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+ | Title: The History Of Herodotus Volume 1 (of 2); Author: Herodotus; Translator: G. C. Macaulay | ||
+ | ====== Herodotus: Book 1 ====== | ||
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+ | ===== BOOK I. THE FIRST BOOK OF THE HISTORIES, CALLED CLIO ===== | ||
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+ | This is the Showing forth of the Inquiry of Herodotus of Halicarnassos, | ||
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+ | 1. Those of the Persians who have knowledge of history declare that the Phenicians first began the quarrel. These, they say, came from that which is called the Erythraian Sea to this of ours; and having settled in the land where they continue even now to dwell, set themselves forthwith to make long voyages by sea. And conveying merchandise of Egypt and of Assyria they arrived at other places and also at Argos; now Argos was at that time in all points the first of the States within that land which is now called Hellas; | ||
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+ | 2. In this manner the Persians report that Io came to Egypt, not agreeing therein with the Hellenes, 3 and this they say was the first beginning of wrongs. Then after this, they say, certain Hellenes (but the name of the people they are not able to report) put in to the city of Tyre in Phenicia and carried off the king's daughter Europa; | ||
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+ | 3. In the next generation after this, they say, Alexander the son of Priam, having heard of these things, desired to get a wife for himself by violence 4 from Hellas, being fully assured that he would not be compelled to give any satisfaction for this wrong, inasmuch as the Hellenes gave none for theirs. So he carried off Helen, and the Hellenes resolved to send messengers first and to demand her back with satisfaction for the rape; and when they put forth this demand, the others alleged to them the rape of Medea, saying that the Hellenes were now desiring satisfaction to be given to them by others, though they had given none themselves nor had surrendered the person when demand was made. | ||
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+ | 4. Up to this point, they say, nothing more happened than the carrying away of women on both sides; but after this the Hellenes were very greatly to blame; for they set the first example of war, making an expedition into Asia before the Barbarians made any into Europe. Now they say that in their judgment, though it is an act of wrong to carry away women by force, it is a folly to set one's heart on taking vengeance for their rape, and the wise course is to pay no regard when they have been carried away; for it is evident that they would never be carried away if they were not themselves willing to go. And the Persians say that they, namely the people of Asia, when their women were carried away by force, had made it a matter of no account, but the Hellenes on account of a woman of Lacedemon gathered together a great armament, and then came to Asia and destroyed the dominion of Priam; and that from this time forward they had always considered the Hellenic race to be their enemy: for Asia and the Barbarian races which dwell there the Persians claim as belonging to them; but Europe and the Hellenic race they consider to be parted off from them. | ||
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+ | 5. The Persians for their part say that things happened thus; and they conclude that the beginning of their quarrel with the Hellenes was on account of the taking of Ilion: but as regards Io the Phenicians do not agree with the Persians in telling the tale thus; for they deny that they carried her off to Egypt by violent means, and they say on the other hand that when they were in Argos she was intimate with the master of their ship, and perceiving that she was with child, she was ashamed to confess it to her parents, and therefore sailed away with the Phenicians of her own will, for fear of being found out. These are the tales told by the Persians and the Phenicians severally: and concerning these things I am not going to say that they happened thus or thus, 401 but when I have pointed to the man who first within my own knowledge began to commit wrong against the Hellenes, I shall go forward further with the story, giving an account of the cities of men, small as well as great: for those which in old times were great have for the most part become small, while those that were in my own time great used in former times to be small: so then, since I know that human prosperity never continues steadfast, I shall make mention of both indifferently. | ||
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+ | 6. Croesus was Lydian by race, the son of Alyattes and ruler of the nations which dwell on this side of the river Halys; which river, flowing from the South between the Syrians 5 and the Paphlagonians, | ||
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+ | 7. Now the supremacy which had belonged to the Heracleidai came to the family of Croesus, called Mermnadai, in the following manner: | ||
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+ | 8. This Candaules then of whom I speak had become passionately in love with his own wife; and having become so, he deemed that his wife was fairer by far than all other women; and thus deeming, to Gyges the son of Daskylos (for he of all his spearmen was the most pleasing to him), to this Gyges, I say, he used to impart as well the more weighty of his affairs as also the beauty of his wife, praising it above measure: and after no long time, since it was destined that evil should happen to Candaules, he said to Gyges as follows: " | ||
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+ | 9. With such words as these he resisted, fearing lest some evil might come to him from this; but the king answered him thus: "Be of good courage, Gyges, and have no fear, either of me, that I am saying these words to try thee, or of my wife, lest any harm may happen to thee from her. For I will contrive it so from the first that she shall not even perceive that she has been seen by thee. I will place thee in the room where we sleep, behind the open door; 7 and after I have gone in, my wife also will come to lie down. Now there is a seat near the entrance of the room, and upon this she will lay her garments as she takes them off one by one; and so thou wilt be able to gaze upon her at full leisure. And when she goes from the chair to the bed and thou shalt be behind her back, then let it be thy part to take care that she sees thee not as thou goest through the door." | ||
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+ | 10. He then, since he might not avoid it, gave consent: and Candaules, when he considered that it was time to rest, led Gyges to the chamber; and straightway after this the woman also appeared: and Gyges looked upon her after she came in and as she laid down her garments; and when she had her back turned towards him, as she went to the bed, then he slipped away from his hiding-place and was going forth. And as he went out, the woman caught sight of him, and perceiving that which had been done by her husband she did not cry out, though struck with shame, 8 but she made as though she had not perceived the matter, meaning to avenge herself upon Candaules: for among the Lydians as also among most other Barbarians it is a shame even for a man to be seen naked. | ||
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+ | 11. At the time then she kept silence, as I say, and made no outward sign; but as soon as day had dawned, and she made ready those of the servants whom she perceived to be the most attached to herself, and after that she sent to summon Gyges. He then, not supposing that anything of that which had been done was known to her, came upon her summons; for he had been accustomed before to go 9 whenever the queen summoned him. And when Gyges was come, the woman said to him these words: "There are now two ways open to thee, Gyges, and I give thee the choice which of the two thou wilt prefer to take. Either thou must slay Candaules and possess both me and the kingdom of Lydia, or thou must thyself here on the spot be slain, so that thou mayest not in future, by obeying Candaules in all things, see that which thou shouldest not. Either he must die who formed this design, or thou who hast looked upon me naked and done that which is not accounted lawful." | ||
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+ | 12. So after they had prepared the plot, when night came on, (for Gyges was not let go nor was there any way of escape for him, but he must either be slain himself or slay Candaules), he followed the woman to the bedchamber; and she gave him a dagger and concealed him behind that very same door. Then afterwards, while Candaules was sleeping, Gyges came privily up to him 10 and slew him, and he obtained both his wife and his kingdom: of him moreover Archilochos the Parian, who lived about that time, made mention in a trimeter iambic verse. 11 | ||
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+ | 13. He obtained the kingdom however and was strengthened in it by means of the Oracle at Delphi; for when the Lydians were angry because of the fate of Candaules, and had risen in arms, a treaty was made between the followers of Gyges and the other Lydians to this effect, that if the Oracle should give answer that he was to be king of the Lydians, he should be king, and if not, he should give back the power to the sons of Heracles. So the Oracle gave answer, and Gyges accordingly became king: yet the Pythian prophetess said this also, that vengeance for the Heracleidai should come upon the descendants of Gyges in the fifth generation. Of this oracle the Lydians and their kings made no account until it was in fact fulfilled. | ||
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+ | 14. Thus the Mermnadai obtained the government having driven out from it the Heracleidai: | ||
