoplesaid had been marvellously influenced by divine miracles and theclever cunning of a groom, he celebrated his coronation brilliantly atPasargadae, and with still more splendor, his marriage with his belovedAtossa. The trials of her life had ripened her character, and she proveda faithful, beloved and respected companion to her husband throughthe whole of that active and glorious life, which, as Prexaspes hadforetold, made him worthy of the names by which he was afterwardsknown--Darius the Great, and a second Cyrus.
[Atossa is constantly mentioned as the favorite wife of Darius, and be appointed her son Xerxes to be his successor, though he had three elder sons by the daughter of Gobryas. Herodotus (VII. 3.) speaks with emphasis of the respect and consideration in which Atossa was held, and Aeschylus, in his Persians, mentions her in her old age, as the much-revered and noble matron.]
As a general he was circumspect and brave, and at the same timeunderstood so thoroughly how to divide his enormous realm, and toadminister its affairs, that he must be classed with the greatestorganizers of all times and countries. That his feeble successors wereable to keep this Asiatic Colossus of different countries together fortwo hundred years after his death, was entirely owing to Darius. He wasliberal of his own, but sparing of his subjects' treasures, and madetruly royal gifts without demanding more than was his due. He introduceda regular system of taxation, in place of the arbitrary exactionspractised under Cyrus and Cambyses, and never allowed himself to beled astray in the carrying out of what seemed to him right, either bydifficulties or by the ridicule of the Achaemenidae, who nicknamedhim the "shopkeeper," on account of what seemed, to their exclusivelymilitary tastes, his petty financial measures. It is by no means one ofhis smallest merits, that he introduced one system of coinage throughhis entire empire, and consequently through half the then known world.
Darius respected the religions and customs of other nations. When thewriting of Cyrus, of the existence of which Cambyses had known nothing,was found in the archives of Ecbatana, he allowed the Jews to carry onthe building of their temple to Jehovah; he also left the Ionian citiesfree to govern their own communities independently. Indeed, he wouldhardly have sent his army against Greece, if the Athenians had notinsulted him.
In Egypt he had learnt much; among other things, the art of managing theexchequer of his kingdom wisely; for this reason he held the Egyptiansin high esteem, and granted them many privileges, amongst others a canalto connect the Nile with the Red Sea, which was greatly to the advantageof their commerce.
[Traces of this canal can be found as early as the days of Setos I; his son Rameses II. caused the works to be continued. Under Necho they were recommenced, and possibly finished by Darius. In the time of the Ptolemies, at all events, the canal was already completed. Herod. II. 158. Diod. I. 33. The French, in undertaking to reconstruct the Suez canal, have had much to encounter from the unfriendly commercial policy of the English and their influence over the internal affairs of Egypt, but the unwearied energy and great talent of Monsr. de Lesseps and the patriotism of the French nation have at last succeeded in bringing their great work to a successful close. Whether it will pay is another question. See G. Ebers, Der Kanal von Suez. Nordische Revue, October 1864. The maritime canal connecting the Mediterranean with the Red Sea has also been completed since 1869. We were among those, who attended the brilliant inauguration ceremonies, and now willingly recall many of the doubts expressed in our work 'Durch Gosen zum Sinai'. The number of ships passing through the canal is constantly increasing.]
During the whole of his reign, Darius endeavored to make amends forthe severity with which Cambyses had treated the Egyptians; even in thelater years of his life he delighted to study the treasures of theirwisdom, and no one was allowed to attack either their religion orcustoms, as long as he lived. The old high-priest Neithotep enjoyedthe king's favor to the last, and Darius often made use of his wise oldmaster's astrological knowledge.
The goodness and clemency of their new ruler was fully acknowledged bythe Egyptians; they called him a deity, as they had called theirown kings, and yet, in the last years of his reign, their desire forindependence led them to forget gratitude and to try to shake off hisgentle yoke, which was only oppressive because it had originally beenforced on them.
[The name of Darius occurs very often on the monuments as Ntariusch. It is most frequently found in the inscriptions on the temple in the Oasis el-Khargah, recently photographed by G. Rohlfs. The Egypto- Persian memorial fragments, bearing inscriptions in the hieroglyphic and cuneiform characters are very interesting. Darius' name in Egyptian was generally "Ra, the beloved of Ammon." On a porcelain vessel in Florence, and in some papyri in Paris and Florence he is called by the divine titles of honor given to the Pharaohs.]
Their generous ruler and protector did not live to see the end of thisstruggle.
[The first rebellion in Egypt, which broke out under Aryandes, the satrap appointed by Cambyses, was put down by Darius in person. He visited Egypt, and promised 100 talents (L22,500.) to any one who would find a new Apis. Polyaen. VII. ii. 7. No second outbreak took place until 486 B.C. about 4 years before the death of Darius. Herod. VI i. Xerxes conquered the rebels two years after his accession, and appointed his brother Achaemenes satrap of Egypt.]