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+ | Now Gyges also, 13 as soon as he became king, led an army against Miletos and Smyrna, and he took the lower town of Colophon: 14 but no other great deed did he do in his reign, which lasted eight-and-thirty years, therefore we will pass him by with no more mention than has already been made, | ||
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+ | 15, and I will speak now of Ardys the son of Gyges, who became king after Gyges. He took Priene and made an invasion against Miletos; and while he was ruling over Sardis, the Kimmerians driven from their abodes by the nomad Scythians came to Asia and took Sardis except the citadel. | ||
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+ | 16. Now when Ardys had been king for nine-and-forty years, Sadyattes his son succeeded to his kingdom, and reigned twelve years; and after him Alyattes. This last made war against Kyaxares the descendant of Deïokes and against the Medes, 15 and he drove the Kimmerians forth out of Asia, and he took Smyrna which had been founded from Colophon, and made an invasion against Clazomenai. From this he ed not as he desired, but with great loss: during his reign however he performed other deeds very worthy of mention as follows: | ||
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+ | 17. He made war with those of Miletos, having received this war as an inheritance from his father: for he used to invade their land and besiege Miletos in the following manner: | ||
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+ | 18. Thus he continued to war with them for eleven years; and in the course of these years the Milesians suffered two great defeats, once when they fought a battle in the district of Limenion in their own land, and again in the plain of Maiander. Now for six of the eleven years Sadyattes the son of Ardys was still ruler of the Lydians, the same who was wont to invade the land of Miletos at the times mentioned; 16 for this Sadyattes was he who first began the war: but for the five years which followed these first six the war was carried on by Alyattes the son of Sadyattes, who received it as an inheritance from his father (as I have already said) and applied himself to it earnestly. And none of the Ionians helped those of Miletos bear the burden of this war except only the men of Chios. These came to their aid to pay back like with like, for the Milesians had formerly assisted the Chians throughout their war with the people of Erythrai. | ||
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+ | 19. Then in the twelfth year of the war, when standing corn was being burnt by the army of the Lydians, it happened as follows: | ||
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+ | 20. Thus much I know by the report of the people of Delphi; but the Milesians add to this that Periander the son of Kypselos, being a special guest-friend of Thrasybulos the then despot of Miletos, heard of the oracle which had been given to Alyattes, and sending a messenger told Thrasybulos, | ||
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+ | 21. And Alyattes, when this answer was reported to him, sent a herald forthwith to Miletos, desiring to make a truce with Thrasybulos and the Milesians for so long a time as he should be building the temple. He then was being sent as envoy to Miletos; and Thrasybulos in the meantime being informed beforehand of the whole matter and knowing what Alyattes was meaning to do, contrived this device:he gathered together in the market-place all the store of provisions which was found in the city, both his own and that which belonged to private persons; and he proclaimed to the Milesians that on a signal given by him they should all begin to drink and make merry with one another. | ||
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+ | 22. This Thrasybulos did and thus proclaimed to the end that the herald from Sardis, seeing a vast quantity of provisions carelessly piled up, and the people feasting, might report this to Alyattes: and so on fact it happened; for when the herald ed to Sardis after seeing this and delivering to Thrasybulos the charge which was given to him by the king of Lydia, the peace which was made, came about, as I am informed, merely because of this. For Alyattes, who thought that there was a great famine in Miletos and that the people had been worn down to the extreme of misery, heard from the herald, when he ed from Miletos, the opposite to that which he himself supposed. And after this the peace was made between them on condition of being guest-friends and allies to one another, and Alyattes built two temples to Athene at Assessos in place of one, and himself recovered from his sickness. With regard then to the war waged by Alyattes with the Milesians and Thrasybulos things went thus. | ||
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+ | 23. As for Periander, the man who gave information about the oracle to Thrasybulos, | ||
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+ | 24. This Arion, they say, who for the most part of his time stayed with Periander, conceived a desire to sail to Italy 18 and Sicily; and after he had there acquired large sums of money, he wished to again to Corinth. He set forth therefore from Taras, 19 and as he had faith in Corinthians more than in other men, he hired a ship with a crew of Corinthians. These, the story says, when out in open sea, formed a plot to cast Arion overboard and so possess his wealth; and he having obtained knowledge of this made entreaties to them, offering them his wealth and asking them to grant him his life. With this however he did not prevail upon them, but the men who were conveying him bade him either slay himself there, that he might receive burial on the land, or leap straightway into the sea. So Arion being driven to a strait entreated them that, since they were so minded, they would allow him to take his stand in full minstrel' | ||
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+ | 25. Alyattes the Lydian, when he had thus waged war against the Milesians, afterwards died, having reigned seven-and-fifty years. This king, when he recovered from his sickness, dedicated a votive offering at Delphi (being the second of his house who had so done), namely a great mixing-bowl of silver with a stand for it of iron welded together, which last is a sight worth seeing above all the offerings at Delphi and the work of Glaucos the Chian, who of all men first found out the art of welding iron. | ||
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+ | 26. After Alyattes was dead Croesus the son of Alyattes received the kingdom in succession, being five-and-thirty years of age. He (as I said) fought against the Hellenes and of them he attacked the Ephesians first. The Ephesians then, being besieged by him, dedicated their city to Artemis and tied a rope from the temple to the wall of the city: now the distance between the ancient city, which was then being besieged, and the temple is seven furlongs. 22 These, I say, where the first upon whom Croesus laid hands, but afterwards he did the same to the other Ionian and Aiolian cities one by one, alleging against them various causes of complaint, and making serious charges against those in whose cases he could find serious grounds, while against others of them he charged merely trifling offences. | ||
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+ | 27. Then when the Hellenes in Asia had been conquered and forced to pay tribute, he designed next to build for himself ships and to lay hands upon those who dwelt in the islands; and when all was prepared for his building of ships, they say that Bias of Priene (or, according to another account, Pittacos of Mytilene) came to Sardis, and being asked by Croesus whether there was any new thing doing in Hellas, brought to an end his building of ships by this saying: "O king," said he, "the men of the islands are hiring a troop of ten thousand horse, and with this they mean to march to Sardis and fight against thee." And Croesus, supposing that what he reported was true, said: "May the gods put it into the minds of the dwellers of the islands to come with horses against the sons of the Lydians!" | ||
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+ | 28. As time went on, when nearly all those dwelling on this side the river Halys had been subdued, (for except the Kilikians and Lykians Croesus subdued and kept under his rule all the nations, that is to say Lydians, Phrygians, Mysians, Mariandynoi, | ||
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+ | 29, when these, I say, had been subdued, and while he was still adding to his Lydian dominions, there came to Sardis, then at the height of its wealth, all the wise men 25 of the Hellas who chanced to be alive at that time, brought thither severally by various occasions; and of them one was Solon the Athenian, who after he had made laws for the Athenians at their bidding, left his native country for ten years and sailed away saying that he desired to visit various lands, in order that he might not be compelled to repeal any of the laws which he had proposed. 26 For of themselves the Athenians were not competent to do this, having bound themselves by solemn oaths to submit for ten years to the laws which Solon should propose for them. | ||
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+ | 30. So Solon, having left his native country for this reason and for the sake of seeing various lands, came to Amasis in Egypt, and also to Croesus at Sardis. Having there arrived he was entertained as a guest by Croesus in the king's palace; and afterwards, on the third or fourth day, at the bidding of Croesus his servants led Solon round to see his treasuries; and they showed him all things, how great and magnificent they were: and after he had looked upon them all and examined them as he had occasion, Croesus asked him as follows: " | ||
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+ | 31. So when Solon had moved Croesus to inquire further by the story of Tellos, recounting how many points of happiness he had, the king asked again whom he had seen proper to be placed next after this man, supposing that he himself would certainly obtain at least the second place; but he replied: " | ||