It was reserved for Xerxes, the successor and son of Darius and Atossa,to bring back the inhabitants of the Nile valley to a forced andtherefore insecure obedience.
Darius left a worthy monument of his greatness in the glorious palacewhich he built on Mount Rachmed, the ruins of which are the wonder andadmiration of travellers to this day. Six thousand Egyptian workmen,who had been sent to Asia by Cambyses, took part in the work and alsoassisted in building a tomb for Darius and his successors, the rocky andalmost inaccessible chambers of which have defied the ravages of time,and are now the resor
t of innumerable wild pigeons.
He caused the history of his deeds to be cut, (in the cuneiformcharacter and in the Persian, Median and Assyrian languages), on thepolished side of the rock of Bisitun or Behistan, not far from the spotwhere he saved Atossa's life. The Persian part of this inscriptioncan still be deciphered with certainty, and contains an account of theevents related in the last few chapters, very nearly agreeing with ourown and that of Herodotus. The following sentences occur amongst others:"Thus saith Darius the King: That which I have done, was done by thegrace of Auramazda in every way. I fought nineteen battles after therebellion of the kings. By the mercy of Auramazda I conquered them. Itook nine kings captive. One was a Median, Gaumata by name. He lied andsaid: 'I am Bardiya (Bartja), the son of Cyrus.' He caused Persia torebel."
Some distance lower down, he names the chiefs who helped him to dethronethe Magi, and in another place the inscription has these words: "Thussaith the King Darius: That which I have done was done in every wayby the grace of Auramazda. Auramazda helped me, and such other gods asthere be. Auramazda and the other gods gave me help, because I wasnot swift to anger, nor a liar, nor a violent ruler, neither I nor mykinsmen. I have shown favor unto him who helped my brethren, and I havepunished severely him who was my enemy. Thou who shalt be king after me,be not merciful unto him who is a liar or a rebel, but punish him with asevere punishment. Thus saith Darius the King: Thou who shalt hereafterbehold this tablet which I have written, or these pictures, destroy themnot, but so long as thou shalt live preserve them, &c."
It now only remains to be told that Zopyrus, the son of Megabyzus,continued to the last the king's most faithful friend.
A courtier once showed the king a pomegranate, and asked him of what onegift of fortune he would like so many repetitions, as there were seedsin that fruit. Without a moment's hesitation Darius answered, "Of myZopyrus."--[Plutarch]
The following story will prove that Zopyrus, on his part, wellunderstood how to return his royal friend's kindness. After the death ofCambyses, Babylon revolted from the Persian empire. Darius besieged thecity nine months in vain, and was about to raise the siege, when one dayZopyrus appeared before him bleeding, and deprived of his ears and nose,and explained that he had mutilated himself thus in order to cheat theBabylonians, who knew him well, as he had formerly been on intimateterms with their daughters. He said he wished to tell the haughtycitizens, that Darius had thus disfigured him, and that he had come tothem for help in revenging himself. He thought they would then placetroops at his disposal, with which he intended to impose upon them bymaking a few successful sallies at first. His ultimate intention was toget possession of the keys, and open the Semiramis gate to his friends.
These words, which were spoken in a joking tone, contrasted so sadlywith the mutilated features of his once handsome friend, that Dariuswept, and when at last the almost impregnable fortress was really won byZopyrus' stratagem, he exclaimed: "I would give a hundred Babylons, ifmy Zopyrus had not thus mutilated himself."
He then appointed his friend lord of the giant city, gave him its entirerevenues, and honored him every year with the rarest presents. In laterdays he used to say that, with the exception of Cyrus, who had no equal,no man had ever performed so generous a deed as Zopyrus.
[Herod. III. 160. Among other presents Zopyrus received a gold hand-mill weighing six talents, the most honorable and distinguished gift a Persian monarch could bestow upon a subject. According to Ktesias, Megabaezus received this gift from Xerxes.]
Few rulers possessed so many self-sacrificing friends as Darius, becausefew understood so well how to be grateful.
When Syloson, the brother of the murdered Polykrates, came to Susaand reminded the king of his former services, Darius received him asa friend, placed ships and troops at his service, and helped him torecover Samos.
The Samians made a desperate resistance, and said, when at last theywere obliged to yield: "Through Syloson we have much room in our land."
Rhodopis lived to hear of the murder of Hipparchus, the tyrant ofAthens, by Harmodius and Aristogiton, and died at last in the arms ofher best friends, Theopompus the Milesian and Kallias the Athenian, firmin her belief of the high calling of her countrymen.