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+ | 32. Thus Solon assigned the second place in respect of happiness to these: and Croesus was moved to anger and said: " | ||
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+ | 33. Thus saying he refused to gratify Croesus, who sent him away from his presence holding him in no esteem, and thinking him utterly senseless in that he passed over present good things and bade men look to the end of every matter. | ||
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+ | 34. After Solon had departed, a great retribution from God came upon Croesus, probably because he judged himself to be the happiest of all men. First there came and stood by him a dream, which showed to him the truth of the evils that were about to come to pass in respect of his son. Now Croesus had two sons, of whom one was deficient, seeing that he was deaf and dumb, while the other far surpassed his companions of the same age in all things: and the name of this last was Atys. As regards this Atys then, the dream signified to Croesus that he should lose him by the blow of an iron spear-point: | ||
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+ | 35. Then while he was engaged about the marriage of his son, there came to Sardis a man under a misfortune and with hands not clean, a Phrygian by birth and of the royal house. This man came to the house of Croesus, and according to the customs which prevail in that land made request that he might have cleansing; and Croesus gave him cleansing: now the manner of cleansing among the Lydians is the same almost as that which the Hellenes use. So when Croesus had done that which was customary, he asked of him whence he came and who he was, saying as follows: "Man, who art thou, and from what region of Phrygia didst thou come to sit upon my hearth? And whom of men or women didst thou slay?" And he replied: "O king, I am the son of Gordias, the son of Midas, and I am called Adrastos; and I slew my own brother against my will, and therefore am I here, having been driven forth by my father and deprived of all that I had." And Croesus answered thus: "Thou art, as it chances, the offshoot of men who are our friends and thou hast come to friends, among whom thou shalt want of nothing so long as thou shalt remain in our land: and thou wilt find it most for thy profit to bear this misfortune as lightly as may be." So he had his abode with Croesus. 36 | ||
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+ | 36. During this time there was produced in the Mysian Olympos a boar of monstrous size. This, coming down from the mountain aforesaid, ravaged the fields of the Mysians, and although the Mysians went out against it often, yet they could do it no hurt, but rather received hurt themselves from it; so at length messengers came from the Mysians to Croesus and said: "O king, there has appeared in our land a boar of monstrous size, which lays waste our fields; and we, desiring eagerly to take it, are not able: now therefore we ask of thee to send with us thy son and also a chosen band of young men with dogs, that we may destroy it out of our land." Thus they made request, and Croesus calling to mind the words of the dream spoke to them as follows: "As touching my son, make no further mention of him in this matter; for I will not send him with you, seeing that he is newly married and is concerned now with the affairs of his marriage: but I will send with you chosen men of the Lydians and the whole number of my hunting dogs, and I will give command to those who go, to be as zealous as may be in helping you to destroy the wild beast out of your land." | ||
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+ | 37. Thus he made reply, and while the Mysians were being contented with this answer, there came in also the son of Croesus, having heard of the request made by the Mysians: and when Croesus said that he would not send his son with them, the young man spoke as follows: "My father, in times past the fairest and most noble part was allotted to us, to go out continually to wars and to the chase and so have good repute; but now thou hast debarred me from both of these, although thou hast not observed in me any cowardly or faint-hearted spirit. And now with what face must I appear when I go to and from the market-place of the city? What kind of a man shall I be esteemed by the citizens, and what kind of a man shall I be esteemed by my newly-married wife? With what kind of a husband will she think that she is mated? Therefore either let me go to the hunt, or persuade me by reason that these things are better for me done as now they are." | ||
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+ | 38. And Croesus made answer thus: "My son, not because I have observed in thee any spirit of cowardice or any other ungracious thing, do I act thus; but a vision of a dream came and stood by me in my sleep and told me that thou shouldest be short-lived, | ||
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+ | 39. The young man made answer thus: "It may well be forgiven in thee, O my father, that thou shouldest have a care of me after having seen such a vision; but that which thou dost not understand, and in which the meaning of the dream has escaped thee, it is right that I should expound to thee. Thou sayest the dream declared that I should end my life by means of a spear-point of iron: but what hands has a boar, or what spear-point of iron, of which thou art afraid? If the dream had told thee that I should end my life by a tusk, or any other thing which resembles that, it would be right for thee doubtless to do as thou art doing; but it said 'by a spear-point.' | ||
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+ | 40. Croesus made answer: "My son, thou dost partly prevail with me by declaring thy judgment about the dream; therefore, having been prevailed upon by thee, I change my resolution and allow thee to go to the chase." | ||
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+ | 41. Having thus said Croesus went to summon Adrastos the Phrygian; and when he came, he addressed him thus: " | ||
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+ | 42. Adrastos made answer: "O king, but for this I should not have been going to any such contest of valour; for first it is not fitting that one who is suffering such a great misfortune as mine should seek the company of his fellows who are in prosperity, and secondly I have no desire for it; and for many reasons I should have kept myself away. But now, since thou art urgent with me, and I ought to gratify thee (for I am bound to requite thee with kindness), I am ready to do this: expect therefore that thy son, whom thou commandest me to protect, will home to thee unhurt, so far as his protector may avail to keep him safe." | ||
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+ | 43. When he had made answer to Croesus in words like these, they afterwards set forth provided with chosen young men and with dogs. And when they were come to Mount Olympos, they tracked the animal; and having found it and taken their stand round in a circle, they were hurling against it their spears. Then the guest, he who had been cleansed of manslaughter, | ||
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+ | 45. After this the Lydians came bearing the corpse, and behind it followed the slayer: and he taking his stand before the corpse delivered himself up to Croesus, holding forth his hands and bidding the king slay him over the corpse, speaking of his former misfortune and saying that in addition to this he had now been the destroyer of the man who had cleansed him of it; and that life for him was no more worth living. But Croesus hearing this pitied Adrastos, although he was himself suffering so great an evil of his own, and said to him: " | ||
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+ | 46. For two years then Croesus remained quiet in his mourning, because he was deprived of his son: but after this period of time the overthrowing of the rule of Astyages the son of Kyaxares by Cyrus the son of Cambyses, and the growing greatness of the Persians caused Croesus to cease from his mourning, and led him to a care of cutting short the power of the Persians, if by any means he might, while yet it was in growth and before they should have become great. | ||
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+ | So having formed this design he began forthwith to make trial of the Oracles, both those of the Hellenes and that in Libya, sending messengers some to one place and some to another, some to go to Delphi, others to Abai of the Phokians, and others to Dodona; and some were sent to the shrine of Amphiaraos and to that of Trophonios, others to Branchidai in the land of Miletos: these are the Oracles of the Hellenes to which Croesus sent messengers to seek divination; and others he sent to the shrine of Ammon in Libya to inquire there. Now he was sending the messengers abroad to the end that he might try the Oracles and find out what knowledge they had, so that if they should be found to have knowledge of the truth, he might send and ask them secondly whether he should attempt to march against the Persians. | ||
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+ | 47. And to the Lydians whom he sent to make trial of the Oracles he gave charge as follows, | ||
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+ | "But the number of sand I know, 41 and the measure of drops in the ocean; The dumb man I understand, and I hear the speech of the speechless: And there hath come to my soul the smell of a strong-shelled tortoise Boiling in caldron of bronze, and the flesh of a lamb mingled with it; Under it bronze is laid, it hath bronze as a clothing upon it." | ||
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+ | 48. When the Pythian prophetess had uttered this oracle, the Lydians caused the prophecy to be written down, and went away at once to Sardis. And when the rest also who had been sent round were there arrived with the answers of the Oracles, then Croesus unfolded the writings one by one and looked upon them: and at first none of them pleased him, but when he heard that from Delphi, forthwith he did worship to the god and accepted the answer, 42 judging that the Oracle at Delphi was the only true one, because it had found out what he himself had done. For when he had sent to the several Oracles his messengers to consult the gods, keeping well in mind the appointed day he contrived the following device,he thought of something which it would be impossible to discover or to conceive of, and cutting up a tortoise and a lamb he boiled them together himself in a caldron of bronze, laying a cover of bronze over them. | ||
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+ | 49. This then was the answer given to Croesus from Delphi; and as regards the answer of Amphiaraos, I cannot tell what he replied to the Lydians after they had done the things customary in his temple, 43 for there is no record of this any more than of the others, except only that Croesus thought that he also 44 possessed a true Oracle. | ||
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+ | 50. After this with great sacrifices he endeavoured to win the favour of the god at Delphi: for of all the animals that are fit for sacrifice he offered three thousand of each kind, and he heaped up couches overlaid with gold and overlaid with silver, and cups of gold, and robes of purple, and tunics, making of them a great pyre, and this he burnt up, hoping by these means the more to win over the god to the side of the Lydians: and he proclaimed to all the Lydians that every one of them should make sacrifice with that which each man had. And when he had finished the sacrifice, he melted down a vast quantity of gold, and of it he wrought half-plinths 45 making them six palms 46 in length and three in breadth, and in height one palm; and their number was one hundred and seventeen. Of these four were of pure gold 47 weighing two talents and a half 48 each, and others of gold alloyed with silver 49 weighing two talents. And he caused to be made also an image of a lion of pure gold weighing ten talents; which lion, when the temple of Delphi was being burnt down, fell from off the half-plinths, | ||
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+ | 51. So Croesus having finished all these things sent them to Delphi, and with them these besides: | ||
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+ | 52. These are the things which he sent to Delphi; and to Amphiaraos, having heard of his valour and of his evil fate, he dedicated a shield made altogether of gold throughout, and a spear all of solid gold, the shaft being of gold also as well as the two points, which offerings were both remaining even to my time at Thebes in the temple of Ismenian Apollo. | ||
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+ | 53. To the Lydians who were to carry these gifts to the temples Croesus gave charge that they should ask the Oracles this question also, | ||
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+ | 54. So when the answers were brought back and Croesus heard them, he was delighted with the oracles, and expecting that he would certainly destroy the kingdom of Cyrus, he sent again to Pytho, 58 and presented to the men of Delphi, having ascertained the number of them, two staters of gold for each man: and in for this the Delphians gave to Croesus and to the Lydians precedence in consulting the Oracle and freedom from all payments, and the right to front seats at the games, with this privilege also for all time, that any one of them who wished should be allowed to become a citizen of Delphi. | ||
+ | |||
+ | 55. And having made presents to the men of Delphi, Croesus consulted the Oracle the third time; for from the time when he learnt the truth of the Oracle, he made abundant use of it. 59 And consulting the Oracle he inquired whether his monarchy would endure for a long time. And the Pythian prophetess answered him thus: | ||
+ | |||
+ | "But when it cometh to pass that a mule of the Medes shall be monarch Then by the pebbly Hermos, O Lydian delicate-footed, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 56. By these lines when they came to him Croesus was pleased more than by all the rest, for he supposed that a mule would never be ruler of the Medes instead of a man, and accordingly that he himself and his heirs would never cease from their rule. Then after this he gave thought to inquire which people of the Hellenes he should esteem the most powerful and gain over to himself as friends. And inquiring he found that the Lacedemonians and the Athenians had the pre-eminence, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 57. What language however the Pelasgians used to speak I am not able with certainty to say. But if one must pronounce judging by those that still remain of the Pelasgians who dwelt in the city of Creston 60 above the Tyrsenians, and who were once neighbours of the race now called Dorian, dwelling then in the land which is now called Thessaliotis, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 58. As for the Hellenic race, it has used ever the same language, as I clearly perceive, since it first took its rise; but since the time when it parted off feeble at first from the Pelasgian race, setting forth from a small beginning it has increased to that great number of races which we see, 62 and chiefly because many Barbarian races have been added to it besides. Moreover it is true, as I think, 6201 of the Pelasgian race also, 63 that so far as it remained Barbarian it never made any great increase. | ||
+ | |||
+ | 59. Of these races then Croesus was informed that the Athenian was held subject and torn with faction by Peisistratos 64 the son of Hippocrates, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 60. However, no long time after this the followers of Megacles and those of Lycurgos joined together and drove him forth. Thus Peisistratos had obtained possession of Athens for the first time, and thus he lost the power before he had it firmly rooted. But those who had driven out Peisistratos became afterwards at feud with one another again. And Megacles, harassed by the party strife, 69 sent a message to Peisistratos asking whether he was willing to have his daughter to wife on condition of becoming despot. And Peisistratos having accepted the proposal and made an agreement on these terms, they contrived with a view to his a device the most simple by far, as I think, that ever was practised, considering at least that it was devised at a time when the Hellenic race had been long marked off from the Barbarian as more skilful and further removed from foolish simplicity, and among the Athenians who are accounted the first of the Hellenes in ability. 70 In the deme of Paiania there was a woman whose name was Phya, in height four cubits all but three fingers, 71 and also fair of form. This woman they dressed in full armour and caused her to ascend a chariot and showed her the bearing in which she might best beseem her part, 72 and so they drove to the city, having sent on heralds to run before them, who, when they arrived at the city, spoke that which had been commanded them, saying as follows: "O Athenians, receive with favour Peisistratos, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 61. So having received back the despotism in the manner which has been said, Peisistratos according to the agreement made with Megacles married the daughter of Megacles; but as he had already sons who were young men, and as the descendants of Alcmaion were said to be under a curse, 73 therefore not desiring that children should be born to him from his newly-married wife, he had commerce with her not in the accustomed manner. And at first the woman kept this secret, but afterwards she told her mother, whether in answer to her inquiry or not I cannot tell; and the mother told her husband Megacles. He then was very indignant that he should be dishonoured by Peisistratos; | ||
+ | |||
+ | 62. So starting from Eretria after the lapse of ten years 74 they ed back; and in Attica the first place of which they took possession was Marathon. While they were encamping here, their partisans from the city came to them, and also others flowed in from the various demes, to whom despotic rule was more welcome than freedom. So these were gathering themselves together; but the Athenians in the city, so long as Peisistratos was collecting the money, and afterwards when he took possession of Marathon, made no account of it; but when they heard that he was marching from Marathon towards the city, then they went to the rescue against him. These then were going in full force to fight against the ing exiles, and the forces of Peisistratos, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "But now the cast hath been made and the net hath been widely extended, And in the night the tunnies will dart through the moon-lighted waters." | ||
+ | |||
+ | 63. This oracle he uttered to him being divinely inspired, and Peisistratos, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 64. Thus then the Athenians did, and so Peisistratos for the third time obtained possession of Athens, and he firmly rooted his despotism by many foreign mercenaries and by much revenue of money, coming partly from the land itself and partly from about the river Strymon, and also by taking as hostages the sons of those Athenians who had remained in the land and had not at once fled, and placing them in the hands of Naxos; for this also Peisistratos conquered by war and delivered into the charge of Lygdamis. Moreover besides this he cleansed the island of Delos in obedience to the oracles; and his cleansing was of the following kind:so far as the view from the temple extended 77 he dug up all the dead bodies which were buried in this part and removed them to another part of Delos. So Peisistratos was despot of the Athenians; but of the Athenians some had fallen in the battle, and others of them with the sons of Alcmaion were exiles from their native land. | ||
+ | |||