All Naukratis mourned for her, and Kallias sent a messenger to Susa, toinform the king and Sappho of her death.
A few months later the satrap of Egypt received the following letterfrom the hand of the king:
"Inasmuch as we ourselves knew and honored Rhodopis, the Greek, who has lately died in Naukratis,--inasmuch as her granddaughter, as widow of the lawful heir to the Persian throne, enjoys to this day the rank and honors of a queen,--and lastly, inasmuch as I have lately taken the great-grandchild of the same Rhodopis, Parmys, the daughter of Bartja and Sappho, to be my third lawful wife, it seems to me just to grant royal honors to the ancestress of two queens. I therefore command thee to cause the ashes of Rhodopis, whom we have always esteemed as the greatest and rarest among women, to be buried in the greatest and rarest of all monuments, namely, in one of the Pyramids. The costly urn, which thou wilt receive herewith, is sent by Sappho to preserve the ashes of the deceased."
Given in the new imperial palace at Persepolis.
DARIUS, son of Hystaspes.
King.
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A kind word hath far more power than an angry one A first impression is often a final one A noble mind can never swim with the stream Abuse not those who have outwitted thee Age is inquisitive Apis the progeny of a virgin cow and a moonbeam Assigned sixty years as the limit of a happy life At my age every year must be accepted as an undeserved gift Avoid excessive joy as well as complaining grief Be not merciful unto him who is a liar or a rebel Between two stools a man falls to the ground Blessings go as quickly as they come Call everything that is beyond your comprehension a miracle Cambyses had been spoiled from his earliest infancy Canal to connect the Nile with the Red Sea Cannot understand how trifles can make me so happy Cast off all care; be mindful only of pleasure Confess I would rather provoke a lioness than a woman Corpse to be torn in pieces by dogs and vultures Creed which views life as a short pilgrimage to the grave Curiosity is a woman's vice Death is so long and life so short Devoid of occupation, envy easily becomes hatred Did the ancients know anything of love Does happiness consist then in possession Easy to understand what we like to hear Eros mocks all human efforts to resist or confine him Eyes are much more eloquent than all the tongues in the world Folly to fret over what cannot be undone For the errors of the wise the remedy is reparation, not regret Go down into the grave before us (Our children) Greeks have not the same reverence for truth Happiness has nothing to do with our outward circumstances Hast thou a wounded heart? touch it seldom He who kills a cat is punished (for murder) He is the best host, who allows his guests the most freedom He who is to govern well must begin by learning to obey Human beings hate the man who shows kindness to their enemies I cannot... Say rather: I will not I was not swift to anger, nor a liar, nor a violent ruler In war the fathers live to mourn for their slain sons In our country it needs more courage to be a coward In this immense temple man seemed a dwarf in his own eyes In those days men wept, as well as women Inn, was to be found about every eighteen miles Introduced a regular system of taxation-Darius Know how to honor beauty; and prove it by taking many wives Lovers delighted in nature then as now Lovers are the most unteachable of pupils Misfortune too great for tears Mosquito-tower with which nearly every house was provided Multitude who, like the gnats, fly towards every thing brilliant Natural impulse which moves all old women to favor lovers Never so clever as when we have to find excuses for our own sins No man was allowed to ask anything of the gods for himself Nothing is m
ore dangerous to love, than a comfortable assurance Nothing is perfectly certain in this world Numbers are the only certain things Observe a due proportion in all things Olympics--The first was fixed 776 B.C. One must enjoy the time while it is here Only two remedies for heart-sickness:--hope and patience Ordered his feet to be washed and his head anointed Papyrus Ebers Pilgrimage to the grave, and death as the only true life Pious axioms to be repeated by the physician, while compounding Remember, a lie and your death are one and the same Resistance always brings out a man's best powers Robes cut as to leave the right breast uncovered Romantic love, as we know it, a result of Christianity Rules of life given by one man to another are useless Scarcely be able to use so large a sum--Then abuse it Sent for a second interpreter Sing their libels on women (Greek Philosophers) So long as we are able to hope and wish Take heed lest pride degenerate into vainglory The past belongs to the dead; only fools count upon the future The priests are my opponents, my masters The gods cast envious glances at the happiness of mortals The beautiful past is all he has to live upon They praise their butchers more than their benefactors Those are not my real friends who tell me I am beautiful Time is clever in the healing art True host puts an end to the banquet Unwise to try to make a man happy by force War is a perversion of nature We live for life, not for death We've talked a good deal of love with our eyes already Whatever a man would do himself, he thinks others are capable of When love has once taken firm hold of a man in riper years Whether the historical romance is ever justifiable Wise men hold fast by the ever young present Ye play with eternity as if it were but a passing moment Young Greek girls pass their sad childhood in close rooms Zeus pays no heed to lovers' oaths
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