+ | 65. Such was the condition of things which Croesus heard was prevailing among the Athenians during this time; but as to the Lacedemonians he heard that they had escaped from great evils and had now got the better of the Tegeans in the war. For when Leon and Hegesicles were kings of Sparta, the Lacedemonians, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Lo, thou art come, O Lycurgos, to this rich shrine of my temple, Loved thou by Zeus and by all who possess the abodes of Olympos. Whether to call thee a god, I doubt, in my voices prophetic, God or a man, but rather a god I think, O Lycurgos." | ||
+ | |||
+ | 66. Some say in addition to this that the Pythian prophetess also set forth to him the order of things which is now established for the Spartans; but the Lacedemonians themselves say that Lycurgos having become guardian of Leobotes his brother' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "The land of Arcadia thou askest; thou askest me much; I refuse it; Many there are in Arcadian land, stout men, eating acorns; These will prevent thee from this: but I am not grudging towards thee; Tegea beaten with sounding feet I will give thee to dance in, And a fair plain I will give thee to measure with line and divide it." | ||
+ | |||
+ | When the Lacedemonians heard report of this, they held off from the other Arcadians, and marched against the Tegeans with fetters in their hands, trusting to a deceitful 78 oracle and expecting that they would make slaves of the men of Tegea. But having been worsted in the encounter, those of them who were taken alive worked wearing the fetters which they themselves brought with them and having " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 67. In the former war then I say they struggled against the Tegeans continually with ill success; but in the time of Croesus and in the reign of Anaxandrides and Ariston at Lacedemon the Spartans had at length become victors in the war; and they became so in the following manner:As they continued to be always worsted in the war by the men of Tegea, they sent messengers to consult the Oracle at Delphi and inquired what god they should propitiate in order to get the better of the men of Tegea in the war: and the Pythian prophetess made answer to them that they should bring into their land the bones of Orestes the son of Agamemnon. Then as they were not able to find the grave of Orestes, they sent men again to go to the god and to inquire about the spot where Orestes was laid: and when the messengers who were sent asked this, the prophetess said as follows: | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Tegea there is, in Arcadian land, in a smooth place founded; Where there do blow two blasts by strong compulsion together; Stroke too there is and stroke in , and trouble on trouble. There Agamemnon' | ||
+ | |||
+ | When the Lacedemonians had heard this they were none the less far from finding it out, though they searched all places; until the time that Lichas, one of those Spartans who are called " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 68. Lichas then, being one of these, discovered it in Tegea by means both of fortune and ability. For as there were at that time dealings under truce with the men of Tegea, he had come to a forge there and was looking at iron being wrought; and he was in wonder as he saw that which was being done. The smith therefore, perceiving that he marvelled at it, ceased from his work and said: " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 69. Croesus accordingly being informed of all these things was sending messengers to Sparta with gifts in their hands to ask for an alliance, having commanded them what they ought to say: and they when they came said: " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 70. For this reason therefore the Lacedemonians accepted the alliance, and also because he chose them as his friends, preferring them to all the other Hellenes. And not only were they ready themselves when he made his offer, but they caused a mixing-bowl to be made of bronze, covered outside with figures round the rim and of such a size as to hold three hundred amphors, 84 and this they conveyed, desiring to give it as a gift in to Croesus. This bowl never came to Sardis for reasons of which two accounts are given as follows: | ||
+ | |||
+ | 71. Thus then it happened about the mixing-bowl: | ||
+ | |||
+ | 72. Now the Cappadokians are called by the Hellenes Syrians; 85 and these Syrians, before the Persians had rule, were subjects of the Medes, but at this time they were subjects of Cyrus. For the boundary between the Median empire and the Lydian was the river Halys; and this flows from the mountain-land of Armenia through the Kilikians, and afterwards, as it flows, it has the Matienians on the right hand and the Phrygians on the other side; then passing by these and flowing up towards the North Wind, it bounds on the one side the Cappadokian Syrians and on the left hand the Paphlagonians. Thus the river Halys cuts off from the rest almost all the lower parts of Asia by a line extending from the sea that is opposite Cyprus to the Euxine. And this tract is the neck of the whole peninsula, the distance of the journey being such that five days are spent on the way by a man without encumbrance. 86 | ||
+ | |||
+ | 73. Now for the following reasons Croesus was marching into Cappadokia: | ||
+ | |||
+ | 74. After this, seeing that Alyattes would not give up the Scythians when Kyaxares demanded them, there had arisen war between the Lydians and the Medes lasting five years; in which years the Medes often discomfited the Lydians and the Lydians often discomfited the Medes (and among others they fought also a battle by night): 88 and as they still carried on the war with equally balanced fortune, in the sixth year a battle took place in which it happened, when the fight had begun, that suddenly the day became night. And this change of the day Thales the Milesian had foretold to the Ionians laying down as a limit this very year in which the change took place. The Lydians however and the Medes, when they saw that it had become night instead of day, ceased from their fighting and were much more eager both of them that peace should be made between them. And they who brought about the peace between them were Syennesis the Kilikian and Labynetos the Babylonian: 89 these were they who urged also the taking of the oath by them, and they brought about an interchange of marriages; for they decided that Alyattes should give his daughter Aryenis to Astyages the son of Kyaxares, seeing that without the compulsion of a strong tie agreements are apt not to hold strongly together. Now these nations observe the same ceremonies in taking oaths as the Hellenes, and in addition to them they make incision into the skin of their arms, and then lick up the blood each of the other. | ||
+ | |||
+ | 75. This Astyages then, being his mother' | ||
+ | |||
+ | 76. And Croesus, when he had passed over with his army, came to that place in Cappadokia which is called Pteria (now Pteria is the strongest place in this country, and is situated somewhere about in a line with the city of Sinope 91 on the Euxine). Here he encamped and ravaged the fields of the Syrians. Moreover he took the city of the Pterians, and sold the people into slavery, and he took also all the towns that lay about it; and the Syrians, who were not guilty of any wrong, he forced to remove from their homes. 92 Meanwhile Cyrus, having gathered his own forces and having taken up in addition to them all who dwelt in the region between, was coming to meet Croesus. Before he began however to lead forth his army, he had sent heralds to the Ionians and tried to induce them to revolt from Croesus; but the Ionians would not do as he said. Then when Cyrus was come and had encamped over against Croesus, they made trial of one another by force of arms in the land of Pteria: and after hard fighting, when many had fallen on both sides, at length, night having come on, they parted from one the other with no victory on either side. | ||
+ | |||
+ | 77. Thus the two armies contended with one another: and Croesus being ill satisfied with his own army in respect of number (for the army which he had when he fought was far smaller than that of Cyrus), being dissatisfied with it I say on this account, as Cyrus did not attempt to advance against him on the following day, marched back to Sardis, having it in his mind to call the Egyptians to his help according to the oath which they had taken (for he had made an alliance with Amasis king of Egypt before he made the alliance with the Lacedemonians), | ||
+ | |||
+ | 78. When Croesus had these plans in his mind, the suburb of the city became of a sudden all full of serpents; and when these had appeared, the horses leaving off to feed in their pastures came constantly thither and devoured them. When Croesus saw this he deemed it to be a portent, as indeed it was: and forthwith he despatched messengers to the dwelling of the Telmessians, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 79. Cyrus, however, so soon as Croesus marched away after the battle which had been fought in Pteria, having learnt that Croesus meant after he had marched away to disband his army, took counsel with himself and concluded that it was good for him to march as quickly as possible to Sardis, before the power of the Lydians should be again gathered together. So when he had resolved upon this, he did it without delay: for he marched his army into Lydia with such speed that he was himself the first to announce his coming to Croesus. Then Croesus, although he had come to a great strait, since his affairs had fallen out altogether contrary to his own expectation, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 80. So when the armies had met in that plain which is in front of the city of Sardis,a plain wide and open, through which flow rivers (and especially the river Hyllos) all rushing down to join the largest called Hermos, which flows from the mountain sacred to the Mother surnamed "of Dindymos" | ||
+ | |||
+ | 81. By these then a siege had been established: | ||
+ | |||
+ | 82. So then in sending to his other allies he sent also to Lacedemon. But these too, the Spartans I mean, had themselves at this very time (for so it had fallen out) a quarrel in hand with the Argives about the district called Thyrea. For this Thyrea, being part of the Argive possessions, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 83. Such was the condition of things at Sparta when the herald from Sardis arrived asking them to come to the assistance of Croesus, who was being besieged. And they notwithstanding their own difficulties, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 84. Now the taking of Sardis came about as follows: | ||
+ | |||
+ | 85. Meanwhile to Croesus himself it happened thus:He had a son, of whom I made mention before, who was of good disposition enough but deprived of speech. Now in his former time of prosperity Croesus had done everything that was possible for him, and besides other things which he devised he had also sent messengers to Delphi to inquire concerning him. And the Pythian prophetess spoke to him thus: | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Now when the fortress was being taken, one of the Persians was about to slay Croesus taking him for another; and Croesus for his part, seeing him coming on, cared nothing for it because of the misfortune which was upon him, and to him it was indifferent that he should be slain by the stroke; but this voiceless son, when he saw the Persian coming on, by reason of terror and affliction burst the bonds of his utterance and said: "Man, slay not Croesus." | ||
+ | |||
+ | 86. The Persians then had obtained possession of Sardis and had taken Croesus himself prisoner, after he had reigned fourteen years and had been besieged fourteen days, having fulfilled the oracle in that he had brought to an end his own great empire. So the Persians having taken him brought him into the presence of Cyrus: and he piled up a great pyre and caused Croesus to go up upon it bound in fetters, and along with him twice seven sons of Lydians, whether it was that he meant to dedicate this offering as first-fruits of his victory to some god, or whether he desired to fulfil a vow, or else had heard that Croesus was a god-fearing man and so caused him to go up on the pyre because he wished to know if any one of the divine powers would save him, so that he should not be burnt alive. He, they say, did this; but to Croesus as he stood upon the pyre there came, although he was in such evil case, a memory of the saying of Solon, how he had said with divine inspiration that no one of the living might be called happy. And when this thought came into his mind, they say that he sighed deeply 99 and groaned aloud, having been for long silent, and three times he uttered the name of Solon. Hearing this, Cyrus bade the interpreters ask Croesus who was this person on whom he called; and they came near and asked. And Croesus for a time, it is said, kept silence when he was asked this, but afterwards being pressed he said: "One whom more than much wealth I should have desired to have speech with all monarchs." | ||
+ | |||
+ | 87. Then it is related by the Lydians that Croesus, having learned how Cyrus had changed his mind, and seeing that every one was trying to put out the fire but that they were no longer able to check it, cried aloud entreating Apollo that if any gift had ever been given by him which had been acceptable to the god, he would come to his aid and rescue him from the evil which was now upon him. So he with tears entreated the god, and suddenly, they say, after clear sky and calm weather clouds gathered and a storm burst, and it rained with a very violent shower, and the pyre was extinguished. Then Cyrus, having perceived that Croesus was a lover of the gods and a good man, caused him to be brought down from the pyre and asked him as follows: " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 88. So he spoke, and Cyrus loosed his bonds and caused him to sit near himself and paid to him much regard, and he marvelled both himself and all who were about him at the sight of Croesus. And Croesus wrapt in thought was silent; but after a time, turning round and seeing the Persians plundering the city of the Lydians, he said: "O king, must I say to thee that which I chance to have in my thought, or must I keep silent in this my present fortune?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | 89. And Cyrus was concerned by that which Croesus had said, and he caused all the rest to withdraw and asked Croesus what he discerned for his advantage as regards that which was being done; and he said: "Since the gods gave me to thee as a slave, I think it right if I discern anything more than others to signify it to thee. The Persians, who are by nature unruly, 100 are without wealth: if therefore thou shalt suffer them to carry off in plunder great wealth and to take possession of it, then it is to be looked for that thou wilt experience this result, thou must expect namely that whosoever gets possession of the largest share will make insurrection against thee. Now therefore, if that which I say is pleasing to thee, do this:set spearmen of thy guard to watch at all the gates, and let these take away the things, and say to the men who were bearing them out of the city that they must first be tithed for Zeus: and thus thou on the one hand wilt not be hated by them for taking away the things by force, and they on the other will willingly let the things go, 101 acknowledging within themselves that thou art doing that which is just." | ||
+ | |||
+ | 90. Hearing this, Cyrus was above measure pleased, because he thought that Croesus advised well; and he commended him much and enjoined the spearmen of his guard to perform that which Croesus had advised: and after that he spoke to Croesus thus: " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 91. When the Lydians came and repeated that which they were enjoined to say, it is related that the Pythian prophetess spoke as follows: "The fated destiny it is impossible even for a god to escape. And Croesus paid the debt due for the sin of his fifth ancestor, who being one of the spearmen of the Heracleidai followed the treacherous device of a woman, and having slain his master took possession of his royal dignity, which belonged not to him of right. And although Loxias eagerly desired that the calamity of Sardis might come upon the sons of Croesus and not upon Croesus himself, it was not possible for him to draw the Destinies aside from their course; but so much as these granted he brought to pass, and gave it as a gift to Croesus: for he put off the taking of Sardis by three years; and let Croesus be assured that he was taken prisoner later by these years than the fated time: moreover secondly, he assisted him when he was about to be burnt. And as to the oracle which was given, Croesus finds fault with good ground: for Loxias told him beforehand that if he should march upon the Persians he should destroy a great empire: and he upon hearing this, if he wished to take counsel well, ought to have sent and asked further whether the god meant his own empire or that of Cyrus: but as he did not comprehend that which was uttered and did not ask again, let him pronounce himself to be the cause of that which followed. To him also 103 when he consulted the Oracle for the last time Loxias said that which he said concerning a mule; but this also he failed to comprehend: for Cyrus was in fact this mule, seeing that he was born of parents who were of two different races, his mother being of nobler descent and his father of less noble: for she was a Median woman, daughter of Astyages and king of the Medes, but he was a Persian, one of a race subject to the Medes, and being inferior in all respects he was the husband of one who was his royal mistress." | ||
+ | |||
+ | 92. Now there are in Hellas many other votive offerings made by Croesus and not only those which have been mentioned: for first at Thebes of the Boeotians there is a tripod of gold, which he dedicated to the Ismenian Apollo; then at Ephesos there are the golden cows and the greater number of the pillars of the temple; and in the temple of Athene Pronaia at Delphi a large golden shield. These were still remaining down to my own time, but others of his votive offerings have perished: and the votive offerings of Croesus at Branchidai of the Milesians were, as I am told, equal in weight and similar to those at Delphi. Now those which he sent to Delphi and to the temple of Amphiaraos he dedicated of his own goods and as first-fruits of the wealth inherited from his father; but the other offerings were made of the substance of a man who was his foe, who before Croesus became king had been factious against him and had joined in endeavouring to make Pantaleon ruler of the Lydians. Now Pantaleon was a son of Alyattes and a brother of Croesus, but not by the same mother, for Croesus was born to Alyattes of a Carian woman, but Pantaleon of an Ionian. And when Croesus had gained possession of the kingdom by the gift of his father, he put to death the man who opposed him, drawing him upon the carding-comb; | ||
+ | |||
+ | 93. Of marvels to be recorded the land of Lydia has no great store as compared with other lands, 104 excepting the gold-dust which is carried down from Tmolos; but one work it has to show which is larger far than any other except only those in Egypt and Babylon: for there is there the sepulchral monument of Alyattes the father of Croesus, of which the base is made of larger stones and the rest of the monument is of earth piled up. And this was built by contributions of those who practised trade and of the artisans and the girls who plied their traffic there; and still there existed to my own time boundary-stones five in number erected upon the monument above, on which were carved inscriptions telling how much of the work was done by each class; and upon measurement it was found that the work of the girls was the greatest in amount. For the daughters of the common people in Lydia practice prostitution one and all, to gather for themselves dowries, continuing this until the time when they marry; and the girls give themselves away in marriage. Now the circuit of the monument is six furlongs and two hundred feet, 105 and the breadth is thirteen hundred feet. 106 And adjoining the monument is a great lake, which the Lydians say has a never-failing supply of water, and it is called the lake of Gyges. 107 Such is the nature of this monument. | ||
+ | |||
+ | 94. Now the Lydians have very nearly the same customs as the Hellenes, with the exception that they prostitute their female children; and they were the first of men, so far as we know, who struck and used coin of gold or silver; and also they were the first retail-traders. And the Lydians themselves say that the games which are now in use among them and among the Hellenes were also their invention. These they say were invented among them at the same time as they colonised Tyrsenia, 108 and this is the account they give of them:In the reign of Atys the son of Manes their king there came to be a grievous dearth over the whole of Lydia; and the Lydians for a time continued to endure it, but afterwards, as it did not cease, they sought for remedies; and one devised one thing and another of them devised another thing. And then were discovered, they say, the ways of playing with the dice and the knucklebones and the ball, and all the other games excepting draughts (for the discovery of this last is not claimed by the Lydians). These games they invented as a resource against the famine, and thus they used to do:on one of the days they would play games all the time in order that they might not feel the want of food, and on the next they ceased from their games and had food: and thus they went on for eighteen years. As however the evil did not slacken but pressed upon them ever more and more, therefore their king divided the whole Lydian people into two parts, and he appointed by lot one part to remain and the other to go forth from the land; and the king appointed himself to be over that one of the parts which had the lot to stay in the land, and his son to be over that which was departing; and the name of his son was Tyrsenos. So the one party of them, having obtained the lot to go forth from the land, went down to the sea at Smyrna and built ships for themselves, wherein they placed all the movable goods which they had and sailed away to seek for means of living and a land to dwell in; until after passing by many nations they came at last to the land of the Ombricans, 109 and there they founded cities and dwell up to the present time: and changing their name they were called after the king's son who led them out from home, not Lydians but Tyrsenians, taking the name from him. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Lydians then had been made subject to the Persians as I say: | ||
+ | |||
+ | 95, and after this our history proceeds to inquire about Cyrus, who he was that destroyed the empire of Croesus, and about the Persians, in what manner they obtained the lead of Asia. Following then the report of some of the Persians, | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Assyrians ruled Upper Asia 110 for five hundred and twenty years, and from them the Medes were the first who made revolt. These having fought for their freedom with the Assyrians proved themselves good men, and thus they pushed off the yoke of slavery from themselves and were set free; and after them the other nations also did the same as the Medes: and when all on the continent were thus independent, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 96. There appeared among the Medes a man of great ability whose name was Deïokes, and this man was the son of Phraortes. This Deïokes, having formed a desire for despotic power, did thus: | ||
+ | |||
+ | 97. Then, as more and more continually kept coming to him, because men learnt that his decisions proved to be according to the truth, Deïokes perceiving that everything was referred to himself would no longer sit in the place where he used formerly to sit in public to determine causes, and said that he would determine causes no more, for it was not profitable for him to neglect his own affairs and to determine causes for his neighbours all through the day. So then, since robbery and lawlessness prevailed even much more in the villages than they did before, the Medes having assembled together in one place considered with one another and spoke about the state in which they were: and I suppose the friends of Deïokes spoke much to this effect: " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 98. And when they straightway proposed the question whom they should set up to be king, Deïokes was much put forward and commended by every one, until at last they agreed that he should be their king. And he bade them build for him a palace worthy of the royal dignity and strengthen him with a guard of spearmen. And the Medes did so: for they built him a large and strong palace in that part of the land which he told them, and they allowed him to select spearmen from all the Medes. And when he had obtained the rule over them, he compelled the Medes to make one fortified city and pay chief attention to this, having less regard to the other cities. And as the Medes obeyed him in this also, he built large and strong walls, those which are now called Agbatana, standing in circles one within the other. And this wall is so contrived that one circle is higher than the next by the height of the battlements alone. And to some extent, I suppose, the nature of the ground, seeing that it is on a hill, assists towards this end; but much more was it produced by art, since the circles are in all seven in number. 111 And within the last circle are the royal palace and the treasure-houses. The largest of these walls is in size about equal to the circuit of the wall round Athens; and of the first circle the battlements are white, of the second black, of the third crimson, of the fourth blue, of the fifth red: thus are the battlements of all the circles coloured with various tints, and the two last have their battlements one of them overlaid with silver and the other with gold. | ||
+ | |||
+ | 99. These walls then Deïokes built for himself and round his own palace, and the people he commanded to dwell round about the wall. And after all was built, Deïokes established the rule, which he was the first to establish, ordaining that none should enter into the presence of the king, but that they deal with him always through messengers; and that the king should be seen by no one; and moreover that to laugh or to spit in presence is unseemly, and this last for every one without exception. 112 Now he surrounded himself with this state 113 to the end that his fellows, who had been brought up with him and were of no meaner family nor behind him in manly virtue, might not be grieved by seeing him and make plots against him, but that being unseen by them he might be thought to be of different mould. | ||
+ | |||
+ | 100. Having set these things in order and strengthened himself in his despotism, he was severe in preserving justice; and the people used to write down their causes and send them in to his presence, and he determined the questions which were brought in to him and sent them out again. Thus he used to do about the judgment of causes; and he also took order for this, that is to say, if he heard that any one was behaving in an unruly manner, he sent for him and punished him according as each act of wrong deserved, and he had watchers and listeners about all the land over which he ruled. | ||
+ | |||
+ | | ||
+ | |||
+ | NOTES TO BOOK I | ||
+ | |||
+ | 1 [ {' | ||
+ | |||
+ | 2 [ Probably {erga} may here mean enduring monuments like the pyramids and the works at Samos, cp. i. 93, ii. 35, etc.; in that case {ta te alla} refers back to {ta genomena}, though the verb {epolemesan} derives its subject from the mention of Hellenes and Barbarians in the preceding clause.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 3 [ Many Editors have "with the Phenicians," | ||
+ | |||
+ | 4 [ {arpages}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 401 [ "thus or in some other particular way."] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 5 [ {Surion}, see ch. 72. Herodotus perhaps meant to distinguish {Surioi} from {Suroi}, and to use the first name for the Cappadokians and the second for the people of Palestine, cp. ii. 104; but they are naturally confused in the MSS.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 6 [ {ex epidromes arpage}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 7 [ {tes anoigomenes thures}, "the door that is opened." | ||
+ | |||
+ | 8 [ Or " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 9 [ {phoitan}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 10 [ {upeisdus}: Stein adopts the conjecture {upekdus}, " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 11 [ This last sentence is by many regarded as an interpolation. The line referred to is {Ou moi ta Gugeo tou polukhrosou melei}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 12 [ See v. 92.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 13 [ i.e. like other kings of Lydia who came after him.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 14 [ {Kolophonos to astu}, as opposed apparently to the acropolis, cp. viii. 51.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 15 [ See ch. 73.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 16 [ {o kai esballon tenikauta es ten Milesien ten stratien}: an allusion apparently to the invasions of the Milesian land at harvest time, which are described above. All the operations mentioned in the last chapter have been loosely described to Alyattes, and a correction is here added to inform the reader that they belong equally to his father. It will hardly mend matters much if we take {o Audos} in ch. 17 to include both father and son.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 17 [ {didaxanta}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 18 [ This name is applied by Herodotus to the southern part of the peninsula only.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 19 [ Tarentum.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 20 [ {en toisi edolioisi}: properly " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 21 [ {ou mega}: many of the MSS. have {mega}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 22 [ {stadioi}: furlongs of about 606 English feet.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 23 [ {to epilogo}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 24 [ This list of nations is by some suspected as an interpolation; | ||
+ | |||
+ | 25 [ {sophistai}: | ||
+ | |||
+ | 26 [ {etheto}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 27 [ {olbiotaton}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 28 [ {stadious}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 29 [ {romen}: many of the MSS. have {gnomen}, "good disposition." | ||
+ | |||
+ | 30 [ i.e. their mother: but some understand it to mean the goddess.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 31 [ {en telei touto eskhonto}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 32 [ {anolbioi}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 33 [ {eutukhees}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 34 [ {aperos}: the MSS. have {apeiros}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 35 [ {aikhme sideree blethenta}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 36 [ "in the house of Croesus." | ||
+ | |||
+ | 37 [ {' | ||
+ | |||
+ | 38 [ {' | ||
+ | |||
+ | 39 [ {suggrapsamenous}, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 40 [ {es to megaron}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 41 [ {oida d' ego}: oracles often have a word of connection such as {de} or {alla} at the beginning (cp. ch. 55, 174, etc.), which may indicate that they are part of a larger connected utterance.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 42 [ Cp. vii. 178 and ix. 91 ("I accept the omen." | ||
+ | |||
+ | 43 [ See viii. 134.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 44 [ {kai touton}, i.e. Amphiaraos: many Editors retain the readings of the Aldine edition, {kai touto}, "that in this too he had found a true Oracle." | ||
+ | |||
+ | 45 [ {emiplinthia}, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 46 [ {exapalaiota}, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 47 [ {apephthou khrusou}, " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 48 [ {triton emitalanton}: | ||
+ | |||
+ | 49 [ "white gold." | ||
+ | |||
+ | 50 [ Arranged evidently in stages, of which the highest consisted of the 4 half-plinths of pure gold, the second of 15 half-plinths, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 51 [ {elkon stathmon einaton emitalanton kai eti duodeka mneas}. The {mnea} (mina) is 15.2 oz., and 60 of them go to a talent.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 52 [ {epi tou proneiou tes gonies}, cp. viii. 122: the use of {epi} seems to suggest some kind of raised corner-stone upon which the offerings stood.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 53 [ The {amphoreus} is about 9 gallons.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 54 [ Cp. iii. 41.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 55 [ {perirranteria}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 56 [ {kheumata}, which some translate " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 57 [ {umin}, as if both Oracles were being addressed together.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 58 [ i.e. Delphi.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 59 [ {enephoreeto}, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 60 [ {Krestona}: Niebuhr would read {Krotona} (Croton or Cortona in Etruria), partly on the authority of Dionysius: see Stein' | ||
+ | |||
+ | 61 [ See ii. 51 and vi. 137.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 62 [ {auxetai es plethos ton ethneon pollon}: "has increased to a multitude of its races, which are many." Stein and Abicht both venture to adopt the conjecture {Pelasgon} for {pollon}, " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 6201 [ {pros de on emoige dokeei}: the MSS. have {emoi te}. Some Editors read {os de on} (Stein {prosthe de on}) for {pros de on}. This whole passage is probably in some way corrupt, but it can hardly be successfully emended.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 63 [ i.e. as it is of the Hellenic race before it parted from the Pelasgian and ceased to be Barbarian.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 64 [ {katekhomenon te kai diespasmenon... upo Peisistratou}. Peisistratos was in part at least the cause of the divisions.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 65 [ {paralon}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 66 [ {uperakrion}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 67 [ {toutous}: some read by conjecture {triekosious}, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 68 [ {doruphoroi}, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 69 [ {perielaunomenos de te stasi}: Stein says " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 70 [ More literally, "since from ancient time the Hellenic race had been marked off from the Barbarians as being more skilful and more freed from foolish simplicity, (and) since at that time among the Athenians, who are accounted the first of the Hellenes in ability, these men devised a trick as follows." | ||
+ | |||
+ | 71 [ The cubit is reckoned as 24 finger-breadths, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 72 [ So Rawlinson.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 73 [ See v. 70.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 74 [ {dia endekatou eteos}. Not quite the same as {dia evdeka eteon} (" | ||
+ | |||
+ | 75 [ {thein pompe khreomenos}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 76 [ For {' | ||
+ | |||
+ | 77 [ Or "for that part of the land from which the temple could be seen," but cp. Thuc. iii. 104. In either case the meaning is the same.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 7701 [ {enomotias kai triekadas kai sussitia}. The {enomotia} was the primary division of the Spartan army: of the {triekas} nothing is known for certain.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 78 [ {kibdelo}, properly " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 79 [ {skhoino diametresamenoi}: | ||
+ | |||
+ | 80 [ Cp. ix. 70.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 81 [ {epitarrothos}. Elsewhere (that is in Homer) the word always means " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 82 [ {agathoergon}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 83 [ This was to enable him the better to gain his ends at Tegea.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 84 [ Cp. ch. 51, note.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 85 [ See ch. 6.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 86 [ {euzono andri}: cp. ch. 104 and ii. 34. The word {euzonos} is used of light-armed troops; Hesychius says, {euzonos, me ekhon phortion}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 87 [ {orgen ouk akros}: this is the reading of all the best MSS., and it is sufficiently supported by the parallel of v. 124, {psukhen ouk akros}. Most Editors however have adopted the reading {orgen akros}, as equivalent to {akrakholos}, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 88 [ It has been suggested by some that this clause is not genuine. It should not, however, be taken to refer to the battle which was interrupted by the eclipse, for (1) that did not occur in the period here spoken of; (2) the next clause is introduced by {de} (which can hardly here stand for {gar}); (3) when the eclipse occurred the fighting ceased, therefore it was no more a {nuktomakhin} than any other battle which is interrupted by darkness coming on.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 89 [ See ch. 188. Nabunita was his true name.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 90 [ See ch. 107 ff.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 91 [ Not " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 92 [ {anastatous epoiese}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 93 [ This is the son of the man mentioned in ch. 74.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 94 [ {us en autou xeinikos}. Stein translates "so much of it as was mercenary," | ||
+ | |||
+ | 95 [ {Metros Dindumenes}, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 96 [ i.e. the whole strip of territory to the West of the peninsula of Argolis, which includes Thyrea and extends southwards to Malea: " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 97 [ {outos}: a conjectural emendation of {autos}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 98 [ {autos}: some MSS. read {o autos}, "this same man."] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 99 [ {aneneikamenon}, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 100 [ {ubristai}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 101 [ {proesousi}: | ||
+ | |||
+ | 102 [ {touto oneidisai}: or {touton oneidisai}, "to reproach the god with these things." | ||
+ | |||
+ | 103 [ {to kai... eipe ta eipe Loxias k.t.l.}: various emendations have been proposed. If any one is to be adopted, the boldest would perhaps be the best, {to de kai... eipe Loxias}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 104 [ {oia te kai alle khore}, "such as other lands have." | ||
+ | |||
+ | 105 [ {stadioi ex kai duo plethra}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 106 [ {plethra tria kai deka}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 107 [ {Gugaie}.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | 108 [ Or " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 109 [ Or " | ||
+ | |||
+ | 110 [ {tes ano ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | 111 [ i.e. nature would not be likely to supply so many regularly ascending circles. Stein alters the text so that the sentence runs thus, "and whereas there are seven circles of all, within the last is the royal palace," | ||
+ | |||
+ | 112 [ i.e. "to laugh or to spit is unseemly for those in presence of the king, and this last for all, whether in the presence of the king or not." Cp. Xen. Cyrop. i. 2. 16, {aiskhron men gar eti kai nun esti Persais kai to apoptuein kai to apomuttesthai}, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 113 [ {tauta de peri eouton esemnune}: the translation given is that of Mr. Woods.] |
text/histories_book_1.1376352018.txt.gz · Last modified: 2014/01/15 11:12 (external edit)